Project Runway 1, Finale: "Homeless Heiress" versus "Fly-Girl Fashions," female problems (souls & soles), & from slaves to fashion

INTRO:

Today, I awakened during the wee, small hours and watched the last 45 minutes of Project Runway's, Season 1 finale. It's way too early in the morning to fully review the episode, but several issues beg to be blogged about.

First, let me share: Project Runway hooked me fashionably late. The show snagged my attention midway through Season 3, just in time to get the hang of the personalities and care how the contestants fared. Leading up to and during the Olympus Fashion Week finale (Episodes 13 and 14), runners up Laura and Uli (and sometimes, Michael) showed fashions I'd love to flaunt. As for Jeffrey's winning wearables: not so much (although I grant him kudos and wish him well).

Obviously, my sensibilities differ from the judges'. The only Project Runway, Season 3 judge whose vision and mine were consistently eye to eye was Teri Agins, author and lead fashion writer for Wall Street Journal. She was the guest judge during Episode 11: What the Elle? (which first aired on September 27, 2006).

"HOMELESS HEIRESS" VERSUS "FLY-GIRL" FASHIONS:

I disagreed with the judges' Top Designer selection during Project Runway's, Season 1 finale, too. Jay ("The Wild Card")'s "Homeless Heiress"-looking fashion line might have bagged the prize, but it was Karasaun ("The Professional"), whose Howard Hughes-inspired collection was the kick-ass winner. Her sexy leather-fur-metallic fashions were fly.

I also preferred Wendy ("The Longshot")'s duds to Jay's designs. Most of Wendy's collection (save the black "peek-a-boob" number), was comprised of clothes I'd wear.

To Jay's credit, his mostly DTM (Dyed to Match) collection was creative, colorful and powerful. He clearly sewed his heart and soul into each piece, which the judges clearly appreciated.

FEMALE PROBLEMS (SOULS & SOLES), I:

It's interesting to note: Michael Kors said the opposite about Wendy. Eerily, Wendy had been warned, earlier in the episode, by soul-sister Karasaun that Wendy had no soul and would one day need one. Yikes.

The producers painted Wendy as having cardiac challenges, too. She and her competitors all made reference to her having come across, all season, as a black-hearted backstabber. (Given Wendy's aggressive, confrontational behavior, however, no one could accuse her of being lily-livered.)

Back to the runway. Although Jay showed a few pieces that, taken individually, I could see myself in, I couldn't say the same for any of his ensembles. Each was talking too loud[ly] and saying something foreign to me. This is was what I heard: "Look at what Jay might wear if he were a woman." But I'm just saying, not hating. Kudos to Jay. I hope he "breaks a stiletto."

FEMALE PROBLEMS (SOULS & SOLES), II:

Karasaun's footwear proved to be a sticky widget in several ways. First, one of the manufacturer's representatives visited Karasaun and lent a helping hand, gratis (which kicked off complaints by both Wendy and Jay).

Second, Karasaun narrowly escaped being booted off Runway for skirting the rules. She'd custom-designed shoes and boots for the show, which the manufacturer made gratis.

After Tim Gunn said accepting free favors like that was out of bounds, Karasaun stepped up and paid $15 per pair, but that was still unacceptable. Rather, Karasun was given three choices: scrap those shoes and use whatever was left among those donated by Michael, buy others from her decimated budget, or keep the custom-made footwear with the understanding it would not be reviewed on the runway. Karasaun chose door number three.

That choice tripped up her models. The shoes snagged on some long dresses, putting a crimp in the styles and the models' strides. Michael said one model's difficulty walking was "fatal" for one of the dresses, whose showing was ruined "the minute the model turned the corner."

FROM SLAVES TO FASHION:

Another thread that weaved through the show made me clutch my pearls. It started with Tim's house call to Wendy in Virginia. During the visit, Wendy proudly showed Tim a mansion her family had turned over to an historical society.

