Wizardly WonderNot every studio session musician gains fame, no matter how prolific, but not every studio musician is a fine looking hipster wizard that can sport a top hat with dignity. See below/after the jump for several of Leon Russell‘s finest looks.
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Amazing Costume DesignerBecoming a crazy warlord queen has never been at the top of my list of things to do – but if it was guaranteed that all my extreme headgear would be designed by Danilo Donati, I might just reconsider my priorities in life.
It was, funnily enough, one of his least revered films (Red Sonja) that got me into the man’s work. Featuring an achingly bad performance by Sandahl Bergman and a lanky Bridgitte Neilson who is out-shined by her monumental mullet (seriously it’s so long and crazy it takes mullets beyond ugly, beyond so ugly it’s kitschy and cool, and brings them to someplace special), Red Sonja is no masterpiece, but the costumes are the stuff of big necklace and golden spiked dreams.
With a little research I found that Donati was also responsible for the costumes in some of my favorite Fellini films, many of the films of Pasolini, and the disappointingly boring but visually wowing Caligula (see stills below/after jump). He also was behind the Roberto Benigni Pinocchio, right before he passed away, but before you judge him for it, you have to admit that funky suit is phenomenal. In 2007, Italians got to see his work in the Costume a corte exhibit, of which I found a few photos online here. I am so in love!
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Plus Sized BeautyThe Terry Richardson lensed One Size Fits All campaign, with the bodacious Crystal Renn, is one of my favorite fashion spreads of the past few years. Not just because a non waif is presented in the spread like a token freak in a size-specific issue, but because she looks ten times more rocking and amazing than her skin and bones counterpart. I don’t really want to get into the weight debate here, but I do want to praise Renn for outright awesomeness.
Once suffering terribly with an eating disorder, Renn broke the illness’s hold on her and wrote a book about it called Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves. Since then she’s quickly become the most recognized non conformist fashion model to grace the pages of the biggest fashion magazines. Just a few of her looks are below/after the jump. Having thighs that actually touch has never looked or felt so good.
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Buttery Ham, Anchovies, and SquidWe traveled to Barcelona primarily for the spectacular food and we were not disappointed. Our first night in town we went to Tapac 24, a bright and bustling tapas spot in the L’eixample, where we actually had the best meal of the entire trip. An menu filled with the letter ‘x’ only confused me and left me realizing that I really didn’t know Spanish at all, so we took suggestions from the moderately patient waiter and pointed to words that looked promising. We started with ink dyed fried calimari, it was delectably tender and crunchy, like fresh onion rings of the sea. Really incredible. Wonderful lightly salted and fried artichokes came next followed by flavorful chicken croquettes and a daringly ordered bull tail. The latter was a rich, meaty dish much like a fragrant oxtail. A nice bottle of cava accompanied our fully satisfying meal and I’d strongly recommend you make your way to this underground spot if you visit the city.
Breakfast brought more adventure and deliciousness with Mantequeria Ravell, a bodega store front which hides a secret breakfast dining room that you access by walking through the kitchen and then up a flight of stairs. It feels like a well kept secret (even though we found it in a tour guide) and the complete lack of English spoken only adds to the exotic experience. And exotic it is, for where else have I been faced with a menu containing a foie gras and eggs dish? Oh, this is decadent living, friends and I savored every bite, except for the ones I gave over to Jim in order to make it through the day without going into a foie gras induced nap. Fresh squeezed orange juice and a large window overlooking apartment gardens were lovely accompaniments.
After a day of uphill walking we deserved to indulge again and did so at one of the city’s most popular tapas and cerveza meccas, Ciudad Condal. You can expect a long line of locals and tourists, but it moves quickly and is worth waiting in. Here we had what seemed to my American sensibility like the most typical tapas: the Iberian ham was like butter and came with the traditional bread with a slight smattering of tomatoes. My boss highly recommended I take the opportunity to eat fried small peppers, and here they were excellent. Creamy manchego, fried anchovies, crisp asparagus, and tuna stuffed red peppers (all great) rounded out the mini feast and cold cervezas washed it all down…
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Bubbly Wine, Water and BeerCava is the name of the game in Spain and we drank plenty of the bubbly. Much like champagne, cava can be sweet or dry (we opted for dry) and goes perfectly with salty tapas. But we didn’t end with cava as far as imbibing.
