Day 326: Sunday 21 March

Day 7: Week of skirt, skort and dress

I forgot to give my latest movie review yesterday. So here it is…

On Friday night I had the pleasure of watching Sam Raimi’s latest film Drag Me to Hell.

It’s a great return to the horror roots of his Evil Dead films rather than the mainstream success of his Spiderman movies.

The main character, a loans officer in a bank, is gormless and bland not your typical teenager about to get necked horror film character. In a bid to appear tough minded ‘able to make the hard decisions’ she refuses an elderly woman’s pleas for an extension on her house repayments.

The elderly lady gets quite upset and attacks her before being dragged out of the bank by security.  When our heroine leaves the office that evening the old lady is lying in wait and attacks her in the car. A horrible, visceral and hilarious fight between the two women results in the old lady ripping of one of the girl’s coat buttons and putting a curse on it.

Plastic button I curse thee

Fight over.

The fight scene sets up a series of encounters between the old lady and the loan officer in which every time the old lady’s revolting (see the pic above) snaggle toothed dentures fly out she sucks the girl’s chin in a slobbery embrace and the old lady rips out clumps of the girl’s hair. Somehow she manages to do this twice while a corpse and not your traditional horror film reanimated corpse.

After the curse is laid our girl starts to see and hear strange things, shadows racing up her sunny Los Angeles bungalow walls, gates creak, the wind blows and you wonder whether perhaps she is simply going mad.After she gets thrown around her bedroom it’s sort of clear that something wicked this way comes

In a revolting dream sequence the old lady spews maggots all over the heroine before she sits up in bed (sun filled room over looking the  Los Angeles skyline) next to her equally clueless psychologist boyfriend.

Anyways, I don’t want to take the fun out of it and tell you everything cos it is kind of scary in a very sign posted way. But as usual with Raimi he lightens it with laughs by doing something absolutely repulsive.

I enjoyed it immensely, although one of my film watching companions spent nearly the whole film hiding in another room, while the other claimed he could only watch the first 15 minutes alone. So watch it with friends!

I’m off to work now, yes on a Sunday! And don’t I look happy about that?

Sporting a skort, somebody do something about my hair

Top: Mum made denim vest

Bottom: Australian made skort (I know them as kulotes)

Accesory: Little denim bag in the shape of a bum

Day 319: Sunday 14 March

I have been busy since I last blogged.

In Canberra I went to CCAS  and I got lost and confused in the Museum of Australia before heading back to Sydney. The exhibition at CCAS was pretty good, taken from their emerging artists residency program from 2009. I didn’t get anything at the markets there though as I have been winding down the denim purchasing unless it’s something spectacular, and truly , there wasn’t anything spectacular.

Me and the girls fanged it back up the Hume Highway to Sydney and as soon as I got home I got straight back n the car and drove to watch the opening footy game of the season for the Newtown Jets at Henson Park.

And it was a pretty good game. Lots of tries, the Oh Errol girls were working the crowd doing vox-pops, the sausages were sizzling, the KB beer was cold and the company was witty.

Then it rained and we watched the last 5 minutes of the game from the comfort of the car. Yes! At Henson Park you can park around the edge of th oval and watch the game FROM YOUR CAR!!!

Then there was a North Sydney Bears streaker!

Then the Jets opponents, the Tigers, scored a drop goal meaning the score went to Jets 30, Tigers 31. Then the game was over.Phew I’m exhausted just writing all that.

But wait, there’s more. I rushed home to entertain a couple of friends for the John Waters tribute night at my house. After fuelling up on super delicious garlic chilli explosive Vietnamese food we settled down to watch 2 of the most… I can’t fond the words… hilarious? awful? ghastly? appalling? fantastic? revolting? films ever made: Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble.

Both starring the amazing (R.I.P) Divine, the edgy Mink Stole and the bizarre Edith Massey. After watching those films again last night, for probably the 10th time, it really struck me that Divine was an actor. Out of all the people in the film she is the only one who is acting. The rest of them shout at the camera.

So. Who wants to be famous and who wants to die for art?

In no way can I match John Waters’ vision, Divine’s beauty, Mink Stole’s anger or Edith Massey’s kookiness. So haven’t even tried…

I've got lots of trouble, female trouble, and so does Taxi

Top: Made in Australia denim vest

Bottom: Junk cut-offs

Accessory: Dark denim cap

Day 315: Wednesday 10 March

So I went to see The Hurt Locker last night.

I am very glad Avacrap didn’t win the Best Picture Oscar, but was The Hurt Locker THAT good? Certainly it’s a better film than Avatar, but it’s still a war movie and still engages with many of the banalities and cliches that over flow in American war movies.

Even the way the main character smokes his cigarettes is clichéd, let alone his relationships with his team. The film isn’t boring and being about a bomb disposal unit isn’t too bogged down in gun battles. Although the one gun battle out in the desert drove me nuts.

