sharing a short story

j.d. Salinger
a perfect day for bananafish
the new yorker, january 31, 1948, pages 21-25

click on the title for the full story

He let go of her ankles, drew in his hands, and laid the side of his face on his right forearm. "Well," he said, "you know how those things happen, Sybil. I was sitting there, playing. And you were nowhere in sight. And Sharon Lipschutz came over and sat down next to me. I couldn't push her off, could I?"

"Yes."

"Oh, no. No. I couldn't do that," said the young man. "I'll tell you what I did do, though."

"What?"

"I pretended she was you."

excerpt from A Perfect Day for Bananafish

a humanist thought

i was passing by the windows of electronic shops, when i read the breaking news of saddam's execution. the sky was metallic grey; it was rainy, windy and dark, despite being early afternoon.

he did not deserve to run a normal life, but his capital sentence, as any type of death penalty, was a barbaric act and it will not improve the desperate situation of iraq. i believe that being kept alive, under certain circumstances, is the ultimate punishment a man can receive...

christmas bless

it was a generous christmas. despite being far away from my country, i spent christmas day surrounded by three families.
trevor and linda were extremely kind and hospitable, so food and drinks were flooding at any time of the three days we spent at lofty's house. i managed to indulge without over-indulging on the edible goodies. we played tri-ominoes and bingo; watched gromit and the snowman; travelled across the world with google earth and played with the girls and their mini-pony's castle. we went to feed the ducks, had a walk in the park and proved ourselves at the playground, which, as my dad observed, looked more like a military camp than a children ground, like a metaphor of the obstacles in life... much more educative than the merry-go-rounds you would find in italy.

on xmas day the lounge was a sea of wrapping paper and toys. the girls were confused: they didn't know where to look at, so much choice they had. i received far too many presents myself. here the showing-off list as an occasion to say thank-you black on white to the doners. i received a lovely chunky bracelet which is unique because made of all sorts of vintage charms. i would define it baroque and sumptuous, delightfully decadent and bohemian. Steve commented that it is very me, and i cheerfully agree. thanks linda and trevor. my parents' generosity translated into heaps of little presents (including an electric broom, a table cloth, a pijamas, earrings, fancy socks, cristal candle holder, etc.) as well as useful money. Also steve's grandma's cheque, which arrived a few days before Christmas, turned out to be very handy. keven and lindsey bought me madonna's cd, confessions on a dancefloor, which has sit in my amazon wishlist for too long. steve covered me with little gems: amongst the books: the master and margherita in hard-cover; yoga for the elephants; perfume; gus and waldo's book of love; lost and found by oliver jeffers, featuring a penguin. the DVDs included the March of the Penguins; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Dogs and cats. see ya a common theme going on here? finally, two less expected gifts awaited me: a silver band ring with the double-meaning engrave reading: tu me fais turner la tete and, dulcis in fundo, a SPA day treatment in Bath, my favourite city in UK! The treatment includes use of facilities for four hours; a two-course meal; and an aromatherapy massage. my best friends from italy surprised me with more presents and cards: claudia and giacomo got me a red kitchen set of apron, oven gloves and table mats; vanessa got me a hello kitty set including socks, gloves and knickers; my cousins got me red underwear and two limited edition coffee cups with some good coffee; laura sent me a flowery belt; and today in the post i found a package from arianna and mao protecting an ethnic painting and a box of truffle chocolate. Finally, the present my insurance did to me was a casio camera which was delivered today as well. Excellent timing!

oh, and there were also presents from the tree on boxing day, tradition which i forgot from my last uk christmas. the tree offered me a mobile mobile charger. : )

it was good to see that everybody looked good: grandma eileen was smart and in good shape as usual; lindsey and keven looked very relaxed, and the girls were adorable. my mum kept repeating *che carine* (how pretty) and *che educate* (how well-behaved) all the time. looking forward to seeing them tomorrow at the natural history museum for the dino exhibition.

