Lost Voices

Getting sick always makes me really disappointed that I didn't take care of my body.

But...

I love losing my voice and imagining that I'm a secret agent or a spy.

[Audrey Hepburn in Charade]

[Greta Garbo in Mata Hari]

[Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe in Thunderball]

badass chicks.

Cinema vieux.

Whenever I watch old films and see them on my small computer screen or on my family's television, I wonder what it would have been like to see these films during their heydays in the movie theater. The whole experience of watching a film in a theater is so completely different from that of your living or bedroom. I love going to the movies to sit in the seats, have the lights dim, everyone shut up, and just be completely immersed in the imagery and sound of the film. Although today, going to the movie theater is more like an investment rather than a leisure activity, I've longed to watch classic films in the theater.

Lucky for us who live in Los Angeles, this feat is quite possible...

Some places and films to be excited about...

[Aero Theater]

+ C, my friend from ms/hs brought this theater to my attention because for the eve of V-day (otherwise popularly known as SADay), they are showing Audrey Hepburn's two classic films of Breakfast and Sabrina. To this day, the scene where Holly Golightly and Paul "Fred" kiss at the end of the movie is my favorite Hollywood kiss. It's the rain... it makes everything so much more dramatic.

[New Beverly Cinema]

+ I've been on this theater since the summertime... and funny enough they are featuring Summertime with another classic Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn that is. This theater is cool because they actually feature some really old stuff but will get the ball rolling again on some recent, being the 90s, shows. In other words, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Bottle Rocket are soon to be on.

[Silent Movie Theatre]

+ Need I really explain more?

[Arclight in Hollywood]

+ Considered one of the most recognizable buildings on Sunset Blvd next to Amoeba Records, a lot of people are unaware of the Arclight's Presents nights. I mean aside from their usual features, this theater boasts a really awesome past of presenting movies from the past and people who were involved with the film. Upcoming features include East of Eden, Malcolm X, and tomorrow night Casablanca. Producers, Cinematographers, and occasionally the actors of these films will come and speak for a little bit and then audiences get to relax and watch the film in all it's Arclighting gloriousness. Also their location in Sherman Oaks does these Arclight Presents nights. And a word to the 21+ crowd, they have 21+ Screenings with current films as well. No, not porn... just cocktails and a movie.

Oh the woes of Hollywood... I live in an amazing city. Yes, I admit it.

Did i just give some people amazing valentine's day date ideas?

+++

I've always wanted to be kissed in the rain like this...

Let the Great World Spin + Man on Wire

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.

There is no shame in me saying that i took upon reading this book because of an Amazon recommendation. Had I become a part of the "tipping point?" Yes. I added to this Mr. McCann's acclaim of being a number one best seller for 2009.

So i'm not done with the book but i already have some general thoughts that could or could not sway you about whether you'd like to read novels again.

Let the Great World Spin first is very much like Crash, the film. But this movie is based around the time in the 70s where a great man had walked across on a wire that was connected on the World Trade Center. The most outrageous characters and the utmost real characters cross paths between this time in unusual yet normal ways. I think that the book so far has done an excellent job portraying the characters in their own elements. From prostitute, priest, mother who has lost her son at war... they all wind together in a form that is actually strangely poetic. What makes this book so easy for me to read though is that it comes in little vignettes that keep things short enough for me to complete while i'm riding the metro and before i go to bed. Today was actually the first day that I had almost missed my stop on the train because I was so eager to finish a chapter.

+

MAN ON WIRE
Starring Phillipe Petit

So it shouldn't really surprise you that the next thing i wanted to do was watch Man on Wire! Lucky for me in the midst of finishing this book, my Netflix arrives with Man on Wire in tow. And how wonderful the timing was. I watched the film and oo'd and ah'd at his tricks, juggling, and of course him walking on air.

It was exhilarating watching Philippe walk between the Notre Dame towers, then the bridge in Sydney, and finally the two World Trade Center towers. An entertainer to say the least yet at the same time an absolute nutcase! But it was simply so amazing to see this man devise such a brilliant plan and then execute it so well. I was glued to the screen the entire time. And honestly, I could not express more how much I loved that Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No.1 was playing for when he started the walk across the towers . Perfect perfect music composition for the movie.

The only regret i truly have is that 1. I wish i were alive in the 70s to have seen this happen 2. since i wasn't alive i wish i had seen it in the big screen at a theater... or better yet, Imax. Hopefully one day the New Beverly Center will play it again or something... it's just too magnificent.

