Diary of a Slacker

Met Gala fashion. I go crazy telling you about it. I need a drink now. A STRONG DRINK.

ropo — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 21:54:27 GMT

So it was the Met Gala. I swear, it looks like some sort of insane joke on fashion. About 5 people looked nice and the others all look HORRIBLE, like they were going to a Worst Outfit Ever competition. The theme was "Punk: From Chaos to Couture," but most of this is just Punk: We Don't Know What Decade We're In, or Punk: It Happened Before I was Born, or Punk: Let's Try to Pair It With Fancy Dress!

Rooney Mara:

In Givenchy Haute Couture. At first you go, Oh, that's not very good, there's just a lot going on there, and why the Vamp lipstick in this decade, and the lace, and the zippers, and the short in front/long in back thing and almost seeing her vagina, but trust me, by the time you get to the end of this post you will think, Wow, Rooney Mara looked pretty good. ;-)

Lauren Santo Domingo:

In Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda. I don't know who Lauren Santo Domingo is. And now I don't want to. For once a necklace, on a dress with such an overwhelming neckline, not to mention the pattern and voluminous sleeves? THINK, LAUREN!!

Florence Welch:

In Givenchy Haute Couture. Stevie Nicks called from the '80s. She wants her outfit back.

Gisele Bundchen:

and Anja Rubek:

Both in Anthony Vaccarello, obviously. Well, this is embarrassing.

Sarah Jessica Parker:

In Giles, Christian Louboutin boots, Philip Treacy headpiece, and Fred Leighton jewelry. Kind of her usual wackiness. Imagine just the top, with a nice black skirt of some sort, and that'd be the right amount of that material. As is, just no. OH BUT WAIT THERE IS A HEADDRESS?? And maybe some thigh-high PLAID VELVET BOOTS??

SJP is trying to hurt my brain through my computer, I just know it. It's because I put my "Sex & the City" DVDs up for sale on Craigslist, I bet. ...Don't you worry about Matthew Broderick sometimes? Like, "Yeah, SJ, that looks great! Go outside in that and get your picture taken!" Maybe he's living his life like some sort of performance art. I sure hope so.

Sienna Miller:

In Burberry Prorsum, Genevieve Jones ear cuff, and Eddie Borgo tiara. The dress looks too plain but might be relatively okay, without the horrid jacket and the too-long hemline, along with the off-center "tiara" and sloppy date Tom Sturridge.

Stella Tennant:

In Christopher Kane. Why, Stella, why?

Karen Elson:

In Julien Macdonald. Normally I might not like this that much, but compared to what I've been seeing so far, she looks like a beautiful golden goddess of taste and refinement.

Jennifer Lawrence:

In Christian Dior. Shoes: Brian Atwood. The night's clear winner. Gorgeous. I might have gone with a necklace rather than the headband with face netting, but honestly, she looks great and she looks double super insane great compared to almost everyone else who was going to the joke fashion show.

Carey Mulligan:

Balenciaga. Again, this is pretty dang good, considering. Doesn't look fancy enough for a gala, but I do like her shoes. And the safety pin thing... eh. I mean, other than the cut the dress needed something to dress it up so kudos for the effort, but that's a bit cheesy.

Elle Fanning:

In Rodarte. Oh, Elle. I normally sorta-kinda applaud her unspoiled loopy teen hippie originality on principle if not execution, but her makeup sends this into a wackyland Flash Gordon orbit and I can't approve at all.

Sofia Coppola & Marc Jacobs:

Sofia Coppola in Marc Jacobs; Marc Jacobs in Comme des Garçons. Sofia's wearing awesome pajamas, but she's, you know, not at home, so no. And Marc is like, I'm so sad that I made those pajamas that I'm going to try to distract you from looking at Sofia by wearing something insane. It almost worked, Marc. Almost. The best part of each of their outfits? The shoes. And he's wearing Converse Chuck Taylors, so you can imagine.

Jaime King:

Topshop. No to the lace, no to that ... uh, thing? in her hair, but a very shallow okay to daring to wear something from Topshop to the Met Gala? (FYI to the Americans: Topshop is a UK clothing store, roughly equivalent to H&M or Forever 21.)

January Jones:

In Chanel Haute Couture, Genevieve Jones earrings, and Nicholas Kirkwood shoes. I want to lean over and fix her because I think she's got something in her eye. This dress might be okay if the sleeves didn't annoy me, and if she were going to dinner. And ugh, those shoes, just no.*
*They're actually pretty cool.

Plum Sykes:

In Emilia Wickstead. It ... might be okay? ... if she just didn't look so sad. Her hair and the drape of the dress are both way too droopy to be happening at the same time. Imagine an updo and it's a thousand times better, but the dress is still reminiscent of a chenille bedspread, so.

Carolyn Murphy:

In Nina Ricci. I'd love this if it weren't for the lace cutouts. I hate those, but give this a qualified thumbs up. (Except the hem is also a floofy mess.)

Pixie Geldof:

In Moschino. Quite nice. It looks a bit weird in this head-on photo but that weird poof on the left is a bow so it's not so terrible:

(In other news, check out slutty angel-wing girl in the background of the first photo. Sigh.)

Alexa Chung:

In Erdem. I don't like the high neck or weird sleeve thingies, don't love the sheer stuff at all, but it's, you know, okay, considering. I guess she sort of tried?

Yes, that was faint praise. But it does look a little better here in the Instagrammy photo where you can imagine she's in the early 1970s when this dress would have been AWESOME.

Amber Heard:

In Emilio Pucci. Okay silhouette, but I don't like the lace (again, kind of a thing with me) and I'm pretty sure Alexis Carrington wore this dress once or thrice. Seems dated.

Kim Gordon:

In Saint Laurent. I'll give her a pass since she was in Sonic Youth, which made noise so painful to my ears that this is mild in comparison, even if she does look too much like Iggy Pop. I don't love it, but she did try and it's not offensive like so many of the others. Again with the faint praise, I know, but you gotta grab onto a life preserver when so many horrible dresses are floating by you trying to drag you to the bottom.

Marion Cotillard:

In Christian Dior Haute Couture. It's very ... early '80s modern dance recital, but she looks nice if you just look at her from the waist up. And OMG her shoes, I don't have enough hate for them though I know some of you will love them, but that's because you're crazy:

Grimes:

In Chanel. To overuse a joke, Boy George called from the '80s and wants his outfit back. This would be okay if she were going to class at art school. How can this possibly have been made by Chanel??? (BTW, that's a nose ring, not some weird moustache she's got.)

Emma Watson:

In Prabal Gurung w/ Fred Leighton jewelry. She always looks good but this isn't her best look. Too much skin, and not especially flattering. And why the one earring? Does she have a best friend wearing the other somewhere? Will Fred Leighton charge her if she lost one of them?

Nicole Richie:

In Topshop Unique, Dana Rebecca Designs earrings, vintage Francesca Pepe ring, and House of Harlow 1960 clutch. Ummmm... WTF IS WRONG WITH NICOLE RICHIE? The dress (which would look fine without the mock turtleneck) is practically a 10 compared to the rest of the mess she's got going on. Her hair is Miss Havisham, her lips are '90s goth, her nails and rings are ... I'm not even sure where she was going with all this look.
(In unrelated news, why on earth did they darken the guy in the background, like "we don't want people to know we allow Asian men at the Met Gala?")

Vanessa Traina Snow:

In Balenciaga. So severe. Also, her mom is Danielle Steel.