Tim was favorably impressed. I was impressed, too, but unfavorably. My relatives were slaves in that state, and may well have worked on that plantation.

But that wasn't all.

Later, Wendy went on about Karasaun having a sense of entitlement (about the footwear), which was ironic. Here was a southern white woman whipping herself into a frenzy, ostensibly because an African American had taken unfair advantage of free labor. The real reason Wendy became unraveled was this: the playing field wasn't even and Wendy wished she'd had taken affirmative actions to avail herself of free labor, too.

It might not have mattered. The judges' comments indicated that the final cut - which Nina Garcia said was difficult to make - was between Jay and Karasaun (whose controversial footwear didn't help, and might have kicked down a peg).

In the mood for love? Come turn me on at noon.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Are you in the mood for love? Whether the answer is "Yes," or "No," today's guests (Tony Muzzo, of the USPS and fellow radio host, Steve Pal) and I will have a song for you and some tender words, too.

Come turn me on at noon, Eastern Time for my very special Valentine's Day broadcast. It'll be a quickie, from noon - 12:30 PM, Eastern Time.

Meet us here: NY Radio WVOX 1460 AM and www.wvox.com.
Or phone the show at (01) 914 636 0110.

CAUTION: I may be a bit punchy; I'll be participating in the Valentine's Day match between SCORE Counselor Chuck Auerbach and champion middleweight boxer, Doug ("the Cobra") DeWitt from 11:30 AM - noon.

I dedicate both broadcasts to the ones I love. You know who you are!
xo SWAK xo

The USPS-Hershey pairing gives new meaning to Sam Cooke's single ("You Send Me")

Although this may seem surprising, it's true: the United States Postal Service (USPS) has always been somewhat sweet. For centuries, the agency has delivered love letters and packages worldwide. In 1973, it began courting customers with "Love" series stamps and affectionate trinkets,

This Valentine's Day, though, USPS has revved up the romance. The Postal Service has united with Hershey to beget a sweet orgy of "affectionate confections."

The USPS-Hershey coupling is no undercover affair. Here's an example of how the involved parties are publicizing their pairing:

Celebrate this Valentine’s Day With Love and Kisses—Hershey’s® Kisses®, that is! This year the United States Postal Service and the Hershey Company have teamed up in honor of the 100th anniversary of Hershey’s® Kisses® Brand Chocolates with a commemorative stamp, sweepstakes, and more. See what treats are in store!

We'll talk about this treat, the ties between USPS and Black History, and more on tomorrow's Lisa Tolliver Show. Listen live from noon 'til 12:30 P.M, Eastern Time on WVOX 1460 AM and www.wvox.com or phone the call-in line: (01) 914 636 0110. My guest will be Tony Musso, Manager of Retail, Westchester District, USPS.

It's official: Faust is first at Harvard

It's official. Harvard's decision makers have spoken. The final pronouncement, on Sunday, simultaneously broke new ground and answered the question: "Is Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust to be (or not to be) the first female president of Harvard?"

Dr. Faust, a noted scholar of the American South and currently Dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and a Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, will assume the position on July 1, 2007. That is the answer.

"This is a great day, and a historic day, for Harvard," said James R. Houghton, chairman of the presidential search committee.

Faust has spoken, too. "I hope that my own appointment can be one symbol of an opening of opportunities that would have been inconceivable even a generation ago," she announced at a media conference on campus. She emphasized, "I'm not the woman president of Harvard, I'm the president of Harvard."

[Read the new president's prepared remarks in Harvard Gazette:Harvard Presidential Announcement:Remarks by President-Elect Drew Gilpin Faust.]

Helen Reddy might say: "She is woman. Hear her roar!"

However, you can't please all of the people all of the time.As Associated Press writer, Jesse Harlan Aldermand reports:

Some professors have quietly groused that -- despite the growing centrality of scientific research to Harvard's budget -- the 371-year-old university is appointing a fifth consecutive president who is not a scientist. No scientist has had the top job since James Bryant Conant retired in 1953; its last four have come the fields of classics, law, literature and economics.

