YangaBang

Inquisitions

2010-01-31T12:20:00.003-05:00

Somehow in the last week I've ended up watching two somewhat disturbing films with religious persecution as their main theme. Both were difficult to watch, and yet both resonated with me very deeply. These are the 'horror' films that I like to watch. They are period movies, but based during very frightening times.

The first is Ken Russell's The Devils, made in 1971. It is interesting to note that Ken Russell also directed The Boyfriend, a campy musical that starred Twiggy that I often rented from the library and watched with my siblings growing up. It stars a young Vanessa Redgrave as the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne of The Angels, who fantasizes about Father Grandier, played by Oliver Reed. It follows the true story of a group of nuns in Loudon, France, who claimed to have been posessed by the priest. It is based off a book by Alduous Huxley that I am interested in finding. The dialogue is incredible, the production and direction is heavily stylized, and the acting is superb. For those of us raised with any Christian values, some of the footage is going to be truly disturbing, but overall is completely worth it to see a flame haired Vanessa Redgrave flailing around on the ground with her freakish hunch screaming "I'M BEAUTIFUL! NOOOOoooo I'M BEAUTIFUL!!" I literally COULD NOT get up from the couch.

Goya's Ghosts came out in 2006, and it starred Natalie Portman and Javier Bardem. While the film boasts gorgeous set and costume design and a heavy dose of beautiful Spain, it suffers from an 'aimless' narrative. The story itself is unconventional, but should still work, were it not for the very conventional score. The music in the film is TERRIBLE, and I believe, what truly prevents the flick from reaching its full potential. Even though the plot doesn't have the traditional arc that we are used to seeing onscreen, (none of the characters really change or evolve except for the worse, a lot is left unexplained.) this formula could still work. It is a very unique and unexplored time and place in history, and rather than letting the events unfold, the music sets us up for things that don't happen. I was furious- it pisses me off to see a good period piece ruined by cheesy music. If the film was scored by Philip Glass, it would have received MUCH better reviews.

More on Goya's Ghosts and tragic beauty here.

Up Dates

2010-01-28T16:44:00.003-05:00

I've been completely missing from this end of the blog world lately. I doubt any one even reads this any more, but in case they do, I thought I'd share a few links to what I've been up to.

You'll most likely see more of my blog updating happening on the official website for my dolls, The Kouklitas. Here is the direct link to my daily updated doll blog.

I'm also twittering. Still haven't quite got the hang of it.

Just finished reading

Still waiting for my hair to grow out

Also stay tuned my new tumblr page for my new performance art piece, beauty.underground

Inspiration

2009-10-12T17:04:00.000-04:00

Fashion Weak!

2009-10-06T13:03:00.004-04:00

So, as regular readers of my blog know, I tend to disappear for the months of September and February as a result of my involvement in fashion week. And for the first time in five years, I wasn't exclusively working for one company-- ahh, the beautiful life of a broke freelancer! So, for a few weeks, I put the dolls on hold, and dove in.

Last year I did a shoot with David Roemer for D magazine. The other models were Coley Brown and Caroline Trentini, and somehow, by coincidence I worked with both of them again for the Spring 2010 shows.

Coley had to get zipped up into a Petrou/Man bodysuit that was inspired by the original photo shoot I did for Nicolas' line back in July. The men filled a black room in the garment district, and stood on a platform over sound bites of space ships and whistles. It was haunting, eerie, and beautiful. The clothes were flawless, and the effect striking. Most of the models were good sports, standing for almost two hours completely zipped up-- afterwards Coley and I caught up a little and he gave me a paper from the recent exhibition from his first photography show, Growing Up, a collaboration with Patrick Tsai, a friend of mine who I met in Taiwan some years ago, and who Coley recently met in Japan (coincidental? The Universe moves most mysteriously!)

Coley getting dressed and ready to stand for two hours fully dressed and zipped.

Me and Coley, all suited up.

I also had the opportunity to do some freelance sewing and embroidery for Ranjana Khan, the wife of designer Naeem Khan who recently started her own collection of costume jewelry and accessories. They had their presentation together in their gorgeous 36th street showroom. Naeem's amazon girls were all standing on platforms in the main space, with their 'punk raj' gowns aglitter, while Ranjana's girls lounged on sofas and ladders in an adjoining room filled with flowers, live butterflies, and jewelry portraits. I was surprised to see Caroline Trentini, another D magazine vet, lounging as well.

A work in progress.

A glimpse of Naeem's show.

Reunion with Caroline Trentini

It was fun, and a lot of hard work-- like most of fashion. It was early to rise to help Nicolas with alterations and last minute presentation details, and late to bed for three days of non stop hand work for Ranjana- straight from the hangover of Nicolas' faboo after party at Apotheke.

The Giant Ashtray

2009-08-15T16:30:00.004-04:00

This last Thursday afternoon my friends and I decided we were going to the beach. Like most beach plans the day was set aside in advance, and we were determined to make it to the ocean, rain or shine. Even though the sky was heavy and gray and the air was cool, we trooped on; sailing to Coney Island on the Q train, over the Manhattan bridge, underground and overground through the tree lined streets of south east brooklyn.

We lucked out. The rain turned out to be a few modest drizzles, and the gray skies frightened the tourists and locals who would've been competition for a spot in the sand. We relaxed, read, talked, watched the skies. I dipped my feet in the water, but it was cold and the sand was full of broken glass and cigarette butts. The mood was melancholy and contemplative, we simply existed in the face of the ocean and sky, vast and silent, except for the groups of screams and whistles from the far off park. After a few hours we packed up camp and made our way to the Wonder Wheel, where we packed ourselves into a red metal cage and swung around for a little while, pointing out the cityscape on the horizon line, the people below.

By the time we continued on our walk to Brighton Beach, I felt fully enraptured in the moment. It's not something I can easily articulate, but I felt a certain oneness with our walk, with the air, and the strange people we passed.

And then my eyes grazed across the skyline and I saw the thin beautiful brown arms of a woman adjusting her sari in the fluttering wind. When the scarf came down an emotional tide rippled within me. I knew those arms, that cornrowed head. It was Key.

Key used to work in a shop on the corner of Prince and Mulberry by the Young Designer's Market, where I stood on the corner and passed out cards my first year back in New York. I maintained a job during the week. We immediately became friends, I stopped in her shop on an almost hourly basis every Saturday and Sunday to gossip about the neighbors, our love lives or lack thereof, and our sadness and dissatisfaction with our careers. We were two artists, bound together by the prison of the paycheck. We fantasized, we sang, and we laughed. We waited for our husbands, we waited to be discovered, we waited for our lives.

And then one day, Key left. The shop owner refused to pay her, and she was gone. We had phone numbers, we texted, we talked, but it was mostly through the other locals in the neighborhood that I found out about Miss Key. She was working at the Mercer Hotel, I eventually left the market.

In the ensuing two years, despite facebook, myspace, emails, or telephones, we lost touch. Life caught up with us, and whirled us into different directions. We didn't see each other once. She called from a payphone in the rain one afternoon. I called on a walk to meet friends at Astor Place.

And then there she was. I called her name, and when she turned around I was consumed with emotion. I felt her sadness flood into me, and for a moment we didn't speak, we just cried and held each other. She was having a bad day/week/month, hiding out on the Coney Island boardwalk, eating a pile of deliciously greasy food. And I was one with the universe. So much has changed for me since those times I spent warming up in her shop during the cold winter Nolita mornings. My art has become my work, and I was surrounded by some of my closest friends- and had a beautiful boy on my arm. Life has been good. She kept saying how much she needed to see me at that moment, and I couldn't help but feel some greater force making it happen.

After we said our goodbyes, I couldn't explain the sudden outburst of emotion to my friends. How do you explain something that just is? A feeling. Rushing water at the bottom of our wells. Dark, and moving. Our souls know each other, our hurt knows each other.

I don't think it will be another two years before I see Miss Key again. Read her beautiful words at her blog, Lady Plum.

The Purple Diaries

2009-08-07T18:13:00.003-04:00

Many people who know of Mary Astor associate her with the infamous scandal of 1936: The Purple Diaries. It was a divorce case that involved both of my great-grandparents battling it out over a custody battle for my grammy Marylyn; and it was also one of the first tabloid divorce cases to hit front page newspaper.

Dr. Franklin Thorpe, my great-grandfather, alleged that Mary kept a diary whose pages were scrawled with purple ink, that noted all of her dubious affairs with many hollywood bigwigs, but mostly in relation to her affair with playwright George S. Kaufman.
While looking around on the internet for other things, i stumbled upon an article from the LA times blog, in their regular Movie Star Mystery Photo section. I posted a few things from the link below, fun read!!

Pages from the diary??

Ms Astor in court. Work the eyebrows!

Ms Astor on the far left, Her lawyer in the middle whispering to gossip queen Ruth Chatterton.

Fascinating article from the time--click for a larger read!!

Wednesday Matinee

2009-08-05T20:48:00.005-04:00

NYC has blessed me with an insane amount of self motivated work lately. This means projects and deadlines that I am left to meet--enforced by myself; which is something I begged the universe for during the last three painful years I was working in the glamorous fashion industry. But, because I am my own worst enemy, this also means I have been spending waaaaay too much time taking advantage of my wonderful party promoter friends and their seemingly endless supply of SVEDKA and good music. Which means spending waaay too much time being hung over on the couch every day, not working, watching my young life flash before my eyes in a succession of television hours and facebook masturbation. It was one such morning that I caught a charming commercial on LOGO (the gay channel) for THE JEFFERY AND COLE CASSEROLE, a half hour long series of sketches written/edited/produced by Jeffery Self and Cole Escola, two very talented NYC based writers.

I was immediately intrigued by the lo-fi feel of the show, and after watching a few daytime reruns, I realized it had been a long time since I had laughed so hard during a hangover. I did a little internet stalking and found out these boys were somewhat major league youtube celebrities, which is what must have cinched the deal avec Logo. They are known on the internets as the VGL boys, aka Very Good Looking Boys- which is very fitting as they are both quite adorable.

But I have been missing out on my casserole lately because something in the universe snapped and I suddenly have managed to get my life moving again, which means more selective and career beneficial partying (happy hour 'business meetings' that send me to bed by eleven), as well as hours spent doing the work I need to be doing to get my career as an artist going. Making the bloody dolls, taking pictures, going to castings, drawing, writing writing writing.

So you can imagine my pleasure when I was in Hell's Kitchen, having a cig after my last go-see of the day, when I noticed two VGL boys walking down the street. First I dumbly yelled "I LOVE YOUR SHOW" and then I asked to take their picture for yangabang. We got in a conversation about my tattoos, which inevitably led to me bragging about Mary Astor. Cole mentioned he loved her in a movie where she was the 'other woman' (Dodsworth!!! It was Dodsworth!) and Jeffery sighed wistfully, saying his great-grandmother was probably knitting tea cozies. It is my hope that someday we'll all be besties and they'll invite me and Snejana over to discuss politics and butt plugs...but until then, here's a few of my fave videos as well as links to their (well worth reading) blogs.

