Everything Me

Everything Me by memememr on Polyvore.com

look hard.

Cindy Lou ...Who? - Taylor Momsen Returns

Early Days

Sweet but edgy

Loving the leather shorts

Taylor Momsen, the seventeen year old actress, model and musician. Most well known for her role as 'Jenny Humphrey' on the American sitcom 'Gossip Girl' and the role that kicked her career off, 'Cindy Lou Who' in 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas'.

Fronting her New York band 'The Pretty Reckless' with the hits 'Light Me up' and more recently 'Make Me Wanna Die'.
Personally I'm not really sure about her music yet, Sure the tracks have some killer sounds and lyrics, but for some reason I'm still not convinced.. yet.
 I will admit that the girl can sing a live gig, check out"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aid-tRep1eA

Momsen performing in 'The Pretty Reckless'

Not bad huh? well side from acting and singing, Momsen happens to have a very unique approach to fashion (or maybe it's her stylist) either way she's the one who winds up wearing it. So here it goes.

I'm loving the black grunge look, the lace and heavy eye makeup even though sometimes it can be a bit of overkill. Hey why not?

From the leather to the suspenders Momsen is definitely onto something, (however contradicting her trends may be to the media)

So here's a heads up for what may be the latest, hottest and most wanted trends that Momsen herself wears.

 Grunge Glam

Below is a photo of Momsen  in a styled look. 

Using the wonderfully amazing Polyvore website

I have made an easy template, recreating 

this style for those in need of assistance. Hope you enjoy.

Go for rough, acid wash denims and tough lace.

Mix with smokey eyes, glamor studs and dirty diamonds.

Plus long locks if you have em ! :)

Aside from the disappointing music video of 'Miss Nothing'(which pretty much shows Momsen floundering around in her underwear). Taylor, I am content with the Fashion. Still, convince me on the music dear. 

Canterbury Earthquake Update, A few Days Later

One Of The Main City Roads

It's Been three days since the 7.1 earthquake struck the Canterbury area and already a clean up is well underway. After the first hit woke my family, out came the candles and well, mum's Bird Flu Box from 2006 which I found very funny. Indeed the time had come when we needed to use it (much to mums joy as well). Inside was pretty much everything you would need to survive ...... bird flu, yes we had about 8 boxes of tissues and several doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen as for water we used of clever evolved minds and filled up a massive cooler thingy in the bath tub (just in time as the water cut off.)

                                      

The Destruction.

After all that drama the txt's start coming through. Mums getting extremely angry at people who are clogging up the system and 'wasting battery time' asking silly questions and txting back things like 'cool' and 'ok'. As it's 5 in the Morning you can understand how my brother and I became bored, all this waiting for news and aftershocks (we both just wanted bed), but alas no the parents step in and deem the rest of the house unsafe. This means family sleepover!!! .... yay...
                                                                                                                                         

My brother and I snatch out all the bedding and make ourselves comfortable on a couch each I get out the good old i-pod and get watching 'Chiddy Chiddy Bang Bang' as its the only movie I've got stored (what the hell was I thinking). However the fun ends soon as mum spots me it's game over because I'm 'wasting battery' that I will later appreciate.

 Christchurch's inner City

                                      

During the day we hear more and more stories on the quake via the radio,  people having their chimneys smash through their bedrooms and family cars being crushed by debris. It's only when we finally get out for a drive to check a rental property that I realise how bad the damage really is. On the way we encounter many fallen chimneys, smashed down fences, sand volcanoes and road humps left over from the shock waves, and this is just heading a block  down the road!

Remains

                            
As we get to the house we notice one of our concrete fences has totally mushed the neighbours garden in one long flat strip,'FLOP'. When we go inside, the damage is minor but still there, a massive crack runs along the perimeter of the lounge celling, a door no longer opens, there's a sink in the roof of my old bedroom and a few cupboard doors are open.

Lucky the previous tenants had just moved out otherwise there would have been furniture tossed around too. After all our inspections have been made we remember the previous tenants had had a stash of supplies in one of the bigger cupboards in case of a natural disaster. So we manage to get hands on 15 litres of water. Problem solved!

Whats left of a car in the central city

That night mum and I decided to sleep in the lounge because our beds were not really ideally placed for an earthquake or any other aftershocks. Two mattresses flop down beside each other in front of the fire. Later mum suggests I be aware of the fire that could still move forward and crush my head if there was another aftershock. Not the most reassuring thing to hear before you go to bed, but i figure if the 7.1 didn't move it, then how could an aftershock of 5.4? (or so I tell myself).
                                                                                                

Ripped apart.

