Sunny days in London

The month of February brought an unusual and welcome guest to London: the sun!!

All of a sudden, the cold did not matter so much and I felt like those lucky New Yorkers with their winter bright skies. For about 2 weeks London was just perfect (well, almost: transport was still as chaotic as usual)!

Don't believe me? As sure as my camera is my witness, I swear...

Picspam: 2008 Red Carpet Face Off

Better late than never. I may have missed Sunday's red carpet reports but - as Lady Catherine de Bourgh would say - "I simply must have my share of this conversation". I am, after all, a big party frock enthusiast!

You Go Gal!

A common theme in the red carpet this year seemed to be relative newcomers stealing the fashion thunder of more established A-list actresses - check this out:

Katherine Heigl - The Knocked Up star was a knockout in red. This Escada dress was - in my opinion - not only the best of the red squad (I counted at least 5 ladies in red), it was the best of the whole evening. A wonderful one shoulder + elegant sweep combo.


Admittedly, I would not wear this Galliano dress in a million years but Oscar winner Diablo Cody looked amazing in it. And what a great idea to accessorize this bad girl gown with a big tattoo à la Brody Dalle. Much better than borrowed diamonds.

A controversial choice: Some considered it bland but I loved Zellweger's nod to vintage Hollywood in this sparkly Carolina Herrera. So glamorous! But I would have loved it even more had it been worn by a pale skinned brunette (I'm thinking ultimate glamour queen Dita Von Teese).

Must Try Harder

Marion Cotillard - I have nothing against the mermaid theme at the bottom but not keen on the foamy effect at the bust level. It looks like it's been finished off with whipped cream...

Penelope Cruz - She was one of my favorites last year, but now only one thing springs to mind with this Chanel: kangaroo pouch!

Heidi Klum is this year's winner of the "This dress is larger than life" award. Past winners include Charlize Theron (2006) and Nicole Kidman (2007).

And finally, Tim Burton and wife Helena Bonham Carter looking half eccentric, half drab as usual. No, wait... it's Day-Lewis and his missus, oh dear!!

Source: www.oscar.com

Othello: Ewan has really come a long way round

I had seen other high brow Shakespeare adaptations before (most memorably, Ralph Fiennes in Richard II and the wonderful Ben Daniels in As You Like it) but I think Michael Grandage's intimate staging of Othello, which mr. R and I were lucky enough to catch last weekend, raises the bar for theatrical greatness.

One of the Donmar Warehouse's biggest assets, other than its artistic director (Michael Grandage), is the pocket size space: with limited seating and a tiny stage one is drawn into the drama, not as spectator, but as an eyewitness... because you cannot physically distance yourself from the play you also get emotionally closer to it than in a conventional theatre (which makes me think: what a shame that the Donmar will be staging Twelfth Night and Hamlet at a much bigger venue!!). Add to that a strong cast, dramatic sound effects plus a few clever props to evoke Venice (a very interesting water feature replicating the canals and sewers) and later Cyprus (Turkish motifs, sun light pouring through the windows) and you have an Othello as poignant as it gets.

Some critics maintain that Ewan McGregor is miscast (probably the same ones who criticized Ewan's delicious all singing, all dancing Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls) but I thought his Iago was spot on. If at first you cannot get the full dimension of his evil mind (and why would everyone trust Iago so blindly if he did not seem genuinely nice?), once he starts laboring the ugly beast of his revenge you really hate him! And yet you cannot help but empathize when Ewan shows Iago's obsession with Desdemona. He looks at her suggestively, he softly touches her. She is like a precious object he can never have... and how that plagues him! But here's just one of the myriad reasons he hates Othello so much.

When compared to Chiwetel Ejiofor's Othello there is no doubt Ewan's Iago is (and has to be!) a more subtle characterization. You get immediately taken with Chiwetel, he has enormous range and his diction of the Shakespearean verse is beautiful. His delivery of the text is so musical it is almost an operatic experience! Throughout you really feel this guy's pain, all his self doubt. The scene where he smothers the poor Desdemona was bone chilling. Same when he discovers the truth about Iago.

The all strong cast drew loud cheers from an adoring crowd. Given all the hype (ie. likeable Ewan playing a baddie!), the production is entirely sold out, but a limited number of day tickets are up for grabs. It's worth joining the queue!!

And Now For Something Completely Different

For the first posting of the year, Mr. R. volunteered to write a few words. And so we kick off 2008 through this e-portal to the world, making abstraction for just a few moments of my usual family of artistic, poetic, aesthetic, idyllic, balletic, operatic, symphonic, performatic, mystic, erratic, in short, epicurean wonders – So, without any further ado:

Reflections on “e-Beingness and e-Otherness”

As the year winds down; the wheel stops spinning for a few moments, we catch-up on sleep, reading, viewing our collection of movies, writing fragments of thoughts; all these delights cohabiting with the tediousness of tax returns and other administrative trivia and, and, and, and.

