Big is beautiful!

If there is anything that both creationists and evolutionists agree on is that man would have not been complete without woman! I don’t think that by now its a secret that I love women. Their minds and bodies alike! In all states, shapes, colors and sizes! And as an artist who gets inspired by the variety in nature and life I have always advocated diversity in the society against any standardization promotion by the elite of the industry. Therefor it glads me to see that the brand new issue (#63) of V magazine is dedicated to full-figure women. Big, bold and beautiful!

The first psychological portrait?

Gustave Courbet’s self-portrait “The Desperate Man” is one of my most favorite artist self-portraits. This kind of self-portrait is today known as psychological portrait. However back in 1844-45 when Courbet painted it there was no tradition of such kind preceding it! Portraits and self-portraits were formally composed and contrived to capture the appearance of the individual and not the essence. Basically the way that is today considered standard and conventional. “The Desperate Man” however defied all rules and conventions by going beyond the face and surface of its creator and thereby showing us a side of his existence that we would have never seen otherwise!

He returned to the scene of crime!

Well you know what they say about criminals! hehe, so I returned! This time getting myself two pieces from ZARA’s spring collection. A leather jacket and an Andalusian scarf. I really love their trademark scarfs with “termeh” pattern!

Serial Crashes

The sun doesn’t always shine on TV! As a matter of fact, as far as TV-series goes this season has been a huge disappointment. In particular when it comes to some of my favourite shows which have all fallen flat on their faces! First is “Californication” which you by now know how much I’ve loved and praised. When the third season kicked off it had all the necessary ingredients for a great season but unfortunately wasted every bit of it! In an unjustifiable manner. So much they could have capitalized on with the relations and intrigues yet nothing of the kind happened. The plot became banal and all the characters became parodies of their original selves. The show became a lame joke and lost that philosophical depth which put the comic side of it into balance. It was truly frustrating to watch it going on empty in an entire 12 episodes!

Next is “Crash” which’s second season basically went against everything that the first season had established. They miscalculatedly stripped it off all kinds of sexual tension that sharpened the edges of the intrigues compared to other series and lost many of the viewers. Halfway through the season they realized their culpa and attempted a damage-control by basically over-dosing it all with sex! But the sudden decontextualized sex just felt like fish-out-of-water and had the opposite effect on the viewers (even sex-addicts like me!lol). As the story was heading a thousand ways they ended it all with a premature wrap-up and forced closure which gave the title a whole new meaning and will most likely put the entire Crash franchise to eternal rest!

The third disappointment was the second season of the vampire-themed “True Blood“. It departed from the quality of the first season which managed to mix humor and horror in a balanced blend. The show lost nuance and its sex, just like Crash got entangled in a line that went slowly but surely to nowhere! It all ended with one of the wackiest and weakest cliff-hangers ever!

And finally was the brand new “Flashforward” which tried to tap on the whole “Lost” formula and even borrowed its title form the lost terminology. However lacking the solid structure that Lost benefits from the show got lost in its Lost imitation! Which means entangled in the mess of lose ends, much like the ill-fated “4400″. This show is also an example of the “orientalistic” ignorance which tragically still plagues Hollywood, the scene below is from the season finale which ironically revolved around a character played by Shohreh Aghdashloo, yet when Persian script was to be displayed and read it ended up in literally pure nonsense! Look at the background, don’t you recognize Persian …according to Hollywood?lol

Resolutions are recommended!

So did you make any new year’s resolution this year? I started 2009 with several resolutions, with serious intend to (for once) commit to them all no matter what! One of them was to change life-style to a healthier one. That meant eating healthy and getting back in shape. I had been bulking up while training in past but the downside with such diet is that once the related training is not attended to according to the program you just gain the weight or better said puff up! So I have been on a strict heigh protein-low fat/carb diet these past 12 months plus an intense program made of daily power-walking and power-training at home, work and the gym in order to trim down and get back in original shape. Not to mention drinking a lot of water to keep the body hydrated. As a result I’ve lost 47 kilograms (104 pounds) of extra weight! Below you can see before-and-after pictures of me, with 12 months in between. As you can see the physical change is most apparent (its not only relocation of hair form my chin to the top of my head!lol) and the most important of all; I “feel” healthier! So there you go, resolutions do work! With serious commitment, that is. No need for extreme measures, just start thinking and living healthier. Needless to say this is an achievement I’m very proud of so I thought sharing it with you guys, in case you are considering changing life-style to a healthier one don’t wait another day!

Smart and space-saving station

If you have a lack of space in your room and need to set up a workstation then MisoSoupDesign offers you their very smart and space-saving solution called “K Workstation”! I love the futuristically linear and minimalistic look of it, yet with that 70’s touch of retro.

