New Year's Resolutions

Every December 31st just before the clock hits 12 o'clock I panic thinking about my New Year's resolutions. Very often I've found myself breaking self-promises and quite honest I'm one of those persons that give up easily if the aforementioned pledge requires a great deal of sacrifice, e.g: having to quit wine (yeah right!), carbs, and every thing that doesn't belong to the plant kingdom in order to get a six pack. After promising myself for many years a ripped abdominal area a lá Brad Pitt in The Fight Club and only getting a cute flabby belly a lá Lena Dunham in Girls, I just gave up on unrealistic goals and now I stick to the good old promise-as-you-go type of deal. 

This past year however, I realized that I spend too much time dealing with garments i.e. organizing my closet, taking items to the cleaners, doing laundry, folding clothes, removing cat hairs from my sweaters, and all the other activities that revolve around body containers a.k.a. clothes; and I've come up with a promise that I might be able to keep due to its simplicity and lack of sacrifice: I will recycle, reuse, and restore what I already own and I will not buy any unnecessary apparel for at least three months starting January 1st, 2014 (side effects might include nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth, constipation, insomnia, skin rash….I'm kidding no i'm not. I very recently saw a documentary about how the USA is  addicted to prescription drugs and now I'm all into side effects. Notice also how easily I get side-tracked). 

My first DIY project of the year is this simple white tank with an illustration from  Erika for Deletereo (I love you mon cherie!). Who knew that a color printer, transfer paper and a couple of plastic emeralds could save a plain tank top from the inevitable destiny of becoming sweaty gym wear? 

Let's hope that this resolution doesn't end up in the bucket of broken promises. In there I can find classics like: I'm never bitting my nails again (hands or feet), I'm never putting my used gum behind my ear for future use after I'm done eating, I will floss my teeth more often, I promise to stop ringing all the bells when I'm trying to gain access to a building, and my favorite: I promise to limit my wine consumption to once per month……right. 

Besos! and what were your New Year's lies resolutions? 

All pictures by CoCo (Gords Inmunds)
I'm wearing very proudly one of the nicest bracelets I've ever placed my paws on. You want one? I know you do.  E-mail me ;)
Support local artisans, love limitless and take care of your pets.

Love you all,
G

Mon chéri amour

Spontaneous, free, animal lover, generous, gracious, and over all gorgeous.
Erika Posada's illustrations for deletereo (Have you checked this website yet? I love it!)
Enjoy!

Imagine that your intentions can heal those who are not well.
Imagine that you can bring hope to those who are feeling helpless.
Imagine that you can bring strength to those who feel weak and fearful.
Imagine that your thoughts affect the natural forces of the universe, that you can bring rain and sunshine, clouds and rainbows.
Imagine that every thought you have, every word you utter, every deed of yours brings some benefit to the world.
Excerpts from "The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire" by Deepak Chopra.

Saul Bass Film Posters

Have you seen Google today?

From Poul Webb's blog:

Saul Bass was born in 1920 in New York City, to a Jewish immigrant family. A creative child, he drew constantly. For college, he attended night classes at the Art Students League where he had the fortune of studying under György Kepes, a master of the functional Bauhaus aesthetic.

In the 1940s, Bass left New York for California. He worked mostly for advertising until his first major break: a poster for the 1954 film, Carmen Jones. The filmmakers were so impressed by his poster work, they invited him to design the title credits as well. This turned out to be a game changing decision.

Saul Bass stepped up the sophistication of film posters with his distinctive minimal style and he completely revolutionized the role of title credits in films. Traditionally, credits were static and drab. They were considered so un-important, they would actually be projected onto the closed curtains which would only open for the first official scene of the movie.

Bass, however, was committed to injecting life into these graphics, making them as much a part of the cinematic experience as anything else. Introducing his signature “kinetic type,” Bass’ letters dashed and moved across the screen and frequently incorporated images other than text.

Titles became a spectacle to be seen. Film reels with Bass credits were delivered to movie theaters along with a note: “projectionist – pull curtain before titles.” 

