Chain Smoking

We all know that smoking kills, but this mantra doesn't apply to robots (obviously).
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's smoking robot has twenty Teflon mouths puffing two packs and hour to analyze the compounds contained in all ciggie brands.

photo courtesy of gizmodo.

All Hail

The Best Stems (and bod) in the business!

Fashion Flyby

A few images that have caught my eye over the last little while, enjoy!
Claude Simonon as a young Elvis in Vogue Homme International.

Architectural footwear.

Daria in V64.

Baptiste Giabiconi as David Bowie for L'Officiel Hommes China

Atelier Versace 2010

Versace has always been favored by starlets striving to look slick and sexy on the red carpet. These two dresses from the 2010 couture collection are stunners.
The rest of the Atelier Versace collection as modeled by Kasia Struss...

Regular folk

So, after an interview (for the April 2010 cover story) with Gisele Bundchen, Joan Julia Buck-Vogue contributing editor-didn't have to worry about grabbing a cab on a dark, cold and rainy winter's evening. No, Tom Brady drove her back to her hotel.

Crazy About Conan

The rumors are TRUE! Conan's going on tour! YAY!
Mostly dates in the US but there are 3 Canadian dates-get tickets here.

My Best Dressed: Oscars 2009

Maggie G in Dries van Noten.

Despite the fact that I didn't want her to win-she did have the Best Speech of the night. One can't help but have a little bit of a girlcrush on Sandra Bullock-who also bucked the trend of strapless (with a pouffy or ruffles bottom half) and looked gorgeous in Marchesa. Hair and makeup were also on point.

I am so pleased the Hollywood chose honesty over hype this year. The Hurt Locker deserved best picture and Kathryn Bigelow deserved best director. The show, however, lacked some fun and panache. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were pretty funny but I missed Hugh Jackman. The way the show began was boring (bringing out the best actor nominees was dull) and the show should have started at 8pm instead of 830. Also, too many long vinegnettes and long introductions/montages that no one cares about-horror movies, explaining certain categories, showing a montage of scenes for best supporting actor/actress instead of one key scene...it all made the show drag.

Rachel McAdams in Ellie Saab couture

Meryl Streep in Chris March. She doesn't normally get it right but this simple and elegant tuxedo front dress was spot on and the terrific Ms Streep looked radiant.

After getting in right in red Valentino two years ago and getting it horribly wrong in some ugly wannabe prom outfit last year Miley Cyrus was a golden girl this year in Jenny Packham. One of the only strapless, with voluminous bottom dresses I actually liked. hair and makeup were elegant as well.

The Oscars What were you thinking award?! SJP, Zoe Saldana & Charlize Theron (really, swirly roses on your boobs, really?!)
The Oscars It could have been great award, except for: Cameron Diaz: lipstick, Tina Fey: hair, Carey Mulligan: the length of the front of the dress-should have been either shorter or longer.

thanks style.com for the photos

Lust

I want these boots. Actually, I want the entire Burberry Fall/Winter 2010 collection, especially these boots and the multitude of over-size collared, military-inspired jackets.
Too bad I don't have thousands of GBPs lying around to shop their pre-order selections, yes, that's right you can (for a limited time only) get Burberry Fall/Winter 2010 pieces straight off the runway.

Team Canada 2010

I watched last night and though I was bitterly disappointed with the result I maintain that Team Canada 2010 is a great team, well thought out and despite the ability to debate team selection I maintain that every player on the squad deserved a position. Last night's game was exciting and Canada was by far the better team (last half of the 1st period, most of the second period-up until the last few minutes and for bursts in the 3rd). Three consecutive penalties to end the 2nd and start the third, face-off tanning, two puck mis-handlings by Brodeur in the opening half of the game and the stellar play of Ryan Miller (which was to be expected and could have been overcome had it not been for the three things mentioned above) were the differences.

