OSCARS!!!

So I'm about 4 days late, but you know, just coming back from New York, lost luggage, being in a comatose state for a while, all meant that i forgot to discuss my annual, non-guilty pleasure, the Academy Awards! Although i missed the live televised version on Sunday night, i quickly paid the Sky bill (with my overdrawn debit card) which always seems to switch off when my mum goes away, and watched the repeat the day after on sky movies, as well as the Fashion Police on E! and a repeat of the red carpet on the same channel!

First i have to get this off my chest!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE MICKEY ROURKE DIDN'T WIN BEST ACTOR!!! WHY!!! He has swept every awards show clean so far this year, it doesn't make sense, he was a shoe in!! I guess people were right when they said he pissed off too many members of the academy all those years ago... urgh Sean Penn... if he wasn't so self-righteous i wouldn't have minded him winning!

Anyway back to the clothes!

Angelina Jolie was stunning as usual, I'm so happy to see her finally wearing something figure hugging and something youthfull as opposed to a few of her recent choices which have been dowdy and only been somewhat acceptable because she was wearing them.!

plus her emerald earrings absolutely made that ensemble.....gorgeous!



Another person who always looks on point is Natalie Portman. Now i'm not a big fan of wearing pink, but this gown was so pretty and the detail on the bodice was sooooo nice that even i would put aside my dislike for pink and wear this dress.



One of the big winners of the night Kate Winslet looked as beautiful as always although this is not my favourite dress of hers this season. Her SAG award gown definitely stood out and suited her much better, her dress at the Oscars made her look much older than she is!



At the Oscars!



At the Screen Actors Guild Awards!

Tilda Swinton is one of the great actresses our country has produced, and although she may not have reached the commercial heights of Winslet, she definitely has the acting chops to match her. Swinton is known for wearing very Avant Garde outfits straight off the runway, and i think its fair to say her style is one that few people understand, and because of this she is a regular on worst dressed lists!

I admit it, even I have been one to laugh and point, as this androgynous and sometimes awkward looking actress strides down the red carpet.




But this time was different, Tilda looked alright! Wearing a Lanvin dress, or two piece (i'm not sure which), Swinton looked very put together, whilst still keeping her own style!



Lastly on the men's side, which doesn't really leave much to talk about other than there being the usual sea of black tuxes and the odd shiny lapel, Mickey Rourke is one that has divided fashion critics, but cannot be knocked for always staying true to himself. This time he showed up in a white suit which definitely made him stand out, with his usual bits n bobs hanging off him, pins, broaches, chains,and his staple pointy shoe!




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New York Part 2

I'm still a bit jet lagged from my week of gallivanting around the Big Apple!! But without being back 2 minutes, I'm already planning on going back in the summer! :)


My girl Zay outside our hotel!!



First, our hotel was surprisingly nice!! two double beds, en suite bathroom, TV and heating (which was definitely needed). Plus rides in Papi Chulo's Escalade, when we couldn't be fussed to take the train to Manhattan



So beyond shopping and sitting in damn Shisha bars for hours on end, me and the rest of the crew also got around to some other stuff!! One being a night when we watched some stand-up comedians at the East Ville Comedy Club.

This is a pic with us and the comedians outside the club, Dan Soder standing on the far left, was by far the funniest, and cutest!! (yes really!! the pictures don't do him justice!lol!)

http://eastvillecomedy.com/index.htm

That night for me was one of the funnest things we did on the trip!! to bad we couldn't visit there on our last night :(! I was really looking forward to it, but guess what, majority rules!! So guess what beat out a fun night of laughs......THAT DAMN SHISHA!!Hopefully, when I go back to NYC, I'll be able to catch another show :)

Anywho, besides being picked off one by one by each comedian!! Who at one point got on my case about how I spoke to him, saying something about it being very 'black', and laced with 'attitude'! We also went to the famous Webster Hall, which i didn't realise was such a big deal until after we'd been there! It's basically a 4 floor club with different types of music in each room, and obviously me and the girls were Hip Hoppin it all night long, for a steep $25, but it was worth it!!

http://websterhall.com/0809_websterhall/bookings/index.php


I bet you're thinking, Who is this guy? and what the fudge is he wearing!!
Well his name is Masahiro (Masa) Ito! We met him on two occasions while in NY, and @ first i was thinking, who the hell is this dude? On our trip we met a few 'nice' people, but me being so paranoid and pessimistic, I was always trying to think of what ulterior motive they may have had, but Masa just seemed to be a nice guy! Whilst eating in Majestics, opposite Applebees in Times Square, this random dude approached us and just struck up some converstaion, he was both sweet and intelligent, and I slowly realised there was nothing sinister about him. He is an artist/designer/sculpturoror(how in gods name do u spell it!). During our next meeting he gave us all a pair of feather earrings that he made, from feathers he got from Amerindians living in Montana......the stories he told were quite long but interesting, it was obvious he has lived an interesting life.










