Meg & Dia

Meg & Dia is an American rock band formed in 2004. It was founded by sisters Meg and Dia Frampton, and is now a five-piece act with additional members Nicholas Price, Jonathan Snyder (formerly of Madison) and Carlo Gimenez.

Meg & Dia (also then known as The Meg & Dia Band) released its first album, Our Home Is Gone, in 2005. At the time, the band consisted of just the two Frampton sisters, and the album's tracks were mostly acoustic songs. Meg played guitar and provided back-up vocals while Dia sang. A year later, they released their second album, Something Real, their first album released under Doghouse Records.

The band signed with Warner Bros. Records in 2007 and released Here, Here and Here in 2009 via Sire Records. As of July 2010, the band is unsigned, after being dropped by Warner Bros. Records.

History

The Frampton sisters

Meg and Dia, sisters, are from St. George, Utah, and are the founding members of the band. They are of Korean and Anglo-Saxon ancestry. When they were children, Meg received a karaoke machine and Dia received a guitar as a Christmas gift. Dia began singing at local county fairs and retirement centers while Meg taught herself to play songs that were on the radio. Their father was a DJ in South Korea, and the sisters often listened to his extensive record collection. The family of the Frampton sisters is composed of Meg, Dia, Jade, Rena, Nikki, Misty. Jade plays tennis for the University of Arkansas and she aspires to be a professional in the near future. 

The Meg & Dia Band

“For Christmas when we were kids, ironically Dia got the guitar and I got the karaoke machine. We quickly learned, however, what we were natural at and destined to become. She became really focused on her voice and began singing little country ditties at local county fairs and retirement centers. I started out playing whatever was on the radio or whatever happened to be in my buddies' CD player. My dad was a DJ in his early twenties so he had quite an extensive record collection that I listened to occasionally. After I experienced my first heartbreak and I thought the world was going to end, the natural way to console my tattered heart was to write a song. Of course my parents, being the supportive and loving caretakers they are, showered me with much undeserved praise and encouraged me to keep writing. My sister and I heeded their advice and began writing and playing original songs together." – Meg

Our Home Is Gone

Meg & Dia self-released their debut album, Our Home Is Gone, in 2005. Only 1,000 copies were ever produced (all of which were distributed by the Frampton girls themselves). The album featured a mostly acoustic style of music, as it was only Meg and Dia in the band. They toured extensively in support of it, sharing stages with such national acts as Limbeck, The Format, Melee, An Angle, Koufax, and Steel Train.

After a few acoustic shows playing the songs from their debut album, they decided they needed a bigger sound. They recruited drummer Nicholas Price, and later guitarist Kenji Chan in 2005. Nick was Meg's car mechanic after she was involved in a minor car accident (Which also is the result of the name for the EP What Is It? A Fender Bender). After Nick joined, Meg and Dia found bassist Ryan Groskreuetz.

Something Real

In January 2006 Meg and Dia recorded a second album, Something Real, with producer Stacy Jones of American Hi-Fi and Bill Leffler. As a teaser for the album, Meg & Dia released an EP titled What Is It? A Fender Bender, on both iTunes and the Tower Records website in July 2006. What Is It? A Fender Bender featured Monster and Indiana, and would also be part of their upcoming album. That album was soon-after released on August 8, 2006. Something Real is made up both new works and revamped versions of acoustic songs from Our Home is Gone. The songs "Indiana", "Masterpiece", and "Nineteen Stars" were rerecorded with a full band, while parts of "Timmy" were incorporated into the song "Roses".

In September 2006, it was announced on the Meg & Dia MySpace page that guitarist Kenji Chan was leaving the band to focus on his solo career. His departure was on amicable terms. The band found a replacement a Canadian guitarist Carlo Gimenez via YouTube, and the band was once again a five-piece act.

Here, Here and Here

Here, Here and Here was released on April 21, 2009, over a year after recording was completed. It was sold in three formats- CD, CD + DVD package, and on vinyl. The album marks the band's first new release since signing with Warner Bros. (distributed through Sire Records) and the first with the band's current lineup. Musically, the album differs from previous efforts, as a result of experimentation with new instruments (strings, synths, harmonica and alternative percussion) and the inclusion of guest vocals (Tom Higgenson on "Bored Of Your Love"). Tonally, the album includes more mature themes such as religion ("Black Wedding") and politics ("Are There Giants Too, In The Dance?"). In contrast to the heavily literature-inspired Something Real, only one song from here, here and here has been definitively linked to a novel ("Hug Me" was inspired by Brave New World), and several songs were written by Dia in response to her then recent breakup ("Going Away"). The title of the album comes from the eponymous closing track, which alludes to the composition process of Mozart in the lines: "'Here, Here, and Here.' He pointed to his heart and mind and ears."

The first single from the new album, "What If", was released on January 27, 2009. The second single, "Black Wedding", was released a week later.The video for "Black Wedding" was released exclusively on April 14, 2009 for play on MTV and MTV.com.

Promotion through MySpace

The band gained popularity through self-promotion via MySpace; they were selected as the official MySpace band on the Warped Tour 2006. Being selected as the official MySpace band came about in a peculiar way; technical staff were supposed to shut down Meg & Dia's official MySpace due to a virus script posted by an unscrupulous character. However, the technical difficulties resulted in the band gaining the attention of Tom Anderson, co-founder of MySpace, who then entered them into a contest to become the official MySpace band at Warped Tour; Meg & Dia won. Meg & Dia played at Warped Tour 2006 in the MySpace tent, which had a dirt floor in lieu of a stage.

Meg & Dia returned the following year, playing the Hurley.com stage in the 2007 Warped Tour. The band continued touring and played alongside Anberlin, Jonezetta, and Bayside on a national tour in early 2007, and with Say Anything and Saves The Day in Spring 2007.

2007

On February 19, 2007 it was confirmed that Meg & Dia have signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records. The song "Roses" was featured on the TMNT movie soundtrack. In September, Meg and Dia provided back-up vocals for The Rocket Summer for their "Yahoo! Who's Next?" debut. The video for "Monster" was nominated for the mtvU Viral Woodie Award in 2007. It advanced past the first round, but lost in the final round to We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands by The Academy Is. Meg & Dia finished the year on tour with The Spill Canvas, PlayRadioPlay!, and Treaty of Paris.

Meg & Dia are also involved in To Write Love on Her Arms and peta2. The band appeared in an anti-fur ad and also sponsored a fashion contest on the peta2 website.

Meg and Dia also signed a Gibson Guitar for Music Saves Lives while on the 2007 Vans Warped Tour which was auctioned off to help in the non-profit's effort to raise the nation's blood supply.

Their song, "The Mighty R-E-A-L", is the official anthem for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.

