23 June 11

Jeff, reading on our bedroom floor.

My Life -- SmookieStyle!

Blog Name: My Life -- SmookieStyle! Category: Product Reviews Owner: CeliaDescription: A product review and giveaway blog, written by a sassy SAHM (collaborating her knowledge and the testing 'expertise' of her 2 yr old partner-in-crime, Smookie). We love to review organic and eco-friendly items!Blog URL: http://smookiestyle.com/Feed URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyLife--SmookieStyleVisit: My

22 June 11

This is what my hair looks like from the back.

New "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" Trailer

Written and Produced by J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Mission Impossible III) and Directed by Brad Bird (many Pixar movies), Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol comes out December 16th.

I loved the first film, thought the second was fairly dreadful, and enjoyed the third outing. This preview makes it look like they may have succeeded in incorporating the best of them all.

yield & W1L 016: Write one leaf about a song you know by heart.

I honestly don't know how people can fake two-tone tights because GOOD GOD it was uncomfortable having an entire leg and waist of tights tucked into my other pair of tights. I spent the day sitting on a wadded lump of nylon.

In other news, I was rereading The Little Prince (Katherine Woods translation) for the first time since I was six or however old I was when I first picked it up. To be totally honest, I didn't think it was a compelling story at all the first time I read it. (I also didn't much like Coraline by Neil Gaiman the first time I read it either, because it, like The Little Prince, seemed like a book written by grown-ups who wanted to understand children but had a gross misunderstanding of how children worked.)

So I was rereading The Little Prince while walking around a Korean supermarket and started crying.

I still think that neither The Little Prince nor Coraline is the kind of book that I would've fallen in love with as a child (I thought the former was just a queer little book with strange drawings and the latter was disappointing because Coraline wasn't as kick-ass as I wanted), but looking back at The Little Prince with more sorrow under my belt, it's really... lovely, the same way The Velveteen Rabbit is when you reread it as an adult.

Sweater: uncle's. Skirt: secondhand, gift. Tights: Forever21 + BP Nordstrom. Saddle shoes: Payless.

— but when one flushes does that not mean "Yes"?

I write stuff after the jump.

21 June 11

Sarah and I went over to Chelsea's for haircuts and Sarah showed me how to use Hipstamatic properly so now I don't hate it as much.

20 June 11

Knock it Off!

I've got shoe beef. 

Let me preface this post by saying that I think Jeffrey Campbell is killing it. His shoes are often the biggest trending shoes out there and he obviously has a great eye. I practically live in my Litas and that's saying a lot. You guys KNOW about my shoe collection. haha

That being said, I do have beef with these cheesy blatant knockoffs. Knockoffs bug me sometimes, while other times I don't think it's that big of a deal. I get that people want designer inspired styles for less. The Litas are actually "interpretations" of an amazing designer shoe and like I said, I wear them all the time. These shoes however, really rub me the wrong way. 

You can't take a shoe that is literally an icon and knock it off like this. It's super cheesy. 

Above, the knockoff. 

Below, the original by Salvatore Ferragamo...

I don't like either one to be honest but you have to respect a classic. This is one of the most famous shoe designs in the world.

I also have beef with this shoe because the original is so amazing and these just look like bad orthopedic shoes. Yikes.

Above, the knockoff.

Below, the Original by Prada...

And finally this shoe. A cheesy knockoff of a really special shoe.

Above, the knockoff.

Below, the original by Charlotte Olympia.

What do you guys think?? There's a fine line between interpreting and knocking off but these are crossing the line. Does it bother you? Or do you think that all is fair in shoes and fashion?

xox, 

Graphic Novel Review: Green Lantern: Rebirth

When the Man Without Fear becomes the darkest villain his allies have faced- and been defeated by- in centuries, what does it take to redeem him and save them all?

For somebody who never owned more than three issues of Green Lantern before 2011, I'm about as big a fan as you're likely to find. This winter, I spent a lot of time reading comics at the Borders Cafe, and what kind of comic nerd would I be if I spent all my time reading Dark Horse? One of the first DC novels I had to get my hands on was Green Lantern: Rebirth.