Moreover, observes Aldermand (who did not specify whether or not this was a point of contention):

Faust is the first Harvard president who did not receive an undergraduate or graduate degree from the university since Charles Chauncy, an alumnus of Cambridge University in England, whoh died in office in 1672. She attended Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania, where she was also a professor of history.

Bryn Mawr by the way, like Radcliffe, is a Seven Sisters College and the University of Pennsylvania, like Harvard, is Ivy League.

Fashion as a power tool: What do you watch and wear that makes you feel powerful?

Look at the time! I couldn't sleep and had tons to do before joining some sisters to see Treemonisha, so I got online and got busy. I don't want to miss a minute of the Black History Month activities I have scheduled today.

As RottenTomatoes.com describes: "Scott Joplin's only opera, 'Treemonisha' [sic] tells the proud story of the educated daughter of former slaves, who rises to greatness in the postbellum 1800s." My mother's talented and fashionable friend, Mollie Jackson (who wears a beautifully braided up-do), will be singing in the pit chorus.

[The public domain photo of Scott Joplin, right, is from About.com]

What has any of this to do with power tools and clothing?

While I mentally scanned my wardrobe to decide what to wear today, I digitally scanned the World Wide Web to find resources relevant to my cultural/arts projects. In the course of that work, I came across the following description of "Trappings." That project, by Two Girls Working, gave me pause and I thought it was worth pointing out:

In Two Girls Working, the collaborative team of artists [sic] Tiffany Ludwig and Renee Piechocki, position themselves as assets to civic action and dialogue. Our project Trappings activates dialogue about the complicated landscape of power and its relationship to personal identity by asking women to respond to the question: what do you wear that makes you feel powerful?

Good question. I believe the answer is contextual. What makes one feel powerful (or sometimes more importantly, conveys to his or her target audience power or competence, credibility or taste, appropriateness or class) can vary as drastically as the situations one might find oneself in.

What Two Girls Working had in mind, when they launched "Trappings," was to challenge "the preconceived set of ideas individuals create based on other’s personal appearance" and to offer "a platform for viewers and participants to explore their relationship to power and investigate how they present themselves." Through the project, which "is founded upon the necessity to work, engage, and create based on a vision of inclusive feminism and social action," the originators encourage women from a diversity of backgrounds to collaborate in an open exploration of "the relationship of women to power within the construction of personal identity."

That's a call I'm moved to answer. However, as an African American Woman, I can't help but respond on two levels, the first socio-historical, the second personal.

Firstly, I am sure the costumes in Treemonisha will illustrate this socio-historical fact: garments, accessories and color schemes often telegraph or obfuscate one's socio-economic status. Trappings may also be used to communicate important messages, affiliations and roles.

Consider the secret codes used by underground railroad participants to communicate fluently with total strangers; the colors worn by undercover cops and gang members to tacitly self-identify; the color and positioning of bridal garments to connote virginity and the transition from maiden to wife; the readily identifiable uniforms adopted by various groups to identify members; and the everyday and ceremonial attire and insignia worn by such people as soldiers, clergy persons and university graduates when they want to specify their organizational affiliations and ranks.

[The public domain image of the Treemonisha opera bill, above left, is from Wikipedia.]

Secondly, in my personal life, I wear several hats. A typical Wednesday might include an early morning lecture or client consultation (which calls for a business suit or business casual attire), followed by a radio broadcast seen only by the studio crew (who could care less what I wore), and then an athletic workout, capped off by another lecture or meeting, dinner date, event or all of the above.

What makes me feel powerful, in each case, is wearing something that comfortably fits, at once, the dress code, practical realities, and my personality. To accomplish that, I keep an athletic bag, cosmetics kit and change of clothes in my car. Sometimes I start out wearing sensible shoes that let my "dogs" breathe, then slip into sneakers that let me run faster, jump higher, and later squeeze into high-heels that are not meant for walking but look great with dressy clothes. Whatever the situation, my busy schedule and aversion to fuss require adherence to the KISS principle for hair and makeup: Keep It Simple, Sister.

