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Thoughts for 2010

I've never been a big believer in New Year's Resolutions. I've never really liked the idea of, what feels like, setting your year in stone before it's even begun. I've always thought my situation would be ever-evolving, with new stimulus always hurtling towards me, negating the purpose of resolving to tick off a list, one by one.

This time around though, it feels a little different. I'm 23, single and earning enough money to pay my bills - but not enough to holiday, shopping spree or have more than one little outing a week. And by June 20 this year, I don't want to have kept the same situation - the only difference being one more birthday notched on my belt. 

I had/have a friend who doesn't believe people my age should strive for love or money. He threw all of that away to go in search of the true identity of his inner self. While it would be wonderful to think that one could be completely happy by 23 without the security of an income, or the arms of another in which to fall asleep, I simply don't think it is possible. And it's not just having the highs - the lows make you know how much you need to treasure the highs. By throwing away the external and looking only within yourself, can you really know all there is to know? I don't think so.

While I hope 2010 brings me more highs than the lows, challenges, learning experiences (apparently I should blame Saturn) of 2009, what I want most for next year is to feel respected - in everything from intimate relationships to work to my home life. It is my "resolution" for 2010 that I will find the balance between hard-lined bitch and soft-shelled doormat. I won't cave to the demands of those who say they love but simply want their feet rubbed. Wants and needs must be met with action. While you might not find yourself simply by searching within, I will prove that you can certainly change the course of your future by using the strength of your inner self - whoever she is.

Weekend Dreaming

Love Polyvore.

Weekend Dreaming by en206 featuring Betsey Johnson bags

James Chartrand the she-man.

The blogging world was somewhat rocked this week by the self-outing of one of its top contributors. James Chartrand - a copywriter and regular Copyblogger contributor - is actually a woman. She decided to take a man's name as her pen name after failing to succeed in the industry under her own name.

This really surprised me. No, not surprised. More like disappointed. Of course sexual discrimination still exists in the workplace - I've been on the receiving end of it plenty of times - but I found it particularly painful to read that this woman is still doing the same work as she was pre-James, except that it's now on a much higher level, simply because people thought she was a man.

It's disgraceful that these attitudes still exist in the world. Really disgraceful.

Yawn. Li-lo gets her sex/smoke on.

Lindsay Lohan has posed for an "arty" photo shoot.

Seriously, this is not arty. This is not scandalous. This is not something we haven’t seen before. Hell, haven’t we all seen the upskirters of this girl? No point getting in a flap over a nude boob and a cigarette. She’s gotta pay the bills somehow!

Speechless. Utterly.

Whilst browsing Go Fug Yourself on a quiet Saturday night in, I stumbled across this corker of a shamozzle, incorporating those scary Alexander McQueen shoes.

As described by Heather on her blog, "This is totally Lady Gaga plus Annie Lennox plus Elvira with a touch of Nefertiti and a splash of Anna Wintour -- just a splash -- multiplied by a head injury and then divided by a vat of absinthe."

I have to agree.

No More Wasted Qi

According to Mystic Medusa, this is me this Christmas:

My feeling is that the Mutables (Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces) will be celebrating Saturn having gotten off their arse. And Pluto too. They will be in a mood to reprise the decadent self of their yesteryear, only with some of their hardwon sagacious wisdom blended in to the madness. They’re thinking strategic pulling, no nonsense and no Qi wasted on twerps or pointless liasions. See? Saturn worked. But make no mistake about it, they’re getting ready to act up.

 She's exactly on the money. I'm sick of wasting my Qi on twerps. Bring on the festivities.

Too much, even for me.

Image @ Daily Mail UK

Beautifully decorated Mr McQueen, but practical? No, not in the slightest.

Cool stuff that's been lingering in my inbox

* The Photodiarist - Aaaamazing for black & white photographs of NY.

* F*ck Yeah, Tattoos! - Still thinking about the inking.

* Learn Something New Every Day - Too cute.

