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Happy Phagwah from New York!

[ 15 March 2010, 09:55 ]

Last Sunday, Chloe, Krysti & I made our way out to Ozone Park in Queens to celebrate Holi (होली)!

What is Holi? It’s a spring festival celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists & Sikhs. While it’s primarily celebrated in India, Nepal & Sri Lanka, it also goes on in places where there are large communities of Hindus, Buddhists or Sikhs.

Holi is a festival of radiance (Teja) in the universe. During this festival, different waves of radiance traverse the universe, thereby creating various colours that nourish and complement the function of respective elements in the atmosphere. (Wikipedia)

Holi lasts 16 days & is celebrated on the last full moon of winter, usually at the end of February or start of March. It’s a way of marking the beginning of spring. The major part of Holi consists of people throwing coloured powder (Gulal) at one another! Everyone carries brightly coloured powder in pouches & small jars, fill super soakers with purple dye & brandish bottles of baby powder. The bright colours are said to signify life, energy & joy. Traditionally, Āyurvedic medicinal herbs like Neem & Bilva were used to colour the powder, which helped ward off colds & flu!

Primarily, Phagwah is a commemoration of the triumph of good over evil. It is traced back to the tradition of the demon king Hiranyakasyapu who tried to kill his own son, the prince named Prahlad, but Lord Vishnu’s blessings saved the boy each time. Eventually, Hiranyakasyapu’s sister Holika (from whose name the word ‘Holi’ derives) attempted to kill the boy by taking him along into fire. Holika who herself was immune to burning. The fire burned down Holika to ashes and Prahlad came out, safe and sound.

Phagwah is also associated with other religious traditions. For example, it is associated with the opening of god Siva’s third eye and the consequent end of Kamadeva, the god of erotic love. Also related to Phagwah is the story of Dhundhi, the invincible ogress who teased the children in the kingdom of Prithu. She was made to flee the kingdom by the shouts, noise, and pranks of the kingdom’s mischievous kids. In addition, Holi is also associated with the tradition of the eternal love of Krishna and Radha. (The Bustle of Phagwah)

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I don’t remember when I first heard about Holi, but I do remember seeing photos of it years ago, & knew it was something I had to do! Experiencing Holi in India is something I definitely have to do before I die, so when I found out that Holi was celebrated in New York, I didn’t have to be told twice! I immediately told Chloe & we made plans to go.

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In Queens, New York, a parade — which contains floats & groups of drummers — snakes its way along the street, before ending up at a park where everyone goes crazy slinging coloured powder about! Not content to just stand on the side of the road & watch, we snuck under a barricade to join the revelers!

While traditionally people wear white to Holi, most people were just wearing jeans & hoodies. I wore a full-length white dress from Forever 21, a purple sweater from Gap & a jacket from H&M.

There is no better way to cast off the grey of winter than literally covering yourself in bright colours. It was an incredible experience, almost transcendent — I felt as if I was soaking up beauty & joy & optimism, absorbing it through my skin.

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We had such an amazing time. Everyone was so friendly & welcoming & sweet. We got lots of hugs & so many people gave us huge smiles before smearing a stripe of magenta, royal blue, deep purple or lime green across our faces! People were going ballistic throwing baby powder all over one another — it was like a perpetual dust storm in front of us. Families walked around together, their faces stained purple with dye.

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I haven’t done something which made me feel so alive in such a long time. Everyone looked so beautiful covered in colour, & I felt beautiful too. When I got back to Manhattan, I walked from the West Village to the East Village, bedaubed with pink, purple, orange, blue, purple & green, beaming at people who didn’t know what to think! I didn’t want to wash it off… My normally white hair still has some pastel staining & I love it.

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Have you ever been to a Holi celebration? Would you like to go?

Photos (except for the last one) by (who else?) Chloe Rice.

Extras For Experts:
Angel wrote about her Holi obsession here!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Daily Outfit: 4th March 2010

[ 8 March 2010, 18:07 ]

I love this outfit. I wanted to take photos but was in a rush, so decided to take video while I was getting ready & on my way.

I wore…

Heart diamante earrings from GirlProps
Cut-out jersey dress from Missguided
Black satin trim blazer from Urban Outfitters
Black windowpane stockings by Cynthia Rowley
Worn with over-the-knee black socks with skull bows on the back
Frye motorcycle boots
Alice Hannah sequinned fingerless gloves from ASOS
Heart quilted padlock bowler bag from ASOS
Sunglasses from Forever 21

It cracks me up to wear my hair like this, I feel like a cross between Rihanna & Ivana Trump, even though some people say I look like a conehead! Hahah!

It has been so beautiful the last few days, it’s making me all hopeful for spring… Hurry up, please!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Evolving Influence

[ 22 February 2010, 08:01 ]

Last Monday afternoon, I made my way to the Helen Mills Theatre Theater for the Independent Fashion Bloggers’ Evolving Influence conference. I’d been asked to speak on a panel called The Business Of Blogging, & I was super-psyched.

I was even more excited when I saw this amazing poster outside! I now have a smaller version of it on a wall in my office!

The conference was fantastic. Huge kudos to everyone involved in organising it. Jennine, Jordana, Yuli, Wendy & Julia did an incredible job. On behalf of everyone who attended, I’d like to say an ENORMOUS thank you for investing so much time & energy! It totally paid off.

I was also extremely blessed to be approached by ModCloth who asked if they could dress me for the panel! How can a girl say no to that?! Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to plug them while I was there, but now you know! Plug plug plug!

I wore…

Tarina Tarantino heart necklace (repping RADICAL SELF LOVE hard!)
Shine After Shine dress from ModCloth (new favourite, mos’ def’)
Black cashmere cardigan from Urban Outfitters
Faux fur vintage coat
Black back-seamed stockings (which ripped, as you can see! First time I wore them! WORST!)
Black knee socks with white bows on the back (Leg Avenue)
Skull ring, crystal rabbit ring, crystal two-finger ring
BCBG Mendel booties

Speaking with me on the subject of The Business Of Blogging were Lauren Dimet Waters, Dina Fierro, Aubree Nichols & Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, & it was moderated by Yuli (I love her, the woman is a machine, she can get ANYTHING done). The auditorium holds 200 people & it was totally packed.

People say, “Do what you love.” Do you love blogging so much that you’re ready to go from hobby to career? In this panel — brought to you by Style Coalition — you’ll get expert advice on the business of blogging from those who’ve made careers in the blogosphere, as well as those who work with bloggers on a daily basis.

We were talking mostly about how to make $$$ from blogging, everyone’s favourite topic! We also discussed working with PR companies, editorial policies & what makes a blog attractive to advertisers. The people in the audience seemed to really enjoy it & hopefully we provided everyone with a lot of useful information!

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The panel lasted an hour but I had so much more to say! Damn, gimme that MIC! The panel was live on Ustream & also filmed by Bobbin Talk! See below! (Smooch!)

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I stayed for an hour & a half afterward, talking to people, giving hugs & advice, shaking hands & taking photographs. It was the best feeling! I love all my readers so much & it’s so much FUN to meet the people who are usually on the other side of the screen! Every time I do this, I am completely delighted by how rad everyone is. Seriously wonderful.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the event — it meant a lot to all of us!

Oh, bonus! We got written up in Teen Vogue!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Cherry On Top

[ 21 February 2010, 10:47 ]

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Talking With Gala Darling About #RadicalSelfLove

[ 10 February 2010, 10:14 ]

I’ve been following the online adventures of John ‘Halcyon’ Styn for a very long time. From his Globalgasm project all the way through to Grandpa Caleb & HugNation, I have always loved his flair & personal bravery. Most of all, though, I adore his commitment to using the internet to create digital intimacy & foster love on a global scale!

I’m pretty sure his pink tresses are what inspired me to go pink for the first time in 2006, & when I met him at Burning Man a couple of months later, I was very shy & very starstruck!

Fast-forward to Austin, Texas, 2009. We finally got to spend some time together during the madness of SXSW Interactive & it was great. I have met a lot of people through the internet (you better believe it!) & John is hands down one of my absolute favourites.

Last week, we did a little interview over Skype about the Radical Self Love phenomenon…

This is reposted from John’s Lifestudent site, which is amazing, you should hop to it!

I hope you enjoy it!

Last week at HugNation I read from GalaDarling’s awesome #RadicalSelfLove project… I was so inspired that I reached out to Gala and asked if she would be up for a quick Skype chat to talk about Love. And because she is awesome, she agreed. Here we are talking Love, life and pinkness:

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Your Radical Self Love Bible!

[ 4 February 2010, 13:59 ]

Watch the video to get your first homework assignments, hear about starting your very own RADICAL SELF LOVE BIBLE & find yourself a totem!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Snow Storm!

[ 23 December 2009, 01:48 ]

Bonjour!

I just cobbled this together & thought you might like to see it — it’s footage of Hank Williams, The Dish & I in the snow storm we had over the weekend!

The song is Passion Pit’s Sleepyhead.

We had so much fun just walking around. I’ve never lived in a place that snowed before so it was really weird & exciting for me! It was beautiful at the time but now it is kind of slushy & brown… Hopefully it will snow again on Christmas day!

Do you have any Christmas wishes? Mine are that it snows & that our little family has a fun, relaxing time. I hope yours does too!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Things I Love Thursday

[ 16 April 2009, 14:42 ]

It’s Venus retrograde — forgive me for my sentimentality. (More on that later today!) But… Thinking about my American adventures thus far… Driving around Los Angeles; Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen; Nubby‘s new best friend & serial killer serenades in general; writing love letters to James St James with my pen from the Sahara hotel in Las Vegas; walking down the street with my wife; Sam; photobooths in San Francisco; In-N-Out burger; cuteness at SXSW; Angel in a swanboat; 24-hour diners in Austin; balloons; SNOW!; the body language of those two guys as they cross the street towards each other; Star!

The song is Smile Around The Face by Four Tet! How appropriate!

How about you, moonface? What’s making you smile today?

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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iCiNG + SoulGarden = Mega-Bliss!

[ 15 April 2009, 11:02 ]

I am so excited to announce that I have teamed up with the infamous SoulGarden Collective! Meetings at technicolour swimming pools & glow-in-the-dark Mexican restaurants sparked off a wonderful friendship, & the upside to this is that you can now watch your daily horoscope right here on iCiNG! Wooooooooooooo!

If you glance casually to your right, you’ll see a SoulGarden icon, or you can just click here & go straight to it. Bookmark that page! Christopher does video horoscopes for each sign EVERY day — Monday through Friday — so you can hit it up any time for an instant astrological fix!

The player kicks off with the AstroWeather, but you can click the little two-prong icon to access the menu & go directly to your horoscope!

I hope you enjoy this new development, I’m so thrilled!

P.S. This player uses Flash, so if it’s not working, you might want to try checking for updates!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Virgos Do Disneyland

[ 5 April 2009, 09:05 ]

A little clip to make you smile on a Sunday — Nubby Twiglet & I at Disneyland last month. This was shot with a Flip Mino HD, which I absolutely love!

The song is called ‘Sushi’ & is by Kyle Andrews.

P.S. Every time I watch this & see Nubby smile in the spinning teacups, I cannot help but grin back! How cute is she?!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Live At SXSWi: A Brief History Of Growing Up Online

[ 14 March 2009, 16:55 ]

For those of you who can’t be here in Austin, here’s a live stream of our panel discussion — this should record, too, so you can watch it later if you’re not on the site right now! Hope you enjoy!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Cuba Street Carnival

[ 21 February 2009, 20:33 ]

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of Wellington’s Cuba Street Carnival. Here’s what I got up to! (The clever among you will spot Jane McGonigal, Ze Frank & Jo of Eye Heart Glasses!) Also, I met SO MANY nonpareils yesterday — more than I can even begin to count! If you came up to me, thank you times a billion, it was wonderful to meet you. You all cute me out like mad!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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iCiNG Transformation Challenge: 12/28

[ 12 February 2009, 02:32 ]

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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iCiNG Transformation Challenge: 8/28

[ 7 February 2009, 16:25 ]

“My idea of feminism is self-determination, & it’s very open-ended: every woman has the right to become herself, & do whatever she needs to do.” — Ani DiFranco

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Adventures In Auckland!

[ 12 January 2009, 00:12 ]

I have grown obsessed with documenting everything that happens to me. Here then, for your viewing pleasure, is a summary of my adventures in Auckland, from photoshoots & hula hooping in back alleys to rap shows & treehouse dinners!

The song is Will.I.Am’s remix of Michael Jackson’s P.Y.T., & beware, there is a naughty word right at the end! Enjoy, oui!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Hoop Mania!

[ 5 January 2009, 19:25 ]

Okay, everyone who follows me on Twitter is probably aware that I have been hooping almost constantly for the last 3 days. (2 hours on Sunday, 3 hours on Monday, 2 hours so far today.) I am really obsessed! I can hoop to entire songs without the hoop falling down! AMAZING!

I am having so much fun with this $6 piece of plastic. I think it might even be a child’s hoop, but I am totally beyond caring. It is kind of all I can think about right now, even though I know I should be organising things (I’m going to Auckland tomorrow & will be there until Monday)!

Next step? Tricks. Major silliness. More internal bruising of my abdominals. Sparkly holographic hoops. Oh yes!

GOD, I LOVE IT!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Merry Christmas Take Two!

[ 25 December 2008, 03:04 ]

Just before I left New York, the extremely awesome Corinne from Threadbanger interviewed me in my apartment in the West Village. She even brought me cupcakes! What a cutie!

As a Christmas Day (or Christmas Eve, depending on where you’re at!) treat, here’s the feature they put together! I hope you enjoy it!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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A Very Darling Christmas

[ 25 December 2008, 01:33 ]

This is what went down today at our place…

Lots & lots of ridiculous love from our family to yours!

I hope you have an amazing 25th of December, regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or not! Huge kisses! Be safe!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Some Truth

[ 28 November 2008, 14:17 ]

Dependin’ on the day & dependin’ on what I ate
I’m anywhere from 20 to 35 pounds overweight
I got red eyes & one of them’s lazy
& they both squint when the sun shines so I look crazy.
I’m albino man, I know I’m pink & pale
& I’m hairy as hell, everywhere but fingernails
I shave a cranium that ain’t quite shaped right
Face type shiny, I stay up & write late nights.
My wardrobe is jeans & faded shirts
A mixture of what I like & what I wear to work.
I’m not mean & got a neck full of razor bumps
I’m not the classic profile of what the ladies want…
You might think I’m depressed as can be
But when I look in the mirror I see sexy ass me!
& if that’s somethin’ you can’t respect then that’s peace
My life’s better without you actually.
To everyone out there, who’s a little different
I say damn a magazine, these are God’s fingerprints
You can call me ugly but can’t take nothing from me
I am what I am, doctor you ain’t gotta love me.

Lyrics from everyone’s favourite albino Muslim rapper, Brother Ali!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Last Night In New York City

[ 5 November 2008, 12:47 ]

Last night was unbelievable. I was so excited as I watched the election results roll in, & then I started hearing people whooping in the street. I decided there was no way I was going to stay in, & so made my way up to Union Square to celebrate. This is what it was like.

People bursting into song, jumping up & down, chanting, dancing, banging drums & pots & pans, crowd-surfing, climbing statues, waving flags, hugging strangers, smiling & laughing. I have never seen anything like it in my entire life.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

Hell yes.

For those of you who want to extend the excitement all the way to their eardrums, you might like this mix by DJ Concept. It’s called Change Is Now, & I’ve been enjoying it all day! (I found it courtesy of my awesome friend Jake! Yay!)

What was the atmosphere like where you live?

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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iCiNG Playlist

[ 22 October 2008, 15:23 ]

I went to see Seth Godin speak about his new book Tribes this morning. It was amazing, & I’m so glad I woke up early & braved the cold morning air to attend!

Consequently, my head is swimming with all the things he told us. I don’t have a lot of words in me right now — so I thought I would share with you some of the songs that are rocking my eardrums lately. These songs don’t really go together at all, but I love them & wanted you to hear them too! Maybe it can be your playlist for the work-day! Regardless, I hope you enjoy them.

What are your favourite songs right now?

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 3rd October 2008

[ 3 October 2008, 06:15 ]

The iCiNG Carousel — keeping you entertained at work on Fridays since 2006! (Gosh!)