Linda Evangelista:

In Marchesa and Harry Winston jewelry. Someone's a little TOO into "Game of Thrones." And notwithstanding the crazy OTT style, the color makes me suicidal. My only hope is that she was going to host a Medieval Times party right after she left the Gala. Or running home to write GoT fanfic about that last crazy episode that made Twitter explode.

Gwen Stefani:

In Maison Martin Margiela and Fred Leighton jewelry. I don't like her hair. And the dress would be passable -- I mean, consider that she's Gwen Stefani and that makes it sort of okay, right? -- if it weren't for those sticky-out bits at the waist, and the color, and the way the fabric is so stiff. Okay, I don't like it. There, I've said it. Gwen is not my big present wrapped up in a brown bow.

Joan Smalls:

In Tom Ford. I never much like the flesh-color-under-lace look. She might pull it off better if her hair wasn't so annoyingly unstyled and ombre. At least the lace isn't '80s lace; it's more structured in its pattern, which gives it one more point from me. (So now this is, like a 5 instead of a 4.) And Tom Ford (who designed the dress) ... what's with your wide lapels? Very Sinatra in the '70s. Tom looks a little too fitted in the waist here, like he's a Ken doll. It's a bit creepy.

Liya Kebede:

In Alberta Ferretti and Fallon jewelry. Considering the horror going on all around her, this is looking pretty good. Don't love her casual hair. Oh my God, I just looked again. No. This is terrible.

Cara Delevingne:

In Burberry Prorsum, Genevieve Jones earrings, Eddie Borgo necklace, and Dominic Jones earrings and rings. I'm fairly sure she thought she was going somewhere else. Like to snort coke in the ladies room.

Madonna:

In Givenchy Haute Couture and Casadei shoes. Cyndi Lauper's wondering what happened to her invitation and why her closet looks a little empty tonight. I can imagine Madonna, being all Type A with the designer at Givenchy: "No, no no! Cut the whole bottom of the jacket OFF, and I'm not wearing any skirt or pants, by the way. Now put a bunch of crap all over the jacket. ... No, more crap, a LOT more! Also, I want mesh, a studded belt, thigh-highs, neon pink pumps with an ankle strap, a severe '40s wig, one of those long key chains, no, wait, I want like 5 of those keychains put together, and leather studded gloves, and a choker with a padlock. ... Why are you crying, Riccardo? JUST DO IT!" I'll give it to Madonna. She went with the theme. She went all the way with it, and didn't use protection.

Katie Holmes:

In Calvin Klein Collection and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry. Not bad, a bit plain and too unstructured, with the too-long train that got all ripped up somehow when people stepped on it. Oh, it was supposed to be that way? Then no, Katie. I bet this goes in Suri's Burn Book, despite Katie's pretty hair and makeup.

Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olson:

These girls were once so cute.
Poor Mary-Kate (on the left, in Vintage Chanel; hairstyle by a beach day without combing it afterward) is another Miss Havisham wannabe now. I really don't even know what's going on here.
Ashley, on the right: Vintage Dior. It should have stayed in the past. Caftans aren't really coming back, are they?? In most of the photos, she's not holding up the sheer outer layer, and you can't see the slim silhouette underneath, so it just looks dumpy:

She should've just cut that overlay off completely.

Blake Lively:

Gucci Première dress and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry. The top's va-va-voom prom; the bottom's black swan. Too jarring. She looks good, though.

Jessica Biel:

Giambattista Valli Haute Couture and Fred Leighton cuff. Not my favorite look, the lace leggings under a short front/long back dress. The top of the bodice is too straight-across for my taste, too. Jessica's too young to know that this is not punk, it's more new wave. They're not the same.

Kerry Washington:

Vera Wang, Fred Leighton jewelry, and Roger Vivier clutch. Too much look. Purple: okay. Peplum: okay. Long black leather gloves: okay. Ring over gloves: (never) okay. Lace/mess inset: okay. Floofy black train thingy in back: okay. Black clutch: okay. All together: NO, THIS IS SO NOT OKAY! The only thing okay here is that she's very pretty, and if you look only at her face she looks great.

Tabitha Simmons:

Dolce & Gabbana. Deah Gott, Game of Thrones really has taken over the world. And take a cue from Queen Elizabeth II: If you wear a crown, go a BIT smaller on the earrings, Tabitha. Also, if you wear a crown, no lace-to-see-your-bathing-suit underneath. It's not a hard and fast rule, just a rule of thumb, really, but Tabitha would've been wise to consider it.

Hailee Steinfeld:

Donna Karan Atelier, Eddie Borgo jewelry, and Jimmy Choo shoes. We have a winner! Love it. Not punk at all but so refreshing.

Lily Collins:

In Moschino w/ Harry Winston jewelry. Dear Lily: You don't need to wear all your clothes and makeup at once. There's so much wrong here it will make me too sad to go into detail.

Kimberly Chandler:

Rodarte dress, Versace shoes, and Lanvin clutch. I can't really see the clutch, but I can only hope it's not as horrifying as the dress. Who does she think she is? Madonna??

Kirsten Dunst:

In Louis Vuitton. A bit slutty, but Kirsten looks good and a little side-boob's nothing compared to the fashion atrocities that were going on on that red carpet.

Gwyneth Paltrow:

In Valentino Haute Couture. No thank you, especially to that sheer across-the-chest-cutout-badness. Good fit, but that's a LOT of pink, Gwynnie.

Constance Jablonski:

In Wes Gordon, Amanda Pearl clutch, and Christian Louboutin shoes. Wes Gordon's website says he "infuses luxury and timeless sophistication with a young modern edge." Well, except for the luxury and timeless sophistication. But I suppose it fits the gala's punk theme.

Jessica Paré:

In Jason Wu. No thank you, Jason. Also, her eye makeup is too dark and her hair is too severe. The shoes are okay.

Kate Upton:

In Diane Von Furstenburg, who still thinks it's the '70s. Also: St. Patrick's Day called and will be needing all the green back next March. (Still, Kate looks damn good.)

Taylor Tomasi Hill

In Thom Browne (who is also standing next to her, and forgot his socks and his pant size). Is this the year of TOO MUCH DRESS? Sharp things on her shoulders, lace thrown all over the place, weird pleats, a train... I'm getting tired just looking at it.

Taylor Swift:

In J. Mendel; jewelry by Lorraine Schwartz
She's a beautiful girl but again, OMG, too much dress! I might be okay with the cutouts on Taylor, but add a big pile of crap at the neckline (was J. or Lorraine responsible for that bit?), and the fact that the cutouts go all the way down the sides...

Kathryn Neale:

Designer: Carven. What is that tie/cravat/crisscrossy thing? Ugh. The dress does fit well. But the tie thingy, that's terrible. Also, slicked-down hair for the loss.

Claire Danes:

Oscar de la Renta. Not bad, if bland. We've got a LOT of black eyeliner going on at this gala, by the way. A LOT.

Amanda Seyfried:

In vintage Givenchy Haute Couture. Why bring back the past when it was so hideous? Nice shape, terrible material/pattern/nightmare.

Minka Kelly:

In Carolina Herrera. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record but the MET BALL HAS DRIVEN ME TO IT! Why so much dress, Minka and/or Carolina? Magenta underdress, lavender lace overlay, wtf belt, crazy epaulet-laden neckline, why why why is this a thing that happens?

Kate Mara:

In Delpozo by Josep Font. This would be better if the top went higher, the skirt was longer, and, you know, if it didn't have random starbursts and too much junk at the waistline. This is worth $8,500?