Could you imagine being on the street in New York that day and looking up to see something like this? These are times I wish I lived multiple lives and could remember those past lives...

Website of the Month

So every month I've decided to start logging some websites that have caught my fancy and will continue to catch it for the years to come... granted they stay in business.

ValetMag.com wins the first month of me ever doing this and that's because it's just so good for all guys! i mean

truly... all men should look at this website. I know my 16 followers {yay!} are mainly girls but please share with your boyfriends, boys who are friends, and boy toys the wonders of Valetmag.com. You will truly be surprised with how much they will learn from this.

It's actually funny because I got a book for Ottoban by Esquire Men about how to dress and i thought that the guide was genius. But it's all accessible now for guys at Valet. And anyway, who doesn't love really awesome illustrations to guide the lost fashion soul in boys?

please forward this website to the men in your lives.

Fashion Icon 1.

A few weeks ago, I was having a talk with J about some of our fashion icons and who we look to for fashion inspiration/rtw. To be honest, I had some trouble thinking of people that truly i thought had an influence on how i dressed. I mean there are classic mavens like Garance, Zoe, and various celebrities. But a lot of where I get my inspiration for fashion comes from people on Lookbook and the Sartorialist and other street style sites. Maybe a lot of this had to do with the fact that I'm not subscribed to many fashion blogs or that i don't receive any magazines... but I'm going to try to make a point to note the ones that actually do impress me... and in the midst of looking at edgy haircuts today.. i found one. And her name is Kate Lanphear - the fashion

editor of Elle Magazine.

Fear the Lanphear.

I don't really give a shit if she's the fashion editor of Elle.. to be honest after watching Nina Garcia yap on and on on PR, i knew my subscription was ending. But Lanphear's style and the way she dresses drives me insane. It's all her own and I'm seething with jealousy. It's the edge, the platinum/silver blonde hair, the rich textures, and her lack of colors. I'm completely her type. I love that she doesn't need to wear anything outside of black, grey, white and the occasional beige.. . What i love most is that against all her hard rough edges with studs and spikes and heavy metal... she lingers with a very delicate feminine side as well. From her buzzed side hair with soft wispy bangs or the chainmail vest that is layered under a spiderweb of a shredded black T, it's this constant ebb and flow of hard and soft. it's fashion porn. And i love it. God it seems like my spring wardrobe is not going to include a lot of florals and pastels.

oops.

Watching... or staring.

taking the metro on a daily basis has brought out this weird side of me that usually is kept hidden under a stone behind my learning emotion. It's called... emotional observance... and to other's they might just consider this being a stalker. oh well.

so i see these people on the public transportation and i imagine their lives outside of this 15 minutes of space we share with one another.

case 341. cute indie couple - every morning this girl waits for her boyfriend to walk onto the train. She sits in the furthest seat in the last train. And the entire way they talk to each other like they haven't seen each other in years. there is always this level of excitement... and he always just wants to touch her hand. and their perfect theme song is...

case 923. guy in green headphones - i don't have a story... it's just those damn green headphones make me more curious about what he's listening to more than anyone else... so i imagine he listens to things like pepi ginsberg. when i'm sure he's actually listening to something closer to arcade fire or decemberists.

case 675. Girl with red bag - she always looks stern and crosses the street before everyone else, but i know, she's dreaming...other than that.... this song just goes well with her...

really. i don't do this everyday... just when i get tired of reading and look up.

Burberry + Colette = ?

GENIUS!!!

So this is actually a season ago's look for Burberry as far as their twisted knotty look is concerned. But the funny thing is that as much as i loved this look on the runway and on the campaign with Emma Watson, i never really paid attention to the detail work that the Colette collaborative created. I just figured they are switching up their traditional trench look. But look at this!

Collette had gone and added these amazing little gold studs/spikes underneath the collar. I literally gasped with surprise and utter glee when i saw this picture. Mind you, I'm a huge fan of surprises like this when it comes to clothes/accessories/shoes. A reason why i went with the Burberry trench that i chose, as opposed to the traditional trench, was because of an element very similar to this - but of course a bit more demure.

I'm starting to get the feeling that these spikes and studs are going to be an ongoing trend in 2010.

