Lanvin expertise with H&M for the fall capsule collection...
"In the end, you really only have what you give away." --Alber Elbaz, December Vogue 2010
Hong Sang-soo is at it again with Ha, Ha, Ha, a totally hilarious and bitterly pathetic portrait of masculine inadequacy.
In honor of At the Movies, reviews by A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips of the new Disney film Tangled. I began this movie with trepidation - Why such liberties with the Rapunzel story? Why so much cheeky modern flourishing and implied sarcasm. Is this Shrek in disguise? Princess and the Frog scatterlogic narrative? Why is the film not called Rapunzel? Oh! No!However...
The humor is less crass and more balanced with the rest of the film than the trailer might lead you to believe. Sidekicks are charming. Animation is glossy without getting too overwhelming, reminiscent of new classic Disney with nods to old classic Disney - though sometimes I felt like I was in a WOW instance. The music is familiar Menken and still memorable. Plus, the twisted mother daughter relationship puts all the academic theory of Disney films up front and center. My 16 year old dis-enfranchised self, demurred in the onslaught of all this sweetly updated, yet satisfyingly nostalgic honey, and allowed me an hour and some moments of pure, unadulterated, pre-adolescent pleasure.
Everyone Else, a multivalent composition of relationships, expectations, honesty and social conformity, is best watched than described. The film, by Maren Ade, a female director, is uncomfortable at times, but a compelling a study in the minutiae of revising and losing the self that doesn't resort to didactic arthouse shock and gloom for extra zing. Really quite lovely.
Sumptuous and slightly cold, I Am Love is marred with fingerpointing in places that didn't quite need it. Perhaps the director was afraid the audience wouldn't get the point - times gone stagnant, love gone stale, little thoughts and expressions bristling through a dusty tapestry of omerta. Nevertheless, the film features, for once, Tilda being elegant - feminine even, in a reserved way, in fantastic minimalist clothing, with long hair - though not, arguably, presented at her actor-ly best given the material. The real stars of the film are eloquently material - the spectacle of the staid, incredibly luxe, fascist palace juxtaposed with the a la moment, molecularly savvy, and personal food of today's locavore chefs. Ostensibly, the story here is about sensations, but all the gilding says the real battle is between the new money and the old.
This place in Burlingame is alright. I prefer the cupcake bakery in San Carlos or Kara's.
Some kind of whoopie pie.
Cupcakes of forgotten type.
In a way, he is teaching us how to process information and facts and intuition, how to put them together, how to change your perspective, because really how does one go about doing that - changing a perspective as if it was like changing a light bulb? The journalist doesn't just hand the expose to us and admonish, instead he leads the audience gently to epiphany, teaching the reader how to learn, how to warp our own ingrained perceptions, so that the insights are exposed.
Recently, The Textile Arts Council of the De Young museum hosted a lecture on Madame Vionnet by Sandra Ericcson, The Center for Pattern Design. The free event was an opportunity to learn some cutting and fitting techniques, but also to view construction details up close and personal. Well worth the trip.
I'm not going into a lot of detail here about history and context, but I'm going to lay out Sandra's key points and interesting related tidbits.
6 Principles of Elegant Cutting
A. The Goal: Simple and Integrated
1. Simple = Achieving the most from the least
2. Integrated = Relating the body and the bias
Principle 1: Cut Geometrically
A. Cut on the Straight, Worn on the Bias
1. Square
2. 4 Square
3. Quadrant
4. Barrel Cut
B. Cut on the Bias, Worn on the Bias
C. Cut on the Cross Grain, Worn on the Bias
Principle 2: Weight Creates Fit and Form
A. Fabric = rayon, silk, wool, double crepe, any crepes, velvet, heavy metallic lame
1. Balanced thread count
2. Loose Weave = not Synthetics
3. Elasticity = Twisted Yarn
4. Collapse = Less Friction
5. Torque = Dimensional Stability
6. Weight
7. Width
B. Design
1. Length
2. Volume
3. Trim
Principle 3: Any part can extend into Twists, Loops, Folds or Ties
Principle 4: Design should Integrate the Closure
Principle 5: Decorative Details Create Silhouette, Fit and Finish
Principle 6: Use Inserts for Specific Shaping
Principle 7: The Cut is All
A. Very simple finishing - minimize any visible bumps or puckers
1. Overcast seam edges
2. Self facing
3. Hong Kong Edges
B. Built in Flexibility
1. Size
i. A stouter body at a particular height = dress is shorter.
ii. A thin body at the same height = dress is longer.
