....December 11, 4:13 PM
 
 
 
Brains, Beauty & A Whole Lot More
Laura Ewald is a complete mesh of brains and beauty.

The 20-year-old hottie has been modeling since she was 13 and has crisscrossed runways and red carpet premiers.

At 15, Laura already wadded through the unforgiving years of high school and started her college career. Modeling saw her through.

“I was the sole-proprietor as far as finances went, so I started doing paid hair shows,” she said. “One of the salons I modeled for actually became my employer for the duration of my undergraduate [experience].”

For Laura, modeling isn’t a permanent juncture in her life. It is a hobby.

“I do it for fun,” she said.

The college grad with a double major in English and American Indian Studies, Ojibwe language is impressive academically.

“I taught Ojibwe language and Culture and History at the University of Minnesota, and want to continue teaching,” Laura said. “I have just been accepted to a final interview for Teach for America, so I’m hoping that all pans out soon.”

Although Laura is originally from Minneapolis, she has made Ridgewood home, but for her, Astoria is “hopping.”

Her love of Queens goes beyond Astoria. The individuality of the borough enhances it in her eyes.

“I love that it has its own culture and feel, and is still so accessible from the City,” Laura said.

“I love to teach, and to practice Ojibwe as much as I can,” Laura said. I also adore spending time with my wonderful fiancé David in our rocking new loft apartment.”

And to her hobby, which at times has paid the bills, Laura knows her place in its world.

“Just remember it is not all about you as the model,” she said. “Of course you will have your creative input, but remember that you are a vehicle for someone else’s artistic vision and you are there to embody that.”


Laura Ewald
Home: Ridgewood
Age: 20
Height: 5’7"
Weight: 113
Stats: 34-26-34

 
 
Madge And A-Rod
It seems like the romantic saga between Madonna and Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez is getting serious. After concluding her American portion Sticky and Sweet tour the night before Thanksgiving, she spent the night at the slugger’s rental Miami mansion.

E! News reports that the divorcees spent many nights together; he was even seen in the front row of her concert cheering on the Material Girl.

After the concert the one time Corona resident and her beau partied at a friend’s house until the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning. A-Rod reportedly had dinner with his daughters and Madonna spent a little time with her brother Christopher Ciccone.
A Not-So-Artful Shamsky
Mets great Art Shamsky has had his dirty laundry aired, thanks to a lawsuit filed by his ex-wife.

According the Page Six, the suit claims the former first baseman’s sordid sex life – which allegedly included unprotected, deviant sex acts with women and men – during his 13-year marriage left his wife Kim with the human papilloma virus (HPV). The disease is believed to cause genital warts and cervical cancer.

Kim is asking for $11 million for “serious physiological and emotional injury.”

Shamsky, now 67, played for the Mets from 1967 to 1971. The couple divorced last May.
Out of Africa

The ivory loot
Tusk, tusk. Six defendants were arrested on Dec. 4 after attempting to smuggle several hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of African elephant ivory through Kennedy Airport. Since March 2006, at least eight ivory packages have been shipped to JFK from Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Uganda in cartons labeled “African Wooden Handicraft” and “Wooden Statues.” Upon further examination, Wildlife and Customs inspectors discovered the crates were full of ivory coated in resin and clay, designed to look like delicate wooden musical instruments, decorative snakes and statues.

“We have lifted the lid on an ivory smuggling network that exploits endangered species for lucrative profits,” said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent-in-Charge Smith.

The import of ivory to the United States has been criminalized since 1976. If convicted of smuggling, defendants face up to 20 years in prison.
Indie’s Oscar

Director Ramin Bahrani’s got an eye for making something ugly into something beautiful.

Bahrani was nominated for a Best Director Spirit Award for his movie “Chop Shop,” shot in the junkyards of Willets Point.

The film depicts Alejandro, a young Latino street rat working in an auto-body repair shop hoping to make a better life for himself and his 16-year-old sister.

Roger Ebert called the film miraculous and “An American film with the raw power of ‘City of God’ or ‘Pixote.’”

A Columbia University graduate, Bahrani moved to his parent’s homeland of Iran for three years to make his student thesis film. He is currently working on his next film “Solo.”
Southern Hummus
Sabra Dipping, the Astoria-based Mediterranean condiment and dip maker, has plans to expand in Dixie.

The independent, Israeli company, which last year was merged into a joint venture with the American Pepsi Company and the Israeli Strauss Group, announced that it plans to expand operations with a 110,000-square-foot facility just south of Richmond, Va.

Sabra, which had sales of $90 million in 2007, and which has 15,000 national and international distribution points, can also be found throughout Queens. Its primary manufacturing plant has been located in Astoria since 1986.

Sabra made some minor headlines this summer when, at the Summer Fancy Food Show in July at the Javits Center, they commissioned renowned sandcastle sculptor Kirk Rademaker to carve busts of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain out of Sabra’s hummus.


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