Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Mayumi Hotel, Home Away From Home, Not Air BnB.

By Laura Medina

This scribe wished a proper hotel with a communal attitude was around when this scribe's feet were getting wet in the City of Angels.

Mayumi is a new type of hotel that isn't a chain or hyper-stylized nor a stranger's Air BnB.

Nope, it's a new type of "home away from home" hotel.

Mayumi gives you the best of both worlds – a private haven and social hub. 


Guests can belly up to the central kitchen island table, dividing the kitchen from the living room.

For actors to aspiring entertainment hopefuls to hipsters checking the real Los Angeles, Mayumi is discreetly yet centrally located in Culver City, between Sony Studios and the Fox Hill Mall, the real Hollywood.

Even standard, contemporary hotel rooms, the communal living room/kitchen/lounge makes you feel at home.  Even the living room has a charging docks for your phones and tablets.  Guests can relax and read in the living room lounge or memorize their scripts.


Privacy is where it's much necessary.

Each hotel room is their own unit, with an ensuite private restroom. Featuring a soft water system and rain shower, add the plush towels given for a spa like experience within your own suite. Relax on luxury linens and a supremely comfortable mattress. Have control over your environment at your finger tips with smartphone app managed lights, shades and thermostat. Be productive using a free private network with high-speed fiber. Housekeeping keeps everything tidy so you can focus on living.


On a normal, sunny, perfect climate California day, the roof-less, inner-courtyard/lobby is a sanctuary.

But hey, Mayumi has Millennials and Gen-Xers in mind. It's not your typical hotel.  They think ahead.  The inner courtyard can double as an event space to throw your promotional party with a bar and a grill.  You can't forget the communal kitchen.  It's chef-worthy.

Next time, you're hesitating about rooming at a stranger's house in god-knows-where neighborhood.  Think about the real Los Angeles where the locals and natives shop, snack, and dine and where real Hollywood actually make movies and tv shows and cast them at Sony Studios, all in Culver City.

A stay at Mayumi is no longer than 3 weeks and it's exterior is discreet and a safe oasis for working actors, producers, and directors or for those just wanting a real taste of LA.






Friday, May 25, 2018

NYLON Magazine's Young Hollywood Party 2018

By Laura Medina

NYLON Magazine's Young Hollywood is a bellwether of a current crop of the leading light of that year's rising stars who impacts popular culture in what is trendy of that year or era or decade, almost a fancy yearbook of very young adult celebrities.

Looking back on NYLON Magazine's Young Hollywood's issues and parties, obviously it reflects what's important for that year's or that era's most important, whether it be people or talent.

Last Tuesday night's NYLON Magazine's Young Hollywood party definitely reflects what is important for it's May issue edition, https://nylon.com/articles/roll-call-gen-z-list-nylon-may-2018-cover

Sure, it spotlights the hottest in social media talent and the usual actor or singer, but this focuses on activists who are challenging the norm and the establishment set on destroying on what most take for granted.

According to NYLON,...

"Gen X is known for the cynicism borne out of seeing Wall Street collapse in the late ‘80s, and for the slacker ethos that defined the spirit of the grunge-infused early ‘90s. Millennials, meanwhile, are defined by the rise in technology, and the instability of a post-9/11 world, one which was soon plunged into a recession. They are, then, ultra-communicative and wary of institutions; permanence is an elusive concept, so why not focus on self-care in the form of buying face masks instead of a home?
And then there’s Generation Z. What will define them? A few answers spring to mind, none of them very optimistic: gun violence, environmental threats, the degradation of women’s rights, an assault on marginalized communities.
And yet, what’s remarkable about Gen Z is that, despite coming of age in politically fraught times, these troubles are not what define them. Instead of being defined by the world around it, Gen Z is comprised of people defining the world—and its future. Gen Z is known for being idealistic, but it’s not an abstract idealism. They know they need to put in the work. They’ve seen the dangers of apathy, they recognize the perils of a population that participates in its own silencing, and so they speak up.
Gen Z is about movement and action; it is full of self-starters and iconoclasts. It is no coincidence that Gen Z grew up seeing that the motto of the leader of the free world was: hope.
Gen Z took that hope to heart, and is now transforming that word into deeds."
Yep, NYLON Magazine's May Young Hollywood Issue honors 25 Gen-Zers who are rocking society and their Young Hollywood party guests reflect that, last Tuesday night.
In other words, NYLON Magazine's Young Hollywood party reflects what's important among tweens and twenties...
It was a Night of One Thousand and One of Gen-Z social influencers and a galaxy of rising stars.  Here are the one that Gen-X, Millennials, and Baby Boomers can recognize...
Brie Larson and...
Harley Quin Smith represent the traditional rising actresses in Hollywood...
ABC's "Blackish" Allen Maldonado is traditional Young Hollywood.
Bravo's "Shahs of Sunset" Golnesa Gharachedaghi aka GG represent one 
of the new type of Hollywood celebrities...

