Fashion: Vogue

From Vogue India comes this gorgeous cover of 'Slumdog Millionarie's" Freida Pinto. Nicely done! Hopefully American Vogue will follow suit by changing up their cover models from time to time (hint hint - Jennifer Aniston...Really??)

Inspiration: The Ultimate Tree House

These are pretty cool and its good to see people having some fun: Floating spheres you can live in, in case you are sick of your current digs. Brings a whole new meaning to living out your childhood dreams! Built in the forest in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, suspended by three ropes 100 feet off the ground and of course wired with power, sound and a telephone. There is room for a bed, sitting area, cupboards and counter space. The spheres can be lived in year around, since they have been fully insulated. Check them out! www.freespiritspheres.com

Music: Johnny Cash

I love me some Johnny Cash...and I love finding old, original performances on youtube even more. So here is a little tune for you today:

Fashion Ads: LV, D&G, Miu Miu

Katie Holmes as a fashion model for Miu Miu? Yawn. Seriously...enough of these actresses trying to be models. Kate - Is Tom behind this? The last time I even saw her in anything decent was "Wonder Boys" (Great movie w/Michael Douglas, Robert Downey Jr., & Frances Mcdormand, go rent it!)

The exceptions? Madonna for Louis Vuitton and Scarlett for Dolce & Gabbana. Fierce!

Cuba:

After receiving a bunch of questions as to whether our latest project is in fact channeling the fantastic documentary "Buena Vista Social Club", no - it is not. But we are profiling the amazing sounds of Cuba, so I thought I might as well post a little BVSC for fun :)

Events: Valentine's Day

It is getting harder and harder to be near any reliable internet connections as I continue to travel to random places for work...so here is a very early Valentine's for you, from Marilyn & I. Enjoy! xoxo

Travel & Music: Cuba

Wish us luck! D & I are off to Mexico and Cuba to document Afro Latin Jazz as it exists today, but most specifically in New York & Cuba. We will be following the wonderfully talented Arturo O'Farrill (son of Chico) and his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. And of course, congrats are in order as they just won a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album :)

To learn more about the musicians, please visit them here:
www.arturoofarrill.com
www.afrolatinjazz.org

Music: New Young Pony Club

This was a hot track when I heard it a year ago, and I love it still. For your viewing pleasure...

Just for fun: Famous Birthday's

I happen to share my (upcoming) birthday with a very eclectic group of people, dead and alive: Sidney Poitier, Cindy Crawford, Kurt Cobain, Robert Altman, Ansel Adams, Gloria Vanderbilt and a host of others. Who knew? I have no idea what this says about me and I don't plan on digging too deep to find out (lol), but if you are curious about your own birthday, click here:

www.famousbirthdays.com

Quotes: Mae West

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough"
"Whenever I'm caught between two evils, I take the one I've never tried."
"Save a boyfriend for a rainy day - and another, in case it doesn't rain."
"It's not the men in my life that count, it's the life in my men."
"I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond."

Music: MIA

I'll put this track up today since it is the day of the Grammy's and the crazy talented, and multi-nominated MIA is set to perform on her due date. Yikes!

Celebrities: Gwyneth on Goop & Spain

If you are not a fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, than skip this bit. But for those who are interested, she has started her own blog called Goop, which acts as a weekly newsletter on everything from cooking to shopping in NY to book pics from her pals Madonna & Christy Turlington. And when she isn't doing this, she is hanging out with her good friend, the excellent chef - Mario Batali, whom she recently co-hosted a cooking series called "Spain...on the road again." Just looking at it makes me hungry & tempted to jump on the first plane back to Spain!

Her blog: www.goop.com
Cooking Show: www.spainontheroadagain.com

Books: The top 100 Lists

Nothing makes you feel worse than when you see "top 100" lists of what you should have read, thinking you are pretty well educated and versed, but sadly realize how few you have actually tackled. I stumbled across this link listing, so enjoy, and get reading!

- 100 Greatest Novels of all Time
- 100 Best Novels from 1923 to current
- 100 books that shaped the world

http://www.adherents.com/people/100_novel.html

TV & Music: Gossip Girl

Go ahead and judge me...I don't care. I love the trash TV show otherwise known as Gossip Girl. Love the clothes, love the attitude, love Chuck Bass, and I especially love the music. This show is brought to you from the same team who was behind The OC, and as such have managed to hire a great group of Music supervisors to bring you the best in young and old tunes. Go to the link below to find bands, and I promise you won't be sorry. Because of them, I recently discovered The Asteroids Galaxy Tour:

www.omfgg.com

Travel: Vancouver

No matter where I travel, I still find Vancouver to be one of the most beautiful City's in the world: Mountains AND Ocean! Recently, the month of January brought about a fog that landed upon the city and decided not to leave. These photos have been circulated around the globe but I figured I would post at least one of these gorgeous pictures here, along with a little video of the best season here - Summer!

Music: Grammy's & new beats

Now onto the real musicians,

First: The Grammy's are this Sunday, so here is the list of nods:http://www.grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx (**And it should be noted that the documentary I am working on with my friend D, has our subject up for a Grammy too!)

Second: As a loyal Perez reader, I am always interested in his latest music picks since we share a similar obsession with it. However...I couldn't believe it when he scooped me, posting his three last choices, one of which I mentioned before (Marina & the Diamonds) along with two newcomers I was going to blog about weeks ago: Little Boots & Thunderheist. But who cares, I'm still posting a new EP from Little Boots anyways, even though she has no video yet. (And I have to admit, I liked his newest pick of Florence and the Machine today too - as he describes as a "Punky version of Feist")

Movies: Gran Torino

If you have worked your way through all the big movies just in time for the Oscar's, and now find yourself looking for something new, do yourself a favor and check out Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino". Eastwood doing his best...well...Eastwood, amidst a very entertaining and poignant tale. The fact that this movie is not up for any awards purely speaks to how good the movies were in 2008 (except for "Benjamin Button". It's a snooze. Skip it):

Events: Superbowl Ads

Today is THE day for football, and though I'll be watching it along with a host of others, other than winning my bets and seeing some funny commercials, I don't care too much for the game. Sorry :0

Some of today's ads are up on Youtube already, so here are a couple. I may update them if we see some that are even better...