The only issue of Green Lantern I own featuring Hal Jordan is from 1983. At least, I thought it was. I also thought that was the issue in which Hal Jordan destroys the Green Lantern Corps. So either that happened twice, the comic had a startling moment of prescience, I had an incredibly realistic dream, or a very strange mismemory. I can’t find that comic, though, so I can’t check.

Anyway.

Green Lantern: Rebirth by Geoff Johns is the story of Hal Jordan’s return to the Green Lantern Corps, and as such the return of the relevance of Green Lantern. Not to be cynical, it’s just that the GLC being relevant to DC without Hal would be like a friend of Peter Parker’s putting on the Spiderman suit and maintaining his pre-eminence. Never mind that I hear that’s what they’re doing with Captain America? According to Gutters. Anyway, I would hope that with a title like Rebirth, what I just said wasn’t a spoiler.

Rebirth is, on top of all that, one of the greatest examples of retcons that fans like. Without having read the past decade of Green Lantern, from my understanding none of the revelations in Rebirth existed before this volume was written. Everything in it comes completely out of left field- however, when fans demand it, is it really out of left field?*

I’m aiming for a brief review, but sometimes, you’ve just gotta talk. If you know the deal with Parallax, you can skip most of this. Anyway, in 1993, during the events leading to the return of Superman, Coast City, the hometown of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, was destroyed. The story, as the grapevine describes it, is that he lost it, went crazy, effectively destroyed the GLC, the Guardians, and the central power battery himself. He snapped his long-time foe Sinestro’s neck in a fit of rage, and became the villain Parallax. As Parallax, Jordan went on a reign of terror before finally sacrificing his life to save the sun.

But Hal Jordan isn’t dead- he lives on in the ghastly Specter, who took him on in the hopes of destroying… Parallax. Parallax is revealed to be an independent sentient, and one of incredible power. Sort of like if Return of the Jedi ended with a battle between Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. Yet, with how Rebirth explains it all, Hal Jordan’s fall and redemption comes across as more realistic than the falls of Anakin Skywalker and Arthas Menethil’s best points put together.

This is one of the best written comics I’ve ever seen. While characters can be disagreeable, there are no moments that I would consider poorly characterized- the biggest “what the hell?” moments that I encountered were the sudden appearances of characters such as Kilowog where they hadn’t been before. It’s sort of sequential, but sometimes the use of first-person narration in Kyle Raynar’s scenes caused me to question whether certain things were flashbacks or not. It’s possible to read this scene and not be confused- that’s not the way it happened for me, though.

Ethan Vans Sciver’s art (not to mention the work of the rest of the art team) is phenomenal. I’ve seen well done comics, although the truly impressive ones are relatively limited. Many are either cheesy or simply sufficient; only Star Wars: Legacy really stands out in my mind as a comic that I’ve read in the past few years and the art really impressed me, as sequential art goes. Rebirth surpassed that. I think the defining moment of the art in this comic is where Kilowog appears, steaming with rage and under the influence of fear.

I’ve always loved ‘Wog’s appearances, mostly as an example of ridiculous character design combined with a serious character in serious situations. He just combines cheesyness and awesomeness in every panel he’s in. Not here. There is nothing cheesy about this Kilowog. At least, if you don’t automatically see the humanoid equivalent of an angry pink hippo or rhino as amusing. The detail on this guy leaves me awestruck. For the first time, I could envision Kilowog as a live action character.

Oh, and let me not forget Parallax. I’ll let the character design speak for itself here.

What to say about the story itself? Well, it’s about as poignant and emotional as a story that declares itself a retcon over and over again can be. And apparently, that’s pretty damn emotional.

Coming into this as I did, after reading Blackest Night, there’s a ton of foreshadowing here. (That’s not to mention the unintentional parody of naming individual issues “Blackest Night” and “Brightest Day”, just going to show how overused those terms are in Jordan’s saga, and with good reason.) Black Hand’s appearance, for instance… I imagine maybe people saw it as nothing more than a cameo, and presumed that the character would vanish from continuity for a few years. Yeah.

