State of the Blogosphere: the Highlights of Online Fashion, Lifestyle & Pop Culture for the Week Ending 3/26/06. FASHIONTRIBES FASHION BLOG

In this week's roundup of the best of online whatever, see if you agree with the 20 most important tools of all time. Check out the entire unaired episode of South Park that caused Isaac Hayes to bolt & Tom Cruise to ban. Learn about the hidden side effect of Second Life. Wonder at the world's most expensive pair of jeans. Meet the priests comforting those grieving for departed members of the family...of the four-legged kind. Fashion, architecture & lifestyle continues to converge with a new milliner-designed boutique hotel in Galway, Ireland & in the work of artists like Jeff Konigsberg. Wireless technology just made the wine store a friendlier place. Memo to Mickey Ds: real girls dig fries, not fruit. Beards are, gag, chic. An alarm clock that lays eggs. And more fab celeb fug: Diana Ross in a vision of eggplant tulle.

- Lesley Scott

POP CULTURE FABULOUSNESS

• The 20 most important tools ever. Now that's quite a list. Counter NYC reports on Forbes Magazine's attempt to come up with the important, often unsung, work horses that we used - and continue to use - to build and shape our world.
• Chef quits & Tom Cruise threatens - the kerfluffle over the Scientology-dissing South Park episode that wasn't allowed to air. Well thanks to The Superficial, you can see the entire thing for yourself.
• From Brokeback Mountain to Crash & now V for Vendetta, people are talking about great movies. Those wild 'n crazy editors at Time compiled their take on the all-time 100 movies. Obviously some of the many Godfathers deserve a place as well as Dr. Strangelove (1964) and Pulp Fiction (1994), but what about Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Finding Nemo (2003)?  In the forthcoming Slammer, the seemingly ubiquitous Sarah Jessica Parker stars as a publicist sent to prison - mistakenly of course - for taking designer swag meant for clients and passing it along to knockoff artists intent on mass production. via Counterfeit Chic
• This week's Google Zeitgeist was notable for how unnotable & movie-obsessed the top queries were. St. Patrick's Day, the movie She's the Man, V for Vendetta, and Shannon Elizabeth. Yikes. At least the Ides of March came in at number 10.
• The new trend in trendspotting is going online says PSFK, reporting on sites like Treehugger.com, trendwatching.com, and ubercool.com. And yet, drab writing and a lack of wit & polish plague Rocketboom, the video blog take on Internet-related news, is the assessment of Steve Johnson, internet critic for the Chicago Tribune.
• Boing Boing blogged about a crazy site devoted to overloaded vehicles and the ugly-ugly-ugly: Revolting Sofas, a blog devoted to the worst in couches. Also, there are wonderous guest appearances by readers & their hideous sweaters on Bad Sweater Guy.
• By encouraging graffiti artists to tag & color in every inch of their new billboards, Josh Spear is of the mind that the new Adidas Adicolor campaign got it completely right. Blank white billboards were put up with the Adidas logo & a quote from Leonardo DaVinci, and predictably tagged. The tagged poster was then covered with one of the actual Adicolor sneaker billboards - but incorporated the tags & masking artwork from the first layer.
• American women bosses appear to be turning into complete bitches in the workplace - a la Melrose Place's Heather Locklear character Amanda Woodward. Gawker has the scoop.
• When you finally do something newsworthy, what will the FARK headline say about you? Some amusing attempts at crystal-gazing.
• Overhead in New York: How do you know if someone's Amish?
• Researchers hoping to ease America's addition to oil have developed a process to create bio-oil which can be turned into automotive diesel. via Treehugger.
• The dark underbelly of Second Life...inducing diehards to, get ready, spend more time outside. Considering the implications of recreating a scale SL version of downtown Morgan Hill (a "sleepy" northern Cali town) has been occupying the thoughts of Eric Rice lately.

FASHION, FASHION, FASHION

• It's fashionably blue skies ahead, according to the Pantone Color Institute's spring forecast says Second City Style. Look for inspirational & poetic hues such as sand dollar, deep ultramarine, french vanilla, lily green, clove, melon, viola and cameo pink.