so, it looks like i am sorted for the next six months: i have a new camera to take tons of pictures (i am a bit behind after five months digitless); two paid SPA days; and, thanks to my boomerang presents, a billy elliott musical ticket (i am going with linda on 16th january) and six free cinema tickets (part of steve's joint cinema membership). in my priority list there are the last king of scotland, babel and, of course, the science of sleep.

self-perception

superqueen posed an interesting question: describe your style: i.e. how you see yourself as opposed to how others see you. this blog indirectly speaks about my style, but it is trickier to define it with words. moreover, maybe because of my age, maybe because i am about to enter a new year and my life has reached a stable stage, i am experiencing my annual identity review. i would like 2007 to be a turning point for my persona, but i have not figured out what direction i want to go to yet.

my look, as a mirror of my identity, is therefore in constant development. it is not a case that people can never recognise me in photos since, they say, i always look a chameleon every time. this day last year or the year before you would see me compiling long new-year resolution lists. i have always felt blessed that i found out, just on time, what i wanted to study, what i wanted my profession to be and where i wanted to live at a particular point in life. plus, when i discovered yoga i felt secularly enlightened. but, as well as cultivating my passions and interests (art, travelling, languages, friends, etc.), i feel i need some other *mission* to concentrate on. this could simply mean start saving up and generally being cautious with my finances, or go out and start helping strangers by doing some volunteer work, or bring my yoga practice to the next level... basically i would like to do anything that would make me feel very much accomplished and *pure*, but i have to underst first what would make me feel truly achieved regardless the others' approval or praise, which has been always my main indirect concern. the way i have been seeing my look so far is in fact the combination of three components: how i think i see it, how i think the others see it and how i would like to come across in other people's eyes. as a matter of fact, my style is individual, but my look is also influenced by external culture: street fashion and the arts - in particular contemporary dance and yoga, art cinema and experimental theatre. layers, contrasts in colour, shape and fabric are the signposts of my appearance. at times it can come across as a *romantic* look with a punk soul.

i am very fussy about textile, and this should say a lot about my personality. i always read the labels to avoid synthetic materials, such as nylon, polyester or viscose, and try, when my finances allow, to opt for cotton, lamb or merino wool, cashmere and silk. i favour colourful clothes, cosy jumpers, cool tees, flat shoes (ballerinas or boots - combat boots, riding boots, motorcycle boots), military coats, chunky scarves and jackets with a twist.

i have always to feel comfy in my clothes. my hair has to be soft and rebel, possibly of a warm and natural colour. i like my complexion to be solar and healthy, so i occasionally sprinkle it with orange/brown blush. my lips have to be shiny and moisturised (a lip gloss is always in my (roomy) bags), my nails have to be short and squared, every now and then i like to varnish them with ferrari red or cherry polish. accessories, always carefully chosen and mixed together, are usually the quirkiest part of my look, even when i look under-accessorised. i always wear a squared diamond ring (except when i loose it) that my grandma bought me and, since my granddad departed this life, I always wear a Rubin gold ring that he regaled to my mum on my birth day. steve and i share a white friendship bracelet, which is almost paradoxically a symbol of freedom...

so, how would my readers define their own style?

fumo di londra

after an impromptu purchase this morning (i got a present for steve' grandma), a lazy morning in the office and an enjoyable lunch with claire & fiona, i used my free time this afternoon to pop to the bank and withdraw some money (remember, i lost my card?). three more people, at least, had had my same misfortune. the trip to the bank reminded me the old days when a debit card was an extravaganza.

this blog cries for real photos as opposed to pictures borrowed from the internet, so in argos i wanted to replace my stolen digital camera with a red casio to immortalate these pictoresque foggy cityscapes, but no sale, as advertised on telly, was signalled and could not find the model i was after. so, i headed to habitat with empty hands to get my super shopping trolley which i bought for only £8. bargain! i tested it all the way back home and it succesfully passed the test.