COLE ESCOLA
JEFFERY SELF

Lords & Pirates

2009-08-05T20:21:00.002-04:00

Summer Reading has been somewhat hampered by the recent influx of projects I've taken on, some of which I'm actually hoping I'll get paid for. But there is always the subway train, and Housing Works, whose trays of dollar books are tempting for the literate and poor artist like myself. Here are my two most recent trappings, followed by a book I am halfway through.

A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA
Richard Hughes

first edition cover art

Originally published in 1929, a high wind in Jamaica is a captivating tale of pirates, children, and the savagery that both genres of humanity represent. It tells the story of two groups of children, who are sent from the hurricane torn shores of post-colonial Jamaica back to their 'native' England, a place they only know about through tales of their parents. On the way the ship is seized by pirates, and eventually the reader is left to wonder who is really in control of the story-- the pirates or the children.

The premise sounds somewhat ridiculous, but the intimate narrative tone reels you right in---giving us thorough views into the insights of the children, who think and act as children do (immediately connecting us to their characters, we were all savage children at one time) which can definitely be disturbing. Even though the book itself is a short and 'easy' read, every sentence is so saturated with poignant truth, that I wanted to reread the whole thing after finishing the last page. This was a book that made me want to write.

LORD BYRON & GREEK LOVE : HOMOPHOBIA IN 19th CENTURY ENGLAND
Louis Crompton

Lord Byron the Sexy

We've all heard about Lord Byron-- the great romantic poet who invented the term/lifestyle of the dandy-- but only in the last twenty or so years has his personal life been able to be examined in a completely unbiased fashion in regards to his own sexuality. By examining the social climate of 19th Century England, Louis Crompton paints a thorough portrait of George Gordon Byron as a tormented bisexual who's celebrity was at odds with the vicious treatment of anyone suspected of sodomy.

England was far behind other nations in terms of its treatment of homosexuals- where to be caught more or less meant death or exile. As Lord Byron grew up, and courted lovers of all genders and backgrounds, he was constantly haunted and tormented by the possibility of society discovering his love for men. Particularly fascinating were his personal letters to another closeted friend, telling of his love triumphs in Greece, where every thing is alluded to in a lyrical code. Boys names changed to flowers, trysts changed to prayer meetings. A fascinating glimpse into a time where money and fame couldn't save you from society's prejudices-- an issue still too familiar with almost two hundred years later.

THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH
Michael Chabon

I read a few reviews of the highly anticipated movie remake of this book, and when every one was outraged at the film's blatant cover-up of the sexual aspects throughout the work; I had to see what I was missing out on. I love reading books/watching movie books, sometimes in either order, and after picking this one up, it doesn't surprise me that they got it wrong.

The prose is layered and intense, and the storyline is at once nostalgic and immediately meaningful. If you're in the mood for a little bit of smarter summer reading, pick this one up. However, I'm only halfway through it, so it could all go down from here and I should probably stop writing...now.

Wed Viewings

2009-07-29T14:09:00.003-04:00

As part of my ongoing effort to update more regularly, I plan on posting a few videos- music, art, etc. every Wednesday. Look forward to it.

The Quay Brothers- Two stop motion artists with a twisted and beautiful mind.

Riceboy Sleeps- the new band/art collective from the frontman of Sigur Ros and his boyfriend Alex. Jonsi & Alex

Bjork - One Day. I went out last night and was chided for not knowing this song, so i had to look it up....

Petrou Man

2009-07-28T16:51:00.003-04:00

Check out the new menswear line called PETROU/MAN created by my friends Soteris Kallis and Nicolas Petrou, modeled by yours truly. This talented duo of experienced designers has created a TO DIE FOR menswear collection that is at once utilitarian, wearable, masculine, and glamorous. I can personally attest that every single piece in the collection is incredibly well made and thought out, from the seam finishes to the fabrications. The only horrible thing about being their phantom model was the torturous thought of realizing that I WANT EVERY SINGLE PIECE.

Petrou/Man

Playing w/Dolls

2009-07-28T16:43:00.003-04:00

My last night in Salt Lake City this last July involved me going through my old doll collection with my mother and sister. As I sifted through the piles of mermaids, princesses, and warriors, hundreds of memories flooded back to me. I dressed and coiffed every one of those plastic beauties, they have become my muses in countless sketchbooks, fashion illustrations, and fantasies.

Pomona

2009-07-10T11:24:00.010-04:00

While vacationing in Los Angeles I had the pleasure of discovering the joys of a little town called Pomona nestled in the San Bernadino valley. It was a brief respite from the endless sprawls of beige suburbs and shopping centers. The town is named after the greek goddess of fruit, and seems like the last bastion for a very vintage feeling L.A.

Our first stop was a thrift shop where Jillian had spotted a blue negligee a week earlier. She was thrilled when she found it still hanging on the rack, I was less than thrilled when she found a jumpsuit that she insisted I try on.

Now, I can't say I've ever wanted to work at a thrift store, filled with crying children, elevator music, and cheap people; but there was something about the merchandising of the 'expensive' section that made me want to throw my decorative skills down. So many delicate tea sets, mini reproductions of odd artwork, and strange dolls.

Next up was 'second street' a cluster of shops and stores contained in an arts colony. It was that part of a town that looks like its dying--the last gritty bits of a place that has given way to the Super Targets of America.

The highlight of second street was a little vintage boutique called La Bomba--filled with the kind of fodder that hipsters in New York would kill to have. I picked up a gorgeous little cowboy shirt, all grey and blue stripes with just enough ruffle.

- some deadstock shoes my friend paid 300$ for in NYC---125$ in LA.

Graphics Man

2009-07-01T18:37:00.001-04:00

Here are a few rough versions of flyers for some upcoming shows from singer/songwriter Erin Barra. In between her regular gigs at The Bitter End, she's moonlighting in Utah later this month with The New York Funk Exchange, and The Groove Patrol. What do you think? Should I attempt to get some freelance graphic design work?

Fall Preview, Pocahontas Hair

2009-06-16T15:52:00.007-04:00

I don't know what I'll be wearing for fall but I know what I want my hair to look like...

Okay, so my hair was getting really long earlier this year...and then I had a late winter psycho crisis and shaved my head. Now I miss my hair. Thank the lord it grows fast...but I want it to grow faster. I want Pocahontas hair!! Tomorrow! Okay, so maybe not tomorrow, but as soon as my hair is long enough to get a decent weave...(I'm thinking early September) I am SO going to harlem and getting some tracks sewn in. If Tyra can do it, so can I.

*All of these pics minus the first two are of Austrian model Florian Pessenteiner. Pretty Pretty boy.

Google Me

2009-06-10T15:54:00.003-04:00

Interesting things happen when you Google yourself. Check it out-

Who is Andrew Yang?

Madonna gets some Mercy

2009-06-09T15:01:00.003-04:00

Madonna has been getting a lot of flack for wanting to adopt internationally, as well as using her celebrity to bypass formalities the Malawi government has in place in its adoption process. Today, she was granted her adoption and she is getting her baby. I say CONGRATULATIONS! If only more celebrities would adopt.

Julie Andrews adopted two Vietnamese children in 1974.

Mia Farrow adopted 10 children from all around the world, some with disabilities. The most famous of them, Soon-Yi Previn, went on to have an affair with Mia's former-significant-other, Woody Allen, as a teenager. Then Woody and Soon-Yi married and adopted two children themselves.

Josephine Baker adopted 12 or 13 children of different ethnic backgrounds: her Rainbow Tribe.

In 2006, actress Meg Ryan adopted her daughter Daisy True from China.

Did You Know?

2009-06-09T04:19:00.003-04:00

That over a quarter of the population of black swans exhibit homosexual tendencies?

A flamboyantly homosexual swan couple and their brood.

Swans are more or less monogamous water birds. They reinforce their pairings with frequent preening and sex. Should one die, the other usually lives out the remainder of it's life alone. Generally, when two male swans pair off, one mates with a female, she lays eggs in their nest, and then they chase her off. And because the males are so much bigger, their baby cygnets have up to ten times the survival rate as their hetero counterparts.

Rainy Daze

2009-06-05T16:26:00.004-04:00

It's been raining for a couple weeks now, reliably almost every other day. Even though I have been a productive bunny (scarves, pictures, drawing, dolls, partying, scarves) the rain makes it so easy to lounge, read, and watch movies. Plus, how else does one spend the time hungover beyond repair?

They Shoot Horses Don't They?

Sydney Pollack's masterful depiction of the desperation of those living during The Great Depression, has gone down in film history as one of The Greats. In the sixties it was nominated for several academy awards, and cemented the auteur's status as a filmmaker to be reckoned with, and Jane Fonda's acting skills that were...ahem...lost on Barbarella. It follows the lives of several couples who entered a marathon dance competition, and didn't sleep for over three months..you can imagine what this did to their sanity. A fleeting and disturbing glimpse into a forgotten part of american culture.

The Brother's Grimm

I'm sad to say I missed the opportunity to see this in theaters. After it received a bunch of bad reviews, I guess I thought it would be better to wait til I caught it on TV. Wrong. Maybe it's because I'm partial with anything that has an allusion to Fairy Tales, but this movie was a helluva lot of fun. It reminds me of the period adventure movies I used to watch as a kid, filled with humor, magic, and non reality. A stellar cast, and AMAZING costume and production design.

Twist

Twist is a modern retelling of Oliver Twist written and directed by Jacob Tierney. It stars Nick Stahl as the Artful Dodger, and a very cute Joshua Close as the Oliver character. The movie takes the Dickens out of London and lands in the seedy streets of Montreal, which is apparently filled with cute, cracked out hustlers. I want to take Oliver out of Montreal and put him in my pocket.

The Hours, Michael Cunningham.

Okay, we all saw the movie and thought it was amazing. The book is just as amazing, but even more saturated and satisfying in the way books are always more saturated and satisfying than movies. Michael Cunningham's prose is gorgeous and poignant, and he made me want to go straight to the Strand and pick up every other piece of writing he's penned. C'est Magnifique.

Congratulations Angelina!

2009-06-05T16:16:00.002-04:00

Angelina beat out Oprah on the Forbes List of most powerful celebrities! Congrats!! It comes with marrying Brad Pitt, and saving the world one baby at a time.

Gallery Stroll

2009-05-28T12:55:00.011-04:00

I've been seeing a lot of art over the past few weeks. Look forward to some more regular postings about some of the shows I'm popping into these days.

The first was artist Helle Mardhal's first New York solo exhibition at one of my favorite galleries, La Viola Bank Gallery in Chinatown. The work is consuming, dark, and somewhat cute and humorous, something that one could argue is expected from a scandanavian artist. (Those swedes, fins, and danes are all so conflicted and adorable.) The event was hosted by my three favorite promoters in the city, the six six six girls. They have a fun DIY blog full of fashion and excitement here.

