STUMBLING ONTO SET

This is just turning into one big Gossip Girl blog, isn't it?

So I hopped on the 6 train today and went uptown to about 96th street. Walked around for a bit, and around 93rd street found myself in front of Constance/St.Judes! At least, the building they use for it.

Continued walking around some more, went to look for a pizza place because I was starving lol. As I headed down a few more streets I saw a sign taped up to a pole that said "TO SET" with an arrow. I thought hmmm... could it be? Kept walking a bit further and ended up running into Michelle Trachtenberg outside her trailer HAHA.

Just then the thunderous roar of 14 year old girls was heard coming from the Cooper Hewitt museum across the street. I went over to investigate, and sure enough Blake and Leighton were peeking their heads out of their trailers saying hi to everyone.

Turns out they were shooting right outside in the yard of Cooper Hewitt, and it was a wedding ceremony (viewers, I think you can all guess whose). The mob of kids screamed and ran as Blake was escorted to the set, and she didn't seem the least bit annoyed or frustrated by it, she just smiled and waved.

Watched them shoot the wedding ceremony scene, which was pretty cool. Some little girl yelled out "we love you Kelly!" which Kelly Ruthford seemed to enjoy considering she's not one of the younger stars the kids usually swoon over.

The crowd began to accumulate, no longer just 14 year old girls, but parents with their babies, older folks, and plenty of guys too.

They then moved on to a scene shot on the front steps of the museum with Penn, Jessica and Blake. Couldn't hear the dialogue, but the scene basically consisted of Penn and Jessica talking, Jessica walking away, Blake running down the steps into Penn, kissing him on the cheek and then motioning with her arms like "I need to get outta here", Penn holding onto her, talking some more, and then some random guy coming along and whisking Blake away while Penn looks on frustrated lol.

I felt a little bit groupie/paparazzi-ish hanging around and watching... but it was actually pretty interesting to watch all this transpire, because the crowd of people watching were the real deal - they were the REAL Upper East Side youth, every single guy and girl there were literally in their private prep school uniforms haha. It was a great moment just for people watching as well, because I find that kids from up there are so interesting and unique. They always seem so much older than they really are. Sometimes I wonder what I would have turned out like if my family never left that world.

Anyway it was definitely the season finale they were shooting, when Jessica was wrapped on her shots, everyone clapped and she said "see you next season" to the crew.

I actually got to do some background action waaaay across the street, I doubt if I make the cut, but it would be funny if I did.

Some girl that was there had Chuck's famous scarf, like literally the exact same one hahaha.

When the scenes was done, Blake and Penn walked back to their trailer together, and instead of rushing to get in the trailer and hide Blake stopped to play with some baby being pushed in a stroller across the street. Basically confirmed she's as sweet in real life as you'd hope.

Some camera phone photos...







^^^ Real Upper East Side school girls lol


^^^ Jessica Szohr in the middle, in yellow








^^^ Penn Badgley and Blake Lively center, doing a scene...


^^^ Central Park...

Anyway was an awesome day to watch, pretty glad I decided to stroll through Central Park on today of all days haha. I love how it seems like the WHOLE CITY is talking about the show, it's everywhere you go.

STAPLE WISDOM

This is kind of an old interview, but I just saw it, so I'm sharing.

It's an interview with our friend Jeff Ng from Staple Design, where he drops this particularly great quote:

"I find that Japanese people in general, they will pick up on something and be like "oh what is this? I wanna investigate, I wanna dig deeper"... they want to learn more and absorb it like a sponge. Whereas I find that Americans in particular, if you don't smash them in the head with it they don't get it. If it requires 2 ounces of energy, it's like "ugh too much trouble, I won't deal with it"... "Unless I see it everyday in US Weekly, or see it on cable TV, it doesn't concern me"... that's like the whole of the population of America. But in other cultures, it's the opposite. It's like the thing thats in pop culture is repulsive to them, and they're always looking for the edge."

This is so, so, so true. I can directly relate to the frustration of being surrounded by that mentality. For me, whether its film, music, art, whatever, I'm constantly on that pursuit to dig deeper. It's so much more rewarding.

G IS BAD NEWS

Ok, crisis remedied.

Thanks to my trusted gossipgirlepisode.com, tonight's episode was literally online in a matter of hours.

