Now, in early November, Tyler has reportedly left the band, Joe Perry told The Las Vegas Sun…

“Steven quit as far as I can tell,” Perry said from his Boston home. “I don’t know anymore than you do about it. I got off the plane two nights ago. I saw online that Steven said that he was going to leave the band. I don’t know for how long, indefinitely or whatever. Other than that, I don’t know.”

Lack of communication is a killer in a band and now it seems that Tyler is done.  Like Perry said, we have no idea, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing because Aerosmith was tapped out of their creative juices 30 years ago.  Now they’re simply a band together to make more money and continue to get the rush of playing in front of 15,000 people. 

****************

This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

The incident occured at around 12:30 a.m. at a fundraising party in Williamsburg, New York. 

NME has the essentials…

According to sources at the party, Fuchs and a friend had attempted to leap over a gap between an elevator and the building’s fifth floor after a malfunction. He fell in the gap due to his clothing becoming caught on the elevator, falling down to his death.

He was pronounced dead at 3:30am after being taken to Bellevue Hospital.

This has to be one of the worst ways to watch a friend die.  To see him fall down a dark elevator shaft and then hear the inevitable splatting sound of bone cracking and blood splattering.  I want to puke just thinking about it.

****************

This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

Anyway…back to the challenge. They were given $300 for a budget and had two days to complete it. The actual project was amazingly cool as the designers journeyed outside the FIDM building and were given a trip to The J Paul Getty Cultural Center. Which is an amazing piece of architecture. After a short tour each one was given the opportunity to find inspiration in where ever they could locate it.

 Carol Hannah had a great European French bed, with tons of ornate fabric and draping. Irina found her inspiration in a painting called “Mischief and Repose”. Gordana in a Monet painting. Aletha in the architecture itself and Christopher in a rock fountain with a tint of algae growing on it.

So it should have been an amazing last challenge right? Full of wonder, awe, shock, and all around beauty? Well, I was a bit underwhelmed to say the least. Each one turned out dresses, and some of them were inspired, some odd, and most just kind of blah. Even the judges of Nina Garcia, designer Cynthia Rowley and Cindy Crawford were kind of quiet in their praise, louder in their criticism.

Irina starts the ball off by making a simple flowy dress that resembled a greek gown but then had some rabbit fur she said was the same color as the marble in the painting she was inspired by. After Tim’s critique she drops the fake fur jacket, and keeps with just the dress. The judges found the dress too heavy with the chosen styling and once the model removed the bracelets, heavy head piece and her shoes, they liked it better. They felt the shoes were way too chunky. And they were.

Althea does an amazing job with the pleating in the skirt of her outfit, however due to the contstant puckering while she is doing this, it eats up most her time and the skirt looks great, the top looks hasitly thrown together. Carol Hannah probably does the best job fitting of the night. Her dress while simple was impeccably well put together and looked amazing on the model. She had gold braid over one shoulder while the dress hugged the models curves.

Gordana had the best interpretation of the challenge, you could see the misty colors in the fabric of the Monet painting. However, the dress was pretty from the front as Nina put it, but no so interesting in the back. Christopher fared no better. While they loved the top, they felt that the skirt looked too heavy, almost a jean fabric. And said that is due to his lack of experience at not being able to pick the right fabric.  I would have to agree.

In the end, the trifecta of Irina, Althea and Carol Hannah get the nod for Bryant Park, while Gordana and CHristopher have their dreams crushed. I think it was the right choice. Christopher had shot himself in the foot one too many times and didn’t turn out what his strength was, the play of volume in the fabric. As Irina so succinctly put it “Christopher is so in his own head that he refuses to look outside of that.” For once she was right without being mean.

Next week looks interesting as it appears Carol Hannah gets sick during Fashion Week, and it is contagious. Let’s hope it didnt spread to her designs.         – MARY

I decided to give it a chance and then started watching it regularly because there was always one or two laugh-out-loud moments in every episode.  But the thing was that I never understood why it was so beloved by critics as a show while watching the 3rd season.

The universal love for Alec Baldwin wasn’t hard to grasp because he was/is the funniest part of the show, but 30 Rock wasn’t close to as funny as Weeds, Californication or The Office. And nothing ever seemed to be at stake in the show, which was completely different those three shows I just listed.

That said, I used the summer of 2009 to go back and catch up on the first two season of 30 Rock and I absolutely loved it.  I think those two seasons were on par with the second and fifth season of The Office in terms of original acting, which is why 30 Rock has been so disappointing in its 3rd and 4th seasons.

The writers have gotten away from many of their supporting characters and are so willing to drop many of its plotlines.

I mean, what ever happened to Liz trying to get a baby?

It was dropped like I just dropped 30 Rock from my DVR’s scheduled recordings.

****************

This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

He’s currently working on the next Radiohead album, experimenting with his new unnamed band (the one with Flea and Nigel Godrich) and featured on the New Moon soundtrack.

In addition to those three monumental things, Yorke is also featured on a new EP by Doom (formerly MF Doom).

The record is called Gazillion Ear and is expected to also feature J Dilla, Jnerio Jarel and TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek.

You can hear the track right here.

****************

This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

Do the Cupid Shuffle.