Reading while riding

Last week, I finished reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, a definite recommended read for the eager factoid minded. So I enjoyed the rest of my week riding the Metro bookless... thinking that it would be nice to just people watch and look at the scenery. Quickly i discovered how wrong i was. I missed having a book and people watching was hardly entertaining when all i wish for is that an attractive guy sits next to me. Instead, the usual Korean/Chinese/Japanese grandma who finds me a harmless indistinguishable Asian race will sit next to me as I seem like someone who will not steal from her. Anyway, that's a rant for another day.

So! I needed a book.

I've always wanted to try reading short stories as an alternative to fiction novels, which are my utter favorite. Funny thing is that i remember asking Ernie for a short stories book from way back when, but she couldn't resist in the midst of all the SATC craze to get me Love Letters From Great Men instead. An excellent book, don't get me wrong, but also incredibly depressing. . . Something I don't think would make me feel any better about being single near Valentine's Day this year, but that's for another day.

In any case, I went Barnes and Noble and picked up

The Best American Nonrequired Reading

Edited by Dave Eggers

I'm hooked! The book starts with an introduction by Marjane Satrapi, the author who wrote Persepolis. Then jumps right into the Best American this and thats of the 2009. For example: The Best American Titles of Books Published in 2008, one being curbside Consultation of the Colon or Strip and Knit with Style. The the book goes on to talk about the Best American Anonymous Postcards and even Bank Heists. Just a really great great mish mosh of fun.

Apparently it is a book that has been composed by high schoolers from Michigan and San Francisco. And what's even better is that they have a Blogspot to follow their journey for their next book of Bests 2010. I can't wait for these 15 min reads between the Gold, Purple and Bus 720!

I get excited about reading books on buses... My life is full of such excitement. haha.

There goes my money

this is a big week of a purchases coming up ... and to be honest, I'm not quite sure how i will be able to handle it. I'm pretty much going to go bankrupt for a bit and then make my way back to somehow livable standards...

1. Coachella ticketsI know that i told myself that I'd be buying these damn tickets the moment they went on sale, but i was at work on Friday morning, and all that could go through my head was, "do i even have enough to spare??" but eventually this purchase will happen by the end of this week. - $279

2. headboard from UO

I was initially planning on making this purchase approximately... oh i dunno... 8 months ago?! but finally a trip around the block in old town and a free shipping offer... i caved in. The new headboard should be arriving in the next few weeks and I'll happily put up pictures of my room in its somewhat complete state excluding the need for a map and some curtains from either Anthro or UO again. With free shipping (ohyeahyur) - $300 (bought)

3. new macbookpro

So if you follow my tweets you'll know that i, in my unfortunate clumsiness, spilled a whole cup

of gingerbread coffee with french vanilla creamer on top of my precious iBOOK G4 (god, i used to think this was so cool). I saw it happen in slow motion in front of me... the entire cup just washed the keys in a lovely creamy mocha color. With this sad occurrence my 9/(, F10, F11, F12, and my up and down keys have decided to crap out on me and no longer have any

purposeful function. How incredibly aggravating/depressing yet at the same time absolutely exhilarating. After purchasing my lovely iBook right before freshman year of college in 2005, it's time to finally get a new baby. This purchase though i must add is all granted that they come out with something better this week... especially after all these speculations. - $1100 (big ouch)

4. BOOkBOOk!!

At first glance you may ask, "well what the hell is that?" Well, in all my excitement to buy a new macbook i thought to myself that if I'm going to be investing this much into a new comp, i really need to step up my game and buy myself a nice cover to protect it. Not to diss the kids with the classic black neoprene cases that look sturdy and could potentially keep wine at a very desirable 50-55ºF... but I am ok, thanks.

This is the BookBook - gorgeous macbook cover built by TwelveSouth. Disguising your macbook into looking like a vintage read has never been more beautifully done.. or has it ever been done? I don't know, and i don't care. I just want it. $79

Ottoban, if you ever read this... i have major buyer's anxiety.

--

currently listening to:

Toro y Moi

mmm please listen, you won't regret...

Rain Rain Rain

over and over and over again.


Would you dare wear these? kinda fun - Les Queues de Sardines.


It's amazing how this rain has been bringing down all of the news of california. But really i love it. I mean who cares, it's going to clear out by Saturday anyway.


Lately, I've been completely obsessed with who's gonna be at Coachella and who won't be. Today alone listened to the new Stylo song by Gorillaz... can't wait until their new album drops in March. But until then, i've also been a huge fan of The XX...


thus. enjoy.

mmmm hurry weekend.