It takes a certain amount of pathological cussedness to visit Las Vegas...shimmering with both heat and the glow of thousand upon thousand of flashing lights...and shoot in black and white. Yet that's what felt right...for, to me, Vegas will always be the Vegas of lore...of Sinatra, and mobsters, and hotels that are now only a memory...even if I happen to be fixating on City Center...the sort of architectural anomaly through which Jacques Tati would happily have strolled...
Today's quote is taken from a review of Tati's Playtime by Richard von Busack...click thumbnails to view larger images...
"I'm just an old fashioned girl with an old fashioned mind Not sophisticated, I'm the sweet and simple kind. I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence And an old fashioned millionaire. I want an old fashioned car, a cerise Cadillac, Long enhough to put a bowling alley in the back. I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence And an old fashioned millionaire. I'll stay weaving at my loom, Be no trouble to my groom, If he'll keep the piles of money mounting. In our cottage there will be A soundproof nursery Not to wake the baby while I'm counting. I like the old fashioned flowers, violets are for me - Have them made in diamonds by the man at Tiffany. I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence And an old fashioned millionaire. I'm just a pilgrim at heart, oh so pure and genteel. Watch me in Las Vegas while I'm at the spinning wheel! I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence And an old fashioned millionaire. I'll ask for such simple things when my birthday occurs: Two appartment buildings that are labelled 'Hers' and 'Hers'. I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence And an old fashioned millionaire. I like Chopin and Bizet And the songs of yesterday, String quartets and Polonesian carols. But the music that excels Is the sound of oil wells As they slurp, slurp, slurp into the barrels. Our little home will be quaint as an old parasol, And instead of carpet I'll have money wall to wall. I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence And an old fashioned millionaire." - Eartha Kitt
What a pathetic consumer I turned out to be...my first concern...when I heard that Prada had opened a new "concept" store in Paris...based on Guillaume Apollinaire’s poem, 'Le Pont Mirabeau'...was not "ooh, I wonder if any special goodies were created for this"...nope, instead I sat around wondering how the poem had been brought to life (courtesy of bricks, mortar, and a lavish decorating budget)...
Beneath Pont Mirabeau there flows the Seine and so our loves. How much must I again recall that joy will ever follow pain?
The night hours strike and have their say. The days will leave, but here I stay.
Hand in hand and resting face to face through bridging arms we watch the waters race, the waves so weary in their endless chase.
The night hours strike and have their say. The days will leave, but here I stay.
Love goes on and like the water's flow it goes away. Life continues, slow it seems, but hope is ever violent though.
The night hours strike and have their say. The days will leave, but here I stay.
There pass the days and pass the weeks and then that time is past and love won't come again. Beneath Pont Mirabeau there flows the Seine.
To be honest, at least from pictures, I think this is one of those ideas that sounded better than it actually turned out...this looks to be more of an homage to the bridge itself (the first in the city to be built from metal)...than a physical manifestation of the spirit of lost love present in the poem...unless, that is, the "joy will ever follow pain" is the joy that you will feel from owning your purchase after the pain of handing over the cash to pay for it.
"The City of New York is like an enormous citadel, a modern Carcassonne. Walking between the magnificent skyscrapers one feels the presence on the fringe of a howling, raging mob, a mob with empty bellies, a mob unshaven and in rags." - Henry Miller
Just once I'd like to spend a day in a way that didn't involve some kind of ten mile death march...if only because it would open up a few more footwear options. Though, it has to be faced, wandering is what I do...it's in my bones...I just need to accept that (and the fact that all my dresses will be paired with Cons at some point).
Embroidered dress - Comptoir des Cotonniers, t-shirt - American Apparel, lo-tops - Converse, bag - from a MOMA exhibition
Yesterday was spent with my favorite things...Mr. Heb (just visible as a reflection in the blue painting)...art...the city...and an inordinate amount of good food and drink (iced mocha's...warm pain au chocolat...sangria...sugar snap peas with shallots and tarragon...shrimp with large crystals of sea salt clinging to their sides...Manchego cheese and quince paste).
I'm a very happy little Heb...demoralized only by my footwear and the translation of a poem from a Japanese woodblock print from the mid-1700's that I stumbled across in the art gallery...
"Despite all I do It is of no avail - My body has grown old; While the waterfall remains Unchanged in its appearance."
Oh how I wish that I, like Susie Bubble, was off to Paris this weekend. There are, of course, many reasons for this, not least of which is that there's never really a bad time to visit Paris, but mainly because it would give me the opportunity to spend a night at the Hotel Everland...a one-room hotel cum art installation created by Swiss artist-duo L/B (Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann). The pod-tel has spent time in Switzerland and Germany and is currently residing upon the top of the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
It's a bijou resting place, worthy of Barbarella, and comprising a bathroom, king-size bed and a lounge...no room service, no lobby, no mint on your pillow...but you do get incredible, uninterrupted views of the Eiffel Tower, a fully-stocked mini-bar (which is included in the cost of your stay...try and find that at a regular hotel), and a record collection for a little entertainment (as if the scenery wasn't enough).
In fact, this could be the ultimate bed and breakfast for Marlene Dietrich types, i.e. those who "want to be alone"...but also want breakfast delivered to their door.
Last night I was watching television...flipping through the channels...and was horrified to see a commercial for the "Rose Petal Cottage"...a plastic palace that you can fill with all the plastic stoves, sinks, and nursery sets needed to convince your child that we're still living in the 1950's. The assault to the senses continues with the accompanying jingle...lyrics so cringe-worthy they cause the viewer to wince violently and put their back out.
I couldn't track down the commercial I saw but I did find this alternative version. Once again, the soundtrack is hardly inspiring...and I quote...
"I love when my laundry gets so clean Taking care of my home is a dream...dream...dream"
Dream...nightmare...they're so close one gets them confused sometimes...
Personally I love every part of the shopping process. From selecting the right outfit (easy to take on and off and in neutral shades that will work with whatever you take in to the changing room)...to the thrill of the chase, the purchase...and the satisfying swing of the shopping bags as you stroll around for the rest of the day. On rare occasions the store itself will add something to the experience but that takes...
Stores that are unique...almost art installations...Dover Street Market in London is one of this breed and, looking at some photographs on the Japanese website honeyee, Martin Margiela's Japanese stores appear to be others. As I don't speak the language I'm assuming the images are taken from several of the locations but if anyone knows otherwise please let me know. Whatever the case, the store design is beautiful. Unique...stark, yet rich...utilitarian, but with a feeling of warmth. Wandering through this store I would happily follow the whitewashed footprints wherever they may lead, a fashionable Alice being led astray in a wonderland.
The photographs do not belong to me (except the ones I personally shot.) All photos are only used by commenting purposes and none are used for commercial reasons.
The avatar image used for this blog was taken by Ryan Robinson.