2008–2009

At the end of 2007, it was announced that Meg & Dia would open for Angels & Airwaves on a 2008 US tour. The Color Fred and Ace Enders were also opening acts. Following this tour, the band headed to Los Angeles on March 17, 2008 to record Here, Here and Here.

In 2008, the band embarked on its first overseas tour in Europe, and received positive reviews by many European critics. They have traveled to such places as Amsterdam and Munich, increasing the band's international awareness.

Meg & Dia also made their first UK appearance at the annual Give It A Name festival in 2008. The band played in London on May 10 and Sheffield on May 11. Shortly afterward, Meg & Dia were part of a ten venue spin-off tour in England, Scotland and Wales, aptly titled 'Give It A Name Introduces' along with fellow American artists Four Year Strong, Mayday Parade and The Color Fred.

The band's last major tour before the release of their 2009 album was the Take Action 2009 tour. They accompanied headliners Cute Is What We Aim For and opening acts Anarbor, Every Avenue, and Breathe Carolina. A portion of all ticket sales was donated to non-profit organizations.

The band has signed on to perform at Warped Tour 2009. This will be their third appearance, following 2006 and 2007.

Meg and Dia performed the song "Going Away" live at BETA Records TV Studios in Hollywood, California. The acoustic song segment was taken from in June 2009 for the BETA Records Music TV Series, directed by Eric MacIver and produced by Chris Honetschlaeger. (Link included in references) 

On October 16, 2009, the band put up a new song called "5 Reasons," which is, as Meg posted in a blog, about a conversation the sisters had with their mother over a break from tour.

Fall, 2009. Meg & Dia is touring with Nevershoutnever!, Now, Now Every Children, and Carter Hulsey.

Members of the Meg & Dia band are featured in Nevershoutnever's music video, "What is Love?"

2010

In July 2010, Meg & Dia announced that they were dropped from their label, Warner Bros. Records. Meg & Dia remain unsigned. The band has confirmed that they have recorded a new record, independent of a label with producer Charlie Vela.

The band released their EP titled "It's Always Stormy in Tillamook" on November 2, 2010, which featured the following tracks:

No. Title Length

1. "The One" 3:16

2. "My Ugly Mouth" 3:33

3. "Less Of Me" 4:12

4. "Dreams Like Oceans" 3:39

5. "Don't Be Careful" 3:11

6. "Love Song" 3:17

7. "The Place Where I Feel Most Like Me" 3:04

For the first 500 people that ordered a physical copy from their website, a password and link was emailed to receive the secret song "Down The Open Road."

Meg and Dia will be on tour from November 9 - December 4 across the continental United States with Joey Ryan and The Spring Standards.

2011

On April 5, 2011 the band released their 4th studio album titled Cocoon. It features the following tracks:

No. Title Length

1. "Love Is" 3:51

2. "Bandits" 4:13

3. "Unsinkable Ships" 2:19

4. "Breakdown" 3:54

5. "Mary Ann" 3:22

6. "Better Off" 3:56

7. "Said and Done" 1:46

8. "Summer Clothes" 3:09

9. "Separate" 5:24

10. "I Need You In It" 2:55

11. "Teddy Loves Her" 5:11

Dia Frampton

Dia Frampton, born October 3, 1987 is the lead singer of the band. She attended Dixie High School in St. George, Utah and Shadow Ridge High School in Las Vegas, Nevada; she graduated early by also homeschooling her senior year at the same time attending public school for her junior year in 2005 then moved to Salt Lake City with her sister to further their music career. She cites as influences Modest Mouse, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Joni Mitchell, The Avett Brothers, Rocky Votolato, Ben Folds, Etta James, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cranberries, and Cursive. During live performances, Dia plays percussion instruments, such as the cowbell and tambourine, and occasionally a Casio Privia keyboard. She almost always performs without shoes on.
Dia often recorded a "song diary," an impromptu recorded song, on her MySpace page. She explained, "It was something very raw, and to be honest, something that I was slightly embarrassed to put up because of the quality but I did anyways, for any of our listeners who would care to hear something not hot off the production belt, but something more organic and 'home made.' It made me feel better to share my feelings with people who could connect, and I think that is what happened with many.
Dia was featured in "Where Are You Now?", a song by The Summer Set. The song was released on the band's album, "Love Like This", on October 13, 2009.
Dia is a finalist on the first season of The Voice on NBC, selected by coach Blake Shelton who said "when I heard your voice, I started to smile." Dia sang the song "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat for her blind audition on Week 2.


Meg Frampton
Meg Frampton (born April 3, 1985) plays guitar and does back-up vocals for the band. She attended and was a cheerleader at Dixie High School in St. George, Utah and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She enjoys reading 18th century British literature. She lists East of Eden, Atlas Shrugged, Forever Amber, Frannie and Zooey, The Great Gatsby, Indiana, Lolita, Nine Stories, Pride and Prejudice and works by Ernest Hemingway as some of her favorites, and gets lots of inspiration from the books she reads. She also writes most of the songs on the albums, and finds comfort in her novels. On stage, she alternates between a Vintage White Fender American Telecaster and a Gibson ES-335 Dot in sunburst, and a white Gibson Les Paul Custom, though she has also played a black Gibson Les Paul Studio in the past. For acoustic songs, she plays a Taylor 814ce acoustic. Meg often performs wearing cap sleeve dresses. Meg provides the lead vocals and plays keyboard for the song "Rebecca". Recently Meg has provided intro solos for some of the band's songs during live performances such as Roses and Monster. Also she has a jewelry blog : http://chandlertherobot.blogspot.com


Nicholas Price
Nicholas Price (born May 27, 1984) is the drummer for the band. He was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and began playing drums at the age of 14. He was also in the 2004 University of Utah's Drumline. Drumming influences: John Bonham, Chad Smith, Jose Pasillas, Jimmy Chamberlin, Dave Grohl, Joe Morello, Stewart Copeland, Steve Jordan, Matt Chamberlain, Joseph Modeliste. Nick plays Gretsch Drums, Sabian Cymbals and uses Vater drumsticks. Nick met Meg and Dia when Meg crashed her car in the grocery store parking lot and ended up bringing it to Nick to fix.


Jonathan Snyder
Jonathan Snyder (born July 29, 1986) is the bassist of the band. He was born and raised in Bergen County, NJ. He began playing bass at age 13 in a local pop punk band Duckhunt. After some member changes and heavy life experiences, Duckhunt became Madison based in Dumont, NJ. The band toured for the better part of four years, including Hellogoodbye's first East Coast stint, until they amicably broke up in September 2006. Meg & Dia found Jonathan through Aric Phillips who worked for Doghouse Records, their label, at the time. Nick contacted him through eharmony.com and he became a member of the band. On stage, Jonathan plays a Fender Jazz Bass through an Mesa amplifier. Jonathan Snyder also loves pizza, puppies, bubble baths, and gardening.