i was feeling embraced and wrapped by the fog tonight. Despite all the travel disruptions and anxieties it has been causing, it is so atmospheric and so rare. the infamous "london smoke" has little to do with the weather. the london fog is a commonplace usually mistaken with the smog connected to the carbon factories, which affected britain in the fifties. contrary to this myth, i had never seen such dense fog in five years of residency in the capital. the weather in south west england is the only thing i have never complained about. we could do better with a few degrees more during the summer months, but what i like of it is that it never reaches peaks of heat or extremes of cold.

i am free ... my holiday is kicking off as i speak ...

have fun, readers

stolen from his blog ...

he will hate me for this, but is he not adorable?

nutcracker

my first exposure to the nutcracker was a success: i enjoyed and giggled like a toddler all way through. it was a quirky performance: snowflakes coming out of a giant fridge,terrifying mice in lady-bird costumes, gas masks and thick long tails. the costumes were contemporary for a contemporary feel which was perfect for someone like me who nests some reservations towards ballet(to).


a little girl was sitting next to us. sian kept commenting how sweet she was, and in fact she was! especially when at the peackock ballerina's entrance she commented: *that is pre-tty!*

the only disappointment was the end: clara does not wake up from her fantasy world... and so the story looked somehow incomplete...


also, only the morning after i realised that the soldier was actually a nutcracker, hence its title. wake up, girl! : P


This story brought back to my memory some childhood readings: la danza della fata confetto and la storia di clara e del soldatino di piombo... nostalgic reminiscences...

that's becoming a habit!

that's becoming a habit!

this is the second blank xmas card i receive this season. people are just too busy sending out too many cards, as the anglo tradition dictates. is it not better to post out less but right? sending a blank card or not sending it at all does not make any difference... except for the cost of the stamp...

the da vinci code film

after a long post about the book and its mystified symbology, a 20-second review is all i can devote to the da vinci code film.

[please note that from now on i will post my reviews in the homepage for better visibility and then archive them in the art corner.]

the film is more boring than the book: i couldn't believe to my eyes that the screenwriter/director revealed the murderer in the very first scene and that uncovered the teacher's (or rector's) identity before the final, crucial scenes. that way any attempt of suspense was avoided like plague.

visually it was exactly as i pictured it in my mind while reading the book. but no chemistry was hinted between the protagonists, no tension in the quest. moreover no surprises were kept aside for me who knew the plot and was simply interested in seeing how it was developed and adapted from the novel, which i read over one year ago. maybe this is what kept my attention alive.

tom hanks' character was extremely faithful: as flat as a leaf, as liveless as a wooden stick, as impersonal as in the novel. but it was good to see that sophie n. was more forceful and determined than i figured out on the printed pages.

however, there was something i liked in the film: the flash backs bringing the viewer back to the templars' age - the special effects were noteworthy as you would demand from a blockbuster movie; and paul bettany's interpretation of silas was as powerful as controversial for the disturbing self flagellation, his satanic eyes, disfunctional background and miserable (and abused) soul.

oh, and audrey toutou is always lovely as jean reno (star of one of my all times favourites) is always sexy ... even in the role of the dummy investigator Bezu Fache.

random pre-xmas thoughts

this morning i saw the twin sister of lia!!! same colour, same size and shape! it was tied to a railing, her back wheel missing...

***

nearly every morning on the way to work (i walk) i am stopped by someone asking for directions: confused old women looking for a dentist; German guys who lost their wallets; cyclists; youngsters on their way to an interview; etc.

***

nearly every morning i see a cheerful little lady walking up and down the street. i have spoken to her a couple of times (she is funny!) and always greet her. i am always repaid with a smile. she reminds me my grandma. yesterday it was a freezing morning and i was wondering why she was not at home. she looked a bit puzzled...

