plus 4, From air travel to YouTube, a look at how life changed in the 2000s - Detroit Free Press

From air travel to YouTube, a look at how life changed in the 2000s - Detroit Free Press
Belly up to health - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Southern New Jersey brothers find musical success working together - Atlantic City Press
Gadgets are new since 1999, not bad behavior - Detroit Free Press
Dsquared2's Caten twins launching into limelight - Atlantic City Press

From air travel to YouTube, a look at how life changed in the 2000s - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 12:08 AM PST

CELL PHONES: Cell phones are now used by more than 85% of the U.S. population and for some have replaced land lines. On the downside, they've made cheating on a spouse more difficult -- just ask Tiger Woods or Kwame Kilpatrick.

CHEFS: Chefs are hot! The Food Network, whose viewership tripled this decade, reeled in viewers with high-voltage personalities like Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse and Giada De Laurentis. Meryl Streep starred in a cinematic ode to the late Julia Child.

CROCS: The ubiquitous plastic clogs debuted in 2002 and became the shoes you loved to hate. Kids love 'em, but there are Web groups dedicated to their destruction. Not to be deterred: First lady Michelle Obama wore them on vacation.

DVRs: Suddenly, DVR-ing is a verb. There's no reason to know anymore what channel your program is on, and what time.

FACEBOOK: A time-sucking obsession for more than 300 million users globally and a new form of social etiquette has emerged: Who to friend?

FAT: This was the decade that fat became the enemy of the state. New York City banned trans fats, and Alabama -- second in national obesity rankings -- introduced a tax on overweight state workers.

GOING GREEN: From the kind of light bulbs we use to the kind of shopping bags we carry to the cars we drive, going green took hold this decade.

GOOGLE: This was the decade that Google became a part of our brain function. You know that guy who was in that movie -- when was it? Just Google it.

IPODS: It's hard to believe this portable media player was first launched in 2001; 100 million have been sold.

NETFLIX: The DVD-by-mail service, established in 1997, announced its two-billionth DVD delivery this year.

ORGANIC: Americans rushed to fill their grocery carts with organic food, making it big business -- now a $21-billion industry, up from $3.6 billion in 1997. First lady Michelle Obama planted the first White House organic vegetable garden.

PREGNANCY CHIC: If you've got it, flaunt it: That was the new ethos of the pregnancy experience, with chic clothes that emphasized the bulging belly, personal pregnancy photos and endless coverage of celebrity pregnancies.

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Belly up to health - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 12:08 AM PST

"Then I started dancing and I realized, 'You know what, I've got a strong body and it doesn't matter what it looks like because it's mine and I can move it and do all this cool stuff with it,'" she said. "It just makes you feel better about yourself."

Her physical health improved right along with her outlook. Instead of having "atrocious posture," she stands upright, breathes easier and her back pain has diminished.

The beautiful thing about belly dance is that it's for people of all ages and body types, including men, she said. "I don't care if you're 400 pounds or 110 pounds, it's just phenomenal," she said. Amir has had mothers and daughters in classes together and knows one woman planning to bring her granddaughter. (The dancers stress that a bare belly is certainly not required. In the class of more than 20, only a few are showing some midriff.)

Belly dance got a boost in recent years as big-time performers like Shakira, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera incorporated some belly-dance-inspired moves. And it continues to be propelled as a fitness regimen through videos by Neena and Veena, Rania's "Bellydance Superstars" workout video and "Kathy Smith: Flex Appeal - A Belly Dance Workout."

One of the biggest beneficiaries of belly dance is the back, students and instructors said.

"Belly dancing gives you a really, really, really strong core," said performer, instructor and student Sarah Jones-Larson, 47. "The undulatory movements of the spine increase both the strength and suppleness of the back."

Jones-Larson started belly dancing because her chiropractor told her she was going to start taking classes and invited her patients to give it a try. After a back injury that plagued her for many years, Jones-Larson found major relief from her back pain through belly dance.

It's also great for hip flexibility, coordination and balance, said Samantha Morgan, 27, a belly dance performer, instructor and student. "There's a lot of isolation of one body part from another and layering," she said.