Vichy Catalan is the table “agua con gas” and made in the nearby town of Girona (which we travelled through on the train to Figueres). Unlike the Perrier you might be used to, it’s actually kind of salty and delicious for it.
The tea in Spain is also slightly different from my estados unidos norm. Most restaurants serve a naturally sweet red tea, most of which, I believe comes from Africa and may just be the “bush tea” they’re always talking about in this week’s TV pick.
Lastly, they have a local beer, Moritz, which I’ve never seen in the US. It’s tasty and crisp and actually quite sweet in a non-lemon-wheat-beer kind of way. Quite refreshing.
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Chocolate, crema, and cakeSpain offered what I was hoping for: Iberian hams, anchovies, fried little peppers, etc but it totally surprised me with the best cake I’ve ever moaned the phrase “YUM…” to. It came from Rita (more info about the restaurant in this week’s restaurant entry) and it was like Duncan Hines boxed cake but gourmet – deliriously delicious.
Of course, we had other delectable sweets and I don’t mean for the cake to cast too long shadow over the cinnamony crema catalana – a spiced but mild crème brulee, or the incredible chocolates we sampled at the Mercet Bouqueria, which were as tasty as they were beautiful and sometimes humorous to look at.
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designed by GaudiPark Guell, designed by the inventive architect Antoni Gaudi, was originally intended to be an aristocratic housing development on the outskirts of the city but the houses never developed and the city ultimately bought the land back and turned the area into a public park; it’s one of the most spectacular places to visit in Barcelona. After a long uphill amble, we spent the better part of the day exploring the winding paths, nooks and crannies, wizard-like structures, vibrant mosaics, and gorgeous views.
We didn’t come in through the main entrance, with its tile dragon and sprawling staircase, but rather through a side passage near the terraces; a peaceful area where birds nest and there are many quiet spots to sit and enjoy the Mediterranean weather (it was in the mid sixties).
From a distance we spotted an ancient looking cross atop a nearby hill that we eventually made our way toward. This is the Turo dels Tres Creus (the Hill of the Three Crosses) a spot originally slated to host a church but now looms over town like something out of a Pasolini or Bunuel film and offers 360 degree views of the city.
There’s a main square where the public can lounge on magnificent mosaic benches and nothing is more spectacular than looking out on Gaudi’s totally sci-fi wizard tower-meets-Dr Seuss constructions; Gaudi truly transformed the city with his whimsical and wild creations and Guell is one of his crowning achievements. If you plan on going, give yourself lots of time to explore and enjoy this most beautiful park. This was one of the highlights of our recent trip.
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Life Photographed LovinglyI’ve recommended one of the author of My Funny Eye’s blogs before (the now defunct How We Say Hello) and as I got set to write this one up, I didn’t even realize it! I must, then, consider myself a real fan or perhaps even a cosmic friend. Love the photos here and wish I was talented enough behind the lens to capture my life as if it were a precious, special art project. I tend to get double chins and cats that won’t sit still.
This blog also boasts a fabulous links section which has kept me inspired and busy for days.
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on HBO and DVDNever has a TV show made me feel like such a jerk for being such a sarcastic jerk – but I just can’t help myself when the dialogue of The #1 Ladies Detective Agency gets so simple (seriously, most conversations consist of “He sounds like a good man”, “He is a good man”, “Perhaps a bad man is making him do bad things” “Mma, a very bad man”… and on and on). But still, the show is quite charming in its way, despite the inherent condescension in the script that tends to over simplify its characters.
It’s like an updated Murder She Wrote re contextualized in the incredible, and incredibly shot, location of Botswana. The show was directed by the late Anthony Minghella, and his deep love of warm, epic landscapes is intact; and the costumes are quite inspiring and breathtaking as well. No women can mix pattern, shapes, and looks like the ladies presented here – I started re-mixing and matching my wardrobe in my head as I was watching.
Jill Scott is a sweetheart and one of the few women with girth on television who has a healthy body image, but the real star of the show, as far as I’m concerned, is the sassy wide-eyed little errand boy, Wellington.
It’s not edgy viewing and if you’re an asshole like me you might even find it grating at times, but some night it’s great to tune into a simple mystery show nset in a world few of us are familiar with.
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from Cooking LightIt’s always nice to take a usually greasy food that’s bad for you and make it lighter and tastier. This Cooking Light recipe is super quick and easy (particularly if you get Freshdirect’s heat and eat rice) and can be tampered to your own tastes. I added water chestnuts (a personal love), rice wine vinegar and fish sauce.