* A Day at the Office - Youtube hilarity: You know you love it.

* Oprah's Leaving :'( - Must get to Chicago before she finishes up!

*Azerbaijan Bloggers Jailed - We live in the lucky country and I am so very, very grateful for that. 

* Runaway Bus - Oh. My. God.

* Pay Problem Parents not to Breed - One of those situations where you can think it, but you just shouldn't say it.

Have you ever...

I had to Google "Huge" the other day. This is what Google's predictive search results suggested for me...

Forget all the genital references - what's with "huge lips skinny hips"? But who the hell is searching for "huge balls" so often anyway? No thanks! 

Random inspiration

"Thinking brand new thoughts that you've never thought before is wildly more conducive to creating big life changes than just thinking different varieties of the same old thoughts."

  ♥ The Photodiarist 

Inkin' tribe

I'm considering joining the inked.

It's something I've always had a fascination with but I've never found the right design. I also struggle to wear the same outfit for an entire day without getting bored so the permanence of the thing has always freaked me a little.

And I think, along with putting a cigarette behind your ear, a bad tattoo can be one of the most effective ways to look like a filthy bogan.

That said though, I do know of some super people whose tattoos form part of their personal style and amp their coolness factor far beyond ever being considered bogan.

While I have no plans whatsoever to get even a half-sleeve, Gala Darling is one example of someone who does tattoos in an uber cool way, without being known as "that girl with the tattoos".

Image from Love Letter to the Universe

I've found a few designs that I like - mostly centering around birds. Although they are a little done to death these days (what isn't!), I've always thought that they'd be in the eventual tattoo of my choice. Swallows more specifically are what I'm looking at. They represent a whole load of stuff in different cultures but this info, from Vanishing Tattoo seems to have the most well-rounded wrap-up:

• In ancient times, the swallow was associated with the 'imperishable' stars and the souls of the dead. According to Greek legend, secret texts told how to transform into a swallow, something the ancient deities liked to do. 
• It heralds the coming of spring and happiness, poets praise it, and it appears on the flowering peach branch in classical Chinese painting. In China it symbolizes daring, danger and a change for good in the future. 
• In Egyptian love poetry, the swallow sings of the first signs of a new love. For some, it's a symbol of fertility and renewal, a harbinger of good and a symbol of transformation. Swallows mate for life, and therefore represents fidelity and loyalty (except in Japan).
• For the pilgrim to Mecca, the swallow is the symbol of constancy and faith, and is said to fly to that holy city each year.
• Swallow tattoos are also heavily tied to sailors - a swallow flying nearby would be a symbol that land is near. It was also a tradition for sailors to get a new swallow tattoo after each 5000 miles logged at sea. 

I think I'd prefer a plain black design but here are some randoms I like so far:

 

i. ii. iii. iv. v.

I'm still not decided on the best place for such a tattoo either. Naturally, I'm not a fan of the tramp stamp but it'd need to be somewhere that wasn't always visible. As my friend says, if it'll be visible at your wedding, it's a no-go. Hmm decisions.

Quit scaring the nerds!

Part of my day job with the web design gurus of Sharkey Media is to keep on top of global technological happenings and blog about anything relevant.

Sometimes I come across stories that aren't exactly handy for our clients but are definitely worth a blog elsewhere! Stories such as this: Yahoo! apologises for lap dance at hack event.

Photo from SMH online

   
Believe it or not but this pic is from a Yahoo nerd convention... and Yahoo thought it'd be a fantastic idea to get lap dancers involved. Great plan guys.

Look at the poor kid's face! He looks so frightened! Needless to say, Yahoo have since apologised.

iMistake 2.009

If you've been off the airwaves for the past week, you might have missed the most ridiculous scandal since the Chk Chk bogan.

Yes, iSnack2.0, the crappest brand name in the history of the world was officially applied to the watered down version of our national "salty beer paste" (as an American friend once described it!) at the AFL grand final.

But due to the backlash by pretty much everyone that's ever heard of Vegemite, Kraft were quick to withdraw their decision.

