Martine Roch's Beautiful Animal Portraits

When humans appropriate aminal characteristics in the name of style, the results are not always appealing.

 

Take the "duck nails" from my previous post, for instance, or the cloven-toe sneakers that former beasties (err--besties--) Madge and Gwyneth used to wear with their yoga pants.

But when the photographer Martine Roch depicts animals that she knows and loves in the sympathetic posture and clothing of an Edith Wharton novel via vintage photos, it's a game-changer.

Gentle readers know that I admire a good rabbit profile, and this elegant hare (below) has me raising my carrot juice in a toast. 

Bread and jam (or papillons?) for Frances?

The pastoral beauty here is lulling me to sheep (umm--sleep).

Martine Roch's website is here; I learned of her work through Sister Wolf (many thanks for the introduction!).

Is What not to Wear "Real" Any More?

What am I these days, a critic or something?

Last night I watched Tristen's episode of What not to Wear, and although she was wearing "duck" nails, something smelled fishy.

Was it me, or did Tristen's anger toward Stacy and Clinton seem a little *too* disrespectful?  After all, S&C are characterized by their frank yet warm manner.  They don't make gratutious fun of their subjects and don't deserve to be dismissed as if they are fools.

Did Tristen's wailing pre-manicure and haircolour seem overdone?  I totally understand how someone feels vulnerable before a new haircolour, but to go from snubbing silence to histronics seemed unexpected.

And then, Tristen's rudeness shifted abruptly, with her new hair and then, even more, with her new, softer makeup.  Suddenly she was smiling and loving everything and everyone, hugging Stacy and Clinton as if they were best pals.

This episode began with a dramatic staged squabble between Stacy and Clinton, culminating in Stacy tossing her salad as she threw down the duo's lunch table. Was she hinting at the acting to come?

Then we moved to the set of a "new" reality show, during which the host ominously stated something to the effect of how the contestants would be left wondering how real reality is. Or something Real World-empty/profound like that.

This episode is, I believe, the third of the new season, the first being another tables-turning encounter as the mall-singer Tiffany nominates herself and foots her own $5000 spree. It was painful to see Stacy and Clinton oohing and ahhing over Tiffany's unflattering clothes makeover (her leather dress and tweed jacket wer bursting at the seams--far too tight!), and they lost a bit of credibility at that moment. They must have been doing some Jon Lovitz Acting! to try and convince us that Tiffany's new clothes were an improvement.

The second episode, also dressing a ghost of celebrity past, involved former Baywatch lifeguard Nicole Eggert.  I didn't see it, alas. But is this show becoming a vanity vehicle for vintage celebrities (I could have written "vixens," but that would be too Tarantino-esque [see previous post])?

But it's not a stretch to suggest that Tristen's episode is the third to involve theatrics at the conceptual level.  Is TLC trying to add drama to the show?  Had it become too predictable? I would say "No," and just as the spinoff Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta disrespects the original by having the consultants spout catty bon mots into the camera, by having an endless parade of singular bridesmaids who WILL NOT WEAR THE DRESS that the bride likes, this version of What not to Wear appears in danger of exploiting (what I would call) the genuine situations and tension from its earlier seasons.

WNTW is a non-guilty TV pleasure of mine, and I do hope that it does not become a parody of itself.

So here's a plea to WNTW: Please leave the manufacturing to the professionals who construct the clothing, and don't manufacture plot.  It doesn't look good on you.

Not the New Yorker on Quentin Tarantino's Golden Globe

Quentin Tarantino won a Golden Globe from the Hollywood Foreign Press for his Django Unchained screenplay. His acceptance speech detailed his creative process; later that evening he told a New York Times reporter his favourite line from the film: "If there are any astronomy aficionados amongst you, the North Star is that one."  He continued: "'It's clever,' Mr. Tarantino said, eating sushi. 'And there's a lot of "A" words all connected together, which is very musical. That's poetry.'"

What follows is an imaginary conversation among possible member publications of the HFPA:

Ahh, that humble Quentin Tarantino!  He said that he wasn't expecting this award, and he sounded like he really meant it! Like he knew his screenplay was overwritten and the couldn't believe that the Hollywood Foreign Press chose it over the more nuanced works by those other writers! But to me it was a (ahem) match made in artistic heaven: Tarantino and the Golden Globe.

Hellooo! Did you hear what he said next? The next five minutes when he talked about how he gets his friends together--or is it individually?--and lets them read scenes from his work-in-progress?

Hello backatcha, eh! You're wrong!  He reads the scenes TO them, out loud, so that the listeners get the full benefit of his rhythm and voice.

No--it's not for the listeners--he doesn't even want their feedback; he tells them to say NOTHING! It's for him, the auteur, so he can hear himself in front of a breathing human, though that person must remain utterly silent.







Maybe the person doesn't even have to listen, if he or she isn't expected to comment.








But then they'd miss hearing his awesome alliteration, a phrase that, omigosh, repeats the connecting A words, just like the maestro did above!!

You have only two connecting A words and he has five. That's why he's the awesomest alliteratingest auteur (drat; just three! Need another Molson. Eh.).

Bonus: Not the New Yorker Cartoon:

Sally Field: "You really like me."

Quentin Tarantino: "Actually, I really like me."

More Quilty Pleasures

This fabric will be winging its way to me shortly and I am ready to burst with anticipation.  It's a cotton, linen-y-feel Japanese print and I love the muted purples and greens.

I'll be pairing it with some unmatched strips of floral Liberty of London from the same color family to make another whole-cloth quilt.  There days I've been finding fabric that I cannot bear to cut, so whole-cloth quilting has been a revelation.

 

Is there anything better than planning and then making something? I think it's bliss . . .

Imaginary Tweets from Downton Abbey Season 3 Premiere

• Shirley MacLaine denies "Sweet Charity" that would keep Downton Abbey in Grantham family.

• Lord Grantham warbles "If they could see me now . . ." whilst wearing black tie(!) to his family's indoor picnic(!); Shirley MacLaine cuts in with high kicks, regaining the spotlight.

• Shirley MacLaine and Lord Grantham Downton spin-off show: "Terms of Entailment."  Jack Nicholson *may* parachute in as a retired early aviator.

Test: A New Method of Uploading Images

This colourful illustration by Demetrios Psillis for Elle Decor is a test: Blogger will no longer allow me to upload an image from a computer file; I had to sync my Picasa album to the Blogger host. 

Has anyone else had difficulty in uploading images recently?

A Lena Dunham Misquote, Perhaps?

"I think we can agree with the idea that the beautiful girls that get all the boys get written about. They don't usually write."  --Lena Dunham in V Magazine, January 2013.

Disagree.  Strongly.

Anyone else?