TODAY'S CUTENESS

I met these kittens the other day, and they were so cute it made me sick!!

MY DEAD CELEBRITY CRUSH

A far few months ago, I took a vote for which Legendary Lady of the Silver Screen I was most like, and you chose Lauren Bacall.

At that time, I was also going to open up a separate vote for which Leading Man of the Silver Screen I am most like, but I did a george w and went over your heads without your knowledge or vote and decided that I am most like (and wish I was) Rock Hudson.

I admit that it was wrong of me to remove that power away from you but let's look at the facts: Rock was 6'4" I am 6'4" Rock was gay. I am gay. Rock was drop dead gorgeous. I am drop dead gorgeous. What? you have never seen a picture of me? Well, just take my word for it.

Also, and this is the most disturbing, I have a dead celebrity crush on Rock Hudson. Which is only creepy when you think about too hard, so it is best to not think about it.

I am sure that you have a dead celebrity crush too. Anyone? Bueller? ...Bueller?

To make up for my disgusting misuse of power, I am bringing an actual vote but this time for who is your favourtite Leading Man of the Silver Screen.

There will be five candidates vying for this hot spot. Over the remainder of the week. I will do a quick briefing on each one and then open up a poll for your to cast your vote.

TOP TEN

For the past few months, I have been making a list of all the foods available in America that I cannot get here in the Land Down Under.

It is my plan that on my trip back to the US, to eat every food on this list. I am up to about 45 foodbits from cheesecake to apple butter to bright orange cheddar cheese.

Without further ado, here is my Top Ten Foods I Must Eat Whilst In The US:

10. A bowl of Golden Grahams cereal.

The funny part about this one, is that I never really ate Golden Grahams when I was growing up, however I am having mad cravings for it.

09. Peach Flavoured Hostess Fruit Pies

I know that there is nothing healthy or real about these sugar coated pie pockets, but every day after school I would ride my bike over to the convenient store and steal one.

08. Ben and Jerry's ice cream Chubby Hubby flavour

07. One of those garlic/butter/cheese biscuits from Red Lobster.


I can feel my arteries harden just writing about those.


06. Pumpkin Pie

The local specialty shops no longer import the canned pumpkin, and they don't sell those Halloween pumpkins here... which is really just an excuse for me being too lazy to make pumpkin pie the old fashioned way.


05. Arby's Curly Fries.

There is something fun about eating fries that are bouncy.

04. Enchiladas

Or any fantastic Mexican food which doesn't taste like it was made from freeze dried beans.


03. A big, bumpy, golden, greasy egg roll



02. A patty melt


Preferably from Melrose Diner in Chicago.

AND THE NUMBER ONE MUST HAVE CRAVING:

01. A giant CRUNCHY kosher dill pickle.

Now that We have all gone for coronary bipass surgery, let's wash it all down with my most craved beverage...

Dr Pepper

Tuesdays with Tony - In the Heights

From the 2008 Tony Awards, the above clip is the performance from the cast of In the Heights.

I have never seen this show, but judging by the audience reaction, it was the well deserved winner of the Best Musical Tony.

I can certainly say that the music is a definite change from your typical Broadway musical and it is refreshing to hear.

Have you seen the show live?

SHOUT OUT TO MY YANKEE DOODLES

I almost forget to wish all of my American pals a happy Labor Day!!! I hope you enjoyed your cook-outs, Murder, She Wrote marathons, and the last long weekend of the summer season.

Tell me all about what you did!

Watercolour Memories

In September, after a five year absence, I will be returning to the US for four weeks. Since booking the plane tickets, everyday activities such as driving down the street, going to sleep or watching TV have thrown me into deep nostalgic thoughts about times gone by.

I heard a song the other day which sparked a memory that I had long forgotten. Sometime in my mid-teens, my good friend (whose site may or may not be in my blog roll) and I used to go roller-skating every Friday night.

Afterwards we would somehow get our teenage hands on a bottle of vodka and get drunk on lemon drops. You know, a shot of vodka followed up by sucking on a lemon wedge that was covered in sugar.

I know. I know. Underage drinking!!!…

I had a good laugh at the silliness of it all. I can’t even remember what we did after drinking the lemon drops. Talk? Listen to music? Play dress up? Pretend to be disco superheroes? For some reason, the only mental image I get is of striped socks.

PS to Youknowwho – When I am in town, we should so totally go roller skating!!

MUSICAL MONDAY - WILLIAM IVEY LONG

Did I ever tell you that for a large portion of my adult life I was a Costume Designer?

I have designed for ballet, modern dance, opera, performance art and straight theatre but, as odd as this may seem, never once have I designed for musical theatre.

Therefore in today's Musical Monday, I will not be showing you my wide array of work in musical theatre. Instead let's focus on five time Tony Award winner, William Ivey Long.

Most people may be familiar William Ivey Long’s very racy net bodysuit from the musical Nine.

Others may know the bright lollipop colours and the campy costumes from the stage musical version of Hairspray.”

For me, costume design at its pinnacle of brilliance was reached with William Ivey Long’s designs for the 1996 revival of Chicago: The Musical. The simplicity of the Velma Kelly donning short hair and an even shorter black skirt will remain an iconic image for a long time to come.

Rarely do we see a costume that tells the character’s true story before the actor even opens their mouths. The simplicity of the design then allows it to take a step a back and give the actor the spotlight to tell Velma’s carefully created version of the story. Almost as if in the spirit of Chicago, the costume makes the grand entrance and then says “And now here’s Velma!”

This juxtaposition between “the truth” and “the image” captures the moral of the character and of the story therefore sealing William Ivey Long’s fate as my costuming idol.

What costumes have stuck out in your mind as fantastic?