How To Find Yourself A Good Pen Name by Claire Askew!

Yoko Ono is totally amazing!

I was fortunate enough to meet Steve Pavlina at the Blog World Expo & he’s an awesome guy. Unsurprisingly enough, so is this interview with him: Blogging God Steve Pavlina Interview: On Motivation, Handling Email, Daily Routines, How He Got Started, and Much More from Zen Habits.

Lots of food articles: The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating, Does Fructose Make You Fatter? & Unhappy Meals (which I may have linked before but is worth refreshing your memory with).

In my quest to research Paris over the past few days, I discovered La Coquette & Chic Shopping Paris. I like ‘em!

Random travel thoughts by Seth Godin. He makes good points (as always). A lot of them are things I’ve been thinking about recently!

Seven Questions That Will Prevent Regret & 25 Simple Steps To Becoming Successful from Dumb Little Man.

Top 10 Blogs For Writers — & I know there are a bunch of you, so don’t be shy!

Fight Club was a good movie. Brian Clark used it as a jumping-off point & came up with Tyler Durden’s 8 Rules Of Innovation.

Rob Brezsny has a podcast! Pronoia Is Taboo! Click to listen. In this one he asks, “Are you truly ready to shed the values and self-images that keep you locked into alignment with the dying civilization?” Ooof!

Amazing news! Dolce & Gabbana used my man CHEW FU’s remix of Kanye’s ‘Love Lockdown’ at their show last Thursday! Check out the video! I’m so proud. I always knew D&G had taste!

I can’t really explain what this blog is about, but every post is pretty hilarious…

Umbrella mania! (Thanks, Weily!) Umbrella Today? & Umbrella Etiquette are both delightful in their simplicity.

How ordinary people become monsters… or heroes, a TEDtalk.

Finally, if you haven’t got your tickets to Atmosphere’s Paint The Nation tour yet, watch this (or download this), then go buy yourself one!

Okay, I’m going to go out & explore this amazing city at my feet… Have a magnifique weekend, sweetness!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Floria Sigismondi

[ 2 October 2008, 09:05 ]

Floria Sigismondi is one of the first artists I ever really discovered via the internet, & she holds a special place in my heart to this day. Born in Italy to two opera singers & named after the main character from Tosca, Floria’s creepy, scuttling aesthetic instantly caught my attention. I remember finding her website — probably in 1997 or 1998 — & saving pretty much every picture on it to my computer.

This was one of my favourites.

Floria started off as a painter & illustrator, saying that she was transfixed by paintbrushes from an early age. She studied at the Ontario College of Art, but after taking a photography course, became obsessed with the medium & would skip classes to spend time with her camera.

After working as a fashion photographer, she started to make music videos, & that’s what she is most well-known for these days. (She is living proof that we don’t always end up doing what we had planned out for ourselves!)

She’s worked with a huge number of incredible artists, like David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Tricky, Christina Aguilera, Sigur Rós, Amon Tobin, Björk & The Cure, among others. Her gritty, jittery style is incredibly distinctive & beautiful.

Here are some of my favourite music videos by Floria.

(I think Tourniquet by Marilyn Manson is one of the best videos she’s ever done, but I can’t find an embeddable version…)

She also made this excellent short film called Postmortem Bliss.

Do you have a favourite music video director? One of my other favourites is Chris Cunningham, who directed Aphex Twin’s Come To Daddy (which terrified me the first time I saw it) & Windowlicker videos, as well as Bjork’s All Is Full Of Love & Madonna’s Frozen. I think he’s amazing!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Something Ridiculous For Your Sunday

[ 28 September 2008, 00:10 ]

For those of you who weren’t with us on the Virgo Vegas Vacation (to be hereafter referred to as V³) — which would be, well, all of you — I edited up some clips from our trip that I thought you might enjoy!

There is no real way to capture the Las Vegas experience, but we did our best!

The working pseudo-title is ‘Nubby & Gala versus the Strip’.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 26th September 2008

[ 26 September 2008, 07:28 ]

Agyness Deyn for POP. I loooove this photoshoot, which consists of her falling off buildings. It’s so, so good!

Be with Her Now from Sera Beak. Destroy all limits with love.

I met Janelle from Sans Artifice outside the tents at Bryant Park during fashion week. When I got home, I checked out her website & liked what I saw! She writes about fashion, style & aesthetics in a very clear, clever, easily digestible way. I recommend it, yes I do!

Kris Carr is fucking amazing (pardon my French).

At a signing last week a young girl listen to me speak as tears flowed from her soul windows. When it was Q&A time she asked “how do you do take care of yourself if you don’t like yourself, your body?” I wanted to walk over and hug the hate right out of her. “But you are God. You are Jesus, Buddha, Elvis, Etc. You are a Divine vessel sweet lady. How can you hate u? This sack is just your vehicle. Nothing more. Your job while clonking around in sneakers is to feel the love and shine it out, that’s all. Because when we go back to the universal disco we bring more positive energy to the soup. We recharge the universal gigawatt! If we choose not to love this time then perhaps we have to do it all over again. No judgment, only opportunity.”

On Striped Rights from Coilhouse — sweet reminiscing about the striped tight phenomenon!

Daul Kim = Amy Winehouse? What do you think about the way Amy’s look has impacted on the fashion world?

The Regal Twelve by Alexia Sinclair.

Nubby Twiglet writes about The Power of Personal Branding — a great article which she started writing at the Blog World Expo (I know, ‘cause I saw her typing away!).

Want some good, fun fiction to read? How about The Grimy Amours of Gertrude? It’s a serial novel by a nonpareil called Kelly, & I love it! She has a wicked sense of humour, & she releases chapters three times a week for free — how could you possibly resist?

Kelly, whose parents would kill her if she released her last name online, is a senior at an all-girls high school that is not unlike Sister Chastity’s Youth Nunnery. Working on the school newspaper helps pass the time while she waits for the vampires to invade. But if she fails to woo the bloodsuckers, she is fully prepared to outrun them: by some sick joke, the newspaper office is in the basement, while the printer is on the third floor. She probably isn’t tortured enough to date a vampire anyway, seeing as her biggest psychological scar is probably that 68% she once earned on a fourth grade math test.

Our nonpareils are a talented bunch! Jessie Ngaio is having an exhibition in Melbourne, Australia, & she’s a super girl! If you’re in town, go & check it out!

More fabulous Melbourne happenings: Euchronia, a new year’s ball with a neo-Victorian & steampunk bent! There are three sound-spaces, as well as DJs & live performances, & it is going to be amazing! It’s being organised by my friend Cass & I know it will be brilliant! Get your tickets now now now!

A selection of well-dressed girls for your perusal: Pandora, Karla’s Closet, Fashion Toast, Jessica Schroeder & Lulu!

How To Take Gorgeous Self Portraits from Independent Fashion Bloggers.

Our very own Annie Spandex is giving away a Vivienne Westwood handbag to help raise money & awareness for cancer research! Have a look! Also, oh my god, she does dachshund outfit posts! My life is complete!

I don’t really know what is happening in this photoshoot but it has an eye-patch & really big hair in it, so I’m happy!

Moleskine Notebooks: The Ultimate Guide (& how to rank your addiction) from Put Things Off, & thanks to Nadine for zee link!

For hardcore Twitter geeks only: add symbols to your tweets! (Thanks, Kakeline!)

Feeling Sexy In An Unsexy World is a column by Violet about pole-dancing lessons. I like it.

“My goal is just to have every woman leaving here able to walk into a room like a powerful woman.”

Diesel’s amazing new ad campaign, Safe For Work is a mix of porn & cartoons — but it is totally safe for work! I love it. Thanks again, Violet!

& finally… this is so great I had to share it with you.

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Betsey Johnson at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

[ 11 September 2008, 12:39 ]

“Making clothes involves what I like… Colour, pattern, shape & movement… I like the everyday process… The people, the pressure, the surprise of seeing the work come alive walking & dancing around on strangers. Like red lipstick on the mouth, my products wake up & brighten & bring the wearer to life… Drawing attention to her beauty & specialness… Her moods & movements… Her dreams & fantasies.” — Betsey Johnson

The Betsey Johnson show on the 9th of September was every girl’s dream. It was so theatrical & over-the-top — totally brilliant. I kept turning to my friend Yuli & making gaping, flabbergasted faces!

A fashion veteran at 66 years old, Betsey is well-known for her extravagant shows, for her wicked design aesthetic & for cartwheeling down the catwalk! With 45 boutiques across the world, Betsey shows no sign of slowing down, & in fact, her creations seem to be getting even more fabulous.

I adored my very first Betsey Johnson show, & hope to attend many more in the future!

Betsey wore green throughout the show. She came out in a gingham, off-the-shoulder frock. She was holding her newest granddaughter, Ella, & holding the hand of other granddaughter Layla, as she handed out balloons.

The show had an amazing atmosphere & energy. The music was loud & fabulous, with bass that vibrated throughout the entire tent & up through the seats. The models wore bobbed wigs of blue, pink, black & purple, & walked with sass & attitude. They skipped & twirled & blew kisses at the cameras.

So, how was the collection? It ran an incredible gamut, veering from Little House On The Prairie gone awry to a procession of virginal brides in white with their hands chained behind their backs.

Every outfit was accessorised with a small bowler hat. As one tends to expect from Betsey, there were plenty of ruffles & prints. Polka-dots, pinstripes & a skull & crossbones motif all made their presence felt. There were also plenty of hoop skirts, what looked like floral hospital gowns, ruffled bloomers, striped stockings, colourful fingerless gloves, pinstriped rompers in pastel hues, tattered ribbon skirts in candy colours & tropicana sun-dresses.

The stand-out looks for me were a Victorian hospital chic outfit complete with lace-up bloomers & corset, all in white, & an incredible strapless tie-dyed ruffled maxi-dress.

Pirate chic was big, & introduced by a staggering Jack Sparrow-esque character, who leered at the girls as they strutted past & laughed to himself.

You can see plenty of fabulous runway shots here at Style.com!

Betsey closed the show by running out in a huge, sparkly dress in emerald green — very Wizard of Oz — & cartwheeling down the runway before taking theatrical bows. She was followed by a parade of models, all holding vibrantly-coloured helium balloons. They danced & sashayed down the runway & back, to huge applause.

I took some video, too. Unfortunately, the lights were so insanely bright that it made filming difficult, but it does give you an idea of the music, the energy & the atmosphere! Watch until the end — the balloons are amazing!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Nicole Miller & Erin Fetherston at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

[ 9 September 2008, 08:57 ]

So, for those of you who don’t know already, I’ve teamed up with My It Things & Inside The Tents to do a whole lot of coverage of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! Inside The Tents is totally the site to watch for up-to-date coverage of the shows — there’s a live Twitter feed from the contributors, anything tagged #nyfw by us gets published on the site, so it’s super-quick & live live live! (It’s like evil, evil crack for fashionistas. You’re welcome!)

Friday was my first day in the tents & it was a pretty eye-opening experience. Fashion week in New Zealand & Australia have nothing on New York! The entrance to the tents is staffed by burly men wearing earpieces, & as you walk up the steps, cameras flash all around you. People on either side of the barricades stare at you, smile at you, talk to each other about what they can see. Inside, the tent is ringed by promotional booths where they happily hand out swag. (The queue for a pair of Havianas snakes around on itself.) The entrances to the shows are manned by brusque & (dare I say it) slightly self-important men in suits, who don’t look at you when they talk & expect the swarms of girls in stilettos to follow their arbitrary rules. “Did Julia write a number on your invitation? No? THEN I’M NOT LETTING YOU IN!” & the final nail in the coffin, in terms of the obvious differences between fashion week here & fashion week in the antipodes? The backstage entrances are guarded by police. Plenty of them.

I attended two shows on Friday — Nicole Miller & Erin Fetherston.

The Nicole Miller show had a bangin’ soundtrack which had most of us dancing in our seats (or grooving on our feet — the show was so popular that it was well past the point of standing room only). The collection was fresh & youthful, with lots of hats, elegant twisted draping & printed sun-dresses. A pair of tailored harem pants also made a huge impression (& were sent down the runway at least 3 times). Most of the models wore long necklaces ending with a bead & a feather. One of the things I liked most was a trenchcoat worn open & belted over a sweet summer dress.

Afterwards, I met with Yuli & after some judicious flashing of various passes, we ascended the stairs to the American Express Sky Box Lounge. The Amex Lounge is an amazing space situated above two of the tents, with covered glass on either side. As the shows begin, the shutters are opened, & you can see right down onto the catwalk. The view is absolutely incredible, & even better, while all this is going on, they offer you canapes & thrust alcohol at you.

It was sitting there that I did my first video experiment, completely off-the-cuff & unprepared, in case you couldn’t tell! Here I am introducing the Erin Fetherston show! (Please excuse the terrifying still!)

I filmed this with my teeny little camera, so the quality isn’t exceptional, but it does give you an idea of what happened at the show!

Erin’s show was amazing — I sat in absolute rapture as I watched it. Remember when we talked about dressing like a cupcake should feel? For anyone hankering after that aesthetic, Erin is totally your girl. She showed plenty of white & gold brocade, iridescent sequins (shiny!), baby pink accents, & lots of frills. Bjork’s infamous swan dress would have fit right in. Some of the dresses looked like what you might wear to bed in the 1960s, but it all added to the drama & there were some absolutely incredible pieces. I adored about 80% of it. Swoon! Lust!

Today I’m heading back into the fray — Betsey Johnson is showing this afternoon, & I’m really excited to see what happens (& to eyeball what the attendees are wearing)! Stay tuned for more madness!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Dame Darcy's Gasoline

[ 2 September 2008, 16:33 ]

When I was in New York a couple of months ago, I was extremely fortunate to meet Dame Darcy. She’s an artist, writer, musician & film-maker, & when I was a teenager, she was one of my personal heroes. I used to buy her Meatcake comics off Ebay, then wait for months for them to arrive by some tragically slow shipping method, because there was no other way of getting them in New Zealand!

In July, my friend Dicie invited me to a birthday party in Brooklyn, where Dame Darcy was reading palms & tarot cards. Dicie, her boyfriend & I all lined up, & when it finally came my time to sit down, we started talking. To make a long story short, that was the beginning of a delightfully unusual friendship which included midnight jaunts to Ukrainian diners where we slurped borscht, talking about casting spells & realising we know all the same people.

But anyway. The point is this. Dame Darcy has a new graphic novel coming out in October. It’s a post-apocalyptic fairy tale called Gasoline, it’s about learning to survive in a world without gasoline, & it features… Fairies! Witches! Zombie sailors! Telekinesis! Voodoo rock bands! & eco-consciousness!

I’ve seen some of the pages & it is amazing — really original, beautifully drawn & radical in motive. I can’t wait to get my hands on the real, bound deal!

We met in Central Park to talk about it on an incredibly steamy day in July, & here’s what eventuated… (We also filmed an hour-long interview sitting on my bed in the West Village, parts of which are coming soon to a screen near you!)

For lucky American ducks, there are Gasoline events happening in Los Angeles & New York in November, with book signings, bands, Gitane Demon from Christian Death, costume competitions, art exhibitions & apocalyptic cabaret! Have a look & write the dates down somewhere. You’d be maaaaaad to miss it!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Things I Love Thursday

[ 27 August 2008, 19:15 ]

I decided to buck the trend & do a video TiLT…

Yes, I had way too much coffee-infused chocolate this morning. P.S. I swear in this, so beware!

Also…

Honourable mentions: The feeling of wanting to crawl into a piece of music or a photograph; writing lists with big fat check-boxes; new skincare regimes; eating raw!; doing menial things (like chopping vegetables) & realising you have a big smile on your face!; yummy manuka honey lip treatments; dancing in my bedroom; being proud of my girl Jess for getting into The Age’s Good Food Guide section!; really cute & sweet emails; salad!; cozy snoozing; chocolate creme Oreos; an… tici… pation!; having my student loan wiped (yay!); making ridiculous videos; “I was trying to picture you ‘dating in your league’ but I don’t think those people exist”; surprise international phonecalls; having dancing fever; excitable talks with Jess, Jennie & Helen; lovely boys; listening to my old podcasts (I am a nerd!).

“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.” — Plutarch

Your turn, baby!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 22nd August 2008

[ 21 August 2008, 18:06 ]

Quality, not quantity… Oh yes! Happy Friday, everyone!

How To Survive Art School from Mooky Chick!

Violet Blue writes about online burlesque classes! Perfection!

Yoko Ono’s SOUND PIECE VI & SOUND PIECE IX. (I love her.)

Thinking about sharing a hotel room with Nubby Twiglet (I booked it yesterday!) encouraged me to seek out this cute post of hers from the start of the year: Mastering the Art of Bed Jumping!

More Nubby-inspired madness… As I was trying to hunt out a lovely vintage birthday party dress, I stumbled upon this guide to the best online vintage shops! Goldmine!

Amazing shirt & tie combinations for brave men!

I want to travel with you from Exploding Dog.

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 15th August 2008

[ 14 August 2008, 15:24 ]

Goooooood morning! Welcome to Friday! Here are some links to get you out of zombie work mode & into ridiculous, happy mode!

Guess what?! Tim Burton is going to re-make Alice! & this is your Alice! So exciting!

There’s a gallery of literary tattoos at Contrariwise… Fun for book nerds!

I really like The Feel Good Revolution, started by two nonpareils with a purpose! Check this out. That’s good stuff.

I found 100 Acorns via The Feel Good Revolution — how did I not know about this?! SQUEAL! I love Yoko!

“It’s been 44 years since my book of conceptual instructions, GRAPEFRUIT was first published in 1964. On 15 June 1968, John Lennon & I planted two acorns for peace at Coventry Cathedral. It was the first of our many Peace ‘Events’. In the summer of 1996, I picked up from where I left off, and wrote 100 ACORNS. Starting on the 40th anniversary of the Acorn Peace Event on 15 June 2008, I will publish here an ‘Acorn’ every day for 100 days. After each day of sharing the instructions, you should feel free to question, discuss, and/or report what your mind tells you.

I’m just planting the seeds.

Have fun.

Love, yoko
June 2008”

Ask a call girl — real high-class escorts review the show Secret Diary Of A Call Girl (which I quite like, by the way).

This is the cutest thing ever. “Every Sunday Rosie takes an image in England and i take one in America, and we put ourselves together, even if it is just in a photo.”

BEST T-SHIRT EVER. Eckhart Is My Homeboy designed by the super-cute & totally awesome Philip of Loving Raw! (I have a crush. Haha.) He also did this video: Juice Feasting Secrets Revealed!

Want anime eyes? Now they can be yours!

Take the OkCupid (my new obsession) online dating persona test! It’s been around for years but it never gets old, really…

Kris Atomic’s post 10 Things To Love is absolutely adorable. Mmmmmmwah!

An interview with Ophira & Tali, the AstroTwins!

That’d Be Like Going Back to a Life Without Gossip Girl from Overheard in NYC. (I can relate! After experiencing the pure joy of my Helio Ocean, my little Nokia totally doesn’t cut it anymore!)

I know I always say I’ll never watch it again, but… well… here are the America’s Next Top Model Cycle 11 participants. I like the look of Analeigh, Elina, Marjorie (hello Agyness!) & McKey. Whaddaya say?

The Pill Makes Women Pick Bad Mates. Très intéressant!

A special treat for Virgos: someone has transcribed all the Virgo entries of The Secret Language of Birthdays for your perusal! Check your birthday & see if you agree with what it says!

The love pool on Flickr is totally cute.

How To End A Relationship by Tina of Think Simple Now. I think she & I have been living parallel lives — & you better believe we’ve discussed it!

Behold: Ask Nubby #10: The Art of Closet Organization!

10 Practical Uses For Psychological Research in Everyday Life including how to detect a lie, how to persuade others & how to avoid getting scammed!

Money & the Law of Attraction by Steve Pavlina.

Now, I have an exciting announcement! Dear Melbourne nonpareils! If you’d like to meet some other iCiNG readers in your fair city, a fabulous girl called Antonia has organised a picnic for you! It’s on Sunday August 24th at 1pm in the gardens by Captain Cook’s Cottage (near Flinders Street). The theme is pink — & the food & dress code will be too! There will cupcakes from Sugadeaux (best cupcakes in the entire world, in my opinion!) & Antonia is going to donate $2 for everyone who comes along to breast cancer ribbon day! Amazing! If you can bring something along, like crackers, cheese, plates or a blanket, that would be awesome & a huge help! To RSVP, please email Antonia by Friday the 22nd — that way she can organise the goody bags (!!!) & catering! She will be wearing a pink ostrich feather coat & a lovely smile, so go out & make some super-cute friends! I wish I could attend, but I will be there in spirit, I promise!

& a question for the day. How many rappers do you think own rhyming dictionaries? Answers on a postcard if you please!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 8th August 2008

[ 7 August 2008, 16:44 ]

24 Hours Of Flickr happens today, Friday the 8th of August! Take a photo of your life today (or tomorrow, dear Americans) & share it in the Flickr 888 group. Yay!

Patrick Demarchelier & Gemma Ward for Vogue India. Pretty. Shiny. Good.

Nogoodforme interviews Francesca Lia Block! Yay!

Dealing with email overload? Keep your responses to five sentences or less! This is pretty much something I have had to implement, even before I read it, because otherwise I would spend my entire life digging through my inbox. Anyway, it’s an interesting read, have a look.

I love the crazy broads at Coilhouse. They’re putting together a magazine, did you know? The Making Of A Magazine: Coilhouse Issue 01 is a cool behind-the-scenes peek. Craigslist Ad For Super Mario Bros Sex is pretty amazing, too.

The scariest cakes I have ever seen. & I don’t say that lightly!

Rich People Rooftops NYC is a Flickr set of, well, you probably already guessed, but the finest-lookin’ rooftops on offer in NYC. Some of them look pretty great. I still have a special fondness for my one, though!

Watermelon pink nail polish for everyone!

Twitter seems to have sorted itself out so I am back to encouraging everyone I know to sign up again! Twitter has been a great source of joy to me this last week, so make an account & follow me & HAVE FUN!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Why I Love Atmosphere -- A Top 10 List

[ 3 August 2008, 20:28 ]

I talk about Atmosphere a lot on iCiNG, & I thought maybe it was time to help you all understand precisely why they are my favourite group on the entire planet. There are a bunch of reasons, some of which can be explained. The rest of it is all about the music, so I’ve thrown in videos of some of my favourite tracks.

Atmosphere are a hip hop group from Minnesota. The members of Atmosphere are Slug (Sean Daley) & Ant (Anthony Davis). Sean is the MC while Ant does the beats, & Sean is known as a bit of a crush object. In fact, to help promote the release of their latest album, When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold, Slug & Ant did a series of videos on Youtube where they would answer questions sent in by fans. Here’s one I sent him.

“As I was watching your last video, where you mentioned your pot belly, it occurred to me — what do you think you would have to do in order to lose your fan-girls & “oh my god cutest guy in hip hop ever” status? Or have you tried already but to no avail?”

His reply…

“why do you think i’ve been growing my hair and this shit on my face?
trying to scare away the ones who dote on that shit.
thanks for asking.
s”

Not that it has worked or anything, I still adore him.

I was introduced to Atmosphere in probably 2004 or 2005 by my friend Timmy Crunk. He used to come to my place all the time, & we would drink & I would chain-smoke & he would play me songs. It’s a time I look back on very fondly, & Atmosphere has been a constant in my life ever since.

Okay, here we go. 10 reasons why I love Atmosphere — & you should too!

10. This photo.

9.

8.

It’s really interesting to hear about his writing progression, what he values, staying true to who he is & being relevant. Plus he mentions Bikini Kill. Props!

“Man, if you’re going to take four minutes of my time, I want you to communicate something to me.”

“When I was 17… man, I wanna hear about… boobs. Rap about… boobs.”

7.

6. The lyrics continue to entertain, delight & confront me, even years after first hearing some of the songs. Sean is intelligent & not afraid of his own mind, so he often takes tracks to places that ordinary rappers wouldn’t. A few years ago, mainstream music media was fond of labelling Atmosphere “emo hip hop”, which kind of pissed Sean off. But really, I think the reason for that tag is just because people are unaccustomed to a guy rapping about anything real. Sean’s lyrics run the gamut from his relationships with his son & father through to issues with society, the difficulties he has relating to women & life on the road. I’m not adverse to a bit of bullshit, which is why I love Jay-Z, but it’s refreshing & wonderful to hear a guy tell it like it is so shamelessly.

5.

4. Sean is a Virgo. (I am totally biased.)

3.

2. Sean’s favourite books are Factotum & Women by Charles Bukowski. Anyone who loves Bukowski is alright by me.

1.

What’s your favourite band, & why do you love them so much?

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 25th July 2008

[ 24 July 2008, 23:31 ]

The smallest Carousel ever, perhaps! Made for super-short people, or just those of us with a lot to do! Here we go… Feel free to add anything neat you’ve found to the list!

How to Write With Style by Kurt Vonnegut.

Lagerfeld Discusses His Childhood in a New Documentary. From what I saw in Lagerfeld Confidential, his upbringing sounded fairly dysfunctional. I love me some Karl, though, so I can’t wait! Whee!

On that note, look at Karl Lagerfeld’s Guide To Life, otherwise known as someone-pretending-to-be-Karl-Lagerfeld & blogging about it. It’s funny. I like it.

Welcome To The Jungle. Preach it, Ms Beak!

Oooooh! 10 Most Amazing Ghost Towns (thanks, Dhru!)...

“Its population flourished for decades, with residents building labyrinthine corridors above the street level, which was clogged with trash. The buildings grew so tall that sunlight couldn’t reach the bottom levels and the entire city had to be illuminated with fluorescent lights. It was a place where brothels, casinos, opium dens, cocaine parlors, food courts serving dog meat and secret factories ran unmolested by authorities.”

...From that same site, I also found paper sculptures from single sheets of A4 & 12 funniest fortune cookies. Haha.

Oh! Oh oh oh! I’m so excited! Rachel Zoe’s show is go! I can’t wait to see it.

“Bravo has announced The Rachel Zoe Project, a new reality series starring celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe and her team of fashion experts as they attempt to take their business to the next level, will premiere Monday, September 8 at 11PM ET/PT.”

That’s it! Damn internet, what’s UP wit choo lately?!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Gala's Arm

[ 17 July 2008, 13:57 ]

Fun with ink. Pictures from yesterday, as promised!

The backstory: I got a half-sleeve with siamese twins & candy done in New Zealand a few years ago. I wasn’t entirely thrilled with it at the time, & when a couple of years later Tim Kern did my other half-sleeve, I realised the massive discrepancy in quality between the two. Since I got to NYC he & I have been talking about fixing up the twins & making the whole thing look better. Yesterday was the day we started.

Gilda came by when we were almost done for the day, dazzled us with her sequinned harem pants & cute sailor hat, & took these photos for me!

How my arm looked, six & a half hours later. I am still really swollen (as you can see from the pictures). We really only had time to re-work the girls — when I come back to NYC, we’ll do the rest of it (brighten the colours, give it some depth, make the candy bigger & better). Can’t wait!

I was so happy that Tim was able to fix the eye of the twin on the front, because I was always unhappy with it & thought it would look terrible for the rest of my life! GLEE!

Here is a video for your viewing pleasure! This was pretty much the extent of my day — sitting around, talking about music & taking breaks to eat Tings & drink strawberry Kombucha!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 27th June 2008

[ 27 June 2008, 10:08 ]

Here are some of the best things I’ve found while trawling the internet this week. Enjoy!

Ask The Readers: Best Off-The-Wall Productivity Tips from Zenhabits. The most exciting thing to me is how many of the comments are about letting go of expectation, being present, & just allowing your work to flow. We are living in an amazing time, you know?

Sera Beak, who I wrote about a few days ago, wrote this piece, Beauty-Full, at the start of the month. It’s about how much value we put on our appearance, & about replacing untrue messages in our own minds with truth! It’s a really good read, & in fact, it is what convinced me to go & see her speak.

The Potent Quotables section of Spinner.com is hilarious. It’s basically collection of the most unusual, inflammatory or just plain remarkable quotes from celebrities. For example,

“There are a limited amount of years where you can wear tight jeans. There comes a point where whether you can or not, you shouldn’t.” — Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots)

“We met the Pussycat Dolls. They were really… hot. I was going to say ‘nice,’ but the first thing I noticed was that they were hot.” — Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords)

Mmmm, plastic people by Eugenio Recuenco!

20 Weird English Words from The List Universe. Erinaceous! Finnimbrun! Inaniloquent! MUNGO! I love it! Rock out with your pleonastic self!

On that note, How’s Your Vocabulary?

Also from The List Universe: Top 10 Weird Al Yankovic Songs, Top 20 Cool Facts About New Zealand (hee!), Top 10 Bizarre Artworks (I’ve seen the first two!) & Top 10 Bizarre Mustaches! (I love moustaches, if I was a man I would grow a HUGE one!)

Relationships – True Love and the Transcendence of Duality from Eckhart Tolle. I thought this was interesting to the point of obscenity! I love Eckhart’s words & thoughts, they make my brain spin in a good way.

Here’s a video of Patricia Field being interviewed by Amanda Miller on ABC news.

On the subject of Patricia Field, my cupcake dress — the one I wore to the Louis Vuitton preview — is now for sale on the Patricia Field website! (& it comes in blue, too!)

Blue is the colour if you have mental illness... apparently!

Dhrumil says, Stop playing into conspiracy theories & take real action — & I couldn’t agree more.

If you’re a fan of those quiet early hours, this sweet new Livejournal community, ofmornings, might just be your cup of tea.

I recently discovered garance doré, a new street-style site from France. The pictures are gorgeous. I like to read the words out loud to myself — speaking in French, I think, is one of life’s greatly underestimated pleasures — & then squint & ponder & try to decode it. Good practice!

Time to kill? Check out The Daily Meme for surveys out the wazoo.

Now that Twitter appears to have bitten the dust, I think Plurk is the only sane option. Sign up, & add me!

Cute visual candy:

Have a fabulous Friday!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Bubble Battle!

[ 22 June 2008, 16:31 ]

Yesterday I went to a bubble battle in Times Square.

The premise?

Turn up in Times Square at 6:21pm, bring bubble wands, guns & mixture, & let loose!

Of course, I had to go!

I made a video, too.

I found the whole thing really inspiring. It was organised by two people who just decided to do it. They put the word out, submitted an announcement to a couple of websites & poof! It happened. Thousands (apparently!) of people turned up high on bubble mania & started shooting bubbles into the sky. Every time a tourist bus went pass, the crowd would go crazy & cheer. The cops that turned up didn’t know what to do, but seemed like they were having a good time anyway!

So… what could you organise in your city to inspire the same kind of delight?!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 13th June 2008

[ 12 June 2008, 23:03 ]

It’s Friday the 13th! I love Friday the 13th! I think I will dress in black & do epic make-up & walk under as many ladders as possible. I encourage you to do the same! I hope none of you suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia, though!

On that note…

I always wanted to be an Addams. For more creepy, kooky, mysterious & spooky fun, read Charles Addams: Master of the Macabre. Yay!

Now, onto more normal stuff!

Peek at some pictures! My favourites from the past week are the super-cute circus-themed photoshoot from Agent Provocateur; Dame de Paris from Harper’s Bazaar Russia, & photos by Christophe Kutner.

Andrew Blake: “Average Pornography Is Anti-Erotic” — an interview from BlackBook. My favourite pornographer speaks! (NSFW.)

Travelling Raw: The Survival Kit!

Marianne Williamson on A Course in Miracles.

I met a super-sweet graphic designer called Cynthia at the Sex & The City meet-up, & was delighted to discover her website, CMYKaboom! It’s a catalogue of her daily obsessions with lots of eye candy.

Past Notes is the website of someone who wishes not to be named, cough cough, but it’s such a cool concept. She has taken notes that were passed to her in school, typed them up & then written a commentary — who it was from, what the circumstances surrounding the note were, etc. I’ve really enjoyed reading it so far, it’s quite engrossing. It makes me think about all the notes I collected through school, though honestly most of them were pornographic or my best friend talking about how much she hated her parents & how cool Courtney Love was… haha!

