BENJAMIN UNBUTTONED

My Peruvian ID expired (as well as my Uruguayan ID and passport), and so I feel like a character in a movie set in an Eastern European country during the Cold War, who, unable to speak the local language, is about to be detained by the police and then arrested.

Though I tried to fix my Uruguayan situation while I was vacationing in Punta del Este earlier this year, I wasn't able to for two reasons: 1. I took too long to start the whole renewal procedure (I was having too much fun) and 2. Uruguayan bureaucracy has not evolved, nor does it show any signs that it will any time soon (and their employees are apparently hell-sent).  Pretty much like the Miss Argentina character in Beetlejuice, remember her?



IN BEETLEJUICE HELL, THOSE WHO COMMIT SUICIDE ARE CONDEMNED TO WORK IN PUBLIC SERVICE FOR ETERNITY.  TIM BURTON IS A GENIUS.



Anyway, I must plan a quick trip to Montevideo some time soon in order to get all of this solved.  You see, Uruguayan law has it that in order for me to renew my passport I FIRST have to renew my ID.  Why not renew my ID at the Consulate in Lima?  Because you simply can't.  This is something that MUST be done in the actual country.  I know, it's ridiculous.  I cried, I wailed, I had a tantrum.
"Why bother so much for an Uruguayan passport?" you might ask, like some of my Argentine friends sneered back in Punta.  Well, you see, there are a couple of reasons.  One is that I actually want a physical element that makes the link to my mother's country of birth official.  Two: there are benefits from having it, such as not needing a visa for the U.K., Italy, France,Spain and many other European countries.  And believe me, having lost my diplomatic passport privileges when I turned 25 (someone hand me a tissue please), it COMES. IN. HANDY.  I've never had to ask for a visa so I'm really unfamiliar with the whole process and I've heard it's usually an unpleasant experience. 

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING, I STILL KEEP MY DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT BECAUSE IT HOLDS MY US VISA.

So, back to Peru.  I went to get my Peruvian ID renewed.  There was a huge line.  I left.  I decided I'd come back another  day, hopefully before the elections in April, ha!  I already had my picture taken though, and on my way back home, as I stared at it and placed it next to the one on my expired ID I thought to myself : GOD have I  AGED!  Not that I am not happy with the way I look now (I think I'm more comfortable with myself today than I was then), but I the signs of this certain "maturity", so as to call it, were undeniable.
In a very 1989-1999-The-Next-Best-Thing-mirror-scene kind of way, I found a blog's (thank you Matt Rettenmund) side-by-side comparison of a picture of Madonna at the Vanity Fair party on Sunday and another one of her at a book signing in 2000, where she actually looks younger TODAY.  I discussed the Madonna situation with a dear friend of mine from Buenos Aires and he said it was a case of "Benjamin Button", and that he too "suffered" from that syndrome.  He kept me laughing for a while when he sent me some ridiculously, terribly photoshopped pictures of himself to prove his point.  I then had to do my own side-by-side comparison and realized I do NOT have that condition.  Unfortunately.

DARK CIRCLES! 2011 vs. 2005

I had another nostalgic moment today that took me back to a bit earlier than 2005, precisely to 2003.  I had a wonderful cardio workout today to a song from that year.  It was on repeat for a while, and as I listened to it, it brought back many memories: parties at my favorite restaurant, a silver Beetle, a rooftop party, the friends I used to hang out with back then, those who STILL hang out with me now, a hat party, etc. etc.  I originally thought my picture had been taken in 2003 as well, so I thought "what a fortunate coincideeeeence...", but no, I was confused.  So, just for confusion's sake, let me post the song.  The End Starts Today (Tommi Sunshine Remix), by Bis .

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:

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.

HOW RETRO

I've talked about the 80's many times, I myself was one of those that thought they'd never be back and then fell for almost every single trend from that decade that has sneaked back into our lives.  This morning's newspaper had the headline featured above, it reads "THE KREMLIN CONDECORATED SPIES WHO WERE EXPELLED".  Isn't this just a bit TOO 80's?
I remember a whole family of kids from the U.S. at my school in Moscow were expelled and had to leave the country in a short time's notice when their parents had been accused of being spies (one of them was a really good friend of my sister's).  We found it so unfair and thought it was just some sort of retaliation for a Soviet family that had been expelled from Washington weeks before.  Their American nanny stayed and became a teacher's assistant at our school.
I also remember how our house there had been completely wired (is this the correct term?).  A few months before we arrived in 1987, the Embassy had detected the places where the microphones had been placed, and when my sister and I found out where they were, we decided we place ourselves close enough in order to say nasty comments about the Russians and about living in the Soviet Union (God knows we actually LOVED it there).  Even the staff at the house was in on this game.  Our cook, Valia, was fluent in Spanish, yet she pretended to barely know the language.
We know fashion and its trends come up as a result or echo of our times, but today it just felt like it was the other way around.