***

i am cursed by the aviation... after the august turmoil at the uk airports, this time my parents' flight risks to be affected by the fog. i wrote to an ex-pilot and here is his reassuring reply:

"Hi Silvia

Nice to hear from you again [yes, i quite often consult him]. Operationally, that is from the pilots point of view, fog makes no difference, but as we saw here yesterday in the UK there was a lot of disruption because of fog, BUT of course this is because of the sheer volume of traffic at this time of the year. Do not have any worries about the process of landing in fog... the autopilots don't know if it's foggy or a sunny day... they perform faultlessly anyway. I doubt whether the fog will last until Saturday.

Keith"

comforting. but i am still a bit anxious... such is my mind.

***

in my team two people (me included) are left. my colleage will leave in 15 minutes. tomorrow i expect to be alone in the whole department. it will be a fun morning.

***

MORE THOUGHTS: i have just realised that i lost my debit card. perfect timing!

LAST UPDATE OF THE DAY: just when i thought that i could start breathing my penultimate day of work in 2006, an author phoned me up communicating me in a polite way that he is withdrawing from the most complex and risky project, not only in my portfolio but in my department! joy!

but i don't despare. i have got a plan *b* and an ace up my sleeve...

announcement

... i am not pregnant, i am not getting married, i am not moving back to italy (yet),

but i am proud to announce that my cutie-pie of a cousine, at the green age of 15 (his birthday was yesterday, happy birthday cugino!) has set up his first blog narrating his main passion (cyclism) and the hard life of a biker ...

p.s. some grammar improvements still need to be implemented, especially the missing *hs*, which, as all the italian speakers know, are vital to support a sentence (he assured me that he was simply saving them ~ the *hs*). but there is valuable content in there and some candid messages. : )

I have just noticed that he linked me to his blog as a *bellissimo blog*... Let me stop here before i get too emotional.

correspondences

the time traveller’s wife is an intensively human love-story between an artistic graceful and patient beauty (claire) and an errant and a bit fucked-up, yet amiable, guy (henry). henry is cursed by his own gift of time travelling across his and her past (or, more rarely, future). although the time travelling dynamics explicated in the novel never convinced me completely (the author seemed to break her own *suspension of disbelief's* rules in more than one circumstance), half way through the book you forget all of these discrepancies and begin to empathise with the characters’ lives with a hard to believe sense of identification. the characters have to face an escalation of absurd, yet human, calamities proves and hardships that you end up perceiving the time travelling ‘movement’ by the same standards as any other family tribulation.

although it must be unbearable to experience a relationship constantly fragmented and disrupted by your man’s absence, the couple had the exceptional privilege of enjoying each other’s company twice longer and, in claire’s case, since she was six years old…

when i finished this enthralling reading and found out that the then couple Pitt/Aniston had bought all the film rights, my mind started a journey into the directing world. i suddenly became a (-n acclaimed) film director with the warranty to pick the right cast for such a quirky and profound story. i opted for an improbable match: a mexican actor (gael garcia bernal) and an english/french artist (charlotte gainsbourg) because, despite their very different backgrounds and age (she is 7 years senior than him), i could foresee a natural chemistry between them (and everything is possible on stage!). it was to my immense delight that i discovered they were chosen by the quick-witted and resouceful director Michel Gondry to star as a couple in the promising film the *science of sleep*. i haven’t seen it yet, but it will be out in london from 16th february, and i already know that it will be one of my top five classics.

the reason why i believe that gael is perfectly suitable to this role is that, before being a talented actor, he is a real person. in point of fact, what i really appreciate of him (apart from the fact that he is gorgeous) is his authenticity behind and in front of the cameras. he comes from an arty family with a bohemian soul, is socio-politically aware and proud of his country, and is not afraid to challenge himself with controversial and unflattering cinematic roles (all of which were excellent choices!). charlotte gainsbourg’s acting is genuine as much, and her irregular features and velvety voice add a unique magnetism to her girl-next-door beauty. her background is as interesting as her co-star’s: daughter of ex-supermodel Jane Birkin and poet Serge Gainsbourg (who sadly passed away in '91 and is buried in the exclusive Montparnasse cemetery in Paris), she is flawlessy bilingual. but her forte is not only limited to acting and languages: she is also an icon of understated style and, last but not least, a successful recording singer: her last album *5:55* has featured on the sidebar of amicacarmilla for many months now ~ testimony of my fan-devotion to her music.

how my friend described her pregnancy:

"... si muove molto. a volte si vedono i suoi arti spostarsi nella mia pancia e altre si punta sotto la gabbia toracica tanto da togliermi il fiato... ma ti assicuro che è una sensazione meravigliosa! ..."

