And so on

I should probably find something better to do with my time,

but making collages is just really fun for me

[Via http://itstiffaniemarie.wordpress.com]

Cry

I decided, just for 24 hours, to go about with my heart wide open. There would be no filter, no lid, no safety net between the world and me. I would feel everything, and let the universe hit me with whatever it had.

I hailed a cab, for I was due for a meeting. Halfway into the city, with the afternoon rays streaming through the windows, staring at the mobile TV screen at the back of the seat before me and breathing in the lime scent of the car freshener, I started to cry. Down Nicoll Highway we went, with the Flyer gazing down upon us, sweeping into Marina Bay we rode, to where the bankers were, and with Madonna’s Like a Virgin playing on the radio. I sobbed because our world is so peculiarly beautiful.

The taxi driver gave me back more change than was neccessary.

[Via http://clarissawrites.wordpress.com]

Welcome to the latest blog dedicated to Pop Culture

It seems that everywhere you go online there is a blog dedicated to Pop Music and Pop Culture.

So what is the difference between this blog and the others being offered

Honestly? I don’t even know but this is a work in progress and will only get better as I work on it more and more.

I’m working on a logo and registering the name, creating a website and merchandise among other surprises along the way so please stay tuned.

[Via http://thepopcorner.wordpress.com]

Madonna & 'Glee': How Did it Happen?

When I heard that there was going to be an entire episode dedicated to the songs of legendary artist Madonna, I about lost my mind.  I have LOVED Madonna from the moment I first heard her and have loved her ever since.  The combination of my all-time favorite show and all-time favorite singer made my little 1980’s heart skip a beat!  I always wondered how this whole Glee/Madonna union came about and then one my wonderful readers sent me this…

If you’re wondering how Madonna’s music wound up on “Glee,” you can thank wedding planner Shira Citron and her Gleek love.

Citron’s stepmother, Liz Rosenberg, is Madonna’s publicist. Since “Glee” premiered last fall, all Rosenberg has heard is “Glee” this and “Glee” that from her stepdaughter, whom she describes as “in her 30s but still a teenager.”

One night, Rosenberg, Madonna and her manager, Guy Oseary, went out for a business dinner. Oseary mentioned that “Glee” had called, wanting to use the singer’s music for an entire episode.

Rosenberg thought of Citron and started pleading. “I begged Madonna to allow them to use her music because my stepdaughter would never forgive me if I didn’t get Madonna to OK the usage of the songs…. I couldn’t stop my spiel about how amazing this show was.”

As soon as Madonna agreed, Rosenberg said she ran to the bathroom and called Citron.

“You are so gonna love me,” she recalls saying to her stepdaughter.

Citron and the whole Gleek universe!

Sadly, Rosenberg said Madonna isn’t doing any interviews about “Glee” but noted that it doesn’t hurt that the DVD of her “Sticky and Sweet Tour” will be released on April 6, just two weeks before the big episode airs.

Source: LA Times

[Via http://gleehab.com]

Inspiration - Madonna

Everybody knows Madonna. The challenge that I associate with her is her upbringing. Her mother died when she was young and I wonder if she would have been as driven to succeed had her mother been alive. It is something that stays with me.

I remember when I was 17 Madonna did the video for Material Girl. The inspiration for that video was a scene from Marylin Monroe in Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend. Since then I prayed every night that Madonna did not end up like Monroe, gone way too soon. What a surprise she gave me. Through the years, she has been able to transform herself time and again, keeping her spunk, and creating the life she wanted.

I believe that every person that survives all the highs and lows in such a public way and still strives for greatness should be admired. I leave you with that video, the first time I ever paid attention to Madonna. Don’t forget to press the Comment Link and let me know who inspires you.

[Via http://aviddiva.wordpress.com]

MDG is born...wow!

Madonna + Dolce & Gabbana = MDG, a brand is born!

After announcing her juniors line for Macy’s last week, the Material Girl is already making headlines with her next venture under her MG Icon business: eyewear for Dolce & Gabbana! Madonna and the Italian design duo have teamed up for a collection of six new, luxe sunglass styles ($248-$289) debuting in May.
‘We’re so excited. This further strengthens our relationship with Madonna, and it was a very constructive experience for us,’ Stefano Gabbana tells WWD. The new styles will bear the logo MDG, marking the first ever co-branded project by Dolce & Gabbana.
Another thing to look forward to: Madonna’s ad campaign for the collection shot by Steven Klein – the same photographer who worked with the singer on the brand’s spring ready-to-wear ads. The seductive images will have a film-noir feel, with close crops of a red-lipstick-wearing Madonna and, of course, the shades.
We can’t wait to get our hands on the collection, which will be available in Dolce & Gabbana boutiques and Sunglass Hut stores worldwide.

