Kubrick nostalgia

Yes! It is good to revisit old classics once in a while and you always know it is a movie worth watching when it leaves you with a different feeling everytime you view it.
Last night turned out to be a "The Shining" one (if I wanted to I could almost confirm it was the first movie I ever watched...when I was comfortably living in my mother's tum): despite the thrilling story, I have to admit it is artistically a major breakthrough. But then again Stanley Kubrick was probably the most "aesthetically" aware movie director of all time: every scene showing a meticulous attention to details and colours and shape harmonies all tied together by very suggestive soundtracks and deeply expressive actors.  It is not without a touch of melancholia that I went through the following on YouTube today:

Leather and Rock'n' Roll

I met Alain a few years ago for the first time after I bumped into him on LUISAVIAROMA.com. I just fell in love with his style: the perfect balance of grunge and elegance that I had been looking for in ages! Simple and structured shapes with a very "organic" touch given by the clean cut of the leather and the wooden heels.
When I first met him of course I wouldn't have imagined him differently: long hair, skinny jeans, over sized Tee. An obvious inspiration from the Rock icons was perceivable miles away: Axel Rose, Mike Tyler, Mick,..even Brian Warner in some ways.

It was with great pleasure that I finally found a well built website at www.alainquilici.com: I know the brand is nothing but ready for a global success! And once more I had my usual "shoecrush"; Alain collaborated with two other very inspirational designers and the result is just fab (the David Koma red sandal appeared on Grazia here in the UK ).
Check out by yourself!


With DAVID KOMA

With NATALIA BRILLI

And yes...I know you must be curious about Natalia at this stage (I was) and if like me you are a Rock addict who thinks the 80s and 90s will never be outdated then you will love this:

NATALIA BRILLI

I want to be a part of it, New York New York

The city that never sleeps: how true and yet there is such a decadent side to it. The litter bags invading the pathways, the gloomy and dusty subway, the old delis (you would almost bet on Bogart and Bacall to be the next ones out), a "Central Park" that would make you regret Regents Park every day of the year...

So why?? Why have I fallen in love with the place after a week?
Is it the crowd? The vibe? Walking in the streets where you can barely see the horizon but where somehow you feel like you could reach the sky any minute?
No single bite of the big apple is enough and amazingly, the discovery of 3 cities in 1 is positively overwhelming. From the East to the West Village, to Midtown and to the Upper West Side...and down again to Greenwich Village...
A NEVERENDING story, a world of possibilities.

Ryan...inexpressive beauty

I knew his face, but watching "Drive" made the whole difference to me. It made me think so differently of this movie that I had to watch it three times on the big screen. What was so special about it? I still have a hard time identifying exactly what it was: a mixture of very elaborated screen shots (Nicolas Winding Refn obviously has a strong and meticulous sens of aesthetics); a captivating soundtrack and very little dialogue that would make the unspoken relationship between Ryan and Carrie even more touching.
But there is definitely something amazing about HIS face: an inexpressive beauty! Very little changes of expression and yet such a powerful look. That's where his true beauty lies: a true unforced presence on the screen coupled to a certain nonchalance revealed through his voice.

Ryan is certainly someone I intend to follow closely: a so strong personality that captivates men and women equally!

FEELING LIKE GETTING AN IPAD...

I am a huge huge fan when it comes to Apple: probably for the wrong resons though... I find the notebooks, i-phones and i-pods really beautiful! A sleek and elegant design with the "coolness" feeling of belonging to the Apple generation.
Really funny as I can still remember my father bringing home the first pc when I was 8, and guess what? It was a mac:) I can still picture very clearly the multicolor apple logo and it all seemed incredible to me!
Then there was the era of the compaq, the HP, the LeNovo and then Sony came in with Dell and their colourful laptops, but as you know Apple has made what I would call a revolutionary comeback! Steve left the group with an amazing legacy and today I am rellay hesitating: an ipad or a macbook air?

Of course the price is not even comparable and I know that whatever I will buy today will just be obsolete next year..mmm...tough decision.
I want something light, but then again what are the chances I may use my i-pad as a fully functional notebook? How does that work out with your Office docs? The truth as that in a way we are still slaves of the 2 Big ones: Microsoft and Mac...not great for us, but at some point you have to chose your side.

Michael told me: "the ipad is great as a gadget, but honestly I don't know why I bought it as I keep playing Angry Bird on it..."lol! My point: I am not sure I will get one until I know I can create an excel sheet on it. But hey, might as well come with Number 3!;)

THE LINE THAT WORKS...

London: 8.2m inhabitants....how many singles? half of the population between 20 and 50....So what is the deal?What's with the 8.2m?
I am the first to agree that it is very hard to meet anyone here: of course you can go out and make sure you won't spend the night on your own. Online dating? Try it out!Might work fine for you, but be ready to be judged in the harshest way...your picture does it all in the beginning. If you watched "The Social Network" you definitely know what I am talking about as you may remember what game brought Facebook to life (left or right?). I have friends who met online and are still happily together: so who knows?
On the other side I keep on hearing about weddings lately: my high school mates are not wasting their time. I remember gossiping about that hot guy in school and his super "perfect-body-looking" girlfriend who had it all, well, turned out that the guy just became dad and the hottie turns out to be the perfect housewives. After all ending up marrying your teenage love is probably a secure way to a lasting relationship (not much comparison available). Then there is the "friend" thingy: one day you realize you got a crush on your mate...yes I don't personally believe in love at first sight and again two of my friends got married this year with their best mates. It is very tricky though: how not to scare your friend off in case he's not into you? what if a girlfriend is around? be prepared to give up your friendship if you feel like revealing your feelings, which is not necessarily bad: how worse would it be to hang out with someone you like knowing you will never tell them?

So how and where to meet your prince charming? I would give up clubs and bars: the dude telling you that his mate fancies you but is too shy to come over is a no go for me, as is the guy who comes over telling that he thinks you're cute...really? Or even worse, the one whispering god knows what in your ear with the fresh breath of the few pints he got to enjoy a few minutes before (he won't even remember you the next day).

Result: very difficult mission. Trust your instincts and count on your friends for networking;) And maybe stop trying analysing too much....you may be wrong!