• Welcome to Night Falls, a nocturnal world where pleasure is delivered to your door by Fed-Ex! In this dark drama brought to you by Zoozoom, all the vintage pieces were purchased on ebay.com. They ferreted out Chanel, Plein Sud & Ted Baker just to name a few.
• Today's skull chic has its roots in age-old beliefs and rituals about the nature of mortality explains Blingdom of God. And for extra credit, what makes a Tibetan Buddhist rosary, or mala, different from a Catholic or Islamic rosary? The fact that a mala is carved from a human skull.
• With the high cost of precious metals like gold and platinum these days, Jewelry Weblog points out that brides, especially, are saying yes to palladium.
• Getting your fashion fix the way you like it is getting easier by the moment, especially with the new Coutorture dreamed up by the Millionaire Socialite & Almost Girl blogs.
• The world's most expensive jeans will set you back at least $10,000 reports Denimology who is of the mind that the cost of the Escada jean is a result of being encrusted from top-to-bottom with Swarovski crystals rather than the actual denim or style "which is the kind of thing Liberace might have worn when he was trying to look like a camp cowboy."

MINI ME & FRIENDS - BABY & PET STYLE

• You're non-cheesy, so why does it seem so many pet product manufacturers specialize in cheesy pet feeders, wonders Pup Style. For a stylish feeder devoid of doofy dog bone patterns or, even worse, “woof, woof more kibble” verbiage, look no further than Holden Designs snazzy version sculpted from bent wood and completely suited for the Dwell-style pet owner.
• As any pet owner can attest to, the loss of a four-legged member of the family is the loss of a family-member. A podcast on NPR reports on the new, er, breed of minister specializing in helping bereaved pet owners.
• Chic moms who've endured tot-related accidents on or in their designer bags will be glad to know that they don't have to sacrifice style with the couture-worthy waterproof-washable-babyproof Fleurville Luxe Leather bags in Tiffany blue. via Bag Snob.

HOME DECOR, ENTERTAINING & LIFESTYLE

• As fashion, architecture and lifestyle continue to merge, the ritzy new "g" hotel in Galway, Ireland hired madcap milliner Philip Treacy - of stylist Isabella Blow fame - to design the interiors, with suitably mapcap results. via Coolhunting.com. And this trend appears to be gaining momentum. Apartment Therapy posts about artist Jeff Konigsberg who "works in the curious intersection of architecture and landscape."
• A new site out of San Francisco launches. Stylehive is a community-based approach to ferreting out & sharing the coolest new stuff in fashion and lifestyle.
• The whole laser-cut thing maybe reaching the end of its 15 minutes, but Design Sponge finds herself nonetheless mad about Susan Bradley's laser-cut motifs in metal & mirrors, especially the "outdoor wallpaper".
• The Manolo of Manolo's Shoe Blog says "Ayyyyyyyy!" to the new Manolo Blahnik candle.
• New artists take on old themes such as the Greek myth of Poseidon and Demeter. To rebuff Poseidon, Demeter had him fashion her the most beautiful creature ever, which eventually resulted in the horse. Artist Luke Litman imagines what was created - and rejected - to reach the equine ideal. via Fashiontribes.