Miley Cyrus:

In Marc Jacobs. Yeah, still don't like flesh-under-mesh. And it looks a bit ... sloppy, maybe? I hope Miley doesn't lose any more weight.

Miranda Kerr:

In Michael Kors dress, Cartier jewelry, Christian Louboutin clutch, and Tabitha Simmons shoes. Too much skin and too reminiscent of Leeloo in "The Fifth Element," yet still probably one of the better looks of the night.

Bee Shaffer:

In Christian Dior Haute Couture. It's got a lot going on but it's cohesive, and it's a dress for a ball, not a rave, so thumbs up for Bee!

Lindsey Vonn:

In Elie Saab. Don't like the fit of the top; can't tell if it's droopy, her breasts are droopy (I doubt they are) or what. In some photos it looks okay but I can't really tell.
I do like the sheer back, which you can see if you go to photo #4 HERE. Overall, she looks good, but really with the flat sandals like she's at Club Med? Tiger's not so short that she needed to wear flats to a ball. Though I bet she was comfy in them and most of the other women were tortured by their shoes, so Lindsey might be having the last laugh there.

Helen Lasichanh:

In Lanvin. Just terrible. And I grabbed a photo where she looks BETTER than the one at the Vogue website, where the top looked extra voluminous and made her look top-heavy. This is just all '70s disco and no punk at all. I do think Pharrell Williams looks pretty sharp.

Liu Wen:

In Alexander McQueen. I'm so weary of all this lace and all this neck crap, and all the sheer junk. I couldn't wear that thing on my neck for ten seconds.

Kelly Osbourne:

In Marc Jacobs. This is a lot of dress. But honestly? It's so much less dress than most at this atrocity of a ball that I'll let Kelly go. Except for that yellow bit, which clashes with her hair. (I don't like her hair color at all but she obviously does 'cause she's kept it a good long time now, so fine, be all lavender rinse like you're 80 if you want, Kelly. I guess I have to accept it at this point.)

Katy Perry:

In Dolce & Gabbana and David Yurman jewelry. Does the crown count as jewelry? My eyes are rolling so hard I can't think anymore. I'm actually thinking that this is wrong for the reason that the crown doesn't go with this style of dress. When the dress is so horrible, why am I thinking this? I've become delirious looking at all these dresses. I mean, honestly, this is like the fifth crown I've seen and none of these people are royalty. NOT ONE.

Beyonc:

In Givenchy Haute Couture. I suppose when you're Beyonce everyone's afraid to tell you no. Seriously, like it wouldn't have been enough without that extra bit of gold flamey faux-Capodimonte junk at the end of the train? OH MY DEAR SWEET JESUS IT GETS WORSE WHEN YOU SEE THE FRONT:

June is busting out all over, and ... the belt ... the BOOTS. I'm crying for the future of fashion. Look at Beyonce's gorgeous face, awesome hair and makeup, and I didn't even notice it until now. I was so horrified at everything below her neck that I didn't see that there's a beautiful woman there. It's like the opposite of what fashion is meant to do. Also, this dress is the opposite of the punk theme. Beyoncé FAIL.

Miuccia Prada:

In Prada. That doesn't make it right. The suit itself might be okay even if the color makes me queasy, but the cuffs? No. (Is it a dress? A coat? I don't even know.)

Michelle Williams:
Saint Laurent dress

Olympia LeTan clutch

I give her props. She looks really pretty, her dress is great even if the short front/long back style isn't my favorite, and she gave a hat tip to the theme with her purse.

Olivia Wilde:

In Calvin Klein. Eh. I don't love the belt/back strap thingy, and it looks uncomfortable. Not a bad idea; I just don't dig the execution.

Nora Zehetner:

In Marchesa, Edmundo Castillo shoes, and Harry Winston jewelry. Love it. Doesn't go with the them at all, but frankly the theme is responsible for so much horror that I need brain bleach, and this is gorgeous.

Gaia Repossi:

In Christian Dior couture. MY EYES. Did this ever look good??

Sally Singer in a Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen dress and Zana Bayne harness; David Byrne in reworked Adam Kimmel:

The dress, in keeping with the real theme of the evening, is way too much look, and that harness... um, is there a reason for that other than to annoy me? I can't imagine there is. David Byrne looks okay even if his saddle shoes are the opposite of punk, but he's David Byrne so I guess he can just do what he wants.

Hilary Rhoda

In Wes Gordon, Kotur clutch, and Giuseppe Zanotti shoes. I like the shoes and the top and well, dangit, she went with the theme and actually worked it the way it should have been worked.

Stella McCartney (in Stella McCartney):

No. But her husband, Alasdhair Willis, looks great.

Alison Williams:

In Altuzarra. Messy puddly hemline, more lace, more sheer cutouts, more ugly. I can't take it.

Karolina Kurkova:

In Mary Kantrantzou with Manolo Blahnik shoes. Deah Gott the horror. It's like bad Beverly Hills society housewife. With added stripes.

Elizabeth Banks:

Atelier Versace jacket; Brian Atwood sandals. I like Elizabeth and she does sort of go for it fashion-wise but this isn't my favorite look of hers. Not terrible (considering the theme)... I just don't like the shoes with this look. They are actually custom and called "Elizabeth" after her. I guess they're cool shoes, just not my taste.

Christina Ricci:

I see where she was going, I guess. A lot of plaid happened back in the punk days. But no thank you.

Julianne Hough:

Giuseppe Zanotti shoes:

I quite like the dress though do we need that raggedy hemline? And I guess the punk element comes in with the shoes, though in the slightest way possible, like, punks wore pointy shoes so these count. Rhinestones aren't the same as studs, Julianne. Still, more of a win than a loss.

Kate Beckinsale IS Alexis Carrington, in Dynasty Revisited!:

Shoes: Giuseppe Zanotti

Anne Hathaway:

Anne's sideboob looks great but that's the best thing about her dress. TOO MUCH, YET AGAIN. Cutouts, and feathery cuffs, and sheerness in the pattern, and a big Why? from me. I don't love her hair color, but only because I think it's a bit pale, not because she should never go blonde. Normally I'd say this is a horrible look, but honestly? Anne could maybe make the top 10 at this event because she's so pretty and maybe we'll just look at her face.

Oscars!

