brandon bird

Brandon Bird's paintings are absolutely brilliant. I Am the Night (above) is my favourite. these images are too small to really appreciate. see more here.

No One Wants to Play Sega With Harrison Ford

Mr. Noodle

Signifier and Signified

behold: the coolest wellies ever

behold the coolest wellies ever.

happy birthday baby!

it's my wonderful husband's birthday today! so i thought i'd post some videos for him and anyone else out there who was also born on this glorious day. or any day, for that matter! happy birthday one and all!

if polygamy were legal #27

if polygamy were legal, i would marry this unassumingly perfect sweater dress in a quiet ceremony in the woods.

flat nails

i'm diggin' this line of flat nailpolish. it comes in a bunch o colours but i like pool and concrete best.

what? how did this get in here?

i just thought you should all check out the article in rolling stone about Obama's Wall street sellout. *tee hee*

all the king's women #14 - anne helm

this edition of All the King's Women brings us to Elvis' ninth film, Follow That Dream (1962), and an actress who hails from my own home town: Toronto, Ontario. Anne Helm was born in Toronto in 1938 and had little under her belt but a Christmas pantomime when she and her mother moved to New York City in 1952. there Anne enrolled in the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School and three years later, at the age of 17, was making $25,000 a year doing TV commercials. the compensation enticed Helm away from dancing and toward the screen, where she would land her first film role in Desire In the Dust (1960).

two years later, she would star opposite Elvis as Holly Jones in Follow That Dream. the story of a family who decide to squat on the side of a highway and homestead on crown land, much to the chagrin of local police, this film is absolutely ridiculous, in the most wonderful way. Elvis is hilarious as a not-so-bright country boy who avoids getting married by reciting the times tables to himself whenever a pretty girl approaches. trouble is, he don't know what comes after the 'nines-es'. that's right. Anne is charming in this one as well and i recommend watching it if you're a fan of ensuing hilarity.

the 60s and 70s saw Anne do a few more movies, as well as countless television appearances. she married twice, each union producing a child. having retired from acting in 1986, Annie Helm, is now a children's book author and illustrator.

just lettin' you know...

installation by Martin Creed

video vendredi - raveonettes

i just came across this acoustic versionof the Raveonettes' Dead Sound, which is just as beautiful as the original. love love love.
have an excellent weekend and try to let off some steam. i know i need to :)

mary jane ansell

Mary Jane Ansell's work is so soft and powerful. i almost wanna curl up in bed with it. yet another extraordinary artist i found via Paintblog.

dr. Z and the women

i was recently approached to write a guest post by the marvelous Tara of Nothing Elegant, and am thrilled to be part of her blog! if you haven't already been there, you really must go, and if you're coming from there and have never been here, then welcome!

so, i have devised a double decker dames post concerning two beautiful and talented actresses (Geraldine Chaplin and Julie Christie), who starred in the wintery masterpiece Dr Zhivago (1965) (which, incidentally, was the movie my parents saw on their first date) (...'course, their divorced now, but that's beside the point). you'll find Julie's post here, and Gerladine's over there! without further ado...

Julie Frances Christie was born in Assam, India in 1941. her father ran a tea plantation in what was then a part of the British empire, and her mother was a Welsh painter. her parents divorced when she was young and Julie moved to rural Wales with her mother. as a teenager, Christie finished her studies in Paris where she first had a taste of the bohemian, and became enamoured with the artist's way of life.

Christie's role in Dr. Zhivago coincides with the beginning of her international recognition, having been known in the United Kingdom since her breakout role in a 1961 BBC sci-fi series called A for Andromeda.