The Girls

The Artist

Next stop a week or so later was the open studios at The School of Visual Arts. I was going to see my friend Jessica's performance art piece. She's a downtown photographer who featured me in a series of polaroids she did for a portrait series. You can see the picture of me @ her site, Transgressica

Now I can't say that I fully understand or appreciate performance art most of the time. This performance featured a cellist who was playing beautifully with his back turned to the audience and performers. A blindfolded attractive tattooed fellow stood blindfolded while he masturbated in front of an audience full of people. Jessica took polaroids of him, sometimes from a distance, sometimes from very close up. Voyeuristic, but intriguing. I don't mind performance art when it features an attractive tattooed fellow.

Next stop was the Met. I've been itching to see the Francis Bacon retrospective since it opened last Friday, but wandered around the glorious museum for three hours before I went inside. And as someone remotely connected to the I hadn't yet explored the New American Wing, or really gotten to appreciate the Greek and Roman galleries. I've steadily been drawing and illustrating more men, learning the appreciation for the male body that I've had for the female one my entire life--so I was particularly intrigued by the marble busts and figures of men. The male body has its own softness and curvature that I'm starting to feel secure enough to explore in my own work.

Portraiture is always exciting. Marble busts had to be accurate in a way that an oil painting can avoid, so it can sometimes be very haunting to see some of these faces, looking at you over the span of hundreds of years.

The Francis Bacon exhibition was exhausting and beautiful. His distorted portraits of himself, his lovers, and his anguish were very eye opening and dark. I needed an ice cream after leaving, and had to think of My Little Ponies before I went to bed, for fear of bloody fanged baboons coming after me in the night. I managed to snap a few pictures before I was stopped by the guard.."No pictures of the Bacon!"

Marie Antoinette's Pillow!

This statue always freaks me out. I know they're supposed to be sleeping. But they totally look dead. Dead babies!

Work the hair.

Face face give me face

I need a me some Heracles!

Why the long face?

bacon is beautiful.

Homme Boys

2009-05-20T19:27:00.003-04:00

I've always been interested in what motivates people to make certain decisions about what they're wearing. It's really easy to point at someone and mock their personal style, especially if it deviates outside of the norm. But it takes a lot of panache to be your own person and not give a flying duck about what other people think. I recently took up the task of doing street style photography for hommeboy.net, a leading men's fashion website that launched a few months ago. The creators of hommeboy.net have a very specific aesthetic in terms of the style they feature on their site, and many of the people I photograph and interview never even make it to their pages. I'll be regularly featuring some of the outtakes here.

Scott

Ryan

Pete

Exclusive Interview with Erin Barra and Snejana

2009-05-07T12:11:00.002-04:00

Check out this interview. Snejana's first ever.

Springtime Reading

2009-04-22T17:34:00.002-04:00

Since I've been unemployed, I've found a lot more time to read. Currently this is how I've spent my time both on the subway, and in bed.

The Monsters of Templeton, Lauren Groff

The Monsters of Templeton is the first novel from writer Lauren Groff. It chronicles the messy life of a girl returning home to her single mother, who informs her about the truth of her parentage, which sends the protagonist on a quest through her family history. It's a fascinating glimpse into the life of one family's history in a very old world america, and there's just the right touch of mysticism to keep it somewhat gothic.

Wonder Bread & Ecstasy: The Life of Joey Stefano, Christopher Isherwood

Found this on the dollar rack @ Housing Works bookstore...definitely bought it from looking at the cover. Joey Stefano was the first porn star 'bottom' who's career spanned a short period of time in the late eighties/early nineties. It's a strange psychological profile of a young man who was conflicted by the death of his father, his sexuality, drug abuse, and HIV status. There's a voyeuristic quality to the writing, and the strange guilt-stigma attached to watching porn is almost revived by examining the brutal realities of a multi million business--and some of the people it consumes.

After the Fall, Arthur Miller

Marilyn Monroe fans haven't paid their dues unless they've read After The Fall. It was the first successful play written by Arthur Miller after his marriage/divorce, and the eventual death, of Marilyn Monroe. He captures her effervesence and fragility in a few simple lines, and recalls the role he created in becoming her husband. Classic and brilliant.

COLETTE!!

Colette is my new favorite author--I found a translated compilation of her short novels at THE STRAND and decided to try it out. I've heard much of one of France's greatest female authors of all time--and I wasn't disappointed. Her prose is marked by a genuine style and honest breath, and some of her character descriptions are the most poignant I have ever read.

The subject matter generally deals with love and relationships--in the theater, music, and literary worlds. She scandalized belle-epoque society with her racy descriptions in regards to sex and gender roles, including many homosexual themes. Read her wikipedia profile here--it definitely seems more scandalous than anything in Us Weekly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colette

Kouklitas @ Bloomies~

2009-04-09T19:07:00.000-04:00

Hey all...thought you'd enjoy this video!!

Display & Exhibit

2009-03-23T15:33:00.005-04:00

I thought these would be fun to post. Whenever I have my camera and find myself in front of a well lit window display uptown or downtown, I can't resist snapping a picture. What you put in the window is often very telling of what you can find inside a store (obviously) and what image a brand is trying to project. Plus its always fun to see the clothes up close and somewhat personally.

The Space Ghost Collection from Calvin Klein

The only cute thing about the Chloe Store : The door handle. Note: Roberto Cavalli must've used the same interior designer, their door handle is a bronze snake.

Gray Broadtails at the now defunct Petrou Store.

Mannequins trapped at the Pat Field shophouse.

Black Party at Barneys

Lily Donaldson, with and without her head at GUCCI on Madison.

Plaid gay circuit party at Barneys.

RIP OLIVIER THEYSKIENS. PS: I'll still do you even though you're like the opium for old fashion labels, intoxicating and deadly.

*Sigh...Monsieur Margiela. I would drown several cute puppies for this jacket.

Fashion Week

2009-02-25T16:45:00.005-05:00

Fashion week came and went and another February seems to have disappeared into a black hole called Bryant Park. Here are some fun pictures of the madness.

The cast features:

Nicolas Petrou as Creative Director
Soteris Kallis as Senior Designer
Patrick Klinc as Eye Candy
Jack F*cking Cohen
Shannon Davidson as Fashion Show Producer
Amanda Ross as Stylist to the Stars
Yours Truly as First Place Fashion Beotch
Valerie Zimbal as Mink Queen
Alyssa Yang as The Twisted Sister
Erin Barra & Sophie Gouddard as Fashion Party People
Models as Themselves

Cold Readings

2009-01-27T18:44:00.003-05:00

It's been freezing here in New York City, which makes reading a book while waiting for the train a lot more difficult, but definitely worthwhile. You may lose sensation in your hands, but at least you will have escaped into another world.

This last week I finished two little books, The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke and The Tsar's Dwarf by Peter Fogtal.

I found the Ladies when I was working the corner of Prince and Mulberry for the Young Designer's Market this last weekend. It was hidden away in the SALE section of the amazing McNally Jackson Bookstore, and of course I was attracted to its very old school spine, all charcoal gray canvas binding, black embossed letters, and pale pink neaveau flowers. It's rare to find a book that is made with such quality nowadays. After perusing the pages I quickly realized it was authored by the same person who scribed Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, a huge book that was noted by the NYT as being the 'adult Harry Potter' and stayed on several bestseller lists for several weeks--one that I loved and gifted to my younger brother Anthony for Christmas this year.

It is a collection of short stories and fairy tales that casts Mary Queen of Scots alongside an eighteenth century Jewish doctor, a handsome clergyman, and Jonathan Strange. My favorite from the stories was Mr.Simonelli and the Fairy Widower-- a haunting tale about a clergyman who winds up in a little town on the moors solving all sorts of mysteries. Ms. Clarke expertly weaves humor, magic, and romance into these little gems.

Each of the stories is separated by gorgeous black and white illustrations by Charles Vess--whose work in this book is reminiscent of Arthur Rackham, a timeless fairy tale illustrator from the turn of the century. The above pictures are some of his other various projects--he is mostly known for his work with Neil Gaiman- The Sandman anyone? Check out his (ironically poorly designed) website here.

The Tsar's Dwarf was originally written in Danish by Peter Fogtal and translated into English by Tiina Nunnally. Again I was shamelessly drawn to this novel by it's chic cover art and well merchandised location in the New Fiction Section at the St.Mark's Bookstore. And after reading the summary- it became an immediate must have.

The intriguing storyline is set in late seventeenth century Denmark and Russia, and follows Surine, later Surinka, a cynical dwarf born to a priest. She is haunted by her past, a child, and a world that is unable to see past her stature. By her wit and wisdom she earns a place in the King of Denmark's court, and is later given to the Tsar of Russia as a present when the two countries join in an allyance against Sweden. It is a short novel; but it is Surinka's voice which transcends the translation and enraptures you. She is scathing, bitter, and soulful. She hates the world and aches with love for it at the same time. An amazing new piece of work. And it actually gave me some insight into why my Swedish friends make fun of Danish people all the time.

Go judge a book by its cover-- you just might find something you like.

Turn off the TV

2009-01-20T13:00:00.003-05:00

My roommate and I have decided that we are going to watch less television when we are together. There will still be plenty of America's Next Top Model in the future, but until the new season starts, our remote control will remain in the off position.

So we decided to go back to our Utah roots and instill a spontaneous game night. Since TWISTER was out of the question (I was very hung over and Erin was enduring the middle of her Master Cleanse.) our next best option was Rainbow Jumbling Towers. A blatantly homosexual rip-off of Jenga, Rainbow Jumbling Towers can provide almost an hour of fun building and de-constructing of a small tower comprised of colorful wooden blocks.

Erin contemplates red.

The catch is, there is a dice that determines which block should be removed and jumbled. Which can be very difficult if one consistently rolls the same color again and again.

Which I found out the hard way, when I dealt the fatal blow that brought down our tower, causing us to shriek louder than when we're confronted by any one of Tyra's grimaces via ANTM.

Sad Men

2009-01-20T11:27:00.006-05:00

Okay. I get it. No one can find a job. The stock markets are the new black markets. The dollar is the new dime. We're in a recession depression. And now we're supposed to start dressing like it?

The latest in menswear from Milan has been BLEAK BLEAK BLEAK. Almost every single collection marched down the runway has been filled with sad stockbrokers, angry gangsters, hustlers living off their unemployment checks, and the occasional junkie.

My clicking at men.style.com rapidly grew frantic when I happened upon a desperately boring Costume National collection. Usually Capasa can pull something complex and gorgeous out of a somber black palette. There were a few interesting baggy pants, but the whole thing made me feel very...sad.

Things didn't get any better at Burberry either. Christopher Bailey usually says something new and exciting in his interpretation of the trench, but this season, it was...safe. The styling was spot on, and I must admit the enlarged classic Burberry print had a touch of something refreshing- but it was like eating a HALLS of medicine when it's cold outside. Your breath might not stink, but it's still cold outside and your nose is still running. Mr. Bailey frankly looked like he stopped having fun. I understand his higher ups were probably putting the pressure on him to make the clothes look saleable, as every design house seemed to be recessing back to their signature looks in the hopes of making some money this year.