Weeeellllll where to start? G made her grand entrance, even more sinister than expected. Basically makes Chuck look like a girl scout. I thought Michelle Trachtenberg was perfect.

As much as I love Dan and Serena, they've been coasting too smoothly and its about time we get to see how they handle some rocky waves... Georgina is definitely providing those waves, although I'm still trying to figure out where she is coming from... she can't just be slippin' roofies in Serena's diet Cokes because she's bad ass. Although I guess her actions will make more sense once they reveal what it is she and S actually did last year that was SO awful. Obviously it's something much worse than getting with Nate, obviously it's something illegal... and from the looks of next week's preview? I'm gonna guess..... sex tape?

Nelly Yuki... pointless story line, and why she gotta be the smart Asian for? C'mon.

Nate and Vanessa I don't envision lasting too long...

I love that Chuck was rocking a bright orange trench coat lol.

There were a couple nice moments and interactions between Dan and Blair. I was thinking I wanna see more of a relationship and a developed dynamic between the two of them. I hope Gossip Girl doesn't fall into the same trap that I had such a gripe with The O.C. over, and that's a lack of inter-connected relationships. Seth and Marissa had NO real relationship besides being connected through Ryan and Summer, and that always was such a flaw to me.

Cool to see them shoot at Hunter College. Right down the street from my Aunt's apartment. And I kinda sorta almost went there.

Speaking of which, episode 13 "The Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate" featured a couple scenes shot right in my neighborhood:

Stuyvesant Square - where B goes to sulk after things with Nate crash and burn...and also where S and Dan share a very windy picnic...


(My photo)


(Screenshot)



(My photos)



(Screenshots)


(My photo)


(Screenshot)

and Butai, a great Japanese restaurant near Union Square where Chuck tells B that she has been "rode hard and put away wet"... (ouchhhhh)


(My photo)


(Screenshot)

Next Week:

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING RIGHT NOW

AFTER LIKE TWO WEEKS OF SUNSHINE A RANDOM ASS RAINSTORM DECIDED TO BOMBARD NEW YORK TONIGHT, AND KNOCK OUT MY CABLE AT EXACTLY 7:55 PM, 5 MINUTES BEFORE GOSSIP GIRL STARTS.

WHAT THE FUCK.

AHHGGHH

SUNSHINE IN THE CITY

There are few things I enjoy more than just hanging out outside on a sunny day in the city. Don't even have to be doing much, I could just sit under the rays, talk, and people watch.

This particular day though, consisted of art galleries, the Union Square street festival, lunch on the steps and ended with getting lost in the aisles of a great bookstore... my kinda day.

DRINKIN LINCOLN

That was my high school's nickname.

Yes, I probably went to the classiest high school ever.

No wonder I was such a bitter and disgusted 16 year old lol.

But I've got to hand it to the class of 2008 for this prank they managed to pull:

APRIL 24– Oregon educators want law enforcement officials to probe who was responsible for mailing parents a letter on school letterhead suggesting that they supply students with alcohol at post-prom parties. The letter, a copy of which you’ll find below, was sent this week to families of students at Portland’s Lincoln High School. Recipients of the missive were urged to consider opening their homes this Saturday for parties as “a safe, secure place for students to have fun,” adding if adults “provide the alcohol, you can have peace of mind knowing that they did not acquire it illegally. Condoms were included with the letters–which were written on Portland Public Schools stationery–since “STD epidemics have spread through other high school communities and we want to prevent such an outbreak as best we can.” The letter was purportedly written by “The Lincoln High School Faculty and Administration.” Officials do not know how the letter’s creator(s) got access to school mailing lists. And while rather well written, the letter did include obvious clues that it was a hoax, including a supposed recommendation from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. The state agency, the letter claimed, “stated that a fifth of alcohol, like Hennessy Cognac, is sufficient supply for at least 8 adults. One can assume that for 17 to 18 year old individuals, one fifth can probably be spread out to 4 students. Considering our reputation (Drinkin’ Lincoln), in some cases one fifth is only enough for a single person.”

Check out the letter itself here, pretty official lol:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0424081prom1.html

Thanks to John, my neighbor back home, fellow Lincoln graduate, and fellow O.C. fan, for the news haha...

ASSORTMENT

Some great stuff that has caught my eye semi-recently...




