opinion

Christy Lorio: iAddict

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After seeing Alec Baldwin’s bizarre “Words with Friends” airplane debacle, I began to wonder: Can someone really become addicted to their phone?

opinion

Christy Lorio: Breaking up with your barber

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Apparently, many of us dread switching hairdressers even more than breaking up with a boyfriend. I recently switched salons — nothing personal, but I just decided I wanted a change. My haircuts were great but I felt like I was getting the same cut over and over again. Perhaps I wasn’t vocal enough in my need for something new but I got a gift certificate for services at another salon so I used it as an excuse to try a new stylist and I kind of felt guilty about about the switch. If you really think about it, you probably see your hairdresser more than you see some of your friends.

opinion

Christy Lorio: Growing up without the Internet

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Remember when winning the science fair was a big deal? Remember when being a state spelling bee champ garnered your name in the newspaper? I grew up pre-Internet, back when MTV still stood for Music Television and it was where I’d sneak watching the latest videos from Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins when I was really supposed to be doing homework. It was also a time when I wrote really, really bad poetry. I thought my little scraps of scribbled-on loose leaf were as precious as a piece that Pablo Naruda penned himself, but reading the stuff now is pretty cringe inducing.

business

Christy Lorio: Customer service

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Everyone wants to support local businesses, right? I mean, how can you not love that mom and pop store that’s been on the same corner for 20 years or the boutique business owner that remembers your name every time you come in? Personally, I want to spend my money at that new, tucked-away shop and my old favorites just the same and I always recommend new restaurants and quaint boutiques to my friends so they can discover these places as well. But if I have a less-than-stellar experience somewhere, chances are I’ll pass that information on as well.  Unfortunately, not all establishments are made equal and some provide truly awful customer service.

arts, books and music

Christy Lorio: Appreciation or Appropriation? Urban Outfitters tips the scales

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In the fashion world, designers constantly gain inspiration from various cultures and time periods, generally going unnoticed until someone steps out of line and heads towards the irreverent. Have your ever worn a kimono, kente cloth, or a pair of moccasins? If so, you borrowed an aesthetic and cultural reference from another ethnicity, intentionally or not. So what’s so inappropriate about a little cultural borrowing if we all do it from time to time? Similar to buying a New Orleans voodoo doll made in China, the differences between appreciation vs.

events

Christy Lorio: Halloween DIY

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Halloween is a half a month away — are you prepared? I’m on the lookout for costumes year ‘round, and this past year was no exception. Even though I won’t wear all of it this season, I bought two outrageous hats, one hoop skirt, and a handful of miscellaneous pieces and those were just my 2011 purchases. What can I say? I’m pretty serious about costuming, given the hours upon hours I’ve spent hand stitching leather strips to my husband’s Roman solider costume last Halloween, or turning a pillowcase, fuzzy leopard print fabric, and feather boas into an Amazon warrior outfit the year before that.

arts, books and music

Christy Lorio: Missed out

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Missed Connections are quite possibly the most modern and interesting way to reconnect with kindred spirits who slipped away. There’s no more wondering if your paths will cross again: Thanks to Craigslist, you are in control of your own fate! For those unfamiliar with the service, “Missed Connections” is a classifieds section for lost love. It’s a shot in the dark, a way to reconnect with the potential lover you locked eyes with over the cold cuts at Winn-Dixie or the girl that forgot to scribble her number down for you after that all nighter at Snake & Jakes. You are only a click, witty title, and a passionate paragraph away from your destiny!