Jon & Kate Plus 8 = One Painful Season Premiere

I have to admit, I only watched this premiere for the “cringe” factor. There’s been so much in the tabloids about ‘Jon & Kate plus their infidelities’ that I wanted to see how TLC would film the show - and make it seem jovial and upbeat like usual.

After watching it though, I actually felt guilty. In my opinion, TLC should really take the show off air while this couple works out their problems. The entire episode was quite uncomfortable to watch, and there's definitely something unsettling about slowly watching someone’s marriage dissolve before your eyes - literally. Sadly, this season will undoubtedly give TLC some major ratings, which is why there’s no chance they’re taking the show off air.

During the episode, Kate stressed about 6 times how she had to plan the kids birthday party “alone”. Jon seemed totally indifferent though the entire ordeal, and could care less about the cameras, the paparazzi stalking his family, the kids party, or whether or not he was in the scenes at all. It’s clear there was bitterness between the two, even with the kids present. This marriage is on an unnerving downward spiral, and audiences can watch it unfold on the couches with a bowl of popcorn. Painful. Demoralizing. Slightly voyeuristic.

I was never an avid viewer of the show – only occasionally catching episodes when they were in syndication. I have to admit though, Kate’s become quite the 'diva' since the first season. Between the tummy tuck, enhanced wardrobe, book deal, and funky haircut (which is annoyingly hideous) – she’s turned her entire family into a major brand. She seems phased by the scandal, not the popularity.

For the sake of all 8 kids, I do hope this couple can work things out. I understand seperation/divorce when there’s one or two kids involved – but when you have 8, you almost want to tough it out for the kids if nothing else. How does one coordinate visitation or custody for 8 kids?! How does an individual care for 8 kids financially on their own? All of this seems sordid and complicated, and I for one, will not be watching this season.

Here’s a really accurate summary of the episode from Entertainment Weekly

(In the words of a popular comedian, the new show title may end up being ‘Jon plus 4, Kate plus 4’)

Night at the Museum Premiere – in Washington DC!

I’ve been meaning to blog about this since last week. As you probably know by now, The Night at the Museum 2 film premiered in DC, at the Air and Space Museum. Of course, being the paparazzi that I am, I went to the red carpet event. I’m not an A-List DC resident, so of course I couldn’t nab tickets to the actual premiere. But, seeing the red carpet was good enough for me. (By the way, there wasn’t an actual red carpet there, just a couple red velvet ropes and blockades).

I arrive at about 4:45pm to steak out a good spot. Oddly enough, there weren’t that many people there at the time, so I got a spot right in front, near the beginning of the red velvet rope. The stars didn’t arrive until about 6:30pm, and that’s also when the crowd started to swell a bit.

First in was Amy Adams, who hauled up the red carpet area. No one got an autograph, let alone a photo of her. Ricky Gervais did the same thing when he arrived. Hank Azaria, Ben Stiller (and his wife Christine Taylor), Robin Williams, and Owen Wilson were much friendlier. I actually got photos with Ben Stiller and Robin Williams. They both lingered in the crowd the longest. Ben Stiller is really short – I’m about 5’7 and had to stoop down to take my photo. Owen Wilson is pretty tall, and was clearly the celeb of the night. The crowd went wild for Ben, but they fought over Owen. I was bopped in the head a couple times by elbows when he went down the aisle. Robin Williams looked great considering he just had some major heart surgery – but I did not dig the glittery ‘Barry Manilow’ Las Vegas suit he wore.

A host of others arrived too, like the actress that plays ‘Sacagawea’, and a few Smithsonian big-wigs. A couple photos are below. I’d also like to add that I was one of the first people to blog about this premiere, as it was really kept under wraps by the media. If you had been a regular reader, I would have seen you on the red carpet! (Shameless advertising, sorry.)

* (Click to display larger image)*

Ambigrams - The Hot Typographic Trend

Do you know what an ambigram is? They've been appearing more and more in entertainment these days, and have always been prevalent in tatoo art. Even bands such as Aerosmith have used ambigrams as their logo. Ambigrams are typographic designs that display one or more words in various orientations. Here's a better discription from wikipedia.


In any case, I've always been fascinated with tatoo art, and ambigrams have always seemed like such a creative artform. In fact, I have an ambigram of my own. I recently won a contest given by fellow graphic designer Nikita Prokhorov. He has a blog dedicated to his personal ambigram artwork. He so kindly designed a piece with my name. It displays "Stephy" both upside down, and rightside up. I've already framed it and hung it in my home office. Be sure to check out Nikita's site and blog.

"Stephy" Ambigram"

Bleak Outlook for Graduating Class of 2009

Interesting article on USA Today about college students struggling to repay loans after graduation. Thing are looking bleak for the graduating class of 2009.

It’s true, we live in a system that gears students toward a college education, but is ‘stingy’ when giving out financial aid. I graduated college in 2002, and I’m STILL paying off my loans. Granted, from the $10,000 that I owed upon graduation, I now only have about $3,000 left to pay off. Despite the fact that I lived in a single parent household, I was never given any grants or student aid. I guess I wasn’t smart enough to score a scholarship either, despite graduating with a 3.8 GPA.