"... she moves a lot. sometimes you can see her limbs moving in my bump and other times she plants herself underneath my chest, making me breathless... but i ensure you that it is a wonderful sensation! ..."

BALANCE OF THIS PAST W/E BEFORE XMAS

OYSTER AND CHAMPAGNE 1. a chatty dinner with claire and liz in brighton followed by booze and more chats back to her flat... house, i meant house. 2. breakfast in a hippy-style café (at claire's house doorstep) and stroll around the north lanes of brighton. bought funky petite earrings, and in a children shop I could not resist to grab cute doodas for juliette & ilsa. 3. power nap on saturday afternoon whilst lofty was preparing a plate of pasta. 4. dancing brasilian music with vale, adrian, richard, kerin and their friends till 2am. 5. meeting richard’s charlie’s angels: 3 lovely italian girls wearing adorable matching ‘60s dresses. 6. watching *white christmas* with lofty on sunday night. BACCALA’ AND LAGER 1. the seagulls starting singing at 6am on saturday morning. 2. the journey back from brighton. although it took only 50 minutes by train, after a night on a (comfy) sofa, it seemed interminable. 3. failing to impress lofty with a surprise lofty-centred shopping trip. 4. feeling rough on sunday. 5. can’t think of anything else.

all in all a great weekend!

mysterious cards

... a few days ago i got a card from someone called claire, but it is not from the only claire i know well....

and today i received a blank christmas card. the weirdest thing is that it appeared on my desk well sealed, properly stamped and with my full address in clear handwriting on it, but no sender ...

it's the magic of Christmas

On the verge ...

I am on the verge of an exhaustive breakdown... Although my job has calmed down, next week, my last week before Xmas, it'll be still hectic: I will have to say goodbye and merry Christmas to all my authors and close some of the outstanding issues. After a tensed and intensed weekend with Clopis & Giagio, highlighted by a fun reunion on Saturday night, yesterday I went to my company Xmas party and, despite having drunk two glasses of champagne, half beer and half glass of wine with soda (i.e. annaquato!), I feel hangover and exhausted today. Amanda attributed it to the cheap free stuff but I added to it also the age element. Anyway...... Despite my miserable physical state, after work I wanted to pop to central London to buy some last presents. I got a first class face cream for my mum (it is actually the best available in the market! ~ I splashed out but she deserves (and need) it!); a colourful scarf designed Paul Smith for my dad and the second half of Steve's and Lindsey's presents. I am done (on my side)! More or less... Tomorrow I will be heading with Claire and Liz to Brighton, where Claire recently moved, for an intimate night out. On Saturday I will come back to London at around lunch time and will go out again in the evening for Adrian's birthday. As you can see, I am truly faithful to the Anglo traditions: Xmas here starts on the first of December and it is synonim of party party party. Will I make it to the end of the week? I have to! It's Xmas! Sunday will be our last chance to sort out the flat before my parents' arrival (not even the queen would receive such a treatment!). But I am happy... I am not even worried of having to be the official (and only) translator during these Xmas holidays... Off to pack now.

Obsessed by Butterflies

El Laberinto Del Fauno

Finally, a bit of content and substance to this blog which has recently been a mere display of products! The only recent variation was that, following Personalita’ Confusa’s advise, I started criticising products instead of promoting them, but still this is not the aim of this site. Amicacarmilla is supposed to be a London diary ~ so the header suggests, but I would like, every now and then, to go beyond the “I did this, I went there and I saw that”, to offer a bit of critical angle and direction. So, here is my review to the last film I saw in the cinema: Pan’s Labyrinth or El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth).

