Stephanie Beach

Long before Dorothy dropped in to Oz, there was an earlier visitor from Kansas.

Disney’s The Wizard of Oz prequel, Oz: The Great and Powerful, out in theatres today, tells the story of Oscar Diggs (James Franco), who goes by the moniker “Oz”, a Kansas native small-time magician in a travelling circus who spends more of his time charming the local ladies than performing actual tricks.  After the townsfolk learn that he is a fraud, cue Oscar’s great escape via a hot air balloon which is sucked into a twister.  

After landing in Oz, Oscar meets the naïve and seemingly innocent young witch Theodora (Mila Kunis) who believes that he is the great and powerful Wizard that Oz’s former King had predicted would arrive to save the land from the wrath of the Wicked Witch.  Theodora’s sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz) is doubtful that there will be a savior for the enchanted land, and grows even more dubious after the arrival of the “wizard.”  The third witch, Glinda, was the former Princess of Oz, until Evanora overthrew her after discovering that Glinda poisoned her father in an attempt to take over the throne.  Oz is sent on a journey to liberate the citizens of Oz; becoming their Wizard and the “Great” man he has always dreamt of being.

The film begins in a black-and-white toned Kansas, paying homage to the 1939 The Wizard of Oz, but upon Oscar’s arrival in Oz, the world is technicolor à la Dorothy’s landing in Munchkinland. 

Looking for a great gift for the holidays?

Well, look no further! LeSportsac has opened a pop-up shop at Columbus Avenue for the holiday season. 

The temporary store, located on the Upper West Side at 248 Colombus St. (72nd St.), is completely fresh and unique from the company’s other two NYC locations – on Madison Avenue and Spring Street.  The new boutique features pops of bright, fun colors to help celebrate the festive season.

In addition to the classic LeSportsac favorites, the store also carries LeSportsac’s collaboration lines with Disney “It’s a Small World” as well as Manoush, and the full Artist-in-Residence line of LouLou & Tummie.

The store includes an exclusive embroidery option – perfect to show your friends and family how much thought you put into their gifts!

The pop-up shop is open until New Year’s, but will reopen in the Spring of 2013 with a new store design concept, as well as a permanent place with a full-fledged store on Columbus Avenue.  LeSportsac will also be opening new locations at that time in Garden State Plaza and in Santa Monica.

The store is open on Monday to Friday from 10am-7pm; Saturday from 10am-6pm; and Sunday from 12pm-5pm.  The pop-up shop is located at 248 Columbus Avenue (at 72nd Street).

Do you want to change the world?  Do you want to help rid the world of cancer?  Then Do Something!

DoSomething.org's Give A Spit About Cancer campaign is back this year and it is bigger and better than ever.  In partnership with Be the Match, Do Something is searching for college students to run bone marrow donor registration drives on campus.  The program aims to launch drives on over 200 college campuses and sign up 15,000 new donors.

There’s a real need for registered bone marrow donors in the US.  And you can help.  Leukemia kills more children every year than any other disease and only 30% of patients in need of a bone marrow can find a match within their family. The other 70% rely on complete strangers, and 60% of patients never receive the donations they need.  

Donors age 18-24 are in the highest demand and donations are most successful when the donor falls within this age range.

All it takes to sign up for the bone marrow donor registry, and potentially save a life, is a cheek swab.

And best of all, Give A Spit About Cancer is simple, free, and potentially life-saving.

So how can you get involved?  College students across the nation will lead local donor registration drives on their school campuses.  DoSomething.org and Be the Match will help you organize the drives by shipping free of charge swab kits containing all of the materials needed to register 200+ new donors.  And drive participants will even receive prizes.

So what are you waiting for?  The campaign is already in effect and the results will be announced in December.  

WHAT: DANCETROPOLIS
WHO: Oxheart 
WHEN: Friday & Saturday, October 5th and 6th at 8pm
WHERE: The 4,000 square foot Brooklyn Lyceum (227 4th Ave in Brooklyn)

The event will feature work from emerging and established artists, local musicians, aerial performers, raffles, dance performances, and much more.

Tickets are $10 cash at the door or $7 by RSVPing online here

OXHEART's sole philosophy is focused on all artists, providing them with an exciting opportunity to connect and gain exposure to new audiences.