But does that mean we all have to look like we just got out of prison? According to Alexander McQueen, the answer would probably be yes. This particular look seems more akin to just escaping a mid nineteenth century medical college to cut up young prostitutes. The McQueen Man has always had something of the acutely disturbed element about him, but this season, I have a feeling some of those front row editors were fearing for their lives.

I really really wanted to love the Gucci collection. Frida impressed me last fall with her fur loving rocker chic. But this season, I fell into a deeper depression when I saw her horrors skulk down the runway. The beginning of the show was all black and boring, and then when it exploded into a melange of shiny pants and scarves, I started to feel very nauseous. Now, everyone who knows me knows I love a good skinny pant with metallic accents. A jacket unbuttoned down to there to show off my tattooes. BUT THIS WAS BAD. DID SHE EVEN HAVE FITTINGS WITH THESE MODELS? She actually disproved the statement 'skinny people look good in everything' with her pants that hit all the wrong places, and the jackets that looked built for a junior high school Rockettes performance. Where has all the good Gucci gone?

The only collection that made me somberly smile was that from Missoni. The patchwork sweaters in red and blue made me want to save my money(money? what money?). The styling was perfect. The boys were cute. At least someone thinks that if you're going to be depressed, you might as well look good.

In the Midst of Avalon

2009-01-09T14:18:00.003-05:00

Just finished reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon and I'm sad that the adventure is over. It's been over a week and I still find my thoughts wandering back to the multi-dimensional characters, intriguing places, and beautiful story.

It's an engaging retelling of the Arthurian Legends from the point of view of the female characters, and deals heavily with the western transition of Goddess worship to Christianity during the Dark Ages. The book found itself on The New York Times Bestseller list for months and months and has been hailed as one of the top 25 pieces of fiction of all time. It was originally published in 1984.

From Wikipedia,

The Mists of Avalon is lauded as one of the most original and emotional retellings of the familiar Arthurian legend. Bradley received much praise for convincing portrayal of the main protagonists, her respectful handling of the Pagan ways of Avalon and for telling a story in which there is neither black and white or good and evil, but several truths. Isaac Asimov called it "the best retelling of the Arthurian Saga I have ever read", and Jean Auel noted "I loved this book so much I went out and bought it for a friend, and have told many people about it."[2] The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction calls the book "a convincing revision of the Arthurian cycle," and said that the victory of Christianity over the "sane but dying paganism" of Avalon "ensures eons of repression for women and the vital principles they espouse." It won the 1984 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and spent four months on the New York Times best seller list in hardcover. The trade paperback edition of Mists of Avalon has ranked among the top five trade paperbacks on the monthly Locus bestseller lists for almost four years.[3]

The book has been criticised in some Christian circles for being nothing more than thinly-veiled feminist propaganda, as the stereotypically strong female lead of Morgaine is placed next to weak women like Gwenhwyfar and tortured male leads in the characters of a hapless, confused King Arthur and a Lancelet living in denial of his bisexual attraction to Arthur. Additionally, Christian fantasy fans have blasted the book for having anti-Christian sentiments, for portraying Christianity as oppressive and misogynistic, and also for including sexual themes like incest, rape and ménage à trois.[4]

In Germany, Mists of Avalon has been included in the "Bild Bestseller Bibliothek" of the Bild, Germany's highest-selling newspaper; it is a list of what Bild calls the 25 finest pieces of popular fiction of all time, alongside other classics like Shining or The Silence of the Lambs.[5]

While I was finishing the book over the holidays in Ye Olde Utah, I realized my parents had a copy of the DVD of Excalibur a film made in 1981. So naturally, I took it with me back to New York. The only good thing about this disgusting flick was the opening credits when the title is illuminated in gleaming steel letters. Other than that, the thing is a terrific piece of trash. Maybe it's because I was feeling all feminist and holy while reading the book; But this film is disturbingly chauvinistic and aggressive. It does have some noteworthy appearances by young versions of Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, and Patrick Stewart (all of whom were HAWWWT!) and a particularly sexed up Helen Mirren, who is the spitting image of Cate Blanchett with a touch more severity.

There was a TV miniseries for Mists, but I haven't been able to find time to look for it, let alone watch it. I am already puzzled by the casting of Juliana Margoleis as Morgaine, the heroine of the layered plot. Oh well. If anyone has seen it, and read the book, please feel free to comment below.

La Vida Lohan

2009-01-09T14:06:00.002-05:00

My first Lindsay post in a while. She's been getting a lot of flack from the press for doing...nothing. Pick up the January issue of INTERVIEW. Lauren Hutton does the questioning, and her intro is amazing.

I have no justification for my mild obsession with her. I just want someone to give her a chance in a fabulous period romance where she gets to go ballistic in some petticoats. If you check out the interview, she obviously has some envy issues with Scarlett Johannsen, and if anyone can recall the bathroom stall scrawling incident, you'll know this is something that's bothered her for some time. It's easy to see why, Scarlett is the definition of underwhelming. She's just so blah. I would have traded her for Lindsay in half a second in any one of her roles. She was alright in The Boleyn girl, but I think La Lohan would have done a MUCH better job as Natalie's sister.

And do I even have to mention how adorable her and Sam Ronson are?

Photo Diary: Holidays 2008

2009-01-02T14:22:00.009-05:00

The holidays came and went in what seemed like a brief hallucination filled with mountains, snow, food, and one particularly rough evening with red wine. I managed to escape from my fur slave labor in Astoria into the suburbs of West Jordan Utah, to spend Christmas with the family.

Our Christmas Tree in Brooklyn.

Utah Style.

New Kitchen, New Dog. Noonoo is his name.

Winter Wonderland, 9" of snow on Christmas day.

Le Nouveau Warehouse

Adam with Long Hair, mon petit frere.

Smoggy SLC from the Airport

Yes, all of that is her hair.

Anne Frank, waiting for the kill, back in Brooklyn.

A Klinc Above the Rest

2008-11-14T14:36:00.012-05:00

It’s almost impossible to live in New York and not hear the saying, “You don’t get anywhere unless you know somebody.” The saying has held true in almost every facet of my life in this crazy metropolitan, and I can trace almost every achievement and job break I’ve had to random connections with people I’ve met through other people, the street, the subway, or a dance floor.

I first met Patrick Klinc in 2006 when I started working as an assistant designer for the PETROU and DENNIS BASSO brands, and trying to get my freelance modeling career off the ground. I had booked a small job getting some pictures to promote a new downtown party, but at the last minute the hairstylist had cancelled.

Nicolas Petrou put me in contact with the creative consultant associated with EDGE; a boutique filled with over 65 designers who use his talents during an endless gamut of photo shoots for their various collections. He also works as the chief hair stylist for all of the Petrou and Dennis Basso look book and campaign spreads, effortlessly creating countless high fashion looks with his expert technical skill and highly refined vision.

A few of Patrick's creations from the current Dennis Basso Campaign

From the Petrou SS08 lookbook

Patrick's styling from the EDGE t-shirt designer's FAUX lookbook

A recent test shot from my portfolio

Needless to say, no one else has touched my hair since, and in a city and industry where everything depends on how you look—every cut from Klinc has been priceless.

October Lapse

2008-10-08T22:25:00.004-04:00

I realized that I haven't changed my massive wall calendar of Taschen Celestial Maps since August. I completely bypassed a month. How did that happen? And then I found myself getting angry last night because I realized it was cold and I missed going to the beach this year. Again. That's three years in a row.

I had a closet overhaul (zen...my clothes do not have feelings...) in early September, when it seemed like it was never going to cool down, and somehow got rid of all of the seasonally transitional clothing I had. Now I'm either too hot or too cold. Relearning how to layer isn't as easy as I remember. I'm still used to going to bed naked, and pay for it in the morning when I'm too scared to get out of the covers.

Fashion week came and went, and nothing remarkable happened. Except for Balenciaga, Chalayan, and (gasp!) Louis Vuitton. Obama surprised no one by putting McCain out of commission by...being Obama. Friends made their out of town visits, and I made more dolls. I intended on sending my older brother his birthday present and still have to buy it. September...seems to have bled into August and October. I will probably post much more over the next week or so about things I forgot to write about in September.

Now people are asking me what I'm going to be for Halloween. Thank god I thought about that eight months ago. And I'm turning 24 on October 24th, the Year of the Rat, my year. What does it all mean?? What is going on here?

Picture from a forgotten month- September, a map of Celestial Bodies

Dennis Basso S/S 09

2008-09-12T11:30:00.004-04:00

So we survived abother round of Fashion Week. Nicolas Petrou's collection for Dennis Basso garnered several positive reviews, as well as some major PETA protests happening outside.

The looks were easy to wear, modern, and glamorous. I didn't really have much to do with this collection except order the fabric, snaps, and thread, and watch other people around me suffer. Watch the video below for a quick overview, and stay tuned til the end for a special cameo.

Dennis Basso's Spring 2009 collection

Bear Lover

2008-08-29T11:13:00.004-04:00

Later this fall, Steiff, the world's oldest teddy bear manufacturer, will be producing a 'limited edition' (2500 pcs) Karl Lagerfeld teddy bear available at Neiman Marcus.

The bear (which is presumably clad in Dior Homme) will retail for $1,500, though will probably go for much more via Ebay. Steiff has undoubtedly struck gold- who knew that so many people wanted to cuddle with Karl Lagerfeld? Do you think the bear has hidden face lift scars?

Pretty/Trippy

2008-08-26T11:06:00.005-04:00

While I was hustling my T's at the Young Designer's Market a tall attractive straight man walked by wearing one of the coolest shirts I'd ever seen. I didn't know what the design was exactly...a sperm whale? a cobra? When I finally had the guts to make my friend Shannon ask for for his picture he impolitely refused and told me to look up the artist, his 'friend' Si Scott.

Even though he was rude, or maybe I was rude, can't quite recall, I'm glad I got the guy's name. Si Scott's work has been weaving in and out of the new neaveau aesthetic of the twenty first century. Amazingly, all of the work is hand drawn, but looks like it was done on the sexiest Mac in the universe.

Check out his work at http://www.siscottstudio.com

My personal favorite is the True Love Swan. Goes to show that not all of today's commercial or gallery art is digital or spray painted on a brick wall. Thank god there are people willing to go blind for their art form!

Feline Affection

2008-08-15T14:24:00.004-04:00

I recently discovered the wonders of Cat Prin, a company based out of Japan. The pictures are worth a thousand words--and the words themselves, are arguably the best engrish on the web right now.

"I am a frog."

"A spring admission season -- exactly . It is the uniform of "the school of a sacred cat"! "

Don't you doubt? "Although I want to dress with dress extravagant with my cat, doesn't a cat dislike having" clothes on?

It is impossible that continue for time long to be sure, and you continue dressing a cat. But about [ to which you dress a cat and take a commemorative photo on special days, such as a birthday of a cat, ] is OK.

