TV: Vintage Commercials

With the invention of television, came the new wave of advertising: commericals. Everyday, millions of us are talked into all kinds of products, but for all the ridiculously blatant ads out there, perhaps none are funnier than those of the 50's & 60's, the 'golden age' of advertising (Watch tv's Mad Men for more on this) Case in point: Salem Cigarettes...hilarious! It is actually selling its product as "fresh air"...I could youtube these all day.

Music: Starf**ker

I keep hearing great things about this indie pop band from Portland. Dreamy & hypnotic, their self-titled 2008 release is definitely worth a listen. www.myspace.com/starfuckerss

Movies: Blazing Saddles

I was recently working on a project where I was referencing Mel Brooks movies, and all his farcical, satirical, ridiculous slapstick humor. I ranked his classic & top grossing 1974 movie "Blazing Saddles" right at the top (well, me and the American Film Institute), because Brooks wrote it with the late, great Richard Pryor and a host of other comics to take on all the bad cliche's of Western movies and of course, "the absurdity of racial prejudice". If you are in need of a laugh, are not easily offended and not looking for anything too high brow, it is worth a rent. Today, I share one of the film's most famous scenes, of another 'late & great' - Madeline Kahn - doing her best (& worst) imitation of Marlene Dietrich, singing "one of the dirtiest songs I ever have ever written." (Brooks)

Funny: Hollywood A-S-S-T

For those of you who have experience working in the film (television, fashion or music) business, this video will ring true in so many ways. LA is littered with Hollywood wannabes, mostly in the army of Assistants (think 'Lloyd' on HBO's Entourage) who keep things running smoothly for their pampered bosses while they continually get dumped on. Welcome to the soul sucking entertainment world, kids!

Fashion: Chanel

A friend of mine forwarded me this great clip of a Coco Chanel (1883-1971) interview, that I felt compelled to pass on (though only those of us who speak French will truly appreciate it ;) This amazing Lady revolutionized fashion as we know it, and was a true original. Some of her quotes:

“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”
“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty”
“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”
“I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.”

Music: Hip Hop

I love hip hop. Always have. Here, in NYC, it continues to be the soundtrack of the city. Unfortunately, after the golden period from the late 80's to mid 90's, the sound started to go downhill and I long for the days of A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Digable Planets, The Pharcyde, Public Enemy, NWA, Biggie, early Beastie Boys,Snoop, Dre, etc. Of course there are still good artists and I love Jurassic 5, Jay Z, Blackalicious, The Streets, Common, The Roots...but I am always happy to hear from the new kid on the block who actually has skills. Case in point: Kid Cudi. If you haven't heard of him yet, you have now, and in a few months he will be taking over the airwaves when he drops his first album this summer, though you no doubt heard his first single "day'n'nite'. Check him out here: www.myspace.com/kidcudi
Or check out his remix video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVb_t_ao9gw

And in the meantime, I'll share a little video from one of my all time faves:

Events: St. Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! The day that started out as an annual feast day celebrating one of the patron saints of Ireland, has now become the day where everyone pretends they are Irish and fall prey to the one-too-many-beers-syndrome. As for me, like every year, I will cheers my Great-Great Grandfather and his miraculous Irish liver that allowed him to drink, smoke a pipe and live until 110. Sláinte!

Fashion: "Depression Chic"?

I love fashion for all its frivolity, but sometimes it becomes ridiculous and a characiture of itself. Case in point: Currently in Vogue & Style.com's list of Spring trend reports, they seriously had the nerve to use the term "depression chic" to describe one of the looks in this economy. OMG. What they really meant is that they were channeling the fashion of the 20's & 30'3, and then trying to give a modern twist, but come on. It is a little "laugh out loud". Only in the world of style! For a list of other trends for Spring 2009:

http://www.style.com/trendsshopping/trendreport/011309/

Global 411: William Shakespeare

Apparently, a portrait painted 400 years ago and kept anonymously in an Irish home for much of the time since is now believed to be the only painting of William Shakespeare created during his lifetime. I don't know...self portraits are always some version of truth mixed with an idealized one, on the part of both patron and artist. He is supposed to be 46 years old at the time of this painting. I say, this is early airbrushing ;) "Hoy-day! What a sweep of vanity comes this way!" -WS

Props: Jon Stewart & The Daily Show

My favorite guy, and one you'll see here often! Was happy to see him call out all the crappy financial reporting by the networks this week, particularly CNBC. He even went on Letterman last night and crushed them again...currently no response from the networks, probably because they know everything he said was right. I'll post some of it below and hope it is not removed.

TV: Family Guy

For anybody as pop culture obsessed as me, you are no doubt a huge fan already of Family Guy, whether you like cartoons or not! Listen to this hilarious spoof they recently did of the now infamous Christian Bale meltdown. How are they even allowed to get away with this? LOL

Music: Coconut Records

This is kind of old news, but about a year ago Coconut Records (aka actor Jason Schwartzman from the brilliant movie "Rushmore"), put out a great little album titled "Nighttiming", and has just released the latest "Davy". Talented family - he is a Coppola, previously played drums for Phantom Planet and his little brother is the lead singer of Rooney. I have not listened to the new tunes yet, but look forward to it, and am sharing my favorite single from the last album which comes with an interesting & innovative music video:

www.myspace.com/coconutrecords

Events: Dr. Seuss' Birthday

Today would have been the 105th Birthday of Dr. Seuss! A fundamental part of all of our childhood's, he wrote over 60 children's books and drew more than 400 political cartoons in two years for a New York daily newspaper. Where would we be without him? Visit his website for more: www.seussville.com or enjoy some of his quotes below:

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

Fashion: Sex & The City

Aside from the fact that SATC was one of the best fashion plates ever to appear on television (aside from AbFab, of course), it gives inspiration to many of style ideas that can be created for a fraction of the price. However...as I recently discovered, if you are really dying to find an exact designer creation, HBO has a portion of their website completely dedicated to the clothes that have appeared on the show, catalogued by episode. Genius! And now that the studios have green lit a sequel to the SATC movie, we can look forward to even more fabulous ensembles to drool over.

www.hbo.com/city/episode/fashion/episode75.shtml