The expectation heaped on all of the Canadian athletes at this Olympics is silly and stupid. The viewing public and media should concentrate on the task ahead not just the gold medal-we are distracting our own athletes. This is a great team that Stevie Y put together but so are all the rest of the teams. This tournament is not the NHL and the media and our collective hockey obsession has raised our expectations such that we can't even face reality. Having said this though, the performance by the team has been spotty-they don't seem to be able to keep sustained pressure, Crosby/Nash have yet to get on a roll (I mean one shootout goal after he failed on the first and one regular goal aren't going to cut it Crosby), Martin has looked a little shaky (still good but not hot and we need a hot goaltender to win).

I've loved the way Toews has played this whole tournament. He's so plucky and has been creating a bevy of chances-I look to him to get rewarded soon for his play. I like him on every line Babcock puts him on. I also like the Staal/Getzlaf/Perry line though all three of them took dumbass penalties last night (how terrible do you think Perry felt after Kessler out-hustled him on the empty netter) they're intensity is great but they have to play a far more disciplined game. Scott Niedermayer really stepped up last night and Drew Doughty played well after a lackluster first two games (Weber has been good too but needs to shoot the puck more). Also, enough with the complaining about Babcock's line juggling-you knew this was going to happen-it's his style and some of our best offensive chances came from his unorthodox line pairings-it also happens that the 3rd American goal seemed to come at the expense of a sloppy line change due to siad juggling but I digress.

The men's hockey team has quite the hill to climb. Good luck against Germany I (and just about the entire nation) fully expect you to go through to the quarter-finals where Russia awaits you. Adversity is good-it will make the gold taste that much sweeter. Play 60 minutes of smart, solid hockey like we all know you are capable of and nothing and no one will stop you.

Competition

At Torino I saw this kid and was like, who the hell does this ginger think he is. The answer? Shaun White. After watching him ride and hearing him speak all that skepticism melted away and I couldn't help but love him. Watching him win gold yesterday was something special. He didn't need to even do his 2nd run-he'd already won but instead he lay down a double McTwist (you could hear him telling the guys at the top he wanted to do it) and some giant airs-much to the delight of the crowd and scored a 48.4. It's crazy to watching someone so dominant. He isn't competing against the other boarders, he's competing against himself. The only way he'll loose in the pipe is if he fails himself and falls and even then that doesn't guarantee someone else victory.

Super bowl Musings

I am so happy for the New Orleans Saints and the city of New Orleans. They played an incredible game, made some really ballsy calls, kept the ball out of Peyton Manning's hands for 3/4 of the game and came up huge on Sunday night. Congratulations!

Also, for a man who has been considered a lock on the Hall of Fame pretty much since his introduction into the NFL Peyton Manning is 9-9 in the playoffs with the same percentage in Super bowls (1 for 2). This may be kicking a man when he's down (and not to down play his truly incredible regular season stats) but where is he when it counts? Also, suck it Caldwell-this game doesn't reward those who don't play with guts.

Thanks for the picture!

I've mused on this topic before but hearing this on the French channel was perfectly acceptable. Boy, licensing is a funny thing.

Disgust Day

"I think every day should be a day of romance. Then, on Valentine's Day, you should get to tell whoever you hate that you cannot stand them. There would be one day of hating, and 364 days of love."

– Valentine's Day star Ashton Kutcher, on how he'd rework the holiday, to Parade magazine

(I can't believe I'm quoting Ashton freaking Kutcher, but there you go-I can't help but agree with him on this). Thanks mediabistro.com for the pic!

Sushi!

I love sushi. I mean I really, really, really love sushi. I would go as far as to call myself a sushi snob-a label I wear with a certain amount of pride. So, it was with gusto that I consumed the creamy, fresh, local uni (left) before savoring a seasonal delicacy and personal favorite ankimo (salt-rubbed, sake-rinsed, steamed then chilled monk fish liver served with chili-dyed grated daikon, green onions and ponzu sauce-delicious!) at my favorite Japanese spot in Vancouver, Fuji Sushi. I had a second helping of ankimo later on-while it's around it's far too good to pass up!! nom nom nom!