Baby Boom

2008-08-03T22:11:00.006-04:00

Oh no. Oh yes. President Jolie and First Lady Brad Pitt and their beautiful children at their chateau in France where they are planning world domination. This is too good to be true. ANGELINA FOR PRESIDRENT T's will be reappearing at the Young Designer's market this weekend to celebrate-- along with a few more surprises.

This business of selling baby photographs has not been hurt by the faltering economy-- the future Ms President and Stud Hubby scored a cool 7 million dollars -- per twin (Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline *sigh* the glamour..) -- for the photos. No doubt they will be donating the moola to refugees- instead of splashing it around Beverly Hills. Apparently there was also a stipulation that the crap rag also stop referring to the couple as Raisin Brangelina. Such a political duo!

I must note that it is a little disconcerting the cover photo only featured the white members of the royal family. Don't you think Maddox, Pax, and Zahara are going to be pissed they missed out on a cover shot?.....

....Then again...maybe not.

Six Degrees of Separation

2008-07-18T15:57:00.004-04:00

I recently discovered some old photographs of my great-grandmother, the super great Mary Astor, cuddling on set with James Dean.

James Dean's young death catapulted him to eternal fame and iconoclasm, despite the fact his career was quite short and debatably unexciting. I haven't ever actually seen a movie with Jimmy Dean, although when after I saw these photos I found myself looking through more galleries set up by his fanatics-- and can definitely understand the allure. He is so brooding and sensual! Bad boyishly charming! Sigh...

They co-starred as mother and son in a made for TV movie in 1955 for "The US STEEL HOUR" and hour long LIVE television drama. The segment was called "The Thief." I wish television was still live - and I mean dramatic television - not the bloody Miss Universe Pageant. It's like free theater from your living room.

It was this particular role that secured James Dean his part in Rebel Without a Cause, which in turn, secured his immortality.

I particularly love the way my great-grandmother looked in this part of her career- although it is harder to find pictures of her during this time because she was mostly pioneering the actor's art form in the then new media of television. She is a little older, and reminds me a little more of my beloved Grammy and Moms.

Welcome to the Dollhouse

2008-07-09T13:26:00.006-04:00

Somehow, in my recent travels to Europe, I missed London. Now, I feel like selling all of my worldly posessions for an overnight flight so I can see the monster Viktor & Rolf retrospective at the Barbican Museum.

The retrospective isn't like anything the fashion world has ever seen. Its not a stuffy old gallery filled with white mannequins and silver placards.

Its an ultra modern Dollhouse, V&R style. The dolls are crafted out of 5 times baked bisque porcelain. Their makeup and faces were styled to look like the original models who donned their outfits. The fashion house hired a wigmaker full time for one year to recreate crazy coiffures out of real human hair.

The ensembles themselves are perfectly scaled down replicas of the original outfits, some of them taking twice as long to reproduce as the original.

Both designers have were quoted as saying this is the most exciting thing they've done in their entire careers. And when you consider the fact they've dressed Maggie Rizer in forty outfits at once, painted their models pitch black from head to toe, and set off a Flowerbomb heard round the world-- dressing a bunch of dolls has been no small feat.

2008-04-29T10:05:00.002-04:00

http://periodici.repubblica.it/d/?num=590

Hey friends. check out pages 256-271.

Metropolitan Doll

2008-04-28T22:41:00.007-04:00

This is Snejana, she is the prototype of a line of dolls I am working on to debut later this summer, tentatively called the Changelings. She's 20 something inches of gorgeousness. Her skin is muslin, her face is hand drawn, and her hair is mongolian lamb.

Each doll will be one of a kind. Prices are available upon request. She is meant to be dressed up, played with, and photographed.

Snejana has already provided hours of fun for me and my roommate, and many unsuspecting guests that have passed through our Park Slope abode. You should see her when she gets drunk.

The Resurrection of Yang

2008-04-21T17:22:00.003-04:00

Hello all.

Yangabang is risen. I've been busy as all hell in a handbasket-- working on a line of t-shirts, and more excitedly, my line of muslin dolls...soon to take over the world.

Here is one of the prints for my capsule collection of silkscreened oversized T's-- available exclusively at The Young Designer's Market in Nolita, the new location in the West Village, select boutiques in the East Village, and by mail order.

Stay posted....

National Horrigraphic.

2007-06-30T21:42:00.000-04:00

As a kid, me and my brothers would tag along to the Downtown Salt Lake Library bi-annual book sale. One year I scored boxes and boxes of ancient issues of National Geographic. Since then, that yellow bordered magazine has always been able to touch a place deep inside of me. The sharp and colorful images are filled with the beautiful, and more excitingly, THE GROTESQUE.

CHECK OUT THE HORRORS OF OUR WORLD!!

Now I've been to the zoos in Taiwan, and yes, they are a little shady. The animals all look hungry and angry. So it was no surprise to see a man's limb marinating in the mouth of an alligator. But thank god, he's fine. His baby pinky just doesn't move anymore.

And look how scary! Hatshepsut, the fabulous Queen of Egypt who was a famous crossdresser way ahead of her times, was finally found buried in a desert. Still knows how to strike a pose! Go on Hatty! Vogue!

I don't think he knows mummies are really dead people.

People who don't believe in global warming are dumb! Our atmosphere is shrinking! The sun's coming in! Jesus is coming, hide your bong!

And to leave off on a cute note. For every rare (1 of six) spotted Amur leopardess we kill, four little white tiger cubs are born in a zoo somewhere.

Moving Day

2007-06-04T00:29:00.000-04:00

So, The Company finally made the move from the Garment District to Long Island City this weekend. It was quite a fiasco, and one hell of a workout. These are a few pics of me, hard at work, unloading years of fur coat storage into Budget Rental Trucks. It was actually an awesome week at work, and really made me realize how much I love my job, and how much I love fur. This is awesome!

Presidential Nominee.

2007-05-02T12:54:00.000-04:00

It's official. YangaBang Incorporated is nominating Angelina Jolie for President. Her work for the UN is unparalleled in the Hollywood Scene, as well as her efforts with soon to be first lady Brad Pitt raising awareness about the Sudan, Hurricane Katrina, and orphaned children everywhere.

T-shirts available in French Gray, Pale Blue, and Shiloh White. If you want one, come to the corner of Prince and Mulberry in Nolita this weekend for an exclusive chance of owning one of the first samples. They will be available online soon in extremely limited editions. Email me for special orders.

Angelina For President is copyrighted with YangaBang Inc.

Metropolitan Dolls

2007-04-03T20:08:00.000-04:00

Here are some creepy pics of the dolls I'm auctioning off on Ebay. The one in the middle is the star. She was Paleontologist Barbie, I got her when I was probably ten, or eleven, or maybe thirteen years old. I was fascinated by her khaki hat, shorts, and dino printed top. Maybe she wouldn't be getting sent to the auction block if I still had all of her accessories.

These are the Generation Girls. It is actually a shared collection between my brother Anthony and my sister Alyssa. They were supposedly the hippest girls in high school. And then their hair was tangled and their hip clothing used on dolls who had less style. It's time to graduate girls.

National Geography: Spotlight on Paris

2007-02-27T13:57:00.000-05:00

So, our receptionist is out because of a special event for Basso (sale sale SALE!), and I, because of my obvious wit and charming smile, am the perfect temp-orary replacement. It's lovely. Answering sixteen phone lines...and rediscovering the amazingness of National Geographic and Paris Fashion Week all in the same afternoon!

So exciting.

Do you remember what a dying star looks like??

Do you know what a 330 foot Guatamalan sinkhole looks like? In case you don't, please refer to the diagram on the right. It turns out you shouldn't build neighborhoods on top of rocks that are soluble. If a watermain breaks, you might find yourself drowned in sewage!

And have you ever tried a calamari ring the size of a tractor tire? Neither have I but I'm sure it's damn tasty.

And, in Fashion News, Viktor and Rolf showed in Paris yesterday. I wasn't into the clogs, but the lighting & clothes were a hot jam. Check out the hilarious review over @ style.com. Quoting Sarah Mower: As the rigs got bigger and the girls' expressions more frozen with fear, involuntary gasps escaped from the audience. "Oh my God, she's listing!" hissed one observer. "I can't look!" cried another. "That poor girl's slipping!" shrieked someone else.

Bangalicious.

Fashion Week Recap

2007-02-26T10:51:00.000-05:00

Since I have lost touch with all of my friends and family because I value furs and fashion more than honor and relationships, I thought a nice little recap of Fashion Week Hell would be appropriate. The show was crazy ridiculous and you'll see more posted as days go by, but here are a few snaps from the styling sessions.

I was chatting with some of the models while they were waiting around during castings to see what their thoughts were on the eating/lack of eating scandals. They were all pretty indifferent, except for one particular girl, Lisa, who had a tourist yell at her the morning prior. "Go eat a sandwich bitch!"

From Left to Right: Brittany DeBeers, Numero stylist Bill Mullen, Unidentified Russian Model, Patternmaker Futoshi Yora, Dennis Basso HimSelf, Creative Director Nicholas Petrou. (Jack Cohen, Head of Sales and Ex Best Thing @ Fendi, is blocked by Dennis Basso.)

Ahh, the glamour of fashion.

2007-01-31T21:00:00.000-05:00

Hey, Fashion Week is coming....check out who I really work for...

Dennis Basso Awesomeness

The Day After Tomorrow

2007-01-12T18:12:00.000-05:00

So it's January now. Do you know what that means?

Fashion Week is coming in less than a month. The company I'm working for, Dennis Basso, is making their Bryant Park debut this season. Which means I'm going to go from being a hermit, to nonexistent. I have to say goodbye to the world for a month. The show must go on, and the animals must die.

The Resurrection of Yang

2006-12-04T20:59:00.000-05:00

Hello friends.

It's been a few months since I've posted on the Yangabang, and since then I've reshuffled my apartment situation, got salary at my fur job, and been a boy about town, leaving my poor blog in the past. I'm living in Chinatown now, with two girls, Brittany DeBeers and Danielle Palma. Still working like a maniac, so much so, that I'm ditching out on the holidays in Utah to make some more furs. Stay tuned.

Star Smacked

2006-09-26T13:11:00.001-04:00

Me and my cohorts at the boutique opening. From Left to Right.
Brittany DeBeers in Forever 21, YangaBang in Dolce and Gabbana, Gabriella in vintage, and My Melissula in Forever 21.

Nicholas Petrou, the designer I sold my soul to three months ago, finally opened his boutique on Madison Avenue during Fall Fashion Week. I was sweating bullets the whole day, dressing over thirty mannequins hours before the party started. But the minute the clock struck six, fashionistas, socialites, photographers, old biddies with lots of expendable incomes, and a smattering of b-listers, poured through the front door to fill their glasses with champagne.

Unknown male, La Lohan, and the Grubby Stylist.

But of course, I was mostly bowled over by Lindsay Lohan, who was rumoured to have a drop in shopping appointment. Anyone who reads anything about 'celebrities' knows that Lindsay doesn't show up to parties on time. The only thing I ate all day was a bagel, and by the time she showed up a half hour after the party supposedly ended, it was a bagel, six glasses of champagne, some caviar, and a few gin tonics.