The American bomb squad run into some British army guys who seem to be free lancing in some way or an elite squad. However the elite Brit squad gets hammered and the salt of the earth US guys have to save the day with their steely eyed resolve. Arrggh.

I gotta go to work , here’s my outfit…

When patterns collide they make beautiful music

Top: Benetton denim jacket. Hot ow but will be just right in the freezer of my employment

Bottom: Sportgirl tight fit jeans

Accessory 1: Denim sandals

Accessory 2: Japanese denim bag

Day 312: Sunday 7 March

I’m up. I’m about but I’m not what you would call lively.

Yesterday I spent quite a lot of time in front of the television. I watched Mean Girls, which was mostly pretty good and funny. I never thought I’d say this but I am now a fan of Lohan. I especially liked the frisson of the scene where someone is telling LiLo (Lindsay Lohan) about how another girl is a lesbian.

Laugh? Yes I did.

Then on SBS I watched a kung-fu movie with the hot Jet Li called Fearless. Not the best Jet Li film I have ever seen. That honour probably goes to Thai Chi Master 2…

But when it comes to kung fu movies you can’t NOT mention the awesome awe inspiring, funny, serious, gorgeous Michelle Yeow. She was in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and with Ziyi Yang has one of the best fight scenes EVER…

And this has got to be the worst fight scene ever, just plain ridiculous, gory with not much fighting…

Here’s what I’m wearing, not inspired by kung-fu movies however…

Me pointing, I don't know why, Taxi looks on mindlessly

Top: Supre eensy vest

Bottom: Junk cut-offs

Accessory: Denim birkies

Day 311: Saturday 6 March

Head cold has hit. I probably caught it from all those filthy nude people at the Spencer Tunik photo shoot on Monday.

Speaking of filthy, I have just read a sort of review in the back of today’s Sydney Morning Herald about the John Waters’ ‘This Filthy World’ show at the Opera House on Tuesday night, which I went to. The journalist Matt Buchanan talks about it second hand as a ‘PS’s man on the spot’ went, not himself Mr Buchanan.

But what really galls is Buchanan calling Divine ghastly in relation to the movie Hairspray. I mean really. As Edna Turnblad in Hairspray it is as sweet a role as Divine ever got to play. Of course he died shortly after the film opened and never got to capitalise on both that role and the male role of Arvin Hodgepile he also played in Hairspray.

So why write about something you know nothing about, didn’t witness and have no interest in? I guess that would wipe out 95% of all journalism in this country. Buchanan plays it strictly for shock and horror, second hand.

Divine as Edna Trunblad in the original Hairspray

Perhaps Divine's best known role as Babs Johnson in Pink Flamingos

So anyway, all this John Waters, Divine, Dreamland films reminiscing has made me nostalgic to see my 2 favourite movies of all time, Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. So a movie night is being scheduled. Perhaps i should be  a bring  a plate of filthy food night, although I have been warned off that idea.

Here’s me today repulsed and dismayed on reading PS…

Horrifed and repulsed by knee jerk journalism

Top: Chambre vest, cos it’s humid

Bottom: TopSop shorts, coz it’s humid

Accessory: Denim cap cos I have vertical bed hair

Day 307: Tuesday 2 March

I forgot to give my review of 13 Most Beautiful Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests that I went to on Sunday night in the Concert Hall at the Opera House. The exact same space I was nude in yesterday, although I sat in a different chair.

Here’s the trailer for the show…

It was pretty fantastic I must say, for something I knew nothing about. The band, Dean & Britta, created a kind of soundtrack to 13 of Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests, which they chose from the more than 500 Screen Tests Warhol shot between 1964 and 1966.

Warhol got visitors to the Factory to do a screen test, in which the subject would sit in front of the camera for an entire roll of 16mm silent black & white film. And of course it’s an amazing compilation of the who’s who of 1960s counter and uber culture.

So the show was great. The screen tests were really mesmerising, but sometimes the music and musicians were distracting. I found my attention wandering to them rather than the film behind the band. I left the show wanting more. More screen tests, not more music.

I took blurry pictures of the Harbour Bridge as I waited for the train. They are pretty.

To add to a week of cultural experiences tonight I am off to see John Waters talking in the … Concert Hall at the Opera House. That’ll be three times in three days! I will be wearing clothes… I think.

Here’s the morning’s denim do. I’ll be cleaning eventually so I’m wearing my denim do-rag…

Toast, coffee, paper, luxury, pleasure

Top: Benetton denim jacket

Bottom: JeansWest slobby jeans

Accessory: Denim doo-rag/ head scarf

Afternoon update…

I am off to see John Waters now. Yes, the Pope of Trash, director of amazing films like Female Trouble, Polyester, Pink Flamingos, Serial Mum, Pecker, Hairspray…

He should be pretty amusing and I ma feeling sycophantic so I am taking along a book in the hope he’ll be doings some signings.