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Southern New Jersey brothers find musical success working together - Atlantic City Press

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 11:54 PM PST

Raphael Hamilton was getting ready to give up on his musical dreams.

Lucky for him, his brother, Roy, wasn't about to let him.

These days, the two southern New Jersey brothers are riding high as co-writers of "Number One," one of the best-reviewed tracks on R. Kelly's latest disc.

"I felt great about it," said Hamilton, of Mays Landing, about hearing his song on the radio and seeing it reach No. 8 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart. "At the video shoot, R. Kelly said to me, 'Yo, good work,' and told me that I should work on a remix."

At 26, Raphael Hamilton was already a veteran of the music business and had been pursuing musical success for many years.

He got his start in 1997, when his brother was a member of a Kelly-sponsored recording group called Vegas Cats. Then barely a teenager, Hamilton hung around Kelly's Chicago recording studio. Even then, he was interested in creating music. He wrote a verse for a Vegas Cats track, but the group never released a CD.

Roy Hamilton III was supportive of his younger brother's musical dreams.

The older Hamilton purchased recording equipment for the younger brother and gave him a space to record.

"When he was pretty young, I started to notice he had a serious interest in music too, so I started doing whatever I could to develop him, buying him equipment and doing what I could to help him along. I saw he had a passion for it too, like I had," Hamilton III said.

The encouragement paid off.

Raphael Hamilton received his first paycheck for music he created by co-producing a song that rapper Missy Elliott wanted in 2003. He was one of five writers on the Britney Spears' song, "(I Got That) Boom Boom" on her 2003 CD, "In The Zone." When Hamilton III landed a job as a Capitol Records executive and moved to California in 2004, his younger brother also relocated. Raphael Hamilton landed gigs engineering sessions for recording artists that included Ne-Yo and Mario.

But the younger Hamilton wanted more. He came back to Mays Landing to make his own music. He also gave himself a deadline.

"I'm going to give myself until 26, and if I don't do something, if I don't get something poppin' by 26, I'm done," Raphael Hamilton said.

One of Hamilton's plans was to develop a girl group. He started creating material for the group. One of the things he came up with was the beat that became the backbone of "Number One."

"In spring of 2007, Roy was back (in New Jersey). Roy and I got together. He said, 'It's the hottest track you ever did.' I was working on the beat for months."

Roy Hamilton III had kept in touch with Kelly over the years.

The older brother wanted the recording artist to hear his younger brother's beat. He knew that if he heard it, Kelly would want it.

Most people would jump at the chance to have their music recorded by a multi-platinum superstar. But Raphael Hamilton had other ideas.

He would not give up the beat, which sounds like a slowed down, prominent heartbeat.

His brother stepped in again.

"Roy and I drove to Voorhees, I think. We were listening to the track again. He (Roy Hamilton III) said, 'It will get to a new level,'" said Raphael Hamilton. The elder Hamilton explained to his younger brother that building a career required steps. Having Kelly record his song would be a big step forward.

Raphael Hamilton relented. When Kelly heard the beat, he quickly recorded the catchy hook heard on the song.

With the song recorded, Hamilton III lobbied Wayne Williams, the vice president of A&R at Jive Records, to have the tune released as the the first single off the Kelly CD.

Raphael Hamilton first heard the song on the radio in front of his older brother's house this summer in Galloway Township.

"It was in his driveway. I said, 'Call me when it's on. I tuned in on the second verse on Kiss (WZBZ-FM 99.3)... People were calling my voice mail and leaving messages," Raphael Hamilton said.

"Number One," a song where lovemaking is compared to a chart-topping song, was one of the best reviewed songs on the Kelly's newest CD.

'"Untitled' (the album's name) works better when it sticks to such up-tempo tracks as the funk-and-horns-fest 'Be My #2,' or the sticky Keri Hilson collaboration 'Number One'," wrote a reviewer for the Washington Post .

USA Today newspaper said "Number One" was one of three songs that should be downloaded from the release.

As much as R&B music fans have enjoyed the track and Kelly probably appreciated having another hit, the success of the tune means the most to Raphael Hamilton. He's no longer thinking about giving up on music.

Raphael Hamilton's success did not cause any rift, jealousy or unhealthy competition between the brothers. The older brother has nothing but praise for his younger sibling.