But you're so orange!

I remember it all like it was yesterday...I was outside smoking a cigarette, and a huge black SUV pulled up, and then Lindsay jumped out. She was fast, tall, and orange. She rushed into the store with flashbulbs and an entourage trailing behind her, and then violently went from rack to rack to try on clothes.

Yeah, pick that up Mr. Designer. I want to try it on.

30,000$ dolllar embroidered sable jackets our team spent weeks putting together were tossed to the floor. Baby doll dresses with 200$ a yard parisian lace were rumpled and passed between her bottle tanned fingers, or to the hands of her grubby smelly stylist. And the whole time, I was taking pictures. I followed her like a hawk, snapping digital photos with the cam of my good friend and co-worker (also fellow Utahn incidentally) Brittany DeBeers. I was like a drunk, hot papparazzo. And it was fun.

A picture taken by the real papparazzi, on the above mentioned night.

Her boobs are actually large, and quite real. Don't know about that ponytail, or the eyelashes, or the tan. She walked away with a few pieces, but was on her way back from the Calvin Klein after party. That belt got her on a few worst dressed lists. She looks exactly the same as her pictures, maybe prettier. Her voice is still husky. All in all, it wasn't any different than getting bumped by Parker Posey coming out of Bikram Yoga. (That happened yesterday.)

Preview for the Giant Lindsay Post.

2006-09-20T17:25:00.000-04:00

Yes. This is a picture of Lindsay Lohan, trying on a jacket by the designer I sold my soul for, Nicholas Petrou. And yes fools, I was there drinking a lot of champagne. But I didn't get a picture taken with her, because I was too busy taking pictures of her. This is one of ten hundred photos I took of La Lohan that night, and there's more to come, when my computer's being less of a bitch. And no, I am not obsessed. She was just so orange!

Reading Rainbow

2006-08-17T23:27:00.000-04:00

I've been getting a lot more reading done now that I have to pack myself like a sardine on the L train to and from the city every day. I managed to tackle most of the books by some of my fave authors that I somehow missed when they were hot off the press. Granted, some of the books were hot off the press before I was born. But whatever.

Ah! Amy Tan. What can I say? Her prose isn't overly descriptive, and yet she leaves you enough to know who her characters are, defined by their actions and childhood traumas. This is, I believe, her most recent work. I was sucked in as soon as I read the introduction.

The novel is mostly based off the words of a cancer stricken woman in Berkelee California who believed the spirit of a dead Asian American socialite, Bibi Chen, could speak through her body. Creepy stuff. It follows a group of 11 tourists traveling through China to Tibet, who completely vanish. Which is also based off a true story. Tied in is a lot of musing on Buddhist beliefs vs. Western perceptions, and the political history and strife of Tibet's scarred relationship with China. Pick it up bitches.

In another reality spin, Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos transported me to another world. One that doesn't have a past, present, or future tense. The narrative is insane, he manages to tell several different stories in a choppy back and forth way, yet seamlessly put together. Like if Quentin Tarantino made a documentary.

This story is also told by a dead man, following a group of tourists. (I am only just noticing this odd coincidence in my reading behavior.) But these tourists end up being the last survivors of the human race, who eventually repopulate Earth, after evolving into dolphin people. It all sounds strange, but somehow comes off really normal. Fascinating, and hilarious.

I always mean to read more Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but it's such a commitment, his words are lush, sentences long, and paragraphs longer. And yet, I'm drawn in. I would sometimes get through only one or two pages at a time, because I want every image, sound, and smell he describes to sink into my bones.

The story is one of unrequited, and undying love. Mr.Garcia-Marquez offers an amazing glimpse of Panama and South America at the turn of the century, during a long period of decaying affluence. We follow a pair of young lovers, and the routes of their lives when they separate, and eventually come back together when they are well into senior citizenhood.

Last but not least is Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. Now, I love me some Haruki Murakami. He's one of the most brilliant authors alive right now, and yet he is not that well known stateside. His style is like an eerily realistic sci-fi noir, where things happen you know have to be impossible; but you believe anyway.

It's a Murakami retelling of The Odyssey; which is touchy and tender. Like most of his work, the novel is filled with casts of fascinating people, and sometimes animalia. There is one particular character, a sort of outcast in society, who finds lost cats in his neighborhood, because he knows how to speak with them. It sounds cheesy, but is truly profound, simple, and enticing.

Come on friends. Take a break from your cell phones, digital ispace pods, computers (after you're done YangaBanging), and televisions, and pick up a good read. And in the words of the fabulous LeVar Burton, "I'll seeya next time."

Fur Real

2006-07-22T22:39:00.000-04:00

So a lot of people have been asking me what I'm up to in NYC. During the week, I work for Nicholas Petrou, the creative director and head designer at Dennis Basso, the Liza Loving fur company. He's coming out with his own collection of couture level clothing --not fur exclusive---this fall, with jackets and dresses priced between 10-150,000$.

Even though I was hired to work on Nicholas' debut collection exclusively....I end up doing a lot of work with the fur company, love or hate me. I used to be obsessed with fur, as fur was making it's "comeback" during the period of my adolescence when I became interested in fashion. And then, years later, I realized that I loved cats, and cute foxes, and tried to get into more of a Stella McCartney "You Have to Be More Creative as a Designer Not Using Fur" route.

But fate often goes in circles, and now I work in the fabulously grotesque world of fur. It is THE highest price point in women's clothing in America, right below couture. When I am given an option as to how to finish a seam or trim, the first thing my superiors tell me is "do it the more expensive way." And hell, I'm fine with that.

Check out the Dennis Basso website, it's kind of fun and interactive. Just don't hate me because I touch the skin of dead animals all day long. It's really soft.

Dennis Basso

* Meryl Streep wears not one, not two, but three or four Basso coats in the Devil Wears Prada. The first is a brown sable, Ms. Streep's opening scene in the movie, when she gets out of the car and terrorizes the staff. The others are intermingled--a fox, and then a chinchilla coat. And then she dons a green mink in the last scene of the flick--not too shabby.

Pretty Bones

2006-07-22T22:25:00.000-04:00

The creepy world of Jessica Joslin.

Jessica Joslin

Inner Celebrity Animal

2006-07-22T22:13:00.000-04:00

Above; Star Jones, Paris Hilton, Brangelina.
Check out more hilarious animal sketches of celebrities at

Gallery of the Absurd

Covering Couture

2006-07-14T19:44:00.000-04:00

I started nodding off when I tried paying attention to the rest of resort, so I decided just to throw in the towel and take a long nap until couture season began.

But when I woke up, my daydreams of damsels in distress, black and white gangsters' molls, and nightmares of flesh eating tweed, and visions of hideous eighties proportions, were all real. This was a strange season in couture.

I wanted to randomly select the looks on the runway, but my eyes are too biased towards the good and the bad. So I'm going to judge what the models of the moment were wearing.

Our first girl is Snejana Onopka, the New More Eastern European Gemma Ward.

In Chanel: NASTY

Lacroix: FUR CUTE

Givenchy: AU REVOIR RICARDO

Dior: LAME IS LAME WITH AN ACCENT

Valentino: THE BLIND CAN DESIGN

Project Mayhem

2006-06-29T00:52:00.000-04:00

I knew the team at Project Runway wanted to amp it up a little this year in terms of the designer contestants on their show, given the nature of it's insane popularity. But I was especially surprised when I was skipping around the doll sites today, and found out that that ROBERT BEST will be competing to show at Olympus Fashion Week this September.

Robert Best, is no stranger to the fashion scene. He was Isaac Mizrahi's assistant designer when Isaac was super high fashion in the nineties, and makes appearances in the cult documentary, Unzipped, the prequel to Seamless.He's had a line of couture dresses out for a few years now, but is most known in certain circles as the creator of the collectible line of Silkstone Barbie Dolls, which are said to have saved the collectibles Barbie market from imploding. I first started collecting his dolls when I was sixteen, in Taiwan, and had a disposable income.

You can imagine how shocked I was when I learned that he graduated from Judge Memorial High School from my college counselor, who attended school with him back in the eighties. Yes, he was born and raised in Bountiful, Utah. Now I know who to root for this season. Keep your fingers crossed bitches...he's gonna rock. (As long as he can make a dress in 48 hours and withstand the scathing criticisms and orange skin of Fraulein Klum and Herr Kors.)

La Lohan

2006-06-28T00:26:00.000-04:00

Lindsay's been all over the news, what with her role in "Prairie Home Companion" which I saw on opening day. She's good in it-- really good. All of you Anti-Lohans will be proven wrong in the coming years. And the girl knows her designers if any of you keep up with the gossip-- she tells her stylist what to buy versus the other way around. And she actually looks good. Lindsay, you are in my top ten Style Icons, and since I have yet to name the others-- You're #1.

Here's some snippets of June's Harper's Bazaar, and Interview Magazines...both of which I have.

New City Revolution

2006-06-27T22:46:00.000-04:00

New York City is a place where people come to compete for their dreams, or party until they forget their dreams. It's a place they experience for a few years, and move on from, or end up getting sucked into, like one giant toilet that flushes into the Hudson River.

I just finished unpacking my stuff in Brooklyn for the summer...and I have to say it will probably be nice to get out of Manhattan during the hottest months of the year. Not just because of the sweltering humidity, loud as hell midnights, or gangs of homeless people/tourists, but because of the unstoppable, never ending pace.

Standing on the corner of Prince and Mulberry for six hours every Saturday and Sunday means I get a lot of people watching done. This weekend, I saw Iman in person (She buys things at Rickys), Fabrizio Moretti alone and hot, and Heather Graham Cracker. Alongside the somewhat celebs were tourists from every nook and corner of the globe, and probably every state. There were those with fake Louis Vuittons, and real Balenciagas, hipsters, hobos, and families alike.

It's hard to believe I've only been here for four months, and still find myself longing for bits of the place I left behind....the City of Salt, Mormons, and Thrift stores galore...ye olde Salt Lake. Maybe it's running into fellow ex-Utahns, on the street, or at my new job, who all seem a bit nostalgic for the day to day existence--of living in the middle of a desert, nestled in mountains, and making up your day as it goes along--more or less. Lately I've been in a little bit of a depressed NY funk--and I think it was because I realized that no matter what great a city you live in---you won't stop missing your good friends and great times from back home.

Which is why I am dedicating this blog entry to the Fabulous Jesse Walker-- inspiration and friend. He just ended his insanely successful line of Just Wanna Dance parties at the W Lounge in Downtown Salt Lake, and premiered his art/sound installation on the walls of the public library, titled "Reflective Skin". Here's nine hundred hurrahs to Jesse Walker, International Superstar DJ, Artist, Photographer, and Creative Superhero Genius.

He is also the author of a blog that covers all the awesome, kitschy, beautiful, and scary things that make up what is Salt Lake. I know that I-- and countless other Ex-Slats, look to his brilliant photography and keen insights when they're missing exactly what they're trying to find--home. Thanks for making it feel a little closer.