Rasmus maximus

Rasmus is a Scandinavian boy name, but its also the name of a Finnish ROCK band which put a “the” in front of the name in order to avoid being mistaken for the Swedish singer by the same name. Hence “The Rasmus” and strangely none of the band members is named Rasmus! Anyway, these guys broke through internationally back in 2001 with the MEGA-HIT “In The Shadows”. The band has since then had minor hits here and there and has recently released their best of compilation, just in time for Christmas.

There are two different editions of the album and although the numbered book edition is great content-wise I personally prefer the ordinary digipak edition with a design that basically sums up The Rasmus. The silhouette of the singer with his feather-attired hair, which just like Jamiroquai’s Indian head-wears has become more or less the image of the band. The composition and the colour-combination is coherent with the design of the recent albums of the band, which all have been released as digipaks. I highly recommend this album as an introduction, since even though I don’t like all of the band’s songs most of their best ones is featured on it. Here is one of my favourite tracks from their latest studio-album, if you listen closely you hear inspiration from Kool and the Gang’s “Cherish the Love” in there! Sadly this is the best quality I could find:

See you in the next decade!

Since decades back Sweden and some other European countries have shown this classic sketch on new year’s eve. So it is a tradition that I thought sharing with you guys this year. Admittedly its 10 minutes have always got me down and depressed ever since I watched it for the first time at the age of 10! Because even though it is a comedy and meant to cheer people up there is an air of sadness and solitude about its ambiance and characters. Not to mention its title! Perhaps its the black and white that evokes the gloominess in me, and the fact that its everything stands in contrast to what you experience on this night of the year. It basically drags you away from the spectacles outside into a dark dungeon! Anyways, at the risk of projecting my perception on you its worth watching it once in its entirety. Especially those of you residing in America. Have a great night my friends and I see you in the second decade of the 21th century! Happy new year!

Who robbed who?!

Last Saturday was the Boxing Day, which for me and many others means the big bargain day! As many shops officially open their annual sales during that day and often extend to the following week. However the best items are often few and grabbed on the opening day (opening hour even if its an odd size!) so the early-bird strategy applies even here. And an early bird that is smart strikes even earlier than early! hehe, I often locate and lock in my most wanted items by visiting the stores minutes before they close on Christmas eve. This gives me the advantage of knowing exactly where to go to get that particular clothing (since the stands are rearranged for the sale) while everyone else run around like headless chickens on the opening day!lol This year the Spanish ZARA, which has grown to take over the retail market of Europe by storm, had the deepest discounts in town and most of their stock went for half of the original price! Needless to say I shopped ’til my both arms almost dropped!lol And the jury is still out on whether it was me who robbed ZARA or it was ZARA that robbed me clean!lol I guess we both came out rather pleased from this deal! hehe

299

Thanks to all the free publicity our vanguards of the 2500 years old Persian civilization gave Miller’s “300″ through their hysteria, Miller has now decided to once again tap on and cash in on the controversy by this time focusing on Xerxes himself! In the follow up entitled “Xerxes” he will be exploring the life of the Persian king, in particular the decade before the events of “300″ taking place. In other words this will be a prequel and Zack Snyder has already expressed interest in filming it. Now if you freaked out when you saw the king being depicted as a giant fairy freak in “300″ then get ready for a total loss of sanity! Since it wouldn’t surprise me if this comic biopic presented that creature as the offspring of a ghoul and a jinn!lol

“Who called me a fairy freak?!!!”

One kick ass mic!

Forget about Steven Tyler’s trademark scarf attired mic-stand or Mariah Carey’s bling-bling mic, Rihanna spins further on the whole tough broad image (which in fact contradicts her music) with her own custom-made mic. A crossing between brass knuckles and machete! Now this looks … interesting!

My Xmas pressie to myself!

Hey one has got to spoil himself ever now and then, right?! Though it happens more often in my case! Hehe, so what do you think? I know its a bit cold for a trench right now but I couldn’t help falling in love with this slim fit milky white beauty and its shiny black details from H&M! You can’t really see in the photo but the fabric has a blank synthetic finishing which makes it look more comic-book stylized than classically relaxed. The way I like it. By the way, excuse the mess behind the model!lol

Holy mother of Hollywood!

I’m speechless! How can you rate something that is not comparable to anything that has ever been done before? It just has to be experienced! As simple as that! In all its 3D glory! Just don’t expect a Shakespearean dramaturgy, but as far as cinematic experience goes this is the ultimate! James Cameron’s “Avatar” is what it claimed that it would be, the dawn of a new cinema!

