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| Content from ShoppingBlog.com, which provides commentary on fashion, beauty, shopping and popular culture.
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The most heavily discussed Black Friday deal to date appears to be Wal-Mart's rumored offer of a Magnavox NB500MG9 Blu-ray player for $128. CNN/Money had an article about it and the deal has been mentioned in many blog posts including posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Dvice blogs that this is a "damn good Blu-ray player." They note that Consumer Reports recently gave the Magnavox MB500MG9 an 87 in its "Best Electronics" issue.
Get this: Even though it's dirt cheap, the Magnavox MB500MG9 (built by Funai) is a damn good Blu-ray player. In fact, Consumer Reports gave it an overall score of 87 in its latest (December 08) "Best Electronics" issue, a mere one point below the top-rated Sylvania NB500SL9 Blu-ray player (probably the same player, also built by Funai). It beats the sixth-place Sony BDP-350 (which scored an 84), a superb Blu-ray player that's performed flawlessly in our extensive testing here.
The Magnavox MB500MG9 is currently listed on Wal-Mart here for $198 (down from $250). If it really is marked down to $128 on Black Friday that will be a discount of nearly 40% from the already discounted price. This Blu-ray deal alone could be enough to get shoppers into Wal-Mart stores on November 28th.
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The Wall Street Journal
reports
on the hottest fashion trend out of Tokyo: the Princess Girl or hime gyaru look. The look involves women dressing like a cross between Marie Antoinette and Paris Hilton. As Tim Gunn would say: it's a lotta look.
Ms. Yamamoto is a hime gyaru, or princess girl, a growing new tribe of Japanese women who aim to look like sugarcoated, 21st-century versions of old-style European royalty. They idolize Marie Antoinette and Paris Hilton, for her baby-doll looks and princess lifestyle. They speak in soft, chirpy voices and flock to specialized boutiques with names like Jesus Diamante, which looks like a bedroom in a European chateau. There, some hime girls spend more than $1,000 for an outfit including a satin dress, parasol and rhinestone-studded handbag.
Jesus Diamante started the princess boom. Toyotaka Miyamae, 52, who had run an import shop specializing in evening gowns, set up the company in Osaka seven years ago to design feminine dresses tailored to Japanese women, whom he found to be shorter and to have smaller chests than Western women. Inspired by his favorite actress, Brigitte Bardot, he created dresses in quality fabrics that mimicked the feminine and elegant style of her youth.
"What I wanted to do wasn't that unique," says Mr. Miyamae, who named the company after a Japanese musical. "I just made them to fit Japanese bodies."
Mr. Miyamae's knee-length dresses are studded with fake pearls and flowers and have names like Antoine (short for Marie Antoinette). They became popular among women who were looking for a cleaned-up look after the popularity of ripped jeans and layered casual clothing in the late 1990s. The chain's sales have grown 20% a year, to $13.4 million in the year ended March 2008, even though it has just four stores, including one in Tokyo's trendy Harajuku neighborhood. It has spurred a slew of rivals with names like Liz Lisa and La Pafait.
Jesus Diamante's top saleswoman, Keiko Mizo (pictured above), sells $95,000 a month of the princess girl fashions. She epitomizes the look: in fact, she's a former customer of the store. Keiko's blog on the store's website informs loyal fans that her favorite food is Godiva chocolate hearts and her favorite drink is hot cocoa at Tokyo Disneyland.
If you're feeling a need to dress like a Lolita/Princess girl head on over to the translated version of the Jesus Diamante
website.Oh and in case you are wondering, this is no teen trend. The trend's followers are women in their 20s and 30s. We'd comment further, but we have to tease our bouffant back into shape and sally forth to buy a new tiara. Our old one just isn't sparkly enough.
Posted in Fashion
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The new Guns N' Roses album is currently streaming on the band's MySpace page. It will continue streaming until the album is available exclusive at Best Buy on November 23rd. The album can also be pre-ordered here at BestBuy.com.
"Guns N' Roses is rock and roll defined. I'm as eager as everyone to hear it," said MySpace President Tom Anderson. "It's truly an honor to premier this album on MySpace before it's available to the world at large."
Chinese Democracy is the first original recording from Guns N' Roses since the 1991 releases of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. The band has sold an estimated 100 million albums worldwide including 42 million in the United States alone.
More coverage of the new GNR album can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Photo: Axl Rose by by George Chin
Posted in Music
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The Cheetah Girls have been dropped
from the performers' list by the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade producers. The Parade claims that the cancellation is due to scheduling conflicts, but that's ridiculous. This is clearly because of singer Adrienne Bailon's semi-nude photo scandal.