"He's always been someone who takes really good direction. The wonderful thing is he is a great listener," Roy Hamilton III said. "He's doing what he should. He's taking notes. He's got someone as close as I am to him to continuously show him the industry and the game, teach him the things that I've learned along the way. He's applying it, and I'm really proud of him."

Contact Vincent Jackson:

609-272-7202

VJackson@pressofac.com

The success of "Number One" isn't the first time a member of Raphael Hamilton's family has made a mark on the musical charts. Hamilton, a Mays Landing resident, comes from a musical family.

His grandfather, Roy Hamilton Sr., sang on a number of hit singles during the 1950s and '60s. He had his songs re-recorded by The Righteous Brothers. Soul singers Jackie Wilson and Brook Benton emulated his style. Raphael's father, Roy T. Hamilton Jr. also sings.

Raphael Hamilton's brother, Roy Hamilton III of Galloway Township, has also made his mark in music.

Hamilton III, 29, was in a group that R. Kelly created called Vegas Cats. He co-wrote and co-produced the No. 1 R&B hit "Liar" by Profyle in 2000 and co-wrote and co-produced the No. 1 pop and R&B smash "Stutter" by Joe, also in 2000.

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Gadgets are new since 1999, not bad behavior - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 11:54 PM PST

Ten years can change everything.

Dec. 28, 1999: Hug your kids. Say your prayers. Put your head between your knees and kiss your tail good-bye. I don't want to alarm anybody, but the world is about to end. At the strike of midnight, Y2K will arrive, and every computer will melt down. Power grids will fail and airplanes will crash and people will run wild through the streets. You are safe in only one place: a cave.

Dec. 28, 2009: Hey, man, I don't even think I'm going to stay up to watch the ball drop this year. I think I'm just going to DVR it and watch it later in my man cave.

Dec. 28, 1999: You've got mail.

Dec. 28, 2009: OMG. Your Facebook post was LOL.

Dec. 28, 1999: Adults carry around beepers.

Dec. 28, 2009: Children carry around cell phones.

Dec. 28, 1999: Go to the library and look it up.

Dec. 28, 2009: Google it.

Dec. 28, 1999: Can I plug my computer into your telephone line?

Dec. 28, 2009: No, I don't want to eat there. They don't have free wireless.

Dec. 28, 1999: I am so sick of Monica Lewinsky.

Dec. 28, 2009: Sex scandals? I can't keep them straight. This year, we saw South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, ah, go on a hike on the Appalachian Trail and end up in Argentina. Whoops. Wrong turn. We had David Letterman and John Edwards and Eliot Spitzer and client No. 9, who is not to be confused with Tiger Woods' mistress No. 15.

Dec. 28, 1999: I have an amazing stereo system with a CD player and a cassette tape player.

Dec. 28, 2009: My kids got iTunes gift cards for Christmas, and I still have no idea how it all works.

Dec. 28, 1999: Britney Spears becomes a star with the top pop song in 1999, "Baby One More Time." The song is controversial for a girl who used to be on "The Mickey Mouse Club."

Dec. 28, 2009: Seriously. Britney is back? Again?

Dec. 28, 1999: The Detroit Lions have an 8-7 record. A few weeks later, the Lions would lose to the Washington Redskins in the playoffs. Fans are disgusted. One year later, the Lions have a 9-7 record and don't make the playoffs. Fans are disgusted, and Matt Millen is hired.

Dec. 28, 2009: Are you kidding?

Dec. 28, 1999: Barack Obama is an Illinois Senator.

Dec. 28, 2009: Obama is president of the United States and has a Nobel Peace Prize.

Dec. 28, 1999: It has been a wild year. We have been introduced to the Roth IRA, Napster and SpongeBob SquarePants. Apple released the iBook, the first laptop for average consumers.

Dec. 28, 2009: It has been a wild year. We now have iPhones, iPods, iPants, iShoes and, my favorite, iSeeYou! Oh, and SpongeBob is still all over the TV.

Dec. 28, 1999: I've made a resolution. In the New Year, I'm going to start exercising and lose about 5 pounds.