Directed by Guillermo del Toro Written by Guillermo del Toro (screenplay) Cast Ivana Baquero ~ Ofelia Sergi López ~ Capitano Vidal Maribel Verdú ~ Mercedes Ariadna Gil ~ Carmen Doug Jones ~ Faun/Pale Man Alex Angulo ~ Dr Ferreiro

Plot "Pan's Labyrinth" is the story of a young girl that travels with her mother and adoptive father to a rural area up North in Spain, 1944. After Franco´s victory. The girl lives in an imaginary world of her own creation and faces the real world with much chagrin. Post-war Fascist repression is at its height in rural Spain and the girl must come to terms with that through a fable of her own.

(c) IMDB

My Spanish teacher will be glad to read that I understood most of the dialogues and sometimes even preferred to listen to the lines rather than reading the confusing subtitles. Despite learning with an Argentinean teacher, Spanish from Spain sounds to me more intelligible than South American Spanish because words seem to be pronounced more prominently and distinctively.

First of all, let’s clarify the title. Faunus (pictured below) is the Roman counterpart to the Greek Pan, a good spirit of the forest, plains, and fields ("Me? I've had so many names... Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce. I am the mountain, the forest and the earth. I am... I am a faun. Your most humble servant, Your Highness" Pan). El Laberinto del Fauno is an epic story developing within two parallel settings: a fantasy kingdom based on Spanish folklore and Greek mythology is set against a historically defined background in the 20th century: the '44 Spanish civil war. Here an analogy with Tim Burton’s gothic stories and parallel worlds is inescapable, but, unlike his films, Del Toro’s two realms never really interfere one another. Ofelia’s imagination is their only point of contact, and her infiltration into Pan’s labyrinth is absolutely legitimate because her fantasy, nourished by heaps of fairy tales and mythical stories, belongs to that underground *reality* which will eventually rescue her. From a formal viewpoint, the tension and suspense were so well apportioned throughout the film that you could not avoid to be apprehensive for Ofelia’s destiny during her odd quests, even when her mistake of falling into the Pale Man's banqueting temptation looked implausible. However, it was the persona of the captain Vidal, head of the fascist faction hunting the communist guerrilla in the remote countryside of an unspecified Spain, what I was wary of most! He was more than just a token of pride and evil. His daily ritual gestures and vicious reactions belied a perverted behaviour which went beyond human cruelness and clearly brought to mind Hitler’s pathological zest (did you watch the psychological analysis in Der Untergang starring a startling Bruno Ganz as a convincing declining Fuerer, who you may also remember in Der Himmel ueber Berlin?). My comrades’ first response to this film was “cringy” (Amanda literally cringed and Joe kept covering his eyes in disgust), but they would agree with me that the really terrifying scenes were confined to the historical (and alas truthful) atrocities: the extreme medical remedies doctor Ferreiro had to resource to and the fascists’ torture methods and suppressive violence against any rebellious suspect, which were on occasion unwarranted, and thus even more excruciating. Someone argued that the Manichean distinction between communism and fascism was too one-sided and polirised, but it is a fact that that contextualised communist party was at the time a better option to Franco's long dictatorship. Visually, the contrast between the lunar landscape and the warm colours of father-earth betrayed strong artistic influences. Goya's Saturn Devouring His Son (see below), by way of example, indubitably inspired the Pale Male character (above), and all the other creatures could have easily materialised from Borges’ book, El libro de los seres imaginarios, 1967 (The Book of Imaginary Beings, 1969). The many cultural references to mythology (e.g. the god Pan, the labyrinth evoking the Minotaur’s story, etc.) added an ageless lure to this film which will be arguably cited amongst fantasy classics, such as The Brothers Grimm (which I haven't seen), Die Unendliche Geschichte and Alice in Wonderland (to name just a few).