ropo — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:21:30 GMT

So, the Oscars happened. Things I thought:
* Poor, poor Kristin Stewart. Why do they make her go to these things? What I don't understand is how she, as an actress, can't even ACT like she's at an awards show. I haven't seen any of the "Twilight" movies other than the first half hour of the first one, where I had to turn it off and run far from my TV, but I've seen other things she's been in and I think she can actually act fairly well... but I'll never understand actors who can't at least pretend to enjoy themselves, or else they need to know they should just stay at home.
* Seth MacFarlane is cute, and he can sing quite well (which is apparently one of the reasons he was hired, since the show's theme was a tribute to musicals, no joke) ... but about 80% of those jokes weren't funny and there was nothing to be done about it. And 20% of them were tasteless, in ADDITION to being not funny. I didn't tape the show so I can't go back and see the credits, and they're not on IMDb, but ... who wrote that shit? I doubt it was ALL Seth, though he can write a tasteless joke with the best of them. Also, it should never be 18+ minutes into the show that we get the first award presenters onstage.
* I love (okay, when I say 'love' I don't mean it at all) how in the musical medley, half of the people didn't even pretend to sing live. Like, they had no microphones or anything. Catherine Zeta-Jones and "Les Miz," I'm looking at you. Catherine looked like a million bucks, though. (ETA: Looks like "Les Miz" sang live, though it didn't look like it to me when I looked up, but I wasn't paying close attention and when I looked, it looked like lip-synching!)
* Of the people who sang live, they did a great job. Barbra Streisand still sounds great and looks pretty damn good. And she's SEVENTY. Shirley Bassey sounds and looks even better, and she's SEVENTY-SIX years old! Shirley kicked some James Bond ass with that number. Jennifer Hudson, not old, sounded fantastic too, though I preferred her red carpet look which I think was one of the best of the night.
* Speaking of music, they literally built this theater to house the Oscars, and still didn't have room for the orchestra? They were A MILE AWAY in the Capitol Records building! That's just weird, man.
* This commercial: After getting over the shock of seeing Tim Burton of all people in a commercial, the unicorn bit actually cracked me up. I dunno if it was the premiere of the commercial but it's the first time I've seen it.
* I liked "Argo" a lot, and was happy that Ben Affleck got an Oscar for it, especially since I think he should have been nominated for directing. Having said that and not having seen "Life of Pi," I love me some Ang Lee and thought he was adorable. I also liked the acceptance speeches of Quentin Tarantino 'cause he's crazy, and Jennifer Lawrence 'cause she's adorably adorable. I like Anne Hathaway and think her Oscar was well-deserved (having not seen many of the other nominees) but at this point I'm pretty tired of her acceptance speeches, though I think she's sincere; she just comes off too rehearsed.
* The Onion is going to hell. Those of you who know why ... you know why.

Oscar Fashion roundup (though really, just go see marakara's roundup) ...

Click this link then follow along (times are GMT):
* Kelly Osbourne, 11:04pm: I liked her dress a lot, other than that bit of strap on her left arm. I don't like her lavender hair, but she must 'cause she's kept it a good long while now. Anyway, I thought the dress was age appropriate and flattering on her.
* Jessica Chastain, 11:22pm: Love the style and fit, don't love the color. If you see a closeup you can see how the color is actually a nice copper which would've looked great, without all that stripey/patterny silver stuff diluting the color. And, tm Mara, she needs a necklace.
* Amy Adams, 11:30pm: Fun dress, nice fit, and again, terrible color. Didn't love the hair and she also needed a necklace, though the earrings and bracelet were good.
* Kerry Washington, 11:47: A solid outing, as they say. She looks great in any case, and the top of the dress makes a necklace unneeded but was a bit much. And the purse didn't quite match, so she should have gone with something blingy that mirrored the top of the dress instead.
* Jacki Weaver, 11:52pm: I like the idea alot. Good color, but I just don't like the shape of the bottom half wrapping around under the bust. Like, it has to go all the way around or something instead of just stopping under her arms. I dunno, it just bothers me. But overall I liked her. Good makeup and hair.
* Jennifer Lawrence, 12:00am: Pretty good. I didn't realize until I saw a shot of her tripping on the stairs that the back was white... I do like that detail. I wish her hair hadn't been back though. Overall, quite pretty.
* Reese Witherspoon, 12:02am: I wish I liked this more. Good hair/makeup, good color on the dress, but I don't like the fit of the bust, and the trompe l'oeil black bit annoyed me because though it made her waist look small, it made her hips look larger, and her waist is plenty small enough on its own that she didn't need that anyway.
* Sally Field, 12:09am: Not bad but not a home run. Nice color and fit, but there's something about the bottom that just misses for me. Like, it's ever so slightly Miss Havisham down there with those ruffles.
* Amanda Seyfried, 12:10am: If it weren't for the color, I'd give this a 10. The beige/nude/lavender underneath needs to be more vibrant, or the pattern on top needs to be more of a contrast to it. Ugh, these beigey dresses drive me mad.
* Helena Bonham Carter, 12:20am: I actually quite like the dress; considering it's Helena Bonham Carter it could have been SO much worse! Like, she's not wearing a weird jacket over it, or two different colored shoes that I can see! And she's got a nice necklace, and her makeup's pretty under there, but it's hard to see because even though her hair's not a NEST for once, it's still too messy. Helena, you were almost there and couldn't help yourself, could you??
* Catherine Zeta-Jones, 12:22am: That's a LOT of dress. She went 30% too far with the gold junk all over it.
* Jane Fonda, 12:26am: Great fit and she's Jane Fonda so she looks great in it, but no. At her age and looking like a million bucks as she does, there is no reason to wear a color that shouts "Look at me!" that way. Also it's a bit dated in the style, though it's flattering on her.
* Anne Hathaway, 12:27am: I wish I loved it, but I didn't. With her still-too-slim-after-losing-that-weight figure she could wear anything and look good in it, but the fit wasn't quite right and everyone thought the darts were her nipples, and the neckline was just that much too high (and with that neckline, why that necklace?)
* Naomi Watts, 12:34am: Shockingly, I like this. It's kinda crazy and space-age, but it fit well and she pulled it off.
* Jennifer Aniston, 12:38am: She looks good but the top didn't fit right and the dress overall was just a bit '90s deb material. Too safe.
* Charlize Theron, 12:39 am: Didn't work for me, though if I looked like her I'd wear any damn thing and look great too. I think it ages her a little, and I just don't like the dress. She's got a "Dynasty" thing going on or something, though if it was really "Dynasty" it'd have bling all over it. I just don't like the top of it.
* Samantha Barks, 12:46am: She looks good but other than the plunging, too-wide neckline it's very plain.
* Adele, 12:46am: I give it a 7. It's nice, but a little aging and a wee bit shapeless. Having said that, as a size ahem, I know how hard it is to find nice dresses that aren't aging in the women's department.
* Nicole Kidman, 12:53am. Too much. Though I think Jane Fonda should have worn it and kicked some ass. Just a very slight misstep by Nicole, who always looks great anyway.
* Halle Berry, 1:02am: She explained that she asked to look like a Bond girl, so ... that's what's going on here. It wouldn't be that bad if we hadn't seen her look a hundred times better on every red carpet in the past 15 years.
* Sandra Bullock, 1:05am: I like this a lot. I wish her hair wasn't so straight, though.
* Kristen Stewart, 1:12am: The dress is a bit old for her and she keeps wearing this style on top but it never looks good because she has no breasts to put in the breast bit. It's possible that Jennifer Lawrence should have worn this dress. ;-)
* Salma Hayek, 1:14am: The top is a bit much. Well, a lot much. Love the hair, though. And I'm just a little sad that it looks like Salma's lost weight, when I love her as a rule 'cause she's so va-va-voom.
* OMG at what the Guardian called Stacy Keibler at 1:16am! The caption seriously just says "George Clooney and beard." Whatever, because she looks like a million bucks. Like, she wears that dress and means it, man. I love the art deco feel of it. One of my top five of the night, definitely. (OMG even the back kicks ass and is sexy as hell.)
* Helen Hunt, 1:19am: Just too plain (though she looks good in it), though she did wear a necklace for Mara.
* Rebecca Miller (with Daniel Day-Lewis), 1:28am: Very nice, that dress. She looks great.
* Jamie Foxx's daughter, Corinne Bishop, 1:32am: Love her dress! She looks beautiful.
(now random photos: thanks to the Guardian for their live blog above...)
* Alicia Vikander ... Beautiful, though I wish the belt either wasn't there, or was a different color; like, if it was the same color as the dress and was a bit more substantial, I'd give her a 10.
* Brandi Glanville ... Yeah, the top of that dress was made for someone three inches shorter and at least a cup size smaller. AND! It's a terrible color, but that's neither here nor there when the fit is so bad. Also, I have no idea who Brandi Glanville is and I'm not even going to look her up.
* Melissa McCarthy. Great makeup, good hair if a little helmetlike on top -- but the dress was AWFUL. Battleship grey, aging bling, too-long sleeves, terrible saggy fit, gathering that emphasizes her widest point... there is not one thing right about this dress! Oh Melissa, whyyyy? Whoever told her it was okay to wear this should be fired.
* Zoe Saldana: It's got a LOT going on. But for some reason I'm okay with it. Though in the closeup you can see that the detailing stuff at the neckline looks cheap, and I could do without the bow. Great fit, though, and she looks great overall.
* Emmanuelle Riva: Nice color but too baggy and shapeless. She doesn't nearly fill up that dress underneath!
* Jennifer Hudson ... gets a 9+ from me. If I liked her hair just a little better, it'd be a 10. That dress is fantastic and she wears it like a boss.

