A Valentino Summer

Ever since I got the issue of Teen Vogue in the mail, I haven't been able to stop ranting about the beautifully-cut Valentino dress worn by Elle Fanning in the February cover shoot. It appears that the spring/summer fashion trends favour old-fashioned lace cuts and bright classic reds (The tart shade, after all, is an apt choice for award season's numerous red carpet events. One only needs to look at Charlize Theron's choices for the Globes this year).

Elle models in a red Miu Miu dress with a full lace bodice, a scarlet Christopher Kane piece with white lace sleeves, Marc Jacobs & even some elegant Louis Vuitton. Accessories wise, the simple gold headband and thick Oscar de la Renta cuff goes wonderfully with the Valentino.

As for the charming starlet, one can no longer call her the 'second' or 'littlest' fanning. As said before, the lovely Elle Fanning is going places. Besides being a talented thespian, who shows not only breadth, but depth of acting, Elle can be said to have reached far into the world of fashion. Being personally invited  by Karl Lagerfeld to the Paris 2011 Haute Couture show is not something many teenagers can dream, let alone, boast about. Besides being on the top of fashion show invite lists from around the world, Elle Fanning is also the model, spokesperson & muse for established couture line Rodarte. And all of this, at the age of thirteen-going-on-fourteen.

You can read the full teen vogue article here, or watch Elle pirouette gracefully in Rodarte's short fashion film, The Curve of Forgotten Things.

Phoebe in Wonderland

'At a certain point in your life, probably when too much of it has gone by... You will open your eyes and see yourself for who you are. Especially for everything that made you so different from all the awful normals. And you will say to yourself... But I am this person. And in that statement, that correction, there will be a kind of love.'

Lately, I've been watching a lot of Elle Fanning movies. It sounds strange, because you wouldn't expect such a young actress to have had a tremendously prolific career and an extensive filmography. The thirteen year old Elle, however, is certainly going places. She was absolutely brilliant in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, shone in J.J. Abram's Super 8, and was a regular Jerry Spinelli-esque Stargirl in We Bought the Zoo. It was her first lead role in Phoebe in Wonderland, however, that remains the most special of all.

I love this movie. I love it because it tells all of us (and to a point, reassures me) that it's alright to be different. It's okay to feel disconnected and distant and a little bizarre. It's perfectly fine to delve into another world of looking glasses and talking rabbits and tea parties, and completely lose yourself in the magic. It's comforting, to know you're not alone :)

Another day, another fall

 

A couple of days ago, I was trying to turn on the air-conditioner in church before music class, when I fell backwards and managed to impale the sole of my foot on an upturned three-pin plug. A lot of blood and a quick visit to a GP for one stitch later (yes, ONE. As if my life isn't cursed enough that a hundred dollars must be forked out for ONE stitch. How lame is that?) and I'm at home, missing a couple of days of school and wrapping my leg in a plastic bag before showering.

Too much time at home and not enough human contact is driving me insane. On the other hand, I've gotten extremely adept at hopping around the house on one foot. Which must also, drive my downstairs neighbours insane.

I'm so grateful for friends who helped me on that night, and subsequent ones who visited/dropped a text/promised to help me when I get back to school! And of course, family, for putting up with one whiny kid who wheels around in her desk chair and plays a lot of noisy ukulele. 

Meh.

Note to self: do not paint props while feeling groggy/extremely tired and thinking you'll live through it. Instead you'll wake up with a cheek-ful of red paint!

Also, I think I've sprained my hipbone. From what physical activity, I wonder. Was it from sitting in front of a PC all day, slouching in front of the telly, or walking from my bedroom to the refrigerator to get more chocolate buttons? Urgh gluttony defeats all.

My hip really, really, hurts though.

We melt like butter on the tables

Through the curious keyhole
I see with open eyes
a precarious situation
I love too much to sacrifice

This is not new circumstance
I've fallen down this rabbit hole
time and time again
Meet me down there
two curious souls

Rewriting tales of folklore
we belong to imprints
on the flyleaf of your novel
We are myths
too great to be conquered

A tour of your magical mind
I can only believe
this will not end too soon

The most terrible impulse to do something

' What is needed in order to really become a star is an extra element which God gives you or doesn't give you.

You're born with it.You cannot learn it.

God kissed Audrey Hepburn on the cheek and there she was. '

Billy Wilder

The Great Audrey Hepburn Tribute

'Audrey Hepburn: At midnight, I'll turn into a pumpkin and drive away in my glass slipper...

Gregory Peck: And that will be the end of the fairy tale.'

And now we're alone and now we're alive

The genius that is Alison Sudol. This is beauty, and poetry.


So come on come out, wherever you are :)

To travel to Paris, to wear perfume, and to listen to jazz

'It's not enough to educate us anymore, Mrs Walters!
You've got to tell us why you're doing it!'

It appears that I got my Carey Mulligan filmography thoroughly mixed up: I watched Wall Street first, followed by the poignant film Never Let Me Go, where she fitted perfectly into the role of a displaced Cathy Glass and lastly, An Education. It turned out to be for the better; her first major role as the bright but sheltered 16-year-old schoolgirl swept away by a suave gentleman was one of the best I'd ever seen.

