OFF TOPIC: Lip Balms

NEW SEGMENT: Off topic, it's self explanatory. They're pretty much topics that are not part of the art/entertainment world.

According to this article, lip balms are actually unnecessary unless you're out in the sun for a long time. So why do I still find the need to constantly apply them every ten minutes? Is this another addiction, my God I have so many already.

In fact, some people believe that lip balm is a serious addiction and many anonymous groups have cropped up on the net to deal with the issue. LOL. ( I shouldn't be laughing I'm probably the next one to sign up).

Is it the taste, the smell or just a daily habit that I've been accustomed to? Whatever it is, I'm not looking to stop anytime soon. But I am considering cheating with my long-term balm, Chapstick, and have an affair with Burt's Bees. It's made from beeswax and all-natural products are so hot right now. Sorry Chapstick.

Photo Links: 1 and 2

Pop Music Will Never Be Lowbrow

My Lady Gaga obsession continues, thanks to this new video: an intro for her song The Fame with a Warhol twist.



I love her voice, its so sexy.
I want the FAAAAMMMEE.

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Atonement by Ian McEwan

It's indicative of a truly talented author, when you find yourself going back and re-reading their satisfying, well-written sentences.
I love the way he constructs them, he describes things in a way that alter your perspective, not only towards the thing that he's describing but also towards the idea of how things should be described.
I wouldn't call this a page turner, since it took me a long time to finish. But it's one of those rare books that you try to relish every single word, and in some magical way, make me as a reader feel scared to end up in the last page. I don't want it to end.
I'm not talking about the overall narrative, I actually wanted that to come to a close, but I don't want the experience to come to an end.

The characters are drawn so well that you as the reader feel like God and understand who these people really are in a level that no other human being can ever know another. McEwan gives you a very transparent view into the innermost corners of these characters' minds and it's such a pleasure to have read this incredible novel.

The Beauty of Movie Marketing: Posters and Titles

They say never judge a book by its cover..but they don't say the same thing about a film. So being the judgemental person that I am, there are times when I'm put off seeing a film purely because:

1) They have a generic title, or use really fugly words. E.g. Duplicity, Whatever Works, The Proposal, Changeling, The Hurt Locker, Funny People

See how uncreative and bland these examples are.

2) Their posters looks yuck. E.g. Whatever Works, Public Enemies, Bangkok Dangerous

I had to close my eyes when I walked past these foul displays. I'm not going to put them up on this post as I don't want to uglify it. I'll provide links.

POSTERS

Now, I'm going to give examples of how to actually attract the audience instead of repelling them. Here is a run-down of recently released posters that are so well designed, it convinced me that I need to see this movie. A wonderful fusion of art and advertisement.


Funny Games U.S.

Draws you in like a moth to a flame


Persepolis

Simple, yet bold.


The Girlfriend Experience

The art of graphic design, maximised

Anti-Christ

Disturbingly alluring, eye-catching and well executed

Burn After Reading

Great composition.  Beautiful typography.

Blindness

Clever arrangement of the title

The Strangers

Creepy. I was obsessed with this movie because of this poster (if only the movie lived up to its marketing).

Doubt

Clean yet striking

TITLES

The title of a movie also has an impact on whether I should see it. When I scan through the list of upcoming releases. There are movie titles that stand out so much that it triggers me to search it on IMDB, here are just a few:

Julie and Julia

Simple, yet strangely elegant. The use of an alliteration is clever too.

How to lose friends and alienate people

Long titles are my favourites. That's why I like Panic at the Disco. But initally, I thought this was a self-help book.

Anti-Christ

Controversy = Appealing
Thank You For Smoking

They forgot to put the "not"! OMG! Look it up on Google, now.... Oh. It was intentional. Gotcha.

Requiem for a Dream

Requiem is such a beautiful word, even though I have no clue as to what it means.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Not only gave you the title but also a brief plot synopsis, all in one. Nice.

Image links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

MUSIC PROFILE: Lady GaGa

I'm so sad I missed her concert in Sydney a few weeks ago. I heard about the Pussycat Dolls doing a concert (ignored this completely as I'm not a huge fan of them, even though they are super hot) but didn't know that Lady GaGa was guest starring!

Already being labeled as the new Madonna, Lady GaGa has taken the whole world by storm. And, I, too am sucked in.

All of her songs are torturingly catchy and uplifts me, whatever mood I'm in.

Her videos are so..umm.. cool. (I can't think of another adjective right now, Papparazzi is stuck in and consuming my head).

But is it just me or does she look a bit like Amy Winehouse? Like just a little bit.

Judging from one of my previous posts, you can pretty much tell that I have a love for outrageous lyrics and Lady GaGa does not disappoint. I've put her whole album on repeat on my iPod and is one of the few artists that is taking forever for me to get sick of, (usually happens after a couple of days) but I'm not complaining.

I don't know about everywhere else but there seems to be an exponential increase of poker playing here in Australia after Poker Face came out, so she obviously has a bit of culture influence too, a true trend-setter. I heart you, Lady GaGa

Photo links 1 and 2

RANDOM RANTS: Book to Film Adaptations

I'm just about to finish Frankenstein and have started reading Oil! by Upton Sinclair, the novel that the 2007 film There Will Be Blood was based on. To be honest, I only like reading books that have been adapted or will be adapted to films. I just love the experience of seeing what I've read come alive to the big screen, or vice versa, seeing a film put into words. I'm aiming to read as many novels as I can and hopefully be able to post some book reviews up and maybe do film/novel comparisons.

Still in my list of "to read" are:

Atonement by Ian McEwan. Considered to be a masterpiece (the novel, not the film)

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (this book is so frickin hard to get, all the copies in the libraries I've been to have them all loaned out)

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. At least I have faces to put on for the characters already, thank God for films.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lahane. Must finish this before the movie comes out!

Push by Sapphire (is this a pseudonym? I love people identified with only one name)

UPDATED: I've finished reading The Road and Atonement and both are ending up in my favourite books of all time. Cormac McCarthy and Ian McEwan are my new favourite authors, alongside Sonya Hartnett, of course. My review for Atonement: click here

RANDOM RANTS: How the Moleskine saved me

I was born in 1993. Computers were already around and I grew up with the convenience of the internet, mobile phone and IM. Everything and everyone were accessible anytime and anywhere. But along the way we lost our love for doing things on paper and everywhere you look everything is going digital. Books are turned into those iReads, letters are turned into emails, newspapers are slowly and sadly diminishing and the good old journals are now blogs.Before I met the Moleskine, I was in the bandwagon for digital, but that little black book, with beautiful yellowy paper and a simple, clean design, sparked my dormant paper fetish. And now I'm a Moleskine addict.

For those of you that don't know what I'm referring to, Moleskines are basically simple black notebooks with a luxurious edge. It comes in plain, lined, squared and a sketchbook, which has thicker paper to handle paints, watercolours, or whatever. They've become immensely popular and it's become the perfect companion and the perfect sidecick for any artist, writer or thinker.

What I love the most about these notebooks is the aesthetic satisfaction that you get from using them, they're so good to touch and acts as a source of inspiration as well.

The Moleskine was a blank canvas for my art, an empty page to fill my stories in and a surface where thoughts are transferred from my mind. They're slightly more expensive than the average notebook, which gives you more reason to treasure it but it's definitely well worth the cost.