Here’s what I’m wearing…

Seriously posing, don't know why

Top: Cooler weather means denim jackets again. Hurrah! Marcs shiny, tight suit jacket, denim

Bottom: Sportsgirl jeans, tight, too tight?

Accessory: Goffas supplied, Japanese denim pocketbook, as the Americans would call it

Day 278: Monday 1 February

Woah. It’s another month in a new year. What happened to January? It passed in a flash but what did I do and achieve?

Not much I suspect.

Last night I watched District 9. What a great genre sci-fi movie! As me and my dvd watching companion said, it SHITS on Avatar. In fact Avatar isn’t even good enough to be the stool of District 9.

Gotta run, got an important breakfast engagement. Will update blog later on as I’m off to work tonight and I don’t know that I could quite get away with wearing the following ensemble into the office…

Surly early backyard posing

Top: Black hand-crafted denim vest

Bottom: J.U.N.K label denim cut offs, lovingly butchered by moi

Accessory: Denim cap, dark

Afternoon update

Well I’m off to work now for another action packed evening being where the news breaks. Where news smashes and disintegrates, where news gets pounded into trash… And I’ll be wearing this…

Keep on movin', it's the only way to be

Top: Moji shirt, blur shows of stone washing nicely

Bottom: Love your Denim donated jeans

Accessory: Mambo denim bag, it’s two tones match my two toned outfit quite well thank you

Day 270: Sunday 24 January

So I went to see Avatar (which from now I will refer to as Avacrap), and yes the 3d immersion was pretty amazing, but does the storyline and do the characters have to be so completely clichéd? Really, I’m asking. Luckily I was in the movie so I could see it all first hand…

Denim coloured skin is the latest accessory

So the movie starts out with a wobbly American accented voice-over by our boy Sam who plays Jake, laying down a few facts, a bit of background. He’s a crippled paraplegic, his identical twin brother is dead, he is quite handsome but just a ‘jarhead grunt’, not smart like his brilliant dead scientist brother.

Jake gets whisked off to CGI-land to fill in for dead brother, yada yada yada. The film really gets to where it’s going with the introduction of the Colonel Quaritch character played by Stephen Lang, who does his big speech about the dangers of CGI-land while Jake nods and grins with some considerable warmth.

Jake and the Colonel strike up a bit of friendship while the Col. does a bit of homo-erotic body building as Jake looks on admiringly. Then Jake heads off to the forest inside a big blue person, gets lost, kills some hyena/doggy things, meets a big blue girl, gets covered in jellyfish which is a sign from Gaia (or whatever she’s called) and is accepted into the Big Blue People’s village in the gigantic tree (even bigger than a redwood).

Jake debriefs with the Col. The Col. starts to get a bit jealous of all the time Jake is spending with the Big Blue People. The Col. gets REALLY jealous when Jake makes love to a big blue girl and this results in a one of the Big Blue People’s special rope light adorned trees being destroyed.

Jake smashes something that is special to the Col. The Col. gets sad mad and insane with jealousy and then the shit really hits the fan. He yanks Jake out of his Big Blue Body and locks him up along with Sigourney Weaver. They escape. The Col. sees them escaping, gets really really really upset, takes it very personally and tries to kill Jake with his handgun while holding his breath against the toxic air.

Jake escapes being penetrated by the Col. weapon, but Sigourney gets  shot. The Big Blue People take her to the extra special rope light enhanced big tree. They do some African style dancing, then she gets covered in fibre optics and rope light and dies. Somewhere in there the really super huge big gigantic tree gets blown up and the Big Blue People get really upset.

Jake keeps getting yanked out of his Big Blue Body, but somehow manages to ride a red dragon, becoming a super doope hero to the Big Blue People.

Meanwhile the Col. decides if he can’t have Jake then everything and everyone must die and he sets out to destroy the extra special rope light enhanced tree. Lots of fighting happens. Jake does some special tricks on his red dragon and all the Col’s flying machines are destroyed. The Col’ manages to jump into his robot avatar thing and go hand to hand in combat with Jake.

It looks like he’s going to finally get Jake. He has Jake by the hair. He moves in for a kiss, whoops I mean to slit Jake’s throat with a knife and Jake’s Big Blue Girlfriend kills the Col.

The planet of Pandora is saved, Jake gets to become a Big Blue Person forever. The End.

So in a nutshell, if Jake had let the Colonel have his way with him all that trouble could have been avoided.

I’m off to yoga now. Here’s what I’m wearing…

All flexed up for a yogic encounter

Top: Moji denim shirt. It will come off in the class

Bottom: Jeggings. So comfy

Accessory 1: Denim Birkies

Accessory 2: Denim yoga mat bag

And here I am how I’ll be for the rest of he day…

I've got my moji (shirt) working baby, but it just won't work for you

Top: Moji getting super sweaty

Bottom: JeansWest also damper than expected

Accessory 1: Denim birkies still on board

Accessory 2: Mavi bag got some mojo too