 (Hehehehe. Screen shot from The Punch)

But, as Marcus points out in his article, maybe Kraft like it better this way. Maybe choosing some arsey name was the idea all along, just for a little extra publicity. It's certainly worked though. We're now all dissing iSnack 2.0, but, has anyone got a better suggestion? The naming competition has now been relaunched, and I have no doubt the number of entries will increase significantly. 

Hitler was pretty angry though...



Hahahahahahaha

Umm... Awesome!

What do you get when you combine a mojito and a shoe?

Awesome non?

Designer Julian Hakes has taken the art of shoe construction to the max with this single-strap style. There are more images available at his Flickr.

The shoe is made of carbon fibre, rubber and leather and makes the arch of the foot do all the work.

As Hakes said: "It's not artificially supporting your foot where it doesn't need support so it's good for core stability."

As yet I haven't seen someone trying to harness them but I'd say there'll be a celeb, or a fashion designer, floating around to give them some promo time soon.

Spring Wrap

* Is this the greatest lingerie ever? How can you say no to glow?

* Perfect autumn getaway for next year. Those luxury boutique spa suites look divine!

* This blazer... Go Portmans for finally getting fun!

* Tavi, a 13-year-old fashion blogger, is taking the world by storm. Describing herself as a "dork that sits inside all day wearing awkward jackets and pretty hats", Tavi is certainly making friends fast with the right people - she sat catwalk-side at New York Fashion Week. Jealous? Who me? Maybe a little. 

* Yvan Rodic, the man behind the very awesome Face Hunter, has started another photo blog about his adventures. It still has fashiony bits, but it allows for photos of the sky, ice creams and graffiti.  

* The New Media Workout Plan by Patrick Moberg. Fairly hilarious!

Body Beautiful

Did you know that, in the fashion industry, if you are bigger than a US size 6 (so an Aussie size 10) you are considered to be "plus-size"? Even being a US size 6 can see you left out of designer gear. 

Since I blogged about British Vogue's Alexandra Shulman way back in June, the UK has been awash with real-woman hype.

Glamour magazine published this picture of 20-year-old model Lizzie Miller in its September 09 issue and were flooded with encouraging responses from excited readers.

  (Image from The Age)

Since this, Glamour have committed to showing more diversity across their pages. Four plus-size models, and the magazine's editor in chief Cindy Leive spoke to Ellen a few days ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2I8dSHURSk

It's not all been roses though. Obviously many fashion alumni don't appreciate their domain being overrun by women who are built bigger than an Olsen. But as the screen grab above from Ellen shows, these models aren't exactly flying the flag for obesity with their Aussie size 12-14 frames. The fashion industry has always supported rail-thin models, and this has provided a great opportunity for the love of fashion and beauty to be shared across all healthy women.

Designer Mark Fast followed suit at London Fashion Week during September by throwing a few size 12-14 girls in his model mix, which certainly ruffled a few feathers. After watching The September Issue though, I'm pretty sure we won't see Anna the Great doing such a ghastly thing in US Vogue. The horror!

It's not about being skinny, it's not about being huge. It's about healthy bodies - not just healthy body image, but healthy, strong, fit bodies. It's about sharing the opportunity to love fashion and clothes and beauty with more than just a tiny tiny percentage of people.

 

I'm ba-ack

It's been a while. Over a month in fact.

(Luna Park/Milsons Point from the ferry... Taken on my iPhone)

I have an excuse! I got a new job = it's cool, busy and way more challenging than my old position. I'm already learning new things and it's such an exciting and inspiring atmosphere when everyone's doing their thing but working as one to pull a project together.

It's been a bit tough adjusting to the new routine but with more sleep, vitamin tablets (Vitamin B) and an extra effort to eat plenty of fresh food, I'm starting to get a bit more on top of the game.

So yes, I'm returning to the blogosphere with renewed vigour: Expect a flood of new content!

Rule #268

Just because you've got a rockin' bod...

