Sunday, October 31, 2010

Activity of the Moment: Upgrade to Ubuntu 10.10


Before I delve into my geeky pursuits, I want to wish everyone a Happy Halloween! Have fun, be careful, and don't get ungraciously drunk!

Now, to the meat of this post: I finally upgraded to "Maverick Meerkat," or in layman term, Ubuntu 10.10! I have to give props to the developers for creating this visually stunning, lightning fast operating system. Too bad I didn't save some of my precious files from the old OS (remember that?) such as the numerous fonts and applications I laboriously downloaded.

My biggest gripe about the new version is it doesn't give a dual-boot option when you slip the CD upon starting the computer. It does, however, enable a manual partition, which to me is very, very complicated.

Props to the developers for creating this visually stunning, lightning fast OS.

To enable a pain-free dual-boot option, you must install Ubuntu via Windows by running Wubi.exe. If you follow the default settings to a T, everything else should be fine afterwards.

Another caveat is Gimp Image Editor isn't included by default. But this should be a quick fix as Gimp is available for free by browsing through the Synaptic Package Manager.

Right now, I'm updating some stuff to make Ubuntu 10.10 fit my needs. So that means tons of multimedia apps and lots of encoders!

Image from softsailor.com

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Reprieve of the Moment: J'Adore Paree


The past few weeks have been a blizzard of homework, essays, and unnecessarily lengthy readings. I apologize for my absenteeism but, hey, not reading this blog isn't the end!

In my wee times of reprieve, I finally caught up with some of Paris' big ticket shows. I tell you, the Paris collections for Spring-Summer 2011 is something to behold. Here are some of my picks:




Chanel: Karl Lagerfeld always knows how to make things big, and that includes the length of the clip. Watch the show for the clothes (look, feathers!), for the live orchestra, or for the humongous faux jardin. Either way, it's gonna be a spectacle.




Alexander McQueen: After numerous speculations, Sarah Burton's work in the label proved she has the right magic to continue the McQueen legacy. Surely she added her own touch too--less macabre and more optimistic!

The Paris collections is something to behold.





Balenciaga: The Fall 2010 collection may have left editors longing for wearability, so Nicolas Ghesquière made a Spring rendition that is just as inspiring as it is sellable. Spring 2011 is a symbiotic mix of science with the fusion of plastic and lace and other materials; punk with the blatant edginess; masculinity with the creeper shoes; and femininity with everything else!




Emanuel Ungaro: In a perfectly romantic world, everyone would be wearing this. It's punchy without being overwhelming, and soft without being inconsequential. It's clear that the house of Ungaro is moving forward with newly instated creative director Giles Deacon.




Lanvin: Feminine? Yes, actually, very much so. But it's also beautifully powerful. Elbaz has a focused vision of femininity that doesn't seem to fail. And it doesn't fail because it's comfortable and confident!

How about you? What'd you think about the collections?

Videos from youtube.com

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Thought of the Moment: Strict Liability




Remember that little fiasco in the Prada Spring-Summer 2009 show? The ones that involved models trampling on the ground?

I'm taking an introductory business law class right now and we're discussing something very relevant to the Prada situation: product liability. Clearly, there is a potential lawsuit brewing here. But before we jump to conclusions, let's think of some questions to consider:

1. Does Prada have responsibility to manufacture safe products?
2. Are the platform heels defective?
3. Do models owe a portion of the fault for falling down?

The design of the shoes is probably defective.

Let's check out the elements involving product liability!

Rule: Strict liability involving defective products is when one in the stream of commerce sold a defective product which caused harm or injury. Remember that defective product liability attacks the product not the person or business.

Stream of commerce: Prada, clearly, is in the stream of commerce because it's selling said shoes. And so are the companies that manufactured the shoes and provided the raw materials for the shoes. Liability attaches when the defective product "left defendant's hands." So, Prada, the manufacturer and the supplier of raw materials can all be sued.

Products: A product is anything manufactured, mass-produced, processed or things sold in their natural state (e.g.: eggs, fruits, vegetables). The shoes are the product because it's manufactured and mass-produced by Prada.

Defective: Defective means the product is unreasonably dangerous when used in a foreseeable way as intended. In this case the shoes are somehow defective. Once the models strapped the shoes and walked on them (because that's what you do with shoes), a couple of models started wobbling and some fell.

The shoes were not produced below the manufacturer's standard (oh no, bad quality for Prada!), but the design of the shoes is probably defective. In this case, socklets or mini socks were worn with the platforms, and there is strong belief that it caused slippage. Oh and another thing, the height of the heels may be too darn high!

Injury and harm: A consumer or a third party (e.g.: the models) is harmed. For this situation there was no injury, but there was potential that the models' ankles could get sprained or broken.

So far, we have all elements covered. Unfortunately, liability can't be established mainly because there was no injury. Plus, Prada can defend that there was comparative negligence on the models' part. The models could have prevented the fall if they test walk (test drive?) the shoes before the show to see if they were stable.

Update: A strict liability lawsuit may not favor the plaintiffs, but a negligence suit could. Again, only if there was some sort of injury. That's how the courts in the United States work.

Wanna check out more model falls? CNN, of all things news-oriented, compiled a video! Watch it here.

Video from youtube.com

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Look of the Moment: Practical Counts


Calvin Klein and Celine Fall-Winter 2010

After a few seasons of questionable winter wear, Celine and Calvin Klein are offering something more on the functional side. See their clean neck-to-toe looks? They're pretty useful when that darn city blizzard comes by.

Look for something pure, spare, structured, textured, loose...

And speaking of those labels, it seems minimal is the new (or not-so-new) trend for Spring 2011. That means a lot of restraint from our fashion side, and more on our philosophic side. Look for something pure, spare, structured, textured, loose, anything without the glitz. Jeans and T-shirt will never look more appealing.

Want more minimal inspirations for Spring? Ladies, refer to Prada, Chloé, Celine, Calvin Klein and Jil Sander. For dudes, look up Hermès, Dior Homme, Balenciaga, Prada, Raf Simons and Petar Petrov. I'll even add Ann Demeulmeester's sanitarium as a wildcard.

Images from nymag.com