Brand Noise

All Over the World, Teens Crave Empowerment

Last season, Frontline/World ran a story from the Middle East that introduced viewers to the fastest selling comic book in the Arab world, The 99. The comic features characters with super powers based on the concept of Allah's 99 attributes, including wisdom and generosity, as taught in the Koran. Its creator, Naif al-Mutawa, is a 36-year-old from Kuwait who was educated in the United States and who, as a boy, devoured Marvel comics and the Hardy Boys mysteries.

Reporter Isaac Solotaroff followed al-Mutawa as he marketed his comics throughout the Middle East, hoping to spread a moderate, modern image of Islam to the world. In this update, Solotaroff catches up with al-Mutawa in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the comic creator is trying to sell his work to the largest Islamic country in the world, a country that accounts for one in six of all Muslims worldwide. An ensuing documentary, Wham! Bam! Islam!, is in the works. Go, Isaac!

Even more compelling will be to see how the Islamic comic fans evolve. Will the cosplayers take it to the next level? Spirituality already underlies many a Manga. And, apparently, you can even see lotsa hijabi girls in Malaysia attending cosplay events. Could cosplay become the common ground the world needs? Can kids who think change the world? In our own research we've found the cosplay kids to be some of the most open-minded serious global thinkers. It belies the initial impression often viewed simply as kids in costume. These are not the Star Trekkies of past generations.   

Growing Pains: As Networks Intensify, Roles Evolve

We here at scenarioDNA love the roller derby. It’s an amazing source of girl power. Not just in the sport itself but in its underpinnings. It takes extraordinary team effort to sustain the operation. That said, there’s been some chatter of late talking about junior league roller derby. The first brat league was formed in Tucson by a group of kids who had been following the Tucson Roller Derby adult league. The girls are from 10 to 18 and they play by modified rules.

What’s interesting is that the girls enjoy the same solidarity as their elder counterparts. Yet, one thing has come up for discussion during our own visits with New York’s Gotham Girls: the emotional impact of injuries.

It’s fabulous to see young girls enjoy the solidarity and empowerment that the older girls find in roller derby. They’re practicing at least twice a week, playing once and socializing in-between. They live and breathe the sport. Even at work or school, they txt and IM their derby friends.

The network is pretty intense, which is something hard to find today. But because of that intensity, the impact of an injury hits very hard. Suddenly, a girl is jolted out of her element. That in itself is difficult for women of age, and further complicated for girls in their teens and pre-teens who are in the formative stages of their identity. It singly steps the issue up for the big sisters who now play yet another role.

The trick is how to maintain the authenticity of the younger set without losing the essence. (Image: Arnicare waiting for derby girls at practice.)

Tate Gallery Distributes Ltd. Ed. Cains Beer

The man who created the Sgt Pepper album cover has designed a beer bottle label to celebrate Liverpool's Capital of Culture year. The label by artist Sir Peter Blake features a Union Jack with his signature, and is featured on Cains' Best of British lager bottles. Cains Beer, based in Toxteth, Liverpool, plans to produce 250,000 bottles. The specially-labelled beer will be available until December. It is available in the Tate Britain and the Tate Modern galleries as well as supermarkets.

Read the whole story.

Liberace Legacy Needs Simmering

The caretakers of the Liberace legacy can't stomach the idea of the pianist becoming a footnote. (He died in 1987.) But if his devotees have learned anything from a man who branded himself Mr. Showmanship, it's how to fine-tune an image.

In aiming for Hip Hop’s high rollers, they've retooled Liberace as the originator of ostentation and trademarked him as the King -- and Queen -- of Bling.

Last summer, the foundation rolled out $99 sneakers named Liberace Kicks made by Kashi Kicks.

Read more.

Our question: Will this work? Not so sure. The element of surprise and discovery is missing which is so critical nowadays.

Christian Teens Descend on Times Square

Some 300 young Christians gathered in Times Square for the first Teen Mania event this year, the Recreate ’08 rally, to reject the mainstream culture that they say is destroying their generation.

Teens during the rally showcased how they plan to “recreate” entertainment, fashion, the arts, and the Internet by featuring original graffiti art, dance, art mosaic, and videos they created that send positive messages.

In addition to the mini-expo, teens also tried to change the culture by sending a list of their top eight concerns to all the presidential candidates after the rally.

Among the top concerns of Teen Mania teens are: youth exposure to Internet pornography; the AIDS pandemic; human trafficking, media glamorization of drugs, sex and alcohol; abortion; and freedom to practice Christianity.