Foul Weather Bomber jacket by Wings + Horns (LOVE the details on this... the zippers, buttons, and striped inner sleeves)



Organic Cotton tube scarf (Oatmeal) by Wings + Horns



High Cut Leather sneakers (white) by Wings + Horns



Wool Biker jacket (dark Navy) by Patrik Ervell



Gabardine Slim Turnpike bag by Jack Spade

Fly like paper...

GOSSIP GIRL

Oye!

So it should be no secret by now that I loved/love The O.C.

So it is with no shame that I officially announce my love for O.C. creator Josh Schwartz's new show Gossip Girl.



There is no waaaaayyy in hell I would have ever been remotely interested in reading the teen girl's novels the show came from, but the television show get the thumbs up. For several reasons.

First of all Schwartz basically has his O.C. team back on board behind the scenes of this one, with co-producer Stephanie Savage, music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, and even a few of the same directors who created memorable O.C. episodes like Norman Buckley. So in the same way that you become a fan of a film director and his vision, or of an author and his prose, Schwartz is all over Gossip Girl, bringing it a lot of the same charm he brought to the O.C.



The show, in many ways, is similar to The O.C. At first I shyed away from calling it an east coast version, but when I think about it, I think it really would be a fair thing to say. There are totally some similarities in the types of story lines, and in the writing in general. The characters are instantly engaging as Seth, Ryan, Marissa and Summer were, and you become invested in the relationships between them just as quickly as we began rooting for Marissa to drop Luke and get with Kid Chino haha. Serena and Dan have elements of both the Seth/Summer and Ryan/Marissa relationships rolled into one. But while The O.C. took place in the sun drenched southern California orange glow, Gossip Girl exists under the glow of street lamps and city lights, giving it a very different atmosphere.



The major similarity between both is the basic story of young people as outsiders to their spoiled, popular, privileged peers, and how they simultaneously reject and interact with that world. I don't know, maybe for others its ridiculous but I identified with it on many levels both in The O.C., and now in Gossip Girl.

One of the key elements of the show is undoubtedly the fashion. And while some people saw The O.C. as a fashionable show, I never really saw much that was interesting to me, except for the occasional outfit by Seth, Marissa or Summer. Maybe it just has to do with my personal taste, which is totally New York influenced and not at all derived from California culture. So having said that, the styling of Gossip Girl is IMPECCABLE. Just chock full of fantastic outfits - great blazers, sweaters, scarves, cardigans on the guys and amazing dresses, jackets, shoes and bags on the girls. The styling is soooooo much more mature and sophisticated than on The O.C. Even the prep school uniforms are great- navy blazers, striped ties and flat front chinos for the guys and short cropped blazers with plaid skirts for the girls. I'm an enormous sucker for trench and pea coats as well, and there are a LOT of them here.



The concept of Gossip Girl as a whole, with the unseen Gossip Girl character and her blog that talks about these kids' lives is interesting because its so true to life now whether you want to admit it or not. With the internet and the accessibility that everyone has to information about everyone else, it really IS like everyday people are celebrities now. We log into Facebook and check out what our friends, or sometimes people we barely know are doing and where they are.

Of course, the cast is every bit as unrealistically good looking as you would expect, but I will definitely admit to currently being floored by Leighton Meester, who plays Blair:



Thankfully, unlike my experience with The O.C. in which it took me years to muster up and give the show a shot, Gossip Girl is only currently in its first season. It returns from a writer's strike hiatus on episode 14 tomorrow night, and luckily I was able to watch all 13 episodes online in one day (LOL) to get into the show and be caught up. Click this link to a website that is currently streaming all 13 episodes so far: http://gossipgirlepisode.com

I have a feeling this show will do what The O.C. did for Orange County and make legions of kids wish they lived on the Upper East Side haha. I will be watching...

ONLY SON

Last wednesday and thursday I shot my new short film, ONLY SON. It was a pretty renegade shoot, with pretty much just myself, my cinematographer and my actor running around the city with our massive camera. I absolutely feel the need to strip everything down as bare as possible when it comes to production, which probably goes back to how I grew up making movies with just me and Cameron rolling our sleeves up and getting dirty. If I can help it, it'll always be very minimal.