Carlo Gimenez
Carlo Gimenez (born September 1, 1982) is the lead guitarist for the band. He was born to Filipino parents and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He began playing guitar at the age of 9. He states influences as Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Benson, David Sanborn, Hiram Bullock and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Nick found Carlo on YouTube when he was browsing videos, yet he was very flattered. Carlo had several videos of himself playing, which impressed Nick, who sent him messages asking him to join. On stage, Carlo usually plays a Gibson Les Paul.

Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to Valve's previous Team Fortress Classic, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows and the Xbox 360. A PlayStation 3 version then followed on November 22, 2007. The game was later released as a standalone package for Windows on April 9, 2008. Team Fortress 2 is distributed online through the Steam system, while retail distribution was handled by Electronic Arts. In June 2011, the game became a free-to-play title, supported by microtransaction for unique in-game equipment through Steam. The development of Team Fortress 2 is led by John Cook and Robin Walker, the designers who originally created the Team Fortress modification for Quake in 1996.

The game was announced in 1998, powered by Valve's GoldSrc engine, but has since been through various concepts and designs. In 1999, the game appeared to be deviating from its predecessors by pursuing a more realistic and militaristic style of gameplay, but the design metamorphosed over its nine-year development period. The final rendition sports cartoon style visuals influenced by the art of J. C. Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell and Norman Rockwell and is powered by the Source engine. The game itself revolves around two teams, each with access to nine distinct characters, battling in a variety of game modes set in evil genius environments.

The lack of information or apparent progress for six years of the game's original development caused it to be labeled as vaporware, and it was regularly featured in Wired News' annual vaporware list among other ignominies. Upon its release, the game received critical acclaim and several awards, being praised for its graphical style, balanced gameplay, comedic value and for its use of full character personalities in a dedicated multiplayer game.

Gameplay

Team Fortress 2 in play: a group of RED players attack a BLU base on the capture point map "Well". The player, a RED medic, heals a soldier as he and a scout attack a BLU pyro

Like its predecessors, Team Fortress 2 is focused around two opposing teams competing for a principal objective. These teams, Reliable Excavation & Demolition (RED) and Builders League United (BLU), are meant to represent two holding corporations that between them secretly control every government on the planet. Players can choose to play as one of nine classes in these teams, each with his own unique strengths and weaknesses. Although the abilities of a number of classes have changed from earlier Team Fortress incarnations, the basic elements of each class have remained. The game was released with six official maps, although 25 extra maps, 9 arena maps, and four training maps have been included in subsequent updates.In addition, a number of community assembled maps have been released. When players join a level for the first time, an introductory video shows how to complete its objectives. During matches, an eternally dissatisfied woman voiced by Ellen McLain announces various game events over loudspeakers. The player limit is 16 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. On the PC, a vanilla server can hold 24 players, but in 2008 Valve updated Team Fortress 2 to include a server variable that allows up to 32 players. Third party modifications have made it possible to host up to 36 players on one server.

Team Fortress 2 is the first of Valve's multiplayer games to provide detailed statistics for individual players. They include the time spent playing as each class, most points obtained and the most captures or objectives achieved in a single life. Persistent statistics tell the player how he or she is improving in relation to these statistics, such as if a player comes close to his or her record for the damage inflicted in a round.

Game modes

The objective of the game is defined by the game mode in use.

In capture the flag maps, the objective for both teams is to obtain a briefcase of intelligence from the enemy team's base and return it to their own base while preventing the opposing team from doing the same.

Control point modes are more varied in their objectives, but share the common aim of capturing a particular point on the map. In some levels, the objective for both teams is to secure all the points on the map. On other levels (attack/defend), one team already holds all the points and must defend them from the other for a set amount of time. A more complex variation (territorial control), introduced with the map "Hydro", is based on territory: each team must capture the other team's single active control point to secure that section of the map. Once all sections have been captured by one team, they are then able to attack the other team's base directly. In an update on August 13, 2009, Valve included a fourth control point variation: King of the Hill. In this mode, both RED and BLU have to capture the center point and defend it for a set amount of time before the opposing team does.

There are nine unique player classes in Team Fortress 2, categorized into offense, defense, and support roles. Each class has at least three weapons: a unique primary weapon, a common or unique secondary weapon such as a shotgun or pistol respectively, and a distinct melee weapon in keeping with the character, such as a liquor bottle for the Demoman, a kukri for the Sniper, and a fire axe for the Pyro.

The three offensive classes are the Scout, the Soldier, and the Pyro. The Scout (voiced by Nathan Vetterlein) is portrayed as a fast-talking baseball fan from Boston, Massachusetts, and is a fast, agile character armed with a scattergun and a pistol. The Scout is capable of performing double jumps and also captures control points and pushes payloads faster than two other teammates doing the same; however, the Scout cannot sustain much damage. The scout has a baseball bat for a melee weapon. The Soldier (voiced by Rick May) is more durable, but is consequently slower in his speed. A stereotypical American military man, the Soldier is armed with a rocket launcher, shotgun, and a shovel. The rocket launcher can be used to rocket jump to higher positions. The final offensive class is the Pyro (voiced by Dennis Bateman). 

Development

System requirements

Minimum Recommended

Windows

Operating system Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000

CPU 1.7 GHz 3.0 GHz

Memory 512 MB RAM 1 GB RAM

Graphics hardware DirectX 8.1 video card; 256MB minimum video card memory. (NVIDIA GeForce 5 / ATI x1500 or higher) DirectX 9.0 video card; 512MB recommended video card memory. (NVIDIA GeForce 5000 or higher / ATI Radeon or Sapphire w/ HD support)

Network Internet Connection; minimum 128kbps p/ sec with low latency.

Mac

Operating system Leopard 10.5.8, Snow Leopard 10.6.3

Memory 1 GB RAM

Graphics hardware NVIDIA GeForce 8 / ATI X1600 or higher

Network Internet Connection

Origins

Team Fortress originally began life as a free mod for Quake. Development on Team Fortress 2 switched to the GoldSrc engine in 1998 after the development team Team Fortress Software—consisting of Robin Walker and John Cook—were first contracted and finally outright employed by Valve Corporation. At the point of Team Fortress Software's acquisition production moved up a notch and the game was promoted to a standalone, retail product; to tide fans over, work began on a simple port of the game which was released in 1999 as the free Team Fortress Classic. Notably, Team Fortress Classic was built entirely within the publicly available Half-Life Software Development Kit as an example to the community and industry of its flexibility.

Early development

The new design was revealed to the public at E3 1999, where it earned several awards including Best Online Game and Best Action Game. By this time Team Fortress 2 had gained a new subtitle, Brotherhood of Arms, and the results of Walker and Cook working at Valve were becoming clear. Several new and at the time unprecedented technologies on show: Parametric animation seamlessly blended animations for smoother, more life-like movement, and Intel's multi-resolution mesh technology dynamically reduced the detail of on-screen elements as they became more distant to improve performance (a technique made obsolete by decreasing memory costs; today games use a technique known as level of detail, which uses more memory but less processing power). No release date was given at the exposition.