Bonus Jennifer Lawrence: I saw this and didn't know if it was real or if someone had pasted someone else's hand on her body, but it's real! I hope she never changes.
And ETA more JLaw: God, she makes me laugh.

Golden Globes fashion roundup! (tm marakara)

ropo — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:50:25 GMT

Here’s where I found the photos: Click here. I apologize for not putting this in the order in which you will see the photos. I have alphabetized within each category here to help. That way, you can look at each photo, then come back here and find their name because you are thinking to yourself, "But what did Ropo think about that dress???" ;-) I took hair/makeup/age/intangibles into consideration when deciding whether they'd go in Like, Don't Like, or Middling. Also, OMG, it actually used to be my JOB to know everyone at the Golden Globes so I could yell in people's headsets when people arrived so ET could nab them for an interview, and now I don't know who half these people are.

My overall thoughts:
* Many of the younger women's dresses seemed to age them. They had a very '70s/'80s vibe, like they were going to Studio 54 right after this.
* Ugh with the beigey pale ick already. It washes almost everyone out. And almost no-one who had a skin tone that might work with it wore it. Case in point: Amy Adams - pretty dress, bad color. It worked for Megan Fox, but her dress was closer to white than beige, and her mermaid thing (see below) was subtle and flowy, not structured and icky.
*The mermaid thing almost never works for me but apparently it was the thing this year. I wouldn't have minded Kelly Osbourne's so much if it hadn't had that weird thing where the mermaid bit was an entity unto itself (and of course her hair color does nothing for her face or ... any outfit she might wear. She's kept that lavender for a while now but ... why? It's like a mistake that happens to an old lady at the salon). Many of the women who went mermaid-y didn't really need something that showed off their hips so much, usually to the detriment of their small breasts.
* Lace. Too much of it, both the amount on each dress, and the number of dresses that had it. It looks cheap to me in most cases.
* That really bright tomato red. Why so much?

I LIKED:
- Adele – Loved the top bit, very flattering. I think the dress would work better with a shorter hem, but it’s not bad for an awards show. Her hair and makeup makes it work, too.
- Halle Berry - If anyone could pull that pattern off, it would be Halle Berry. There was one photo of her showing off her leg through the slit where she looked like she was on the cover of a badass comic book, in a good way.
- Sally Field – The neckline was a tad low but otherwise I like it and it’s hard to dress sexy-not-slutty in your 60s.
- Jennifer Garner – Good color, good fit, nice subtle pattern.
- Megan Hilty – She barely makes it to the “like” list. Nice fit, good hair. Quibbles: The color’s a bit much (but quite a few people wore it so it must be in this year). OH, and seeing her on the 360, I see it's got an open back, which is a nice touch.
- Helen Hunt – I’m gonna give this one to her by a hair. Love the neckline and though the dress has a lot going on, the subtle color actually works on her and helps to make all the stuff going on look like a little less is going on.
- Jennifer Lawrence - a bit bright but not bad.
- Lucy Liu – Kinda crazy but it works on her.
- Katharine McPhee - Other than the neckline going to her belly, that’s a pretty swanky dress. (I might demote her. See the her 360.) WAY too open/low with that neckline.
- Lea Michele – She’s not my favorite but her dress was pretty and age appropriate, and with a high neckline she was smart and went for a halter to show that she’s not 80.
- Helen Mirren – Kinda weird but she can pull this shit off like no other woman her age.
- Nancy O’Dell – If you can look like this in a dress, I say go for it.
- Taylor Swift. Good color, good fit, she looked good in the dress (even though ugh, mermaid) ... I liked the top bit a LOT
- Rachel Weisz – marakara, I see your point about choosing between the top and bottom, but I liked it enough.

I DIDN'T LIKE:
- Helena Bonham-Carter – I’m sure they missed her at the prom in 1984 and wondered why she time traveled to the Golden Globes in 2013 instead. I do hand it to Helena for going her own way. But usually it’s a pretty messed-up way, and this is no exception. Crazy hair, a big lip purse… Oh Helena.
- Julie Bowen – The top looks like something on Brett Somers on “Match Game ’76.” Nice hair and makeup, but at least two too many bangles. I’m afraid she’s going to a key party after this.
- Rosario Dawson – You are a gorgeous woman. At whose ‘90s wedding were you a bridesmaid?
- Michelle Dockery. I don't even know what was going on there.
- Lena Dunham. Just not good. The color could've worked but that dress had a weird shape and a lot of extra structure going on that was just weird.
- Cody Horn – No. Maybe if the dress were a different, color, a jewel tone at the least, or all black. And she needs some jewelry or hair or makeup. Nice fit, at least.
- Kate Hudson – Your mom wants her vintage dress back.
- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley – WTF is going on with that huge bow? WTF is going on with that huge belt? Why, Rosie, why?
- Sarah Hyland – Pretty hair and makeup (OK, BIG hair, pretty makeup) but Alexis Carrington wants her gown back.
- Eva Longoria – Krystle Carrington wants her dress back.
- Zosia Mamet – Maybe if Neo were her date. And her hair and makeup are puritanical.
- Julianne Moore - Honey, with that white swath across your middle? She has a nice figure but chose to emphasize a flaw she doesn't even have? WTF?
- Emily Mortimer - Disco has been over a long time now, and what's with the high collar and long sleeves? Yeah, it was cold, but sheesh.
- Olivia Munn – No thank you to the top half. I’m noticing a lot of women had that straight-across strapless thing going on. I don’t like it.
- Sarah Paulson – This dress makes her look all out of proportion in a weird way. And the neckline is too deep and plain. And her lipstick is too beige.
- Giuliana Rancic – Ugh, just no. The top half ruins it all.
- Shaun Robinson – The top makes her bust look nonexistent and pattern/beads/whatever is going on there just annoy me. Also, she totally put on earrings that go with another outfit.
- Kristen Wiig – Too plain. Daytime hair.

