3/14/07, 5:02 pm EST

Trendspotter Extraordinaire Chris Senn Wins Assignment Number Eight

You guys are such arbiters of cool! That’s why when it came time to pick a winner for last week’s “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing contest — in which we asked you to write up 300 words on a pop culture trend — we were hard pressed to choose a Numero Uno from our ten finalists. Hence the multiple runners-up, per executive editor Joe Levy:

Winner:

Chris Senn on Childhood Cartoons-Turned Movies

Classic trend pitch: Take a current pop event (new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie opening next week), combine it with something upcoming (big-screen Smurfs in production, live-action G.I. Joe in talks), add cultural analysis (twentysomethings nostalgic for their youth), shake, and . . . instant trend. But what the hell – anybody this obsessed with ’80s cartoons deserves a prize.

Runners Up:

Kimberly Egolf on Dubstep Music
British music trends are like weeds. Kill one and another will sprout in its place next week. I’ve seen dubstep written about in a few places, but this pitch was expertly written. Nice job.

Emily McIntosh on Machinima
We actually ran something small on the Halo movies a while back in Rolling Stone, but this pitch sent me to Machinima.com, and the Halo300 clip was pretty hilarious.

Alex Frydman on “Buzzed” Goods
Caffeine-laced donuts and bagels? Someone’s getting their business ideas from Simpsons episodes.

Mr. Senn will win a First Act guitar and a Rhapsody Sansa. Hells to the yeah! As you might’ve noticed, there was no “I’m From Rolling Stone” this past Sunday. But fear not! You’ll be amply compensated with two back-to-back new episodes this coming Sunday. An accompanying writing contest will follow. Stay tuned! And since you got a week off, take our advice and bone up on your IFRS knowledge with the help of our handy-dandy episode guide.

3/9/07, 5:21 pm EST

The Rock & Roll Dozen: Our Finalists for Assignment #8

It’s hard to distinguish between what you think might be trendy — news flash: that whole Eighties comeback thing? It happened like four years ago, so please stop wearing leggings — and an outright pop-culture phenomenon. These finalists walked a fine line, but some of their submissions hipped us to stuff even we hadn’t heard or thought of. Then again, we haven’t been getting out much, what with all those Law and Order marathons on TV.

Read and learn from our ten best op-ed/trend forecast writing finalists. We’ll name one of them a winner on Wednesday. (Spoils include a First Act guitar and a Rhapsody Sansa MP3 player). And you only have one more chance to enter our writing competition. A new assignment will be announced Monday.

• Andrew Halberstadt on “Happy Slapping”
• Emily McIntosh on Machinima
• Chris Senn on Childhood Cartoons-Turned-Movies
• Alex Frydman on “Buzzed” Goods
• Christina Poole on the 11:11 Phenomenon
• Kimberly Egolf on Dubstep Music
• Auburn Scallon on Passing Judgement
• Justin Baker on the Death of Envy
• Timothy Anderl on DIY Cassette Culture
• Mordechai Shinefield on Russian Musicians in America
  -- Rolling Stone
  
  

12/21/06, 9:01 am EST

They’re Ready for Their Close-Ups

Meet the six lucky citizens plucked from their normal lives to spend the summer working for Rolling Stone. Krishtine, Krystal, Colin, Russell, Peter and Tika give it to you straight in these short video interviews.

12/18/06, 3:25 pm EST

Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Photos

It’s kinda awesome to watch The Real World and see our office and co-workers in commercials for the new MTV reality show I’m From Rolling Stone. Take a look at this exclusive photo gallery and get better acquainted with the journo-rookies before the show airs January 7th on MTV.

12/13/06, 8:29 am EST

Meet Krishtine de Leon

AGE 24
HOMETOWN San Francisco
COLLEGE San Francisco State
FAVORITE BOOKS Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed; Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
FAVORITE MOVIES Austin Powers, Dumb & Dumber
FAVORITE MUSIC D’Angelo, Voodoo; John Coltrane, In a Sentimental Mood; the Jacka, The Jack Artist

What’s the origin of your name?
I was named after an Indian philosopher named Krishnamurti. My dad really liked him because he said that the way to find truth is not by following a leader but through yourself. When I was little, my dad would tell us we were going to Disneyland and take us to Ojai, California, where the J. Krishnamurti Foundation is. He really tried to beat the philosophy into my head. I hated it until I started reading his books. (more…)