...doesn't mean you should wear transparent clothing. I do however dig what's going on above the shoulders: Lily, the electric-blue eyes and the hairdo are smokin'.

Buonanno's a fool, Burqini's rule

It is, perhaps, not surprising that French president Nicholas Sarkozy has slammed the head-to-toe burqa in his country: there seem to be more naked photographs of his wife on the internet than their are clothed ones. But given France is home to the biggest Muslim minority in Europe, one would think the nation's leader would be supportive of the various cultures and traditions held by those within its borders.

Sinking to a new low, a swimming pool in downtown Paris has banned the "burqini": a Muslim-approved women's swimsuit. Pictured here in Australia where they were designed, the outfits are hardly going to "disturb small children, not to mention the problems of hygiene," as was commented by Gianluca Buonanno, the mayor of Varallo Sesia; an Italian town who have followed suit with the burqini bannings.

It gets worse though, he goes on to justify himself by saying

"Imagine a Western woman bathing in a bikini in a Muslim country. The consequences could be decapitation, prison or deportation. We are merely prohibiting the use of the burqini."

How is wearing a glorified wetsuit worrying anyone? And the funny thing is, the outift looks strangely familiar...

To the Muslim women of the world, please feel free to wear your burqinis on beaches and pool decks across Australia: stuff those intolerant European politicians.

90's world...yes!

I just ordered this from We Love Colors...

...And I'm rather excited! Also got a sleeveless one in a slightly different print.

Hmmm...

Y'all know I dig my harem pants but... This is going a little too far for my liking.

That said, I do think that if someone puts thought into their outfit and decides to do something a little crazy, all the more power to them.

I don't know if I could date a man that wears espadrilles though...

Love you Sart.

Because she's bad, she's bad...

Anyone else think that Paris might be a bad kisser? Things aren't looking too lovely for her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt from this angle!

Ew. Thumbs down to gross PDAs.

Gettin' Motivated

“The people in my classes, including me, did not need to be controlled, managed, nor even taught. What we needed was to be encouraged, accepted & loved just for who we were. We needed not to be governed by a set of rules that would tell us what we needed to learn & what we needed to express, but to be given time in a supportive space to explore who we were & what we wanted, with the assistance of others who had our best interests at heart. I believe that is true not only for my students, but for all of us, humans & nonhumans alike. All we want, whether we are honeybees, salmon, trash-collecting ants, ponderosa pines, coyotes, human beings, or stars, is to love & be loved, to be accepted, cherished & celebrated simply for being who we are." — Derrick Jensen

And another from the same dude:

"Writing is really very easy. Tap a vein and bleed onto the page. Everything else is just technical."

Who is he?



According to Wikipedia, he's not just a dude that's fond of daggy sweaters. "Derrick Jensen (born December 19, 1960) is an American author and environmental activist living in Crescent City, California."

Pretty clever dude.

Cutest video on the internet?

Yes. Most definitely.

Today Tonight, Black-Eye Tomorrow

It's not like you should actually need a specific reason to not want to work for Today Tonight, but if ever you did, this could be it.



This is Brisbane-based TV reporter Damien Hansen after he was assaulted by a family that have been accused of squatting for the last six months in a multi-million-dollar mansion.

Surely it was only as matter of time until someone from the foot-in-the-door "investigative journalism" (yes purists, I'm using the term lightly) programs of today copped a beating. Not that anyone deserves it, but on a television show focused almost entirely on exposing scumbags, surely no one is overly surprised.

But if you're going to be assaulted, surely there's no better time than when you've BYO'd camera crew. Hopefully the psycho squatters can be brought to justice, with Gold Coast police superintendent Jim Keogh stating "detectives are examining footage of the incident filmed by Today Tonight and hope to speak to the alleged offender very soon".

CSI Granny Saves the Day!

So apparently someone else likes crime shows as much as I do... And she's an 89-year-old granny!

And not only does the Leeds-residing old-timer dig the show, she studies it - and helped catch her own rapist with her skills.