After a night of after shocks (many of which I slept through) we are up and ready to tackle day two. Boil and bleach the water (now that its on), get the phone hooked up properly and get into the clean up. Fortunately there's not much for us to do. The cat returns home now only for food however (the snob) and that night he snoozes on one of my backpacks in my room before desperately scratching to be let out, then dashing out the cat flap. 'Bring it on' I think, as another shock hits and I ride the wave with joy, then continue with my very important sleep.

No school till next Monday and mock exams have been postponed! Damn right they have. I will be sure to post further updates and will leave you with these photos.

More Road damage

Inner City Damage

Road Near City Centre

Road Mound

Follow this link for a news cast of the quake:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/video.cfm?c_id=1&gal_objectid=10671076&gallery_id=113684

that's me.

'The Shining' Vs 'The Kill'

Jack Nicholson in 'The Shining'.

The Shining,originally a novel by Stephen King was released as a film in May 1980.The Plot line in short involves a family of three who  move during winter to an isolated hotel, so the Father (Jack Nicholson) can work as a writer. During their stay,an evil presence in the hotel possesses the father and provokes him to violence against his family. Meanwhile ,the psychic son (Danny) sees terrifying visions of the hotel and its people from the past and future.


Although it may not be a film for the light hearted, 'The Shining carries many subliminal messages throughout the film. These include: A naked woman in a bath tub who then turns old,a hallway exploding with a sea of blood,an old man wandering the corridors alone toasting with his wine glass,two twin daughters from the past,and a man in a bunny suit giving a butler head. This is just the start of some of the madness that goes down in the hotel.  

The twins.      

I really enjoyed watching Jack Nicholson and Danny Lloyd (the son) in this film,I mean you can't beat those stunner eyebrows of Nicholson's or the focus of 6 year old child actor Danny,who according to Stanley Kubrick (Director) was able to shoot all his scenes with out Lloyd even knowing he was in a horror movie. 


However when I first watched the film little then a month ago,my first impression was 'thriller' not 'horror', maybe the genre has somewhat changed over time due to all the new effects that can be applied now to the film industry. Take 'Saw' or 'Paranormal Activity'. There are a lot more new film techniques out there today. In saying that 'The Shining' is definitely one to watch and can easily be described as a 'Classic'.

Jared Leto in 'The Kill'

 'The Kill', a music video by American band '30 Seconds To Mars' was a single released in 2006 and mirrors 'The Shining.' frontman, Jared Leto describes the video,


 'It's really about a relationship with yourself. It's about confronting your fear and confronting the truth about who you are."


Many scenes are snippets from the movie: Tomo Milcevic (guitar) skateboards around the hotel echoing Danny on his trike, Shannon Leto (drums) entering room 6277 and finding a woman in the shower,Jared Leto (vocals,guitar) on the old typewriter forever writing 'This is who I really am' - a lyric from the song, also a reflection on Nicholson's 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.'

Scene from 'The Kill"

The song is set in the timing of 6/8 as in waltz to relate to the ballroom scenes through out the film.
Another reenactment is when Matt Wachter (bassist,no longer in band) is sitting a the bar alone (Nicholson). 
The video includes two of every person (good vs evil) to go with Leto's theme of identity and link to the two twins in the real film.
Tomo walks in on a man in a bunny suit giving another Tomo head...the weird and wonderful.

Jared Leto

Jack Nicholson

The way in which Stanley Kubrick sets up certain shots makes ordinary activities seem more sinister, and I think its the suspense of not knowing any leads in the film that makes "The Shinning' so effective.

Follow this link to awesome tracking shots of Danny on his trike:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSpbZiTx724

Follow this link to the '30 Seconds To Mars' Music Video of 'The Kill' :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb-YnIjaz40

That's me.

Go GaGa For GaGa.

GaGa in 'Telephone'

Lady GaGa is well known world wide for her artistic breakthroughs in the music and fashion worlds. The 24 year old, now a massive icon passed through New Zealand not so long ago in March 2010 on her mind blowing Monster Ball Tour,where she had two giant sold out shows in Auckland at the Vector Arena. I was lucky enough to get my hand on a ticket and flew up to go with my darling cousin (an Auckland uni student) as well as stay with another aunt,uncle and cuz :D

We had a ball and ended up meeting these guys
Who were nice enough for a picture and a chat. (below photo)
Pretty die hard fans, people through out the crowd decked out in stilettos,telephones,lace,leather,crossing tape  not to mention the sea of blonde wigs. After her opening act Semi-precious Weapons finished a kick ass set we waited through about 40 min of Michael Jackson's songs as a remembrance. Then there she was, her silhouette appearing through a spotlight as "Dance in the dark' was performed. The first thing she said to the audience was 'The world thinks we are freaks my little kiwi monsters, not to worry we've locked all the freaks outside!'