[doesn't she look so much like Robin Wright Penn here?!]

highlights of Julie's early film career include Darling(1965), for which she won an Academy award for Best Actress, Francois Truffaut's Farenheit 451 (1966), and Far from the Maddening Crowd(1967), opposite a young and surprisingly handsome Terrance Stamp, who had been Christie's lover before she became famous.

in 1967, Christie moved to Hollywood, where she began a high profile, seven year relationship with actor Warren Beatty. Beatty once described Christie as "the most beautiful and at the same time the most nervous person I had ever known." at the height of her career Julie stepped away from the limelight (and many hold her affair with Beatty responsible). she began turning down pivotal roles that would take other actresses to the Academy Awards. in the mid 1970s, her affair with Beatty came to an end, but the two remained close friends and worked together in Shampoo (1975) and Heaven Can Wait (1978).

Christie moved back to the UK where she became a champion for animal rights and nuclear disarmament. later career highlights include a renaissance of sorts in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996), and an absolutely superb-go-and-see-it-if-you-haven't-already-'cause-you'll-love-her performance in Away From Her (2006).

inducting Julie Christie into the Hall of Dames was only a matter of time. i mean the woman has inspired love songs by famous rock idols, and she hangs out with Shirley MacLaine, Faye Dunaway and Catherine Deneuve (!) what i wouldn't give to be invited to that dinner party!

if you've enjoyed this post (or even if you haven't), please pop by Tara's blog to read the companion piece on Julie's Zhivago costar Geraldine Chaplin (yes, Charlie's daughter). thanks so much for coming by!

many thanks

weeee! i've received an award from one of my favourite blogs: Greetz From Tiz. what a wonderful surprise! i'm to give one word answers to the following questions, and then nominate ten other blogs. here goes...

1.Where is your phone? purse
2.Your hair? transitional
3.Your Mother? angel
4.Your Father? chilly
5.Your favourite food? cheese
6.Your dream last night? mountains
7.Your favourite drink? pino
8.Your dream/goal? enlightenment
9.What room are you in? office
10.Your hobbie? many
11.Your fear? failure
(12. is missing)
13.Where were you last night? couch
14.Something that your not? perfect
15.Muffins? muffincaps
16.Wishlist item? car
17.Where did you grow up? Ontario
18.Last thing you did? smoke
19.What are you wearing? black
20.Your TV? OnDemand
21.Your pets? gremlins
22.Friends? irreplaceable
23.Your life? draft
24.Your mood? bemused
25.Missing someone? mentor
26.Vehicle? streetcar
27.Something your not wearing? gitch ;)
28.Your favourite store? ValueVillage
29.Your Favourite colour? red
30.When was the last time you laughed? #27.
31.The last time you cried? ExtremeMakeover:HomeEdition
32.Your best friend? husband
33.One place that I go to over and over? Graceland
34.Facebook? guilty
35.Favourite place to eat? buffet

that was fun! now, to nominate 10 blogs. here are 3 of my favourite blogs, followed by 7 that i've only recently discovered, and am enjoying very much...

Nothing Elegant, Q's Daydream, The Cupcake Diary, Dizzy Dame, Anastasia Drawing and Dreaming, My Creative Fling, Sacaton June, Another Brick in the Narwhal, Spider, Spin me a Story, Kitty Stampede

yesterday's muse #14 - ann gunning

© John French/V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum

http://www.vandaimages.com/ http://www.vam.ac.uk/ http://www.vandaprints.com/

there is very little information available about the life of 50s super model Ann Gunning. all i could dig up was that Ann's career was launched in Ireland in 1953, when she was introduced to photographer Milton Greene. Greene had come to Ireland to photograph a new rising designer by the name of Sybil Connelly. after working with Greene, Ann went on to be photographed by the greatest photographers of the day.

Ann Gunning shown here with Fiona Campbell-Walter

© John French/V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum

http://www.vandaimages.com/ http://www.vam.ac.uk/ http://www.vandaprints.com/

© John French/V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum

http://www.vandaimages.com/ http://www.vam.ac.uk/ http://www.vandaprints.com/

© John French/V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum

http://www.vandaimages.com/ http://www.vam.ac.uk/ http://www.vandaprints.com/

a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet (even in the fall)

vintage enamel earrings

Betsy Johnson Green With Envy Dress

Whirlwind of Wonder Frock

Rose Around the Ring

Bouquet of Roses heels