salve.

I'm so terribly sorry devoted readers (all 0 of you) that I've been absent for three weeks. But, I can do a quick recap of the last three weeks.

Came back to NY.
Worked and had to wear all black—which I did not appreciate.
Started classes.
Found out prof is taking attendance is 200 person lecture (where is the logic??)
Got to train people at work.
Did two months worth of laundry and discovered more clothes!
Bought lots of clothes.
and slept.

I know, sooo boring. In other news, my rooommate, Laura, is out of town this weekend meaning, the Linley will play. and by play, I actually mean turn on the holiday lights...I find joy in the simplest things (aka, I'm easily amused). don't judge.

Well, that's all for now. It is currently 2:36 am, and I must, must, must run errands before going to Uniqlo tomorrow. and eat, so I won't faint. Not that I ever have.

Richard Avedon

Earlier this evening, I went to the Detroit Institute of Arts to see the Richard Avedon 1944-2000 exhibit. Avedon (1923-2004) was a highly influential fashion photographer. He worked for Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and The New Yorker. 

Many of his famous prints involve movement. I find these prints absolutely breathtaking—it's as if for a single moment, nothing else in the world matters. 

Avedon also enjoyed contrast. He has a series of photographs of high fashion in an atypical environment. Love the haute couture at the circus!

Finally, as he did work for several magazines, he was well known for his portraits. This one is of Twiggy, with long locks!

The exhibit was well laid out and thoroughly enjoyable. The way Avedon saw fashion and could make others see fashion is nothing but exquisite. The exhibit only reinforces the notion that I need to get back into photography!

shoes, vol. 2.

Before picking up my sister from school the other day, I decided to drop by a different Nordstrom Rack to see if they had the shoes I wanted (see previous post). I was fully ready to pay the $70 price tag, but I was pleasantly surprised! They only cost $40 at this Nordstrom Rack! I grabbed the shoes, paid and went to pick up my sister. And I've been wearing them ever since. well, inside the house that is.

See, I use to wear heels of the four inch variety every monday, without fail. My high school dress code included formal or dress up mondays. Every monday boys would have to wear an oxford shirt, dress slacks (or at least khakis), dress shoes and a tie. The girls' dress code was a tad abstract, but you get the point. Anyway, I would wear heels without question on Mondays, but sometimes during the week if the outfit demanded it. I was quite good at wearing heels I must say. However, this ended in early May, which is when I was last in school. Meaning, I haven't worn heels regularly in seven months. So, with good reason, I need to build back up to my days of running around (literally) campus in four inch heels!

I've been wearing my new shoes around the house (it did JUST snow yesterday) in preparation for romping around the streets of New York.

a trip down memory lane, err corridor?

While I was in high school, and the recent grads would invade my classrooms and loiter in the hallways, my initial thoughts were, "that shall not be me next year." I honestly did not understand the appeal of visiting your old high school, I mean it's only been what, six, seven months? So, as this is the first extended period I am home I silently resolved to not visit Cranbrook or Kingswood. My mother was not pleased with this decision.


Then I started thinking about it and I saw on one of my many social networking sites (this time fb) a fellow classmate's thoughts on visiting Cranbrook. As he quite logically stated, it's highly unlikely that you'll want to visit Cranbrook any other year. This made tons of sense to me. Chris was always so logical in his rationale—I should make an effort to see him once in a while, afterall he's only 104 blocks away!


I figured the best way to see newspaper people would be to go to an actual meeting. Luckily, there was a meeting last night and Amanda (the new me) even brought food! I trained her so well. Anyway, I haven't not run the newspaper meetings since...the end of junior year—I had NO idea they were that boring. ugh. I nearly died of boredom and almost left like, three times. But I really wanted to stay and talk to Watson. 


It was quite interesting, merely observing the many personalities crammed into Watson's rather small classroom, all there in the name of high school journalism. 