But as for this story… well, we have Batman, Green Arrow, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Hal Jordan and Sinestro. In classic dramatized comic style, every character’s strengths are up-played and there are a ton of hardcore finishing moves (and lots of cameos). Sinestro is brought into play as badass as he possibly can be, in league with the embodiment of fear itself, facing off against the old and new Green Lanterns.

Green Lantern: Rebirth is a must for any fan of Green Lantern or comics in general. It might be a little confusing for anybody not familiar with the backstory, but a token effort is made to explain Hal’s fall and return, which I think was handled fairly well for its position as a minor detail to the story. If you’re the type of reader who enjoys seeing iconic characters return to their glory (not just Jordan!) or seeing things like a Guardian of the Universe laying a smackdown or even younger heroes officially accepted by the great legends of their time, this is a story you might want to check out.

*If it’s not, it’s certainly written as it is. I did include all necessary disclaimers.

The Man in Black is a weekly review at Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin' News & Reviews. For more of his reviews, you can visit his home page at www.MiBreviews.com

19 June 11

Jeff made a chocolate upside-down crême brulée, which turned out more like an incredibly delicious mousse with caramelized sugar. It was served with cognac whipped cream and it was fantastic.

I think I got carried away, or IFB Project #2: Let's Get Poetic

This is my entry for the second installment of the IFB Project, for which the instructions were to "pick something out of your closet you love and write a haiku about it." I'm no Winona, but I couldn't resist trying. I guess I'll call the first haiku my official entry... The nine other ones that follow are just for fun.

double seagull ring,
you give a whole new meaning
to flipping the bird.

--------------------------


cheapest shoe i own —
no self-respect, just lets me
walk all over it.

--------------------------


fcuk slip:
sunny the prostitute from
catcher in the rye

--------------------------


banana necklace:
neither apple nor orange —
y u so phallic?

--------------------------


ron weasley t-shirt:
the closest i've ever let
a man near my heart.

--------------------------


discontinued keds:
i carry them in my heart —
they carry my soles.

[Photo: Work It, Berk]

--------------------------


extremely striped pants:
let's run away together —
circus or prison?

--------------------------


coral marquise ring:
the classiest of them all —
lost in a bathroom.

--------------------------


ugliest sweater:
only a mother'd forgive
the gilt on your chest.

--------------------------


batman timepiece: it's
the watch my wrist deserves, but
not the one it needs

On Hiatus

I'll be taking a break from blogging for the next week. Jim Haley and The Man in Black will still be here doing their regular Monday & Friday posts-- so you probably won't even notice I'm gone. Have a nice week everyone.

My Thirtieth Birthday... 80's Style

I had such an amazing birthday party last week!! My friends and I dressed in 80's theme and danced the night away. I just wanted to share some of my favorite moments captured on film...

THANK YOU to my friend and amazing photographer Rosie. Check out his work HERE

 My beautiful and talented friend Skully Smith who stayed in character all night

Christie Walker, my hair dresser extraordinaire!

 My favorite shoe designer Jessica and her sister Alex (my awesome sales rep for Cece L'amour) 

Love.

 My woman Leah. <3

 My awesome trainer Brandan. Kicks my ass 3x a week. 

Another awesome photographer, my buddy Drew

The girls ;) 

Kelly, amazing and amazingly talented <3 

Showing Amita my nails

Super rad dudes. Hands off ladies.

 Juli... lifelong friend, best mom blogger <3

 Mark and Monicuddle

Hong Kong's own super talented artist, Simon Birch. Simon flew in JUST for my birthday. I was so honored. Right Simon? ;)

 You know Ben....

dress/gloves- Vintage (The Way We Wore), necklaces- F21, ring/shoes- Betsey Johnson

Such a fun night!! There are TONS more photos. Too many to post but if you wanna check it out here is the link...

LINK


xox,