Naomi sent me a link to the Helmut Newton Machine Topshop gallery. I LOVE it!

An interview by Guy Kawasaki that revolves around how to escape corporate America (or corporate anywhere, for that matter). If your job drives you to despair, this is for you!

Urgent Personal Finance Advice from Seth Godin. Read it. Promise me you’ll read it!

Tim Ferriss writes about travelling in Tokyo — how to do it like a pro & on the cheap. Read Hacking Japan: Inside Tokyo For Less Than New York part one & then part two.

If there’s a road trip in your future, check out NPR’s Road Trip: Songs To Drive By section.

Gala Mania! I was recently interviewed by Tim Hurley for MyBedHead about my wild shock of hair in the mornings! Have a read, it was a really fun interview. I was also interviewed by Lisa Clark for Pink World, about being a writer, what inspires me & my travelling essentials! Eeee! & Trend & The City, an Italian fashion blog, did one of those “steal her style” articles on me at Fashion Home-Made: Gala Darling, which totally cuted me out!

My friend Andrew recently started a site called Life Sans. He says, “Sometimes, less is more. I firmly believe that you can improve your quality of life by carefully limiting what’s included in it. This site is about living without certain things, either permanently or as an experiment. It’s based in part on my own experiences and experiments, and partly on the experiences of others that I read about. It’s also about things your life should not be without, those things that enhance the quality of your life.” Pretty cool, right? Here are two articles he’s written that I really like, & you might too: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone & Into A Whole New You & Working A Day Job Without It Eating Your Life.

Heat sensitive paint. WOW. The human mind is a truly magnificent thing.

Mike’s Amazing Cakes. It almost disturbs me what people can do with fondant, these days… P.S. The site has automatic music (major pet peeve!), so if you’re at work, turn down your speakers.

Unicorns are real! BELIEVE!

How To Build Relationships with Dr Oz & Keith Ferrazzi (whose book I am still reading).

We all love Winona. Why? Your answer: Don’t Show-cha Your Chocha, Volume XII & her alternative father’s day gift guide. Winona’s dad sounds very cool. I’m hardly surprised.

Black metal baking via Coilhouse. Too awesome for words!

Writers’ rooms: Roald Dahl is fascinating. Where did he write Matilda, The Witches & Charlie & The Chocolate Factory? Now you know. I love Roald Dahl so much. In fact, if I had a child I might consider calling it Dahl. THAT is how much I love him. Also, we share a birthday. It is my secret connection to him. There are other writers’ rooms here but most of those people don’t interest me as much!

DailyOM was on fire this week! (As in, super-hot content, not flames & whatnot!) I like this piece very much: The Death & Rebirth Of Self.

...& if you really need some distraction today, watch the movie Dark Days, available free to watch here on Google Video. It’s about the homeless people who live underground in New York City. If you don’t anything about the subject, read the Wikipedia page, check The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City out of the library (it is one of the most engrossing & fascinating books I’ve ever read) & educate yo’ damn self!

Enjoy your day, my boisterous, bootylicious, beatific beauties!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Robin Williams On Inside The Actor's Studio

[ 9 June 2008, 21:07 ]

I watched this yesterday & laughed until tears streamed down my face. It’s way too good not to share! I think he is pretty much the funniest man who ever lived.

Above is part 1, & here are links for parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14. (Phew!)

Enjoy!

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Gala's Going Out Playlist

[ 7 June 2008, 20:51 ]

I think what you listen to as you get dressed, put on your make-up & tart yourself up is of utmost importance. Now that I have speakers in my apartment (thanks, landlords!), great music has become an essential part of my primping & preening routine again. I think it helps set the tone of the evening, help pick up your energy & best of all, makes you smile & dance!

Here’s what I listened to tonight as I dressed up.

What are your favourite songs to dress up to?

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Carousel -- Week Ending 6th June 2008

[ 5 June 2008, 23:00 ]

Happy Friday, moons & spoons!

Yummy aesthetics: A selection of photographs by Simon Lekias; ditto Tara Darby; here’s a Tom Ford advertising campaign by Terry Richardson (yes, of course there is nudity); Yohji Yamamoto advertising campaigns; a colourful & FABULOUS editorial from Dazed & Confused; & Phillippe Salomon rocks my world.

A Woman In Full, a feature on Angelina Jolie from Vanity Fair. (I love Ms. Jolie.)

It’s as if the Jolie-Pitts are pioneering a new genre of family, with children from every global hot spot and parents who are beautiful and famously not married. “People have made a lot out of it that we’re not,” she said, “but we both have been married before, and it’s very easy to get married, but it’s not easy to build a family and be parents together.”

Sex & The City: A Product Placement Roundup from Vanity Fair Daily. Honestly, the product placement bugged me. Now I know why.

The liberating effect of failure from CNN Money.

I saw the image on this article — Independent Fashion Bloggers: Your Turn — & knew I had to link it in my carousel. What a delightful surprise to see that Jennine mentions iCiNG as an example! I am very flattered… & of course, I totally agree with her!

Nubby asks, Does Your Stuff Define Who You Are? Check out the commentary, too.

Shay emailed me about this cool DIY project: How To Make Cupcake Bath Fizzies. What could be better than a cupcake in the bath?

...Wait, I can answer that! Cupcakes dancing! Azalea recommended this video in her comment on Things I Love Thursday, & it is SO incredible that I just had to share…

Sark’s e-letter for June is all about doing things badly, more often! It’s very charming. Read it now!

Neo-Martha from the Oktavia community. Cute easy decorating ideas, yay!

If you liked my piece from Wednesday — Marianne Williamson’s quote & my added bits — you will be in equal amounts of rapture watching Lindsey Markel read it. WOW!

Songza is “the music search engine”. Ooh la la! The possibilities! It’s really cool. Enjoy!

Norman Vincent Peale’s Top 10 Positive Pearls of Wisdom from the Positivity Blog.

Seth Godin’s email checklist. Read it! Learn it! Live it!

How To Take A Mini-Retirement: Tips & Tricks from (who else?) Timothy Ferriss.

I just found this girl, Julia Nunes on Youtube. She plays covers of songs on her ukelele. Sometimes she uses a tissue box & a wooden spoon as percussion. She is good & has a cute personality. Listen/watch! It will make you smile!

& finally, Tina Su writes The Panacea For Putting Things Off — something I think we can all relate to!

Enjoy your Friday!

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Yoga For Beginners

[ 14 May 2008, 08:09 ]

Never tried yoga, but want to give it a shot? Wary of walking into an incense-filled room with a whole lot of lean, healthy-looking people in close-fitting pants? Why not try it at home? It’s much less scary & you’ll feel less self-conscious about bending yourself around like spaghetti!

Tara Stiles is a Ford model who makes excellent yoga videos which you can view online. Here are some of my favourite ones… give them a try!

There are more videos by Tara available too! You’ll be limber in no time!

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Things I Love Thursday

[ 8 May 2008, 06:16 ]

The iCiNG community — You all continually amaze me. I received this email from Mica a few days ago.

“Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you for organising the contact page for us all. I had to go down to Melbourne for a graduate position and I had a break before my flight home, so I asked one of my new Melbourne-based iCiNG facebook friends what I should do. I got some great suggestions although I actually ran out of time to do much, it was still helpful! When I got called back to Melbourne again the next again week I made sure I had a bit more time to spare so I could meet my new Melbourne friend! I met up with the lovely Nora yesterday and we sat in a little Melbourne coffee shop, drinking hot chocolate and chatting. It was a perfect way to relax and unwind after an interview, and I’m really glad I got to say hi to her face to face… My favourite part was being thrown out of the coffee shop as we had overstayed our welcome, we’d both not noticed the time! hehe. Not something I would have expected to happen after meeting a complete stranger…!”

Telephones — This is going to sound silly maybe, but have you ever thought about how incredibly amazing the telephone is? You press a sequence of numbers & you are connected to your best friend, your lover, your parents; instantly transported to a kitchen in Bombay or a library in Boston or someone climbing a tree in Dunedin. I love it!

New York — Oh, come on! You knew that was coming! I’m really starting to feel at home here. It has been fabulous roaming the city with Simon, but now that I am here alone, & have been a bit nervous about it, I feel like New York is cheering for me. It wants me to stay. It’s doing its best to make me happy. The weather is warm & beautiful, & when I stepped out the front door today, here’s what I was greeted with. Blossoms.

Raw food — Man, New Yorkers have it totally sussed. I went into a tiny health food store on the Upper East Side yesterday & found an entire wall full of raw food. Not to mention the amazing food I’ve eaten since arriving here — mind-blowing, to say the least.

Being open to opportunities — I’ve made a conscious effort to open myself out to new people & experiences while I’m here, & it’s paying off in a major way! I have had offers to stay all over the city, go vintage shopping, explore Brooklyn, scope out street style with Altamira (aka Craig), stay at someone’s summer house in East Hampton, visit Disneyworld, hang in the Egyptian wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, go to Minnesota & stay with a guy from Rhymesayers, & way more than I could ever mention! It’s absolutely amazing & I’m so excited. I love having so many choices that I’m not sure which one I’m going to pick!

Warm weather — New York has totally been putting on the ritz in terms of weather. Blue skies, sunshine, blossoms & butterflies are everywhere. Even better, as you read this, I am 30,000 feet in the sky, flying to Florida, where it is even warmer! It feels kind of like cheating to go from the Australian summer to the American one, but you know, I’m okay with that!

Feeling a bit Carrie Bradshaw — Oh, I know it’s a cliché, but here I am, a girl in the city, laptop in hand, writing about her experiences & trying to make sense of them… Of course, there are probably thousands of girls in Manhattan who feel exactly the same way, but it’s a club I’m pleased to join! (Also: can’t wait to see the movie! Squeal!)

Honourable mentions: Lots of books to read (I am dying to get into them but have been too busy thus far!); Disneyworld (can’t wait to go!); spontaneous phone calls; yerba mate tea (yummy!); my bathrobe from the New York Palace (it is pimp); the New York Palace in general (I’d be happy never to stay anywhere else again); the East Coast raw community (aaaaaabsolutely… faaaaabulous!); Zappos.com (upgraded me to overnight shipping for free & were generally amazing); plotting out an informal Spring uniform while I’m here (pictures to come once I’ve obtained it!); marvelling at the things in the supermarket (really, it blows my mind); my new Frye boots (pictured above); pink (it’s everywhere & I’m embracing it); my New York City Moleskine; new friends who want to help; tulips (they are all over the city, huge & vibrant) &... well, pretty much everything! I am a little bundle of loved-up loveliness right now! Mwah!

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” — Gloria Steinem

So, gorgeous, tell us! What’s ringing your bell, turning your crank, keeping you awake at night? The promise of Spring? A new Winter coat? Stolen kisses? Trapeze lessons? Let us know!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 25th April 2008

[ 24 April 2008, 17:10 ]

How To Deal With Hateful Comments On Your Blog — a post I wrote for Problogger in response to a reader question.

The Bloody Truth — feminine hygiene and the menstrual cycle. Not a pretty topic but pretty interesting!

Pictures! Photographs by Nico, lots of glamorous photos to get you in the mood for summer, David Lachapelle does disaster chic & Paradise Lost by Ellen Von Unwerth (NSFW).

Galliano lurve!

My friend Dr Hitchcock regularly interviews me for his radio show Mixtape Connection in Christchurch, & you can listen to it here! Woohoo!

If you want to watch Australia’s Next Top Model (which has just started airing over here), have a squizz! My favourites so far? Alexandra (loves fashion, is a bit of a snob [my favourite girls are always the arrogant ones on any Top Model show] & fell asleep with a book of Kafka on her head — totally gets my vote), Jamie (beautiful face), Caris (very pretty) & Leiden (really minxy). Who do you like?

I love Cary Tennis, forever & ever. My boyfriend won’t give me his apartment key & how can I get a writing job? (plus letters) are both good reads.

Look Book — A collection of New Yorker covers celebrating fashion & style, from the nineteen-twenties to today.

FFFOUND!

Ask Nubby #2: 13 Steps to a Successful Blog-Based Business... & she would know! Lots of Nubby love!

Oh, & if you want to be part of a study on blogger/reader relationships, a gal named Bo is doing a bit of research! Have a read of this…

“Do you have a favourite blogger that you want to talk about? I am an Honours student from the University of Queensland, Australia and I am conducting an email-based survey that looks at the experiences that blog readers have with their favourite bloggers. To take part in this research you cannot be a blogger yourself and you cannot know the blogger offline. Please note that for ethical and legal issues you MUST be 18+ years of age and an Australian Citizen to partake in this research. If this sounds like you and you would like to participate in this original and exciting research project then please email Bo. All inquiries are very much appreciated!”

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Jem!

[ 6 April 2008, 05:52 ]

Glamour & glitter, fashion & fame! Let’s just say Jem was a major influence on my life!

This is pretty much the perfect thing to watch on a Sunday. I hope you enjoy it!

Episode 1 — The Beginning

“Who’s this TWERP?!”
I love Pizazz. She was always my favourite.

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Carousel -- Week Ending 21st March 2008

[ 20 March 2008, 17:43 ]

It’s a very varied Carousel this week — from bondage to Guy Kawasaki & through to self-transformation! Hope you enjoy it.

Radio New Zealand interviews Molly Crabapple of Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School! Seems appropriate, since I’m from New Zealand & I’m going to be at Dr Sketchy’s modelling next week! (Come & see me!)

250 Things I Have Learnt That Will Make You A Become A Highly Successful Speaker from Eric Feng.

Hindsights, from Guy Kawasaki’s blog ‘How To Change The World’.

BDSM Scenarios: Ideas To Spark Your Sex Life. Blush!

5 Steps For Transformation from We Like It Raw. This is awesome, highly recommended, run your eyeballs over it!

10 Ways to Control Your Cravings — awesome tips for anyone trying to go raw, vegan or vegetarian who is simultaneously hankering for steak, cupcakes or bread!

Wardrobe Essentials For College Girls & Get Ready Fast – 7 Quick and Easy Hairstyles are two excellent articles from College Fashion!

Unhappy Meals by Michael Pollan. A very interesting (& long) article on what we should eat, though if you just want a summary, it is…

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

In Love With A Japanese Guy by my super friend Deanne! This is the story of her meeting her Japanese lover, as well as tips for dating in Japan. Deanne & Masao are so cute together that it actually hurts! Doki doki!

Hot Sapphic action! Thanks, k17k! (Not safe for work.)

Dumb Little Man to the rescue, with 5 Reasons You Should Quit Your Job & Protect Yourself Against Energy Vampires. (The last one is especially good, with some excellent tips.)

I love Seth Godin. I haven’t read his blog for a while, it just temporarily slipped off my radar, but this morning I went through his most recent posts & found a whole lot that are fabulous! Voilà — Why bother having a resume?, Persistence, The long slide to gone & The forces of mediocrity.

How To ‘Work a Room’ Better Than Obama from We The Change.

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Carousel -- Week Ending 7th March 2008

[ 6 March 2008, 16:43 ]

Happy Friday!

A woman takes dominatrix lessons, courtesy of Bizarre magazine. Pretty interesting!

Photographs by Marc Lagrange — beaucoup du nudity, though, so no peeking at work! His website is here.

This is my new favourite picture: Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen in an embrace with Karl Lagerfeld. Seriously, it melts my heart. & look at Mary-Kate’s sunglasses! Delicious!

Anthony, the infamous raw model, writes about re-creating Eden. I love reading his blog, it is truly refreshing & beautiful.

I’ve been asked recently to compile a list of raw websites that I read. I actually don’t read many, but if you want to really tear into it, check out They Like To Give It To Me Raw! It’s one big RSS feed of all the best raw blogs — lots of information from lots of different places!

Design That Kills interviewed one of my favourite girls, Nubby Twiglet! A super read for anyone who wants to know what’s behind the big red cross…

This is my new favourite thing. I am a huge nerd.

Living For Ourselves from DailyOM. I woke up to this email the other day & it made me go, “Oooooh…”

In case you didn’t know, Oprah has teamed up with Eckhart Tolle, an amazing writer, to present weekly classes about his new book. The book is called A New Earth & it’s about awakening to your purpose. Tune in to the first video class here!

