No Health - The New Division. My sister recently introduced me to electro-pop crooners The New Division, via their album "The Rookie". I am now certifiably in love, and am combing the internet for their tracks. They combine my adoration for a relaxed melodic vibe and my love for techno, house, and electronica. They remind me a little of '80s sensations like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys.
http://hypem.com/#!/item/19fyy/The+New+Division+-+No+Health
Starfield - The New Division.
http://hypem.com/#!/item/15fwm/The+New+Division+-+Starfield
Walk in the Dark - The New Division.
http://hypem.com/#!/item/1ahte/The+New+Division+-+Walk+In+The+Dark
Armistice (The New Division Italo Mix) - Phoenix. So while hunting around for stuff by New Division I stumbled across this remix and fell in LOVE. I already adored Phoenix's album "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix", and this remix takes Armistice to great places. If you give one track on today's Listening To a listen, make it this one.
http://hypem.com/#!/item/1a58g/Phoenix+-+Armistice+%28The+New+Division+Italo+Mix%29
Lisztomania (Feat Jane Hanley) - Edwin Van Cleef. Continuing the theme of Phoenix tracks, this cover by Edwin Van Cleef is a winner. Very upbeat and danceable. I'll be filing it away for the summertime. Enjoy!
http://hypem.com/#!/item/1aw3v/Edwin+Van+Cleef+-+Lisztomania+%28feat.+Jane+Hanley%29,+Phoenix+Cover
Black and Yellow (T-Pain Remix) - Dirty. If you like the original, you'll like the remix. I refuse to be embarrassed by my enduring appreciation of T-Pain.
http://hypem.com/#!/item/16ps2/Black+and+Yellow+%28T-Pain+Remix%29+-+Dirty
Helena Beat - Foster the People. I actually caught this one on a television show and found it so catchy I had to hunt it down by googling the lyrics. It's kind of an Indie-pop, very danceable, lots of fun.
http://hypem.com/#!/item/180pe/Foster+The+People+-+Helena+Beat
The Sun - The Naked and Famous. Another track picked up off TV. This one's less dance-like and more brooding, for lack of a better word. Definitely a good one. It's a lot like Blind by Mega Bass, if you're at all familiar with that one (it was on the Daydreaming Playlist).
http://hypem.com/#!/item/15270/The+Naked+And+Famous+-+The+Sun
Set Fire To the Rain - Adele. I recently bought Adele's newest album, "21", which I'd heard good things about. There are definitely songs that stand out more than others, and one of those was Set Fire to the Rain. It's one of those power-ballad types that she just nails every time.
29.4.11
Well if that's what you're into....
Recently I enjoyed a post on Diary of a Spinster Aunt where the authoress mused about the bizarre referrals she was getting from Google searches. I heartily enjoyed it and reflected on how the strangest Google referrals I get are generally garbled misspellings of the blog title - serves me right for choosing a name no one can spell, let alone pronounce.
Anyway, amusingly enough only a couple of weeks later when I was checking my own blog stats I discovered several totally weird referring sites and searches:
Anyway, amusingly enough only a couple of weeks later when I was checking my own blog stats I discovered several totally weird referring sites and searches:
For starters, I am pumped that the Royal Wedding manicure is getting out to the world. But can someone please tell me what "a shoe called arbiter" is all about? The only thing that occurs to me is that it is some kind of children's book. However, while the "a shoe called arbiter" search referral interests me, the "www.mygfgetfucked.com" referral scares me a little. To be honest I've been too afraid of what I might find to check out the site. With a title like that I can't imagine anything good. I've narrowed it down to either porn or some kind of break-up revenge thing. Who knows? Anyway, at the very least I figured it was worth a laugh. I look forward to enjoying your various strange searches in the future.
First article for My ETV Media!
Earlier I mentioned that I have been hired as a guest contributor for My ETV Media. As promised, here is a link to my first review, a critique of Limitless. Along with the review you will find a trailer for the film as well as a photo gallery. I encourage you to check out the site, hope you enjoy it!
http://myetvmedia.com/film-review/limitless/
http://myetvmedia.com/film-review/limitless/
A Royal Victory: Alexander McQueen hits a home run
It is ten to five in the morning and I have just finished watching several hours of live footage of what can fairly be called the wedding of this generation. Hailed as the "resurgence of the British monarchy", the events of this morning, April 29th, have reached a rumoured audience of two billion people around the world. The pageantry, music, and setting combined to create an undeniably moving spectacle that drew upon hundreds of years of tradition and history.