GaGa's Auckland Concert

Another highlight was the incredible giant glow fish that overtook the stage during 'Paprizzai' GaGa screams into the mic 'Come on! eat me mother fucker! ' before throwing herself under its jaws and reappearing moments later in a completely new costume. Her focus and stage presence was beyond amazing and I look forward to seeing her live again.

Now with the recent release of the hit 'Alejandro' and rumours of yet another upcoming album. GaGa's on a roll. Inspired by her videos and music i have decided to create a blog post that has 'look alike' threads,trends and where to get them on GaGa's legacy alone.

For instance,the prison yard scene taken from 'Telephone' (above) has GaGa in a stunning jacket, Does this look similar? I'm thinking close enough. If you really want to go the whole way and money is an issue head to a second hand clothing store or raid your mums 80's wardrobe to find a pre-loved darling of a jacket that can be worn as is, or 'PIMPED'. For this I would recommend sequins ,studs ,chains even old jewelery .. anything goes really, pick it up from a local craft store and smack it on!        

Whatever floats your boat, have fun with it to create your own look and style that others will envy!


As for the American flag theme of patriotism ,why not grab a flag and get on the sewing machine (if you want something original) or head down to some chain stores to start the hunt.

Maurie and Eve (http://www.maurieandeve.com/home.cfm)

Get the look

have a few steals on a reasonable budget. I also discovered the joys of Converse where you can even customise your own shoe and have it shipped to you anywhere in the world! http://www.converse.com/

Converse






that's me.

                                                

Singlet by Maurie And Eve

Maurie And Eve Tee

            

Christchurch Quake

Yesterday morning a 7.1 earthquake struck Christchurch City. My family and friends have all been so lucky loosing only small items that could easily be sacrificed. last night was all aftershocks,it got to the point where the motion became gentle as we all became immune to each hit. However i do find it rather ironic that 30 min after the very first wave, National NZ radio plays 'Good Vibrations' by the Beach boys ;)

Christchurch's inner city has been closed until Wednesday as well as all local schools as they still need to be accessed for damage. This is just awesome considering I have NCEA exams coming up (National New Zealand Qualifications) and our mocks were due to start on Wednesday.

My mum and I went driving to visit an aunt and on the way we spotted a massive,super size brick chimney that had gone crashing down on top of some poor family's car (a sturdy 4wd,,,, not so sturdy anymore). my stomach dropped , our side of town had had minor damages that would just involve a lot of clean up , not until this point did i realise how disastrous the quake has really been.


The last 24 hours have been very strange. As a city Christchurch has been extremely lucky most of the city now has power or has hold of a generator. Water is now running in some parts too. (We have to either bleach or boil to make safe), and no deaths! In fact in the last 24hours more babies have been born than any other day in the city before , we now have 23 new residents! Pets are returning to homes and phone calls are being made across the country, our family alone has been contacted by friends and family from all over the globe. Australia,Taiwan and even America (who funnily enough, had heard no such news of the 7.1 quake that didn't effect their country).

Near by neighbours have had extreme flooding and those horrible,smelly sand volcano things cover lawns,roads and house doorsteps. All I remember of the quake was it hitting at 4:30 am ,sitting up and thinking 'wow an earthquake' and as i always sleep through the small ones thinking nothing of it ,, i was kinda like 'yay i finally get to wake up to one!' then I hear my family calling me from the hallway,all clinging to door jams shouting to me to see if I was alright. I dash to the hall to join them then all i can remember thinking is 'shit I'm not wearing a bra!' so i really wasn't that phased.

My 14 year old brother on the other hand soon had all the guns out and was ready to take on any looters. (we may have had to calm him down a bit). Although he was on to something , looters were arrested in the city for taking small items that had been thrown out of shops during the shock.

My mum is a nurse who works in mental health so she went down to see if all the patients were ok. My Grandmother was staying in her town house and none of the family had been able to get hold of her, my step dad drove up to check on her he stood knocking at the door and when she finally opened it she was right as rain, had felt the quake, driven her car out of the garage, then gone back to bed.                                  

   Over all it's been a very eventful weekend, I wish everyone luck in the cleanup and hope anyone who has suffered injuries is well. Good luck to those who are still with out power or water and I really do hope these aftershocks stop soon (there was one right there). They are really starting to piss me off.

I will be sure to post further updates.

Thats me.