Perfect instructions from Simply Recipes with helpful tips from David Lebovitz.
This recipe needs a little work. So far...
2 cups flour
2 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups softened butter
Mix together dry ingredients than add butter till moistened and comes together slightly. Lightly press half of the mixture into a 13x9 in baking pan, sprinkle with filling and top with the rest of the mixture. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 20-25 min or till center is melted and top is golden brown.
2 cups flour
2 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups softened butter
6 oz chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup caramel sauce
Mix together dry ingredients than add butter till moistened and comes together slightly. Lightly press half of the mixture into a 13x9 in baking pan, sprinkle with filling and top with the rest of the mixture. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 20-25 min or till center is melted and top is golden brown.
"I cannot conceive of a god who rewards and punishes his creatures or has a will of the kind we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egotism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and a glimpse of the marvellous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in Nature." --Albert Einstein
Chorizo and Chickpeas
Mark Bittman's chorizo and kale recipe is one of my favorites. This is a take on a recipe in the New Tapas book which uses blood sausage and pine nuts. Here we have chorizo, bell peppers, raisins, chickpeas and almonds.
Mushroom Custard
Deconstructed frittata. I based the custard and oven cooking method from the recipe in Shimbo book, but added prosciutto, bell pepper, mushrooms, fresh cheese, a crack of pepper on top and some salt. Although the basil doesn't look very nice, baking with the rest of the elements infuses the whole dish with a sweet herby aroma. I'm swimming in basil so that's what I used, but thyme or rosemary could very well have made it on the table too.
Deconstructed frittata. I based the custard and oven cooking method from the recipe in Shimbo book, but added prosciutto, bell pepper, mushrooms, fresh cheese, a crack of pepper on top and some salt. Although the basil doesn't look very nice, baking with the rest of the elements infuses the whole dish with a sweet herby aroma. I'm swimming in basil so that's what I used, but thyme or rosemary could very well have made it on the table too.
Tuna Yuzu Ceviche
Sushi grade tuna with red onions, yuzu paste, grape tomatoes, a touch of soy and olive oil, with copious lemons and lime, garnished with fresh basil.
Sushi grade tuna with red onions, yuzu paste, grape tomatoes, a touch of soy and olive oil, with copious lemons and lime, garnished with fresh basil.
Salad with "Aji" Yogurt Dressing
Patatas Bravas from Saveur
Highlights among the horror films on tap for the night:
Death Bed: The Bed that Eats
Un Tranquillo Posto di Campagna - A Quiet Place in the Country
Directed by Elio Petri
Highlights among the horror films on tap for the night:
Too slow but marvelously ridiculous. That someone justified this film to producers and an audience creatively is a feat unto itself.
Directed by Elio Petri
The Italian penchant for twisted romantic relationships takes on the extra psychological burdens of artistic madness, mysticism, oedipal values, sadomasochism and an exploration of the Petite Object A. At the heart of the story is one man's retreat from sterile modernist trappings to the countryside, despite the objections of his long suffering and controlling girlfriend. He busts out the canvas in a appropriately ramshackle villa, ostensibly to overcome his artist's block, but instead of painting, he petulantly obsesses over the former resident, a nymphomaniac whose memory haunts the lives of the smallfolk in this picturesque town. Each troubling layer of the artist's psyche is revealed through unsettling daydreams that express an underlying violence and hedonism repressed in society at large. The character's gruesome journey is an allegory for a specific kind of colloquialism bred by oppressive political and cultural forces beyond the immediate. To this effect, the beautiful cinematography and the filmic spaces of the villa itself are summarily ripped apart by incisive editing, as his mind cannot help but interject the real into the rational.
The one film of the evening where I actually screamed out loud because a bookcase fell down of all things. I think that means this horror is good horror.
Accordingly, if I was ever to write a book, I would call it Petite Object X.
