Laura Minquini – Somethings

Flight of the Conchords; they made me think of the Kings of Convenience. The spoof version.

The world of fashion and science has collided with the extraordinaire fashion and graphic designers Jeremy Laing and Jeremy Stewart designs being featured in “Rocks and Minerals Magazine”. Considering my dad is a Dr. in Geology, this news are really very, very close to my heart. Ha!

A bit late on the news-given that this movie made its debut in Cannes about 2 moths ago-but here is the trailer to “Control” a movie about Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis directed by famed video deirector and photographer Anton Corbijin.. It is most definitely music to my ears hearing about it.

I don’t think I have to say much more than that considering that I am talking about
the band who “left just a small bit of music and an echo that still rings”. And how…

If Shary Boyle is one of my favourite people alive then I must say that the opposite equivalent lies in Frida Kahlo.
Her paintings are incredibly exquisite and seminal in the development of Mexican art. Alas, as much as I want to I can’t help relating her work to her life. Frida the person broke many boundaries; political, sexual, social and moral. I love the fact that she had the mouth of a truck driver; she always spoke with swear words, which ironically enough can actually sound very lyrical in Mexican Spanish. A friend of mine’s family who knew her detested her for this very reason, they found her crass and vulgar. So bourgeois of them…

Though she is considered a feminist icon, I think Frida was just a strong woman in love. And though she very much stands alone as her own person, Frida and Diego represent an amazing love story of our modern times. If France had de Beauvoir and Sartre, Mexico had Kahlo and Rivera.
I once spent a Halloween dressing up as her for every party, it was such an ordeal donning the costume, going to my mom’s place to get my hair braided with ribbons and putting on fresh flowers each time. Oh yeah…I had a Diego to complete the costume.

This summer, to commemorate the 100 year of her birth there is a major exhibit of her work at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Mexico city. About 350 pieces will go on display, including some on loan from collections in the United States, as well as 50 of Kahlo’s personal letters and 100 photographs. The focus,of course, is on Frida Kahlo the artist.
If you are around there, don’t miss it.

And on a final note, let me point out to all interested parties that one should avoid the movie about her life, buy a book instead. Frida probably turned in her grave with disgust with the making of it. The idea of an American studio making money off her life is revolting. As she put it many times “Pinches gringos hijos de la chingada” Her words, not mine.

It seems that everywhere I go in the past few days Shary Boyle comes up as a topic of conversation. Never mind that Shary is an amazing artist, she is above all an amazing woman, I miss her.

Here some photos of her from London, she is sporting her new dress; an antique costume from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. She almost looks like one of her own sculptures.

Very recently I found some of the music “gems” I used to listen to in grade school. One of my friends who lives in Spain and I spent a good afternoon on msn laughing (haha and LOL)about most of it. I realized what  bad taste we had in music. Between homoerotic dances, emotional songs about having sex-though we had had none-and a band who dressed like The Village People I really wonder how we managed to come out of it with descent taste in music.

The dance of all dances. “Baby I Believe in You”

So, like any other country in the 90’s we got our dose of New Kids on The Block, I myself had a very big dose making my mom buy me tickets for their México city concert. My favourite NKOTB was Jordan Knight and the routine on this video I saw from the fifth row. Screaming and bothered I thought he was soooooooo cute, of course being so innocent and young I missed the homo eroticism of his moves. Crazy hip action, a 6 pack, and on and off shirt with accompanying fashion wind, I bet this is a better dance than some of the ones dancers are busting at Remington’s in Toronto. Is he gay? I don’t know, but this dance looks like a routine that would turn on many boys -and girls- for that matter. Actually, I am enjoying it very much replaying it.
My friend and I never the less got very emotional…being twelve was so much fun.

What is making love? “Hacer el Amor con Otro”

This singer called Alejandra Guzman who had the voice of a 60 year old, or an alcoholic, but also had very famous parents came out with a very popular song that would make us go crazy and sing very, very, very passionately. Described by  someone on youtube -”Hacer el amor con otro”, which means “Making love with someone else” was about a woman who was unfaithful because her boyfriend cheated on her first and then she regrets it because “making love with someone else is not the same, there are no stars in rose shades, etc”. - I don’t think we had a clue of what she was singing about, the lyrics said things like:  ”it does not feel the same without your tongue poisoning my throat” and “without your nails marking my back”, “with him it doesn’t feel like I am reaching the sky?” Whoa! Too much information… We were so weird. How did we relate? What were we thinking?!???

The Village People, the heterogeneous version. “Princesa Tibetana”

For our grade six graduation (that’s when you graduate from primary school in México) our parents decided to throw us the most ridiculous decadent party; we had an evening formal at the newest and best event hall in my city with Mariachis and all. Crazy parents, spoiled children. The main event of the night was the different air band (fonomimica) performances by us. One of the acts was was going to be of the band seen below, their name was Timbiriche whom I never really liked that much, but their outfits in this vieo are amazing; we have a cowboy, a biker girl, someone in hooker style boots, and other randoms. Funny that there are 7 people on stage and only one sings. I am confused. What is even better is that one of our friends in México is going to see them perform this very night! I’ll have to find out how they look at 40.

And for plain ridiculous then, now, and ever…

Sublime.

www.escycle.com
Sami