Following the rally, more than 10,000 teens gathered at New Jersey’s Izod Center for a two-day Recreate ’08 event featuring New York Yankees’ pitcher Mariano Rivera, six-time Grammy Award winner Kirk Franklin, the David Crowder Band, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and Teen Mania founder Ron Luce.

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Vampira's Authenticity Pulled from the Culture

Maila Nurmi, whose "Vampira" TV persona pioneered the spooky-yet-sexy Goth aesthetic, has died. She was 85. Friends plan to transport Nurmi's casket in the same hearse she rode in when she served as grand marshal in a procession of hearses sponsored by Los Angeles' Petersen Automotive Museum -- a vintage 1951 vehicle that appeared in a scene of "Ed Wood." (Read more from CNN.)

Vampira played with her pet tarantula, gave gruesome recipes for vampire cocktails and bathed in a boiling cauldron. With a knack for the double-entendre and the requisite blood-chilling scream, Vampira was a hit.

The character won Nurmi short-lived fame and a dedicated cult following. Nurmi claimed Vampira was also the uncredited inspiration for later ghoulish yet glamorous female characters in film and television, including Elvira.

The unconventional came calling in 1953, after Nurmi attended a Hollywood masquerade ball dressed as the ghoul of Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. In creating Vampira, Nurmi said she went beyond the Addams cartoon, developing an alter ego influenced by beatnik culture and her experiences as a child of the Depression.

"The times . . . were so conservative and so constrained," Nurmi said in a video interview that was posted on her website. "There was so much repression, and people needed to identify with something explosive, something outlandish and truthful."

Read more from the LA Times.

Cultivating a Soccer Striker

The Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato, born 18 years ago when Napoli last won the championship, is expected to make his feverishly anticipated debut for Milan. Beginning at the age of 3, “Pato” has already put 15 years into his career.

Nicknamed ‘The Duck’, the translation of his surname and place of birth, Pato is regarded as one of the most exciting young prospects in world football in recent years.

Pato, signed from Internacional di Porto Alegre for 14.5 million Euros (equivalent to $21.5 million today) after the under-20 World Cup, is the most highly regarded player to come out of Brazil since Kaka, his Milan teammate. But because of his age, he had to wait until January to be eligible to play for the senior team.

This is what he is: Cool, calm, collected, communicative, endearing. This is what he is not: Over-hyped. Most of the hype is coming from his fans themselves, including a few photo montages on YouTube by love-sick self-dubbed Patomaniacas.

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HyperLink My World, Please

The Green Holiday catalog from Barney's arrived in the mail yesterday filled with everything from Lanvin shopper bags to organic Levi's. But no sign of what color that fabulous lipstick is on the cover...
In my perfect little world even the Barney's billboard at Mulry Square would have a teeny Semapedia tag that would give me all the info I need--provided all colors were perfectly matched.

Woman Attempts to Reunite Long-Lost Pairs (of gloves)

Jennifer Gooch, who is pursuing her master of fine arts degree at Carnegie Mellon University, started onecoldhand.com in an effort to reunite dropped gloves with their mates -- and in the process spread some goodwill.

One of her first ones was a moist, lambskin glove that someone had propped up on a ledge on campus. In its place, she left a small rectangular sticker. A drawing of a black glove is scrawled on it and says, "Missing a glove? onecoldhand.com."

Gooch, originally from Dallas, photographs each glove and puts the picture and information on her Web site, where people can report found gloves and request stickers.

She's working with two women in New York to start a similar effort there, and is talking with local businesses about creating glove dropboxes where people can leave their fabric finds.

JB Classics Collaborates with FMF & Ford Motors

Three years in the making, we show you today the outcome of the JB Classics + DJ Funkmaster Flex + Ford Motors collaborative efforts. The shoe project consists of two sneakers, one designed with each partner in this three-way project.

The JB Classics + DJ Funkmaster Flex Getlo comes with a true-blue nubuck toe box and heel panels, white full grain toe vamp and perforation details. The inner leather skin lining features the "FMF" logo print in accent colors to match the outsole.  Limited to 240 pairs worldwide, shops that will carry the sneaker include Deep Store (Paris), Overkill (Berlin), Garage (Switzerland), Qubic (New Zealand) and Moe's Sneaker Spot (NYC), just to name a few.

The JB Classics + Ford Motors Getlo comes with an equal amount of details. Most of the sneaker is covered in the Ford trademark blue, the tongue features an embossed Ford logo. The inner lining matches the outer sole and the red accents give for a nice contrast. Packaged with two sets of laces, Certificate of Ownership, hand numbered tongue  and cinch bag, this model was exclusively developed for Ford Motors.