I saw a poster for a book signing for Jamie Lee Curtis at Borders Bookstore’s alpha home base (store 1 is in Ann Arbor, man!)  I definitely did not get the same shock as the time a few months ago when I saw that JEWEL was going to do a mini concert!

When I say Jewel, yes I do mean Jewel Kilcher of “bad” poetry book fame.  I’m not going to hate on her book like so many others did, however.

If you know me well, you’ll know that I get a kick out of things that I don’t normally like.  The best example of this that I can think of are perms.  You know, like for the hair?  I want a perm.  And it’s not because I think a perm is fashionable… it’s because I think getting a perm would be funny.

So I thought that going to see Jewel do her mini concert would be funny.  “Pieces of You”, Night in Shinging Armour…  that Jewel.  Funny.  The last time I saw her she was in a J-Lo phase awkwardly dancing to “Intuition”.  HOWEVER, I am not going to front…  I was a fan back when I was a sophomore in high school.  My brother bought her CD and I remember probably shedding a tear or two (shut up) when listening to “Don’t”.

I invited my friend Dustin to watch her because I figured he might think it was funny also, and I had this daydream that only thirty people would show up and I’d get to ask her questions during her Q & A about fashion and what she’d put on a mix tape and I’d get to write about my special session with her on here.

 Um…  so…  we got there, needed a wristband, and over 200 people showed up on Borders’ second floor.  Jewel got up to perform and she was pretty and charming and joked with the audience.  She talked about how she went to school at Interlochen (which is where my ex-boyfriend went) and brought a hunting knife to school with her fresh off of the Alaska boat.  Her words, not mine.  Then she talked about her year living out of her van which my ex said never happened because she went to Interlochen.  However, both stories  exsist side by side because she received a full scholarship to attend Interlochen to sing classical voice.  Later, she didn’t go to college and instead worked for a computer warehouse and was fired from her job for being late too many times.  That’s when she had to live out of her van.  She said she almost shoplifted a $34 dress, and then she realized that she had a choice whether or not she would steal that dress.  She said, “Wait a minute, what the hell makes me think that I can’t make $34?”  And that’s when she wrote “Hands”, which was also the first song she heard on the radio on September 13, 2001, after emerging from camping with her boyfriend and unaware of the events of September 11, 2001.

She also cried the first time she heard herself on the radio because the studio release of “Who Will Save Your Soul” makes her sound like Kermit the Frog.

Eventually she had to do her CD signing, and I didn’t have a CD, so I took my son to a vacated part of Borders to put him back in his stroller.  That’s when Jewel emerged from nowhere and walked past me — my summers as a high school student listening to her baby-ish voice slapped me in my face with a blonde swoosh.  I got shy and giddy and we smiled at each other and in that moment it wasn’t funny.

Yeah, so I’m happy I went to see Jewel sing at Borders.  Whut.

Having been “one of the guys” for so long, I pretty much have a pretty awesome taste in movies. Guys definitely have the edge on this one.

Pros:

1.) Zombies
2.) Bad ass Super heros
3.) Weird cult films
4.) old martial arts films

cons

1.) Pearl Harbor
2.) …. Pearl Harbor! Or is that a chick flick??

I’ve definitely scored with some hot guys having comic books under my belt. I mean, you definitely have the dudes who do not like comic books, and women who do not like men who like comic books. I would fall under the category of “Woman who PREFERS dudes who like comic books.”

Which brings me to Iron Man, which I only new about because Gwyneth Palthrow was on the cover of a recent issue of Vogue. Why? Her role as Pepper in this Favreau film.

I watched it the other day with my partner. Did I like it? Yes. Was I supposed to? Apparently not! At work today, I brought it up with my co-worker automatically assuming that she thought it was awesome.

“Did you like it?” she asked. “Yeah, I liked it, too. For a stupid guy movie. Guys are so into that movie.”

It’s like I got shot back to reality because I completely forgot about the movie aspect when it comes to being “one of the guys”. It is so important. But I must say, aside from the college and NBA basketball, it is one of the most fun parts. Swingers? Made? Dawn of the Dead? Audition? Lone Wolf and Cub? Come ON!

Why did I like Iron Man? Well, it definitely wasn’t because Ms. Palthrow was front and Center with a romantic side-plot. I mean, the guy makes a super hero suit/weapon of mass destruction. It is set with a very present-day feel complete with the guy from Hustle and Flow and stripper flight attendants on an airplane. What is not to love?

I love being one of the guys. This is a much better date movie than SATC.

I am not embarrassed to admit that I at first Hate Watched the Sex and the City a few years ago, but then I became a fan on the DL, then an out-in-the-open fan — but a self-loathing one.

Hate Watching is an interesting sub-category to “hating” — something even the best of us are guilty of.

What is it with our intrinsic interests in things we loathe? I really want to go in depth about this idea. From hate-dating (dating a person you completely detest!), to hate watching, to even the irony of wearing fashion you hate… it’s a very interesting idea.

I can tell you one thing though: I do not hate crocs and gaucho pants enough to wear them.

The days of vintage ripped 80’s band shirts, Cons, and expensive jeans are over. The days of bunchy clothes and silly eye wear are has-been. Fashion is now headed to a more sophisticated approach, and quite honestly, I’m ready for it!

Sure, it was fun for a few years to work the tough bad girl look — leather boots, lots of black, some dirt on your American Apparel poly blend shirt… even leggings made a comeback for a few years. But now things are changing, yet again, and it’s towards a more classy look than we’ve been seeing from my favorites these past years.

A recent issue of Vogue stated it best: It’s more sophisticated, more chic… but the proportions are off. I’m excited to start wearing more tailored items. I really love some of Jamison’s pieces! I wish more was available on the web!

I am looking more and more forward to wearing more tailored fashion with interesting shapes, especially now that I have lost all my baby weight. As much as I love fashion, it can be hard for my wardrobe to keep up with it.

I’ve noticed Chanel Iman’s beautiful face in recent issues of Vogue. When reading an article about the Met’s Costume Gala in NY Mag, her eyecatching golden yellow gown caught my eye as a favorite.

I don’t know much about this lady, but I have good vibes about her career. She is biracial and bicultural. Her father is African American and her mother is Korean. She is currently homeschooled. She is a Ford model — just like my good friend. With a name like Chanel Iman, how can you go wrong? It sort of reminds me of Dionne and Cher from Clueless, but her name resounds with classic fashion icons rather than diva has-beens.

While I love some quirk in my fashion, Chanel Iman definitely inspires and reminds me that Vogue is the fashion Bible for a reason.

Today I watched Sophia Copolla’s movie Marie Antoinette starring Kirsten Dunst. I heard poor reviews of it, but I absolutely relished watching it because of the period fashion. The clothing and colors were very decadent, and it inspired a new love of gowns at the end of the 1700s.

Watching the movie, I realized I knew nothing about Marie Antoinette, however, outside of her beheading and her supposed “Let them eat cake” comment. Watching period pieces often calls for debate on the historical accuracy of the film, but I think there is a problem in that. Films and books that are works of fiction (not a documentary and not non-fiction) are always interpretation. It is a mistake to try and get a history lesson from them. Instead, I think that you should just sit back and watch it as a story. You can fill in on what “really” happened later.

There is cocaine use in the film, which caused us to wonder, “Was there cocaine use back in the 1700s?”

Watching the film absolutely inspired me to want to learn costuming. That’s how Rebecca Minkoff started.