London = Vintage Heaven

Woke up this fine Saturday morning and thought I'd wander East to Brick Lane to pick up some beigels for the week (not "bagels", you American!). Walked past a vintage shop. And another. And another. Wow! Brick Lane (and the off streets of it) is vintage heaven! Walk past the curry houses, and you will find a plethora of vintage stores... Wow... Shop after shop after shop. With quality goods too! Other than the 18 beigels I picked up, I managed to score some really cool finds. I think of it as "recycling".

PS. I'm not consuming all 18 beigels. I picked up 12 for my M & D in London, J & J. My plan is that the remaining six is for Monday to Saturday, depending on what time I wake up. If not, it might last to Sunday or even the following Monday. It should be ok, I keep 'em in the fridge to prolong their life. If you come over, I'll pop some in the toaster for you. They're really good.

Lille, France

Was in Lille last weekend. Lille is in the northern part of France, close to Belgium.

Highlight of the trip was seeing a Marikmekko exhibition at the Museum of Art and Industry (or was it the Museum of Industrial Art... Somewhere along those lines... It was in French; my translation skills ain't that flash).

Marimekko is a design house that proliferated our lives with their iconic fabric designs in the 60s and 70s. A lot of the "retro" fabric, prints and cards we see are either reproductions of Marimekko designs or knock offs (!!!).

But what stood out about the exhibition was not just its designs from the best decades of the 20th century. The Marimekko design house was created and ran by women. There were photographs of these outstanding women at the exhibition; it was great to see the exhibition visitors read the narrative next to their portraits with admiration and respect. They certainly had mine.

When one is from a country where the last two prime ministers were women, one of the largest organisations in the country is headed by a woman, and the head of the division you work in is a woman, we know we no longer have to cook those eggs every morning. Every one of us can make a difference. As did Simon de Beauvoir.

Rockettes, booked!

I have just booked tickets to see the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall, New York on Boxing Day. Rockettes are a clan of kick line girls that look exactly alike, that kick them high kicks to perfection.

At my first audition in Auckland theatre: "Do you know the Rockettes? Act like you're a Rockette!". (Rocker-what? Just nod...)

The person who auditioned me might be reading this blog, so I better say something nice. :) No, that's easy because I do indeed think he brings something into the room no one else can. Like gummy lollies. Kid-ding.

Anyways, after that day, I sure wanted to see these Rockettes! I'm absolutely shiked, I've got tickets for Christmas in New York... to see the Rockettes... still not getting over it...

On the other side of the world, my mate from school told me that he is spending NY's eve here with our other mates from school... Do click on the individual pictures... They gorgeous. A pang of homesickness? Just a tad.

Where is my fondue set...

Was life better in the 60s-70s? Yes? Free love!

Not to say the 21st century isn't without its beauties. We are the generation of the white plastic. The iPod, the iBook, the Mighty Mouse (Apple's white mouse). Contrary to pop belief, the Apple mouse is no longer a one-click as it was when the colour Macs came out in the 90s. No, the new Mighty Mouse comes with the funkiest little scroll bump that can get you excited just using it.

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back. But I still like photographs from film. They rock.

Weekend in Paris, Part II

Went to Paris last weekend and did some really cool things.

1 - Met up with my cuz whom I haven't seen in 18 years. She made us an English brunch. In her Paris apartment. Yum! Saw pics of our other cuz in Vancouver and his hot gf. Wow.

2 - Had really good Vietnamese (Bo Bun) for dinner. I wanna live in Paris!

3 - Went to the Moulin Rouge and saw the most amazing show ever. A Moulin Rouge dancer swimming with a few python snakes. Wow wow wow.

4 - Had my first nutella and banana crepe in Paris. They make them different there. It's really good!

5 - Went to Musee d'Orsay and saw the Degas paintings I loved when I was 100cm tall learning ballet.

I love Paris.