BON APPETIT! FOOD & DRINK

• “If you really don't care what's in your glass,” says Gary Marcaletti, proprietor of San Francisco Wine Trading Company in West Portal, “you know what? At Safeway or Costco, or any of those stores, you're not going to go wrong in most cases. But if you want to expand your palate or learn something about the wine of the world, they’re the last place you want to be.” Vinography advises on how to become a better wine drinker.
• You've resolved never to drink any !#$?!#! Merlot. However, the intrepid editors at Organic Wine Journal taste a bunch for you & live to write about it - and rate them. And word is, it might be time for a Merlot rethink.
• Wireless RFID sensors placed in synthetic winebottle corks can now give each bottle a unique - and unchangeable - ID, says Dr. Vino. And unlike bar codes, boxes don't have to be opened - simply wave an RFID reader (which even comes with some Nokia phones) a few inches from the bottle and voila, all the 411 is displayed.
• Wines from Chile deserve your consideration advises Chow, because they've resurrected the Carmenere grape which was wiped out in Bordeaux over 100 years ago by a nasty case of phylloxera. The "forgotten sixth grape in the classic Bordeaux blend" has been cultivated in South American vineyards for a good decade now, and the results are starting to show it.
• From chi chi foreign beers to specialty brew pubs, beer is climbing the status food chain opines Eric Asimov in his blog The Pour, which means myriad of satisfying choices for the beer lover.
• Some yummy menus ideas for March from Ideas in Food: Tequila-cured steelhead trout roe with yellow fin tuna, charentais melon & sorrel; lemon sole with shrimp spaetzle, black cabbage kimchee, and yuzu; South Texas antelope & watercress salad, mango puree & rhubarb. And for delicious meals that even non-cooks can succeed at, La Dolce Divas have some easy, one-liner instructions for delicious roasted potatoes, spicy shrimp pasta, halibut provencal, poached pears and baked stuffed apples.
• Dessert, anyone? Learn to make some great biscotti (Delicious Days); a tasty brazil nut version of Reese's Cups (101 Cookbooks), and the whys-and-wherefors of fluffy, scrumptious pecan coffee cake (Cooking for Engineers)
• And have a pre- (or after!) dinner cocktail with Girlawhirl, who's already picked out her tasty beverage of choice to survive summer: the mouthwatering lemon & lime sour "cocktailor".
• Easter is nigh. Whip up a clever cake imposter: a poundcake that looks like a horizontally-sliced hard-boiled egg complete with yummy lemon-curd "yolk".via Martha Stewart Living
• Real girls eat fries. That's the buzz from the 3iying grrlz in a piece they penned in Business Week reports YPulse - leaving them to wonder why McDonalds put a new "Fruit Buzz" on the menu to tempt teen dieters. The contradiction is that while girls - who are social "experiential" eaters unlike boys who eat for funtion - care about their weight, it's not the way McDonalds thinks. "It's more subtle and complex than just throwing down a salad and calling it a day."

BEAUTY & GROOMING

• They eat French bread, indulge in red wine and, gasp, dessert, and yet they're slim-slim-slim. Why don't French women get fat? The author of the diet "secrets" of the French tells all on Oprah...and wouldn't you know it, it's a whol lotta common sense.
• Hirsute is apparently happening & Paul Bunyan-chic beards are on the rise. On George Clooney, okay, but for the rest of the male metro population? Vice Magazine's advertising director opines that, "It's a sign of the times. People are into beards right now." They are...and which people? The New York Times investigates.
• A sexy assignation inspires an equally sexy fragrance: Cannabis Santal from cult-fave label Fresh. Check out the podcast interview with co-founder Lev Glazman - with the Fashiontribes Beauty Blogger, Stevie - and get all the info on both of the Fresh co-founders' upcoming exclusive appearance at Barneys Beverly Hill on Thursday, 3/30.
• A deep tan to go with your new nose, bigger boobs and wrinkle removal? CNN.com reports on the growing trade in "nip-tuck tourism" in Columbia - where helpful travel agents will book everything from your surgery to your hotels, transport and plane tix.

GADGETS & GIZMOS

• A wacky alarm clock that starts crowing & laying eggs into a basket...and won't quit until you put the 5 eggs back into the alarm clock. Annoying, yes, but effective is the word from Popgadget. Why not give one to someone you really dislike?
• Open Sesame! No, OpenLazlo if you want to create flash in a splash says Product Dose, reporting on the new open-source software that allows you to create a powerful flash-based site, armed with only a basic knowledge of XML and JavaScripts.
• Meld your iPod case with modern illustration & get a tinpod, a limited edition iPod case featuring original artwork by graphic designer & illustrator Kurt Ketchum. via Kobayashi5
• Do you use your iPod at work to help survive cubicle hell? Let the USAToday blogger Pop Candy know your thoughts.
• It starts so innocuously - answering the door & playing media files - but who knows where it will all end. Engadget discusses the (smiley) face of Korea's planned army of networked domestic robots.

CELEB FUG

• There is no raspberry dream spice without tulle, especially the ridiculous eggplant meringue Diana Ross wore in public. via Go Fug Yourself
• The latest musical effort from the love child of Greta Garbo, Brian Wilson & Rick James - Prince - is sadly "smarmy" at best opines Jack & Hill.

- Lesley Scott

Fashiontribes State of the Blogosphere Blog Report Pop Culture Fashion Beauty Home Decor Parties & Entertaining Celebrity Lifestyle Fashion Expert