In mid–2000, Valve announced that development of Team Fortress 2 had been delayed for a second time. They attributed the delay to development switching to an in-house, proprietary engine that is today known as the Source engine. It was at around this time that all news ran dry and Team Fortress 2 entered six years of silent development.

Team Fortress 2 does not attempt the realistic graphical approach used in other Valve games on the Source engine such as Half-Life 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Counter-Strike: Source. Rather, it uses a more stylized, cartoon-like approach "heavily influenced by early 20th century commercial illustrations" and achieved with extensive use and manipulation of Phong shading. The development commentary in the game suggests that part of the reason for the cartoonish style was the difficulty in explaining the maps and characters in realistic terms. The removal of an emphasis on realistic settings allows these explanations to be sidestepped. The game debuted with the Source engine's new dynamic lighting, shadowing and soft particle technologies, among many other unannounced features, alongside Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Team Fortress 2 was also the first game to implement the Source engine's new Facial Animation 3 features.

The art style for the game was inspired by J. C. Leyendecker, as well as Dean Cornwell and Norman Rockwell. 

Release and ongoing development

During the July 2006 Electronic Arts press conference, Valve revealed that Team Fortress 2 would ship as the multiplayer component of The Orange Box. A conference trailer showcasing all nine of the classes demonstrated for the first time the game's whimsical new visual style. Managing director of Valve Gabe Newell said that the company's goal was to create "the best looking and best-playing class-based multiplayer game".A beta release of the entire game was made on Steam on September 17, 2007 for customers who had pre-purchased The Orange Box, who had activated their Black Box coupon, which was included with the ATI HD 2900XT Graphics cards, and for members of the Valve Cyber Café Program. The beta continued until the game's final release.

The game was released on October 10, 2007, both as a standalone product via Steam and at retail stores as part of The Orange Box compilation pack, priced at each gaming platform's recommended retail price. The Orange Box also contains Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and Portal. Valve offered The Orange Box at a ten percent discount for those who pre-purchased it via Steam before the October 10, release, as well as the opportunity to participate in the beta test.

Since the release of Team Fortress 2, Valve has continually released free updates and patches through Steam. In addition, the game is also being expanded by fans with the tools used by Valve to create the game. Valve has included some of the most popular community-created levels in the official updates. In January, 2010 Valve started allowing users to submit additional content, such as hats, weapons and Steam avatars, through a contribution site. With the first such update with the best community made content being released in March with several new hats and weapons. A current series of updates sees the classes gaining alternate weapons with different abilities, while putting in certain drawbacks to each unlockable weapon to maintain balance. The Medic, Pyro, Heavy, Scout, Sniper, Spy, "Classless", "Hallowe'en", Demoman, Soldier, and Engineer updates have been completed, together updating all nine of the classes. Later updating included the ability to craft new equipment in game, trade items with other players,purchase in-game items through funds in Steam, and save and edit replay videos that can be posted to YouTube. Valve has also occasionally released new game types as part of their updates, such as the aforementioned Payload and Payload Race, a Training mode for practicing, Highlander which restricts each team to nine players with each member playing a different class, and a Medieval mode where players are restricted to melee weapons and era projectile weapons like longbows.

On June 23, 2011, Valve announced that Team Fortress 2 would become a free-to-play title; the core game could be enjoyed for free, while unique equipment, character outfitting, and the like would be available as microtransactions through the in-game steam tied through Steam. Though Valve will continue to add items to the store to support the game, Walker asserted they will continue to provide new features and items for free. Walker noted that through various promotions, Valve has come to understand the wide range of players that continue to play the game, and that for the multiplayer title, "the more people playing the game, the higher value the game has for each individual customer". The move came after a week after Valve introduced several other third-party free-to-play games to the Steam service, and commented to journalists that they were working on their own free-to-play title.

Marketing

To promote the game, Valve has released an ongoing video advertisement series entitled "Meet the Team" since May 2007. Constructed using the game engine and slightly more detailed character models, the series consists of short videos on individual characters, displaying their personalities and tactics. The videos are usually interspersed with clips of the character in combat in the game. The manners which these are presented have varied drastically: the first installment, "Meet the Heavy", depicted an interview with the gun-obsessed Eastern European while "Meet the Soldier" showed the Soldier giving a misinformed lecture on Sun Tzu to a collection of severed heads as if to raw recruits. 

Reception

Upon release, Team Fortress 2 received widespread critical acclaim, with an overall score of 92% on both Metacritic and GameRankings. Many reviewers praised the cartoon graphics approach and the resulting light-hearted gameplay, and the use of distinct personalities and appearances for the classes impressed a number of critics, with PC Gamer UK stating that "until now multiplayer games just haven't had it. Similarly, the game modes were received well, GamePro described the settings as focusing "on just simple fun", while several reviewers praised Valve for the map "Hydro" and its attempts to create a game mode with variety in each map. Additional praise was bestowed on the game's level design, game balance and teamwork promotion. Team Fortress 2 has received several awards individually for its multiplayer gameplay and its graphical style, as well as having received a number of "game of the year" awards as part of The Orange Box.

Although Team Fortress 2 was well received, Team Fortress 2's removal of class-specific grenades, a feature of previous Team Fortress incarnations, was controversial amongst reviewers. IGN expressed some disappointment over this, while conversely PC Gamer UK stated "grenades have been removed entirely — thank God". Some further criticism came over a variety of issues, such as the lack of extra content such as bots (although Valve have since added bots in an update), problems of players finding their way around maps due to the lack of a minimap, and some mild criticism over the Medic class being too passive and repetitive in its nature. The Medic class has since been re-tooled by Valve, giving it new unlockable weapons and abilities.

Project Runway

Project Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme. Their designs are judged, and one or more designers are eliminated each week.

On July 4, 2006 the show's producers, Weinstein Company, announced a five-year deal that would relocate the show to Lifetime Television, beginning with Season 6. In response, NBC Universal filed a lawsuit against the Weinstein Company for violating its contract rights. A September 2008 court decision granted NBCU's request for an injunction, preventing Lifetime from promoting or exhibiting "Runway" until further notice.

On April 1, 2009, the lawsuit between Weinstein Co. and NBC Universal was settled, with Weinstein agreeing to pay NBC an undisclosed sum for the right to move the show to Lifetime. Season 6 began airing on Lifetime on August 20, 2009. Ironically, on August 27, 2009, NBC Universal wound up gaining partial ownership of Lifetime, when A&E Television Networks, which was already partially owned by NBC, acquired the channel's parent company, Lifetime Entertainment Services. It premiered on the Slice channel in Canada September 12.