Source: madonnalicious.com

[Via http://mazeofthoughts.wordpress.com]

hello mr. toledano

After I posted my thoughts on beauty, Brother hit me back with some really interesting, challenging follow-up. You can read his comments in full on the post but the one that struck me as most fascinating is the idea that beauty is driving evolution. This brings up a number of philosophical questions. Off the top of my head: Is beauty linked to survival? How? Is beauty an evolutionary endpoint worth striving for? How is it better? What’s the alternative? Does beauty inform perception, does perception inform beauty, where does the circle of perception/beauty/perception/beauty etc…… end and begin? Lots of thinking for a rainy Friday night alone. Also: the image he conjured up of new shiny skin eating old wrinkly skin is squirm- and awe-inducing at once. You can read more about Aubrey De Grey if you are interested in that particular aspect.

The aspect I am interested in scrutinizing is where plastic surgery fits in to this equation. When one regards beauty within this evolutionary context, plastic surgery is a fabulous shortcut. If beauty is a desirable quality in a potential mate, plastic surgery is a bit of camouflage to sneak you past genetics’ red velvet ropes. These thoughts are all on my mind as I ponder beauty. Lots of questions but no simple answers.

Mr. Toledano has lots of questions too. A photographer, writer, and artist, his philosophical musings intrigue and provoke me. While his entire work is worth reading in depth and is generously availablegratis on his website, the subject that concerns this post is that of plastic surgery, or A New Kind of Beauty. In merging, I fleetingly explored plastic surgery trends, which, just like any other trends, tend to arrive at a similar image.  Except this time the object of similarity is the human face. So when Mr. Toledano wonders, “When we re-make ourselves, are we revealing our true character, or are we stripping away our very identity?” my initial thought is the latter. Today, 51-year-old Madonna and the 23-year-old Olsen Twins have the same New Face (is it just me or does the New Face oddly resemble Nicolette Sheridan?).

Another question: “Is beauty informed by contemporary culture? By history? Or is it defined by the surgeon’s hand? Can we identify physical trends that vary from decade to decade, or is beauty timeless?” Well if you attempt to read L’Oreal’s 100,000 Years of Beauty you can find an in-depth tracing of some pretty convincing beauty timelines and trends throughout history. And I think there are absolutely varying physical trends (Rubenesque vs Kate Moss-esque, duh) as well as certain characteristics of beauty that transcend trends (say that three times fast). But the idea that beauty is defined by the surgeon’s hand is troubling. You know, that whole playing-God thing: how can a mere mortal improve upon divine creation? Yet, it’s not the fact that we can improve upon how we were biologically created — after all, who can argue with bionic limbs? — it’s what we choose to improve. The superficial outside appearance. Erasing lines, changing Dad’s nose, switching out Mom’s boobs as if they were tires on a car. But if beauty is necessary for survival, what then? And don’t forget that plastic surgery is not the great equalizer to be passed down generation to generation. It’s stubbornly corrected birth after birth by biology. (Let’s not get into genetic engineering, I need to finish Eating Animals and then we can discuss).

Speaking objectively about the images below, they are not what I would consider beautiful, or attractive. You could say I am a fan of improving on nature in a non-surgical way. But from an aesthetic standpoint it’s fascinating to see the similarities of these incredibly plastic people. Did the scalpel make them homologous, or did they all ask for the same results? Are the surgeons who did this work just plain bad? How come Ashley Simpson’s nose/chin/lip job didn’t make her look like this? Is this some new kind of mental disorder, that everyone wants to look like Jocelyn Wildenstein?

One thing that strikes me, other than the incredible sameness of each person’s features, is how asexual each person is. I thought that Gina was a man, and Michael a woman. Even Yvette, with her overtly sexual enormous boobs, full lips, and aquiline nose, looks like a drag queen. I’m assuming that a variety of plastic surgeons performed the work, which makes a pretty strong case for losing one’s identity under the knife. But maybe they all went in and asked for the Angelina Special, and these were the results? That, in their eyes, they are all better versions of themselves, their most Angelinaselves? Since I don’t know any of the subjects personally and have never met them I can’t begin to comment on the psychological aspect of having this many surgeries. Yet another question.

It goes without saying (but I’ll say it) that they could all be mistaken for overly trussed and stuffed celebrities. (At least one of them is a (sort-of) celebrity. Don’t lie, 90% of you recognize the Ken Dude, Steve Erhardt, at least by face). And I guess, in some ways, having a shitload of work done is a signal to the world, like carrying a the new status bag. So, I leave you tonight with “an amalgam of surgery, art, and popular culture,” and some of Mr. Toledano’s work.

[Via http://dtangled.com]