Captured in the sleepy and old-fashioned English suburb of Twickenham, the film explores the true importance of an academic education as compared to, as Peter Sarsgaard so charmingly puts it, an education in the 'University of Life'. Mulligan's rather anachronistic character of Jenny puts the thoughts of thousands of A-level students together on the screen flawlessly, and more importantly exposes the restrictive societal mindset held by the working-class in 1960s England.

However, what was most impressive was the way the movie ended. While some may find it extremely unsatisfying (and ultimately, a betrayal in morals to the first ninety percent of the film), I found that the ending expressed finding comfort and a satisfaction for the simpler things instead of settling for living in a fantasy. Ambition is all well and good, but in the end, you can never truly have a shortcut in life.

Gosh it feels like I'm writing a literature essay here. So trust me, it's a movie you can't miss. Although no one could ever replace Ms. Hepburn, I'm personally really glad that Carey Mulligan was casted as Eliza Doolittle in the My Fair Lady remake. Definitely something to look forward to!

A Very Glee Spiel

I admire anyone who is able to carry off a sheath tube dress without looking like a frump/slut. Afterall, Françoise Sagan once said that a dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to take it off you (cheeky!)

Inspite of how much I'm SUPPOSED to loathe Glee with its impossibly drab script and lack of musical originality, I don't. I hate to admit that instead of watching 'intellectual' TV series like CSI or The Mentalist, I pretty much followed the Quinn/Finn + Quinn/Puck + Quinn/Sam drama from start to end! Who can hate such good looking people with good chops?! (most of the time...)

What can I say, hearing Lea's voice gives me the chills. And I can't wait for the season to continue :)

Song for the sleepless

Sunday morning
A festivity in bed,
Another visit to the sandman
White powder for your eyes
and the insides of your mind

In beautiful slumber
on clouds far away,
We all carouse in escapism
In this space called the heart

I dream in hues
Such unexpected chromism,
too hard to leave
I lie awake
in the inside of my mind

Maybe I'll break your heart

'When do I get to be upset? When do I get to be anything other than me?'

I've seen the season 5 SKINS trailer and the only redeeming factor is that it was set to Arcade Fire's 'Ready to Start'. How I miss mysterious effy, JJ and his ukulele, and Naomi Campbell already.

We'll see next January :D

Lonely hearts bear lonely beats

Another take-away show special by the lovely Priscilla Ahn.

A girl should be two things; classy and fabulous.

Know anyone else who looked better in a wool vest, wide-brimmed trilby and a spotted tie?

I think not.

Vitality

So your father told you once
That you were his princess
You won't see the castle
You cannot find your prince

And now you've grown a lot
And your dress don't fit right
Your daddy's not a hero
He stole your chariot

So here you are in pieces
Trying to prove to us it's real
The softness of your smile
And the lies you want to feel

The scales beneath your skin
Are showing off today
There's evil in your heart
And it wants out to play

There's evil in your heart
And it wants out to play
There's evil in your heart
And I made a home here

For me.
You'll burn it down with your fantasy.

After five years, still haven't gotten enough of them.

Follow Hayley's new blog here

All of the noise, all of the heat

'GOLD MOTEL doesn’t exist, but if it did, you’d find it on a winding road somewhere in the sun-drenched hills of Southern California'

Lauren Henry

The slow decline of The Hush Sound under the pretense of a 'hiatus' was devastating to watch; no one could be more gutted than I. For someone who has followed the band through the makings of their debut album So Sudden (Dorian Gray, anyone?), to Like Vines and finally, to the brilliantly-decadent Goodbye Blues, it was unlikely anything better could exist.

And then Greta Salpeter made Gold Motel.

It started from one of their first singles that appeared on a five-song EP, back when Greta was believed to be pursuing a solo project. 'We're on the Run' was featured on the Indie Rock Playlist, which is, by the way, an invaluable site for lesser-known genius. Greta's amazing vocals and inspiring lyrics caught me immediately. Hook, line and sinker. The amazing thing was that the rest of the band was made out of a mish-mash of musicians from This Is Me Smiling and The Yearbooks, particularly the notable guitarist of the former, Dan Duszynski. The chemistry of the five musicians was obviously too hard to resist, and thus, Gold Motel was born.

First things first, Gold Motel sounds near nothing like the Hush Sound. Granted, the Hush Sound may have been magnificent in its own right, but Summer House creates a whole new sound altogether. Greta's California-inspired summer lyrics filled with heartwrenching nostalgia will surprise a THS listener, but pleasantly. The ten-track playlist features simple and clean (but lovely, none the less) guitar riffs as compared to the signature distorted jarrs of Bob Morris, an absence in morbid lyrics and noticeably less keys by Salpeter. All in all, a light-hearted album dedicated to living life at it's fullest.

More than an album, it is a story. A story of road trips, love, and finding solace in summer houses. Something, pretty much incredible :)

So here's to you, Greta!