When a 31-year-old, 127kg bouncer (Mauro Lopes) entered her home posing as a policeman, our hero had the presence of mind to dig in her claws when things turned ugly.

"I have been watching CSI so I scratched his face so you could get DNA from my fingernails," she told the court.

And because evil Mauro was sprung drink-driving in 2005, police had his details on file and he's since been jailed for nine years.

How good is that! Go Granny!

Guess What? Guess What? Guess What?

Today I got a new MacBook!

So expect some hilarious images like these until the novelty wears off a little...

And I also found out I'm moving into the cutest and coolest house in Sydney - a revamped tea house in Balmain.

So expect some stuff about my all new adventures from next weekend onwards - after we cart all my clothes and shoes to the other side of the Anzac Bridge!

Nice... Ahhhh... Shoe?

Get on the train with this fashionable slideshow. Just don't start working shoes into your do... I'm thinking it's one of those things best kept to the catwalk.

And now I think I'm addicted...

Black & Gold by en206 featuring Givenchy jewelry

Wednesday Wear... If only.

Wednesday Night by en206 featuring Dolce & Gabbana boots


And by the way, the owl is a handbag; a US $3800 handbag.

Mmmm... Caaaaake...

I challenge you not to become addicted to Taste Spotting.

How can you say no to a blog that involves pages and pages of yummo food? Especially when they're linked to the corresponding recipes, as noted by people cooking in their own home kitchens.

This Lemon Chicken with Croutons is what I'd make if I was 15 years older and had a husband and kids to feed.

This Roasted Garlic and Goats Cheese Spread may well appear at my Dad's birthday shindig this weekend...

And these Chocolate Chip and Peanut Blondies looked too good not to include. I'm sure I'll whip them up some time soon! Mmm.

And the winner is...

So apparently the couple that picked up a cool $53 million in this week's mega lotto jackpot decided to just go back to work.

I totally agree with Paul Colgan:

"I'd like to think I would be yacht shopping this morning, wearing a cravat, and being followed around by someone I'd hired specifically to top up my champagne flute."

At least for a few weeks I'd like to go somewhere awesome... Like maybe here:

The King is Dead

RIP Michael Jackson 1958-2009

You will be terribly missed but remembered forever.

Mid-June Madness

After two crazy weeks of too much work, too much booze and too much sickness (strangely the last too were found to be unrelated) my time spent whining about the ways of the world has been limited. Thus, here is a round-up of the best of the rest:


Utes vs. Prostitutes - While Australian politicians from both sides of the table have been embrolied in the called "Utegate" affair, Italy's old seedy Silvio has been at it at again. And I totally agree with Leo Shanahan's article Our scandals suck, just ask Silvio Berlusconi. Somehow seedy Silvio's ability to run the country is not questioned, even though his moral standards are decidedly lapse.

Stars and Strife - I don't have a tattoo (I think I'd get bored of it too quickly) but from what the cool kids tell me, they sting a tiny bit too much to ever fall asleep during their application. Was anyone really surprised when she admitted she was lying?



Make and Model - British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman sent a letter to some of the world's biggest fashion designers, blasting their creation of teeny tiny doll clothes that are somehow supposed to be purchased and worn by fully-grown adults. She argues that the women required to model the clothes are now so incredibly skinny, Vogue regularly retouch images to make their models seem less creepy-thin. Good on her I say. There's skinny models and then there's just gross and unwell.

Baby in da House - Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young decided to take her toddler to work for the day. To Parliment House. During a vote, two-year-old Kora had to be removed from the house, obviously distressing both mother and child. Of course it sounds a bit mean by the powers that be to do such a thing but, when you think about it, could you take your kids to work? Check-out chick? No. Lawyer? Probably not. As Tory Maguire wrote, the senator had a multitude of other options available to her, apparently including a child care centre complete with marble sand pit.