This year’s event—deemed “Celebrate the Unexpected”—will be an evening full of surprises! Sight & Sound 2009 will take place on Saturday, November 14^th at 6:30 p.m. at the Cedar Rapids Country Club. Additional information, including how to purchase tickets can be found at www.crma.org.

The gala begins with special cuisine and continues with silent auction favorites and a dramatic live auction full of surprises. Patrons will have the opportunity to view the professional Artist Gallery, and, for the first time, seek works by our extremely talented friends and neighbors in the new Unexpected Artist Gallery. Then, they will enjoy the high impact sounds and soulful lyrics of Funk Shop, an 11-piece band with hot horns and a whole lot of groove!

Both organizations have also teamed up to present the Sight & Sound Raffle. This year’s raffle features eleven unique prize packages: a trip to Arizona, a trip to Grand Cayman, a trip to New York, a trip to Florida, a trip to Lake Geneva, a trip to Chicago, a physical fitness package, and so much more! Raffle tickets are just $25 a piece or ten chances for $100 and can be purchased at the Museum of Art or Orchestra Iowa offices. You can also download a raffle entry form and read more about the enticing raffle packages at www.crma.org. Raffle winners need not be present at the Sight & Sound event to win.

Tickets for the event start at $100 per person. For more information on this event or to make reservations please contact either Kelly Leusch at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art at 319.366.7503 ext. 207 or kleusch@crma.org.

“Transcending the Wall” is a symbolic title that captures the idea that trans-identified artists have multiple walls to transcend – from academic ivory towers to interpersonal and structural barriers. Finding a space to explore trans identities is a daunting task that can be engaged through artistic endeavors. All of the artists in this exhibition self identify as transgendered, and are proud to showcase work for the general Iowa City community and The University of Iowa campus.

The UI LGBTRC will host the opening reception on Friday November 13th from 6:30 to 9pm. Beverages, snacks, fun, and conversations can be enjoyed at the opening. The exhibit will be on display from November 13th through December 4th. The LGBTRC is located at 125 Grand Ave Court Iowa City, IA on The University of Iowa campus. Parking is available directly behind the center.

Schedule:

Tuesday, November 3 at 8:00 p.m.

The University of Iowa School of Art and Art History invites you to attend a Visiting Artist’s lecture, “Sun and Shadow”, by Molly Mason. The lecture will be held at 101 Becker Communications Studies Building on the University of Iowa campus.

Friday, November 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The public is invited to a reception in the lobby of the new Kirkwood Center for Continuing Education (KCCE), 7725 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa to view “Before the Sun Speaks”, Mason’s outstanding new stainless steel and kiln-formed glass sculptures with fountain & pool features, commissioned by Kirkwood Community College for the KCCE. Ms. Mason will make brief remarks at 6:30 pm. and her extensive body of works will be shown on monitors throughout the reception.

At the reception, we wish to honor The Ceramics Center of Cedar Rapids, the UI School of Art and Art History and the UI Museum of Art by accepting gifts of any size earmarked for the three institutions to help in their recovery from the 2008 flood. (All gifts are tax-deductible. Non-earmarked gifts will be equally divided between the School of Art, the UIMA and The Ceramics Center.)

Saturday, November 7 at 1:00 p.m.

Mason will talk and present slides about her extensive early body of work in ceramics at The Ceramics Center, located in the Cherry Building, 329 10th Avenue SE, Suite 117, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Tours of this long-awaited arts facility will be available after Mason’s presentation.

Background Information

Mason is a sculptor with over 30 years experience in creating public, corporate and private site-specific works in architectural and natural settings. Her numerous recent projects for art-in-public-places have incorporated many media such as water features, stainless steel, aluminum, forged bronze and kiln-formed glass elements, along with concrete and ceramic tile structures with built-in seating. She is a hands-on sculptor who works with, and is an expert in, a wide variety of sculptural materials and processes, including welding, all aspects of metal forming, casting, wood, stone and cast concrete/ceramic tile. Earlier in her career, Mason extensively produced and exhibited widely in the medium of ceramics.

Mason’s aim is to create a sense of a “private,” intimate space within the larger natural world and public built-environment. She has been honored with over 45 awards for her artwork. A Fulbright Senior Professorship to Japan allowed her to study the sense of form, space and iconic relationships in the “transformed” nature of Japanese gardens. Mason has had 20 solo exhibitions and her work has been included in over 150 curated group exhibitions here and abroad. A college professor for many years, her works are in over 125 public, corporate and private collections across the U.S. and in several foreign countries.

“Last Hope has placed over 600 animals in their forever homes, but now more than ever we need volunteers and supporters,” said Sonia Brandley, founder and president.  “Our organization would not exist without the support of the community.”

The Last Hope Animal Rescue Friendraiser will be held on Thursday, November 5 from 5 – 8pm at the Hampton Inn & Suites (1130 Park Place NE, Cedar Rapids).  Beverages and light snacks will be served.  The event will be casual, with attendees encouraged to stop by for a few minutes whenever they are available.

For more information about this event and Last Hope Animal Rescue, please contact Mary Frugoli at 630-544-8482, or Sonia Brandley at 319-573-4444, or visit the website at http://lasthoperescueia.org

Founded in 2004, Last Hope Animal Rescue is a diverse group of volunteers that have a common goal: to save, rehabilitate and place as many animals as possible in loving, forever homes. We are an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit rescue group operating in the Eastern Iowa area.