Along with the cast of Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules," the tv reality stars...

This is what awaits Young Hollywood, the party sponsor, Pinkie Swear launching their new vegan, multipurpose Party Powder, a healthy and flexible highlighting powder that can be mixed with oils, creams, and your oil glands or just used as plain beauty powder as highlighter.
Used with a clear gloss, it makes for one heck of a shimmering lip gloss.  Applied to sweaty, oily face, one heck of a shimmer.  Mixed into lotion or cream, thicker, more opaque highlighter.
Affordable and flexible as an all-around gym makeup you can toss into a gym purse.
Gen-Z innovation that's good for everyone.




Thursday, May 24, 2018

FOX is Bringing "PHENOMS" Soccer's Hottest & Freshest Stars to a Bigger Audience, on the Road to the 2018 World Cup in Moscow, Starting This Friday at 8pm ET/PT.

By Laura Medina
Minnie Driver is a soccer fan.


FOX network's, FOX Sport,...again FOX network's cream of the crop, Peter Rice, 21st Century Fox and Chairman & CEO of FOX Networks Group and his fellow FOX network colleagues are soccer fanatics.


Believe it or not, uber-chef, Gordon Ramsay and actress Minnie Driver, are soccer fans.

Gordon Ramsay shows his love for the sport by narrating the behind-the-scenes of soccer's rising young stars who are on the edge of being legendary, the potential next David Beckham or Pele.

Unlike most sports documentaries, done in a cut & dry film documentary and only aired on cable sports channels or streaming networks, FOX is going to air this mini-series on its regular television network/channel to the greater public, not exposed or aware of soccer.

By taking an intimate approach and discovering these "PHENOMS," hence the name "PHENOMS," FOX discover, spotlight, and trace these young men's journey from newly signed ingenues to the hottest hotties on the field.  Storytelling as education to a new and bigger audience.

“Phenoms”, a new 5-part soccer documentary miniseries that premieres May 25 on Fox . . “Phenoms” chronicles the achievements and struggles of 22 global rising stars, many of whom will be playing at the World Cup that kicks off in Russia on June 14.

Dutch Mario Melchiot, ex-English Premier League team Chelsea and "PHENOMS" executive producer, used his wise and trained eye to pick and document the steady rise to the top then the sky-rocketing fame and the road to World Cup 2018 in Moscow.

The behind-the-scenes spotlight what it takes to be a soccer star, when coaches and talent scouts spot them young as tweens then how glamorous and what a big business it is being a soccer star.

FOX picked these athletes who were just signed at age 17 or 19 in 2014 or have yet to be signed but are already on the radar.  Why?  "PHENOMS" is also a coming of age mini-series when ordinary kids become adults with lucrative contracts and the trappings of fame and fortune and the pressure to win...or be down-graded or be dumped.

FOX's "PHENOMS" will premiere tomorrow night, airing the first episode "Attackers" and "Defenders" on Friday, May 25th at 8pm ET/PT.

Episode 3 "Goalkeepers" airs Friday, June 1st at 9pm ET/PT, ahead of the finale on June 8th, when Episodes 4 and 5, "Playmakers" and "Creators" will air back-to-back at 8pm  and 9pm ET/PT.

The full schedule re-airs on FS1.

Soccer's fresh new rock stars.



Wednesday, May 23, 2018

From Vanderpump to Today's Promise for Haiti's Orphans, Not a Simple Pool Party.

By Laura Medina
Dr. John F Sessa

Dr. John F. Sessa isn't a medical doctor, but a PhD. in Doctorate of Business Administration concentrating in International Business and Global Finance from Argosy University with a big heart of gold.

