Sunday, September 28, 2008

Meet Bogart!

As y'all know we've recently lost our irreplaceable boy Orion.
He left an awful void in our home. Lola, our Basset Hound has missed him terribly. She's always had playmates in the house. When we adopted her 2 years ago she joined Orion and Roxy (our St. Bernard, whom we lost only months before Orion).

We always knew we would adopt another dog (we will always be a multiple-dog home). The change in Lola (and us) prompted us to do so sooner rather than later.

We settled on another St. Bernard. We spent a long Saturday morning at the St. Bernard Rescue Foundation with Lola meeting and greeting with some possible new companions.

Bogart stole our hearts.
He's 4 and he's BIG. He's gotta be about 120lb at the moment.
Right now Lola is still being fussy and bitchy, letting him know she is the queen of this castle (well, princess...I'M the Queen!).
Last night, he got comfy enough to come back at her and want to play, which made her go OH SHIT, this son-of-a-bitch is BIG!!! so she got a little scared of him, poor thing.
But they're adjusting, they can hang in the same room without killing each other and they go for walks and do so very well side by side.
It's just gonna take a few weeks for them to fully gel together as "siblings".

Here's looking at you, kid.








He came with that name and we think it fits him so we're gonna keep it.
We've already found ourselves nicknaming him things like Bogie and Booger.

Awards or Chain Letters?


Image: Vikki North of The Red Chair Gallery

An interesting discussion/movement is taking place regarding Blog Awards.

When I started blogging I would see these awards and hope that eventually enough folk enjoyed my blog so that one day I might start receiving some of my own.

Then I started to catch on.

I guess the only sort of award I could see having some merit at this point would be something that would be given by a larger entity (an artist site or a gay life site for example or something pertaining to what one’s blog might be about) and the award should not be something one is required to pass on.

I have to agree with my blog-friend Martha Marshall, I think our blogrolls speak for themselves.

“I don’t care to win awards.”
D.M.S.R -Prince

Friday, September 26, 2008

Fierce Fridays!

Gorgeous, Ferocious, Delicious, Incomparable!



The one and only GRACE JONES!

New Video "Corporate Cannibal":


This is one of the most beautiful and brilliant videos I can remember seeing in a long long time.
Every frame inspires a painting (I need to get my sketch pad!).

Her new album, "Hurricane" releases October 27th, though possibly not in North America at that time.

***I'd like to take a moment to remind my dear friend Melissa in London, that I love her and would gladly recompense her for picking this up for me, should I have trouble doing so in the states.

And this was actually posted on a Friday, would you look at that?

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Tuck, and Roll With It



I'm sad that ANTM's first-ever tranny contestant was sent packing last night.
As much as I enjoyed the greater picture of Isis being there, I do think it was a fair decision on the part of the judges.
She faded quickly, letting her fear of bathing suit challenges (for obvious reasons) get the better of her. Two in a row delivered a fatal blow from which she didn't really stand a chance of bouncing back. Ironically this challenge was all about the eyes.

If Isis wishes to continue modeling, she will have to learn to just "roll with it". Chances are (if she's still pre-op) her client will know her situation and allow for necessary "adjustments". Due to her body type, I seriously doubt she would be booked for many swimwear jobs anyway.

But Tyra opened an important door when she included Isis in this competition. I guarantee thousands of young transgendered women will be lining up at ANTM casting calls for years to come. Let us not forget, that it took 5 (I think) tries and 10 cycles to get a plus-sized winner. These things don't happen overnight. There will probably be a transgendered winner if the show runs long enough...I predict she will be post-op, however.

Good luck Miss Isis!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

I've Got the Music Not-Quite in Me!

Well ladies and gents...the disappointments continue.
To say that the creations to come out of this season's challenges have been underwhelming would be an understatement.
This week's challenge: Design a look for a fellow designer...with a music theme. I'm still not sure why it couldn't just be Music Theme Week using the models, but...ok. The poor models are going home two and three at a time and they've barely been on the runway! LOL!
The tears they shed on their way off the runway are not for the competition. They're for every meal they've skipped and purged...for no reason at all. Boo-hoo.

The week's winning design, "Punk", was Korto's, who dealt gracefully with a double whammy: menswear and a design aesthetic foreign to her.


Suede says: Suede going home makes Suede sad.

Jerrell portrayed "Pop" successfully, creating a Pussycat Doll-ish look that was revealing and flattering on Kenley. Unfortunately it didn't hide her sudden ugly bitchiness.


Bitchy Spears!

Suede designed " Rock". His efforts were deemed too subtle and he was sent home. I was surprised, since what Kenley produced was downright laughable. My guess would be that part of the judge's decision, at a point so close to the final 3, was based on their overall performance on the show this far.


Jerrell...before and after.

Tragedies of the Week:

Poor, poor Korto was made to prance the runway looking like a Dollywood Poodle.


Yippie-kai-NO!

Kenley's attempt at Hip Hop Goddess fell terribly short!

Yo-yo-yo! I drive a minivan, shop at the mall and can't find my crotch in these pants.

It wasn't all bad this week. At least there were some laughs to be had at Kenley's expense. The whole "if she thinks that's hip-hop, we're gonna let her think that's hip-hop" ordeal was actually quite funny.
Has she lost her mind? Did anyone catch her in the previews for next week where she snaps at La Klum??? "I wasn't going for elegance...HEIDI."
Heidi will have her killed, no doubt.

It's been a surprising season in more ways than one.
Most of the contestants have been less than impressive, serving up outfits that look home-made and downright cheap. The challenges themselves, at times have seemed uninspired.
Personalities have been surprising as well. Kenley, whom I loved at the very beginning (I still think her retro dresses are great), has turned into a bratty know-it-all. Jerrell, whom I could not stand, has not only proved himself a capable designer, but a genuinely nice person. It was very classy of him to stand by Suede's design (as he promised Suede in the work room he would).
And let us not forget lovely Stella.
When the show began, I thought she would grate my every nerve. Instead, I am keeping my fingers crossed that she walks away with the Fan Favorite Award when the reunion airs.

More Va-Va's


Va-Va-Voom! Girl (Bathing Beauties) "Tanya"


Va-Va-Voom! Girl "Vanity" (Re-worked)

Now that I'm narrowing the look for the Va-Va-Voom! Girls down, I'm re-visiting some of the earlier ones and making a few changes in order to harmonize the whole bunch.

Today's Painting Music:


Pussycat Dolls' "Doll Domination" (out yesterday)
Perfect for painting sassy curvy women!

Monday, September 22, 2008