The cinematography was done by Real Sprague, who is my partner in crime and basically works with me on everything I do here. At this point there is a trust that I have for his eye and intuition that is both comforting and liberating to work with. We share sibling like perspectives on film, which makes communication easy and good ideas double. Real doesn't care how things are supposed to be done or what we've been told to do, and I couldn't imagine working with someone who did now.



Starring in the film is Jaeki Cho, who I met earlier this year at a music festival in Central Park. Not an actor whatsoever, I casted Jaeki as the newly arrived (or is he?) young immigrant, because he simply looked perfect for the part- youthful and wide eyed, but with a sense that he has seen things in his short years. Jaeki is also a real city kid, with no frills or prettiness about him. I also knew (as I always do with real people acting), that he wouldn't be giving me theatrics, but instead the complete opposite. Non acting.

The film was shot on color 16mm, with an Arriflex SR-1. Mumbo jumbo to anyone not into film, but let's just say relatively expensive stuff if it didn't all come free from film school.

So day 1 consisted of three scenes, three locations. First was a scene done around my neighborhood just below midtown, second was a scene done on the subway, and third was a scene done out in Brooklyn at my friend Bon's apartment.



The subway sequence was interesting to shoot because I wanted it to be an empty subway car. But shooting at 3 in the afternoon on the popular L train didn't make that so easy. What we ended up doing was taking the L train to the very last stop in Manhattan, since we knew that everyone would be off by then.





When we headed out to Brooklyn, Bon had set up all the lighting by the time we got there with the lights he already owns. That made it pretty quick and easy to come in and do what we needed to do and be out.

The 2nd day of shooting also consisted of three locations, but took much longer to all get done. First we had the major location of Ellis Island, which of course requires transportation by ferry to get to. We got down to the harbor at Battery Park, and I was sure that we were going to get turned away. They had HEAVY airport-style security set up, and we were attempting to waltz in with a massive film camera that didn't look too ordinary. Also, the fact that the camera couldn't go through the x-ray machines I also thought was going to be an issue. But in the end, I don't know how it happened, but we literally made it through with no hassle whatsoever. Real charmed the security lady a bit, and we got right on our boat.





The ferry ride itself was awesome, it was so nice to get out of the city and be out in the water like that. I should also add here that the weather on our two shooting days were impeccable, a good 70 degrees out for both. The ferry ride took longer than we expected, having to stop at Liberty Island first, but once we got to Ellis Island we were able to set up our scene quickly and get what we needed. We then made the mistake of eating the Ellis Island restaurant food, which we first of all knew was going to be expensive considering its a tourist spot, but we could never have guessed how horrible the food was. Our burgers were literally crunchy and tasted like cardboard, but we were so hungry at that point we didn't care lol.






After that the next location was Chinatown. This was going to be a little tricky because they were scenes that were completely open. The original ideas I had to scrap, so we basically just went to Chinatown and came up with new scenes. I'm sooooooo glad we did though because it turned out far more interesting than what I originally had, which is another reason I'm a fan of just improvising things in the location, in the moment.




The last location we had was Chin Chin's restaurant on 49th street. I came to using this location because the original restaurant I had fell through, but once again I'm so happy it worked out the way it did because what we ended up doing at Chin Chin's are probably going to be my favorite scenes of the film. The location just felt so authentic and real, because it was.

So it was a short shoot, two days, but still tiring as it is very much a sense of place film with different locations, and the SR-1 camera is definitely not meant for lugging around all day. I'm excited though because I feel like I finally made something that put the location of NYC to good visual use.

The film is being processed at Pac Lab on 1st street right now, and should be back in a week or so.... more updates then!

THIS IS AMAAAAZINGGG

WOWWWW

Radiohead covers one of my favorite songs of all time, New Order's "Ceremony"...

Chills...

I LOVE MISS HAINES

Emily Haines (Metric, Broken Social Scene) covers Elliott Smith's "Between The Bars"...

NEVER FOREVER

A moving experience! The performances are wonderful and touching and the style is intense and very precise.
-Martin Scorsese

Last night was the opening night premiere of NEVER FOREVER, the new film by director Gina Kim, at the Sunshine theatre here in NYC.

Sophie seems to have an idyllic life; she's the perfect Caucasian housewife for Andrew, her successful Asian American husband. Their relationship is put to the test, though, when she can't conceive a child. To save her marriage, Sophie does something desperate. She initiates a bold and clandestine venture with Jihah, an illegal immigrant from Korea. Sophie soon finds this new arrangement spiraling into a situation that may actually destroy what it was meant to liberate.