"Ugly" thumbs Fox

With more hottest-chick gongs than there are Victorians with swine flu, (ha! sorry, had to get a flu gag in there somewhere!) it turns out Megan Fox isn't quite all that.

Even though she steams up the big screen as the mega-babe in Transformers, according to the UK's Daily Mail, she has ugly thumbs.




































The article reports that it's a genetic "condition" and that "Megan's thumbs almost look more like toes - although they haven't held her back in her career"

What the hell?

Of course it hasn't held back her career! How often will the dudes that watch her movies be looking at her thumbs???

Bloody ridiculous!

N-n-n-natural face, natural face

The make is gone, as is the glittering spandex, and here we can finally see, GaGa au naturale.






































I've wondered this before but now I think we can all see why photos of the dressed-down Ms GaGa are few and far between.

You know how there's some people that look completely different without make-up? That's definitely GaGa's situation...

And alas, even in her down-time, she still doesn't wear pants.

Rein, Rein; You're here to stay

I don't understand the kerfuffle surrounding Mrs K-Rudd.

In case you missed it, Kev's wife Therese Rein, a squillionaire in her own right, was snapped by a women's mag doing squats with her trainer in the local gym.

Obviously we're getting into the ins and outs of privacy laws here but, when the once-plump first lady of a country largely populated by over-fed and under-exercised individuals loses 25kgs, it's a secret that I don't think should be kept behind closed doors.

Kev wasn't impressed with the photographs stating "I think most women in Australia would feel that they should have some privacy when they go to the gym... if Woman's Day want to take photos through the window it's a matter for them I suppose. Others will form their judgments of that."

It's a bit of a tough one for everyone concerned - as soon as a mag puts diet and exercise tips on the cover, it's bound to be a successful issue, and really, as the wife of the man with the top job, Therese should not be immune to the tabloids.

I've met Therese. We were both buying not-so-authentic handbags in a massive market in China last year. She's all business and had clammy hands but she was happy to chat to a few exciteable Aussie kids for a few minutes.

And although Kev said she's been in training to climb Mt Kilimanjaro with their son, Nicholas, I'd be in training too if I had to hang out with Mrs O and Ms Bruni!

We've had a little work done

And hopefully it's worked out a little more successfully than this...

You can leave your pants on...

Stating the obvious, this spread from i-D magazine, as published by Haute Macabre shows that pirates do not need suits. Indeed it seems that pirates do not even need pants.









































Now I'm as fashionably open-minded as the next person, maybe even more so, but this photo is just a little creepy. For some reason, I see men's thighs as just one of those body parts that don't really need to be even thought of, let alone put to print. To me, they're just that bit of body that keeps the pant-legs filled - they aren't high fashion.

That said though, I rather like the below picture... I think I'm distracted from the thighs by the chiselled abs and the roll-around-in-tandoori-sauce tans.



















(and yep, that's Jamie Durie third from the left!)

But, back to our pirates. I really do like this shot. Maybe because he's wearing cool Balenciaga pants...

Hilarity #42

Hahahahahahahaha

The greatest song of all time, made even greater through the magic of plastic blocks.

Ruby's Opposition

I came across this set of images on high fashion website Haute Macabre when I was searching photos of Catherine McNeil's ex-love Freja Beha Erichsen. Sure, she works a leather cut-out corset better than most but, given the chance, I'm sure Ruby would too.

Maybe it's time for a walk-off - Zoolander style!

Bogan Power

Is it killing anyone else that this girl has secured a television contract and may grace our screens nightly?

Or is it just me?


























The "Chk Chk Boom Girl", otherwise known as "Clare the Bogan" has been snapped up by Channel Nine with talks of a permanent spot on that incredibly high quality (cough) news (?) program, A Current Affair.

She's got an agent and has allegedly turned down thousands offered by a men's mag to drop her daks for a photo shoot.

And for some reason, the great unwashed are holding her up as some kind of entertaining joker: a mischievous prankster simply looking to get her mug on the telly.