Side note: It will still be extremely sad if The Hush Sound never writes and plays together again. Bob Morris is still a guitar king. The Days of Chris Faller may be over, but hopefully, that will change! The Hush Sound <3

The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain.

Amélie is a shy young woman with a pronounced taste for all life's small pleasures; immersing one's hand in a sack of grain, cracking the crust of a crème brulée with the back of a teaspoon or skipping stones on the Canal St-Martin.

Like a riot, like a riot, oh!

Singfest 2010

So I wasn't feeling all that up to it on tuesday, but I'm kinda glad I went. Its awesomeness made me want to get a ticket for Smashing Pumpkins on day 3 (and from what Victor said, they played 1979 from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness which they play, like, NEVER.)

The Like (alternative poprock band based in L.A.) was unexpectly good. Hail all-girl rockbands!


she reminds me of dull gret. Have been studying way too much lit... HA! I lie. Churchill gets into your head, tho.
Nameless bass, but you can pretty much guess its a hofner. Paul McCartney would have been proud.
Orianthi was an absolutely wicked, 'cept when she opened her mouth and the ghastly aussie accent came spilling out. You could practically see the looks of awe change to looks of mortification when she stopped playing the slick steve-vai licks and tried to increase audience participation by talking. Still, you can't fault the girl, being in MJ's last unseen-tour gives you immunity.

Lounged around while the wondergirls were on!

Harry's was the official caterer, everything was overpriced as usual!

So anyway there was this buff mixed-dude standing in front of us and Sarah asked whether I could take a picture with him. *blushes. And then she called me a cheap slut. THANKS.

Whoot whoot!
eeyer.

If they didn't show that much skin, people would have boo-ed them straight off. Most lukewarm-applause performance of the night!

They were so-so. I don't have a taste of effeminate dudes and mediocre instrumentals. Although Bill has GOT to get a trophy for managing to squeeze into those pants.

Anyway, I was pretty pissed that by the time Katy Perry got on (it took about 45 minutes for them to set the props up and vulgarities were aflame in the mob), there was no batt left cause Sheri used it all to take pictures of Tokio. It was a serious FML moment.

These were the best two pictures before the cam died... at least we got to watch her rock on guitar and sing with amazing vocals. Doesn't hurt that she is hella BEAUTIFUL!


Between holding press-conferences in the sea and having a fiance like Russell Brand, no one can say Katy Perry isn't amazing.

So concludes this year's Singfest! 2008 did have a better line-up I suppose, but you can't expect Jason Mraz and Panic to come every year, right?



The last week has ben breezyyyy. Career day on Wednesday and National Day celebrations today. Loving the long weekend ahead! Will finally have time to listen to the new Arcade Fire album. Have a great holiday everyone :)

She left him shimmering

Search for your inner rockstar,
climb trees and make the world your own
Hey girl,
you make it seem so easy,
taking life and slipping it into her pocket,
so they march hand in hand.

Go and make sparks
fairy dust,
on cold spring grass
Tangle of clean-cut boys
oh and the girl with their summer dresses,
stockings and tattered jeans.

Hey,
what are you waiting for?

_____________________________________

Mondays are such a trail to get up to. So procrastination was a suitable companion on a very lazy weekend; two lit essays and a CSE outline went undone, plus delibrate effort to ignore upcoming math C.A. Also, the entire family had the ill-luck of catching the flu on Saturday night. I had worse luck because the flu turned out to be a 24-hour bug, which meant school as per usual today! Drats.

Still it hasn't been all dull.

Here's to good, clean wholesome fun to NLCC Family Day! Oh hey!

Kenny's birthday at Swensens and Clare's 18th Surprise party a little over a week ago. Stalling is not my best ability. Lead a rather bemused Clare around like an aimless sheep till she got all huffy about going to Marche two hours late and... hola! SURPRISE!

Happy bithday to Rach too, where Clare and I were almost late as we squeezed the massive cupcake balloon out of Clare's mom's van thingy and it popped anyway. Go mommy!


eating healthy veggies. Hey, friday is vegan day!

loved the lightning in the photos.

Somehow by the end of the night, we always have one of these. Why nat, why!

Had a pretty crazy journey on the circle line, actually, it almost felt like a journey across the earth. 18 people, lest restless younger youth who slid down empty MRT stair rails and hollered across ticketing booths.

Still, we made it! hurrah!


Day 10 of the doodle diary. Nicholas Glascow tore a page out 'by accident' he says, but I know its just to get back at me for ignoring him the whole lesson. Irritant! None the less, Math Prep Hours was pretty okay cause we listened to brit bands all night and sand while Kieran mercilessly dissed the Wombats, Passion Pit, Phoenix, the like. Sigh.

CHICAGO tomorrow! Have been waiting for this for months! Unfortch, it's a likely possibility that I'll be wearing school U to such a glam event, courtesy of music ministry rehearsals and lit evening meetings. Double yuck.

Ah Math C.A. Abhor JC life vehemently.

To end on a brighter note...

uMama Warm?! Seriously, what bizarre contraption and product name will they come up with next? Great way to put people off a marginally-sellable massage machine.