A SPOONFUL OF JULIE

What would our world be without Julie Andrews? I really don't know. So many people's childhood memories are inevitably linked to her I can't possibly think of anyone who doesn't hold a special place for her in their heart. Unlike what was said about Singin' In The Rain's Lina Lamont, she CAN act, she CAN dance and she CAN sing, she is perhaps the embodiment of the word "talent".
I was thinking about the videos I should post regarding her but there's an endless list in Mary Poppins alone, and then there's The Sound of Music, Victor Victoria, etc. etc.
Though we associate her name mostly to films that belong to the comedy and musical genres, what's special about Julie Andrews is that she is also an actress with range. Just a couple of weeks ago I was over a couple of friends' house and we were about to watch her in Hitchcock's Torn Curtain, alongside Paul Newman, but something, I dont' recall what, got in the way and we ended up watching something else.
I'm having a sort of hectic week, but I had to take a minute or two to sit down and write about her today. Happy 75th Birthday!

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO

I was thinking about those VERY inspiring Robert Palmer videos with the beautiful girls, all uniformed in the same slick hair, red lipstick and skintight dresses. All so pretty. I had suggested the look for a styling project I have next week but my client didn't approve of it. Too bad.
A friend of mine on Facebook posted the videos a couple of days ago and I thought it was funny coincidence. Then this morning, I remembered the following video. Enjoy.

HEAR HER ROAR

So, after a couple of days or weeks of not posting anything, here I am again. I've actually had longer pauses than this, but the fact that this blog and myself were featured in widely read magazine, here in Lima, has added a litte more pressure to keep the posts coming up more frequently.

In my usual search for new music, I've become obsessed with an new song by a new artist, but the problem is I've only heard about a minute (precisely 58 seconds) of it, but I am HOOKED on it. I've been searching for a full version all over the web and I could find nothing, learning the album won't be released until August didn't help my anxiety much, until finally, last night, I found a little something: the full version in a video on youtube where sound quality is terrible because the song serves as the musical backdrop for a tiny little girl's performance. She actually knows some of the lyrics and is really into the whole thing, she even manages to imitate some of the gestures Lolene (Ooops! Just realized I never mentioned the song I'm talking about : Lion Heart by British newcomer Lolene http://www.lolenemusic.com) does in one live performance I also found on youtube. Watching this girl and her improvised, all-over-the-place but definitely heartfelt choreography reminded me of myself at her age.


When I lived in the former Soviet Union and my parents had to throw official dinner parties, my sister and I would have to stay upstairs all night, unable to go down, just like prisoners. Well, "prisoners" might be a bit of a stretch, but let's just say that my father wasn't too fond of the few occasions when I sneaked into the main living room and my 8 year-old self began to chat with some diplomat's wife out of the blue. The second reason why I am definitely exaggerating is because I hold some of the sweetest memories from those moments of "confinement". I remember we'd watch lots of movies, especially ones with plenty of music and dancing involved, while munching on the same food the grown-ups were having thanks to our cook who'd keep sending up the plates (I guess this is the moment when I began to put on weight). Then we'd create our own little dancefloor by rolling up the carpets in order to provide for a slippery and gliding-friendly surface. Many Flashdance moments were recreated there, soon to be followed during winter on the ice-skating rink.
So JUST because she's managed to take me back to this moment, I think Sydney deserves to be posted on my blog. Here she is, enjoy, while I keep on singing and waiting for this single to come out:  This is the eeeeeeeend of the wooooooorld as we know iiiit...

HELEN SLATER

I have JUST found out it is Helen Slater's birthday today! Ring a bell? To me she's the 80's beauty and Michael J. Fox's object of desire in The Secret of My Success (1987), but I guess most people will remember her as Supergirl.



However, I think I enjoyed watching her the most in the leading role in The Legend of Billie Jean, which has that wonderful hell of a song by Pat Benatar, Invincible.
Well she's turned 46 today, and I can say she has aged pretty well, don't you think?




Here's the video for her song, which includes tiny bits from the movie and then a clip from one of my favorite scenes in The Secret of My Success. Enjoy.

OUR DAUGHTERS' DAUGHTERS WILL ADORE US...RIGHT?

As a result of my search for pictures for my last post, I naturally arrived at many that included Julie Andrews. Though I had downloaded quite a few songs from Mary Poppins I realized there were some I was missing. Among them was one that was sung not by Julie Andrews but by Glynnis Johns, the actress who plays Mrs. Banks. The song is called Sister Suffragette, and as the title suggests, it deals with women's votes, something that was forbidden during the period of time the movie was set in, early 20th century.
Though her character is portrayed as somewhat ridiculous, what comes across as ridiculous is the fact that women were not allowed to vote, especially when we come to think that this movie was made during the 1960's. The simple thought of women not being able to exercise their individual rights and have a say in political matters must have felt absolutely insane and unthinkable for the new generations at the time, yet interracial marriage was THEN a topic of social debate.