I'm not sure where I stand on Duncan Riley's conspiracy theory argument but I sure do think something has gone awry. Given Tracey Grimshaw's stone-faced hardline stance in THAT Matthew Johns interview, why has she (assuming she has a say on what happens on her show) now befriended an attention-seeking brat?

Her saga certainly has divided many though. Need a definitive answer on someone's level of bogan? Ask them their opinion on Clare. The comments on the YouTube clip of her interview with ACA are priceless:

Mongo9599 - "She's fantastic having fun. The ugly people are jealous! The unhappy people want her to be miserable like them. She is too bright and will out shine them all."

A little theatrical I think Mongo.

sccudspo - "This sort of shit makes me lose faith in humanity."

And 12myer hits the nail on the head with - "A smart liar supported by our wonderful doofess brains media"

Australians all let us rejoice, for Clare is young and free... to be a dickhead.

Super Scandal

One of the Australian media's latest love interests, Ruby Rose just isn't good enough for an (almost super) model.
















Known for her penchant for the ladies (and her uber cool alternative style), Ruby Rose was recently spotted getting into a good ol' pashola with front-cover favourite, Catherine McNeil.

And according to McNeil's "people", this move could be devasting for the 20-year-old model's career.

But interestingly, the predicted damage is not because of McNeil's chick-pashing ways: she used to date Danish runway doll Freja Beha Erichson.

The reason they're concerned is that our Ruby, unlike Freja, is not an international superstar and doesn't hold high fashion credentials.

Well boo to that McNeil people! She's 20! Surely if people like Matt Damon can marry a random waitress, then young up and comers can date whoever they choose (within reason obviously. Let's not forget about Britney + K.Fed here people).

I say good luck to them!

Procrastination #471

Although I wish I was important enough to hire someone else to do my laundry, I'm not. The washing machine in my building requires $1 coins, and as I didn't get to have a slap (on the pokies) this week, I have no gold coins. Why can't they be some kind of swipe card business?

So instead of going to a pub or begging on the street or pestering shop assistants, I have decided to do a round up of online good times until I feel inspired enough to tackle the aforementioned situations in the pursuit of clean clothes.


* Visible toes under stockings still kinda freaks me out. I know it's fashionably ok at the moment but...
* Cute dress that is so so so cheap!

* I wish I was this cool.

* Freaking hell! Here's something not to wear to dinner with the in-laws!

* Why so serious? - Givency's bringin' bowl cuts back...Yeah!

* I love Overheard in New York:

"Childrearing, in a Nutshell"

Four-year-old: I don't like you.
Angry mother: Well, that's fine, I don't like you very much either.
Four-year-old: That's mean.
Angry mother: That's life.

* Awkward Family Photos is seriously the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

* Marry Me Jo?

Papal scandal and propaganda

In the latest Dan Brown/Ron Howard attempt to:

a) Get kids to study history at school; and

b) Make the Vatican cranky;

Tom Hanks (Robert Langdon) has way better hair and the possibility of a lame love story thankfully goes begging.

Angels and Demons is the prequel to the Golden Globe nominated hit the Da Vinci Code. With more gun-blazin' action and papal scandal than the original, this installment is based on the race against time to save four cardinals from symbolic and gory deaths.

Exciting for Italophiles, the "Ooh I've been there!" factor is through the roof, with Langdon dragging the local cop shop from one end of Italy to the other.

The Vatican did not appreciate this film (nor the original) but, other than a few pokes at the papal propaganda machine and the rigidity of the religious structure, Angels and Demons offers insight into personal faith, the growing relationship between religion and science and a good look inside one of the most incredible basillicas ever made - St. Peters.

Scot Ewan McGregor was an interesting choice as the Pope's offsider (Camerlengo Patrick McKenna) but if you aren't a die-hard fan of the novel, he suits the role written for him in the film.

And hands down to the writers for ensuring Ayelet Zurer's Dr Vittoria Vetra was not dumbed down a single inch. It's always great to see a strong leading lady that doesn't have her boobs out at every turn.