Sunday, June 20, 2010

Op (Thrift) Shopping

Hello there lovelies,

Today The Boyfriend and I went op-shopping (or thrift shopping). I wore an awesome outfit, and when I came home I made a dinosaur print single quilt cover into a underbust pinafore dress. Naturally, I took lots of photos because in my generation if there isn't pics, it didn't happen. Then, ALL the photos I took today came out blurry, except for this one of my op-shopping haul. So that's all you get to look at today!

The crazy looking button down is actually red, grey and black, and wierdly enough it matched the outfit I was already wearing perfectly. It cost me $3.5o. The pants were an expensive $7.50, but they are exactly the same as a pair I had a few years ago that got wrecked. The dino quilt cover was $6, which is again kind of expensive for op-shopping, but this is Brisbane. The books were real bargains though! I got the Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing for $4! Plus, that Patten Design book only cost me $2, and it tells you how to make basic patterns AND how to alter your basic pattens into pretty much anything. I should add here that since I'm broke, when it say these things cost me, they actually cost my amazing Boyfriend who offered to get it all for me. Gosh I love that guy. In fact I love him so much that here is a random picture of him.


Until next time, xo.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Best of the Interwebz

Hello there all you beautiful people,

I love the weekend. Is it sad a big portion of loving the weekend has to do with me being able to catch up with all the wonderful blogs that I read? I end up with so much to try and squeeze in during the week that all the great blogs I read get neglected, which is precisely why Saturday is the perfect day for a link round-up! Here we go...

LOL-tastic. Where The Streets Have Sexual Names.

A great tutorial for embellishing a tank top from Alisa Burke.

How To Piss Off An Introvert. Love this. I completely agree, and identify.

Another great tutorial, this time for painting shoes found over at Lyric Art.

Gertie helps with vintage pattern sizing over at Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing.

I am in love with Corrine from Frock and Roll, so read her post about fun things to do for under $20. Then read this one about rockstar style, and general wardrobe pilfering. Then just read everything she posts.

Really digging this post by Chelsea of Bright Side Dweller about hiding her bitch face. I get asked invasive questions about my cleft quite often, and usually the most invasive ones come from complete strangers. But being a bitch only confirms their suspicision that I'm a bitch.

True Life: I Grew Up in a Queer Household. I found this really touching, and hope that when I have children I can bring them up in a similar way.

Going GaGa by Stace from Tee & Fame is a beautiful collection of images of my current favourite pop start. Drool, drool. Also, the video she links to of a classical rendition of Gaga and Beyonce's Telephone is awesome!

The Seventeen Magazine Project is something I find both amusing and very insightful. Ever wondered what it would be like to actually follow all that magazine advice for a whole month? Here's your answer.

Now go watch some Clone High and fall in love with JFK! It will be easy with this "Comp-er-ah-ilation" of the best JFK moments.


Until next time, xo.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

A Reason To Be Optimistic About Godzilla 3D (2012)?

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: The Wrap

Ever since Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros announced their plans to produce another American made "Godzilla" movie back in March, fans have been waiting quite patiently for any news about the film to surface.

And still they are waiting.

At the time of the official announcement, Legendary execs stated that word of the films director would be coming, 'very soon', but here we are some three months later, and still no word on that front.

Sorry.

In fact, since that initial announcement, there has been nothing coming out of the studio about "Godzilla" at all. Not even rumors.

Well, I wish I had HUGE announcement for you today, but alas, all I have is tidbit, a scrap, a mere morsel of "Godzilla" movie news, and even this is a bit of a stretch.

At the 3DNext Summit on Monday, "Godzilla" producer, Brian Rogers, spoke out about how he thought that the medium (3D), was misused in "Clash of the Titans", stating, “’Clash of the Titans’ is important here, because it made the industry realize that you cannot do substandard 3D and charge full pricing.”

Well , like I said, not much 'meat' there, and I'm certain that many of you are scratching your head wondering why I even brought up this quote in the first place?

Though it has not officially been stated, it is a forgone conclusion that "Godzilla" is going to be made in 3D, and why not, all new fantasy and sci fi films are being shot that way since "Avatar".

Now, this is why I think Rogers statement is reason for some optimism in regards to the upcoming "Godzilla" movie. Since the film is being produced by Legendary Pictures, the same folks that brought us, "Clash of the Titans", it would appear that the film makers are taking a good hard look at the mistakes made in that prior film, in hopes of not repeating them.

Which should come as very good news to all "Godzilla" movie fans around the globe.

The echoing theme for "Godzilla" seems to be, 'don't make another G98' and 'give the fans what they want', again more reasons for optimism.

Also, if you want to read into it, the fact that Legendary Pictures hasn't rushed the selection process for a director, echoes these concepts. Meaning, that they are taking their time to find the right guy for the job instead of going for someone 'trendy' or 'hot at the moment', kinda like the Ryuhei Kitamura hiring at Toho for "Final Wars".

Not that the hiring was totally wrong, just Toho had other directors in their stable that probably had a better understanding of "Godzilla" movies than Kitamura did, and who could have produced something a little more, fan-friendly, than what the action movie director did.

And no, I'm not picking on the director. I'm just using the situation to hammer home a point about how I feel that Legendary Pictures, in all likelihood, is taking the right approach here.

There is no need to rush things, and even though "Godzilla" movie fans have been getting ulcers waiting for some news, they ultimately would rather wait, and have things done right, then have the studio rush into things and make a movie nobody likes.

Geez, for such a small bit of information, I really ran with it. Guess it just goes to show how excited we all are to see an American "Godzilla" movie, right?

Maybe in this case, no news is good news?

See Also: Godzilla 2012 Facebook Group Update - 500 Members And The Thread Of The Week!/ Godzilla 2012 (And Gamera) In The News 05/06/10 - A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Rumors / What Went Wrong With Godzilla 98? - Inside The Mind Of Dean Devlin / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/15/10 - The Angry Edition! / Godzilla 2012 - A Plot Idea That, I Think, Will Make Everyone Happy / Godzilla 3-D, Godzilla 2012, Rumors And Misinformation Abound / Godzilla 2012 Going To Be In 3D And Screened At IMAX Theaters?

Numbers

Hello there lovelies,

Have you ever realised how much we all obsess about numbers? Weight, height, waist circumference, Body Mass Index, 30 minutes of exercise, 10,000 steps a day, Grade Point Average, clothing sizes, shoe size, kilojoule/calorie intake, bra size, bank balance, weekly income, debt repayments, and the list goes on.

I weight 71 kilograms - my highest weight was 89 kilos, and my lowest 61 kilos. I have a 74cm waist circumference. I'm between 167 and 169cms tall, depending on who does the measuring, and how straight I stand up. I have a BMI of around 24.9. My cumulative GPA from three years of a psychology degree was 6.0 - highest GPA being a 6.25, and the lowest GPA 5.85. I wear a size 10-12 shirt, and size 12-14 pants. My bank balance is pretty much $0, my weekly income is reasonable, and I'm in more debt than I should be. But strangely, none of these numbers bother me much anymore.

When it comes down to it, they are just numbers. They don't say anything about how happy I am, how successful I am, or how much my friends, family and The Boyfriend love me. These numbers don't tell me anything about how smart I am, how creative I am, or how beautiful I am. And your numbers are no different. They're just numbers - just a way of quantifying something so that it can be compared to other similar things. No matter how big or small your numbers are, they don't make you any more or less as a person. They're just numbers. So remind me again why we care?

Until next time, xo.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Anime.com Japanese Monster Book Reviews

Above, Yuu Asakura. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Anime.com Japanese Monster Book Reviews

by Armand Vaquer

Anime.com has posted reviews of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan along with Steve Ryfle's Japan's Favorite Mon-star and August Ragone's Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters on a page entitled, Godzilla and Other Monster Movies.

Each were reviewed by Brian Cirulnick.

There are also reviews of kaiju DVDs on this page.

To check out the reviews, go here.

What I Wore Today (Long Weekend Edition)

Hello there lovelies,

I had a great long weekend, how about all you other Aussies out there? Three retail-free days of complete bliss (and house-cleaning, but lets not mention that part). On Saturday The Boyfriend and I headed into Southbank and traversed the botanical gardens, before heading over to the Lifeline Bookfest. We ended up spending about $100 on second-hand books, some of which had the tags still on them. Anyhow, the day was about as freezing as it was awesome, so I layered up.

Outfit Rundown:

THE SCARF OF MANY USES: Trade Secret (Envious), $16.95
Vest: Kmart, $19
Long-sleeved Shirt: Trade Secret (Sass), $12.95
Singlet: Trade Secret (Lovable), $5
Jeans: Kmart, $30
Vans: Present from my wonderful mother!