Bass went on to create dozens of iconic film posters and title credits. His final projects before his death in 1996 were credits for four Martin Scorsese films: Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), The Age of Innocence (1993) and Casino (1995).

These are some of his best known film posters:

Belén Segarra

My hopes for social media go higher as I found great artists through "friends" of a "friend". Facebook is not that useless after all. I fell in love with these gems the second I laid my eyes on them. 

Love at first sight.

All illustrations by Belén Segarra

Check her out....she's pretty awesome:

http://elperroquebailaclaque.blogspot.com

Real Nice Thing in Life #14

Lulu's Adventures (or, Gloria's Diary on How to Write a Fantasy Story) 

August 24, 2012: I’m feeling all inspired. I started my story full of great ideas and romantic thoughts about flying unicorns and how to get to Gotham City.

Once upon a time, in a beautiful town called Candelaria, located in the Valle del Cauca region of Colombia, there was a little girl called Lulu. She was fascinated with animals, especially with unicorns.

For her eighth birthday Lulu’s father gave her a unicorn that she named Gabrielo. As you might already be aware, unicorns can fly. So Lulu and Gabrielo visited many places: they flew to India, Spain, Guatemala, France, and Gotham City (…come on, if you had a flying unicorn, wouldn't you go to Gotham City?). They often flew to Colombia. Lulu was fond of chontaduros and platanos maduros. Gabrielo’s favorite delicacy was guayabas (of course!).

September 10, 2012: I feel really bad for taking so long to finish a one-page story, which a fifth-grader could finish in fifteen minutes. I’m getting too easily distracted lately. (Should I clean my cat’s vomit now while it’s fresh? It’s probably easier to just let it dry. Did I send my blue dress to the cleaners? Oh shit, I didn't call my mom for her birthday!)

During one of their trips around Colombia—specifically to Anzoategui (a little town where people live forever and the water tastes like vodka)—Lulu and Gabrielo met a beautiful siren named Salt while they were vintage shopping in El Corte Ingles (ok…in real life there’s no Corte Ingles in Colombia, at least not the fancy store like the one in Spain, but for fantasizing purposes let’s just imagine that Anzoategui has a multilevel store with vintage clothing and shit). Salt and Lulu became best friends. 

One day, Salt invited Gabrielo and Lulu to her home. She lived in a castle high in a mountain, a castle guarded by a dragon called Book-of-Matches. Salt was forced to marry an old ugly man when she was younger. He never allowed her to see the ocean, and she never learned to swim. Salt was a prisoner in her own home. That horrible man was called Carlos Augusto Bustamante (inspired by Mexican soap operas). He used to bathe only once a week, and he ate deep-fried spiders and bats. Salt was miserable. She needed to escape sooner rather than later.

October 2, 2012: Today is the day. I went to the gym, I got a congratulations-for-your-great-job-letter from my boss, and my digestive system is not attacking any of my organs (i.e. I surprisingly don’t have either chronic constipation or unstoppable diarrhea [which I prefer to constipation]).

Book-of-Matches felt miserable too. Guarding a castle wasn't his thing. He was more the type of dragon that liked to play golf and go to the beach. He wanted to leave the castle and be free too.

Mental note #1: I’m sure I killed all my creative neurons (mental note inside a mental note: ask my brother about “creative neurons”…this doesn't sound right) or some horrible spell was cast on me. I won the “Best Story Award” three years in a row in high school. And now I can only come with this crap!? Should I only post Mabel’s drawings and let them do the talking? Nah, I started this damn story and I’m going to finish it!

October 16, 2012: I've reached the point in the story where I become super analytical and think to myself, “Wait a minute, if Salt and Book-of-Matches hated that fatso Carlos Augusto Bustamante so much, how come Book-of-Matches didn't just kill him with a burst of fire? And how come Book-of-Matches, (whom I’m sure knows how to fly, because what kind of dragon would he be if he were guarding a castle and only able to do it by foot?) didn't just fly away with Salt and leave Carlos Augusto Bustamante alone in the castle? Should I just stick to architecture? I Probably suck at that too.