I parked my car in the administrator's parking lot, knowing that the side door would be unlocked. I opened the door, and all of a sudden the memories came flooding back: the countless late nights in the Crane room (also known as the basement of the boys' dorms), attempting to run the meetings without yelling/frightening too many underclassmen, mentoring younger writers, layout/InDesign (my favorite part of newspaper!), creepily standing to the side and taking a billion pics of every single Upper School event and the list goes on and on.


If you haven't figured out by now, newspaper was my life in high school, especially senior year. Back to my story. I was actually nervous to go into the meeting, but those nerves faded away once I saw Watson and dear Mr. Briggeman. Even though I had been on campus all week long, in that moment I truly felt as though I had returned. The Crane was my entire being—sad but very, very true. But once again, I digress.


As I was saying, at the meeting there were a few fresh faces and personalities and the ever present abundance of tension between the "senior editors." sidenote: I say "senior editors" because obviously I was THE editor, but the Crane has drastically changed in the past four years and, inevitably, in Watson's old age (though you will always strike fear into my heart watson, heh). Anyway, seniors use to strike fear into an underclassmen's tiny heart—I know the class of '06 did that to me! But I really noticed last year, underclassmen are sassy and do not understand their place in the Crane hierarchy and the larger, upper school hierarchy. 


Underclassmen don't realize that they need to pay their dues and work their way up the ladder. You don't think I gave up my seat, answered the phones, cleaned the disgusting Crane room, went on paper runs, and fact checked pages and pages of names? I definitely payed my dues as an underclassmen and I deserved every ounce of respect that I got once I was a senior and managing editor.


that was unnecessarily length and long-winded. As much as I've griped about the Crane in the past, I will say, with the utmost of confidence, I had several defining moments involving the Crane—good and bad. I would not be even half the person I am today had I not signed up at club fair, freshman year. When you dedicate so much of yourself to something, as I did with the Crane, it really is a labor of love.

shoes.

I want these shoes. I’m still deciding whether I should get them or not. But obviously not in this color—I swear the tan is way better. hmmmm. Should I get them?

j'adore Alexa Chung and Emma Watson

I've never been one to look to keep tabs on any particular celebrities, but recently I've grown quite fond of two: Alexa Chung and Emma Watson. 

Alexa Chung

Though her MTV show was just cancelled, I'd say Alexa has a stunning future. She started her career as a model, but is now better known (at least in the states) for her aforementioned show, "It's on with Alexa Chung." The British beauty's quick wit and sense of humor truly set her apart from, I don't know, other model turned actress and/or tv personalities. 

I think her style is flawless. She always has that perfect, high end-low end sensibility and model off duty air. And, Vogue just named her as the most stylish person in 2009! 

Emma Watson

We all know the story, Emma Watson read the Harry Potter books, went to the audition, nailed the audition, and is now one of the highest paid actresses of the decade! I'll be completely honest, because Emma Watson keeps such a low profile, I never paid too much attention to her or her style until I heard she would be the next face of Burberry (only my favorite design house). I nearly died waiting to see the campaign! And I have to say, I was very impressed. Besides the Burberry campaign, I'm equally impressed with Emma's personal style. She always appears so, so polished and poised!

movies I want to see:

Alice in Wonderland

[google images]

I have been SO excited for Alice in Wonderland since I heard that Tim Burton was doing a re-make about a year ago and today, I learned it’s showing in 3D!! Last year, I totally owned prom committee, and while our official theme was abstract and non-descript, it was actually Alice in Wonderland, because I’m amazing that way.
watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeWsZ2b_pK4&feature=player_embedded
Once I get back to ny, I plan on seeing the Tim Burton exhibit at the moma with Stephen and Charlie. I've heard from two of my friends that it's super, super crowded, but COMPLETELY worth it.


