VOI DANSA CU TINE

I was over at a friend's house a few days ago, after my lunch plans with two other friends got canceled after hours of waiting for them. We decided to have a chill afternoon, nibbling on sandwiches and munching on cookies while drinking coffee. All of this went on while we watched Casino Royale. Now, you might think I'm talking about the James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, but no, this was a 60's satire based on Ian Fleming's famous character.

The movie had an incredible cast, including former Bond girl Ursula Andress, David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Peter Sellers, and even Woody Allen. The main reason why we chose to watch it was because my friend held it as something really close to his childhood, especially because of the movie's soundtrack, composed by Mr. Burt Bacharach himself. Though I wouldn't label the movie as a must-see, it does have certain visual and musical highlights (like the sultry Look Of Love sung by Dusty Sprinfield).

However, what was most important was the fact that my friend was able to share this film with me.
Getting to know your friends through what they like and what made them happy during their childhood years is probably one of the things I cherish the most, it's like catching up with them in retrospect. Photographs, movies, and music among other elements have the incredible ability to take us back and forth through time. I have just been witness to that today when I found a video of one of my favorite Romanian singers from when I was a kid. Though I didn't recognize it at first, once I heard the chorus I could not help myself from letting out a HUGE sigh. I remembered I actually owned this tape, that she -Angela Similea- had a daughter that went to the American school together with my older sister, and that I had spotted her on the street once.

I'm so happy I found this video. To top it off, she is introduced by none other that Corina Chiriac, my other super-duper favorite Romanian singer, whom I managed to see live at a concert back then (until I got an upset stomach and had to be taken out of the venue, ruining the moment for my parents). That's why I'm not having kids. Here it goes:

ON MY iPod NOW

Pop à la française.

SANTA BABY

So, Christmas is only a few days away and I'm not in a very Christmas-y spirit yet, though I am looking forward to cheating on my diet on the year's cheat-day par excellence. I had been thinking about what I'd want to get this year (somewhat inspired by the HILARIOUS videos by Drew Droege's impersonation of Chloë Sevigny) and so I came up with a list of things I would like to get and then narrowed them down to the following five (in no particular order):

NUMBER 1 : A TALL, DARK AND HANDSOME VEGETARIAN.
Santa MUST know I've been single for quite a while (insert Dalí's The Persistence of Memory here, or a video of a tumbleweed, or a cricket sound...or...never mind, I think I made it clear), and though I have broadened my standards, a friend recently reminded me that, once upon a time, being a vegetarian was an essential requirement.

EXAMPLE: CHRISTIAN BALE.

NUMBER 2: DINNER WITH MADONNA. Or lunch, or breakfast or brunch! Whatever it may be. Oh, and I need to be able to bring my friend Paloma along as well to make it complete. You see Santa?! I'm learning to share! (But let me figure out whether she really neeeeeds to sit with us at the same table or if she can just watch from afar).

I CAN SETTLE FOR PIZZA.

NUMBER 3: THE FABERGÉ EGG I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE I WAS 8.
I SO behaved that year, and I still didn't get it. I was so distraught. Of course, maybe Santa had a hard time deciding WHICH Fabergé egg to bring me. I was never able to make up my mind as to which one was my favorite and I never specified, so I'll give him that, but today I feel like I should probably have the one with the lily of the valley theme since they were, together with narcissus, my favorite flowers in my garden in Moscow (I think I'm just going to have to rush to the closest perfume shop and sniff some Diorissimo for nostalgia's sake).
Seriously, Santa, it's been 22 years...

(SIGH)

TINY PORTRAITS OF NICHOLAS II AND HIS FIRST TWO DAUGHTERS, OLGA AND TATIANA

NUMBER 4: MATTHEW MORRISON'S ABS.
No further explanation necessary.

NUMBER 5: NO MORE BULLFIGHTS.
This might sound like a party pooper to many, but it would make me SO happy. I would give up all of my other gifts just for this one.

So Santa, I've kept it VERY short this year. I'm not asking for much. Here's a little video that will help you realize how insignificant the things I'm asking for are. Please don't let me down...AGAIN.
Tootles.
ROGER

SMILE

I was writing on my friend Paul's Wall on Facebook for his birthday, I always call him Paulette. Though this pseudo-nickname is not exclusively mine, whenever I do call him this way I always think of Paulette Godard. So I thought of her and then couldn't help but search for one of the most touching scenes in movie history (according to me): the ending of Modern Times.
This has been an EXTREMELY sensitive week. Blame it on the rain, the stars, the planets, the moon - or maybe just the lack of sugar- but it's been hard to deal with these past seven days. It's been somewhat comforting to watch this scene, even though it always manages to bring me to tears, just like the first time I saw it when I was about 8. The music, which you most likely will recognize, is just the best.

HAPPY 50TH DARYL!

More on Daryl:
I have NEVER seen this movie, I've been hypnotized by this scene since I saw it a couple of years ago. I wanna dance like this.

PIRATE CHIC

This is a post from quite a while ago that remained in draft-status instead of getting published for some unknown reason. Today is Daryl Hannah's 50th birthday, so I guess it's the perfect excuse to publish it, here it goes:

I'm in the last day of a four-day photoshoot, God knows I'm exhausted by now (missed the ABSOLUT GLIMMER party last night...) and I'm about to be officially sick, which will probably jeopardize my gym attendance yet another week (I went there last night after a 6-day absence and 6-day binge).
Two days ago, no, wait, was it yesterday? You see, this is what being locked up in a studio does to you (together with listening to Mariah Carey or other inhabitants of my iTunes whose presence I'm also ashamed to confess). Well anyway, whenever it was, I accidentally sprayed some cologne into my eyes that morning and I obviously had to tweet about it. Since my Twitter account is linked to my Facebook, two friends of mine decided to comment on my temporary cyclops-state. Though I had thought I'd go for Madonna's eyepatch look in the V Magazine editorial, one of my friends suggested a more Elle Driver kind of look and posted the famous trailer-fight scene from Kill Bill 2.

That reminded me of how much I was fascinated by Daryl Hannah back in the 80s. I bet almost everyone loved her in SPLASH, but the first time I saw her and where she really caught my attention was in the 1986 movie LEGAL EAGLES, where she starred alongside Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Brian Dennehy and the fabulous Terence Stamp. Her character was really intriguing, sort of like a previous version of Catherine Trammel: attractive blonde, possible murderer, gets involved with her lawyer. I also remember I was a bit disturbed by a pair of opera gloves she wore with a cocktail dress in one of the scenes, I never really liked that match, though I was hypnotized by her looks (loooong legs included).

BLONDE BEAUTY

OPERA GLOVE DRESS (THOUGH YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE THEM)

TERENCE STAMP LOOKING TERRIBLY DAPPER

LAWYER/DEFENDANT ROMANCE

After all these ideas went through my brain, the next inevitable thought was plastic surgery. I don't really like what's she's had done (though I really can't tell what precise touch-ups she has been through) but she's one of those celebrities whom you have sympathy for so you cover one eye, or squint, just so that you are not affected by the obvious changes.
I have to say, once again, that I'm not against plastic surgery AT ALL. I think it's totally worth it, especially if some doctor can keep you looking like Gloria Vanderbilt at EIGHTY SIX (!!!) :

GLORIA VANDERBILT TODAY.

Now back to Daryl, here's one of my favorite scenes from Legal Eagles: