Lets smoke indoors

I tend to fall behind on television trends, every now and then a TV show descends upon us, gripping our hearts, clutching our souls or well hyperbole aside giving us a reason to stay in on a Thursday night. Facebook status' will be dedicated to it, columns of magazines will be consumed with its secrets and in general everyone gets a little bit cooler by watching it. This was the reason I started watching Mad Men. I want to catch up with everyone else, look a little cooler, be involved in the convo but that's not going to happen when iv just watched episode one of series one!! Not to worry I have come across the cheats guide to Mad Men. Phew!

Lady Sings the Blues

Jazz artists pf the 1930s and 1940s became the unequivocal trendsetters of their generation. One such irrefutable music and fashion guru was Lady Day otherwise known as Billie Holiday. Changing the face of the music industry Holiday was the first female front woman to work on stage with white musicians lending her vocal talents to the Archie Shaw band.

Lady Days life was not without tragedy, becoming a prostitute at the tender age of 13, Holiday was forced to work in the nightclubs of Harlem as her mother fell sick. With a penchant for hard drugs Holidays rise to fame came to an almost unprecedented end when she was convicted and imprisoned for possession of illegal drugs.

Perhaps in some ways Holiday will always be the peoples tragic heroine but when we truly listen to her raw unusual vocals its not with sympathy we should respond but rather celebration of the wonderful tenacity of a woman who fought the social norms and her own demons for her entire career. Her style harmoniously matched her stage presence. Adorned in pearls, gowns and her trademark gardenias Holiday rounded off her look with dark red lips and high arched brows. Holidays style was marked with a polished elegance, a style that hearkens to an era gone by.

From Aristotle to Brand

Hmmm one must wonder is it ever a safe option to take fashion advice from Russell Brand. The dishevelled patron to the homeless look may be an unlikely candidate to source as a fashion guru, but damn the man is a well of wisdom. Brand has a wonderfully inherent talent to make me feel rather silly for thinking about life too much. For example:

"My look is a collision between bondage, Seventies rock n' roll and a gentleman at the Henley Regatta," he said. "I don't go shopping much because I find it hard to commit to an object. Will I ever wear these? Then I question the value of consuming, trying to make yourself feel better just by buying a pair of shoes. I think 'will I feel better after I've bought these shoes? Or will I just be me...in some shoes."

Sometimes things are rather that simple aren't they. But enough of this new wave thinking or my blog will enter an early retirement

I am sure we were meant to take drugs otherwise we wouldnt get stoned

I went to a Howard Marks talk last night. I almost didn't want to go I had planted myself in the student bar and the thought of a Howard Marks talk seemed like an evening accompanied by power point slides on how to be a rebel. See Howard Marks is rather like a principle, his philosophies must be tried and tested through experience not through a seminar at 8 o clock at night or at least I thought. Well I was wrong.

Marks is a formidable figure, he captivated me throughout the two hour talk and by the end of it I felt for a brief period of time that the man was an invincible God descending upon us from some magical haven of knowledge where only the few select of us had been pre-destined to hear about his school of life. Theres something rather wonderful about someone who can inspire you to feel like you need to retake your life, live on the edge a bit. Speaking in carefully constructed fluid sentences Marks slammed home his pro cannabis philosophies with such precision that I wondered how one could possibly counteract the argument.

Theres something rather fascinating about a criminal who has the charismatic personality of Howard Marks. Mr Nice indeed. Leaving the theatre with the sharp strides of a man with many places left to see,I wondered where he was off to next, what chapter of a book was he writing now...theres no doubt that Marks is a legend a memoir of a time gone by.

Judging a book by its cover?

I was thinking today about the link between an album cover and the subliminal message an artist is trying to send. Back in the old day, before the reign of illegal downloading, the artwork in an album was a deal breaker. Intrinsically it was the driving force luring you, defining the nature of its contents in sweeping first impression. I remember rifling through c.ds and stopping once id seen something remotely cool I could walk out of the shop holding. The artwork of an album cover was and still should be a distinctive feature,a synthesis if you will of the artists work. When I think of the Velvet Underground the image of a banana is ingrained in my mind, or what about the sex pistols Never Mind the Bollocks album the ransom style lettering summed up the belligerent nature of the band as they fought against society norms. Can you imagine songs without music videos simultaneously what would an album be without a cover? Music is an aesthetic experience and the visual representation of an artist is hugely prominent to give us a greater idea of the image trying to be conveyed. Sure we're getting music for free but is it really at the cost of true art?

"Seeing comes before Words" John Berger

I see life in angles in lines of perspective

Isn't it just fantastic. The dialogue reminds me of Trainspotting, a simple brutal honesty interwoven with images so crisp and perfectly fluid it borders on intimidating . Irish surfer Mickey Smith creates this beautiful short film as part of the Relentless Energies Short Stories Competition. Its one of those films that fills you with perspective and moments of thought spurned on by these intricate anecdotes "there may not be a future in it but at least I'm in a present worth remembering".

Smith captures the essence of the Cliffs of Moher and its wild terrain. Paying homage to the sea as he simultaneously becomes its prisoner. In interviews Smyth emphasises the solitary experience of his unusual genre and insists he his a photographer more than a surfer. Either way the imagery of the film is haunting, capturing those rare standstill moments where one truly feels part of nature.

Less Talking More Beauty

Woo Halloween!! I had a house party last Saturday for it. While I had intended on going as a neo chic Postman Pat, my budget simply did not permit anything over ten euro so in the end I settled on some Christmas wrapping paper in Tesco and a few ribbons and swanned around under the guise of a Christmas present!

Mario Testino, words will never be enough to describe the seminal photographer. I was browsing through the November issue of Vogue where Testino transformers Anne Hathaway into a beautiful modern day Audrey Hepburn. The whole shoot has a very American girl about Paris vibe and Hathaway dazzles in the modern day fairytale shoot. Iv never been the biggest fan of Hathaway I cant quite pinpoint it, perhaps im accustomed to scandalous celebrities, the kind that welcome the publicity,seeing a private star like Hathaway is rather irritating. Either way, her poses here are outstanding and she really grasps the concept of the shoot, the shot on the spiral staircase is simply stunning.