M.I.A (not the pop-star)

        I have good news and bad news. Bad news first, I have not been blogging as often as usual  : (  Good news is, I am off to Florence, Italy tomorrow night and will be working on a ginormous post as soon as I return!  Wishing everyone happy holidays (not for me, Chanukah was a few weeks ago…)! 

       Part of me cannot wait for my favorite radio stations to stop playing Christmas music…the tunes are just too catchy!

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock…LiLo saves the day down below!

Love (English this time), 

   Eileen 

Viewer Discretion Advised...Seriously

 My (one-way) relationship with Steven Meisel, my most favorite fashion photographer, began in my sophomore year of high school, when my art teacher assigned a photographer to each student. We were required to do some research on our subject, but more so, the assignment was to imitate the style of the artist. To my luck, I was given Steven Meisel (it was fate that brought us together!). I got right to it, I called up a friend of mine, Freda, and had her model for me. It wasn’t that simple. I finally saw the brainpower behind snapping the perfect cover shot.  I won’t lie though, it was pretty fun. I was going for the whole “celebrity eating disorder” topic. I thought it was slightly controversial, but not too controversial that my teacher would be weirded out. Outfit-wise, I knew we were depicting a starlet. 2/3 pieces of her outfit belong/ed to my mother (I do not know where either are now). The dress, a sparkly BCBG frock from circa 2004. The shoes, Steve Madden, also from sometime around 2004. Last but not least, the silver leggings are mine, American Apparel. When it came time for makeup, I realized how much fun it is to make someone have a black eye by purpose. It was kind of like a “smoky eye” gone bad…very bad. We took red lipstick and just smudged it all over the lower half of her mouth. Then, we thought, what better place to shoot this than in my bathroom! As a finishing touch, we added a little plate of cake and cookies but mid-photoshoot, I took some cake and smushed it all over her face (can you say “let them eat cake!). Check out the photo below…

Call me a cheeseball, but my theory to photography (not like I’m good at it) was always that the talent in photography doesn’t lie in simply photographing something beautiful; it is photographing something ugly and making it beautiful.  In the world of gorgeous models and expensive clothing that is a hard theory to live by as a photographer. But my pal Steve always makes it work. His images are not merely a picture of a 5 foot 10 beauty in a $10,000 dollar Balmain dress. They are crossing boundaries and going places every photographer wants to go, but is too scared to. By challenging social taboos, Meisel made ‘controversy’ his middle name.  Meisel shoots for US and Italian Vogue, as well as designers such as Valentino, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Calvin Klein (almost everyone). Oh ya, and he’s like best friends with Madonna (jealous!!!). Enjoy.

 

 

 

 "Make Love Not War"for Italian Vogue

Last but not least my rendition of Steven Meisel's work: 

Sinceramente (Italian), 

Eileen

Sex, Drugs, and...Ballet?

Firstly, I would like to apologize for my lack of posting…finals are a killer! I still have an art history exam hanging over my shoulders, but I missed “Home Sweet…Dorm” too much! Blog now, study later.

Anyways, I just saw Black Swan this week and I am still amazed! I feel bad to pump up any expectations about the film, but I am sure you will enjoy it! Director Darren Aronofsky is successful in making the audience feel uncomfortable throughout every second. Each character is multifaceted and you will have a hard time looking away from the screen or taking a trip to the bathroom (no matter how many diet coke’s you drink during the first half)

You might leave the theater feeling slightly confused as to what actually happened in the movie, and the significance of the ending, but I think that is exactly the point. Natalie Portman takes the idea of “becoming the role” to the next level. Rumor has it, Portman lost around twenty pounds for the part; the struggles of becoming the role of Nena (Portman’s role in The Black Swan), and Nena’s endeavor of becoming the black swan, are mindboggling and interrelated. Portman surely did it; most viewers were blown away by what might have been the role of her life.

The Black Swan gives the audience an insiders view to the true pressures of a dancer’s career. Bulimia, nerve-racking auditions, seduction, rejection, competition and strive for perfection, are only the beginning of what is going on inside a dancer’s head. I am hopeful for two things: that I didn’t spoil the whole film in this post, and that Portman wins the Golden Globe! 


Kwaheri (that's goodbye in Swahili), 


Eileen 


P.S. the tune of "Swan Lake" might stick in your head for a few days...

Ode to the City I Live In, Disclaimer: this is not a poem, sorry!

It is not very often that I commemorate the city that raised me (kind of). It was not until the eleventh grade that I first realized I live in the most amazing city, well, ever. Some background: I am an obsessive Conde Nast Traveler reader. As soon as an issue comes in the mail, I grab it (before my parents see it has arrived) run up to my room and spend hours studying each and every article and advertisement (If only I did so with my textbooks). Sometime in 2009, I glanced at the cover and the title of the featured article was, “The Center of the Universe” (or maybe it was called “The Greatest City of the Universe”—well, something along those lines). I remember thinking, “Woohoo! Can’t wait to read about the center of the universe…I wonder what it is.” Once I got to my room, I looked down at the cover and noticed that the photo was the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the Museum of Natural History. The picture resembled this one:

 To my surprise, it was the “city that never sleeps.” (sorry, I can’t think of another less cliché but well known nickname for NYC—the big apple, Empire-oy-State, Gotham…you get the point). I had one of those moments where I was so shocked that I was basically reenacting the scene from Mean Girls where Regina George says, “Shut up!” (except I was just talking to myself…whatever). I was extremely excited to open this issue, almost too excited, more than any other issue I’ve ever received. Trust me, it is totally fun reading about quaint, cozy towns in Italy and adventurous, scenic journeys in South Africa, but my mighty Manhattan!

