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At
Westbury Music Fair (l. to r.): Don McLean & Rick
Springfield |
Models Of Queens
A
Fox From Flushing
Samara
Washington
Home:
Flushing
Age: 23
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 115lbs.
Eyes/Hair: Brown/Black
Stats: 34-24-32
The
internet has been good to Samara Washington.
Very
good.
Since
posting some alluring photos on a modeling website, her inbox has been
clogged with email requests from photographers eager to focus their lenses
on her. “This
week I received six emails from different photographers wanting to work with
me,” Samara said.
And
it was the internet that first brought Samara to Whitestone photographer
Bill Brent. He returned the favor by encouraging the young model to post the
results of their shoot on the web at www.musecube.com/samwash . The photos,
which include some steamy pics of Samara in a hot pink bikini, have helped
her move her modeling career in the right direction.
She
grew up in Queens Village, but has been living in Flushing for the last
three years during which time she graduated from Queens College.
“A
lot of photographers are based in Manhattan, so as a model living in Queens
you really have to make an extra effort to get out there. It can get
hectic,” she explained.
But
her borough of residence has yielded working relationships with not only
photographer Brent, but Rosedale shutterbug Daryl Jones as well.
Samara
knows a thing or two about finding fashion in Queens. Her favorite boutique
is Joyce Leslie on Main Street, which she said “is very contemporary and
perfect for young girls, like 18 to 25.”
But
Samara is not just another pretty face – this hot body has a brain to
match. Currently,
she works for the Research Institute of America as a data manager
specializing in publications on pensions and profit sharing. “I would like
to have both, a career and modeling on the side,” she said.
It
may be counter-intuitive, but Samara hopes her career will lead her behind
the camera as a creative force in broadcast media. She said, “I know it
sounds funny, but I’ve always wanted to be a producer."
On
Top Of The Borough
Ever
wonder what’s the highest point in Queens?
Roger
Rowlett, a backpacking enthusiast and altitude freak who runs the
nationwide website America’sRoof.com, has.
Among
all the highest points he’s plotted across the country, Rowlett didn’t
forget Queens and its highest point.
Rowlett
points out on his site that North Shore Towers Hill—at 267th Street and
the Grand Central Parkway in Glen Oaks—is the borough’s highest point at
258 feet above sea level. The summit, he says, is at the 17th tee in the
northwest corner of the Towers Country Club.
Rowlett
visited the site by bus from Manhattan, a ride about which he writes, “I
swear the median age on the bus was 85 and it was quite ethnic,”
subsequently explaining that the neighborhood is heavily Jewish.
He
ends with a beautiful image: “From the summit and golf grounds I could see
the Rockaways and the Atlantic Ocean some 10 miles to the south as well as a
seemingly endless vista across Long Island to the east.”
Good
looking out, Roger!
Queens
Rapper & 'The Sopranos'
Now
that South Jamaica-bred rapper 50 Cent has dominated the radio waves and
record stores, and has announced a deal that will bring him to bookstore
shelves soon, the young star born Curtis Jackson has his sights on
something bigger: the silver screen.
Sources
within a 50 Cent fan club reported recently that the rapper is making a
movie about his life, much like his mentor Eminem did with the
critically-acclaimed “8 Mile.”
They
also report that 50 is considering having “Sopranos” writer Terry
Winter write the script.
“The
Sopranos,” of course, is known for making organized crime and fatal
violence a part of prime time America again. Winters’ black humor (as in
the macabre, not the race) is sure to be perfect to tell the story of 50,
known to be able to find levity and smirks in the most desperate of
situations.
Losing
his mother at eight, selling drugs by the time he was 12, getting shot nine
times in a murder attempt and dropping out of high school only “to make
more money than them teachers,” the Queens rapper may be making a perfect
match.
Reality
Chef Cooks Up A Lawsuit
Celebrity
chef Rocco DiSpirito — the subject of the new reality TV series
“The Restaurant”—has landed in real hot water over a scene in the
premiere episode of the show which chronicles the trials and tragedies of
creating a new posh Manhattan eatery.
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Rocco
DiSpirito
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DiSpirito,
who was born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, is being sued by the owner of
SoHo’s ultra-hip Canteen restaurant for allegedly interfering with the
rival business.
According
to reports, the trouble started when DiSpirito and the show’s producers
set their sights on purchasing Canteen to remake it into Rocco’s reality
restaurant. DiSpirito showed up at Canteen with a camera crew in tow to
pressure the owner into selling.
When
that didn’t work, the producers allegedly staged a scene in which
Rocco gazed into the darkened windows of the rival restaurant,
implying that Canteen had gone out of business.
Producer
Mark Burnett—of “The Restaurant” and “Survivor”— has
said, “Nothing was faked,” but Canteen’s owners say it was a
deliberate attempt to hurt their business.
Harvey
Milk School's Man-Sized Donation
The
planned opening of the new Harvey Milk School for gay teens in Manhattan has
ignited some debate in New York City.
The
spirited arguments swirling around the school’s September 2003 opening has
caused the NYC Department of Education and the school’s administration to
state that the school is not about sex at all, and that it will be just like
any other City high school, except with counseling targeting gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender students.
In
fact, the principal, William Salzman, was even quoted as saying,
“This is not a touch-feely situation.”
But
one former Queens resident may be throwing a man-sized wrench into that
argument.
Michael
Salem, a former Kew Gardens resident, is actually the first cousin of
the school’s namesake Harvey Milk...the one-time Queens resident who
became a gay rights martyr when he was shot and killed inside of San
Francisco’s City Hall in 1978. Milk was a member of that city’s City
Council and was shot by a former colleague who disagreed with his stance on
a gay rights bill that had been passed.
Salem
told QConf that Milk was a “wonderful guy,” and
called the school “a fitting tribute at a very appropriate time, just a
few weeks after Councilman [James] Davis suffered the same fate.”
To
honor the school’s opening, Salem told QConf that he
plans to make a unique donation to the school...size 17 high heels, wigs,
and fake breasts, among other things.
Salem
is apparently known throughout the country as the nation’s “foremost
authority on cross-dressing,” and has a website (www.michaelsalem.com)
that offers all sorts of interesting transgender goodies.
He
explained that he is planning to donate some of his inventory to the school
named for his cousin in order to “get the transgender students started.”
Although
Salem said, “I’m sure the school will accept it,” school officials did
not comment on the donation, and seemed slightly taken aback by the
suggestion.
We’ll
keep an eye on it.
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