I just finished watching 3 Women. It's been a while since I last saw it. Shelley Duvall's performance is brilliant, she really breaks my heart in it. She's such a desperate character. I think it's one of her best roles.
Robert Altman based the film on a dream he had. And it is very strange and dreamlike... scary. There's something deeply unsettling about the film and it's a feeling you just can't shake through the whole thing.
Colour is prominent in the film. Plenty of dusty pastel yellows, purple and pinks which all help to add to the dreamy feel. I love this scene where Millie shows Pinkie her apartment for the first time. It's the most amazing buttery yellow and white haven and Millie's outfits even match her house!
She really does appear to be "the most perfect person in the world" until things start unravel of course...
Harvey Pekar died yesterday at the age of 70. I've always been a big fan of his books and his brain. He was a real American hero. Please read his American Splendor series and of course watch the fantastic movie about him of the same name if you haven't already!
Tonight I did an 1.5hr meditation class. It was a mixture of guided meditation, pranayama (meditation through breath) and mantra meditation. It's the first one I've been to in something like two years. Why I left it so long I don't know. My friend and I vowed to go back at least once a month. My mind feels relaxed and rested, like I've just woken up from the best night's sleep.
The thing that works best for me is mantras. After 15 minutes of chanting OM, RADHA, GOVINDA, NARAYANA over and over in my head... I'm gone. The repetition is instantly calming and centres you into being more mindful.
Also, especially when you're not so good at meditation (like me), the images and stuff that pop into your mind when meditating (that you push calmly away, of course) are totally out there. It's a trip man.
The only thing I can liken it to is being in a dreamstate when you're awake, like woah!
Margaret Howell's recent s/s 09 campaign styled and shot by Venetia Scott. So amazing.
I'm definitely a Margaret Howell kinda girl. Her designs are classic, understated, very British with a French nouvelle vague twist, traditional but a bit eccentric. And she always uses the best fabrics. I would love a whole wardrobe full of her clothes.
This American Life makes me happy. I really look forward to the moment when a fresh one turns up on my ipod. They're always good, but this one from last week is such a cool concept.
It's all about first encounters. The last one is the best, it's about the potential messages we send to aliens and was inspired by this amazing article from The Guardian about the man at SETI in charge of the unique problem of exactly what messages we send out to other potential civilisations. He's kind of like humanity's publicist. The questions he raises are mind bending... and important.
Little Edie Beale's childhood diaries are soon to be published, which I hope leads to her estate publishing the lot of them. It's a move that comes from the questionable "Grey Gardens Collection" website which seems intent on sullying all that is good and holy about Grey Gardens, specialising in gross jewelery and other tack inspired by the famous Edies. But this is something different...
Written in 1929, I Only Mark the Hours That Shine, is a complete diary of the eleven year old Little Edie and apparently only further confirms her brilliance.