One of the best moments must have been the long waited for reveal of Catherine Middleton's (now the Duchess of Cambridge) wedding gown. As it turned out the rumour mill correctly guessed the dress's designer: it was created by Alexander McQueen's new Creative Director Sarah Burton. I can hardly imagine being happier with the design Kate ultimately settled on: the cut, fabric, and design were perfection. The dress balanced taste, romance, and modesty in an artful blend, invoking both a Grace Kelly-like aura and a pleasing modernity. It wisely excluded overtly trendy features which might date it (like Diana's or Sarah Ferguson's). Having watched my fair share of Say Yes To the Dress I was so delighted to see long sleeves - which I feel have been tragically overlooked in favour of strapless designs - and a higher collar. Hopefully this will encourage further innovation and variation in wedding apparel.
I would say more, but I've been awake for almost a solid 24 hours now and am having trouble stringing together coherent sentences. So, without further adieu here are some photos of what you all want to see most - the dress. Once I've had some sleep (and the photos are finally up!) I'll do another post on the fashions sported by wedding guests (Victoria Beckham's outfit was so glamorous!).
One of the best moments must have been the long waited for reveal of Catherine Middleton's (now the Duchess of Cambridge) wedding gown. As it turned out the rumour mill correctly guessed the dress's designer: it was created by Alexander McQueen's new Creative Director Sarah Burton. I can hardly imagine being happier with the design Kate ultimately settled on: the cut, fabric, and design were perfection. The dress balanced taste, romance, and modesty in an artful blend, invoking both a Grace Kelly-like aura and a pleasing modernity. It wisely excluded overtly trendy features which might date it (like Diana's or Sarah Ferguson's). Having watched my fair share of Say Yes To the Dress I was so delighted to see long sleeves - which I feel have been tragically overlooked in favour of strapless designs - and a higher collar. Hopefully this will encourage further innovation and variation in wedding apparel.
I would say more, but I've been awake for almost a solid 24 hours now and am having trouble stringing together coherent sentences. So, without further adieu here are some photos of what you all want to see most - the dress. Once I've had some sleep (and the photos are finally up!) I'll do another post on the fashions sported by wedding guests (Victoria Beckham's outfit was so glamorous!).
Update: Photos are now circulating of Kate Middleton's reception dress (a more modest gown for the after parties) which also happens to be designed by Alexander McQueen. While I think the dress is pretty (rather simple), I absolutely HATE that shrug she's wearing. It looks like those terrible furry sweaters that seemed to enjoy a short-lived popularity around the early 2000s. Of all the cover ups she could have picked that has to be the worst. Cringe.
28.4.11
Royal Wedding Manicure
Ladies and gentlemen, I have a treat for you today. You are already aware I majored in History at university, but many of you will not know that I specialized in British history or that the monarchy is one of my favourite parts of history to study (I took an entire course entirely centred on the British monarchy and it was awesome!). Anyway, as such I have a deep fondness for the institution and a fascination with it, so the upcoming royal nuptials have me very excited!
Besides being an incredible continuation of ceremonies that extend back thousands of years, I also find the upcoming wedding interesting in a more social context. It's so lovely to see the world (well, maybe just the Commonwealth) get excited about something together. After so many years of endless headlines on the market crash, its consequent recession, oil spills, wars, and the usual doom and gloom it's so refreshing to finally see people coming together and being happy. Nothing gets people's spirits up quite like a wedding, and considering royal weddings only happen once every thirty or so years (I wasn't yet alive when Charles and Diana married) it's definitely something remarkable.
So, in keeping with all this my mother, sister and I will all be staying up until one or two in the morning or whenever when things will be starting live in England and we're having a little Royal Wedding Party. There will be lots of tea and we're all dressing up (my sister and I are going to do our best Kate Middleton impressions). I have a veil I'm going to bust out while I believe my sister is going to sport a hat with a whole lot of feathers. Today we picked up replica rings of Kate/Diana's engagement ring, and - the theme of this post - painted our nails Will & Kate Wedding-style. Anyway, I thought I'd share the photos of the finished result.
My original plan had been to use our nail stamper for the crowns and the bells, but it was being SO UNCOOPERATIVE so I eventually gave up and had to freehand it. So, it's not quite as tidy as I would have liked but I'm still pretty pleased.
Besides being an incredible continuation of ceremonies that extend back thousands of years, I also find the upcoming wedding interesting in a more social context. It's so lovely to see the world (well, maybe just the Commonwealth) get excited about something together. After so many years of endless headlines on the market crash, its consequent recession, oil spills, wars, and the usual doom and gloom it's so refreshing to finally see people coming together and being happy. Nothing gets people's spirits up quite like a wedding, and considering royal weddings only happen once every thirty or so years (I wasn't yet alive when Charles and Diana married) it's definitely something remarkable.