When he's not working as a business and marketing analyst  Elite International Partners, a Venture Capital firm with global projects, John volunteers for Organics of Chicago (www.organicsofchicago.org), a non-profit that works with growing healthy neighborhoods, lives and lifestyles through the best of green innovation and social responsibility. He also volunteers for StopYulinForever.org (www.stopyulinforever.org), a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness and end the Yulin Dog Meat Festival forever in China.

Which led him to be the Executive Director of The Vanderpump Dog Foundation and co-founder of Vanderpump Pets with Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd and is currently work on the release of the documentary The Road to Yulin (2017), which is Dr. Sessa’s directorial, writing and producing debut.

His with Vanderpump Pets, in turn, lead him to Haiti and it's earthquake orphans.

Paraphasing him, it's been seven years since the Haiti Earthquake and there are a generation of kids who never grew up with flipping on a switch for electricity.  Yes, being with Vanderpump Pets to rescue to the dogs.  But, it bring him to a bigger awareness, the orphans.


This had John form Today's Promises, with The Mission Light Church of Life in Haiti. After the 2010 earthquake, the Mission Light Church led by the Estiverne family of Haiti established an orphanage for children who were in various distressed situations. Most of the children had either lost their parents during the earthquake or were abandoned by their relatives as they could not care for them.

This past Sunday, John used his Hollywood entertainment connections to raise fund at a pool party silent auction party.



There's an organization that offers dream trips to raise funds for charity.

There's an auction house to offer rare memorabilia and jewelry to bid on, also to raise money for charity.

Despite being a incorporated as a 501(c)3 organization, as recently as seven months, Today's Promises got the ball rolling as quickly as possible, plus they don't want the children of Haiti to be forgotten as they were seven years ago.

Currently the children are being housed in rented accommodations.

The rental is in a very poor area with no electricity or running water. The short- term goal of Today’s Promises is to move the children to a new rental that provides the basic human needs. This new rental is in a secured environment and has clean running water, electricity, room for a garden and a chicken coop. Phase 2 of the project is to build a community for the children that would meet all their needs and provide peace and serenity daily.  Today’s Promises has identified a piece of land where a permanent shelter for the children will be built. The home will be complete with a children’s dormitory, medical facility, school, church, auditorium, cafeteria and a small farm for growing vegetables and rearing chickens for food and protein.

ORGANIZATION’S OBJECTIVES


Short Term / Immediate Objectives

  1. Presently, the children are housed in a dilapidated building, in a rundown neighborhood. The immediate need is to relocate them to a rented accommodation, while funds are being sought for the purchase and building of a new facility. The rented foundation has electricity, running water, room for a garden and chickens.
  2. Secure donations for emergency interventions such as providing food, clothing, healthcare and education for the children.
  3. Set-up standard operating procedures, define organizational policies & ethics, operational, strategic and financial goals. The organization needs policies to prevent child abuse at the facility, recruitment of caregivers and financial management.
  4. Develop a business plan for the organization.
  5. Start building relationships with key stakeholders such as government, child rights organizations, funders, etc.

Long Term Objectives

  1. Raise sufficient funding to build a permanent structure at the identified site.
  2. Develop the facility into a state of the art orphanage with recreational facilities and a vocational skills training center.
  3. Introduce animal welfare programs in the orphanage.
  4. Be financially sound and self-sustaining.

Legal Structure

The organization is in the process of being registered in the United States as a 501(c) 3 non-profit.
They are currently a pending 501(c)3 non profit.

THE CONCEPT


They envision providing a home for orphaned and abandoned children in Haiti. The proposed facility will be complete with standard facilities for such care. Children will be in the age groups of 0-18 years. They will live in dormitories where their daily needs will be handled by caregivers and the administrative staff. Adoptions, family reunions and community reintegration will be important aspects of the work we will doing. The orphanage is a direct response to the precarious condition many children in Haiti find themselves in after the 2010 earthquake. The long term goal will be to educate the children and teach them to be self -sustaining.
The core principles of the organization are centered on offering spiritual comfort, nurturing healthy mental and physical development and in building a community spirit. These are key to bringing up the children to be successful members of their community.

If you miss out on the pool party auction, you can go directly to http://todayspromises.org/get-involved/#sponsor-a-child or donate directly to...

or write a check to...
1431 Market St., Chattanooga Tennessee 37402