As casual observation can reveal, individual definitions of "appropriate" attire can be subjective. For example, one of my girlfriends validates the phrase, "We've come a long way, maybe." She disapproves of braids and twists and can't manage au naturelle, so she still punishes her hair with perms and is enslaved to curling irons. To each her own. I sport my twists proudly, and unlike her, can take my wash-n-wear tresses, relatively hassle-free, from seaside to supper, and without much fuss from the bedroom to the boardroom.

In another example, my chic and stylish, but somewhat conservative, mother loved the charcoal gray and teal suit that I wore to my father's wake (where my "target audience" was family and friends). However, she disapproved of the "beautiful" but "inappropriate" "party dress" (as she termed it) that I donned for the funeral. Indeed, the black silk number was a cocktail dress, but I paired it with a demure, long-sleeved designer jacket, the skirt had no slits, the neckline did not plunge and the hem height was appropriate for a sacred ceremony. It suited its purpose.

Here's what Mom missed: Dad would have loved that dress, and it was he whom I dressed for that day. Additionally, sporting that dress to send my father off in style imparted a sense of empowerment. My father (who knew he was dying) had made it clear: he wanted his loved ones to celebrate his memory. That we did, and although powerless to prolong Dad's life, my brother and I seized control where we could. That included dictating the details and trappings of my father's homegoing, such as what the three of us, and my young nephews, wore.

Dad would also have enjoyed attending Treemonisha; he was a strong supporter of black art and culture. Certainly, if he could see me, he would approve of the black suede skirt, wine-colored silk twin sweater set, and coordinated accessories that I'll wear to today's Black History Month event.

Is Faust to be (or not to be) the first female president of Harvard?

Recent headlines have inspired a sense of déjà vu. When I attended Harvard, Derek Bok was the university's president and the tee-shirts for an organization I belonged to read something like this:

You've Finally Met Your Match
A Harvard-Radcliffe Woman

I've long since graduated, but Derek Bok is back in the President's office and a woman with Harvard and Radcliffe ties - Drew Gilpin Faust - may soon assume the position. Or so it is rumored.

Is Drew Gilpin Faust (the dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and the Lincoln Professor of History at Harvard), to be or not to be named the first female president of Harvard University? That is the question whose answer many are waiting with baited breath to learn.

The wait won't be long. The New York Times reports: "Harvard’s 30-member Board of Overseers is to meet Sunday and is expected to give her final approval, according to the officials." Nonetheless, some reports have jumped the gun.

Appointing Faust, or any of the other highly qualified women candidates, 28th President of the 371-year old university would be both historic and ironic.

The milestone would be momentous because the Harvard presidency, considered "the most prestigious in higher education," has never been held by a woman. Selection of a woman would make Harvard (oft-touted as an academic trendsetter) the fourth of the eight Ivy League universities to have a woman at the helm. "Appointing a female to fill the top administrative position would be "a tremendous step for Harvard because in some ways this really was the last glass ceiling in higher education," said Susan Scrimshaw, president of Simmons College in Boston.

Appointing a woman would be ironic because one of the controversies that led the previous president, Lawrence Summers, to resign last year was sparked by comments that were commonly construed to be sexist. His remarks at a January 14, 2005 NBER conference session entitled, "Diversifying the Science and Engineering Workforce: Women, Underrepresented Minorities and their S. and E. careers," suggested that "innate differences," innate ability," or "natural ability" might account for the under-representation of women and girls in the upper echelons of science and mathematics.

Should a woman become Harvard's next president, she would (as Reuters reports) "steer the biggest changes to Harvard's curriculum in three decades and preside over the first phases of an ambitious multi-billion dollar campus expansion aimed at making Harvard a leading hub for biological and life sciences."