So, in keeping with all this my mother, sister and I will all be staying up until one or two in the morning or whenever when things will be starting live in England and we're having a little Royal Wedding Party. There will be lots of tea and we're all dressing up (my sister and I are going to do our best Kate Middleton impressions). I have a veil I'm going to bust out while I believe my sister is going to sport a hat with a whole lot of feathers. Today we picked up replica rings of Kate/Diana's engagement ring, and - the theme of this post - painted our nails Will & Kate Wedding-style. Anyway, I thought I'd share the photos of the finished result.
My original plan had been to use our nail stamper for the crowns and the bells, but it was being SO UNCOOPERATIVE so I eventually gave up and had to freehand it. So, it's not quite as tidy as I would have liked but I'm still pretty pleased.
"W&K" - the ampersand is a little blurred but ohhhh well.
The replica! Unfortunately it's a size too big, but who's going to be choosey?
22.4.11
Not-Quite-Facebook Find:
While reading College Fashion this evening I came across two particularly awesome links. The first is to a video that is SO CUTE that it is the first time a video has made me cry out of sheer adorableness:
The second is to a post that addresses the social challenges faced by women who don't want children. Keep in mind that the large pictures that break up the text don't actually signify the end of the article - just scroll past them.
http://galadarling.com/article/i-dont-want-children-am-i-a-freak-why-wont-everyone-leave-me-alone
This one struck a particular chord with me as I never intend to have children and have been faced with the "I know better" reaction on more than one occasion. While I'm not sure I could be quite as understanding toward those who mock my choice, I think that she does an excellent job of explaining our position and the some of the reasons why women might choose not to have kids. However, her focus seemed to be on personal incompatibility, and I thought that there was another significant factor that needed to be mentioned.
I will admit that the primary reason I don't plan on having children is because it entails a life I don't want for myself and am convinced would make me unhappy. Having had plenty of time to think about it though, there are a few other significant reasons that deter me from procreating and are worth considering no matter who you are:
For starters, it is no secret that we are burning through resources at an unsustainable rate. We are already facing a crisis over oil that - depending on your political stance - has been causing terribly destructive wars (is there any other kind?) for several decades now. While this is bad enough, I cringe to think of what the world will be like later down the line when it is fresh water - another dwindling resource - that is being fought over. My understanding of humanity's behavior is that we are going to continue doing what we have done since the dawn of our existence: fight pointless fights over territory, resources, religion, power, and race. Why would I ever want someone I loved so much to be a part of that world? I barely want to be a part of it myself! You may call it cynical, I call it rational.
To continue, we currently live in an overpopulated world. This is a particularly difficult issue to confront due to the huge bias against contraception that is a major part of many religions. Add to that the inaccessibility of contraceptives and sex-education in many parts of the world (whether it's due to impoverishment or due to religious lobbyists in parts of the USA) and it becomes more and more important to use our own awareness wisely. If I know that families like the Duggars are doing their best to contribute to both overpopulation and to use up as many resources as humanly possible then it is all the more important that I have no children at all.
Finally, I am repelled by the idea of being conned by biology into doing something so against my beliefs. I won't lie that I'm a little terrified that as I get older all of a sudden something will change and I'll get what I like to call "baby fever". As far as I'm concerned this is an outdated scam of Mother Nature's to ensure the survival of our species. It horrifies me that some renegade hormones may take over my brain and leave me with a decision that I would regret for the next twenty years. Furthermore (and most inflammatory of all), to me there is something fundamentally narcissistic about having children. The whole notion of "what would our kids look like?" and of continuing bloodlines are ideas that call to mind the quest for immortality in Homer's Iliad. As truly rational beings I think there is something to be said for overcoming these more primal instincts and making decisions based upon who we are, not what we are. To be clear, if that means that after all that you still want children, then by all means go for it! There is certainly much to say for having kids (as I have been told enthusiastically by my parents): they can teach you so much about yourself and about life and there is such joy to be found in one's family.
I admit (almost) unflinchingly that five years down the road I may be singing an entirely different tune. In that case I will most likely be cursing my pigheadedness at posting such an article on the internet where it will live indefinitely... but I wont ever deny that each of these points is seriously worth considering before making such a life-altering choice. Personally I'm a huge advocate of adoption: what could be better than taking a child doomed to a life of impoverishment, abuse and/or neglect and offering it a loving home? While adoption is for many people inaccessible due to its expense, I hope to see the day where it can be more attainable and widely used. Anyway, I hope this has at least given you something to think about.
The second is to a post that addresses the social challenges faced by women who don't want children. Keep in mind that the large pictures that break up the text don't actually signify the end of the article - just scroll past them.
http://galadarling.com/article/i-dont-want-children-am-i-a-freak-why-wont-everyone-leave-me-alone
This one struck a particular chord with me as I never intend to have children and have been faced with the "I know better" reaction on more than one occasion. While I'm not sure I could be quite as understanding toward those who mock my choice, I think that she does an excellent job of explaining our position and the some of the reasons why women might choose not to have kids. However, her focus seemed to be on personal incompatibility, and I thought that there was another significant factor that needed to be mentioned.