By the way, meet Neytiri! My baby blue! Although I’ve always loved ladies with a nice tail (pun very much intended!lol) I never knew I’d fall for ten feet tall blue warrior women from outer space! hehe

Rest in peace baby girl!

I can’t believe it! Brittany Murphy has died!! At the age of 32! I loved this quirky cute girl! Truly tragic!

Leto brothers, U2’s baby brothers?

Jared Leto is pushing forty, yet still looking like a teenage pretty-boy from “Gossip Girl” or one of those popular television series! However despite his boyish charm he is an acclaimed method actor who has done much for his roles, including gaining an extreme amount of weight for “Chapter 27″!

This Hollywood heartthrob has also proved himself to be one hell of a rocker. A pretty one but nonetheless a serious rocker! He actually started acting in waiting to break through as a musician! Now his band 30 Seconds to Mars has finally released its third album, after four years of legal dispute with the label.

In “This is War” the Leto brothers’ quartet-turned-trio might sound as if they were U2’s baby brothers, nevertheless the material is rock solid and the production is clinically clean. And they have made a smart move to let the fans actively contribute by both singing on the album and picking their album cover. The result is impeccable! My favourite song from the album is the epic “Hurricane”, here featuring Kanye West who puts his small touch to the song with a mood similar to his own latest album. A version which due to unclear circumstances didn’t make it to the actual album!

Things that I would NEVER wear! (#1)

As much as I love fashion and consider myself daring enough to try new things there are certain things that I just wont wear! These nightmares I intend to present in a series of posts, without any particular order. Starting with quilted jackets, or anything quilted for that matter. I hated quilt when it covered my bed back in the 80’s and now I hate it even more when it is suddenly supposed to cover even my body! I’m setting my foot down on this trend. There is no chance in hell that I’ll wear this and look like a walking talking bed! I simply refuse! Quilts may cover the interior of my coats but it stops right there! I will leave them to the elderly ladies instead, who’ve for some strange reason always loved wearing them.

Jingle kindle!

I’m putting up the Kindle on my Christmas wish-list! With already thousands of books in my private library and as someone who hates audio-books this is the space-saving compromise that I’ve been waiting for. Don’t get me wrong though, I love the feeling of holding an actual book in my hands and nothing beats the associative scent of its either new or vintage pages with each turning. I will still hunt down those collectible coffee-table books or editions that come in a clever cover and design, however the majority of text-book paperbacks that consume the shelf-space I rather do without! Not to mention the convenience and capacity to bring many times the reading material that has been possible in paper-format with you on the road. It’s like the CDs and the respective portable media players, not really a replacement but rather a practical complement!

Big boots, big bargain!

This baby is not only big in size (euro 46/ US 12.5) but perhaps also the biggest bargain I’ve made in my life in terms of clothing! The Vagabond outlet had reduced down this single pair by an entire 97%!! Which means I paid only 50 Swedish crowns (6-7 US dollars) for premium leather boots! Now if that’s not a big bargain I don’t know what is!

POV

Sometimes only one man, …

gets the point …

of view!

My man-crush!

If I had a man-crush then it would be on George Clooney! Like I’ve said before I’ve always wished for that kind of salt ‘n’ pepa hair. But I never really liked him as an actor, until just recently. I don’t know what it was that put me off, but I didn’t like him in ER. He did strike me as very arrogant and self-absorbed. In recent years however I’ve come to appreciate him through his real-life character and sense of style. The man basically lives my ideal life! Looking iconic handsome, has fun with his profession, dates hot women, doesn’t intend to get married or have kids, lives far from the industry in a mansion by a lake in Italy, is intelligent and engages in all kinds of international goodwill projects. I tell you, he’s got it all figured out! hehe, and after the superb political thriller “Michael Clayton” he has also proved himself to be a daring actor who is not afraid of taking on diverse roles. Love how the guy is selfless in a way that he can play a wacky role in one movie, while being serious in another. He is also very productive, despite all his side-projects. At the moment he has three movies out which couldn’t be more different from each other, in terms of everything basically! I can’t wait to see the critical “Up in the Air“, the outlandish “Men Who Stare At Goats” and the stop-motion animated “Fantastic Mr. Fox“.

The latin red riding hottie!

Jaydin Maria is the first artist signed to Ne-Yo’s brand new label and man this American-born Latina is a hottie! She got that exquisite mix of sweet and sexy, which is well displayed in her video for one of my personal summer jams “Good Girls Like Bad Boys” (something which is true by the way! hehe) featuring Flo-Rida. Full of sinful innocence, just the way I like it! There is a HOT remix out now which makes both the song and its video hotter. I wouldn’t mind being her big bad wolf! Hoooooooowling and groooooooowling!