Well now, nearing 2010, about a hundred years after this fictional nanny changed the lives of the Banks family, some minorities continue to fight for their individual rights. Gay marriage is illegal in many countries, not to mention the fact that BEING gay is considered a crime in some countries too. Though some progress has been made, it is up to our generation to continue the strive for equal rights. Hopefully this WILL change in much less than a hundred years.




Anyway,back to my song-of-the-moment, I searched for the video and then had a little fun playing with the lyrics in the first verse, so as to update it:

ORIGINAL:
We're crearly soldiers in petticoats
And dauntless crusaders for womens'votes
Though we adore men individually
We agree that as a group they're rather stupid!

MY VERSION:
We're clearly soldiers in PRADA coats
And dauntless crusaders for GAY MEN'S votes
Though we adore STRAIGHTS individually
We agree that as a group they're rather stupid!

It's just a stereotypical joke! Here's the video, enjoy:

C'EST PAS MA FAUTE

The search for a soundtrack for my upcoming show has accidentally brought me back to my francophile self. Not that I plan on using any of them for the actual show (well, I really don't know that yet), but as I discovered Guesch Patti and other songs performed by Desireless besides their major hit "Voyage, Voyage" (which has the ability to transport me back to communist Moscow, back when the first music channel came out over there, Telecanal 2x2...never understood that name), I started humming a song in my head I remember hearing all over the place on a trip to Paris in 2000.
Anyway, thank goodness for google, I only remembered part of the chorus and that the girl singing it was called Alizée, whom I've heard of more recently but haven't been able to really get into her at all. In fact, I haven't even made the effort to like her. Anyway, I typed in "c'est pas ma faute" and there it came : "Moi Lolita" by Alizée.
It's downloaded and, again, on repeat. I love it. It's a catchy, poppy song, nothing extraordinary, but what kind of got to me, is that this song was making me nostalgic for the year 2000. TWO THOUSAND. Not 80's or 90's like my constant status updates on Facebook, but TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THOUSAND. GOD. Funny thing is, I was already complaining about aging back then, and no longer being a "teen"...I guess that'll be a constant in my life.
Then again Daft Punk's "One More Time" is also a song that brings back memories from this trip and I'm sure most people are unaware it's a nine-(soon-to-be-ten)year old song.
Here's "Moi Lolita". Enjoy.

RETROBSESSION

I've definitely been going through a long phase of nostalgia lately. I don't know if it's because I'm approaching thirty (I'm holding on to 28 as hard as I can but I'm afraid there's not much more I'll be able to do by next April) but I've become obsessed with stuff that was around when I was a kid.
This has definitely shown up in my work, I had a She-Ra inspired collection two seasons ago. I looooooooved that cartoon when I was a kid and I had been wanting to work the theme out into clothes for a while until I finally did last September. I had the chance to show this collection at the Salon du Prêt-à-Porter in Paris in January and used one of my favorite songs from the 80's, Kim Wilde's version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" as the soundtrack. That video was actually part of what convinced me I was going in the right direction. I mean, we've all dreaded the 80's after they were gone, but now, 20 years after we are in the middle of an absolute 80's explosion, strongly expressed through current music and fashion trends.
I mean, who thought leggings would EVER come back?
As a result of this nostalgic phase I mentioned, I've been googling and youtubing (does that word exist?) music that I used to listen to as a kid. Throughout this search I've re-discovered Italo-Disco. I think I just learned that was the actual name of the genre. I don't know if it was ever big in the States but I used to live in the former Soviet Union and the only kind of "cool" music that would make it through the Iron Curtain was this type, with performers such as Sandra, Sabrina and Modern Talking.
I think I heard most of this music from one of my chauffeur's tapes. Well, now, as I was searching for these songs from the past (including long-lost favorite "Here I Am" by Mike Mereen) I came across a true Italo-Disco jewel : Need Your Passion, performed by Sweet Connection. The song sounds incredibly familiar, but then again most songs has similar beats. I had never seen the video until now and I have become absolutely obsessed with everything in it. Starting from the "seductive" (hahaha) looks one of the performers gives the camera through 90% of the video, the hairstyles (!!!), the fake patent-leather outfits and then, to top it off, the choreography. It's just too much. I love it. I confess. I do. I love the song. I've downloaded it into my iPod and I do cardio to it on repeat every day. There, I said it. Here it goes.