Format

Project Runway uses progressive elimination to reduce the initial field of 12 or more fashion designers down to 3 before the final challenge. Each non-finale challenge (the scope of one episode) requires the designers to develop one or several pieces of new clothing to be presented at a runway show. The challenges range in creative diversity to test the designers' ingenuity while maintaining their personal design aesthetic. These challenges may include creating a garment from non-traditional materials, such as: apartment furnishings (Season 3), recyclable materials (Season 3), items from a grocery store (Seasons 1 & 5), edible food items (Seasons 1 & 4), plants and flowers (Season 2), using their own clothes that they happened to be wearing (Season 2), designing clothing with materials from a party store (season 8) ; or designing for a certain high-profile person (such as actress Brooke Shields, figure skater Sasha Cohen or Miss USA Tara Conner); or designing for a corporate fashion line (e.g., Banana Republic; Diane von Fürstenberg; Macy's; or Sarah Jessica Parker's Bitten); or centered around a specialized theme (such as "cocktail party", "wedding gown", "female wrestling outfit", or "prom dress").

The show took place in New York City for Seasons One through Five (with a short stop in Paris in Season 3) with designers using a workroom at The New School university's Parsons The New School for Design. They shop for materials at a fabric store in New York's Garment District (usually at MOOD Designer Fabrics) – unless the challenge requires otherwise (e.g., denim jackets and jeans from Levi's, confectionery and souvenirs at the Hershey's Store in Times Square, or fabric at Spandex House in Season 4). The designers live together, grouped by gender, at Atlas New York (an apartment building near Parsons) during Seasons 1–3 (back again at Season 5) and at New Gotham during Season 4. Along with the network change to Lifetime, the location changed from New York to Los Angeles for Season 6. While on the show, the designers are prohibited from leaving the apartments without authorization, making unauthorized communication with family or friends, or using the Internet to research designs. Designers are also forbidden to bring pattern books or similar how-to materials with them during the show, or risk being disqualified from the competition (as was the case of Keith Michael in Season 3).

The designers are given a budgeted stipend to select and purchase fabric and notions, and then provided a limited amount of time to finish their designs (the shortest being 5 hours and the longest being to two or three days, with the exception of fashion week when they are given 12 weeks). Often, the designers work independently, although on some challenges, contestants must work in teams or as a single collective group. Once the deadline is reached, the designers must dress their models and select their hair, make-up, and accessories. Each model walks down the runway, and the garment the contestant made is rated by a panel of judges, who score each look in several categories from 0 to 5, and often provide personal annotations and comments regarding the presented designs. The judges then interview the six remaining designers who garnered the highest and the lowest scores (usually a top 3 and a bottom 3), and share their opinions while listening to the designers' defense of their outfits, then confer as a group in private. The panel then announces the winning and losing designers based on their scores and other considerations. Typically, the winner receives immunity for the next challenge, and therefore cannot be eliminated. As the season progresses, immunity is disregarded during later challenges to prevent the designers from getting an easy pass to make it into the final round. Other incentives given to the contestants aside from winning immunity include: The winning garment may be featured in print media, integrated into a limited edition look for a particular clothing brand, or sold at an online fashion store (e.g., BlueFly.com beginning in Season 4 onwards). Generally, the loser of each challenge is eliminated from the competition, with host Klum giving him or her a double air kiss on the runway and wishing the eliminated designer her catchphrase, Auf Wiedersehen, before they depart. Thus, elimination from the show is sometimes called "being auf'd"--a play on words as it can be interpreted as offed.

After the final challenge, the remaining three designers are then told to prepare a complete fashion collection of twelve looks to be presented at New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park. The finalists are given 12 weeks and $8000 for this task, which they perform at their own homes or studios. While some construction work can be outsourced, the majority of the garments must be created by the designers themselves. Prior to the show, the finalists must return to New York City to oversee model casting, hair and make-up consultations, finishing touches to their clothes, final fitting on their models, and possibly an additional challenge, such as designing another outfit to blend in with the collection (Season 2). Their receipts are also handed over to the producers of the show to determine if they went over budget or had outsourcing done as favors, both of which are against the rules. If rules are violated, they may be forced to eliminate a crucial aesthetic factor in their presentation (e.g., Jeffrey Sebelia's blond wigs and pleated leather shorts in Season 3); or the judging panel might lower their scoring, if they insist upon using a forbidden item (e.g., Kara Saun's outsourced footwear in Season 1). The ultimate winner is selected by the judges, and receives $100,000 to start his or her own design line, a feature spread in Elle magazine, and a mentorship from a design firm (ended on Season 3). The winner is also given the optional opportunity to sell his or her collection on bluefly.com. Subsequent seasons have also included a new car as part of the prize package, courtesy of the automobile company Saturn.

Female fashion models, who work with the designers throughout the season, are also in the competition. Each week, as the number of designers dwindles, the number of models is also reduced. Models are randomly pre-assigned to a designer during the first challenge, but from the second challenge onwards, the designers are able to choose the model with whom they wish to work. During weekly model eliminations, the models stand on a runway with Klum, in front of the seated group of designers. The models always appear in barefoot, hair tied back and wearing a little black dress. The designers then pick their models in sequence, based upon their respective scores in the previous design competition. Originally, model selection happened at the start of every episode save for the first. The winner of the previous challenge receiving first pick, and the other designers picking models in order through Klum's random draw of large red shirt buttons with their names stored in a black velvet bag. However, there were times when only the winning designer was given the choice to pick with the following choices: either keep his or her previous model, take the losing designer's model from the last challenge, or switch models with another competing designer. Beginning with Season 6, model selection appears on a companion program, Models of the Runway, usually near the end of that show. At the end of the weekly model selection process, the one unpicked model is sent home. This losing model is also given host Klum's air kiss and Auf Wiedersehen before leaving the runway. Included in the prize package for the winning model is coverage in Elle magazine, featuring the winning designer's twelve-piece collection as part of her prize. However, certain challenges may not require the models at all, such as: giving a competing designer a head-to-toe makeover (Season 2 and 5), designers creating their own looks (Season 3), designing menswear (Season 4), or creating a garment for a specific client (e.g., reconstructed outfits for women who lost weight, or wrestling costumes for the WWE Divas in Season 4).