Blogging is good for your social health! Pfffttt, I could’ve told you that…

For all of you who went ga-ga over the Christian Dior dress I posted the other day, have a peek at Christian Dior: Je suis Couturier. Lots of pictures for maximum drooling!

Self Doubt, SXSW, & The Evils of Comparison by Halcyon. Yarrrr, it’s worth a read, me hearties! (Sorry about the random piratey inflection… sometimes it sneaks up on me!)

Sexual Identity Online, by Violet Blue.

Natalia Rose is a raw nutritionist based in New York. This is her blog & it’s full of very interesting stuff.

Sex & The City Movie: The Fashion! A clip giving a sneak preview of the wardrobe department! (Drool.)

Fashion With A Sense Of Humour from Sing Eclectic. I like this post very much.

5 Traits You Will Need on Your Way to Becoming a Leader from Dumb Little Man.

If you’re a fan of SARK, have a listen to this… hip tranquil chick podcast #122: being succulent with SARK.

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Wow

[ 26 February 2008, 03:31 ]

This video just rocked my world. Imagine how different your life would be if watching this was part of your morning routine!

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Carousel -- Week Ending 22nd February 2008

[ 21 February 2008, 16:08 ]

Yay, distractions to get you through Friday!

Doctor of Sexology — A Profile of Dr John Money.

Money says pornography, contrary to persisting beliefs, is not “contagious” and isn’t going to make you do anything you didn’t want to do anyway. “The only kind of pornography you can like is that which corresponds to your own lovemap. An example I give in lectures is that I could shut you up in a room for five hours of coprophilia movies and there’s no chance you’d eat %&$# sandwiches for breakfast in the morning.”

Why We Love Who We Love by Dr Joyce Brothers.

Epicurious reviews Marilyn Manson’s absinthe.

Blogging For Money by Steve Pavlina. A very important read for anyone who runs a blog & wants to make money from it!

Mix your own make-up palette, a demonstration from Domino magazine.

Celebrity houses! A huge thread on the Fashion Spot forums (best fashion-related forums ever). 36 pages, featuring the interior tastes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Greta Garbo, Vera Wang, Gwen Stefani, etc. So interesting! I love to see how people live & what they do with their money.

I Love You, But You Love Meat from the New York Times. An article on dietary needs within relationships. So cool.

An interview with Helmut Newton.

Love advice for the terminally perplexed is now available 24/7 at baffld!

Our ever-changing hues, an article from The Age about colour.

“People coming out of depression often respond well to green. Yellow is associated with spiritual clarity, but also warning – some people find it too confronting. Blue is a cooler colour that stimulates introspection. Purple is a push-pull colour: people are never lukewarm about it.” Red, she suggests, calls for balance: a bedroom that sees a lot of passion won’t need red, but it can be a plus if the action is lacking.

30 Fundamentals Of A Wonderful Life from I Will Change Your Life.

My new favourite Livejournal: k17k. Weird & beautiful photos galore!

Did any of you watch the last season of Australia’s Next Top Model? For anyone who did, Jordan Loukas (the cute girl with great eyes) just starred in her own show called Runway To L.A.. You can see the episodes here. Yay!

Vogue covers! Thank you, Nubby! (I have #21 hanging up in the iCiNG Bowl!)

G-spot research! Italian researchers have found that women who experience vaginal orgasms in the G spot are anatomically different from those who do not!

Pucker up & read through Affairs of the Lips: Why We Kiss from Scientific American.

Library staircase! DREAMY!

Finally, I love Slug (from Atmosphere) so much. So should you. Read his advice column! If you need persuading…

Due to the way your question is worded, I feel like your parents may have left you with a twisted outlook on “happily-ever-after.” Join the f-cking club, and only marry for love. Anything else won’t work. Besides, your child will benefit more from learning what happy looks like alone, rather than what misery looks like embraced.

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 8th February 2008

[ 8 February 2008, 11:29 ]

Happy Friday! Yay!

Food & Money, a Flickr photoset. Photographs of families around the world with the food they eat in a week & how much they spend on it. Very interesting. There is one guy who has taken the time to leave weird ranty comments on each picture, but it’s quite intriguing to see the way people eat & how they spend their money. From those photographs, the main thing I can deduce is that people who spend the least eat the most heathily — & look happiest — while those who are spending the most seem to be pretty much filling up on absolute rubbish. Pre-packaged, sugar-laden nothingness. Not what I would have expected at all.

Foodland. Wow.

I believe that literature is working, even amidst this chaos, with a power that can change the world — an interview with Haruki Murakami, one of the best authors everrr.

How To Thrift Like A Pro by Miss Cedar.

Absolutely mind-blowing underwater fashion portraits. So beautiful. I used one of these pictures yesterday in TiLT.

How to deal with Mercury retrograde — which we’re in right now — from Astrostyle. I love Astrostyle. The twins are awesome.

Miniature spy guns! Gun pipes, crucifixes & lots of other cool stuff. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with spies; this link totally re-activated my obsession.

New year’s resolutions to spice up your sex life from Daily Bedpost! I guess I should have posted this in January but you can start any time!

Nectar & Light is a beautiful new photography blog worth your time!

The Secret To Huge Breakthroughs On Your Goals from Dumb Little Man. It’s February & your goals might be lagging a bit — but it’s never too late to pick them up & dust them off!

Nubby’s having a Valentine’s Day sale on her heart-themed t-shirts! They’re only $10 a pop & they’re fabulous. I have been meaning to pick up one of her black heart/cross shirts for a long time, so I think finally the moment has arrived!

Anyone who takes Paxil or Seroxat should read this.

America’s Next Top Model top 10 makeovers. I’m not sure that I agree with all of their choices, but still!

Hilary Alexander‘s blog for the Telegraph is essential reading for anyone with a lust for fashion — & I love her even more because she, too, gives it up for Victoria Beckham.

Raw stuff: The Joy Of (Less) Sleep & Super-Hydration (I am going to give this a go).

Why Wearing Stilettos Could Boost Your Sex Life from the Daily Mail. Ooh, ahh! Like you needed any more excuses… !

Real Sex Tantalizes As Processed Porn Gets Boring from Wired. But wasn’t processed porn always boring?

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Carousel -- Week Ending 1st February 2008

[ 1 February 2008, 10:03 ]

Tim Walker is amazing.

Yummy desktop wallpapers from Paul & Joe.

What Deepak Chopra thinks every woman should know.

Fops & Dandies is my new favourite blog! I love it! Every post is really interesting & LC has mad style! Go & check it out if you haven’t already, & send them my love!

Heaps of great, mind-opening links at the Blossoming Consciousness & Positivity Carnival! Phew, what a mouthful!

Strokes Of Genius, photographed Steven Meisel. Featuring Robin’s favourite, Ms. Trentini!

Rise Of the Real People from Newsweek, about the backlash against models.

Hula Hooping My Way to Fitness! Very cool video.

The transformative power of glasses. Hee.

Building a Stellar Vintage Wardrobe & taking care of it, too. This is a fantastically informative piece by L. Amelia Raley.

Raw stuff: Why do I feel so odd?, it’s not just about the food! & Raw Abroad, 7 travel tips to make your trip the best ever.

World’s largest swimming pool!!! Go through all the pictures — you can SAIL on that thing!

The tapping road map. This is so awesome for those of you who are using EFT to improve your lives. (& there are so many of you! Every time I get an email about how EFT is changing a nonpareil’s life, I BEAM with pride!)

Photographs by Taki Bibelas. There is some nudity in there, so you might not want to open this link at work!

The Coveted offers a DIY tutorial — how to make gradient tights! Brilliant! I am totally going to do this myself.

Have you seen Kanye West’s blog? It’s pretty awesome… he is a strange guy. Also, he is going to tour with N.E.R.D.?! I am THERE!

The Lisbon girls’ bedrooms: screenshots from The Virgin Suicides. Mmmm, pretty.

I think 5ives is one of the funniest websites ever invented. Examples: Five terrible fake names for villages in England, Five historical blog posts, Five rejected Spice Girl personalities & Five things you might do with “all that ass”. Flick through the archives, too!

Betsey Johnson’s beautiful pink palace is for sale! Check out the pictures & have a drool. & it’s only $3.6 million. Not bad!

Erin Loechner from Design For Mankind recently put together an e-zine which you can download for free! This first issue is all about inspiration. It’s going to be a monthly occurance, so keep your eyes open for it!

A bejewelled phone extravaganza! Ouch… my brain…

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Sex & The City

[ 25 January 2008, 11:32 ]

Consider this a delicious end-of-week treat to tide you over until the movie comes out… Man, I love this show!

These are clips from the Farewell episode.

Awwwwwwwwwwww.

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Carousel -- Week Ending 4th January 2008

[ 4 January 2008, 11:11 ]

Hooray, it’s a new year! That, of COURSE, means that there are oodles of websites making astrological predictions for each sign’s coming attractions. I love reading what astrologers think I have in store, even if my belief in horoscopes is selective at best! Here are some of the best I’ve found, & I’d love to hear if you have a favourite astrologer, too!

According to Chinese astrology, it’s the year of the rat. Check out astrology.com for a run-down of the year, then scroll to the bottom & see what is in store for your Chinese sign!

Astrology.com has also got 2008 predictions for Aries, Taureans, Pisces & the other standard signs!

Susan Miller is amazing. She writes superbly in-depth predictions every month, which are a great read.

You all know how much I adore Rob Brezsny. His horoscopes are definitely worth a read! I love his inspiring tone & his desire to make us all into better people.

The Astro Twins have a very different style — I’d say they write light & breezy horoscopes for the 20-something party girl. Hey, it works for me!

Now, the other stuff!

Interview with Jim Carrey. I love him. So much.

Goodbye 2007, & thanks for all the butt-cracks — a video from Goodiebag.

An interview with Anthony Robbins which I think is about the most interesting thing I’ve ever read, maybe.

Hello Kitty contact lenses. Argh!

My cool, awesome & hot friend Peter has tips on how to break into the fashion industry, which is worth reading if you have those sorts of intentions!

Baskerville Basics — a guide to dressing like Sherlock Holmes! Yes! Fantastisch!

The Telegraph picks style icons of 2007.

My Fashion Life dishes on the top 10 trends of 2007.

There is an official Sex & The City movie blog, for Carrie (& Charlotte, Samantha & Miranda) addicts around the world! Hooray!

Stylish ladies from Reykjavik!

Fashion Nation’s fashion resolutions for 2008! I haven’t set any style resolutions for myself yet… though I’m sure they’ll come to me later!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Happy New Year!

[ 1 January 2008, 01:00 ]

Happy New Year!

May 2008 be full of fantastic opportunities, amazing people, wonderful times & a sense of bliss!

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Carousel -- Week Ending 28th December 2007

[ 28 December 2007, 09:14 ]

No links today, sorry! Have a REAL carousel instead!

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How To Perform A Striptease!

[ 23 December 2007, 12:11 ]

‘Tis the season to be jolly… & why not be jolly while you take your clothes off?!

Why should I do it?
Well, why not?! But if you really need rationale, how about… because it’s sexy? Because it’s fun? Because it makes life more exciting? Because it’s harmless? Because your lover will be reminded how amazing you actually are? Because it’s liberating? Because you can?

Where do I begin?
There are two possible methods to start with. The first one is the deliberate tease — where you call or email or write your lover a note ahead of time & tell them what’s in store. Not explicitly; being subtle & dropping a few clues is sexier than just saying, “Oi, mate! I’m gonna take me kit off for you tonight!” The other option is just to surprise them. Maybe tell them to wait in the living room, & then just emerge looking fabulous.

Some other options for setting the scenario include dimming the lights or lighting candles.

What should I wear?
A few layers, but not too many. It doesn’t matter too much if it’s hugely uncomfortable, since ultimately it’s all coming off anyway. But you need to wear shoes you can walk & wiggle about in! Falling on your butt midway through your routine, while potentially hilarious, might not help maintain the atmosphere of mystery & seduction you’re aiming for!

A costume is an option (a sexy one, not a gorilla suit!), but if you’re really stumped & don’t have a favourite dress, try a collared shirt with a pencil skirt, seamed stockings, heels & your hair in a chignon. It’s an oldie but a goodie. Extra points for a pencil through your hair, which you then remove to shake out your tresses!

Good underwear is essential. It’s the most important part of the outfit — you’ll feel really daggy if you’re wearing saggy underpants or a bra that’s so tight it leaves visible marks on your skin. You don’t have to invest hundreds of dollars in good underwear, even though it’s nice to do so. You can buy hot, cute underpants for less than $10 if you know where to go, & a great bra with a cool design for less than $50. The lingerie industry is really great at the moment — there are a million different options when it comes to shape, size, colour or patterns, it tends to be fairly durable stuff & it’s very inexpensive.

I think a suspender belt worn with stockings is an integral part of the outfit. It gives you one more thing to remove (okay, three actually), & they’re SO hot & rare & fabulous, you just can’t go wrong.

As for make-up… If you’re good at it, you can’t go wrong with a nice cat’s eye. Red lipstick is also an excellent option.

You might also want to slap on a bit of fake tan the day before your big reveal. It sounds like a cliché but it really is great at covering “imperfections” & making you look slimmer & more toned. Even if your lover doesn’t notice, it’s worth doing for the confidence boost — which will come through.

Okay… tell me what I should do!
Now that you’re dressed, here’s a tip. Before you walk out to greet your audience, assume a persona. Pretend that you are a famous French dominatrix, or a sexy Russian spy — someone a little bit different. That way, when you walk into the living room, you won’t be tempted to refill the cat’s bowl before you start.

Walk into the room where the great seduction is about to take place. No, strike that — stride, strut or wiggle into the room. Tell your lover that you’re going to put on a show, & that you are in complete control. If they can be trusted to just sit there & behave, then leave it at that. If not, or if you want to make it a bit more exciting, lightly bind your lover’s hands with a silk scarf or even a rope if you have it, you little rascal!

Hit the music. Crank the volume a bit. Do a little dance. If you can’t dance, make sure you move your hips. Circling them around in the shape of a figure 8 is always sexy. Approach your lover slowly, lift their chin with a finger, make like you’re going to kiss them — then lightly push their head back.

Continue with your slow, sensual boogie. If you’re wearing a jacket or shirt, start to unbutton it, beginning at the top. Turn around so that your back is to them, & as you look back at them, continue unbuttoning. Smile! Raise your shoulder slightly so that the shirt or jacket slides down a little bit & exposes your shoulder. Extract both arms from the sleeves, then turn to face your audience, but at the same time, move the shirt around so that it’s covering your bra. Then, slowly let it drop to the floor.

Try to take off your skirt in one fluid motion, & be careful when you’re walking away from where it lies on the floor! Arch your back as you unzip it & slide it down to the ground.

Remove your shoes! Put one leg up on a chair or slightly raised surface & unhook one of your stockings. Before you take the stockings off, run your hands along your legs, from top to bottom & back again. Roll it down your leg, then take it off & let it float to the ground. Do the same with your other leg.

Keep dancing! Now you’re in your bra & underpants. If time has gone a little faster than expected, extend the length of the striptease by using a scarf as a prop. I know it sounds kind of silly, but it will give you something to do with your hands if you’re nervous, & somewhere to focus your attention (other than on your audience!). Flutter it across your body, dance around it, pretend it’s a horse — whatever works for you!

Now you can remove the last of your sultry garments. Approach your frenzied lover & slowly untie them. I think you can take it from here!

What music should I strip to?
I’m glad you asked, because good music is an essential element. It will help set the mood, give you a tempo & something to work to. I suggest you pick something that turns your crank! Something with a strong beat. Something fun. But if you’re not sure, here are some suggestions…

Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus
Madonna – Justify My Love
Gwen Stefani – Luxurious
Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around Comes Around / My Love
Timbaland – The Way I Are
Beyonce – Freakum Dress
Kylie Minogue – Chocolate
Kyuss – Gloria Lewis
Jimi Hendrix – Hey Joe
Andre 3000 feat. Norah Jones – Take Off Your Cool
LL Cool J – You Should
Notorious B.I.G. – Machine Gun Funk
Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way?
Jamie Foxx – With You

This is the ultimate, though!

Can you give me some more hints? Please?
Sure!

Maintain eye contact at all times! It might be difficult &/or embarrassing, but do it anyway! It will make the experience a million times better (roughly).

Know that you are SEXY! If you feel it & believe it, it will come across. You don’t have to have a knock-out body, but if you have confidence, your lover will be salivating all over him- or herself.

Remember that it’s called a striptease for a reason! Take it slowly. Make ‘em wait. Torture the audience!

I’ve said it before, but just to make sure, your lover is NOT allowed to touch you while you perform your special act. Otherwise it will just turn into a hump festival. That can happen later, but for now, you have a job to do!

Imagine that your hands are your lover’s hands. Think about where he or she might like to put them — & then be obliging. Touch your body slowly & with intention, drawing attention to your favourite parts!

Before you start, ensure you have the place to yourself for at least the next hour. Knowing that your mother’s on her way over for tea doesn’t really help set the mood.

What does a good striptease look like?

Good luck, you little vixen!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 7th December 2007

[ 7 December 2007, 08:23 ]

Top 10 Most Preternaturally Beautiful Men. Yum! See also Coilhouse Style Vanguard: Princest. Intriguing & beautiful, but what else would you expect from the evil geniuses at Coilhouse?!

Kate Spade ads from the Newestwrinkle community. I agree with the original poster, who said that those advertisements would be a nice world to live in. Anyone who can make books sexy gets a big tick from me. (Observant people will note the Olivetti Valentine in the last photo! Drool!)

Photojojo is allll about cool things to do with your photos. So awesome! Thanks Nadine!

We Tried It: Grilled Cheese from the Cincinatti Weekly. This is a cute little piece on the infamous “grilled cheese with truffle oil” sandwich from the first episode of Gossip Girl. Hee!

Tricia Royal bites back at people who criticise other people’s sartorial choices! Preach it, sister! (Seriously, life’s too short to just sit around & judge people. Who cares?!)

Asperger’s Syndrome Gets A Very Public Face, a piece from the New York Times about Heather on America’s Next Top Model. I love Heather so much that I’m not watching the rest of the series — I’m just not interested anymore!

More Gossip Girl madness — how to be like Serena Van Der Woodsen & how to be like Blair Waldorf, from Wikihow.

Phillipp von Hessen for German Elle. I am a sucker for masquerade masks on beautiful women. Now you know my secret weakness!

Tina Su rocks my world! 40 Simple Gift Ideas to Spark a Smile is totally worth reading, as is The 5 Myths of Positive Mental Attitude.

Meditation Techniques for the Busy or Impatient, from Dumb Little Man. Great tips! Yay!

& if you’re quick, there’s a Chanel show being broadcast live, right this instant! You should tune in — it’s always worth it for a glimpse of Lagerfeld’s genius. Mmmmm!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Daily Outfit -- 28th November 2007

[ 28 November 2007, 19:16 ]

My vintage t-shirts arrived from Ebay today. I bought three. This is one of them. One of them is a Kentucky Derby shirt, & the last one says “Grease” across the front. Major love!

P.S. Please excuse my dorky gimletness. (“Gimlet” is my new name for weird people. It’s a term of affection, though…)

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 26th October 2007

[ 26 October 2007, 12:08 ]

Happy Friday!

I wrote a little piece on kissing a while back, but for those of you who want more information on one of the best activities ever, Violet Blue has released a DRM-free ebook that is exactly what you’re after! How To Kiss is a measly $10 & while I haven’t read it (I consider myself a pro, ha!), I am willing to bet that it is worth every penny.

Serviced by Steven Meisel. I do love me a bit o’ Meisel.

I am really interested in reading Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, even moreso now that I’ve seen this on Boing Boing.

For prospective (or current) bloggers… Bloggers: Be FOCUSED, ORIGINAL, and full of fiery PASSION! (I like this guy’s attitude. He is very enthusiastic.)

Things to say when someone has broken up with you. Take heed!

Trinny & Susannah to the rescue with more advice on dressing for body types. Take it with a grain of salt, but there are some good ideas here.

Can Taste Be Taught? from the New York Times Style magazine.

How to solve an ugly wood panelling problem, from the ourbedrooms community on Livejournal. Just paint it white! Check out the difference.

Polar bears love dogs, ‘tis true! Thanks, No Impact Man! (I always picture a guy with his underpants over his clothes when I read his name.)

Say Bonjour to a New You This Winter : A French Woman’s Guide to Fashion from StyleBites! This is totally cute.

How to Wake Up Feeling Totally Alert from Steve Pavlina.

I’m on a panel of judges (along with Andrae Gonzalo from Project Runway, the designers of Madison Harding & Stephanie Lichten) for a contest at My It Things where you can win $3000 just by writing about fashion or style! There is more information here & I encourage you to enter! $3000 is nothing to thumb your nose at, you know!

Fans of James & August in Australia can get $10 off orders over $100 using the code “AUS07” during checkout!

For some reason, all these photos from Los Angeles Fashion Week are totally captivating. Who said LA doesn’t have style? Granted, there are a lot of short skirts & brown legs, but who cares? I love some of these outfits a lot.

If you, too, are keen on wearing pearls somewhere other than around your neck, & ankles just aren’t cutting it for you, why not do as Lacquer does & wear them in your hair? (Beautiful. Another hair accessory that would complement a beehive perfectly!)

David Lynch + Christian Louboutin = sweet, fetishy children.

Beautiful pictures of food in Japan from she who eats. I don’t know how she manages to make it all look so appealing but… she does!

If You Want to Change Your Life, Change Your Thoughts from Dumb Clever Little Man!

Top 5 Alt Photo Cliches We Could Do Without from Coilhouse. LOVE IT! Subscribe to their RSS feed NOW!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Satisfied Mind

[ 19 October 2007, 19:10 ]

How many times have you heard someone say,
“If I had money, I would do things my way”?
But little they know that it’s so hard to find
One rich men in ten with a satisfied mind.

Money can’t buy back all your youth when you’re old,
A friend when you’re lonely, or peace to your soul.
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times,
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind.

When my life is over & my time has run out
My friends & my lovers I will leave, there’s no doubt
But one thing’s for certain, when it comes my time
I’ll leave this old world with a satisfied mind.

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 19th October 2007

[ 19 October 2007, 13:12 ]

I love Tim Walker & Masha Tyelna. If you do too, click here. (Masha is amazing, I think she looks like the girls in paintings by Lori Earley.)

Banshee Girl photoshoot from New York Times style magazine.

Extravigator is a guide to luxurious travel. It is decadent & supreme. I am a fan.

If you, too, were once a fan of Courtney Love, you might also be interested in watching The Return of Courtney Love, a documentary from last year. Here it is in four parts: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4.

Hallowe’en costume ideas from American Apparel. I think some of these are awesome.

A tour of the Candy Girl factory. Yes, they make “love dolls”. Don’t watch this at work… “How do we make a zombie look cute?”

Cyborgs in a park! Okay, not really. But this photoshoot does look that way.

Decor8 points the way to decorating your home with banners! I never would have thought of it, but now I want some, badly. They’re gorgeous & festive at the same time. I want something like this but in pink & blue & purple…

This girl on Facehunter makes me really happy. & here are some really nice legs from The Sartorialist.

Beauty Addict has put together an encyclopedia of mascara! Of course, not every brand is on here, but if you’re looking for a new mascara, this should be your first port of call.

Coilhouse is quickly becoming one of my favourite reads. Take this piece, Rick Owens, friend of post-goth fashionistas. “You’ve discarded your crushed velvets. You’ve cast aside your zippered, D-ringed, and safety-pinned garments and long for something new. Where do you go from here? You require sophistication. You want drama without the bell sleeves. We understand…“ I love it! Have a look, oh ex-children of the night. I think I am now officially enamoured with Rick Owens. See also League of Extraordinary Stupid Hair Superheroes. Really, really funny, & even better because they say “I wouldn’t laugh so hard if I didn’t know that every single member of the Coil-staff could easily wind up in the next edition of this…”

What No Impact feels like after ten months from No Impact Man. He makes some very interesting points about community. Have a read!

Scary Halloween Costumes from Fashion Geek. Terrifying, really.

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Carousel -- Week Ending 12th October 2007

[ 12 October 2007, 12:06 ]

Tra la la, links for your perusal & enjoyment!

Yo Donna photoshoot by Eugenio Recuenco, photographer of the amazing fairy tale shoot!

If you want to watch something… scary… try A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila. She’s like a less colourful version of the beloved Shrinkle! (Shrinkle is one of the coolest girls on the internet, hands down — I wish she was on this show instead!) Anyway, I think it’s some kind of reality television first, because she’s bisexual so there are women & men competing for her, um, heart. & the men don’t know they are competing with women! Aaaahhaah! Oh, I shouldn’t find this so entertaining, but I do. I love this show! The shame is palpable!

WhoWhatWearDaily are giving away an Elizabeth & James (the latest fashion line from Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen) sequinned dress! (How incredible!) I would love to be the recipient but unfortunately the contest is only open to American residents. However, if you do live in the U S of A & would like to get your lusty little mitts on it, just go to their website & sign up for their newsletter before the 29th of October! If you win, I expect photos, okay?!

More bad television. SuperMADE: Cheerleaders is about whipping cheerleaders into shape. Cheerleaders + MTV = a good time. Come on, you know it’s true. There are surly teenagers & tears/sweat & people calling one another “braindead”! Ooooh! “We’re fierce on 3!” & then, if that’s not enough, watch SuperMADE: Fashion Journalist. God, I love MTV.

A little while ago, someone wrote to me asking for good sex education links. I am THRILLED to announce that the always incredible Violet Blue has recently released a series called Open Source Sex Ed. For a measly US$5 you’ll get 9 chapters of a book, all as podcasts, read in her sultry voice. The chapters include information on the G spot, physiology for pleasure, & a whole lot more. I bought it yesterday & listened to it all afternoon. It is fantastic. Check it out.

10 Surefire Ways To Kill Your Crabby Mood from Dumb (aw!) Little Man. From the same great mind, 25 Ways To Find A Date Offline! Ooh la la!

Coilhouse is a new online magazine which I like very much! It describes itself as a love letter to alternative culture, written in an era when alternative culture no longer exists. And because it no longer exists, we take from yesterday and tomorrow, from the mainstream and from the underground, to construct our own version. Très bien, oui?! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Really cool illustrations, found via Fashion Nation!

Drool-worthy interiors courtesy of This Is Glamorous. Yum!

Turn Your Moleskine into a Full-On Planner with Lifehacker! This is great for those of you who don’t have a planner but want to actually achieve something before the end of the year is up!

How To Create A Great Website from Seth Godin. Great thoughts, I think.

7 Ways To Overcome The Fear Of Failure from Pick the Brain.

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Same Sex Marriage

[ 9 October 2007, 01:55 ]

Watch this now. It’s an announcement made last week by the mayor of San Diego about same sex marriage. It made me cry (with joy) all over my Amanda Lepore t-shirt!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Happy Birthday Video

[ 19 September 2007, 00:29 ]

Just a little video about my birthday & a major THANK YOU to everyone for their well-wishes! Though I forgot to say that as a birthday present, I am soon going to start a part-time professional makeup course! I am so excited, yayyyy, & I hope to be able to share the great tips & tricks I learn with all of you!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Corset Remix

[ 5 September 2007, 00:48 ]

The other day, a friend & I were discussing our old gothic predilections. It turned out we were both harbouring corsets in our closets, but since we both felt like we had moved past our old style, didn’t really know what to do with them. Corsets, especially the good ones, tend to be really expensive & some of them are gorgeous pieces of work. Too precious to throw out or give away, but too ‘goth’ to wear.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I realised there was a middle ground.

If you, like us, are in a similar situation, try these suggestions…

Wear your corset over a dress for added structure, fanciness & a super-cinched waist. This is an especially good way to wear a dress that normally isn’t too flattering or you or doesn’t showcase your shape! Try your corset over all types of dresses: you’ll be surprised at how often it works. Vintage dresses, silk sundresses, little black dresses…

If you want to retain the attitude of a good corset, sling it over the top of a crisp white shirt (with puff sleeves, perhaps?), a skinny black tie & a black high-waisted pencil skirt. Add seamed stockings & killer heels into the mix, & with cat’s eye glasses & your hair in a bun you’re ready to dish out some discipline!

...Or for a slightly less rigid look, put it over the aforementioned crisp white shirt & pair with your favourite jeans.

A corset is a fantastic addition to any garment which doesn’t have a lot of shape. Think of it as a big belt! See Lisa’s outfit for an example of how you can pull this off effectively. (Ahh, I love her, she’s so cute!)

Wear your (overbust) corset underneath a blazer with a slinky skirt. Only do up a couple of the blazer’s buttons for sex appeal plus plus!

But if you absolutely cannot fathom wearing your corset again — Chartreuse memories, perhaps, or maybe it just doesn’t fit any more — you can always have it framed or hang it above your bed as a gorgeous installation piece. I’m picturing it undone with the laces flying behind it…

Happy tight-lacing!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Style Icons: Madonna

[ 8 August 2007, 22:23 ]

“I think you can be defiant & rebellious & still be strong & positive.” — Madonna

I love Madonna. I can’t get enough of her newest album, Confessions On A Dance Floor, & have you seen the video for Hung Up? Girl is FIT! If I have a body like that when I’m 49 (!), I will be extremely pleased.

Why is Madonna a style icon? As if I even need to tell you! She has been making music for years — this year marks her 28th year in the pop business. Even more incredibly, almost all of her albums have been critically acclaimed, each distinctly different from the next. Her image is as mercurial as the weather — she is the ultimate chameleon. While she often shocks & surprises, she manages to pull off each look attempted with incredible flair & panache. Through taking these fashion risks, she inspires entire generations of women to imitate her. While I’m not under the illusion that she is perfect, I think she is a pretty fantastic role model.

She moved to New York City at the end of her sophomore year at school with $35 in her pocket, hoping to pursue a career in dance. She worked at Dunkin’ Donuts for a while, but in 1979 became involved with a musician, which kick-started her career. Since then, she has released ten studio albums & scores of singles, compilations & live albums. Anyone with that kind of drive gets my stamp of approval!

Here are some of my favourite Madonna moments…

“I’ve been popular & unpopular, successful & unsuccessful, loved & loathed, & I know how meaningless it all is. Therefore, I feel free to take whatever risks I want.” — Madonna

For your viewing pleasure, I present two of my favourite Madonna videos… maybe not totally appropriate for work, but totally hot.

Some wise words from the superstar?

“Be strong; believe in freedom & in God; love yourself; understand your sexuality; have a sense of humor; masturbate; don’t judge people by their religion, colour or sexual habits; love life & your family.” — Madonna

I couldn’t agree more.

P.S. She likes to sing “My Way” by Frank Sinatra in the shower.

Extra For Experts:
Celebrity quotes
Madonna on Letterman in 1994.

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Japan Makes Me Happy

[ 5 August 2007, 15:44 ]

I am currently immersed in a raging case of Japanese FEVER! I am absolutely, unequivocally, totally obsessed with Japan & everything about it. I have never been there & I am DYING to visit (does anyone want to sponsor me?!). Delicious, fresh sushi, noisy purikura (プリクラ), love hotels (ラブホテル), Harajuku kids, beautiful temples, the delicate, staccato-like language, enormous intersections, neon colours, glossy black hair & a huge, sprawling metropolis… it sounds like heaven on earth. Not to mention a great photo backdrop, which, I am slightly embarrassed to admit, was at least half the reason why I went to Burning Man last year!

When I am fixated on something I can’t get — at least at that very moment — I turn to the internet (ahhh, bless) to feed my obsession. Here are some of my favourite ways to immerse myself in the culture from afar.

Kris Atomic (illustrator extraordinaire) went to Tokyo last year & her pictures were an absolute treat. (You should also read her livejournal, it is great!) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6.

Lisa S. went there just recently & reading through her adventures was fabulous! (It was also, incidentally, what triggered me to write this.)

Here is Tokyo Daily Photo, compiled by Macky.

Check out the crappy_lovley community for delightful & crazy pictures of the girls from Spank! in Koenji. Like these party pictures!

Here’s a BBC video concerning fashion in Japan (part one & two).

