"Ecstasy, Ecstasy...E E E E Ecstasy"

I'm so sorry for my lameness lately, and for the lameness that is sure to ensue over the next couple of days. I've been really busy packing and preparing to move, and also dying from the heat. I will be so happy to get home to the luxury of air conditioning, haha! Things should be better next week, when I'm all moved and settled again.

So for now I leave you with some Summer Heights High goodness. Have you watched this show? I love it so much, and feel like I re watch it every year at this time.

Stripes...

...are all I want to wear lately. How typical for summer, haha.

photos my own and via google

My Name Is Potato!

I was searching through my youtube favorites the other day, and when I went back to the oldest page I found this video. Haha I still love it, and sometimes wake up with the song in my head. Rita Pavone was so funny and she makes me want to sing in Italian! If only I could speak a word of it.It does sound similar to French, so maybe some day...

"They'll take it all if the door's left open"

For the past two to 3 years, the only music that I've always been able to fall back on has been that of country influence. This is a really strange thought, as for so long I would automatically cringe at the thought of "country music", when that's not really how I feel at all. If done right country can be perfect.

When I am bored of everything else, or overwhelmed by the concept of sifting through new music (which is pretty much all the time if I'm being honest...) I can always count on Rilo Kiley/Jenny Lewis, and She and Him in particular. That's why I loved this edition of Elvis Costello Spectacle so much! It aired over a year ago but it still makes me happy to see Zooey, Elvis and Jenny together on stage. It's always nice to see the clothes they wear too, obviously. I would like Zooey's dress, please!

L'etoile

I really love this photo of Pablo Picasso and Bridget Bardot. Its not because I'm a major fan of either of them, but I think it has more to do with her outfit. I have always been really in love with ballet style, in particular ballerina dresses. This might stem from my sometimes obsession with ballet related art. I love Bardot's dress and shoes in this photo so much! Its nice how the concept can be changed quite a bit and still have that nice dance inspired feeling to it.


from here


Very Betty Draper (unknown source)


Some Degas


Old colour study found in the bottom of my portfolio last week, haha

Scratches

This past Winter in school we practiced scratchboard illustration. It is basically drawing using knives/sharp instruments on clay boards to scratch away the coating, utilizing the negative space. I liked it immediately, as I've always loved intricate line drawings, and once you get past the fact that you are essentially drawing backwards, it is just so easy to create sharp images.

I received a lovely edition of Peter Pan for Christmas, which was illustrated by Scott Mckowen. He is such an amazing artist and I love his scratchboard take on classic stories, especially the above 'Alice' because black and whites are just the best. His work is reminiscent of the original woodcut artists that created the original illustrations long ago.




*all images from google

You Were In My Dream

I found Isobel Knowles through the video she made for the Lula Scrapbook. Her site is really worth checking out. I love her variety of styles, and how watchable her short films are. Its so hard to find nice, simplistic animations like this these days. Everything is so advanced and dare I say overdone, that its a bit overwhelming and often unappealing to me. It makes me really want to animate some of my own work someday!

Isobel Knowles Showreel 2010 from Isobel Knowles on Vimeo.

Headlights

Some intriguing Briony Ridley photos, found via The Clothes Horse.

Alice

I feel kind of ashamed that I don't know more about Alice White. I've been spotting photos of her around the internet for a while, and she pretty much has me sold on the fact that she was really cool. It was probably the one with the dog that sealed that deal, haha. I just don't think I have ever seen any of her movies, have you? I need to change that.

Silent film stars really did take the best portraits. I love how their facial expressions are sometimes a bit awkward, and yet still come off as glamorous even in these times.

So They Say

Its one of those sit inside and sketch lazily on painter kind of days.

On My Mind

These tights! From "Les Queues de Sardines"

Getting a pet deer


How cool this would be if it were true


Cupcakes, always


High hair buns and general updos


Mac, from 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia', which I've been watching non-stop. I am very in love with him, even if it goes against all reason. I think it has something to do with his funny hair style, facial expressions, definitely his teeth, and how he can pull off t shirts so well despite cutting the sleeves off of them. That and I like arguing for hours about impossible and ridiculous concepts, so obviously we are meant for eachother.

Consequentally, this song will not leave my mind. I think it just might be my favorite ever.

*I don't remember where I found most of these pictures, apologies!

Time For Heroes

It has been storming and raining so much over the past couple of days! As a result, today I set out with a friend to finally see the new 'Alice In Wonderland'. I've heard mixed reviews, but I still really wanted to see it. Have you? If so, what did you think?

Sadly though, it was not playing so we had limited choices and ended up watching 'Kick Ass'. I was honestly just expecting it to be hilariously bad (Nicholas Cage as a superhero...the Cage in anything is a laugh!) but I ended up loving it so much. I can't really explain this, other than by saying that I think I've always had a bit of a superhero complex. Its not something that I think about very much, but watching young Chloe Mortez with all of her amazing martial arts and weapon skills really revived that side of me. I wish I was a cool 13 year old killer, ha ha! It was funny both intentionally and inadvertently I'm sure, but intriguing in a Kill Bill meets Spider man sort of way. Obviously its not the same as Kill Bill, but the action sequences had a similar feel.

With that, I thought I would share with you a bit of embarrassment, of which this movie reminded me. This past term at school we had to turn ourselves into a superhero as an assignment. The above is what I came up with. I am probably the geekiest looking hero ever, but I'm okay with that!

"I am SO over Jordan Catalano"

I really must apologize for my boring-ness lately. I feel like I've been living the life of the elderly, and have to try extra hard to think of something interesting to post. However, I do have some ideas in the works so hopefully it won't be like this for much longer, haha.

There's not very much that's better than this scene:

Green Light

"If it wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay. You have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock."
-F. Scott-Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby-

The Great Gatsby has to be one of my favorite books. Every summer I find myself rereading it by compulsion. It just has a really nice, calm and summery sort of feeling to it if that makes any sense. I think that it reminds me of the summers I wish I had...away in a country house somewhere by the water, where you can just think and ride bikes and go boating all the time. I have some exciting aspirations! It is also quite short, a fact which my recently killed attention span quite appreciates.


I also love the movie, probably very much due to the aesthetic and Robert Redford.

His hats were so great! P.S. Doesn't he look like a cross between Brad Pitt (as he usually does) and Owen Wilson in this photo? ha

The Continuing and Lamentable Saga of The Suicide Brothers

I am very interested in seeing this. I do wish that there was a trailer sans behind the scenes (as nice as it is), but this will do for now!

"With you, Sunday never ends"

Man, do I love Serge Leblon!






I also love this video...probably because I've always felt like Macaulay Culkin and I should be best friends. I just want to sit and eat pizza with him, and listen to his stories. Oh, and of course he would have to re-enact the home alone mirror-scream for me. There's no avoiding that one!

Parapluie!

Today was so rainy! It has been storming off and on all day, but I have to say that I don't really mind. Its nice to have these days once in a while, especially when you live in an apartment that is constantly radiating with the sun and overheating. I also appreciate how it validates my desire to stay inside and do nothing but clean, as bad as that may be haha.

I thought that I would share with you a couple of things. Above is a photo that was part of a recent photography project, taken in Kensington market. Below are some photos and a drawing that are part of a 12 image project, all focused around umbrellas. Anyone who looks at my portfolio is going to think that I'm obsessed with rain and depression, as so many of my favorite images were a part of such projects...that and I actually am kind of accidentally obsessed with it (hence the drawing I did for you...), but no one has to know that!