I any case, I think I made out pretty well. At least I work in my field of study, right? And I don’t’ regret my college education one bit. I personally support higher education. In fact, if I had the time and money, I would go to grad school.

For the sake of future students, I do hope the educational system is revised so that more individuals can get financial aid. I have a feeling many future students will forego a college education in lieu of trade schools. I think in the next 5years, we will see an increase in blue collar work. Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, upon graduation, more of my friends that went to trade schools had jobs well before others that went to college. And their education was cheaper!

Restaurant Review: Aroma in Olney, MD – v2.0

A little while ago, I reviewed this semi-new restaurant in Olney, MD. At the time, I was still a bit undecided as to whether I could truly recommend this restaurant or not. Well…I’m here to say, I’m no longer “on the fence” about this Latin American style venue.

Over the weekend, I visited Aroma with a colleague. I still adore their lovely ambiance with its comfortable colors and low lighting. And the music is always on par. But to my surprise, Aroma also revised their menu! Aroma still provides a wide variety of entrees (including some creative Asian/Latin fusion cuisines), but I was most thrilled that the entrees I ordered previously, were tweaked – and a few additional culinary surprises were added.

This time I tried the Ropa Vieja, and my companion ordered the Pescado Chino-Latino, which consists of fresh halibut, served over Peruvian rice with a mild-light sauce. Both entrees were phenomenal. The Ropa Vieja was creatively plated, with well seasoned black beans, white rice, a healthy helping of sweet plantains, and slow cooked shredded beef. Every morsel was a pleasure to eat. The Halibut was light, fluffy, and colorful - consisting of a variety of Latin spices and seasonings. We topped off our meal with a warm molten chocolate cake for dessert (which is still made to order).

The wait staff is, as always, ultra friendly, and more than helpful with recommendations from the new menu. This time I also noticed that Aroma has a new small outdoor patio, which is great for sipping mojitos on warm summer evenings.

This time around, I definitely feel as if Aroma has been redeemed in my eyes. I hope that more folks in town will stop by this restaurant (and skip the fast food joints). I’m happy to say that I’ll be visiting Aroma more often. Next I plan on stopping by for a meal on a Thursday evening – did I mention they have a LIVE Flamenco band on Thursday nights?

Also, don't miss the $5 cocktails on Wednesdays during happy hour. You would be doing yourself a great injustice by missing out on their mojitos! (can you tell that's my favorite drink?)

Corcoran Gallery of Art – 2009 Senior Thesis Exhibit

Yesterday during lunch, I headed over to the Corcoran to see the Senior Thesis exhibit. Visiting this gallery always makes me nostalgic for art school. I was actually accepted to the Corcoran on scholarship, but declined after finding out I would still need to come up with $15,000 in tuition! But I digress.

Overall the exhibit was exceptional. My background is in fine art, so I always enjoy painting, photography and mixed media. Installation art still puzzles me to some extent. I appreciate it as an art form, but half the time I don’t full understand it, especially without an artist mission statement. To the students with the installation pieces – I’m sorry if I offend you.

A couple student pieces really captured my interest. Siobhan Hanna’s photographic portraiture was incredible. The photographs were clean, and extremely detailed. I would love to see the other pieces in this student’s photographic series.

My two other favorites were of course graphic design pieces. All of the design student pieces I saw were very cohesive. The posters were engaging, and the printed book/booklets that accompanied the posters were all phenomenal. I almost forgot that I was looking at undergraduate work! These pieces definitely looked like the work of seasoned professionals.

Yordan Silvera’s “The Art of Money” was brilliant. To accompany his mixed media posters, he also designed several little “money themed” booklets, which the viewer was allowed to touch and flip through. The printing of the booklets were outstanding, and the layout design very innovative.

Hannah Tak’s “Experimental Typography: Futurism and Post-Modernism” was really a step above the rest. Her in depth research piece focused solely on typography, and was truly a marvelous work of design. I enjoyed flipping through her book, and wished I could have had a copy for my own design book collection. I don’t think this student will have any trouble finding a design job post graduation. Any employer should be privileged to have her on the payroll.

Note to the design students: It would have been great if all of you included some ‘take-away’ self promotion pieces in your display. Major thumbs up to those that had business cards printed. Those self-promo pieces help visitors remember you, long after your gallery show is over.

My least favorite piece is of course - installation. No offense to this promising student, as I’ve stated my feelings on installation pieces at the onset. Elisabeth Arzt has an installation that appears to be two movable rubber phallic symbols, covering a Wii remote, boxing in a ring. Photo below. I was a little confused by this piece – but what do I know. Who am I to say what art ‘is’ or ‘isn’t’.

If you’re able, please stop by the Corcoran to view this exhibition before May 25th. The show is free, and it’s definitely a treat to see the works of these budding new artists and designers.

Elisabeth Arzt - All rights reserved.

New Ben Stiller Movie to Premiere in DC

‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian’ will be having its world premiere here in DC at the Air and Space Museum on Thursday May 14. Not sure about times yet, but most likely it will be in the evening hours. If you head down to the Smithsonian, you may catch a glimpse of Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson and Ricky Gervais (to name a few). ‘Night at the Museum 2” follows a recent string of movies being filmed here in DC. The ‘State of Play’ world premiere should have been here in DC too (instead of London).