MIDDLING:
- Jessica Alba – Nice color on the dress but her lipstick makes me want to slap some sense into her.
- Morena Baccarin – What a waste. It’s almost impossible to make her look frumpy, but it has been done! Imagine how fantastic she’d look if that dress were sleeveless and if that … that THING going down the middle of it were gone or greatly diminished. That thing belongs on a whole different dress. Great hair and makeup, wasted.
- Kristen Bell - Nice pregnancy silhouette but I didn't like that busy junk up top. The sleeves/shoulders were from the '80s and the collar was from Salem in the 1700s.
- Mayim Bialik – I know Mayim has trouble with these sorts of things. She not only has weird taste, but she is adamant about being modest due to her faith. So I cut her a bit of slack. This actually looks pretty good, considering.
-Emily Blunt. Not bad but the color had just enough green in it to look like puke
- Connie Britton - Not a bad idea but it made her look like she had no curves. And I wish people would choose between silver and gold rather than combine them. (I take it back! Move her up. See the 360 and her curves are there!
- Jessica Chastain - Yeah, her breasts don't look droopy but it's hard to tell when the dress looks droopy all around them. Nice color on the dress. But I also didn't dig her hair/makeup.
- Kaley Cuoco – You manage to look pretty awesome in a great-shaped dress, even though it’s beige, and then you ruin it with that lipstick? FOR SHAME.
- Marion Cotillard - Not bad, not awesome.
- Claire Danes - Not bad for a fancy '70s party. Sadly this is not the '70s.
- Emily Deschanel – Almost like it but Alexis Carrington and the Gladiator want their shoulder pads back
- Zooey Deschanel - Plain (except the color, which was a BIT much) but pretty, and she wore a few baubles for you, Mara! But the dress looked a bit like an ‘80s prom dress.
- Gabby Douglas – She can pull off the color with her skin… but why would she want to? It’s a fugly color. Nice fit, though.
- Francesca Fischer Eastwood – Too much mermaid, too much lace. (Though she looks great in the 360... maybe I need to move her up.
- Tina Fey/Amy Poehler - Tina's dress was too short or possibly too long (it would've looked great with a knee-length a-line skirt from the '50s, no?) Amy's pants were too short. They did show off her awesome shoes, but no. Too casual. She'd look great at dinner in that outfit but not a red carpet.
- Isla Fisher - I'm very close to liking this. I wanted a touch more depth to the dress's color.
- Jodie Foster – Nice color, and she’s wearing that dress for all she’s worth, in a good way. But the top bit is too “Julia Roberts that one year at the Oscars.” She almost made my “like” list.
- Carla Gugino - A bit too much going on there. Nice neckline on her but there was just so much dress.
- Savannah Guthrie – The best I can say is that it’s … age appropriate. But it comes from a different time. (Dear 1980s, why did you time travel all your party dresses to 2013?)
- Anne Hathaway - Anne always looks good but this was just not a dress I loved. Needed a necklace instead of two bracelets.
- Salma Hayek – Sooo close. That big bow kinda pisses me off. But at least she can put her slammin’ body in a dress like that and not look like a 10-year-old boy.
- Julianne Hough - Liked the dress quite a bit, didn't love the hair or pale lips.
- Stacy Keibler – She could look like a million bucks but she only looks like $50K. She can pull the dress off but it’s just a bit plain and so’s her hair and makeup. If the dress were thigh-length it could double as a beach cover-up.
- Nicole Kidman – So close to liking it, but there’s just a little too much going on. Cut out most of that gold junk at the neckline and she’d be in my “like” pile.
- Jennifer Lopez - That whole "skin color covered with lace" isn't a favorite of mine and a lot of people did it this year. On J-Lo it just looks a little cheesy, a little cheap, a little aging... I mean, she's va-va-voom but this dress isn't. Sort of.
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus - A little too much volume on the bottom half but at least she knew which party she was going to. See "skin color covered with lace."
- Maria Menounos – So close, but I don’t like seeing those seams in the front. I’m picky.
- Debra Messing - Eh.
- Alyssa Milano – The color’s a bit much.
- Sienna Miller – Daring, but lost in another era.
- Hayden Panettiere - The bottom looked like it belonged to a different dress, and the rest looked a bit stiff.
- Melissa Rauch – Some Carrington wants her dress back
- Nicole Richie - Color was good, dress was okay but again, why so high with the collar and long with the sleeves?
- Louise Roe – She nearly makes all this crazy lace work.
- Amanda Seyfried - Not enough color, daytime hair, weird patterns and lace on the dress. She has a figure and face where she could look good in almost anything but this isn't it.
- Sofia Vergara – Va-va-voom as usual, but a bit too much, if you know what I mean.
- Kerry Washington - Didn't love her hair. The dress was close to okay. Didn't love the belt either.
- Naomi Watts - I almost liked it but there was a LOT going on, and in the thumbnail I thought, Wow, Helen Mirren looks like a million bucks, then it was a much younger woman looking a bit staid, which seemed to be going around like the flu all over the red carpet.
- Jacki Weaver – That’s a LOT of green. (Meanwhile, check out the patterned hose on the girl behind her: W.T.F.???)
- Ariel Winter – I’d love this if the background wasn’t so very beige. Can you imagine how fucking adorable she’d be if the dress was black with all those bright flowers? Good hair/makeup on her, too.
- Catherine Zeta-Jones – I almost like it. She almost pulls off the pale color and the neckline, and I do like that even with all that bling going on, it’s still a bit flowy/dreamy.

ETA: E!News GlamCam 360 degree views! I have sprinkled comments and links throughout, but one new one:
Archie Panjabi ... why add volume to your tummy area? WTF?

No real answer, but a long explanation about it.

ropo — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:27:53 GMT

Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled - I've got to go with "Firefly," though honorable mentions go to "My So-Called Life," "Brooklyn Bridge" and "Freaks and Geeks." ... Maybe it's because I woke up this morning from a sexy dream starring Nathan Fillion, or maybe it's because Kaylee was so adorable, or because of the time River screamed and hid when she saw Book's hair. But "Firefly" rocked the house.

Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Wow, I can't really think of anything. Most of the time I just watch forensics and crime shows on Investigation Discovery, and they're not for everyone. I'll just let you guys decide what you want to watch, because I'm a terrible person to go by. I know that's a lame answer but it's honest. Because of my tendency to watch true crime shows these days, I'm afraid a few of the answers on this meme will be super-dorky and lame and I'll have to punk out and you guys will go, wow, she's a lame-ass dork. But most of you pretty much know that about me already.

Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death

That TV meme!

ropo — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 16:02:10 GMT

OK... I'm way behind curve and unsure of many of the categories, but I guess I will do this TV meme y'all have been doing. I've enjoyed all your posts on it even if I haven't commented.

So here goes:

Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled

I've got to go with "Firefly," though honorable mentions go to "My So-Called Life," "Brooklyn Bridge" and "Freaks and Geeks."

Maybe it's because I woke up this morning from a sexy dream starring Nathan Fillion, or maybe it's because Kaylee was so adorable, or because of the time River screamed and hid when she saw Book's hair. But "Firefly" rocked the house.

Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death

scientists have lives, interests, hobbies, families and friends.

ropo — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:20:03 GMT

Especially for denyeverything1 who is so dedicated to her job she might not see this for DAYS: Before and after meeting a scientist...

Carol Burnett! AND MORE.

ropo — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:12:23 GMT

So Tuesday was the Carol Burnett book event, where she was interviewed by Tim Conway! Firstly, though, I went to dinner with aud_woman_in and my friend J at Pizzeria Mozza. Nice place and my pizza was good - I liked the crust, which was obviously made on the spot and super-thin except for the edges. We all got pizzas, and here they are:

Audrey's pizza: Prosciutto di Parma, rucola (aka arugula, you posers), tomato & mozzarella $16

J's pizza: Bacon, salami, fennel sausage, guanciale, & mozzarella (minus tomato pieces) $18

My pizza: Bianca with fontina, mozzarella, sottocenere (minus sage) $18

So anyway. While the place was nice and upscale, it was a little *too* upscale, if you know what I mean. Like, they serve soft drinks from bottles (no refills, obviously) and they're $4-5 each. For a bottle of Bubble Up(!) or weird Empire cola (Empire also makes that orange soda I got at Rocket Fizz which I had to pour down the sink because it was super creepy.) However, I think J and I were just a little too middle class for the place, though it's nothing I can put my finger on. Like, the employees were nice yet snooty, and totally helpful but I had the feeling they were like, what is Ropo even doing here? (What'd you think, aud_woman_in?)