In Never Forever, writer/director Gina Kim arranges every shot with a calculating eye, building a step-by-step urgency. Her story is rich and her filmmaking lean and precise. Kim creates the perfect tone, right down to a climate of extreme repression where the sexual energy is nearly combustible. The insightful art direction and costume design are marvelously refined for an independent film. And Vera Farmiga's incredible performance as Sophie is a true gift. Her ethereal beauty--crystal blue eyes and porcelain skin--gives her the appearance of a rare doll, which isn't too far from the pampered existence she represents. As the perfect counterpart to two gifted leading men, her mastery of Sophie's gradual transformation makes Never Forever an unforgettable cinematic experience.

Gina Kim was there last night, as well as one of the male leads, David McInnis. One of the reasons it's always good to make it out on opening night.

I really enjoyed the film, for all the reasons mentioned in the above quote, and my hat is off to Ms.Kim who I definitely will be watching out for in the future. And talk about redefining the Asian-Amercan male in cinema. The film does this thing where it begins to head in a direction that would be considered predictable for the story, but once it arrives there the characters behave and interact and respond to the situation in a very unexpected way. It was really interesting. My biggest gripe with the film was that I think it overused music at times. The final scene of the film is one of the most moving, and is devoid of any musical backing whatsoever. I would have liked to have seen more quiet moments like that... Nevertheless, it is a fascinating and rich drama, full of visceral sexuality and emotion.

NEVER FOREVER is making its way around, city to city, so check and see when its playing near you.

I WILL POSESS YOUR HEART

New Death Cab, new video!

The video is soooooooooo good wow. And you can't deny that 4 minute intro.



"Its like a book elegantly bound, but, in a language that you can't read..."

PICASSO

"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

- PABLO PICASSO

REMEMBER THE DAZE

So here's a film I've had my eye on for a couple weeks now, called REMEMBER THE DAZE.

Came to my attention through an article in Nylon magazine with it's director, Jess Manafort. She is a mere 25 years old and only a recent college graduate from NYU. After winning a grant from her school, and convincing some family and friends to donate generously to her project, she was able to create REMEMBER THE DAZE - a new look at familiar territory, the high school graduation film.

Particularly inspired by films like Richard Linklater's DAZED AND CONFUSED, Manafort set out to create a portrait of teenagers in a pre-terrorism infatuated America, with not much but the seemingly ordinary things to think about - partying, dating, friendship, college, and for those without plans for higher education, whatever may come their way next.

Upon viewing the trailer, I must admit at times I felt skeptical of what seemed to be a portrayal of teen irresponsibility not as a fact of life, but a means of entertainment, but ultimately I get the sense that Manafort is much bigger than that. For what appears to be a film with somewhat treaded territory for a story, I was excited to read that it's approach was something less conventional - a structure that apparently does not just focus on one narrative, but scatters to different characters and situations.

Ultimately, this a film that I am excited for and appeals to me for all the classic reasons I would enjoy a picture - a story about young people, MADE BY young people, and made independently of studios, monster budgets or unlimited resources.

The film is getting a lot of acclaim for its ensemble cast of little to unknown actors, another appealing point to me. Included in the cast is Melonie Diaz (Be Kind Rewind, Raising Victor Vargas) who I really really like, and Portland's own John Robinson (Elephant, Lords of Dogtown).

On the last day of classes in the teenage wasteland of suburbia 1999, a diverse group of students cope with their undetermined fate over a 24 hour period. Some are comfortably college bound, while others continue to romanticize their own nonsensical pipe dreams. All the while, finding their safety in numbers as they enjoy their last night of adolescence.

And now I WILL get the chance to check REMEMBER THE DAZE out, as it not only is opening in select cities this friday, but I somehow won two free passes to see the film! I honestly don't remember entering the contest for these, but I randomly got passes in the mail, so I will most definitely be going to see it this week.

For more info on the film (including a cool "making of" featurette), go to http://www.rememberthedaze.com

BOYCOTT "21"

Just wanted to really quickly share my displeasure with the movie "21", or more so the politics surrounding it.

