Thursday, December 28, 2006

Betty & Veronica Get an Extreme Makeover


archie comics
Originally uploaded by black_coffee_blue_jeans.
I used to read, wait – devour Archie comics when I was a kid. I totally loved Betty and Veronica and I think I may still even have some of the books from the late 70s-early 80s. Anyway, I just read an article talking about a makeover of the characters and I couldn’t believe it! They want an older audience and they want to update the overall look, but the new Betty looks like an Olsen twin and the new Veronica looks like Lindsay Lohan!!! Sacrilidge! (take a look here: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061225/ENT05/612250373/1037)

The thing that really gets me the most upset is that these are iconic characters. Sure, you can look at Barbie and as much as the look and feel may have changed over the years, overall the characteristics have remained the same, classic look. Imagine other comic books losing their overall style – you can’t – I mean, what if Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Pigpen were redrawn for the 21st Century – you just can’t even fathom it, right?

I don’t think the problem of lacking sales has anything to do with the image – the original look and feel of B&V is purely 1940s – something that Gwen Stefani has capitalized on in real life – I think it is more on content and the writing. A bad writer can kill anything, and changing a cast, revamping a wardrobe can’t do much to salvage that. Teens want good content – and teenage girls don’t read comics like B&V anymore as they are too busy devouring Manga or reading series like “Gossip Girl.” The great thing about Archie was that it was an innocent look at teenage life, and it wasn’t trying so hard to be like everyone else.

you don't need to travel alone


DSC05966
Originally uploaded by Morghannn.
Using an online dating service is very standard these days – I don’t know anyone who hasn’t tried Match.com at least for one date or hasn’t completed eHarmony’s crazy assessment test (which is pretty clinical). Speed dating and friending has become a bit of a phenomena (which is a really strange concept to me), and now travel-based introduction services have started to pop up all over the place

Hitchsters is a site where you can split a cab to and from the airport here in NYC. It’s a good idea, but there are some kinks that need to be worked out. Whoever exits the taxi first is responsible for 60% of the fare (which is to ensure that the other person isn’t left with the tip) and there really is no guarantee. The matching part to the airport seems good – you are matched with someone coming from the same area and going to the same airport, but on the way back, you need to be lucky enough to be on the same exact flight as your ride, which means you really can’t rely on the service to get home.

AirTroductions is another start-up that matches people on the same flight as you for traveling companions – it is based on a social networking platform that users register for. Once on the site, you enter your itinerary and AirTroductions tells you how many members are on the same flight as you. You still pick your own seat, but you can look at profiles and contact other members before the flight. Once you are at the airport you can decide if you’d like to sit next to each other during the flight. People are using the service not just for a budding romance, but for business networking as well.

Tripmates is another travel social networking site that works by getting the honest opinions of locals and fellow travelers. This is a way for people to avoid relying on tour guides that can be unreliable – plus, what better way to explore a city than by people who live and breathe it? Oh, and if you can’t find a hotel, try couchsurfing.com which lets you crash in someone’s apartment while in the city of your choice.

People want to expand their world – they want to meet others that are outside of their own friends. With the web weaving us all together, the world is really not so big and we connect with people from all walks of life. Millennials are truly a generation that live and breathe in the Global Village, and want to absorb as much culture from others as they can.