New City Movement

Cat Power

2006-06-13T02:07:00.000-04:00

Happened upon an artist who seems to have been surfing with this whole creepy/cute vibe a lot longer than most. Her name's Marion Peck, and her haunting visions of children, KITTIES, and other animals will be sure to inspire you, make you long for some long lost innocence, or make you shudder. Check-check check it out.

Marion Peck

Two Parties: One Hot Shirt

2006-06-06T22:57:00.000-04:00

So, I am neither a socialite nor club goer, merely a cute boy who likes to dance. But I've found myself going out a lot more than what should be alotted, given my fragile health. Cough, cough. Here are my reviews for one big party, and one not so big party that I recently attended.

Misshapes:

Okay folks, the kids are cute, the drinks were moderately priced, and the music was...meh Eighties Night meets Hot 100. This used to be a raging party, and apparently it's just gotten kind of lame. No, it actually got really lame. I went with some of my gay (happy) friends that I don't usually see in the city, and was so disappointed this time 'round that I ended up buying TOO many cheap drinks, TOO early in the night. I didn't want to take off my sunglasses because I didn't want any one to recognize me, and I didn't want to recognize anyone. When I spilled my fifth g&t, all over the ground, and found myself surrounded my hipsters gasping "sacrilege!" I no choice but to flee the bar. Maybe next Saturday.

Motherfucker 6th Anniversary:

The theme was Truman Capote's Black and White Ball. Except this time, instead of Audrey and Jackie O, there were a gang of trannies and professional Vogue-ers! Damn. It was at the Roxy, which is a pretty big space in the meat packing district. I went with an upgraded crew of happy friends, and actually had a blast. The music was all the right eighties, dance, and dance rock, seamlessly mixed together. Everyone went balls (and boobs) out for the theme, and bitches know when people get into themes parties get bumpin.

*Motherfucker pic by Nikola of www.ambrel.net. Please don't destroy my blogutation because I used the pic without express permission. Just check out her site friends.

Rainy Daze

2006-06-05T14:03:00.000-04:00

The rain's been pouring down on NYC for four days straight, and today the clouds are still ominous and scary. I was trying to compile an adorable and trendy rainy day to do list for Yangabang, and then realized that such a thing is impossible; as rainy days are neither trendy nor adorable. So here's a to do list of 5 things I actually did this rainy weekend, in random order.

1. Smoke Hookah.

What better way to be stuck in doors than inside a smoke filled den, intimately lit, with your favorite Saudi or Lebanese music strumming away overhead. If you want a light smoke, go with something herbal like Jasmine or Mint. Double Apple is better with friends, and while you're at it, have a Turkish Coffee to ensure lively conversation.

2. Watch a Footballer's Wives Marathon.

Sex, bitchery, shirtless Euro hunks, and deliciously tacky clothes. British people are crazy, so their #1 soap is definitely something to be committed to. In just four hours, I watched Tanya Turner do a gang of coke with her talon-like manicure, kill her old grubby husband by literally 'fucking him to death', move in with Conrad Gates (the show's David Beckham) and drive his ex-wife Amber (A Bollywood version of Posh Spice) to attempted suicide. HOT.

3. Bleach Your Whites.

Come on, you know those whites need a good soak in some clorox. Pit stains begone! Mystery stains vanish! Soak them hot in your tub if you want to kill two birds with one stone so you can finally get rid of that grimy ring that's been there since...the last rainy day.

4. Try a New Drink.

As I am a committed wino-- I decided to jump on the whiskey train on The Rainy Friday Night. Just two glasses, and I didn't feel that drunk...yet definitely knew some of my brain cells couldn't see straight. I knew I was going to be a cheap date when I 'wobbled' on the way home! Oh Jack...you are so...warm.

5. Clean.

You know you should. Even if every thing looks clean, there's still that rat doodoo under the sink, or that mold on your toilet, or those eyebrow hairs on your sink. Maybe you should vacuum the shag rug or pull out couch, or do those binge eating dishes you've been avoiding. Or you could just take advantage of my alternative #5 thing to do in the rain: Get Laid.

The Holiday Cruise Resort

2006-05-31T19:27:00.000-04:00

Fashion shows used to only happen at the most obvious times of the year. But in the 21st century, and even in New York, fashion shows seem to be happening all the time. In the last few weeks, designers showed their resort collections--I mean holiday--I mean cruise--Or no--does holiday actually happen around the holidays?? And if so, is it crazy Barbie Holiday--all foil and velveteen clothes?

In any case, most New York designers opt for photographs of the collections sent out to buyers and select press, but this 'season' (I'm still not sure if I want to consider resort a season) the two head honchos of European Fashion, John Galliano and Karl Lagerfeld, flew in their collections, top models, and make-up folks for fully staged fashion shows.

Dior--all wearability, some punchy colors, and funky hairstyles. He's going into a violently eighties direction--and I'm not sure I mind. I have to admit, the metallics were a little blinding at first, but he seemed to perfect their level of excessiveness to a point where it was visually alluring.

The Chanel show kind of grossed me out. I mean, I worship Karl, but I think not eating has really done something to his designing ability. Some of the looks are cute, but the styling was all over the place--and the colors were violent eighties in a horrifically Pretty In Pink way. And those shoes? Karl...to much time in the dungeons...

I was getting a little disenchanted by this point. And then I remembered that aside from resort--couture season is starting up soon! Before any of the Euros flashed their dance, our Isaac Mizrahi showed his super luxe made to order collection at Bergdorf Goodman, filled with mod influenced modern clothing-- a trend I happen to love. The clean lines and coolacious color blocking just made me so happy inside. Maybe I don't mind fashion all year round.

Sexcessories

2006-05-15T16:20:00.000-04:00

Just thought I'd post some fashion art I did for this company that makes bracelets and cuffs out of old vinyl records. Let me know what you think..these are just a few preliminaries so keep your browsers open over the next few weeks for more updates. Check out his stuff at--

Wrecords By Monkey

* Stealing art is tacky.

Gwen Stefani, You Like-uh Me!

2006-04-27T20:04:00.000-04:00

Okay. I loved her catchy dance album for about three months. Three months of drunken-dance party-debauchery. Three months of Gwen singing about how crazy her bananas were and how much she wanted Johnny to "drive into me" at the "drive in movie."

I thought her collaboration with LeSportsac was too umm...I don't know, "I wish I was Takashi Murakami" but still pretty cool, and I even forgave her all over the place LAMB collection actually designed by Zaldy that was terribly unfocused and shakily executed. (It looked like three fashion shows at once. Not one, not two, but THREE fashion shows.)

And then I started to see through the cuteness of bright, jumbled colors and dancing Asian girls to realize that somewhere along the line...The Pregnant Blonde had gone too far. The wheels of distaste started to turn when I read up on her latest accessories venture, "Harajuku Lovers." Again, more Imitation-Japanese cutesy artwork, with blatant references to her only solo album. Nothing new, but definitely tackier, which is what bothered me. I decided to do a little investigative reporting to see if there was a legit explanation for the success of her bad taste.

The real Harajuku girls loathe Stefani and her stylploitation of their image. Numerous reports in the actual Harajuku shopping district in Japan bring back the same results. The Fruitsy dressers hate what she is commercializing, and scoff at her attempts to built a fan base in Japan, which has so far proven embarrassingly unsuccessful.

And then I read up on her actual Harajuku Girls. You know who they are, the sweetfaced Asians who work out, mop the deck, and bow, yes BOW to La Stefani in her funkytronic pop videos. Apparently, none of the girls are ACTUALLY JAPANESE. They are American born Chinese...and I think one of them might be an American born Korean. And unsurprisingly, each are under a CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT to keep their English speaking mouths closed at public events. Enough unsaid.

And as much as I want to hate on Gwen for this, and selling her body, soul, and image to the world, I can't. Because if the Faux Harajuku girls all picked up camp and moved on, who would replace them? More white girls? Or worse, Faux Blatinas?

In the end, the customer decides. And as much as Gwen is photographed in her own line, toting her obnoxious accessories around the world, you know she does all her shopping at Vivienne Westwood in Paris, where she can stop at Christian Dior's boutique around the arrondissement; A world away from the real Harajuku....

Martha Kurihara

2006-04-27T19:30:00.000-04:00

Often referred to as "Japan's Martha Stewart", Harumi Kurihara is Japan's most famous housewife. She has authored over 40 cookbooks and sold a total of about 15 million copies. Aside from her own brand of kitchenware and linens, there are actually four restaurants in Japan that cook her food exclusively.

And her recipe for success? Simple, natural, traditional and not so traditional gourmet cooking. She makes high-end and homestyle cuisine available to the wannabe chef who wants to stay as far away from a microwave as possible, and not suffer from endless ingredient searches and hours over a stove.

Here's a recipe/excerpt from her Celebration of Contemporary Cuisine.
If you try it, you just might like it.

Recipe: Soy Egg Appetizers (Shoyu Tamago no Zensai)

"I love appetizers and party food. As well as enjoying choosing the tastes and colours of the food itself, I take great delight in deciding on which plates to display it. These eggs are just so simple to prepare but are stunning to look at, with different coloured toppings. You can experiment with other ideas, such as pickles, olives and cress. I happen to love any kind of egg cooking, but this is one of my favourites."

(Serves 4)

6-8 small hard-boiled eggs
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon caster sugar

Suggested toppings:
salmon roe
cream cheese
olives
cress
pickles

1. Shell the eggs. Mix the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar together, making sure the sugar dissolves. Put the eggs with the marinade into a large plastic bag. Leave to marinate for 2-3 hours, moving the eggs around in the bag from time to time to ensure an even colour.

2. Remove the eggs from the bag and cut them in half lengthways. Place on a serving dish and decorate the yolk with a teaspoon of salmon roe, cream cheese or any other topping you choose. Serve as finger food or with salad leaves as a starter.

Paging Ms. Nagi

2006-04-17T19:34:00.000-04:00

What does it mean to be a celebrity in the 21st century?

For Hollywood, as the bubble of fame gets bigger, so does the talent quota. You have to make a movie, record an album, learn a choreographed dance for your music video, lose weight for high fashion photo spreads, and sign your name over to hundreds of different licensing companies for their use in fragrances, accessories, and apparel. All at the same time, all while you're getting younger and younger.

The bar is also being raised for artists. 32 year old Nagi Noda of Tokyo Japan started out as an art director and designer for indie CD labels and small print advertising firms. By taking inspiration from every day life and infusing it with her own twisted perspective, she has gained critical and commercial acclaim in a variety of industries including film, television, fashion, toy design, and advertising.

Her grotesque television spots and print ads for La Foret Harajuku are all the buzz on the streets of Tokyo, along with her adorable Hanpandas; stuffed panda animals that are half-mutated with other creatures. See the cuteness @ www.hanpanda.com

Her short film, Ex-Fat Girl, is both hilarious and contraversial.

Check it out here: http://www.partizan.com/partizan/films/shorts/?nagi_noda

I Think I'm Turning Japanese

2006-04-14T10:27:00.000-04:00

Every major designer from Ralph Lauren to Heatherette is jumping on a ship to Japan. Karl Lagerfeld has been promoting Chanel on the islands since he was fat, and Gwen Stefani has been exploiting Harajuku girls since she went solo with her design and singing career.