I will admit that the primary reason I don't plan on having children is because it entails a life I don't want for myself and am convinced would make me unhappy. Having had plenty of time to think about it though, there are a few other significant reasons that deter me from procreating and are worth considering no matter who you are:
For starters, it is no secret that we are burning through resources at an unsustainable rate. We are already facing a crisis over oil that - depending on your political stance - has been causing terribly destructive wars (is there any other kind?) for several decades now. While this is bad enough, I cringe to think of what the world will be like later down the line when it is fresh water - another dwindling resource - that is being fought over. My understanding of humanity's behavior is that we are going to continue doing what we have done since the dawn of our existence: fight pointless fights over territory, resources, religion, power, and race. Why would I ever want someone I loved so much to be a part of that world? I barely want to be a part of it myself! You may call it cynical, I call it rational.
To continue, we currently live in an overpopulated world. This is a particularly difficult issue to confront due to the huge bias against contraception that is a major part of many religions. Add to that the inaccessibility of contraceptives and sex-education in many parts of the world (whether it's due to impoverishment or due to religious lobbyists in parts of the USA) and it becomes more and more important to use our own awareness wisely. If I know that families like the Duggars are doing their best to contribute to both overpopulation and to use up as many resources as humanly possible then it is all the more important that I have no children at all.
Finally, I am repelled by the idea of being conned by biology into doing something so against my beliefs. I won't lie that I'm a little terrified that as I get older all of a sudden something will change and I'll get what I like to call "baby fever". As far as I'm concerned this is an outdated scam of Mother Nature's to ensure the survival of our species. It horrifies me that some renegade hormones may take over my brain and leave me with a decision that I would regret for the next twenty years. Furthermore (and most inflammatory of all), to me there is something fundamentally narcissistic about having children. The whole notion of "what would our kids look like?" and of continuing bloodlines are ideas that call to mind the quest for immortality in Homer's Iliad. As truly rational beings I think there is something to be said for overcoming these more primal instincts and making decisions based upon who we are, not what we are. To be clear, if that means that after all that you still want children, then by all means go for it! There is certainly much to say for having kids (as I have been told enthusiastically by my parents): they can teach you so much about yourself and about life and there is such joy to be found in one's family.
I admit (almost) unflinchingly that five years down the road I may be singing an entirely different tune. In that case I will most likely be cursing my pigheadedness at posting such an article on the internet where it will live indefinitely... but I wont ever deny that each of these points is seriously worth considering before making such a life-altering choice. Personally I'm a huge advocate of adoption: what could be better than taking a child doomed to a life of impoverishment, abuse and/or neglect and offering it a loving home? While adoption is for many people inaccessible due to its expense, I hope to see the day where it can be more attainable and widely used. Anyway, I hope this has at least given you something to think about.
21.4.11
Arbiter Elegantiae does Germany
My dear readers, I can now at long-last tell you that for the last couple of months I have been in the process of applying for an internship overseas, specifically with a (very large) Public Relations firm in Germany. I hadn't wanted to spill the beans before things had firmed up a little, but I can now very happily tell you that after receiving my portfolio and CV (Curriculum Vitae, a fancy way of saying "resume") they have offered me a position with them for three months. I am hoping to leave shortly after my Convocation this June, all circumstances permitting.
Now believe it or not I'm not sharing this simply for the bragging rights (though those are great). Rather, my impending departure means that I now have about a million things on my plate to deal with in a relatively short span of time, including learning basic German, sorting out Visa and passport business, and most importantly saving a lot of money. As such, I doubt I'm going to be posting quite as frequently as I usually do, and for that I apologize. However, the bonus is that in a few months' time I will be able to write about the incredible fashion overseas and can provide you with some great new content. On that note, I am now scouting around for some good German street style blogs so that I can prep my own wardrobe for the culture shock. If you are familiar with any good ones please let me know!
Another piece of exciting news I wanted to share with you all (which will also be contributing to my diminished blogging time) is that I will soon be a contributor for myetvmedia.com! I am delighted to say that as a direct consequence of this blog I have been invited to be their Film & Fashion Correspondent, a position I am really looking forward to filling. So, you can expect to see regular links here to reviews that will be up on My ETV Media's site, which also produces reviews of television shows, awards ceremonies, and video games, to name just a few features.
I'm going to do my best to stay on top of all these exciting things, but I'm afraid I will be prioritizing and paid work will be coming first. The moral of the story is don't worry if I disappear for a few days: I haven't forgotten about you. As always I'm sending out huge thank yous to all of you readers, without whom much of this would not have been possible.
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