I don’t think many other cities have the term, “a [insert name of city here] moment,” where the term “New York City moment,” has become a part of breathing our polluted air! (I am not trying to comment on the environment—just noting that our air is polluted, but every blessing comes with downsides—and New York has very little of them). The other day I wore stockings (you remember how much I love stockings…right?) with the Eiffel Tower on them…I felt disloyal wearing the symbol of another city on my legs all day! (check them out here). 

I recently found myself at Times Square. I couldn’t help but think, “How does it all work?” (I don’t mean electricity, construction, cars etc., I mean the people and culture) How do so many people live so close to one another (approximately 26,000 people per square mile) without there being constant conflict? (I’m not arguing that there is no crime or violence in the city, but it is one of the safest cities in the USA). In addition to the hordes of people living within the city, there are the bridge and tunnel people that Manhattan breathes in and out every single dingle day.

I guess the most appropriate way to end this blog post is by saying…

So, what is your New York City moment? 

Thanks to my sources:

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/98_nicknames/

http://hubpages.com/hub/20-Interesting-Facts-About-New-York-City

http://www.citypass.com/press/photos/ny/New-York.html

Wallets for Sale

After looking through ever inch of my closet (yes, I need to revive something from the back of my closet—I am getting very bored of the stuff I can see with my plain eye), I found this weird briefcase that, truthfully, I can’t explain. It’s always been around. Either in my closet, the hallway, next to my mannequin, I just never had an explanation for it. I think I used to play with it as a toddler and make pretend I was a businessman from the 1950’s or something. Apparently, I used it as storage at some point in my life. Upon opening the bottom portion of this briefcase (the top half is locked and the key is missing—go figure), I found probably every wallet I owned between 5^th and 9^th grade (I mean it wasn’t like I was looking for them or anything). Some of these are cute, some are just dreadful, but they all take me on a walk down memory lane (probably shouldn’t have used that phrase)…take a look! 

This is the mysterious briefcase, by the way.

 It looks like I had some sort of Alice in Wonderland fetish...who knew! 

I think I thought I was cooler because my wallet had graffiti on it...was graffiti on wallets ever cool?

 Gotta love Paul Frank!

 I remember I was really excited about this one (which I must note I bought from a store that sold cleaning supplies) because it was the first wallet I had that could hold my phone too! 

Everyone had one of these...Right? (crickets, crickets). By the way, my monkey's name was Sven.

I've come to the conclusion that I was a bit of a wacky kid...but this one isn't even practical! 

Holiday Advice

With the holiday season just around the corner, you might be wondering, “How will I fake swoon from the sight of a gift I actually am extremely disappointed in and would really like to throw out the window pronto, or at least before I have to give it another glance?” Well, I will be answering that thoughtful question today.

So, how do I fake I like something that I’d trade for a rubber chicken at any given moment? I know this is quite cheesy, but try not to think about the actual gift, but rather think about the intention behind the gift. And no, I’m not saying if someone gets you makeup that means they think you’re ugly. And if they get you a Treadmill that doesn’t mean they think you need to lose weight (okay, maybe…kidding). Sometimes when I get a gift that’s just, well, dreadful I wonder if the person really thinks this item is at all “me,” but again…think of the meaning behind it.

Another tip, figure out if you are a good liar (I now know I obviously am not—and you might be wondering why you are reading a blog-post concerning fake-liking gifts from a girl who cant lie if her life depended on it, but we’re having fun! Right?). If you have a stellar poker face, make eye contact with the person who gave you the gift while thanking them. If you have the same inability to lie that I have then, please, don’t worry because you are not alone! There are many of us that will never be able to win a card game, and always ruin the surprise party. In that case, don’t make eye contact with the gift giver…just figure out another way to be sincere. I’ve seen some professional fakers go as far as crying just to prove that they love the gift someone gave them, if only I could pull that off!

People say to look for the good in everything. Well that definitely works here. Find something nice to say about it, no matter how bad it is. For example, you are fifteen and you received a blender for Chanukah. “Wow thank you so much Aunt Mildred, it’s so shiny…I love it!” Yes, you will either donate it to the Salvation Army or let it sit in your cupboard for years, but sure is it shiny!

Hopefully, whether you get the gift of your dreams or the gift of your nightmares, you will know what to do with (give it to me if it’s good…kidding…again). Happy Chanukah, Hanukka, Hannukah (whatever…enjoy!).