Watch Kelly Osborne’s (slightly spoilt but still entertaining) Japanese experience.

My friends in Tokyo run Tokyomade, sending out fabulous Japanese goodies to anyone fiending for a materialistic fix!

My other friend Julie is about to land in Japan & start teaching ESL there. I write about her a lot, but if you’re new here (hello!), you can read about her time there at Julie in Japan!

Gilda, long-time iCiNG reader, often writes about her time in Japan on her blog, holiday in the sun! Her whole blog is great, but if you want an instant Japanese hit, click here!

tae*‘s beautiful photographs of Japan.

Japanorama‘s segment on gyaru — bad girls! (You can see other episodes here.)

The naughty side of Japan!

Tokyo Undressed, a photography blog by Rikki Kasso. I LOVE this.

I watched this, completely mesmerised — it’s a video of Japan’s “Adult Treasures” expo.

Misty Keasler has some fantastic photographs of love hotels throughout Japan.

‘Between a rock & a soft place’ is an article on love hotels from the Tokyo Journal.

This guy has a set of photos from his visit to the Hello Kitty room in a love hotel in Osaka.

(None of this stuff is safe for work or suitable for anyone under 18 though, so consider yourselves warned!)

Sometimes the internet just doesn’t cut it, & one feels compelled to turn to that antiquated tome of information — the book. For those of you who, like me, love to flick through glossy pages, snap these up!

Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook by Izumi Evers, Patrick Macias & Kazumi Nonaka is a historical guide to Tokyo teenage fashion. If you’re dying to hear about why ganguro girls look the way they do, or how the gothic lolita look evolved, this is the book for you! There are pictures, interviews, tips & tricks. Definitely worth owning!

Love Hotels: The Hidden Fantasy Rooms of Japan by Natsuo Kirino, Rod Slemmons & the aforementioned Misty Keasler is a hop, skip & jump through some of Japan’s most incredible love hotels. (I personally like the carousel in one of the rooms.) Amazing book.

Pink Box: Inside Japan’s Sex Clubs by Joan Sinclair is a FASCINATING look at Japan’s sex clubs. Usually strictly off-limits to anyone but the Japanese, Joan managed to charm the owners of the clubs & was granted permission to over 80 such clubs within a year. Her portraits of the girls working, the clientele & the environment in which they work is incredible.

I also recommend reading anything by Haruki Murakami — my favourites are The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle & Kafka On The Shore.

Ah, wonderful Japan. Please fuel my fascination by telling me about great Japanese blogs, your favourite kind of sushi, the best things to do on a rainy day in Kyoto & the J-pop stars which make your heart go DOKI DOKI!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Pole-Dancing & Raunch Culture

[ 31 July 2007, 09:47 ]

I have wanted to try pole-dancing for a really long time. When I first heard that it was the new ‘fitness craze’, I passed it off as more of the same rubbish, but the more of it I see, the more appealing it becomes.

If you want proof that pole-dancing requires strength, fitness & grace, watch this (& be astounded):

Damn, she’s good.

I think my primary reason for wanting to do pole-dancing is that I have always been attracted to sports which are graceful & feminine but which kick your ass at the same time. (Hmmm, that sums up a lot of my life…) Gymnastics, trapeze, pole-dancing, yoga, butoh & cheerleading all fit into that category, & I’ve done all of them (except cheerleading, but not for lack of wanting to!).

I have wanted to take up pole-dancing for an incredibly long time. A friend of mine, Nadia, upon hearing this, suggested that we go along together, but then said, “And then there’s the whole moral dimension – would a pole-dancing class actually be buying into what Ariel Levi calls ‘raunch culture?’”

I saw her the day after she made this comment & we discussed the ‘raunch culture’ thing a little bit. My take on it is this. People should do what they want to do, as long as it makes them happy, & doesn’t involve maiming anyone else. It might be a simple philosophy, but it works for me. I think trying to constantly revolt against one agenda or another is very tiring & counter-productive. I don’t feel like I need to make a strong statement against the patriarchy by refusing to bake, if baking brings me pleasure. If I had a husband who expected me to be chained to the oven, making cakes & birthin’ babies, yes, I’d be doing something about it, but that’s not the life I live.

It might be a bit simplistic, but I think being happy is a pretty strong political statement.

Thoughts? (& anyone who’s given pole-dancing a go, let us know whether it works for you!)

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Gala's International Dress Up Day #006 Video!

[ 22 July 2007, 13:19 ]

When I was young, I wanted to be a chocolate tester. I think we can blame Roald Dahl (my hero) for that — Charlie & The Chocolate Factory was a major book for me.

These days, I don’t have the stamina to totally gorge myself. Just eating that one chocolate made me feel ill! It’s one of the sad truths of getting old, haha!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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I Love Victoria Beckham!

[ 18 July 2007, 11:59 ]

She’s like a hot fashion robot from the future! “MAJOR!”

I didn’t really know anything about her until I watched Victoria Beckham: Coming To America last night. (I never liked the Spice Girls so I kind of missed that boat!) I adore her personality — she’s warm, smart, positive & hilarious… definitely the brains behind the ‘Posh & Becks’ enterprise.

She gets a lot of flack from the media (& general public) about her body, which must be hard to deal with. Surely dealing with your inner critic is enough?! I know it is for me (& most of you, too).

Anyway, I wish her every success, I think she is brilliant. & I would love to go shoe shopping with her!

P.S. I love love love Milkfat!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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EFT

[ 27 June 2007, 13:19 ]

This is a follow-up to my article from yesterday, Eating Disorders. To receive the full benefit of this piece, please read & watch the videos in order!

What is EFT?

Gary Craig (founder) talking about how EFT works:

So, here’s my personal experience with EFT. My boyfriend discovered it online & started using it. I thought he was mental, but was like, oh, whatever, it’s his prerogative, he can do what he likes. He kept raving about it, though, & trying to get me to use it. At the time, I was convinced that I was going to be a negative, cynical person with mental health issues for the rest of my life. I was resigned to my fate. I didn’t like it, but I thought it made me unique, so whatever.

He kept going on about how great it was, so I buckled under the pressure! I decided to use it on something concrete, physical — something I couldn’t be fooled into thinking had worked if it hadn’t. I chose my asthma as a starting point. I had had asthma since I was about ten years old, & while it provided me with excellent excuses for getting out of physical education at school, it really bothered me. Every morning, I would walk up a hill to catch the bus to work, & every morning, like clockwork, my breathing would get shallow & I’d have to stop & use my inhaler. So I did a few ‘rounds’ of EFT, tapping on meridian points with a couple of fingers while stating the problem.

The next morning, I didn’t get asthma walking up the hill. Or the next morning. Or the next. Okay, I know you’re going to think I am yanking your chain, but I’m not. It truly, absolutely worked. I was AMAZED. I couldn’t believe it. I kept waiting for it to reverse, or stop working, but it didn’t. My asthma was just… gone. I decided to start using it on other things, like the fact that I had hayfever all the time, & that I was INSANELY allergic to cats. After doing this, I happened to go to a party where there was a cat. I was fine around him, but ducked into the bathroom to do a little bit more tapping to make sure I didn’t get allergic. & I didn’t. It worked like magic.

You know where this is going, huh? The next thing I decided to use it on was my eating disorder. It took a lot of convincing. My boyfriend got on my case about it. I didn’t really want to let go of it. For a long time, it had been my identity, it was who I was. I didn’t remember who I was without it. Isn’t that sad? I thought that without it, I would be boring, normal, happy — almost a dirty word to me at the time. So, my boyfriend convinced me to tap on the fact that I thought anorexia was my identity. I did a few rounds, saying, “Even though I believe anorexia is my identity, I deeply & completely love & forgive myself. Even though I think I will be boring without an eating disorder & I don’t know who I’ll be, I deeply & completely love & accept myself.” Afterwards, I took a deep breath, then exhaled. I looked at my boyfriend. “Eating disorders are ridiculous,” I said. “I want to get rid of it.”

I made a list of all the parts of my body I didn’t like. Face, arms, stomach, legs, feet, etc. I went into the bathroom, closed the door, looked at myself in the mirror & tapped through it. Every body part. “Even though I hate my legs & think they’re fat & disgusting, I deeply & completely love & accept myself. Even though I think my legs are the most revolting thing I’ve ever seen, I deeply & completely love & forgive myself.” & so on, for all of them. Then I decided to tap on the anorexia itself, looking at myself in the mirror as I did it. (I know this might seem unnecessarily epic or dramatic, but at the time it seemed like the right way to do it, & I would recommend it if you want to try it.) “Even though I have been denying myself food for years, because I don’t think I’m worth it & I think I’m too fat to deserve food, I deeply & completely love & accept myself…” I did a whole lot of rounds on this, maybe 10, because I REALLY wanted to make sure it was gone. I cried as I tapped, watching myself, feeling these emotions wash over my body. Afterwards, I took another deep breath & walked back into the living room.

“Well, I did it. Let’s see how it goes,” I told my boyfriend. He asked me how it was, & I started to tell him, & then all of a sudden, I felt really sick. I ran for the bathroom, & threw up multiple times. Maybe five or six times. It was so strange, I am convinced it was my body’s way of saying, “I want this eating disorder shit out of me NOW”.

Again, you probably think I am yanking your chain, but I’m not. It happened exactly like that. Since then, I haven’t had a problem with food. If ever I’m feeling bad about my body, I tap on it & the feeling goes away, & I feel great. Here’s an even stranger thing: since I tapped it all away, my body has changed. My body actually looks better now than it did when I was sick. More toned. I think carrying around all that resentment & hatred actually manifested itself physically in my body.

Okay, now watch this. (Hahahaha, worst still EVER!)

Other things about using EFT:
Be as specific as you possibly can. Don’t just tap on “even though I’m unhappy”, tap on “even though my boyfriend puts me down” or “even though my clothes don’t fit”, etc.
Be persistent! Keep going! Tap on anything negative you can think of. It’s quite a strange process, I often find that after I’ve released something, I forget what it was to begin with. It’s like it just drops right out of your body… so sometimes it feels like you haven’t made a lot of progress. You will make huge progress, though, so stick at it!
Drink water before & after you tap. Just like having a massage, tapping releases toxins into your body, & you need to flush them out.
It can be really tiring, so if you’re feeling exhausted, have a sleep as soon as you can.
If you’re feeling anxious about ANYTHING, just tap the karate chop point until you feel it subside. I do this all the time, & you can even do it walking around the city, especially if you have headphones on ;>
When you’re tapping on an issue, keep going around & around until you feel like the emotions have subsided.
You can seriously use it for anything. Hating yourself, insomnia, inability to concentrate, etc.
If you’re currently in counselling or doing other healing, try using EFT in conjunction with it, I am sure you will have amazing results.
Everyone I know who has seriously applied EFT to their problems has made HUGE progress, even the really cynical people.

EFT has completely changed my life, no exaggeration. I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. I’ve learned by now that if people don’t want help, you can’t do anything to make them better. If, however, you actually want to get better, do some experimenting with this & see how you go. & of course, if you have any questions, give me a yell!

Good luck!

Addendum: After writing this, I spoke to my friend Rod, who lives across the road from me & is an EFT practitioner. He’s been using EFT & helping other people for 8 years now… trust me when I say, the man is good!

I asked him whether he’d be interested in doing a little deal for readers of iCiNG, & he said yes! He’s offering a free half-hour telephone session to anyone who gets in touch with him via iCiNG! You can call him on Skype & it won’t cost you a penny!

If you’re interested in getting started with EFT but are a bit nervous, or if you’ve been using it for a while & feel stuck on an issue, having a trained professional to talk & tap it through with is really wonderful. I’ve done some work with him in the past & he’s a total pro.

You can email him here & see his website, Tap 4 Health for any additional information!

I hope you take him up on it, he’s FANTASTIC & has a cute Australian accent to boot!

Extra For Experts:
Using EFT for eating disorders
More EFT Information — another article I wrote on the subject, answering questions!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Grey Gardens

[ 12 June 2007, 13:25 ]

Yesterday, I finally watched Grey Gardens, a documentary about two eccentric women — mother & daughter — living in absolute squalor in East Hampton, New York. This wouldn’t be remarkable in & of itself if not for the fact that Big & Little Edie were the aunt & first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, & they lived in a dilapidated 28-room mansion. It is said that the Edies remained independent by selling off their Tiffany pieces one at a time.

Filmed in 1975, it is basically a series of vignettes depicting the women’s “everyday lives”. Little Edie wears a scarf over her head at all times, fastened with a huge brooch, & either a full fur coat or a swimsuit. Big Edie seems to do everything from bed, propped up against the wall in a huge sun hat, singing along to records she made in her youth. They argue constantly — Little Edie blames Big Edie for ruining her life, & Big Edie screeches about how she shouldn’t have to live alone. Little Edie feeds Big Edie cat food & calls it “pâté”. Wild racoons live in the attic (Little Edie leaves out loaves of Wonderbread & Purina cat chow for them to eat). When they don’t argue, they’re either sunbathing or eating ice-cream.

It is a truly bizarre movie but very aesthetically inspiring. While I wouldn’t actually want to do it, the fantasy of living in a crumbling mansion, eating ice-cream all day & swanning around in a full fur coat is quite appealing. Its influence is strong. Rufus Wainwright wrote a song called Grey Gardens on his album Poses, ZOOZOOM magazine shot a fashion editorial (which I LOVE) based around the movie (& Vogue has featured two as well), & Todd Oldham, John Bartlett, Marc Jacobs & Laurie Foon (NZ) have all cited the influence of Little Edie on their clothing designs. Drew Barrymore is playing Little Edie in a fictionalised adaptation of the documentary this year, & last year Grey Gardens hit Broadway in musical form.

“This is the best thing to wear for the day, you understand, because I don’t like women in skirts, & the best thing is to wear pantyhose or some pants under a short skirt I think, then you have the pants under the skirt, & then you pull the stockings up over the pants underneath the skirt, & you can always take off the skirt & use it as a cape, so I think this is the best costume for the day. ...I have to think these things up, you know? ...Mother wanted me to come out in a kimono so we had quite a fight.” — Little Edie

I have to wonder what made them both so weird. Was it the isolation? (They had practically no contact with the outside world for about 25 years.) Big Edie’s husband divorced her by telegram after running off with a Mexican woman, which could make anyone go a little mad. Did Little Edie end up that way too after prolonged exposure to her nutty mother?

Anyway, as I was watching it, I had an idea. I should have a Grey Gardens party! Everyone has to wear fake fur & heels & speak in an accent which sounds half-British & half-New York. Grey Gardens will play (with no sound) & we will listen to Chopin, drink gin cocktails & colour in pages from the Grey Gardens colouring book (for sale here, but does anyone know another way of obtaining it?). Ice-cream will, of course, be BYO, as will flea repellant. Want to come along?

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Gala's Kissing Boot-Camp

[ 1 June 2007, 10:47 ]

“Now, I was wondering, if, in the near future (or whenever future) you could help out some girls in the kissing department. I’m extremely inexperienced at kissing (going to a Catholic Girls Prep does that to you). Also, I’ve been plagued by recent nightmares of being told by my guy that I kiss like a fish. Please, help me Gala with your wisdom!”

Anyone who says something like that to you isn’t worth your time, honeypie! Give him the boot & then use my tips on your next boyfriend! ;D

The best thing about kissing is that it’s a lot of fun, & you will get better with practice. First of all, you need Kissable Lips — click that for information on scrubs, lip balms, glosses & lipsticks, as well as product recommendations & tricks! Anyway, it is my firm belief that the best kisses are a combination of things: soft lips, small amounts of tongue, good reactions & very little saliva!

Lips
For me, it is mostly about the lips. Some people have hard little mouths, you know, from years of anger or grimacing, & it’s totally unappealing. If you can learn to relax your mouth, you will go far. If this is difficult for you, just imagine that a bee has stung the hell out of your mouth & let it slacken that way.

Tongue
It drives me crazy (& not in a good way!) when someone comes in to kiss you with their tongue straight away. I think you have to work up to that, unless it’s already an insanely passionate moment. Too much tongue is a major moodkiller for me. Also, keep your tongue supple & soft. It’s tricky, because there is a fine line between having a stiff, pointy tongue (ew! It’s like a medical examination!) & having one that lies flat in the other person’s mouth, like a omelette that failed. Ewwwwww. Keep it soft & pliable.