A White Christmas

This Christmas will be different for many reasons. Firstly, instead of decorating our tree with the usual balls, we filled it with animals. Secondly, it will be a white Christmas because I will stay in north of Europe, closer to Father Xmas' land. I have mixed feelings about it: I promised to myself to never waste a day of my free time from work in London. My motto is: holidays are to escape from the city life. In this regard, I feel somehow trapped in a bubble. But, on the other hand, I look forward to hosting Christmas Eve in my new pad, which I tried to fill with all the warmth I could.

My parents will land on the 23th and spend two weeks with us. My mum is very excited about it ~ I hadn't seen her so engaged in her Christmas shopping for a long time ~ which is also handy because she is helping me with it. My dad is preparing himself to the hectic city life by going on a 5km walk every day. Sweet! On Xmas eve, as per catholic tradition, meat is forbidden. It is a kind of fasten, although fish is allowed ~ or better, welcome! In the old days, people used to fasten for real; nowadays, it is an excuse to treat yourself with a healthy fish meal before the grande bouffé on Christmas Day. But do not dare to touch meat on the 24th or you will be damned! And everybody of course respects this tradition. So, I am planning to wake up reasonably early that day and pop to the local farmer market and (literally) grab some oysters (to be rigorously eaten with champagne); some wild mushrooms to spread on crostoni for my mum’s delight (she adores them!); some black squid ink spaghetti with fresh mussels; and a selection of British cheese for my dad's palate's pleasure... Not too bad for an amateurish fish cook.

On Christmas Day we will head to Surrey for a proper British Xmas kindly hosted by the Lofty family. For once, all Steve's closest family will be reunited. He is truly excited about it. We are also trying to be very well organised this year: we split presents' responsibilities: I am in charge for Juliette, Ilsa, Lindsey and my parents' presents and Steve for his parents, grandmother, brother. Having said that, we still have a long way to go...

Of course, I will miss my dearest friends to death this year. I hope they will forgive my absence and will follow Clopis' example.

Merry Christmas to all the blogreaders!

London ~ where Russia meets USA

If you are bored of your provincial life, come to London ~ the city where everything can (and does) happen!!

This last three weeks we heard: 1. of a Bond-like sinister encounter (in one of my usual restaurants) followed by the homicide of an ex-spy in the usual Russian fashion (they keep calling it a mystery when I cannot trace any mystery in it); and 2. witnessed a US-style mini-tornado which hit our neighbouring district! All the radiations spread around London should give interesting clues and tracks to the investigators, but shall we ever know the official truth? ... Of course, more than this triggers my excitement in this damned city... right now, one of the two oldest (ever) friends of mine is currently landing at Stanstead Airport, and I am thrilled. It's her first (ever) visit, after all. It is going to be two very intense days & nights!!! More on Sunday ~ anti-climax and recovery day! UPDATE: I am still up waiting... and waiting... which is the least I can do in sign of gratitude for their visit just two (working days) after their long flight back from the earth paradise... From paradise to hell.

My Man is an Armchair

Anti-seduction devices

While browsing here in search of inspiration for my slow Xmas shopping, I selected for you some products which, despite being advertised as fashion tricks, I paradoxically find anti-seduction devices. So, young girls, stay clear from them!

~ Tapes to hide bra's straps... My question is: how can you hide the tape? Is it better to show the tape or to see the straps, which I personally find seductive also under an evening dress for a Carrie B look.

***

~ How perverse is this: censoring nipple concealer?!

***

~ Cleavage cupcakes, for a look a la Clarisse:

***

~ And, last, a decadence tool belt. Is this burlesque accessory supposed to be sexy? Apparently so. And at £160, it doesn't come cheap. ... For stylish, sassy, fun toys & accessories, visit instead my friend's website. ; )

Quiz Time

Thanks Lovelysalome for the link.