Summers said his comments were intended to provoke discussion. What they did was ignite a firestorm of criticism and contention. They also produced possibilities for positive change.

For example, weeks after making his remarks at the Science and Engineering conference, Summer "announced two university-wide task forces aimed at advancing female faculty and encouraging women in science." Additionally, his resignation may have made way for a woman to blaze a trail up the ivory tower and all the way to the corner office.

Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor, Judith McLaughlin (an expert in university presidencies), clarified:

Harvard is not choosing Drew Faust because of the women and science thing but because she is the best person for the job.

Can she do it? Sure she can. Is it going to be hard. Absolutely. But this is one very smart and politically savvy candidate.

Indeed, Harvard may have made a match.

Two sorry extremes

"Love means never having to say you're sorry," is an oft-quoted misquote from Erich Segal's Love Story script. [Apparently, the line, as written, was, "Love means not ever having to say you're sorry."] I wholeheartedly disagree. In some circumstances, a sincere apology can go a long way.

At some other times, apologizing constitutes talking loud and saying nothing. It is those instances - when it's better to keep one's sorries to oneself and, instead, straighten up and fly right - that three prominent artists have addressed in popular publications and performances.

Ntozake Shange published these lines (in 1977) and staged them (in 1992) in: For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf.

(Laurence Fishburne, as) Ike Turner, snarled, "Yeah, you sorry all right," before manhandling (Angela Bassett, as) his wife/performance partner Tina Turner, in a scene from the 1993 biopic, What's Love Got to Do With It? Ultimately, the universe prevailed to right that wrong; it was Ike who was sorry when Tina pulled the plug on that discordant situation.

More recently, Madonna sang these lyrics to "Sorry" (1995) (on her Confessions albums) and feigned some feisty fist- and foot-work to underscore her point.

Nassau Community College has driven up the cost of parking on campus

One thing I miss about living in southern California is the availability of valet parking practically everywhere one would want to drive, including the supermarket and public library. When I first encountered the practice, I thought it was over-the-top, like some scenes in Bravo TV's Real Housewives of Orange County. However, I quickly grew accustomed to giving my keys to parking attendants and going about my business, then calling for my car and having it brought right to me. The service wasn't free but the convenience was worth it, especially when I had lots to carry or when it rained.

(If you've heard the song: "It Never Rains in Southern California," don't believe the hype.)

Back home in New York, valet parking seems to be reserved for high end destinations. Finding free parking at lower-end, crowded locations - even in some suburbs - can be a real pain in the posterior and the cost of paid parking can put a sizable dent in one's wallet.

Consider, for instance, Nassau Community College in Garden City, a Long Island suburb. It's a commuter school in a bedroom community, where I have rarely found it convenient to park. Visiting many buildings on campus has required guzzling gallons of gas to search for an available parking space and then hiking a considerable distance.

One rainy day, in particular, when visiting to videotape a racquetball class (for a cultural documentation project), I had to lug my equipment, laptop, purse and umbrella from the far end of the West 4B Student and Visitor Parking Lot all the way to the Physical Education Complex (which abuts the far east end of West 5 Staff Parking). As I crossed that soggy plain, I mused: "By George, what I wouldn't give right now for the privilege of paying for valet parking."

Ironically, paid parking is now not a privilege, but obligatory at Nassau Community College. A recently introduced directive has driven up the cost of parking on campus from zero to five, seventeen fifty or forty five dollars, depending on the semester. Those are fairly high-octane fees for some students. However, unlike valet service, the parking premiums are unlikely to crank up convenience to drivers. (Parking spaces can't be reserved and parking attendants will not be hired.) Rather, what those fees (and fines for parking violations) will undoubtedly do is fill up the coffers of Nassau Community College (and of the Nassau County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency).

