Corporate Press Release Theater: Bravo Returns Top Design, Shear Genius

I'll speak up for Shear Genius. Well, kinda. sorta. maybe. but not exactly.

First what sucks:
1) Rene Fris. The dude is irritating, arrogant, unengaging, and other bad things as well. Tim Gunn is a HUGE part of the charm of Project Runway - he really makes the show, and sets a lot of the tone. Rene is the opposite, and is the main obstacle to me really supporting the show.

2) The time limits: As with Project Runway, I really want to see what these talented folks can do if they have enough time to realize their visions. I do recognize that fashion design and hair design involve different scopes of work and time, but I was frustrated with the VERY short time limits given to the hair stylists for their challenges. It often seemed unreasonable and arbitrary.

3) The strict formula: I could usually have NO trouble telling who was going home from their comments, which left no suspense. They would get to the final two, and give one a really bad response, and one a pretty bad response. The pretty bad one got sent home, the really bad one got to stay. It was so obvious how they did that to create a bit of a surprise every week - but by always sticking to the formula they were very transparent.

Mixed Bag:
1) the actual contestants: Too much ego. I thought that some of the stylists were even more hateful and/or arrogant than the most infamous Project Runway fashion designers. Not a lot of charisma or appeal in many of them. Others (particularly those in the final 3) did seem like genuinely good people.

2) I thought that MANY of the hair styles were really interesting and creative - although in some of the challenges I really couldn't see what the judges were going on about - two nearly-identical hairstyles could get completely different responses.

What I liked:
Basically the same thing that I like about Project Runway - showing talented, creative people producing competitive projects under contrived duress.

Ugh, maybe I didn't like it as much as I thought. I will probably tune in for another season, just because it was so INTERESTING to watch hair professionals work. I love Project Runway because I love to sew, and I love to watch what they do and learn, and think about how I would have approached the challenge. The hair thing provides a very different appeal to me personally - I have never fixed hair, never cut hair, the whole thing is alien to me.

Shara certainly hits it on the nose. Her comments are exactly how I felt about the first season. Would I watch it again? Probably. Am I ashamed of myself? Absolutely.

Breaths and beautiful sounds.

In the amazing
song of a little
blackbird chanting
alone in a beautiful
dream I hear
glimmers of magical
quietness, the love
for the dark and
a tender idea
recalling the silence.

Le chant de la mort.

Un tendre rayon disparaît comme la chant
du soleil écoutant la lumière et une douce
harmonie; j'appelle une pensée quand la
matinale rue arrive, tendrement, dans le son
de la vie, la délicate neige décrit le silence
et alors, avec elle, un souffle très léger désire
la jeunesse: et j'attends le matin, l'automne
désolé pour la mort de la feuille, le vent
silencieux.

Francesco Sinibaldi to friends of Time