If you can't make it out to Burquitlam to eat at Fuji then try Sushimart on Robson (it is owned by the same family and has a lower price point). If you go to Fuji be sure to eat at the counter and ask the chef about the daily specials (they're only written out on a small white board in Japanese).

Moar Boots

So, I bought shoes. Boots to be exact. At Gravity Pope (because I need a new pair of boots and because GP is the best and they are having a crazy sale right now). Above GP nappa desert boots and below les lolitas almond toe soft leather boots. (I wanted to get thigh-highs but the ones I want were proving just too difficult to find, alas, maybe next year).

the Photographer and the Surgeon

While back in Vancouver for a couple of days I was fortunate enough to go to the opening of the Geoffrey Farmer show, 'The Photographer and the Surgeon' at the Catriona Jeffries Gallery. The gallery is in an alley just east of main and north of first. Its only distinguishing detail is one of several new text-based, public art pieces in the city. It reads, "stay away from lonely places."


Inspired by Aby Warburg’s Memory Atlas Geoffrey Farmer has created 365 (one for every day of a year) puppets/sculptures using material and magazine cut outs. Each figure can be viewed from multiple angles, giving a different interpretation and look each time. I took pictures of two of the figures from either side to give an idea of the differences (and similarities) within one piece.

2010 Golden Globes Favorites

So, the 2010 Golden Globes were last night. While I wish that the Hurt Locker would have won either director or best picture over Avatar I recognize that Hollywood's going to go with the crap, flash-bang, obvious choice. At this point I've given up hope that award shows will consistently recognize the best films. Acting prizes usually go to actors for a body of work (same for directors) and Best Picture is usually kind of a joke (Avatar like Titanic is a visually stunning movie but as far as script and storyline go-extremely corny).

So, let's concentrate on something Hollywood usually gets right, the fashion! Red carpet season has arrived and with it comes many a pretty frock.
At the 2010 Golden Globes I saw a lot of colour this year (yay!) and also a lot of one-shoulder dresses. Let's hope the ladies continue to pick interesting outfits...can't wait to see what some of them will be wearing to the Oscars!
Just one more thing: In case you don't know who the ladies who appear in this post are (from top to bottom) Marion Cotillard, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dianna Agron (of Glee) & Diane Kruger.

(remember this dress? It's Christian Lacroix couture, a previous red carpet suggestion made by yours truly ;o)

As for the dress I didn't like, this year I really didn't like Tina Fey's dress or Drew Barrymore's despite Stylehog naming her best dressed (why did it need to have that bejeweled pouf on her hip-it looked like a gem-encrusted puss ball/adnormal growth-yuck!)

Thanks for the photos

Mid-season hockey musings

I love the Canucks. I've been especially impressed with the way they have been playing as of late. It seems that ever since Vingault took over they have been slowly improving at playing a full 60 minutes of hockey, not sitting on leads (and not giving up when they're playing terribly) and playing with grit and determination no matter what the score. After Mitchell clipped Salo with his stick they were down to three D-men while on the penalty kill and still they did not give up, did not make any stupid plays. However, I think it's a little ridiculous to assume that based on the way they are playing that we will win the cup. I'll reserve my playoff predictions until I see the way they play on their upcoming epic road odyssey.

Also, as I've said for the last 2 years, the Blackhawks are looking mighty fine.

Infectious Pop Music

Annie - I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me [New]
by elpolemico

I've loved Annie for a long time but I have been listening to Don't Stop a lot lately (along with CFCF's Continental). Forget Ke~dollarsign~sha and the like and listen to Annie.

Other notable songs are the mellow When the Night, super catchy I Can't Let Go and the Madonna-esque Song Reminds Me of You.

Grey Leather Boots

I love you.
but seriously, $725?! I don't think so.