But the Japanese phenom is nothing new, anime has been around since the seventies, kung fu movies have been influencing western cinema for even longer; it's only just now that luxury retailers (excluding Louis Vuitton) are waking up to the wide range of middle class that saves their yen for a purse that white folks wouldn't touch out of expensive fear.

The next few entries will cover a few different topics surrounding Japan's place in the international mainstream, starting with the 'underground' multi talented artist Nagi Noda, music video director, installation artist, fashion photographer, and toy maker. She's been one of the most influential women in Japan's art scene over the last five years, but is only just beginning to expand her international career, most recently with a debut of some of her work at Collette in Paris. Stay tuned.

Project Karl

2006-04-04T12:30:00.000-04:00

Everyone better be tuning in to the Sundance Channel this fall. As reported in The Fashion Week Daily, "Signé Chanel", a five part series to begin airing in September '06 will follow Captain Lagerfeld and Team Chanel's Fall/Winter 2004-2005 Haute Couture collection from concept to creation.

Karl Lagerfeld has never stopped grabbing headlines in his 40+ years in fashion, always designing, losing weight and setting trends leapyears ahead of his competitors in the industry. And sometimes, to his advantage, he jumps on a trend while it's already on the rise, adding HIS attention to a moment, making a smoldering trend on fire.

He famously lost over two hundred pounds to wear Dior Homme seconds before Msr. Slimane's skinny suits were all the rage. When hi-low fashion was threatening to burst like a dollar store bubble with Mizrahi's Target-Couture, Karl redesigned his wardrobe for H&M and watched as dozens of fashion crazies raided the place. (I have the women's sequin tux jacket--all occasion--fucking gorgeous.) He podcasts the Chanel show, and at the after party for Lagerfeld Collection here in New York, he gives away forty iPods to his exclusive guests; he owns the 40 ipod, with a 400,000$ price tag and max of 1.5 TB(?) of music. And he just auctioned off several million dollars worth of furnishings and properties, trading his baroque antiques for slick, modern, couture priced chrome chairs and coffee tables.

A friend recently asked me what would happen if Karl Lagerfeld kicked the bucket. What would happen to Chanel? Fendi? Fashion? I couldn't think of a valid response, other than, he probably will not ever die. KARL FOREVER!

CFDAmazing

2006-03-30T10:16:00.000-05:00

The nominees for the CFDA awards, "Fashion's Oscars", were released this week, generating, like always, buzz and rumors throughout the industry. The particular standouts were Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler, nominated for Womenswear Designers of the year, along with Marc Jacobs, and Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein.

The nod to Proenza is especially interesting, as they received the Perry Ellis Award for being 'new talent' only in 2003, and the CFDA/VOGUE fashion fund award a year later. But given the fact their work critically and commercially stands out amongst young designer crops that are only getting bigger, it comes as no surprise. And having Anna Wintour and Carine Roitfield personally hail your genius doesn't hurt your chances of getting places.

The duo is also the subject of a new documentary called "Seamless", made by the same crew that brought you fashionista cult classic "Unzipped" back in the 90s. It follows three competitors for the above mentioned CFDA/VOGUE award, Alexandre Plokhov of menswear label CLOAK, Geoffrey Beene protege Doo-ri Chung, and of course, Proenza Schouler. I (shockingly, shamefully) have yet to see the film, but it's only a matter of hours before it's Netflixed and sitting on my coffee table for a sit-in wine and movie weekend. Any excuse to see Lazaro Hernandez on film. Sigh.

A Complete Look

2006-03-25T18:58:00.000-05:00

It was reported this week in WWD that Nicholas Ghesquiere, the brilliant mind behind Balenciaga, made known to all fashion publications worldwide that the clothes from his fabulous Fall 2006 Collection will not be sent out for editoral as pieces-- meaning that if Vogue wants to photograph Gemma & Sasha in any of next season's clothes, they have to use the ENTIRE look, no styling, no separates. Even if they want to photograph a bag, it has to be shown with a COMPLETE ensemble from the "reference" collection, or only with other accessories from the line. It seems a little snobbish, but the clothes are so hot, I really can't disagree. I mean, can you imagine one of those fabulous hats paired with an ugly Chloe dress? Please. A big merci to Monsieur Ghesquiere for taking a stand against the paradigm that is the Fashion Industry.

Staten Island Fairy

2006-03-14T12:54:00.000-05:00

When my green haired roommate, Kirsten, told me Staten Island was actually New York's landfill of the old days turned suburb, I was shocked. Shocked I didn't know. Because I should have known. Peter, my Bostonite buddy, was in town to welcome me back to the East Coast, and we all decided it was such a beautiful day last Friday that we simply had to walk from the Lower East Side, to Battery Park, to catch the free ferry of Staten Island. And of course, in New York, getting there is half the fun.

First, we wandered through Chinatown, where Kirsten directed us to an ice cream parlor, the first and original of its kind, uniquely titled The Original Chinatown Ice Cream. The flavors were all those we Asians adore, green tea, lychee, taro bean, red bean, ginger, and much much more. Tasty delight.

Eventually, and I mean eventually...it was a long walk, we made it to the South Street Seaport, where Kirsten and I unsuccessfully tried to board a ship on it's way to Peking. I guess they didn't let us on because the thing's a relic and doesn't actually move.

Finally aboard the ferry, a lot of wind and dramatic hair was going on, which I loved. If you have hair as fabulous as mine, wouldn't you love being windblown? We decided to get off at the landfill, and explored until we discovered a thrift store Everything Goes. I was going mad for their eighties dresses, until I got my hands on a MIU MIU trench, for 15$. Maybe you can find treasure in a landfill.

Oh Mildred

2006-02-28T01:22:00.000-05:00

Now, I know there are a lot of gays out there who like a good dose of La Joan Crawford, but let me tell you, no one knows Crawford until they see Mildred Pierce. Made in 1945, this movie transformed Mommie Dearest from Hollywood fluff to Hollywood heavyweight. It was on Turner Classic Movies' 31 Days of Oscar, and co stars a very young Ann Blyth as the vicious Veda, Mildred's love her hate her daughter who is the bitch of all bitches. Mildred, scorned by her husband, decides the best way for revenge is to open up a restaurant, make it into a huge corporation, and spoil their daughter sick, taking the blame for her money laundering, murder. Butterfly McQueen, a somewhat famous black actress from back in the day, ("I don't know nothin about birthin no babies...") is a fucking riot as Lotte the maid and it's all mad, good fun. Don't even get me started on the fur coat. Viktor and Rolf were obviously just as crazy about it as I was. Check out this monster from their Fall 2006 collection.

My favorite scene in the flick was when Mildred and Veda are having a face off on the stairs of their sweeping southern California mansion. "Get out!" Shouts Joan, "Get out before I throw your things out the window! Get out before I kill you!"

Oh yes. I'm definitely naming my future cat Veda. And I'm Mildred.

Proenza Mon Amour

2006-02-22T00:44:00.000-05:00

I have an unhealthy obsession with the clothing of New York designers, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler. It is, in part, because I interned with them on their Fall 2004 collection when they were a little more up and coming then they are now. And, it is also because they make some fierce fucking luxury wear. I tried on most of the samples from the aforementioned collection, and let me tell you, coyote never felt so good. But that particular collection, hot as it was, received mixed reviews from the editors with the exception of French Vogue's Carine Roitfield, who was rumoured to have bought almost every piece. Here are a few looks from their Fall 2006 collection, which was hailed as one of the most exhilirating collections among a very mediocre fashion week. Cheers to you boys.

Just Breathe

2006-02-12T23:39:00.000-05:00

Lindsay Lohan has a new hot tat on her wrist, white, and oh so cute. Just like her.

Dress Season

2006-02-07T14:19:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd post a few pictures of some prom dresses I made for the high school set. They are SO much more high fashion than Frenze. The fabulous photos were all taken by the International Superstar DJ, Jesse Walker.

The Hurricane

2006-02-04T18:13:00.000-05:00

I Tivo'd an old movie of my great-grandmother's on TCM. It's called The Hurricane, and was made in 1937. I didn't get a chance to watch it until last night, when I'd already had a few glasses of wine. And it is one fucked up movie.

It's about a half naked hottie who's persecuted by an evil safariman because he's in love with a native woman incapable of forming complete sentences, played by the lovely Dorothy Lamour. My great-grandmother, Mary Astor, plays the safariman's wife, and her name, get this, is Germaine De Laage. Anyways, the end of the movie climaxes with some of the most amazingly creepy special effects I've seen in a movie. It is actually the first movie in the Disaster genre. When I read granny's autobiography, she wrote a lot about the making of this film. They brought in insane industrial fans and tied the actors to the trees, in between takes, the make up artists would have to cover the tiny cuts all over the actors' faces because of how fast sand and water were blasted in their faces.

These were the old days of filmmaking, and it looks, horrifically enough, like a real motherfuckin hurricane. And nobody survives. Except of course, Dorothy Lamour, half naked hottie, and their halfie baby Tita. And my great-grandmother of course, who rescues the interracial family from the wrath of her husband with the last line of the movie.

"It's only a floating log."

Halfway Miss America

2006-02-02T14:25:00.000-05:00

I was disturbed after watching this year's Miss America pageant. I mean, I'd just woken up, it was on Vh1, no Tivo, and none of the girls were even that cute. Average, at best. Now, I honestly can't remember the last time I watched a Miss America pageant, but I'm pretty sure it was while I was still in grade school.

The final three contestants all answered the same question at the end of the program. It asked about a formative childhood experience, and Alexa Jones of Alabama just blathered on about dance, not any one specific event that defined her as the woman she's supposed to be. Then the next girl, Jennifer Berry of Oklafuckoma, responded by talking about returning her pencil to someone in the sixth grade...and being put down by the teacher...but in the end...I don't know, she lost me. Then Miss Monica Pang of Georgia shared her heartfelt experience of growing up as an ASIAN AMERICAN WOMAN. But it doesn't stop there, she thanked her CHINESE FATHER AND WHITE MOTHER for all of their love and support. Guess who I wanted to win?? And guess who stood out the most from her fugly girl next door competitors?

Well, the drums were rolling, and the third runner up was about to be named. There is a camera on all three girls and Alexa Alabama looks over expectantly at Georgia Pang! Waiting for her to lose out! You should've seen the look on her face when they called out her name, I almost wet myself. And then...bum bum bum...Jennifer Whiteass Berry wins the crown. Now, I half hoped that the competition would get with the times, I mean, China is positioned to become the next world superpower and every thing Asian is so hip. But after seeing the girl who won last year, I immediately called Jennifer Berry as the winner, because she looked identical to her predecessor.

The Premiere

2006-02-01T16:37:00.000-05:00

Whohoo! I finally have a place online where I can promote, bitch, and share....awww. Just what I wanted for Christmas. Hey, the seaponies are excited.