EM123 LIFESTYLE [ 6C ] Tuesday, July 26, 2011 Turtle takes off as ‘Entourage’ winds down By ALICIA RANCILIO gone through his own transformation is writing. After “begging for a few Jerry Ferrara The Associated Press over the course of the show. years” for an opportunity, Ferrara co- says writing an NEW YORK — Jerry Ferrara’s char- He’s lost roughly 50 pounds and is wrote two episodes of “Entourage” this looking forward to the challenge of season after creator Doug Ellin gave episode of acter on “Entourage,” known as Turtle, “Entourage” was first introduced as a pot-smoking finding work beyond “Entourage.” him the chance. slacker living with his movie star “Times are a little bit different now. “He babysat me along the way,” Fer- was terrifying friend, working as his chauffeur, and (In the past) if you were a television rara said. “It was a goal I had from the because he enjoying the perks of being so close to actor you were a television actor and if very beginning and so we got it in in worried about fame. you were a movie actor then that’s it,” the last season.” his co-stars’ In the eighth and final season, he said. “Now people are segueing Ferrara says it wasn’t easy to write reactions. which premiered Sunday on HBO, he’s from TV to movies rather easily and for himself. an entrepreneur with dreams of his you’re seeing a lot of people go from “I wanted to write myself out of the own success who has Mark Cuban on movies to television so I just think episode,” he said. “I just didn’t want speed dial. there are no rules anymore.” In real life, Ferrara, now 31, has One thing he can add to his resume See FERRARA Page 7C HBO Analysts say GENTLEMEN math, English matter most PREFER BLOGS on ACT By JAY MATHEWS Men’s fashion goes online in style The Washington Post If you are among the growing number of students who have taken or plan to take the ACT college en- trance test, pay attention. An independent analysis of results in Ohio has concluded that two of the ACT’s four subject tests — Reading and Science — are lousy predictors of college success and should be ignored by admissions officers. The Stanford and University of Chicago scholars who wrote the report, recently published by the Na- tional Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), say scores from the other two ACT subject tests, Math- ematics and English, “are much more tightly corre- lated with college success than are Reading and Sci- ence scores. In fact, after controlling for Mathematics and English scores, Reading and Science provide es- sentially no predictive power regarding college out- comes.” ACT Inc., which has pulled even with the SAT in total number of test takers, challenged the study’s conclusions. It said the composite ACT score reflect- ing all four subject tests was still “a good predictor of future college academic success.” An ACT statement said each of the subject tests helps identify strengths and weakness so they can be addressed by their schools. One of the authors who examined the ACT told me they did not reach any conclusions about the predic- tive value of the SAT because they lack the data to do so. Both the ACT and the SAT have been pounded by critics, but they maintain a strong hold on the college admissions process. Hundreds of colleges allow at least some students to apply without submitting ACT or SAT scores, since they find high school grades just as good a predictor of college success. But the most selective colleges, including every school in the Ivy League, usually require that applicants take the SAT or the ACT. The scholars who analyzed the ACT, Eric Bettinger of the Stanford education school and Devin Pope of the University of Chicago business school, plus Stan- ford doctoral student Brent Evans, say that if the Reading and Science subject test results were ig- nored, the process of matching students with the col- leges best for them could be significantly improved. “By introducing noise that obscures the predictive validity of the ACT exam, the Reading and Science tests cause students to be inefficiently matched to schools, admitted to schools that may be too de- manding — or too easy — for their levels of ability,” said the paper, “Improving College Performance and Retention the Easy Way: Unpacking the ACT Exam.” The statement by the Iowa City-based ACT Inc. did not challenge the analysis of Ohio scores, but said the authors’ conclusion was wrong. “We have 50 years of research showing the efficacy of each of the four subject tests in predicting college outcomes,” the ACT statement said. “Our research indicates that STOCK.XCHNG each of the individual subject tests is a strong predic- tor of a student’s aligned courses.” With time — and money — for trips to the tailor limited, lots of guys are turning the the trusty Internet for fashion savvy. See ACT Page 7C By KATHERINE BOYLE IN STYLE ONLINE The Washington Post y “A Continuous Lean” — Since 2007, ACL WASHINGTON has showcased “good-looking things.” Its here’s one in every workplace. He sits at the cubicle list of born-in-the-U.S.A. products and across from you. Gregarious and well-groomed, he’s the maps of men’s shops in New York make it star on your office’s softball team. But he’s also a secre- a lifestyle fave. tive character, hunched over his keyboard, closing win- AContinuouslean.com dows with the haste of a hunted gazelle. Is he an eBay T y overlord? Maybe dabbling in high-stakes gambling? Or a secret “Kempt” — An offshoot of snarky agent? UrbanDaddy, this blog gives fashion No, chances are that innocent young dandy is just browsing scoop, tips on dyeing shoes and dressing men’s style blogs. in “extremely hot weather.” The last Long ago, in the old country, males visited trusted tailors for means handkerchiefs and madras. tips on fit and style. In the 20th century, fashionable fellows Getkempt.com read lifestyle bibles such as GQ or Esquire in the seclusion of y their own bathrooms; yet even there, a 100-page monthly “Gilt Manual” — The ultimate “how-to” couldn’t break the standard, sartorial tropes imposed upon site, this Gilt Group member has easy-to- them. Man was divided: urban or rural, white- or blue-col- follow guides like ones on wearing shorts lared. at work and “Moisturizing Like a Man.” The valiant wore vibrant flourishes such as studded cuff Gilt.com/giltmanual links or magenta socks, but, mostly, men dressed like their y “Put This On” — A style catch-all with forefathers, who passed down style heritage like they would a instructional films by editors Adam good pocket watch: “(Suits) have to be new, yet they must look Lisagor and Jesse Thorn that cover old. Filling the pockets of one’s new suit with stones and hang- grooming, shopping and fashion faux pas ing it out in the rain is one possible solution,” said John Robert such as wearing suits with trainers. Russell Bedford in the 1965 classic “The Duke of Bedford’s Putthison.com Book of Snobs.” y But times have changed. “JJJJound” — No text. No titles. This blog “Guys today have lost all sense of occasion. They’re not is a continuous stream of stunning STOCK.XCHNG taught to dress for different circumstances,” says Glenn photos, showcasing models, cars, hats, A recent analysis of ACT scores comes to the stoves, concerts and other inspirational conclusion that the reading and science See STYLE Page 7C eye candy. Jjjjound.com segments are poor predictors of college success..