Youth in Revolt

[google images]

1. I have adored Michael Cera ever since I saw him in Arrested Development. He is the paradigm, the dictionary definition if you will, of the awkward but lovable teenage boy. 
2. It was filmed in MI AND they wanted to film it at my school, but the administration said no because the plot is about Cera's character and his quest to lose his virginity at boarding school.
watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbJyaO97QPY&feature=player_embedded

Is it really so wrong that I enjoy painting my nails? no. Do I have a problem? likely

I'm actually obsessed with painting my nails. Everyone knows, or at least can deduce, that my favorite color is pink, so most of my colors are pink, but recently, I've decided to expand my horizons. I just got the uber-popular OPI color Lincoln Park After Dark, and I must say, I'm quite pleased. It's a dark, dark purple which, for some reason, reminds me of the Baroque period. Anyway, I just found this online earlier today: an OPI collection based on....Alice in Wonderland!! I'm so, so, so excited. It's coming out later this month, but I can't find the exact date. 

Absolutely Alice

Mad as a Hatter

[all images college fashion]

A blogger actually made the last color (the sparkly lilac/pink color) which happens to be the one I want the most!! Tragic, I know. Now I'm on the lookout for either a similar color or colors so I too may concoct my own shade! I'll definitely be buying the Mad as a Hatter shade, but I'm still unsure about the Absolutely Alice shade. I like the gold sparks in it, like her blonde locks, but I'm not sure how it'll look in person...or whether it's practical. 

On a side note, one of my unofficial resolutions is to get back into photography. I use a Nikon D-40 and I carried it with me almost everyday during senior year, mostly because I was editor of my school newspaper and I absolutely hated my photographers because they were awful so taking my own [amazing] pictures was the obvious solution. But, this semester, my camera has mostly been sitting on a shelf, collecting dust. I shall change this!!

In other news, my father just announced that it is currently three degrees outside. lovely.

Pochanantas+Final Fantasy=Avatar

I'm super hyper right now, because I've been eating WAY too many inside out junior mints—they're so addictive! Anyway, I saw Avatar last night. It was super long, and the plot was a bit literal; like my friend Jordan said, "The title says it all." BUT, the color scheme was sooo pretty! I was IN LOVE with the night scenes and all the plants were glowing. breathtaking. Anyway, he wrote this review which I've included for your enjoyment. Don't worry if you don't understand what he's saying, even our high school teachers needed a dictionary while conversing with Jordan.

[google images]

Avatar: The Most Appropriate Title Ever
by Jordan Birnholtz
  The title says it all. James Cameron would like you to know that everything in this film is an avatar– a representation of something else.
  As a consequence, the characters are quantumnal as fuck. They are disposable, mathematically-singular beings, strewn across the beam of teleological attraction that is James Cameron's marvelously hard-core brain. They are their purpose; their meaning is indeed their function.
  I am perilously tempted to attack this film from a Hegelian angle, if not a Marxist one. Hitherto I won't seek to disrupt your sense of cause quite yet.
  I'm not going to do that for the simple fact that James Cameron has no interest in this burden. Postmodern directors deal in disrupting narrative and obfuscating cause. Avatar is a very abrupt fuck-you to these people and their art.
  Cameron will not spend $300,000,000 convincing you that reality can be defined by only a single logically-valid and unknowable proposition. He doesn't give a shit if you've read the Tractatus or Infinite Jest. He's going to take all of his dirty fucking corporate money and create an entire universe to reflect just how he feels about it. How does he feel about it?
Pretty poorly, it seems. Indeed, capitalist interests, especially armed ones, are very obviously the villains of this feature. The heroes are the tribal folks, tuned in to nature. Moreover, they're plugged in; I admire this component of the film. Cameron does try to offer a somewhat scientific account of their practices, without becoming too technical.
The conclusion of this epic smells a bit too much like Independence Day. I didn't like the way Cameron treated gender roles, and I thought the warrior-culture bit was a smidge patronizing and a pretty poor way to keep the plot intact.
  If you're looking to spend fifteen dollars cowering in fear of postmodernism and basking in a really glorious epic, swipe here. A few of the scenes are pretty uplifting. Don't pay attention to the dialogue.
  There is a lot here, and it's worth at least trying to appreciate.


Michigan is still boring and extremely cold for the most part. And now, the majority of my friends are going back to school next week, because they have weird school schedules, so I'm really not sure what I'm going to do for the next 12 days. hmmmm. I'm considering going up to University of Michigan next weekend to visit Jordan and my other friends who go to Michigan.