The Nassau Community College Student Vehicle Registration Program must have been mapped out by some alchemist, who saw the bumper crop of cars on campus as gold in them thar hills. (I know it's a stretch to refer to the same site as a plain and as hills, but down-rev, Bev. Haven't you ever heard of artistic license?) Although some students take public transportation or carpool to campus, most drive there directly from work and elsewhere, and the demand for parking is inelastic.

The new parking rules are effective this semester. I'm familiar with the details because I helped a less computer-savvy friend register two vehicles online. The rules offer no bulk discounts or transferable parking passes for students who drive multiple cars or free passes for the "Winterim" and Summer terms. Moreover, the vehicle registration fees are neither refundable nor pro-ratable for students who withdraw early or register late.

I personally care about this development because I frequently visit Nassau Community College for various reasons. As a visitor, I won't have to pay to park on campus but will bear an opportunity cost: stopping at the Public Safety Office (which is nowhere near where I usually park) to get a temporary vehicle pass.

If I sound like I begrudge Nassau Community College its new revenue source, don't get me wrong. "Render unto Caesar" and all. Moreover, according the January 2007 letter addressed by the Vice President of Academic Services to registered students, the program has worthwhile motives: "to accommodate the parking needs of the campus as well as provide additional security on campus."

There's just something about the tone and text of the school's Vehicle Registration Program Information Sheet that guns my motor. Here, take the wheel and read this excerpt for yourself:

Q. How much does the program cost?
A. The cost is $17.50 in the Spring and the Fall semesters. In the Fall ONLY an annual permit is available for $45 which is good for the academic year (Fall, Winterim, Spring and Summer). Registration for the Winterim is $5, as is registration for the Summer terms. Students are strongly encouraged to register their vehicle online and pay by credit card so that waiting in long lines to make payment by cash or check can be avoided. Please note that there is "no extra charge" for credit card payments.

Q. Does this guarantee a parking spot?
A. All vehicles must be registered to be legally permitted to park on campus. However, registration does not guarantee a parking space in any particular parking area. In time the program should prevent non-registered vehicles from parking on campus, thereby making more space available for registered vehicles. There is currently ample parking available on campus for all students although some spaces may not be conveniently located.

Q. Is it necessary to register?
A. Unregistered vehicles will be subject to summonses and towing. The summons will come from Nassau County, not the College.

Q. What will the money collected be used for?
A. The fees will be used to repair Nassau Community College's Parking lots and enhance security on campus.

Q. Why do I have to register more than one vehicle if I intend to bring more than one vehicle on campus?
A. If you cannot decide to bring only one vehicle on campus you must register every vehicle that you intend to bring each semester. If you have a problem with your registered vehicle we will accommodate you with temporary permits on a very limited basis. However, remember that three registration fees for one semester are cheaper than one $90.00 summons.

"Honoring America's Veteran Entrepreneurs" Youth Essay Contest

If I weren't to old to enter the 2007 "Honoring America's Veteran Entrepreneurs" Youth Essay Contest, I'd be stuck between a rock and a hard place, the devil and the deep blue sea. The difficulty would be choosing one of three compelling subjects. (More about them, below)

The contest is sponsored by The Veterans Corporation ("Where Veteran Entrepreneurs Partner For Success") in partnership with the Veterans Business Journal (tagline: "Entrepreneurship, Contracting and Patriotism") and Military.com ("All the Benefits of Service"). The contest is part of Entrepreneurship Week 2007, which is presented by the Inc.com ("The Daily Resource For Entrepreneurs") and The New York Times ("21st Century News, Information, Entertainment").

This is the assignment: "Tell us why your parent or grandparent should be honored as Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year, and you could win a free trip to Washington, D.C." More specifically:

Write an original essay telling us why your parent or grandparent, who is a Veteran of the United States Armed Forces or a member of the National Guard or Reserve, and who is also an entrepreneur or business owner, should be named "Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year".