"We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression that we exist?"
S. Beckett, Waiting for Godot [exchange between Estragon & Vladimir]

Until the domino effects of the credit crunch forces our employers to “inflict” freedom and Contingency on us; cowardly one may continue pursuing the predictable (yet fickle) corporate ladder. Taking part in the 24/7 corporate stage play unfolding in offices, Eurostar and airports, permanently connected by the Blackberry implants (or rather, “Crackberry”), these e-fragments and e-trails are nothing more than our Synthetic corporate e-identities. A virtual irreality stage, driven by perceived necessity (à la Sisyphus).

Outside of our work environment, communication can also remain Synthetic. When these friendly excursions into apparent existence extend beyond any individualist framework, we interface with the “Other”. Nowadays, through our “electronic footprints … and e-litter” (thank you Google, Facebook, MySpace, Second Life... our Big Brothers), it is easy to find electronic fragments of amiable “Others”. Such Synthetic exchanges, including through our daily e-mails or even Blogs, give us a virtual “e-Contact”, however parsimonious, a refuge nonetheless for one’s craving for some form of friendly connectivity.

While our toil, and simply modern times, affords one the wonders of technology, and provides us with immediacy, accessibility and the varnish of sympathetic “e-Contact”; it often lacks the Intuition… or Contingency (element of chance, spontaneity, the fall of the dice versus necessity or pre-determination).

Authenticity, Contingency: frameworks so dear to our existentialist and phenomenological masters (think Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre…) or as illustrated in literature or movie, from Lewis Carroll’s Alice falling down a rabbit-hole to Alain Resnais’ Smoking/No Smoking (which incidentally was based on Ayckbourn’s Intimate Exchanges); not forgetting most of Buñuel’s work; Kieslowski’s intuitive Double vie de Véronique or Three Colours trilogy; and even Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise.

So as I reflect on the threat of the virtual fragments of e-Beingness, e-Otherness and Waiting for Godot; what might the solution be to reconcile one with Authenticity, Contingency and Intuition?

Do we need to undertake a radical rupture with the corporate world as advocated by Tom Hodginkson in How to be free? Is it just a question of reminding oneself of every moment’s infinite possibilities, in the maelstrom of 24/7 conference calls, Blackberrying, permanent business travel and meetings? How, within the confines of the spatio-temporal continuum, can we refrain from transferring our relationships with family and friends to the sphere of e-mails, Facebook, Blogs, e-Etc?

I have no answers… but a good start is to try focusing on the following challenge, and hopefully this will be a catalyst for more authentic connectivity with dear ones, reconciled with intuitive Beingness:

“… for a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one…” - Souza

Matthew Williamson at the Design Museum

Here are some pictures taken by my fashion enthusiast friend Ciça at the fabulous Matthew Williamson exhibition at the Design Museum. Those who still want to catch this one should hurry (on until 31 January 2008 only)!

Some of Matthew's psychedelic patterns...

... and the final product:

Wallpaper-inspired "De Gournay" dresses:

Hunting for vintage treasures in London

While the masses fight the winter sales war on London's high streets (even the very civilized Liberty was yesterday under ferocious attack of bargain hunters, the horror!) the lucky few dedicated followers of vintage can still have a pleasant and relaxing shopping experience. Directly from my little black book, here's how:

Central & Chic:

There are some vintage hubs in the the vicinities of Soho (i.e. Kingly Court in Carnaby Street) and Covent Garden (Endell Street, Monmouth Street, etc.) and part of the fun is to stumble upon them. Below are just a few names:

Twinkled

Rokit

Beyond Retro (one of the best in London in terms of variety and wow factor)

Go West for Westwood:

The below Notting Hill boutiques are focused on labels (Vivienne Westwood, Pucci, Biba, etc.) and can seriously damage your wallet. But for those who must:

Rellik

Appleby

Virginia

Fulham Fancies:

If you are looking for something unusual, these are worth the detour to South West London :

Birgit Israel (lovely boutique where hand picked vintage pieces share the racks with original modern designs - be warned: prices can be steep!)

Circa Vintage

Markets mix:

From antique/period pieces to "Camden indie" style (see Delta of Venus):

Vintage Modes

The Girl Can't Help It (Sparkle Moore)

Dolly Diamond

Delta of Venus

Vintage finder service:

Palette

And last but not least:

If your approach to vintage is rather like Pretty in Pink's Andie Walsh (remember her re-styled, very cool prom dress?) then this post on fab fashion blog Style Bubble may come in handy.

Coming soon: BBC's Sense and Sensibility

Another good reason to stay home in the UK during the holiday season: the BBC unveils on the first of January 2008 at 9.10 pm its new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.

I am trying not to get my hopes up since this week's Time Out called it a weak effort in contrast with the 1995 Ang Lee/Emma Thompson version but the "short and sweet" preview below looks enticing.

Ultimately for me it all depends on how they flesh out (literally!) Colonel Brandon's repressed passion for Marianne Dashwood. I 'd like to see underdog Brandon get more screen time now that we have the luxury of 3 chapters. We shall soon find out...

Lookie here too: Sense and Sensibility BBC website