And so Salt left the fatso alone in the castle and she sailed away with Lulu and Gabrielo. Yup, she couldn't care less about living in a castle or having a damn dragon that by all measures was worthless, or even having a closet full of Manolos. She took that fin of hers and left Carlos Alberto Bustamante full of debt and a broken heart.

Mental note #2: I’m starting to like the ironic tone this story is taking. Ok brain, let’s see what else you can come up with.

Book-of-Matches suddenly absconded to The Land of the Lost Dragons (I believe that’s north of Greece, a little bit to the left of Macedonia).

Mental note #3: Even though Meibol’s skills as an illustrator are outstanding, she wasn't able to draw a dragon at the proper scale, leaving me with no other solution than to suddenly remove him from the story. I’m tempted to do the same with Gabrielo. Or maybe I’ll just make him into a porn star. He’s got the face for it. Yeah, I’ll do that.

Gabrielo changed his name to Ben Over and became a porn star. That sonofabitch  Salt was driving him nuts, and even though he loved Lulu, she couldn't give him what Ricardo Grande (his boyfriend) gave him. Lulu studied architecture and started a very successful blog called The Papaya Experiment. Salt became the spokes-siren for Chicken of the Sea. She married Fishey Smell, better known as the shark actor who starred in Jaws 1,2, and 3. And they all lived happy ever after!

The End

November 12, 2012: I suck as a storyteller. But I’m happy that after almost three months I managed to finish this damn story!

Thanks to Meibol's Drawings for the lovely illustrations, to Alcibiades for the great pictures, and to my late dad for giving me a little pink unicorn (the stuffed kind, not the real kind, but knowing him he would've moved heaven and earth to find a real unicorn for me) when I turned eight.

Real Nice Thing in Life #14: Hip Hip Hurray! For friends that can draw porn-actor unicorns and gold digging sirens! And for fathers that will do anything for their daughters. I love you, daddy. 

Real Nice Thing in Life #17

Just as I thought would happen, I sucked at my audition. I've never had any type of experiences in front of a professional video camera before. Until  last Monday, I was a virgin regarding teleprompters, interviews, and bright lights. And then I was deflowered in front of six panelists who kept asking me about my beauty tips and how I would define my personal style. I gave 100% honest responses. I told them that shampooing my hair every day followed by massive amounts of hair conditioner then letting it air-dry even during the coldest months was my number one beauty tip. My interview ended shortly after this. After discussing this later with more knowledgeable peers I realized I should've said something more among the lines of: "I like to wear lipstick or lip gloss that flatters my face!" (Wow! What a revelation!) then looked straight at the camera done a blink-blink with my eyes and finished with a coquettish smile. Sure. They should be thankful I didn't tell them that the best blush is the one you get after drinking red wine and having sex. Now that's a real beauty tip!

I must say however that everything happens for a reason. My reason this time being all the cool girls I met while waiting for my turn at the guillotine  Most of them had some sort of experience as actresses or show hosts each one prettier than the last (and taller, and skinnier, and did I say prettier already?). 

I've been holding on to these illustrations for the longest time and I feel like today is the perfect day for posting them. They're from a very talented Colombian illustrator named Catalina Jaramillo Quijano. They belong to a collection called Sillas Musicales (Musical Chairs). She found inspiration in a phrase from Roland Barthes's A Lover's Discourse:

"Game: there were as many chairs as children, minus one; while the children marched around, a lady pounded on a piano; when she stopped, everyone dashed for a chair and sat down, except the clumsiest, the least brutal, or the unluckiest, who remained standing, stupid, de trop: the lover." 

That kid was me, and I loved it.

Real Nice Thing in Life #17: The feeling of adrenaline flowing through your veins while you do something that scares the shit out of you! 

All illustrations by Catalina Jaramillo Quijano