After our pizza we said no to their expensive desserts and went to Baskin Robbins. Then it was off to see Carol and Tim! They really need to find a better way to organize these events, such as, oh, I don't know, let people print out tickets at home rather than every single person having to pick tickets up at Will Call, which makes for very crowded long lines. Finally after sitting in our seats for an hour (no kidding) Carol and Tim came on to entertain us. It was very fun and they were very funny, but I wish Tim had let Carol do more of the talking. Don't get me wrong. Tim Conway = high-larity, but he was just telling random funny stories about himself that didn't even have anything to do with The Carol Burnett Show while Carol could've been telling stories from her book or whatever. A good interviewer, Tim Conway is NOT. We literally got at least as much from Tim as from Carol. Things we did learn, mostly because there was an audience Q&A and most of the Qs were for Carol:

-- She wrote this book -- "This Time Together: Laughter & Reflection" as a follow-up to her first book, "One More Time: A Memoir", which came out in 2003. Someone asked what she'd want to do if she didn't have the job she has, and she said she always wanted to be a writer and studied Journalism at UCLA (she eventually wanted to be a playwright and switched majors and ended up in an acting class and there you go, though I only found that out on Wikipedia just now). So it looks like these books weren't ghost-written.

-- She and her grandmother would steal toilet paper from theaters to stock up for the month.

-- Lucille Ball was awesome to her, first sitting and gabbing with Young Carol in C's ratty dressing room after Carol's play "Once Upon a Mattress," and said, "If you need anything, kid, call me." So years later, Carol was told she could have a TV special on the condition that she get a big star to be in it, and she didn't really want to, but she was forced to call Lucy, and Carol was hemming and hawing and Lucy interrupted and said "When do you need me?" and that was that and the show went on.

-- Carol said that they were there at the right time for a variety show and that nobody can do one now because of the cost and it's just the way things are, and that we should look forward, not back, even though audience members were all lamenting the lack of shows people can watch with their kids, and how fun her show was. Shows she likes now include "Modern Family" and "Glee" and she gave a shout-out to Jane Lynch for being super funny.

-- Carol seems genuinely nice.

During the event, actually before it even started, I got a headache which didn't go away until long after I got home to a bottle of Tylenol. Right in the middle of my forehead, OMG the pain. I didn't get very far into "HP:OotP" during my bedtime reading because I just had to close my eyes and lie down. :-(

Tomorrow (aka today, Thursday) I get my permanent crown put in and my dad gets all his top teeth pulled (all seven of them) and gets his new dentures. Fingers crossed for all of it. My dad is notoriously Scottish and hates going to the dentist, and my temp crown has annoyed me, so the real one had better work. Last time I had to get a root canal on top of the crown, so ... yeah.

And now for something completely different: an awesome ukelele version of MGMT's "Kids" -- no, really, I swear!

Yup, X-Files is in there.

ropo — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:18:18 GMT

Oh the funny.

ropo — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:48:23 GMT

Not Safe For Work, unless it's OK to swear at your place of business:

More tasteful than my neighbors. And quieter!

ropo — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:39:20 GMT

It's almost Christmas, so I give you a down-the-street, not-my-next-door-neighbors, Christmas extravaganza!

Edited, 1:00am: Ooh, an episode of "Clean House" I haven't seen yet! Yay! (I'm afraid only snacky knows the bliss this brings...)

I hope you have Ropo.

ropo — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:33:06 GMT

See the blazing ropo before us,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Deck the Halls
from the Christmas Song Generator.

Others that amused me:

He sees you when you're Ropo,
He knows when you're awake.
(Using 'Ropo' as a synonym for 'sleep' sounds about right.)

Good tidings we bring
To you and your Ropo.

Frosty the Snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose,
and two eyes made out of Ropo.
(...that's pretty wrong.)

There won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time,
The greatest gift they'll get this year is Ropo.
(Poor Africans.)

How oft at Christmas-tide the sight
Of green Ropo gives us delight.

Ropo, Ropo,
Ropo, Ropo.
(The First Noel)

I'm dreaming of a white Ropo,
Just like the ones we used to know.
(racist!xmas)

Here comes Ropo! Here comes Ropo! Right down Ropo Lane!

Brightly shone the moon that night,
Though the Ropo was cruel.

And so this is Xmas,
I hope you have Ropo.

O Ropo, O Ropo,
Your branches green delight us.

O Ropo of wonder, Ropo of might,
Ropo of royal beauty bright.
(This one pleases me.)

Lost of holiday stuff, and Jon Stewart too.

ropo — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:29:07 GMT

Looking to buy a camera? Here's pretty much everything you need to know about the different types of cameras out there.

The neighbors' Christmas lights haven't been on for two nights. I assume they're away or something, because it's too good to be true that I'll have silent nights 'til New Year when they take them down.

I haven't really done any holiday shopping yet. Luckily I don't have a heck of a lot to do. But still. Has to be done.

Kids say the darnedest things: Czeska, almost five: "You know, I'm Jewish. Just Jewish. But some kids, they're two things, like Gracie. She's Jewish and Christmas."

I love Jon Stewart. I think I should say that every few months to reinforce just how much I love him.

Short, yet rambly.

ropo — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:58:05 GMT

We have achieved rain! Lots and lots of it all at once, so it's bound to cause problems on the roads and in burn areas. We of course have Severe Weather Alerts! StormWatch'09! There is WATER falling from the SKY!!WTF!?! It's currently 47F. For us, that is VERY VERY COLD! But at my house, the rain's welcome anytime. Except that it'll flood my wildlife reserve (it's in the flood basin) and I won't be able to go for a while. I'm going to listen to it pitterpat from inside the house while reading my big book about Jim Jones, which I got at Half-Price Books for half off THEIR price, so I think this 600-page book cost me $4.

This morning has been All Pearl Harbor, All the Time on the History Channel. To be expected, of course. But you know what? I think about 95% of all conspiracy theorists (JFK, 911, Pearl Harbor, tinhats, &c.) are whackadoodles. (And the other 5%, you ask? CONSPIRACY!!)

Who wants a Christmas/holiday/Hannukah/Kwaanza/winter card?

ropo — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:33:28 GMT

I only WISH these were my holiday cards: HAHAHAHA.

However, I DO actually have cards to send out this year, and if you'd like one, I'd like to send you one! I know it's early, but my dad is freakish about getting his cards out on time so I just ordered mine when I ordered his, and I hope to get them done on time for once.

So, here's your holiday card poll (only I can see your answers, and please don't assume I already have your address):

View Poll: 2009 holiday card-o-rama

(Oh, and I'm too lazy to fix this and make a whole 'nother poll, so if you'd like, tell me which holiday you celebrate, just so I have an idea what to say when I write out the card. You can leave that in comments or email me (ropoATlivejournal DOT com)

Also, the "slightly Christmassy" one just has some green in it and a pine tree of some sort. That's what I meant there.

Just for snacky

ropo — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:18:20 GMT

Ooooh Miss Niecy!
Originally uploaded by Robbie

Ooooh Miss Niecy! I took this photo today at a "Clean House" yard sale!