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New York Part 1!

So I'm back from my week long trip in New York, and i already want to go back! 7 days was not nearly long enough to do and see everything, hopefully I'll be going back in the summer!!

So because it's 3 in the morning, and my jet lag is starting 2 wear off, i'll just briefly tell you some off the stuff me and my pals got up to, bar the minimal funds, and M.I.A luggage, New York was an experience to remember!

From a dead animal wearing Japanese Artist, to a balding Puerto Rican comedian who was deceptively youthful-looking , to a 'we're not Moroccan, extremely aggressive, so much so i wanted 2 spit in his face' husband and wife gangster tag team.

As well as sitting in a shisha, sorry 'Hookah' bar for a record 7hrs (i was pissed beyond belief!!!!) and watching the most dead horror film Friday the 13th, with the most live audience you could ever hear, to walking around East Village @ 4 in the morning because your 6 other friends all wanna smoke shisha but cant find the address, one word to describe that evening/morning, HYPOTHERMIA!!

These were just a few of the things we did and people we crossed paths with who definitely made an impact, mostly good!

I didn't do as much shopping as i hoped, which was kind of a bummer. You see travelling with quite a large group means 'compromise'! So hopefully if i go again in the summer, with a lot less people, then i'll be able to really do some damage.

Thankfully my girl Rach, showed up in time, and gave me and my friends the hook-up on where to go! 7 girls in Forever 21 for 3 HOURS! must be a record! My usual purchases consisted of a few 'Yinka staples', Cardigans, t's, hoodies, etc. But the main purpose of the trip for 4 of my friends was to get some trainers for some great prices! And i think between us we bought about 13 pairs! Yes you heard correctly US! Yinka did indeed purchase a pair of Nike high top,dunk thingy's! Not quite sure what the official name is for them (help me out Rach!) Anyway i originally wanted a simple pair, one i could wear with anything, maybe white with a dash of colour. Then slowly after my girlies around me stacked up on their 'Kicks', i realised that i was not going to find anyhting i really liked and would probably wait till i got back to LDN! That was until while shopping in Urban Outfitters i found a purple and orange pair for $39.99, roughly £28.00!




I quite like them actually, although they make my foot look even more gigantic than they already are, and starting to think i should have got a 7 instead of a 7.5. They might have been a tight squeeze, but probably would have made me look a little more dainty, ok who am i kidding! so although i have to get used to them, i still think it was quite a good deal considering what some of my mates spent on these bloomin' things!


Ok i'm dead now, i'll continue this another time!

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Sell Out or Pure Genius?

So I'm a huge fan of Chris Cornell, I think he has one of the most... if not the best rock voices ever! (aah Jon Bon Jovi just sprang to mind, joint 1st!) The man could sing the phone book and it would be music to my ears! Until I heard the Bond track for Casino Royale in '06. I must admit I had never heard of him (oh the shame!)and to think he's been around for donkey's years. My only excuse is that I was still discovering all the great music out there, I still am. Anywho, I was familiar with the whole Grunge thing in the 90's with Nirvana, and I liked some stuff from Rage Against the Machine. So to then find out that Cornell had split from his previous group Soundgarden and had formed a hybrid super-group with members from Rage, to create Audioslave, meant I had to hear their stuff! And out of all the work,whether solo, or with Temple, Soundgarden, Rage, I must admit that the best stuff is with Audioslave! So what else is there for the king of grunge/indie/rock to do!

TEAM UP WITH TIMBALAND!

Now when I first heard this I did the whole 'what the...' 'but he can't...'! Then gradually i came to think that there could be some genius in this. Cornell at the pinnacle of what he does, and Timbaland certainly top dog of what he does, what could go wrong!! Now all over the net die-hard Audioslave/Cornell fans have been up in arms, callin him a 'traitor' or 'sell-out'! But what i realised is it must be harder for those hardcore fans who probably only listen to that genre of music to accept the change. I love my Hip Hop as much as I love my Rock, my mood can change on any given day and either genre can become more appealing than the other, so for me it wasn't such a big stretch hearing this concoction of flavours and styles! Cornell said in an interview, something along the lines of not wanting to do another record where he was in his comfort zone, doing what we all know he can do well, so he took a risk and for me it paid off! Although I have yet to hear the whole record, I have heard a few songs, and by far my fave is 'Long Gone'! 'Part of Me' is great as well, and has more of that Timbaland stamp on it. Overall the songs are not that surprising, in that you get exactly what it says on the tin, no funny business! Simply Cornell singing over Timbaland beats! I really hope this record does well and launches Cornell further into the mainstream, (which i think he is obviously hoping it would do, why else would you hire Timbaland!!) so everyone can get familiar with his music, because for me music is not just about the songs, but the voice as well, and his is definately a powerfull instrument!