Caught in a snood

Maybe you’ve seen them before, the so called “snoods”! The scarf-like head/neck-wears that come in different designs. They are originally part of women’s fashion, given a masculine twist. Basically like bottom-less turtlenecks that can be pulled over the head like a hoodie. I am still not sure how I feel about them, in terms of both form and function. However I’ve just bought a knitted one with a zipper that might work, we’ll see!

Caine kicks ass, again!

I highly recommend you the brand new “Harry Brown” movie, story-wise reminiscent of Eastwood’s overrated acclaimed “Gran Turino” but without the overreacting and the typical American ending. This is simply British cinema at its best! With fine measures mixing action and social realism to a credible level. A truly impressive work of art. Sir Michael Caine (whom I have always loved, maybe because of his facial resemblance to my late grandfather) proves once again that none of the new so called action heroes got anything on him! The man is 76 years old and still kicks some serious ass!

Here is the trailer, however I must say that the style and content of it doesnt really convey the substance of the movie:

Undercut is hot!

I don’t know about you but I’m starting to develop some kind of fetish for girls with an undercut! Admittedly it doesn’t become everyone but for the right face it does wonders! Giving her softness a jagged edge and turns her into a Mad Max type of ragged beauty. The half-Moroccan missy above is the lovely Amelle from the British girl-act Sugababes, who’ve recently gone for a shorter style along with an undercut. Hot!

Homemade stuns Hollywood

In case you have missed the sensation this 5 minutes long short film by the Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez has created then here is your chance to check it out! This FX specialist created something that has taken Hollywood by storm and allegedly opened doors for him to create full-length features. If he has managed to create this with basically nothing than I don’t even dare to imagine what he can achieve with the kind of budget the big companies can offer!

Le grand provocateur

If you know me then I surely don’t need to explain why I am eagerly waiting for this French cinematic biopic of Serge Gainsbourg! If you are not familiar with this French icon, I don’t think that one can really describe him and his work with words. Let’s just say that he means for the popular music what Salvador Dali means for the popular art. A true provocateur of the progressive kind, for better and worse!

His perhaps most famous opus, sang here together with his lover and muse Jane Birkin (parents to the equally provoking actress Charlotte Gainsbourg), which has been recognized as a historic soundtrack to sex!

As dynamic and uneven as this artist’s character and career happen to be, it is truly a difficult task to make him justice in a couple of hours of film, However based on the trailer of “Vie Héroïque” they seem to have been able to gather the essence of the legend. Romanticized in a way only French films can be. Not to mention finding an actor with such extraordinary physical resemblance that you at times forget that its not a documentary you are watching!

My Don Draper style interpretation!

Rated Rihanna

When I wrote about Rihanna’s “Reloaded” album two years ago I had no idea that it was going to be the golden cash cow milked for more editions than fingers on your both hands! Each reloaded (pun very much intended) with a couple of new remixes or video clips. Ridiculous really, even though I normally appreciate special editions. Her recent album was released after the whole Chris Brown scandal and gave impression to be a feisty and loaded album. Both lyrically and musically, especially considering that its been titled “Rated R” and dark in color and tone. But strangely there is no edge to the collection at all! No raging and roaring tigress! As a matter of fact it happens to be one of her more mellow and subtle albums ’til date!

The album looks decent and I even ordered the exclusive HMV edition with the unique black slipcase, but there stops anything that is remotely dark and tough about this album. She might wish to raise hell with this album, but the closest she comes to hell is to look like a cute and sweet-cheeked little devilette!

That’s why God created super-models!

I’m finally sold on the whole sustainable development thingy! Thank you super-models for making this world a better place!

The God and the hobo

The season 3 of Mad Men has just ended and as another testimony to this TV-series’ popular cultural influence several fashion houses have officially announced Mad Men-inspired lines to hit the streets next year! Some have already launched their shark grey “Don Draper” suits.

The truth is that even though this show’s production quality is impeccable much of its stylistic appeal is thanks to Don Draper and his pivotal character. Let’s just say that Mad Men IS Don Draper! But while the character looks like perfection personified and basically oozes charisma Jon Hamm, the actor playing him, couldn’t be further away from the fictive persona he portrays. Look at the pictures below, while Don Draper looks sharp like a billion dollar God of power and style Jon Hamm looks like a …hobo basically! I don’t think that I have ever seen such dramatic difference between an actor and the character he plays. At least not this way around, its like as if Don Draper has been roughed up to play Jon Hamm! I think, just like Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano, this will be one of those cases where an actor’s on-screen ego will become so larger than the actor himself that it will become a professional burden and he wont get any other roles because of the unshakable personification!