As Macy's scrambled for a substitute act, the mystery over how Bailon's blue photos surfaced took a twist.
Bailon's friend, Jonathan Jaxson, said he and the 25-year-old singerconcocted the story that the racy photos were swiped from her laptopand posted without permission.
"Adrienne wanted me to plant the story about the laptop," Jaxson, a Hollywood publicist, told the DailyNews, explaining Bailon's desire to be seen as more adult and sexy.
"[She]wanted to distance herself from the Cheetah Girls. She decided, 'Let's spice it up' and say possible nude photos were stolen from her laptop."
Jaxson said the publicity stunt was hatched after Bailon's laptop was indeed stolen at JFK Airport more than a week ago.
"I've done this before with several stars and we've had great success, but this is the first time it's ever bitten me in the rear or a client," Jaxson said.
The other Cheetah Girls, Sabrina Bryan, 24, and Kiely Williams, 22, are no doubt furious at Adrienne for her stupid PR maneuver. Oh, and that publicist should be fired.
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Toys 'R' Us has announced some of its lineup of Black Friday doorbusters available from 5am to 1pm on Friday, November 28. The Toys 'R' Us Black Friday ads will appear in select newspapers with more than 100 doorbusters can be found in the 24-page circular. Toys 'R' Us says customers plotting their Black Friday shopping strategy in advance can log on to Toysrus.com beginning Wednesday, November 26 at midnight for a sneak-peek of more than 50 additional unadvertised "Mystery Doorbusters" that will be available only in Toys 'R' Us stores on Black Friday.
Toys 'R' Us stores nationwide will open at 5am on Black Friday to welcome early risers. They provided following examples of doorbusters available at Toys 'R 'Us which are valid on Friday, November 28, from 5am - 1pm
- Free Play Station 2 Deal - 6 Free Games, FREE '21' DVD and Free Play Station 2 DVD Remote with the purchase of the Play Station 2 System
- Free $50 Toys 'R' Us Gift Card with the purchase of a Black 16GB iPod nano
- Free Nintendo DS accessory with the purchase of Nintendo DS Brain Age Bundle or Nintendo DS Super Mario Bros. Bundle
- More than 80% off Xbox 360 Wired Guitar Hero Game Controller
- 60% off TOYMAX EyeClops from JAKKS Pacific
- 60% off Disney High School Musical 2 Figures 3-Pack
- More than 50% off Littlest Pet Shop VIP Plush Pets from Hasbro
- Up to 50% off Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle for Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360
- 50% off Little Tikes Diggers
- 50% off Jumbo Talking Elmo from Fisher-Price
- 50% off Huffy Scooters (Power Rangers and Cinderella, sold separately)
- 33% off V-Tech Learning Laptop
- More than 30% off Thomas & Friends Train Sets (Thomas & Percy Wooden Starter Set and Great Race Take Along Set, sold separately)
- $60 off iHome Portable iPod Docking Station (iPod sold separately)
- $50 off Sony 7.2MP Pink Cybershot Digital Camera
You can see more offers froms Toys R' Us for Friday, November 28, and Saturday, November 29 in toysrus.com's blog post here.
Posted in Toys
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As if the Project Runway legal situation wasn't bad enough, now Lifetime has joined the fray by suing
both NBC and Bravo.
On Tuesday, the network filed suit in Manhattan federal court against NBC Universal and Bravo Media, claiming Lifetime holds the copyrights to the high-rated reality TV show through its deal this year with the show's producer, the Weinstein Co.
The lawsuit comes after NBCU and Bravo, which aired the first five cycles of the show, filed suit in New York state court against TWC for breach of contract, claiming the producer failed to honor the network's right of first refusal for the sale or transfer of "Runway's" rights.
Lifetime also lists TWC as a "nominal defendant" because of the producer's agreement with the network. In court papers, Lifetime asserts its deal with TWC was contingent on having "Runway" "free and clear of any third-party obligations" and that the production company represented that the program was available to air on Lifetime beginning in November.
An injunction issued through the state court action by NBCU is in place, stopping the show from airing on either cable network.
Lifetime states it paid a $20 million advance to TWC for "Runway" and has expended resources and money to launch the next cycle of the show, including committing to advertisers and viewers. The show, it claims, is ready to air in December, with all but two episodes filmed for the sixth cycle.
Lifetime asked the court to enjoin NBCU from promoting, marketing and airing any new episodes and seeks a judgment finding it has priority over any conflicting rights to the show and any future episodes.
So what does this mean for fans? Well, it's not good. And it probably means that the next season is going to be delayed yet again.
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