Wednesday, May 20

England's Rose and Floral Prints

Most want to say that the 1990's are back but I'd argue they never left; that the 90's, like the spirit of Santa, exists in all of us. We never stopped liking Nike or Clueless and never really wanted our men to stop looking like Kurt Cobain. Because 90's fashion was characterized by anti-fashionable behavior, it followed the belief that things that technically don't go well together or match at all... now do. And that clothing meant for lumberjacks and hicks are actually perfect for us. It was an unconscious reaction to the hyper-stylized 80's and an attempt to erase the trend of the decade uniform, while simultaneously inventing irony.

For this reason, I'm not buying the 90's revival. Newly-made floral skirts and expensive tube tops have no place in my heart. Most items of flannel can go fuck themselves, too.

However, if you still crave a style icon from way back when, definitely go with the Jackie Onassis of 1996 - Diana, Princess of Wales.

Thursday, May 14

Wednesday, May 13

A Night Without Armor

Jewel's book of poetry, A Night Without Armor, now available on Amazon.com for $.01, explores the fire of first love, the fading of passion, and the loneliness of living in a car following divorce. It was published a decade before she gave up pursuing pop music for the ever-easier-to-succeed contemporary country bracket.

In 1993, Michael Balzary (better known as Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) met Jewel after he saw her perform at a local cafe. They went back to her van and she sang a few songs for him. He described her voice as being "beautiful" and "breathtaking."In 2007 Jewel was a judge on Iron Chef: America, in which Bobby Flay scorched David Burke. Since then, challengers have rarely decided to battle Chef Flay in order to save face.

Friday, May 8

Puddle Wonderful

When I see a puddle of gasoline on wet pavement I start smiling like a child. Most people feel excitement at the sight of rainbows but no one else I know wants to talk about how nice an oil leak looks or to take a picture of it for me.I was able to find some photos of oil rainbows on Google Image Search but 85% of them had been digitally altered to show excessive vibrancy. Flickr seems to favor images of nature so infused with neon that making an unauthorized inspirational poster for your local guidance counselor must be easier than ever! "The squeaky parking lot gets the oil spill." I'd much rather be looking at Lisa Frank directly.

Tuesday, May 5

Cinco de Mayo

Girl Crazy

I would argue that the only time Ira Gershwin showed a real talent for lyric-writing was with anxious ballad, Treat Me Rough, in the two brothers' musical Girl Crazy. Coincidentally there are two ways to help me celebrate Ira's finer times: by listening to episode 8 of my radio show - a 49 minute MP3, or by tuning in to AUPRadio.org tonight for episode 9!

Friday, May 1

Talking French

I would actually love to start a clothing line called Talking French but it already exists but not to the capacity that I would have imagined.