Life & Style wRap: Balenciaga and Batman's son
MANILA, Philippines – Here are some Life & Style stories you might have missed from the week of February 25 to March 3.
Alexander Wang presents his debut collection for Balenciaga in Paris
“Elegance, modernity, structure.”
These were 3 words Alexander Wang used to describe his much-anticipated debut collection for legendary French fashion house Balenciaga.
The 29-year-old designer replaced Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiere in December 2012. Ghesquiere’s departure was a surprise move as he had been head designer at Balenciaga for 15 years and was credited for propelling Balenciaga back to the frontline of design.
Wang’s first collection for Balenciaga was presented at Paris where nearly 90 autumn-winter 2013-2014 ready-to-wear collections are being shown until March 6, 2013.
The show was dominated by sleek, elegant looks in black and white and was meant as an homage to Cristobal Balenciaga, founder of the fashion house.
After the show, the Taiwanese-American designer said he wanted his clothes to appeal to women of all backgrounds.
"Balenciaga had such a multicultural background, coming from Spanish roots, but being a Parisian house. That in itself is already such a global way of thinking," he said.
Giving its verdict on the collection, trade journal Women's Wear Daily said it had not offered "the heady thrill of Nicolas Ghesquire’s best work."
But it added, "for a collection not a minute more than two months in the making from first glimmer to runway, it made for an impressive start."
Michelle Obama gets US schools to fight obesity
THE FIGHT FOR FITNESS. U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama campaigns against childhood obesity. Photo from Michelle Obama Facebook page
US First Lady Michelle Obama has never been more serious about fighting childhood obesity.
Last February 28, the mother-of-two and wife of President Barack Obama launched “Let’s Move! Active Schools,” a $150 million program to encourage more physical activity in American schools.
It builds on the “Let’s Move!” initiative launched by the first lady 3 years ago during her husband’s first term.
“Let's Move! Active Schools” aims within 5 years to get 50,000 schools across the United States to provide at least one hour of physical activity per day to their young students.
"Only one in 3 of our kids is active every day," said Michelle.
"That's not just bad for their bodies. It's also bad for their minds, because being less active can actually hurt kids' academic performance."
Excessive weight is a major public health issue in the US where, according to officials, 2 in 3 adults—and 1 in 3 children—are either overweight or obese.
Yahoo! wants employees to stop working from home
"WORK FROM HOME" TREND AT AN END? Yahoo! wants its employees to get back to work...in their offices. Photo from Lenovo Facebook page
Telecommuting or working from home is a growing trend in the US workplace that has come under fresh scrutiny after Yahoo! announced it wants to curb the practice internally.
Working from home is regarded as a workplace revolution that has given employees greater family-work balance and saves energy and commuting costs.
In 2012, 53% of US employers offered flexible work options, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. That compares with 48% in 2007.
A 2011 report by the US Labor Department found that 24% of employed Americans work at least some hours at home every week.
But Yahoo! wants to get out of the bandwagon.
An internal Yahoo! memo from chief executive Marissa Meyer posted by the Wall Street Journal said employees will be required to come to their offices to "feel the energy and buzz" of the workplace.
"Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together," according to the report.
A Yahoo! spokesman emphasized however that the move “isn't a broad industry view on working from home—this is about what is right for Yahoo!, right now."
The move by Yahoo! "goes against the grain of where a lot of organizations are going today," said Cindy Auten, general manager of Mobile Work Exchange, a public-private partnership that promotes telework, another word for telecommuting.
IBM, a strong telework advocate, said 29% of its 128,000 employees are part of a flex-work or work at home program.
In 2011, in the US alone, this saved 6.4 million gallons of fuel and avoided more than 50,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson reacted to the Yahoo! decision by tweeting, "Perplexed by Yahoo! stopping remote working. Give people the freedom of where to work & they will excel."
However, there are those who believe telecommuting is not the solution.
The Labor Department report found that telecommuters often ended up working more hours than if they had come into the office, effectively doing overtime work without compensation.
John Challenger, chief executive of the consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said, "Some people have always worked from home. And now technology allows them to work on the weekends, at night or on vacation. There is no boundary between work and home anymore."
Batman’s son Robin dies
SON OF BATMAN. In a new series by DC Comics, Robin is Damian, son of Bruce Wayne. Photo from batman and robin Facebook page
In an upcoming Batman Incorporated comic book series, Batman’s son is Robin and in a tragic twist of fate, Robin dies.
DC Comics introduced to Batman series followers Damian, the first “Son of Batman” who is also his sidekick and assistant Robin.
Damian is Batman alter ego Bruce Wayne’s biological son, who dies in issue number 8 of the series.
"In many ways this has been Damian's story as much as it has been the story of Bruce Wayne and it's a story that had its end planned a long time ago -- for what son could ever hope to replace a father like Batman, who never dies?" says series writer Grant Morrison.
The creation of Damian is part of the “master theme of damaged and ruined families,” according to the writer.
But Robin fans need not fret.
The great thing about comic books is that characters killed can easily be resurrected in future series. In fact, Robin had already been killed and then brought back before.
As Morrison told the New York Post, “You can never say never in a comic book. Batman will ultimately always have a partner."
Video of 8-year-old girl driving at 100km per hour goes viral
Police in St. Petersburg, Russia have launched a probe after a video of an 8-year-old girl driving 100 kilometers per hour (60mph) went viral on the Internet.
The 5-minute clip of Karina Mikulchik driving was shot by her mother Yelena from the back seat. The video has been viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube.
It shows a serene Karina driving the family Audi with soft techno music in the background. She is driving through a narrow road in a snow-covered field.
Her father in the passenger seat tells her, “Come on! Accelerate! At least to 100! Don’t be afraid.”
The camera zooms in to show the speed inching up to 100 kilometers.
At one point, Karina says with a smile on her face, "If Nastya saw me drive a car, she'd pass out right away!"
After the mother posted the clip on her social networking page and YouTube, it was broadcasted on television and caused a scandal.
Saint Petersburg police are investigating the traffic code violations and the parents' willingness to give the steering wheel to their child.
Almost 30,000 people die every year in Russia due to traffic accidents. – With reports from Pia Ranada/Rappler.com