Joining Klum in judging duties are American designer Michael Kors, Marie Claire fashion director Nina Garcia, and a fourth judge – typically a fashion designer (Diane von Fürstenberg, Vera Wang, Zac Posen, Austin Scarlett, Francisco Costa, Betsey Johnson, Alberta Ferretti, Roberto Cavalli, Monique Lhuillier, Catherine Malandrino), a supermodel (Iman or Alessandra Ambrosio), a celebrity (Victoria Beckham, Sarah Jessica Parker, Christina Aguilera, Nicky Hilton, Natalie Portman), or a professional from an industry related to the challenge given (Nancy O'Dell, Rachel Zoe, Tiki Barber, Apolo Anton Ohno, Patricia Field, Ivanka Trump). Tim Gunn, former faculty member of Parsons The New School for Design and now Chief Creative Officer for Liz Claiborne Inc., acts as mentor to the designers and does not participate in the judging. Instead, he visits the designers midway through each challenge to comment and suggest improvements for each design, as well as announcing additional challenge updates and enforcing the time limit before each runway show. Gunn also usually announces the design challenges along with from Klum, and accompanies the designers during their fabric shopping at MOOD or on field trips related to a particular challenge. Gunn serves other functions as well, including bidding farewell to each eliminated designer and model, and visiting the homes of each of the three finalist designers.

Pride

Pride is an inward directed emotion that exemplifies either an inflated sense of one's personal status or the specific mostly positive emotion that is a product of praise or independent self-reflection. Philosophers and social psychologists have noted that pride is a complex secondary emotion which requires the development of a sense of self and the mastery of relevant conceptual distinctions (e.g., that pride is distinct from happiness and joy) through language-based interaction with others. Some social psychologists identify it as linked to a signal of high social status. One definition of pride in the first sense comes from St. Augustine: "the love of one's own excellence". In this sense, the opposite of pride is either humility or guilt; the latter in particular being a sense of one's own failure in contrast to Augustine's notion of excellence.

Pride is sometimes viewed as excessive or as a vice, sometimes as proper or as a virtue. While some philosophers such as Aristotle (and George Bernard Shaw) consider pride a profound virtue, most world religions consider it a sin. Proverbs 6:16-17

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, proud comes from late Old English prut, probably from Old French prud "brave, valiant" (11th century) (which became preux in French), from Late Latin term prodis "useful", which is compared with the Latin prodesse "be of use". The sense of "having a high opinion of oneself", not in French, may reflect the Anglo-Saxons' opinion of the Norman knights who called themselves "proud", like the French knights preux.

When viewed as a virtue, pride in one's appearance and abilities is known as virtuous pride, greatness of soul or magnanimity, but when viewed as a vice it is often termed vanity or vainglory. Pride can also manifest itself as a high opinion of one's nation (national pride) and ethnicity (ethnic pride).

Philosophical views

Ancient Greek philosophy

Aristotle identified pride (megalopsuchia, variously translated as proper pride, greatness of soul and magnanimity) as the crown of the virtues, distinguishing it from vanity, temperance, and humility, thus:

Now the man is thought to be proud who thinks himself worthy of great things, being worthy of them; for he who does so beyond his deserts is a fool, but no virtuous man is foolish or silly. The proud man, then, is the man we have described. For he who is worthy of little and thinks himself worthy of little is temperate, but not proud; for pride implies greatness, as beauty implies a goodsized body, and little people may be neat and well-proportioned but cannot be beautiful.

He concludes then that

Pride, then, seems to be a sort of crown of the virtues; for it makes them more powerful, and it is not found without them. Therefore it is hard to be truly proud; for it is impossible without nobility and goodness of character. 

Nietzsche

Nietzsche saw pride as an example of a previous, master set of morals that had been replaced with slave moralities. In this, pride was good, because it acknowledges the good and the noble, rejecting the weak and insipid. Without pride, Nietzsche argued, we will remain subservient.

Psychological views

As an emotion

In psychological terms, Pride is "a pleasant, sometimes exhilarating, emotion that results from a positive self-evaluation".It was added by Tracy et al. to the University of California, Davis, Set of Emotion Expressions (UCDSEE) in 2009, as one the three “self-conscious” emotions known to have recognizable expressions (along with embarrassment and shame) 

The term "fiero" was coined by Italian psychologist Isabella Poggi to describe the pride experienced and expressed in the moments following a personal triumph over adversity. Facial expressions and gestures that demonstrate pride can involve a lifting of the chin, smiles, or arms on hips to demonstrate victory. Individuals may implicitly grant status to others based solely on their expressions of pride, even in cases in which they wish to avoid doing so. Indeed, some studies shows that the nonverbal expression of pride conveys a message that is automatically perceived by others about a person's high social status in a group.

Positive outcomes

A common understanding of pride is that it results from self-directed satisfaction with meeting the personal goals; for example, Weiner et al. have posited that positive performance outcomes elicit pride in an individual when the event is appraised as having been caused by him alone. Moreover, Oveis et al. conceptualize pride as a display of the strong self that promotes feelings of similarity to strong others, as well as differentiation from weak others. Seen in this light, pride can be conceptualized as a hierarchy-enhancing emotion, as its experience and display helps rid negotiations of conflict.Pride involves exhilarated pleasure and a feeling of accomplishment. It is related to "more positive behaviors and outcomes in the area where the individual is proud" (Weiner, 1985). 

In economic psychology

In the field of economic psychology, Pride is conceptualized in a spectrum ranging from ‘proper pride’, associated with genuine achievements, and ‘false pride,’ which can be maladaptive or even pathological. Lea et al. have examined the role of pride various economic situations and claim that in all cases pride is involved because economic decisions are not taken in isolation from one another, but are linked together by the selfhood of the people who take them. Understood in this way, pride is an emotional state that works to ensure that people take financial decisions that are in their long-term interests, even when in the short term they would appear irrational.

Sin, pride, and self-acceptance

Dr. Terry D. Cooper (2003) conceptualizes excessive pride, along with low self-esteem, as an important paradigm in describing the human condition. He examines and compares the Augustinian-Niebuhrian conviction that pride is primary, the feminist concept of pride as being absent in the experience of women, the humanistic psychology position that pride does not adequately account for anyone's experience, and the humanistic psychology idea that if pride emerges, it is always a false front designed to protect an undervalued self. He considers that the work of certain neo-Freudian psychoanalysts, namely Karen Horney, offer promise in dealing with what he calls a "deadlock between the overvalued and undervalued self" (Cooper, 112-13). He refers to their work in describing the connection between religious and psychological pride as well as sin to describe how a neurotic pride system underlies an appearance of self-contempt and low self-esteem:

The "idealized self," the "tyranny of the should," the "pride system" and the nature of self-hate all point toward the intertwined relationship between neurotic pride and self-contempt. understanding how a neurotic pride system underlies an appearance of self-contempt and low self-esteem. (Cooper, 112-13).

