Mutant Enemy Company: As seen at the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

David E. Kelly: As seen at the end of Ally McBeal

The Bedford Falls Company: As seen at the end of My So Called Life

Click to press play

Filed under: music Tagged: R.E.M, shower song, Stand ]]> http://charminglilytusk.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/friday-shower-song/feed/ 0 charminglilytusk rem-stand http://charminglilytusk.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/winter-olympics/ http://charminglilytusk.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/winter-olympics/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:09:25 +0000 charminglilytusk http://charminglilytusk.wordpress.com/?p=250 ]]> I became hooked on the Winter Olympics this year and nervously spent the past couple of weekends snuggling under a duvet while watching all the action from the crazy boardercross to the more refined figure skating.  There seemed to be a really good vibe from the event which was held in Vancouver this year.  I’ll be sad to see it go and will miss Ed Leigh’s commentating so here’s my winter highlights from the event:

Amy Williams winning gold in the women's skeleton

Shaun White and his Double McTwist 1260 winning performance on the half pipe. Shout out also to Japan's Kazuhiro Kokubo, I really like his laid back boarding style.

All the action from the snowboard cross and ski cross events. I don't know how they keep their nerve, nail biting stuff.

Johnny Weir's free program which deserved to score much higher.

Yu-Na Kim's effortless performances that not only won her the gold but also set two new world records with her scores in the short and free program.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: border cross, ed leigh, figure skating, johnny weir, shaun white, ski cross, winter olympics, yu-na kim ]]> http://charminglilytusk.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/winter-olympics/feed/ 0 charminglilytusk Amy_Williams Shaun White ski-cross johnny_weir kim-yu-na http://charminglilytusk.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/dances-with-avatars/ http://charminglilytusk.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/dances-with-avatars/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:46:37 +0000 charminglilytusk http://charminglilytusk.wordpress.com/?p=228 ]]> *contains plot spoilers*

I eventually got round to seeing Avatar last night at the Glasgow IMAX.  After the disappointment of watching UP in 3D I was hoping to experience what 3D can really achieve.

Plot: Where to start…well the first 10 minutes is story telling for dummies.  Jake Sully, an ex-marine, is drafted into the avatar programme after his brother, a scientist, is killed.  Luckily for the programme Jake and his brother were twins meaning Jake can take his brothers place as an avatar operator.  Handy that.  There is then an overly long scene with Giovanni Ribisi ,or Phoebe’s brother as I like to refer to him or Corey from My Two Dads (how great was that show).

Anyway Giovanni plays Parker, the Chief of the mining company looking to extract a valuable mineral in the exact location of where a clan of natives known as Na’vi live.  The company has developed avatars in the form of Na’vis in the hope that they can forge relationships with the natives and persuade them to give up their land in return.   The rookie avatar operator Jake ends up lost on a research trip and is saved by Neytiri the daughter of the clans leaders.  The clan agree to teach him their ways in the hope that he will better understand them (or to ensure the film can run for at least another 2 hours). The rest of the film was just like watching a futuristic remake of “Dances with Wolves” all it needed was a cameo with Kevin Costner.  It certainly had the length right.  For those of you not familiar with the Dances with Wolves plot line – army guy ends up be taken in by the local Sioux tribe sees that their ways are better, due to their mutual respect of the Mother Nature, and joins their fight to save them from the “white men” cue the rest of Avatar.

After some intensive research (search words – avatar dances with wolves?) I came to find that I’m not the only person out there to think this.

Great minds!

Visually the film is impressive and at points you really feel part of the film scenes.  The landscapes are stunning and colours used in the Pandora scenes keep you mesmerized however I couldn’t help but feel frustrated as i left the film.  Maybe it was the subject matter of man yet again desecrating another poor race and mother nature in the name of greed or maybe it was because of lines like “Ha, ha! Yeah, come on! Show what you’ve got! Oh yeah, who’s bad? That’s right. Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about bitch.”.

After all that, I can only say that if you are going to watch Avatar then make sure you watch it as the director intended which is in 3D at an IMAX cinema. Otherwise stick on some blue tinted glasses and watch Dances with Wolves in the comfort of your own home.

Anthony & the Johnsons - Edinburgh Playhouse

Florenence & the Machine - Oran Mor, Glasgow

Bat for Lashes - QMU, Glasgow

Efterklang - Oran Mor, Glasgow

Ladyhawke - QMU, Glasgow

Top 5 Albums

It's a Blitz - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Two Suns - Bat for Lashes

Fever Ray - Fever Ray

xx - The xx

Lungs - Florence & the Machine

Top 5 Films (I rarely go to the cinema these days.  I prefer to watch films on my own “big screen” so these are my top Lovefilm DVD viewings of 2009)

WALL-E

Planet Terror

La Vie En Rose

Priceless

The Lives of Others

If you think there is a song missing that should be included let me know!

The Glasgow Film Theatre recently screened Beyond Biba by Louis Price followed by a Q&A with the star of the film and the director.  The film follows Barbara Hulanicki as she recounts her story from growing up in Poland, the creation of Biba to her present day career as an interior designer.

Biba began in the 1960′s by Barbara Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon.  In its day, Biba was the first innovative and affordable “high street” fashion store catering to the youth of London.  Inspiration was taken from Art Deco, Art Nouveau and The Golden Age of Hollywood and as much creativity and thought went into the shop design as it did the clothing.  In 1974 they opened Big Biba, a seven-storey department store in Kensington High Street.  Each floor had its own theme and the store attracted up to a million customers a week.  Unfortunately, due to creative differences with the corporate backers Hulanicki and Fitz-Simon left the store in 1975 and shortly after the store closed.

Although Hulanicki will forever be synonymous with Biba the film does highlight her other creative ventures.  In 1987, Hulanicki moved to Miami and began a successful interior design business where she has helped to regenerate the wonderful Art Deco District with her distinctive style.  The film also showcases her illustrative talents as she prepares for an exhibition of her work in London (Hulanicki originally started out as a fashion illustrator for various newspapers and magazines).   I am sure that her approach has inspired many of today’s fashion illustrators.

During the Q&A, Hulanicki came across as very personable and it was obvious, as it was through the film, the significant role that her husband played in her life.  She did surprise the audience at one point when asked what high street shop she thought was doing what Biba did in the 60′s by saying Primark.  Maybe not the answer that the audience (or myself) were expecting but I can see certain comparisons (both known for selling affordable and fashionable clothing).

As the title implies, Beyond Biba is not only for those interested in fashion and design but also for those interested in life stories.  The DVD is due out this month and further information about the film can be found here.

I’m always on the look out for green products and was rather excited when I came across Patently Obvious.  They are a UK based company who produce hand washes, hand foamers, shower gels and hand sanitisers using biodegradable formulas and 100% recycled bottles.  I have to admit it was the bottle design of the Mint and Lime hand wash that first caught my attention.  Based on old school science lab equipment the hand wash sits perfectly on my glass bathroom shelf.

Although their products do still contain some synthetics they are working towards removing these and it is refreshing to see a company acknowledge this.

I will definitely be trying out their other products and hope that there is more to come.

As the skirt had an elastic waist band I opted for a bandaeu summer dress (also the quickest option as I decided to make it on the day).  The biggest problem I found was trying to do fittings on myself so I opted not to do darts and instead shaped the dress to frame.  To finish I teamed the dress with a pink elastic belt and silver pumps.

PS. Not sure why I look so glum when the sun is shining!