Dec. 28, 2009: I've made a resolution. I'm going to start exercising and lose about 10 pounds. Happy New Year, everybody!

Contact JEFF SEIDEL: 313-223-4558 or jseidel@freepress.com

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Dsquared2's Caten twins launching into limelight - Atlantic City Press

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 11:54 PM PST

NEW YORK - Dan and Dean Caten are loving this moment in the limelight.

The twin-brother team behind the fashion label Dsquared2 are on TV and the radio, they created concert costumes for Madonna and Britney Spears, and they'll be outfitting the headlining performers at the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Earlier this year, they received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame - the only fashion designers to be honored alongside the likes of Michael J. Fox and Wayne Gretzky.

They have a collection of branded MAC cosmetics, as well as eyewear and fragrance deals. But any time it seems success might go to their heads, they remember their modest Canadian roots and have a good chuckle.

Actually, they do more than chuckle - they crack each other up, communicating in shorthand that takes other people in the room a little while to understand.

"We are twins in every sense of the word," says Dan, who describes himself as the more approachable of the two - although he's also the one who'll crack the whip at work.

Dean claims he's "taller and thinner," sucking in his cheeks and striking a model-worthy pose.

Hysterics ensue.

They've been this close since the day they were born in 1964 in Willowdale, Ontario, and have wanted to work in fashion almost as long, Dean says. Family life was as ordinary as it could be in a household with nine kids, yet he and Dan always had an eye on a bigger picture his family couldn't see - one that would take them to New York, Milan, Italy and, now, London.

"It was normal people, growing up, just not us," Dean says. "We didn't quite fit in, but it was still fun."

Dan jumps in: "With five sisters, though, we did a lot of shopping, dressed them for a lot of proms and parties - and we dressed them! We could do it on a budget, which allowed us to be more creative, and they trusted us because they knew we knew better than them."

The way they tell it, they couldn't wait to start their careers. The first stop was a summer program at Parsons School of Design straight out of high school, but before they knew it they were back in Canada, coaxed by the owner of Ports International (now known as Ports 1961).

It was there the Catens cut their technical teeth, learning how to cut a pattern, tailor a jacket and critique their own work. On a local scale of success, they were a hit - but the brothers weren't satisfied. It was going to be the European runway or bust.

"People say, 'Why risk everything?' But I say, 'Why not risk everything?'" Dan says.

"We chose Europe instead of New York," Dean adds, "because it was not so easy to come back home."

Still, they're proud of their Canadian roots: Maple leaves are incorporated into several designs each season.

They started in menswear in 1994 and added womenswear in 2003. Their runway shows are among the most elaborate and flashy on the Milan schedule, with themes ranging from "Charlie's Angels" to "Mad Max."

Personally, they only wear clothes with the Dsquared2 label. "We're our own customer. We know what we want and need, so it's all from our heart and it works," Dean says.

(Dean has been known to act as the fitting model - even for the womenswear - because, he explains, no one else is available in the middle of the night when he does his best work. He says he has mastered high heels.)

The new spring collection has a campfire vibe, presented on the catwalk with "Delta Dawn" by Helen Reddy blaring through the speakers. "Deep down inside, we're a little 'hick,'" Dan says with a smile.

Music is a key source of inspiration, the Catens say, and they put together the playlist for their runway shows as they're sketching styles. Their famous soundtracks led to XM Radio's "Dean and Dan On Air: Style in Stereo" and now they host Bravo's new "Launch My Line," which gives artistic professionals a chance to break into the fashion biz.

The Catens' personalities largely serve as the glue for the TV show.

"Not only are they super-credible, hot and talented designers, the idea of having identical twin brother designers as fashion hosts is as unique as they are," says Andy Cohen, senior vice president of original programming and development at Bravo. "Plus they're fun, fun, fun!"

When they have time for leisure remains a bit of a mystery, but, at least on this day, it seems they enjoy everything they do.

Between their day jobs as designers and moonlighting gigs as entertainers, they designed much of the interior and furniture of the home they moved into in London. They craft their own ad campaigns, and they joke - but not really - that they are toying with an album.

Still, they can't do it all.

"Don't ask me to tap dance, and Dean can't play hockey," Dan says. "But we can figure skate."

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