"21" is a film adaptation of the book "Bringing Down The House", which chronicles the true-life story of a group of blackjack playing MIT students who manage to swindle a casino for millions of it's dollars.

The problem is this.

In real life, the students were mostly all Asian-Amercians. But of course, as you probably have seen in the trailers and television spots, Hollywood has quite despicably but expectedly resurfaced these Asian students as box-office friendly leads Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth.

Ahhh yes, because of course Hollywood still refuses to portray Asian-American men as real, three dimensional characters let alone as lead roles. Somewhere along the way wind of negative responses must have caught on, so Asian actors Aaron Yoo and Lisa Lapira were brought in to portray the sexy white leads' clumsy sidekicks.

The thing that pisses me of the most though, is the fact that in reality the ethnicity of these kids VERY MUCH MATTERED to their story. It was not consequential. Their non-white profiles are part of what they used to practically rob this casino, and that element of course was thrown right out the window and completely ignored for the benefit of attaching "hot" young caucasian stars.

A quote from the source material, "Bringing Down The House":

"What exactly is our 'profile'?" Kevin asked.

Martinez took the ball.

"Non-Caucasian, for one thing. Twenty-year-old white kids with million-dollar bankrolls raise a lot of suspicion. Asian, Greek, Persian — the kind of kids you see parking their BMWs outside of the Armani Café on Newbury Street, that's who we're looking for… Gambling is an Asian obsession. And nobody lets their kids run as wild as rich Persians and Greeks. Walk around any casino, the people throwing down purple chips are almost always dark-skinned. Card counters, on the other hand, are usually balding white men with glasses. We can use one stereotype to trump another."

It's been said a lack of presence is just as offensive as a stereotypical one, and I find myself always having agreed.

MUNYURANGABO

Here's a prime example of the kind of story that gets me excited about a film.

MUNYURANGABO is a new film that has played at more than a dozen festivals this year, including Cannes, Toronto, Berlin and at the AFI Fest, where it won the top prize. It was shot over a period of 11 days in Rwanda, with a cast made up completely of non-actors.

The story goes like this: Director Lee Isaac Chung, a Korean American filmmaker, flew to Rwanda one summer with his wife who is an art therapist working with survivors of the genocide. He decided to volunteer as well, teaching filmmaking workshops to the orphaned and refugee youth. But instead of approaching it in a traditional classroom manner, Chung decided the best way to do it would be to actually make a film with the kids. Equipped with his 16mm camera and a 9 page outline, Chung and his class went on to create MUNYURANGABO.

Set in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, Lee Isaac Chung's impressive debut feature is story of two young men—one a Tutsi, the other a Hutu—trying to create futures by putting their pasts behind them. For Munyurangabo, this means seeking justice for his parents, who were killed during the fighting. For his friend Sangwa, resolution might come once he's able to revisit the lands he fled so long before. The two reach the home of Sangwa's parents, but the parents are scared of the intentions of their son's companion—after all, "Hutus and Tutsi are supposed to be enemies." Chung, a Korean-American, traveled to Rwanda with a small crew and a nine-page script outline. Working with the cast, he completed his script with their real experiences. The result is fresh, immediate and utterly authentic.

Check this article out for more information:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/13/arts/torfest.php

PASSION FOR SNEAKERS MAY BE SIGN OF A LEADER?

Hahahahahahaha. Oh wow.

---------------------

NEW YORK - Got a passion for buying sneakers? It could be a good sign, with a poll finding that people who buy three pairs of sneakers or more a year are far more likely to be a leadership type that other people.

Mindset Media, a media company that examines personality traits of different consumers, found that people who buy more than three pairs of sneakers a year are 61 percent more likely to have the qualities of a modern leader.

These qualities were defined as having ideas and vision, and a style with others that is both inclusive and decisive.

The survey of 7,500 people, using market research group Nielsen's online panel, found multi-sneaker buyers were 50 percent more likely to be very assertive and 47 percent more likely to be spontaneous.

Lauren Arvonio, a spokeswoman for Mindset Media, said sneaker buyers were more likely to fly by the seat of their pants.

"It is often said you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they wear, and now we have some hard data to back that up," Arvonio told Reuters.

"What is interesting is that these personality traits held true across the board, regardless of age, income, or gender."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080401/lf_nm_life/sneakers_leaders_dc