Hubris and group pride

Hubris itself is associated with more intra-individual negative outcomes and is commonly related to expressions of aggression and hostility (Tangney, 1999). As one might expect, Hubris is not necessarily associated with high self-esteem but with highly fluctuating or variable self-esteem. Excessive feelings of hubris have a tendency to create conflict and sometimes terminating close relationships, which has led it to be understood as one of the few emotions without any clear positive or adaptive functions (Rhodwalt, et al.). Several studies by UC Davis psychologist Cynthia Picket, have shown that groups that boast, gloat or denigrate others tend to have low social status or be vulnerable to threats from other groups. Claiming that "hubristic, pompous displays of group pride might actually be a sign of group insecurity as opposed to a sign of strength," she believes that those that express pride by humbly focusing on members' efforts and hard work tend to have high social standing. In contrast, those groups that expressed pride by humbly focusing on members' efforts and hard work tended to have high social standing in both the public and personal eyes.

National pride

Germany

In Germany, "national pride" ("Nationalstolz") is often associated with the former Nazi regime. Strong displays of national pride are therefore considered poor taste by many Germans. There is an ongoing public debate about the issue of German patriotism. The World Cup in 2006, held in Germany, saw a wave of patriotism sweep the country in a manner not seen for many years. Although many were hesitant to show such blatant support as the hanging of the national flag from windows, as the team progressed through the tournament, so too did the level of support across the nation. By the time the semi-final against Italy came around, the level of national pride and unity was at its highest throughout the tournament, and the hosting of the World Cup is seen to have been a great success for Germany as a nation.

Ethnic pride

Asian pride

Asian pride in modern slang refers mostly to those of East Asian descent, though it can include anyone of Asian descent. Asian pride was originally fragmented, as Asian nations have had long conflicts with each other, examples are the old Japanese and Chinese religious beliefs of their individual superiority. Asian pride emerged prominently during European colonialism. At one time, Europeans controlled 85% of the world's land through colonialism, resulting in anti-Western feelings among Asian nations. Today, some Asians still look upon European involvement in their affairs with suspicion. 

Black pride

Black pride is a slogan used primarily in the United States to raise awareness for a black racial identity. The slogan has been used by African Americans (especially of sub-Saharan African origin) to denote a feeling of entitlement, self-respect, celebrating one's heritage, and being proud of one's personal worth. Black pride as a national movement is closely linked with the developments of the American Civil Rights Movement, during which noted figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, A. Philip Randolph, Stokely Carmichael, and others protested the conditions of the United States' segregated society, and lobbied for better treatment for people of the Black race. Roy Innis has sought to enhance and build on the black pride movement of the mid-1960s, he and a Congress of Racial Equality delegation toured seven African countries in 1971. Curtis Mayfield's "We're a Winner" became a virtual anthem of the black power and black pride movements.

The concept of black power permeated into the work of popular musicians at the time. The Impressions's "We're a Winner", written by their lead singer Curtis Mayfield, became a virtual anthem of the black power and black pride movements, as did James Brown's "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud", Collin Carlone's "Life As a 'Boro Black Boy", and, unwittingly, Martha & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street". In addition to Black America, the Black Pride Movement was very prevalent in "“Afro-Brazil"., especially throughout their poorer population. A local and global recognition of this movement has been demonstrated throughout Brazilian funk. Brazilian Funk’s origin reflects Brazilian Black resistance and today appeals to a larger regional cultural identity. Ethnomusicologist George Yúdice’s states that youth were engaging black culture mediated by a U.S. culture industry met with many arguments against their susceptibility to cultural colonization. Although it borrows some ingredients from a form of Black American musical resistance hip hop, its style still remains unique to the Brazil (specifically in Rio and São Paulo).

White pride

White pride is a slogan used primarily in the United States to agitate for a white Race (classification of human beings) identity and was traditionally closely aligned with white supremacy, white separatism, and other extreme manifestations of white racism. Recently, white pride activism tends to be the voice for those seeing undue attention being drawn to "black pride" and claims that white pride is equivalent to "black pride" and similar terms that express no more than ethnic self-affirmation.

LGBT pride

Gay pride refers to a world wide movement and philosophy asserting that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity. It is often shortened by LGBT individuals to just Pride. LGBT pride advocates work for equal "rights and benefits" for LGBT people. The movement has three main premises: that people should be proud of their sexual preference and gender identity, that sexual diversity is a gift, and that sexual orientation and gender identity are inherent and cannot be intentionally altered.

Vanity

In conventional parlance, vanity sometimes is used in a positive sense to refer to a rational concern for one's personal appearance, attractiveness and dress and is thus not the same as pride. However, it also refers to an excessive or irrational belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness in the eyes of others and may in so far be compared to pride. The term Vanity originates from the Latin word vanitas meaning emptiness, untruthfulness, futility, foolishness and empty pride. Here empty pride means a fake pride, in the sense of vainglory, unjustified by one's own achievements and actions, but sought by pretense and appeals to superficial characteristics.

In many religions, vanity is considered a form of self-idolatry, in which one rejects God for the sake of one's own image, and thereby becomes divorced from the graces of God. The stories of Lucifer and Narcissus (who gave us the term narcissism), and others, attend to a pernicious aspect of vanity. In Western art, vanity was often symbolized by a peacock, and in Biblical terms, by the Whore of Babylon. In secular allegory, vanity was considered one of the minor vices.

"All Is Vanity" by C. Allan Gilbert, suggesting an intertwinement between life and death.

In his table of the Seven Deadly Sins, Hieronymus Bosch depicts a bourgeois woman admiring herself in a mirror held up by a devil. Behind her is an open jewelry box. A painting attributed to Nicolas Tournier, which hangs in the Ashmolean Museum, is An Allegory of Justice and Vanity. A young woman holds a balance, symbolizing justice; she does not look at the mirror or the skull on the table before her. Vermeer's famous painting Girl with a Pearl Earring is sometimes believed to depict the sin of vanity, as the young girl has adorned herself before a glass without further positive allegorical attributes.

Literary references

Ancient Greece

In Ancient Greece, instances of pride were termed hubris because of the added connotation that pride was a crime against the gods and would result in fatal retribution. The word was also used to describe those who considered themselves more important than the gods themselves. Hubris against the gods is often attributed as a character flaw of the heroes in Greek tragedy, and the cause of the "nemesis", or destruction, which befalls these characters. However, this represents only a small proportion of occurrences of hubris in Greek literature, and for the most part hubris refers to infractions by mortals against other mortals. Therefore, it is now generally agreed that the Greeks did not generally think of hubris as a religious matter, still less that it was normally punished by the gods. The ancient Greek concept of hubris extended to what would today be termed assault and battery.

Achilles and his treatment of Hector's corpse in Homer's Iliad demonstrates hubris.

Modern times

Victor in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein exudes hubris in order to become a great scientist, but is eventually regretting this previous desire. Faustus in Christopher Marlowe's play Dr. Faustus exudes hubris, all the way until his final minutes of life. Hubris is extreme haughtiness or arrogance. Hubris often indicates being out of touch with reality and overestimating one's own competence or capabilities, especially for people in positions of power. In his book The Hubris Syndrome: Bush, Blair and the Intoxication of Power the British politician David Owen argues that President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair developed a Hubristic Syndrome while in power. In particular their handling of the Iraq War showed their hubristic tendencies. Pride is also in relation to ego, a person's ego and "over self confidence" are pride, which other people don't always like.

