http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/culture/ en dsilvia@mac.com Copyright 2008 2008-08-26T21:15:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/mohegan-fun-no-chips-required/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/mohegan-fun-no-chips-required/#When:21:15:00Z Hate Gambling? Hate Casinos? You might still love Mohegan Sun. Dawn Silvia Oates investigates, without getting anywhere near the slots.  I’m a live-music whore. By this I don’t mean groupie or starf*#!er, or one of those other types who wriggle their way behind the scenes to fulfill their rock ‘n’ roll fantasies. Although I played a mean “Eye of the Tiger” on the flute, I never aspired to be a rock star, nor do I need to meet the band or know all their songs by heart to rock out to a good show. I like the music blaring louder than ever possible on an iPod or car stereo. And the characters: the ones you can’t tell if they’re dressed up for the show or if they always dress that way. If they wake and bake or just smoke on musical “special occasions.” If their 7-year-old son is truly a fan, or if he’s just along for the ride because the sitter bailed. Enjoying the album at home just isn’t enough. culture 2008-08-26T21:15:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/online-phantom-friendships/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/online-phantom-friendships/#When:12:34:00Z It doesn’t all happen on Facebook and LinkedIn. Making friends online can be as easy as surfing the web and stumbling upon kindred communities. Ann Luongo never imagined she’d be the type to join a fan club, or a forum… until the Phantom showed her how much fun it can be. A little over two years ago something very surprising happened to me. It started with a movie my kids begged me to buy - not Spiderman III or Superbad - but Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. I had no idea then what amazing bonus features I’d discover in that dvd. culture 2008-08-08T12:34:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/nantucket-magic-make-the-crowds-disappear/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/nantucket-magic-make-the-crowds-disappear/#When:14:47:00Z Last summer Charlie Gifford shared an insider’s guide to the magic that is Nantucket. Updated for this season, read on and learn how to do it all without worrying about day-tripper crowds or tourist traps.  Nantucket’s Main Street can be a zoo, and the traffic congestion around the rotaries (yes, plural as of spring ’07) is enough to make you crazy. The best solution is to get out of town. Nantucket’s beauty resides in the nearly 50 miles of beaches and the rolling hills of the middle moors. There are many peaceful spots; you just have to know where to find them. Don’t avoid town altogether, just know the best times to visit: before 9 am while the streets are still quiet, or after 8pm when they’re lamp-lit and charming. culture 2008-07-28T14:47:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/cougarii/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/cougarii/#When:18:41:00Z Following up her insightful treatise on the embrace of the term Cougar, Marissa Miley discovers some additional unsettling terms in the NYTimes magazine T of all places, and wonders why we aren’t lashing out more against this dejavu backlash. Some weeks ago while thumbing through the Spring 2008 Fashion & Beauty issue of T, the New York Times style magazine, I came across the “The Talk” page, the section where T highlights “words on the street” - cutting-edge neologisms that keep its readers up-to-date with the hippest lexicon. culture 2008-07-07T18:41:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/the-anti-cougar-manifesto/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/the-anti-cougar-manifesto/#When:15:38:00Z Don’t take the rise of a media-manufactured, misogynistic stereotype sitting down. Marissa Miley bites back against the annoyingly frequent, increasingly insulting use “Cougar.” Cougars have been on the prowl a lot recently. At least, that’s what it seems like when reading the newspaper and magazines these days.  From The New York Times to Harper’s Bazaar to the Star Jones in the New York Post, it’s hard to go a week without reading something about the cougar – that older woman who dates (i.e. “preys on”) younger men. culture 2008-06-18T15:38:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/are-you-ready-for-the-summer/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/are-you-ready-for-the-summer/#When:19:14:00Z Ahhh, summer camp. So many lake shores, so little time. But not all camps are like “Meatballs’” - with Bill Murray as head counselor and kids singing “are you ready for the summer, are you ready for the good times?” Here are a few options for kids interested in something a little less predictable. In our never ending quest to help moms negotiate the challenging 10 weeks known as summer vacation, Misstropolis profiles some interesting options for the most discriminating campers. Don’t despair if you didn’t make it off the camp waiting list or don’t yet have your plans finalized.  Here are four great and unique options to round out any child’s summer. culture 2008-06-10T19:14:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/women-work-and-the-new-value-equation/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/women-work-and-the-new-value-equation/#When:04:15:00Z Lisa Paolozzi is the founder and President of OptIn, a company with a deep investment in the modern women/work paradigm shift. A piece in the Wall Street Journal recently made her angry enough to sit down and write a response, which we are honored to post. Tell us how you feel about this hot-button issue - do you believe lower pay is the price women pay for flexibility? Or do you feel the time has come for corporate America to recognize women’s worth - by paying them the same as their male counterparts? Women currently earn more than half of all graduate degrees in the U.S. and yet too many continue to leave the workforce during peak professional years due to the either/or dilemma of kids versus career. According to a Harvard Business School briefing, over 90 percent of women who “opted out” want to get back in. But why should we ask them to put their professional self on sale?  life 2008-06-03T04:15:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/download-this-now/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/download-this-now/#When:14:37:01Z What to listen to this summer. New music for your workouts, dinner parties and drives to the beach. And second looks at some artists you thought you knew all about. Ever find yourself listening to the music more than the dialogue on “Scrubs” or “Grey’s Anatomy”? Yeah, me too. I am by no means a music expert, but I spend most of my days writing, so music motivates and inspires me - and keeps me company. Searching for new artists on websites like pandora.com is like going on a musical treasure hunt, the longer it takes, the more fun you can have. But if you’re pressed for time- and really, who isn’t - here are some musicians and songs to check out right now. culture 2008-05-28T14:37:01-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/smarten-up/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/smarten-up/#When:01:05:00Z Once you start looking, it’s amazing how much you can find that you don’t know. Or that you want to learn. Or that sounds like lots of fun. This summer take yourself back to school for a refresher course in adventurous learning. Start here, you never know where your course might take you. Summer slacking is so much more memorable when it follows an intellectual challenge or two. Misstropolites are always on the lookout for cool new things to learn, so we compiled a list of ideas. If you have others, tell us about them. Cause we all know Vitamin D stands for educateD, enlighteneD and prouD… culture 2008-05-21T01:05:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/my-beautiful-mommy/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/my-beautiful-mommy/#When:18:13:00Z A new book about Mom having plastic surgery is creating so much tension in the media you could cut it with a knife… Abigail Jones investigates the nips, tucks and the conversations in between. Imagine you’re seven years old. You come home from school one day and Mommy is wrapped in bandages. Then, when they come off, she doesn’t look like herself. She has a new nose. Bigger breasts. And a waist you didn’t even know existed. What’s going on? culture 2008-05-06T18:13:00-05:00