Long Gone



Part of Me

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Wossy's Back!

Yay!! The only reason (including Eastenders) to watch the otherwise dreary BBC is back, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross!

So Friday night saw the return of Jonathan Ross after his 3 month suspension, which happened following the whole hoohaa that occurred in the later end of last year. Which in turn meant that I was no longer able to enjoy my Friday night staple :(
Although the words 'mountain' and 'mole hill', come to mind when thinking of the incident, I can see, especially from Sachs' view, how bad the whole thing was! But everyone jumping on the bandwagon baying for Ross' and Brand's blood was a bit overblown and I hope this doesn't hinder Ross' performance, or make him feel that he has to 'clean up' his humour for the BBC!

Anyway back to the show! After briefly apologising for his actions (his sincerity being quite an odd thing to see actually!), Ross jumped straight in with his usual quips and classic one liners, and then revealed who was in his green room. Lee Evans, who for me is not one of the best comedians in Britain! And since he was first out I must admit I switched over for about 5 mins! Stephen Fry, a national treasure, who I never get tired of listening to, talked about his show 'Last Chance to See', in which he travels to various remote places around the world to find endangered animals. Then finally the highlight of the show, Tom Cruise! So what if he's a bit short! So what if he became highly annoying during his whole 'falling in love' with Katie Holmes faze, and I won't mention his weird erm.. 'passionate' dogmatic approach when discussing his pseudo-religion. But all that aside it was a great interview, Cruise has a great sense of humour, and doesn't really deserve to be slated in the media like he is on a regular basis. Overall the show could have been compared to a kid's first day back at school after suspension, slightly uneasy viewing, not knowing if something could go catastrophically wrong (what i don't kno?) ,but everything ran smoothly. :) Welcome Back JR!



Another memorable interview that I just remembered recently was one from Friday Night again, which happened in October of last year. Colin Farrell came on the show and was more fetching than usual....OK so he was lookin' HOT!! and I quite liked the long hair as well! Like I said before in a previous post about his long acceptance speech, I think this was the first time that I had noticed his kind of 'spirituality', and a certain peace that he has about him now. I was so used to seeing him in interview kind of rowdy and playful, and although he is still that, there was a subtle difference, which was kind of refreshing. Nice to see he's got his act together!



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I'M BACK PART 2!

Righty Ho! back to some stuff that has happened in the last couple of months!!

There is always a hot new band or artist that everyone is listening to, but when it comes to music i'm really slow to 'jumping on the bang wagon' if you will! It often takes me a while to get into certain music, e.g i do recall saying about three years ago to a mate, 'Kings of Leon are shit!'. Look at me now eh! Anyway at the moment i am absolutely loving MGMT, Vampire Weekend and The Boxer Rebellion!

Mainly MGMT, who's album Oracular Spectacular, is just that...spectacular! Three words to describe them would be Psychedelic, futuristic, indie, pop, ok so thats four! Their music is fused with everything i love, the best bits from the 70's & 80's, and enough of what no one else is doing to set them apart. After hearing 'Electric Feel' I was hooked and got the album straight away! LISTEN!!


Kids



Alexandra Burke! The winner of the X Factor 2008! Thank god she won, and not that sorry excuse for an 'R&B' boyband JLS, or that Irish leprechaun Eoghan, uoghan, eogen! How the hell do you spell his name? I personally was a fan of Austin Drage! You know, the 4 foot something R&B/Soul singer! Oh, and Alexandra's performance with Beyonce....'wicked'! I admit I was a little excited at home when i knew Beyonce was going to be on the show, not because i'm and extreme fan of hers, but more to see what these two singers could conjure up,and the results spoke for themselves. Would it be a stretch to say that that one perfomance alone won the whole show for her..........