Melissa Molinaro

Melissa Molinaro, born June 4, 1982 also credited or known as Melissa S. or Melissa Smith is a Canadian, pop singer, actor, choreographer and model. She is perhaps best known for her reality TV appearances on Making The Band 3 and Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For the Next Doll. She is currently recording her debut pop/dance album scheduled for 2011 release, recently co-starred in Dolph Lundgren's action film, Command Performance, and had a major role in Honey 2 (2011). She adopted her mother's maiden name Molinaro as her professional name. Melissa has received notable attention from her appearance in Old Navy's "Super C-U-T-E" commercial in 2011. The video for "Dance Floor", the first single from Melissa's debut album "The Love/Dance Project" features choreography by JaQuel Knight had its debut on YouTube on 24 February 2011.

Career

Born Melissa Ann Smith in Toronto, her family moved to Rochester Hills, Michigan when she was 13 years old. She began figure skating at the age of 3, gymnastics at age 5 and soon began attending Deborah's Stage Dance Door Performing Arts Academy. She was cast as the lead in on-stage productions like "Cinderella", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Cabaret".

At the age of 18, Melissa auditioned for the girl pop group, "Goddess", and became its lead singer. She was signed to a production deal with Interscope Records, and made her first recording demo. While Goddess never achieved greatness, Melissa continued to work consistently as an actor, dancer and model, appearing in several films, television shows, music videos and commercials.

Her early credits include feature film High Crimes and The Hillz; TV series Happy Family, Rodney and Grounded for Life and the unaired WB pilot Prep; music videos for Celine Dion and JC Chasez and The Black Eyed Peas Instant Def webisode. She has appeared in many commercials and done promotional modeling for Miss Fitness, Detroit Automotive Show, Sports By Brooks, Microsoft, Xbox, Sketcher, Nappytabs, Nivea and Dickies Girls.

She auditioned for MTV's Making The Band 3 and almost won a spot in the group Danity Kane. She made the final eleven girls but when it came to the finale of the show, the final slot came down to Melissa and Aundrea Fimbres and Fimbres made the cut. She later took part in another music-themed reality TV show called Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For the Next Doll in which she competed to become the next member of The Pussycat Dolls. She won many challenges and finished as the 3rd runner up. She went on to host the Detroit auditions for Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious for CW 50.

She recorded her debut solo single "I Believed" with producer Rex Rideout, which was released independently with 4847 Records in 2008 on iTunes. Her music video to I Believed has collectively received nearly one million views on YouTube.

She landed a lead role in an action movie starring and directed by Dolph Lundgren, Command Performance in which she plays Venus, a massive music star who becomes a hostage after a Moscow charity concert turns bloody. She performs a song called Lost In Love in the film, which is commercially available on the 2008 compilation album Soul By The Pound from Fluid Music USA Inc. She guest starred on Slavi's Show to promote "Command Performance" which premiered at the Ischia Film Festival on July 19, 2009 and was then released on DVD on November 3, 2009.

She landed the role of Carla in the dance sequel Honey 2 due for release in 2011. In addition to Honey 2, her debut album is expected to be released by mid-year and features collaborations with multiple producers and songwriters. In 2009, she appeared in the Fox sitcom Brothers and on Jimmy Kimmel Live at the Los Angeles premiere of the film Michael Jackson's This Is It. In 2010, she appeared in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

In early 2011, Molinaro was featured as the lead performer in the smash hit Old Navy advertisement "Super C-U-T-E" that garnered over 1.7 million views on YouTube within the first week of release. The advertisement also received notice from entertainment outlets such as People and E! News for Molinaro's purported resemblance to Kim Kardashian in the shoot. She also released her single Dance Floor on 25 February 2011 and the music video has over 200 thousand views on YouTube.

She is currently dating Reggie Bush of the NFL's New Orleans Saints.

Filmography

Honey 2 (2011) as Carla

Balls to the Wall (2011) as Melissa

TMZ on TV (2011) (TV series) (episode dated 28 March 2011) as Herself

Inside Edition (2011) (TV series) (episode dated 10 March 2011) as Herself

ET Canada (2007–2011) (TV series) (2 episodes) as Herself

E! News (2011) (TV series) (episode dated 25 February 2011) as Herself

How I Met Your Mother (2010) (TV series) (episode False Positive) as Noelle

Entertainment Tonight (2010) (TV series) (episode dated 25 June 2011) as Herself

Brothers (2009) (TV series) (episode Week in the Chair) as Girl #2 (as Melissa Smith)

Command Performance (2009) as Venus (as Melissa Smith)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (2009) (TV series) (episode dated dated 29 October 2009) as Herself (as Melissa Smith)

The Aubrey O'Day Show (2009) as Herself (as Melissa)

Slavi's Show (2008) (TV series) (episode dated dated 12 September 2008) as Herself (as Melissa Smith)

The Bad Ass Frank Show (2008) (web series) (episodes #55 & #56) as Herself (as Melissa Smith)

CushTV (2007) (webisode) as Jenny (as Melissa Smith)

CW 50 (2007 (webisode) as Herself – Host (as Melissa S.)

Star! Daily (2007) (TV series) (episode dated dated 23 April 2007) as Herself (as Melissa Smith)

Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For the Next Doll (2007) (TV series) as Herself – Contestant (as Melissa S.)

Exposed (2007) (TV series) (episode Celebrity Edition) as Herself (as Melissa Smith)

Balance (2006) as Girl Victim (as Melissa Smith)

Rodney (2006) (TV series) (episode Where the Rubber Meets the Road) as Dance Major (as Melissa Smith)

The Black Eyed Peas Instant Def (2006) (webisode) as Girl in the Crowd (as Melissa Smith)

Making The Band 3 (2005–2006) (TV series) as Herself – Contestant (Season 2) (as Melissa)

The Young and the Restless (2004) as JT's Love Interest (as Melissa Smith)

Happy Family (2004) as Hostess (as Melissa Smith)

The Hillz (2004) as Melissa (as Melissa Smith)

Bikini Destinations (2004) (TV series) (episode Costa Rica) as Herself – Model (as Melissa Smith)

Destiny's Child (2003) as Danielle (as Melissa Smith)

Grounded for Life (2003) (TV series) (episode Just Like a Woman) as Cheerleader (uncredited)

High Crimes (2002) as Soldier’s Girlfriend (uncredited)

Prep (2002) as Britney (as Melissa Smith)

Journey of Redemption (2002) as Ashley Anderson (as Melissa Smith)