DOGGY CAN HAS HALP WITH OUTFIT PICTUREZ? My animals are so confused by the flashing light on the camera that comes on with the self-timer. Sunday was our house-cleaning day, so I wanted something comfortable, warm, but not my pyjamas. Onwards to the house cleaning outfit (and pigtails)!

Outfit Rundown:

Jumper: Trade Secret (Just Add Sugar), $24.95
Singlet: Trade Secret (Lovable), $5
Jeans: Trade Secret (Lee Riders), $19.95
S-T-R-A-N-G-E Necklace: Made by The Boyfriend
"Lord of the Rings" Ring: A present from one of my wonderful mothers friends!

JEEZ STACEY, WHY DON'T YOU JUST BUY ALL YOUR CLOTHES FROM YOUR WORK?

This ring is probably one of my most treasured possessions. I love it, and have had huge freak-outs many times after almost losing it. I'm so bad with jewellery, hence why this is the only expensive piece I own. As a sidenote, one of the times I almost lost it was having a sword fight with a friend in his garden using foam swords, and making lightsaber noises. I made a particularly ridiculous sword move, and it flew off my finger into the garden. So yeah, I'm cool.

On Monday I intended to be productive, but ended up watching lots of Season 5 of House and playing hours of The Sims 2 instead.

Outfit Rundown:

Knit Vest: Trade Secret (Lee Rider), $29.95
Long-sleeved Shirt: Trade Secret (Sass), $12.95
Jeans: Target, $20, DIY distressed by me.


So that's my amazing long weekend, what happened on yours? Now I'm off, as I have a 7AM start tomorrow for my first Ladieswear stocktake. I'm a little nervous, as the result really reflects on me, and my work. I also know I'm going to need a REALLY big coffee tomorrow morning.

Until next time, xo.

Friday, June 11, 2010

KING KONG Done Wrong In Bangladesh

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: Robert Hood / Avery Guerra
Over the decades there have been some truly awful movies made about "King Kong". Many of these include, "King of Kong Island", "King Kong's Fist", "King Kong Lives", the UK made "Konga" and the American/Korean co-production, "A*P*E", which in the eyes of most monster movie fans, is the worst ever produced.

Well, that is until now. I believe we have a new champion.

Granted, "A*P*E* is a mess of a monster movie, but compared to the new "King Kong" made in Bangladesh, the film actually looks palatable.

Really, this new "Kong" film has to be seen to be believed. Think of it as a typical "Bollywood" musical with a giant gorilla in it.

In other words, a remake of the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis film, with musical numbers.

No, really ........ I'm serious.

Along with all the singing and dancing, there are some of the worst special effects ever featured on celluloid. So bad that Ed Wood would be jealous. Oh, and where they ran out of money for effects, they just inserted footage from the 1976 "Kong".

Now, I don't know anything about copyright laws in Bangladesh, but I can only assume that there will be some phone calls placed to lawyers after this gets out.

True, film makers in Bangladesh don't have the money or resources that their counterparts in Hollywood do, so after the money gets shelled out for actors, dancers, choreographers, song writers and the like, there just isn't any left for a decent monkey suit or cardboard for buildings.

That is a given.

A loosely translated press release for the film stated that "Banglar King Kong" is the product of the combined efforts of director Iftekar Jahan and producer Sharmin Osman for the government backed FDC (the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation).

Apparently in the document Jahan rambles on and on about how wonderful the advanced computer generated effects are in his movie.

Which says one thing to me. Jahan has never seen his own movie.

Jahan also mentions in the release that the "Kong" costume and the CGI software used in his movie were purchased in the US, that the film was filmed in remote areas of Bangladesh, and that the film stars Munmun, Danny Sedak, Shamim Osman, Afzal Sharif and Kazi Hayat.

Here is the rather brief synopsis for "Banglar King Kong":

King Kong comes to Bangladesh in search of love, and finds it.

Well ........ that pretty much sums it up doesn't it?

From the trailer, which is quite lengthy, it is more than obvious that this is nothing more than a direct rip-off of the 1976 remake of "King Kong" with some singing and dancing thrown in to appeal to cinema goers in Bangladesh.

Hey, if ya thought that the 'ice skating scene' in Peter Jackson's "King Kong" was bad, imagine having to sit through two hours of that kind of stuff?

Why can't people just leave "King Kong" alone?

Geez.....

Here, if you think that you can stomach it, are some photos, and the trailer that keeps on going for "Banglar King Kong":