Essays should answer the following questions:

• What skills or training did your parent or grandparent receive in the military that made him or her a better entrepreneur?
• How does your parent or grandparent contribute to your family, your local community, and the nation as a Veteran and entrepreneur?
• Do you have any aspirations to following in the footsteps of your parent or grandparent in the military or as an entrepreneur?

Here's why picking a protagonist would be hard. My paternal grandfather was a U.S. Navy veteran. He migrated from the deep south to New York, where he established a successful commercial limousine service and profitable rental properties. My father was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served during the Korean War and later worked as an aircraft electrician. One of his responsibilities was supervising the aeronautical electricians who serviced Air Force One, in which he installed bottle warmers as a favor for Jackie Kennedy. During layoffs at Lockheed and after retiring, Dad engaged in several entrepreneurial ventures. My stepfather is a formal Naval officer who is now a law firm partner. All three are great role models with compelling tales that are worth telling.

Decisions, decisions. If they were mine to make, I'd write about my stepfather this year, since he's still living and might appreciate the testimonial. In 2008 and 2009, respectively, I would feature my father and grandfather. In all three years, I would also submit my essays (whether they won or not), to the Veterans History Project.

Since I'm over 18, I leave it to my nephews and other kids who meet the contest eligibility requirements to choose a hero to write about. These are the rules:

Eligibility: all United States students, ages 12-18, are eligible to compete.

Requirements: Essays should be no longer than 1,000 words and must be postmarked or emailed no later than February 16, 2007. Essays must be accompanied by a completed contest entry form, which can be downloaded [at the Essay Contest Home].

If you enter, good luck! And send me your story. As my firm, 360 MERIDIAN, LLC, is a Veterans History Project Official Partner, I may select your story to share on air or online. You can access my contact information and learn about my media work here.

SCORE Radio’s next guest is a knockout: boxing champion-turned-entrepreneur, Doug (”the Cobra”) DeWitt

It’s going down! “It” is the Valentine’s Day match of 2007.

In one corner will be: three-time middleweight boxing world champion/trainer/actor Doug (”the Cobra”) DeWitt. In the other: SCORE Chapter 306 counselor, Chuck Auerbach. The men will face off across mics, not mats.

The venue: New York radio WVOX 1460 AM, not a ring. The time: 11:30 AM to high noon, Eastern.

For some, going rounds with the Cobra has been a challenge, if not a TKO. But this is a sweetheart of a match that Chuck (a heavy-hitter with SCORE Westchester) can handle. You see, Chuck will be interviewing Doug about the prizefighter’s “boxer’s workout” training program.

Here’s how Wikipedia\Doug_Dewitt describes the boxer’s business, Doug DeWitt’s Boxing Studio:

He offers extensive work on speed bag, heavy bag, and wall bag. The focus is to improve hand speed, coordination, and strength. Technique, punch combinations, and defensive movements are taught one-on-one with hand pad contact.

Incorporated into the training is an intensive cardio workout with jump rope repetition, lightweight training, and use of the medicine ball. Footwork and ring movement are also taught.

Class format is specifically designed to be a “boxer’s workout.” The training for both men and women is modified to each individual’s capabilities.

Among those trained [have been]: Doug LaBassa, Anthony Scagleone, Tim Herlihy, John Norrison, Julien LaScala, [and] Mario Penzarri.

Doug trains both children and adults. DougDeWittBoxing.com, describes the children’s classes thusly:

The Ultimate Way To Build Confidence, Self-Esteem, Develop Self-Discipline, Self-Control, and Athletic Skills, While Having Lots of Fun!

DeWitt’s site describes the adult classes as “a complete workout for men and women. […] Classes are offered in a group setting or scheduled one-on-one to accommodate the student’s schedule.”

Come join the fray. Tune your radio to WVOX 1460 AM, listen live online at WVOX.com, or phone the call-in line: (01) 914.636.0110.

The countdown has begun. Get ready to rumble!

[This is a reprint of a SCORE Chapter 306 blog post by Lisa Tolliver.]