Baa.

ropo — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:52:42 GMT

Gacked from jesshelga:

01. Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper at their LiveJournal.
02. Explain in five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!
03. Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on.

1. I took the photo
2. It's cute
3. Those are my shoes
4. I can see my icons through it
5. Pink! Stars! Converse!

Baby, remember my name.

ropo — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:12:18 GMT

You guys. I'm so proud! I broke snacky! I made her watch clips of the kids from Fame, on tour in Europe in 1983. It was too much for her. I WIN.

It all started when I saw a commercial for the new "Fame" movie, and was saying that I will go see it even though it's going to suck. I mean, it's rated PG. Not even PG13! However, there will be singing and dancing, and I will be there.

Here is how I broke Snacky, though you should know that it'll probably break you too:

(FF to 1:15 in this one for the musical number)

*giggle* Did anyone make it through all three?

Apropos of nothing, I saw a commercial for Kylie Minogue at the Hollywood Bowl and I'd go to that in a second. Even though I only have one album of hers. She puts on a good show! I watched one on cable once! I will not be ashamed.

A quick announcement.

ropo — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:20:03 GMT

Eddie Izzard is STILL RUNNING, you guys. About 30 miles a day, 6 days a week, for 7 weeks. Soon he'll be done and run into London. And then I hope he RESTS. Right now if you donate some anonymous benefactor is matching it.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124808643616
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EddieIzRunning

Iconsssss.

ropo — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:54:38 GMT

Icons!
wacky food etc - 7
Project Runway season 9 - 7
sewer grate - 1
snow white - 1
Up - 2
Wall*E - 1
Johnny Depp/21 Jump Street - 1
Working Girl/Big '80s hair - 1

If you take any, please comment and credit, mkay? Thanks.

Eddie Iz Running

ropo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:11:44 GMT

I haven't seen anyone in my circles talking about this, but I've been following along:

Do you know what Eddie Izzard is doing? He's running across the UK. At, like, THIRTY MILES A DAY. For charity. He tweets to tell where he's going, and includes some photos along the way. So far, he's run ten marathons!

What Eddie had to say before he started:

30 Jul 2009

About 5 weeks ago, Sport Relief, the Sporty part of Comic Relief asked me (and probably a lot of other people) if I would like to do a sporting challenge.

I had always wanted to do a big physical running challenge, and this seemed a great way to do it and also raise money to help Africa and the poorest countries in the world as well as projects that Sport Relief fund in the UK I was also going to be advised by Olympic experts who have worked with Sport Relief before. They would help me keep running in the right direction.

So I told them I wanted to try to run around the whole of the UK. London to Cardiff to Belfast to Edinburgh and back to London, running through as many parts of the UK that lie in between our 4 capitals.

They said great. You're nuts.

I said yes but that never hurt.

They said how far is this?

I said 1100 miles. I will try to run 30 miles a day for 6 days a week. It will probably take 7 weeks.

They said great. Is there anything else you want to mention.

Yes. I will run through England holding and English flag and then I'll run through Wales holding a Welsh flag and so on through all the UK.

But why not just have a Union Jack?

Because this is the thinking for my mission:

WE ARE DIFFERENT
WE ARE THE SAME
WE ARE UNITED KINGDOM
WE ARE AFRICA
WE ARE HUMANITY

They said - anything else?

Yes, I'm leaving in 5 weeks.

***************

Ladies and Gentlemen - my 5 weeks training are up and I am off on a great adventure.

Please sponsor me on the Sport Relief Donation page and follow my journey on Twitter and tell everyone you've ever met to do the same.

And if you see me running, do let me know. That will help to keep me going.

Eddie Izzard

Donation page @ Comic Relief

Eddie on twitter

Eddie's blog

Superawesomecakes.

ropo — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:37:58 GMT

My cousin posted this on Facebook and it's too good not to share with all of you...

Oh my goodness.

ropo — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:18:38 GMT

Pretty amazing.

Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince ICONS. Billions of them!

ropo — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:57:23 GMT

Okay, not billions. But like 170 or so. Taken from the official site photos, movie posters and EW photos. Both cast and movie stills. I played with color and cropping mostly... Enjoy, credit, tell your friends, etc.

Please click on the lj cut 'cause there are SO many more than I can possibly convey in 3 teasers:

P.S.: Do any of you know which HP icon communities I should post in? There are tons of them; is there a best one? Thanks...

Blame Canada!

ropo — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:01:42 GMT

Happy Canada Day, even though your geese make a lot of poop. If it weren't for you, Canada, we wouldn't have Shalom Harlow, Linda Evangelista, Pamela Anderson, Alan Thicke, Corey Haim, or Keanu Reeves! But there are plenty of good Canadians too, so I won't hold you responsible for those ones, when you also supplied us with Barenaked Ladies, Rush, Nathan Fillion, Sandra Oh, Christopher Plummer, Phil Hartman, and the DeFranco Family. (Oh, and for jade_okelani, Joshua Jackson!) I even dated a Canadian ... he got mad that I laughed when he said 'aboot' but honestly, that shit is funny. Also, Canada played a prominent role in one of the greatest movies ever made, "South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut." For that alone, I salute Canada today. Candian friends-o-mine, enjoy your day off!

P.S. I cannot be sad about Karl Malden's death, because he was NINETY-SEVEN YEARS OLD. I think that anything after 80 is an extremely respectable age to die, and not exactly shocking. RIP Karl.

All Michael Jackson, all the time, plus a random photo.

ropo — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:39:28 GMT

It's supposed to be 103 today. Makes me very sad. I do not want summer.

Watched a bunch of Michael Jackson videos last night on VH1 Classic and some high-numbered MTV. I think it's going on all weekend. I remembered that we gathered at my friend Erin's house (I didn't have cable back in the day -- no MTV!) to watch the premiere of "Thriller." We weren't even big fans, but it was just the thing to do. My favorite Michael Jackson is the very young one, with the Jackson 5, when his voice was so pure and sweet, and before he became a big ol' freak show. I also like the "Off the Wall" era; he still looked like himself then. Another memory is watching "MV3" one afternoon; it was a local afternoon video/dance show hosted by Richard Blade, a deejay from L.A. radion station KROQ; they played 'new music', meaning '80s new wave (see an example here). Anyway, it was the kind of show that kids would watch who would scoff at heavy metal or disco, and one afternoon, I clearly remember Richard Blade saying, "Okay, I know this is odd, but give it a chance, because this is really good"... and he played "Billie Jean," which was normally something none of those kids would have listened to on their own. Watching a few hours of videos on MTV and VH1 yesterday, I was reminded what a very good dancer he was. He stole a lot from Bob Fosse, but I love Bob Fosse. Then in college, in some media class, our prof brought in the original "Black or White" video the day after it aired, with all the car window smashing and crotch grabbing, and there was some sort of discussion as to whether that was appropriate on TV. As for his possible child molestation, I'd like to believe those stories weren't true, and he WAS acquitted, but ... yeah, people were paid off and at the very least, he was inappropriate with children, which, ugh.

Oh, and my Michael Jackson connection: I had a job in college reading his fan mail. The company I worked for handled the fan mail for Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, and Don Johnson, all very big at the time. Michael got the weirdest mail, and some of it was just thrown over the wall of his Hayvenhurst house, no address, with "MiJack" on the envelope. He got mail from Jehovah's Witnesses addressed to "Brother Michael" and such, too. Basically the job was skimming the mail to make sure it contained no threats or anything, and keeping the address to send them information on his fan club, The World of Michael Jackson. It was a very odd job.