Reactions
It is hard to explain exactly how to kiss someone, since because it’s an activity that requires a partner, what you do will depend on what the other person is doing. Basically, you want to respond in a way that coordinates with what they’re doing. This doesn’t mean do the same thing, or even the opposite, but just try to work with them as much as possible. If, say, they’re nibbling your bottom lip, don’t try & chew on their bottom lip at the same time, it won’t work! Maybe try licking their upper lip while they do this, for example.

Saliva
How much is too much? If you have to ask, you’re probably using too much. No one wants to feel like they’re on Splash Mountain when they’re kissing you! On the flipside, a dry mouth is very unappealing. Wetting your lips quickly with your tongue is best to start with.

Places & positions
I’m quite small so I like to crawl into people’s laps & sit opposite them. This way they are TRAPPED & can’t escape until my lips are satisfied! I am sneaky like that. My first kiss was in a very weird position, I was lying on my back with my head in my boyfriend’s lap & he leaned over & kissed me, so we were kind of… upside down. It was strange! I like to pass the time by kissing in elevators. I also think it’s pretty great to kiss in a weird place, like on a fire escape, in a playground, in the back seat of a car or up a tree, but everyone is different!

“When I kiss ya, ya stay kissed!”

Men
You will do best, in my opinion, if you think like a woman while kissing — soft, delicate & sexy. You can prove your manliness all over the place but not when you’re kissing someone! Additionally, if you think you might be getting some action, please shave your face! Stubble hurts, you know.

Additional tips:
Mouths aren’t the only places you can kiss someone. Try kissing their earlobes (but hold back on the heavy breathing!), their neck or shoulders. (I like rubbing noses sometimes, it’s very intimate & a good precursor to kissing.)
Try (gently) licking the corners of your lover’s mouth. Super-hot.
Kissing is a sloooow activity. It is not a race or a chore! Take your time, enjoy it, be gentle with one another.
You’re in control! If you start to feel uncomfortable or you want to stop, just do it. You are under no obligation to go any further than you already have.
Remember to breathe. Fainting is kind of sexy in the movies, but in real life, not so much.
Move your arms! You can stroke their hair, the sides of their face, their back, their arms or even their booty! Moving your arms will show that you’re really interested & into it. If you don’t move them, the kiss will be more awkward.
Try not to bump teeth. If it happens, just forget about it & move on. The more kissing you do, the more aware of your mouth you will become & soon that problem will be one of the past.
Close your eyes. Or don’t. It is all personal preference… I get freaked out if someone is looking at me while I’m kissing them, but that’s just me.
Move your tongue gently, stroke it against theirs & run it along their lips. Try not to swirl it like a washing machine, or jab it in & out.
Be proactive! Be involved & interested & an active participant.

Questions & Answers
Q: I have a big nose. I don’t want to stab my girlfriend in the eye by mistake. Whatever shall I do?
A: Tilt your head! She will probably tilt hers too, in the opposite direction, & it will all work out brilliantly.

Q: I have a really short tongue & I don’t think it will reach into someone else’s mouth!
A: Hey, me too! What a coincidence. It’s not the end of the world. You might just have to work it a little differently to other people. Practice, baby!

Q: What are the rules on eating garlic/onions/curry/haggis before a smoochfest?
A: Generally avoid it, unless your beloved has partaken of the smelly foods too. Two people with garlic-breath probably won’t even notice it in the other person. (Plus, it’s good protection against vampires.)

Extra For Experts:
“How To Kiss Someone Passionately”
Girls kissing
Emo boys kissing (It’s a fan video or something, so weird)
This looks like an alien life-form but I guess it’s informative, kind of?!
How To Kiss A Woman with lots of fear-inducing anecdotes!
Insanely cute sex writer Violet Blue has this to say on more intimate types of kissing… NSFW!

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A Fat Rant

[ 15 May 2007, 14:13 ]

I like this. It’s by Joy Nash.

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Jem & The Holograms

[ 20 April 2007, 14:06 ]

Usually I would never do this… but it totally brightened my day. I present to you: Jem & The Holograms versus Le Tigre!

Jem was my childhood hero. (Pink hair ringing any bells?)

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Threadbanger

[ 17 April 2007, 11:00 ]

Threadbanger is a website which looks set to be a network of fashion shows. What a great idea!

Thread Heads is their first show & it’s all about fashion & the DIY ethic. I found out about it because — blush — they featured me in their most recent show! They also profile the lovely Tricia of Bits & Bobbins & Miss Mala Prop!

I’m totally flattered & I really like their presenting style. It’s energetic, quirky & diverse. Bookmark them for your regular fashion fix!

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Vlog 008

[ 25 March 2007, 12:24 ]

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Possible Style Icons

[ 24 March 2007, 12:44 ]

I’m not 100% sure on either of these girls yet, but I think they have definite potential.

I have a soft spot for Amy Winehouse because she was born a day after me, in the same year! I put a lot of stock in weird things like that.

I also like her because she has great pin-up tattoos, massive hair, dramatic eye makeup & absolute tons of talent. She seems a bit messed up but that’s okay, aren’t we all to some degree? She also provides great soundbites:

At around age 10, Winehouse founded a short-lived amateur rap group called Sweet ‘n’ Sour, as Sour. She described the group as “the little white Jewish Salt ‘n’ Pepa”.

Winehouse has a number of “old school” tattoos of naked women on her body. When asked about them, she was quoted as saying “I like pin-up girls. I’m more of a boy than a girl. I’m not a lesbian, though — not before a sambuca anyway.”

I know Kelly doesn’t get it right all the time. Sometimes her Frankenstein-esque makeup scares even me. But you have to hand it to her for trying. I think she’s great, actually — she is honest about who she is & she manages to pull off a lot of different looks with considerable aplomb. She’s super-cute & very stylish.

I think she has come from a distinct disadvantage: while her family is wealthy, her father (Ozzy) & mother (Sharon) are hardly paragons of class or dignity. Of course, sometimes she says stupid things on camera or gives the appearance of being despicable — but if you point a camera at most 20 year olds, you are going to get similar results. It also looks like she struggles with her weight a bit, & of course the press absolutely crucifies her for it, which has to be hard. I think she’s pretty cool, & she gets older she’s definitely improving, style-wise.

Who’s on your style radar?

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Vlog 007

[ 8 March 2007, 01:24 ]

The Rooftop Cinema had a showing of The Royal Tenenbaums tonight… so I dressed up as Margot & went along. (I did my best, I don’t own a tennis dress.)

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How To Tie A Turban

[ 27 February 2007, 13:50 ]

I just had a couple of requests for instructions on how to tie a turban, so I made you a video!

See also:

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iCiNG Presents: Nicole Jenkins of Circa Vintage

[ 20 February 2007, 12:33 ]

I recently made the acquaintance of Miss Jenkins, who runs the incredible Circa vintage clothing store in Fitzroy, Melbourne. I consider it to be just my luck that I happened to stumble across such a wonderful woman who possesses so much knowledge! I asked her if she wouldn’t mind sharing some of what she knows about vintage clothing, & so on Monday we filmed this.

This is such a great video, really dense with information & I am so pleased that Nicole was willing to take time out of her day off & talk about vintage for me! Seriously, there is so much packed into these 7 minutes!

Nicole covers:
What to look for when buying vintage — fabrics & flaws
How to care for your vintage clothing
How to incorporate vintage items into your “modern” wardrobe
& a whole lot more.

Isn’t she lovely?! (As Stevie Wonder would say.) It makes me smile just to watch her!

Hope you enjoy it, & thank you so much Nicole!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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International Dress-Up Day #001

[ 18 February 2007, 16:29 ]

The theme was “dress as your favourite song”. I had so much fun! I dressed up as a love casualty, based on Atmosphere’s song “Pour Me Another”.

If you have any pictures of you dressed up, email them to me with as much information about your outfit & the theme as you can & I will post them here!

Outfit:

Heart-shaped Lolita sunglasses
Pink headscarf
Black with pink polka-dots pseudo-corset top
Black skirt
Black socks
Platform New Rocks with heart shoelaces
Bandage on one wrist
Handcuffs on the other
Bandage around knee
Bandage on my tattoo
Bling heart necklace
Hipflask (engraved, says “Gala In The Funeral Parlour”)

All she wanted was a little bit of solid
Feels like love, it doesn’t matter what you call it
Heal those cuts or hide ‘em underneath the polish
Break another promise and take me as a hostage
Hold your job down & let the zombies crowd around
Thankin’ mommy’s god that it’s a cop’s town
Keep it safe for me while I chase a fantasy
Swerving through the galaxy, searching for a family
Happily surrounded by planets & stars
She was stuck uptown, you was landing on Mars
It’s all fucked up now, caught your hand in the jar
Another small step back for the man at the bar
Spill a little bit of blood on the street for love
That goes to those who know that they drink too much
& hold your own glass up to the heavens
Take a little time & try to count the seconds

It goes, pour me another, so I could forget you now
Pour me another, so I could come let you down
Pour me another, so I can remember how
True that I am to this addiction of you

Drink it all away, numb it down to none
Stay awake tonight & wait for the sun
You say you hate your life, you ain’t the only one
Let your frustration out the gate & watch the pony run
One double, for the hunger & the struggle
Two for the fool trying to pull apart the puzzle
Three now I smile while I wait for your rebuttal
By the fourth shot, I’m just another child in a bubble
Trying to play with the passion & the placement
Just to see what these people let him get away with
Still trying to climb a mountain for you
Hammer in my hand, still pounding on a screw
She don’t listen, so he don’t speak no more
Nobody’s winning ‘cause neither is keeping score
Don’t wanna think no more, just let me drink some more
Pour me another, cause I can still see the floor

Live life tipsy, still if it don’t fit right with me
Kiss me whiskey, lift my lips, press to my angel
Swallow it & leave her empty bottle on the table
Let the past fall, making faces at that clock on the back wall
Countdown to the last call, ask all these people that make sounds
“How long does it take for the pace to break down?”
Another lonely little trophy
If only I could walk a straight line, I’d make it home free
& everybody in this bar thinks they know me
& my story like “poor me” (yeah, pour me another homie)
I can count the days ‘til you come back
Or I can follow them sunrays down to the traintracks
I can stumble drunk over hope & love
Or I could keep drinking until I sober up

Bottles & pints & shots & cans
Couches & floors & drunk best friends
Models & whores & tattooed hands
Cities & secrets & cats & vans
Good times, laughter, bad decisions
Strippers & actors & average musicians
Mornings after, & walks of shame
The bartender knows me by my real name.

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Vlog 005

[ 12 February 2007, 18:59 ]

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Vlog 004

[ 8 February 2007, 16:13 ]

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Vlog 003

[ 22 January 2007, 15:45 ]

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Makeup Basics Part One -- Skincare

[ 21 January 2007, 23:27 ]

I recently received this email:

Being a guy I don’t usually wear makeup, but on occasion when going out I’ll throw some mascara on and maybe some nail polish. I like to be exuberant at times and was thinking of getting some eye shadow too. But in honesty I know next to nothing about the basics of makeup. Can you enlighten me?

Dear Soon-To-Be-Enlightened,

This is a pretty big topic, so I’ve broken it down into a few segments to make it easier to read & digest. This first section is on SKINCARE.

Just because you’re a man, your routine needn’t be any different from a woman’s, though I was once told about a marketing executive who made a mint by re-branding an exfoliating scrub as a “scruffing lotion” for men. Geez.

I heard a rumour a little while ago that Dave Navarro (of Jane’s Addiction & Red Hot Chilli Peppers fame) was bringing out a men’s cosmetic line, but according to his blog, it’s rubbish. A shame really, as the man surely knows his way around an eye pencil. Yes, sometimes he looks a bit like an evil magician, but he pulls it off. Rest assured, he’s not the only one dabbing on the old war-paint!! Apparently U.S. sales of men’s skincare products rose 13 percent in 2004, to $59 million (from here). Another man who wears make-up with finesse is David Bowie… but don’t tell Michael Douglas. (Shame he’s so judgmental, he was hot the year I was born.)

Now, please listen, as this is crucial: Applying make-up is like painting a canvas — you have to prepare the surface you’re working on! If you don’t do this, it doesn’t matter how dexterous you are or how many brushes you own, it will still look bad.

Click below for an iCiNG exclusive video on skincare — I go through my skincare routine & explain how it works, & I’m followed up by Siân of Lush Cosmetics talking about some products for men. (If you’re reading this in an RSS reader, you will need to come through to my website to see the video!)

Here are the key points to remember:

Assess your skin type. If you’re not sure, you can use the following chart. The amount of ticks you get in each row indicates how likely it is that you are that skin type.

Once you know your skin type, you can go on a crusade to find the best products for your face. One thing I learned from managing a Lush Cosmetics store for so long is that when you ask most people what their skin type is, they will reply “sensitive”. About 8/10 people do this. The fact is, your skin actually isn’t that sensitive — it’s just that most skincare products are saturated with alcohol & chemicals! No wonder you’re in pain, red & blotchy or exploding like fireworks!

A basic skincare routine consists of a cleanser, a toner & a moisturiser. Depending on your needs, you might want to spring for a neck cream & an eye cream too. An eye cream is important because the skin around your eyes is far more delicate than anywhere else on your body, & once you start to get wrinkles there, reversing them is a lot of work. A neck cream is a good idea primarily because it is one of the first places to show age, along with the back of your hands — neck cream & sunscreen on your hands are your best defence.

The cleanser’s purpose is to clean your face. You can use something gentle, or you can choose something with a bit of scrub in it. Some people alternate between both. I use Angels On Bare Skin by Lush — it gives me a gentle scrub which I use every day. The “scrubbiness” in Angels On Bare Skin comes from the ground almond they use. It’s a beautiful product, I have never met anyone who didn’t love it. It’s also good for all skin types. The best thing about it is the large amount of lavender oil used — lavender is a fantastic oil for the face as it helps to balance sebum production, meaning that if you’re too oily, it’ll dry you out a bit, & conversely, if you’re a bit dry it will give you the oil you need.

Toning is the second step in the process. It’ll remove any last traces of cleanser, get rid of excess oil & typically soften your face a bit in preparation for moisturiser. I never used to use it, but I find that my face feels much smoother & cleaner when I do.

Moisturiser is probably the most important part of your skincare routine. One common misconception is that people with oily skin shouldn’t use moisturiser — this is complete hogwash. Everyone needs a certain level of moisture for their skin to function at its best, including those of us with oily skin. Some people use a different moisturiser at night, but this is optional & something to think about later. You should avoid putting moisturiser around your eyes, as the skin there is much more delicate than anywhere else.

A lot of people don’t understand this part, especially men: Using soap on your face is not acceptable, unless it is made specifically for that purpose! Body soap is typically made of quite harsh ingredients & after a few years, it will show! Put the soap down or I will come bursting into your bathroom in a rage!

Your best weapon in terms of divining a routine is to consult with knowledgeable salespeople. You can go to a department store & tour around the counters, or you could try The Body Shop, L’Occitane, Origins or Lush. I am a huge Lush advocate because when I worked there, I really saw the products work miracles on people… but it is entirely up to you. For men, there are some companies which do specific men’s ranges like Nivea, Clinique, etc. Walk around the counters, talk to the staff, get their opinion. Be prepared to spend some time asking questions & listening to what they have to say. If you can, take as many samples as they offer. Otherwise you could arrive home with hundreds of dollars worth of product that is completely wrong for you.

When you start using products on your skin, observe how your skin behaves for three weeks. Sometimes what you’re using just doesn’t agree with you, & it can take up to three weeks for it to show. I received some make-up remover from Napoleon Perdis for Christmas, & was happily using it for a couple of weeks, when all of a sudden, my skin threw a tantrum. Given the make-up remover was the only new thing in my routine, & there had been no changes in my diet or stress level, I had to stop using it. It’s a shame, because I liked it.

I hope this was helpful! Coming soon are parts two & three of this series — make-up application & choosing colours that suit your skintone. Stay tuned!

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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[ 10 January 2007, 19:21 ]

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Vlog 001

[ 30 December 2006, 19:04 ]

Love letters & feather headdresses,

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