JOSH HARTNETT! Pearl Harbour (My fave!), The Faculty, Lucky Number Sleven! All great movies, but what would Mr Hot, I mean Mr Hartnett be like live on a West End stage? Well I found out in December with a couple of mates, we went to see one of the last showings of Rainman at the Apollo! Now although i've been to the theatre a few times, to see sum musicals, a few dreary plays for school. This I would say was my first 'proper' play! We had ok seats in the mezzanine, and a clear view of Josh! Now although my friend Rach thought it was ok to catch some z's during the production, I decided to stay alert and engrossed in this adaptation of the 1980's film starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. Overall I thought it was quite good, a little slow towards the end but the 2 hour duration did go by quicker than expected, plus a little bit of flesh exhibited by Hartnett (AKA my future husband if Caleb Followill is taken!) was a highlight! :)


Again, to reiterate what i mentioned before with the 'being late' with stuff!! I have now decided that I will now and forever continue to watch The Hills! Like a lot of people who were not hooked I thought it was a load of crap that MTV decided to make, due to a lack of ideas for truly great shows! But now after watching one episode, the drama is addictive, and yes it does all seem a little scripted and posed at some moments but WHO CARES! it's one guilty pleasure that i think everyone should have, and it also helps that they have a plethora of HOT! Californian dudes, waltzing around looking.......Hot!! But top dog for sure would be Audrina's serious eye candy of a boyfriend Justin Bobby! Now i don't know about you but his attitude and behaviour towards Audrina kinda stinks, but lookin like that i'd probably keep takin him back too!! So as long as they keep bringin' the drama, and episodes featuring Justin! I'll keep tunin' in!



Lady GaGa is a HOT MESS!! Sorry to steal my favourite Comedienne Chelsea Handler's saying but it's true! Yes, 'Just Dance' was a great song and it got her lots of recognition world wide, as well as the current No.1 spot on the charts in the UK! But there's something 'tacky' about her, to be honest i like her style and what she's trying to do, but recent pictures of her performing on stage with a man's head buried in her crotch really put me off, oh! and her prancing around London with granny knickers and tights (tights over the knickers!, just made me think eeew! No way she wasn't cold in these sub-zero temperatures, and all you fashionistas out there don't gimme that crap about 'sacrifice' and doing anything to look great! Or is seeking out Hypothermia the new cool thing to do now?



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Movies, Movies, Movies!!

So my main love is movies, there aren't enough hours in the day to get through some of the greats but I'm getting there!

Recently I watched Taxi Driver (I know pretty late aren't I)and Citizen Kane, which is said by some to be the greatest film of all time! So my expectations were high right? And what a big fall it was when i realised that it was probably the worst film i had ever seen, I know! blasphemy to all you film boffs, but seriously, I think that it was great for that era and a certain period of time in film that I'm not that big a fan of! The whole thing just went right over my head, not interesting at all! But since i've purchased it on dvd, i'll give it a couple of years and try sitting through it again! Taxi Driver, again hyped as one of DeNiro's best, and i would say it's definitely in his top 5, but no where near as good as 'Heat' or 'Goodfellas'! Although Scorsese is one of my favourite directors, so it was nice to see some of his work before 'Goodfellas'!

In the past year though I have seen a lot of films, to many to remember at this moment in time, so i will go with the most recent, and the ones that had the most impact!

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

'Long gone were the glory days of Brad Pitt's excellence', I had been thinking of late, some of my absolutes favourites are, Interview with a Vampire, Se7en, Legends of the Fall, and his last work of genius Fight Club! That was until I watched this film! yes it's a gobfull, but don't let the long-arse title put you off. This film was absolutely brilliant, and I'd definitely recommend not only Pitt fans to see it, but everyone who loves a genuinely good film. A drama/western, tale of betrayal and deceit, Jesse James, was described in history as a 'Robin Hood' type character, and although he committed numerous crimes, and murders, he is still thought in some ways as an anti-hero, especially in the way he is conveyed in the film, all our ill-will and dislike is turned on Casey Afflecks character, Robert Ford. So although I'd love for Pitt to go back to portraying these heartthrob characters, in sweeping epics like 'Legends of the Fall', I have come to accept that with his age, his choice in film roles has matured, and he is becoming more select in what he chooses, although the ratio of good and bad films is tipping in the wrong direction, THIS IS A MUST SEE!

Che: part 1

Oh lord have mercy! Benicio del Toro, Steven Soderbergh! I thought was a recipe for greatness, but watching this film proved other wise. Not to mention it took everything in my power to keep my eyes open (Staring widely every couple of minutes, and tapping your foot constantly does the job). del Toro was great in 'The Usual Suspects' and 'Sin City', but this film just didnt do it for me! It was long, uneventful, and just dull! Pushing two and a half hours, was license for Soderbergh to make something enthralling, something audiences would want to see again, but i know I'm definitely not watching part 2! This film is for those who are either super fans of Steven Soderbergh, or want a history lesson on what went down in Cuba, 50 odd years ago in the revolution! Sorry Soderbergh better luck next time!

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