27 August 2014

Death and Filmmaking

What should we do tonight-- Suicide... or a Movie? How about both? 

A study has found depictions of Suicides has tripled in movies from 1950-2006.
Without a doubt the topic is one of the most dramatic ways to propel a turning point in the story. The character can go no lower- all is lost. What better way to show it?

Some of the greatest scenes in film history are those that capture this state of mind.

Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums" depicts a traumatic scene-- using only song and no words- to get into the mind of a man teetering off the edge. A wrist-slicing Richie Tenenbaum cannot deal with his incestual feelings for his stepsister and overall feeling of failure that his father bequeathed to all his children.

The hanging scene of an ex-con who found the outside world too lonely after his release in "The Shawshank Redemption" was similarly disturbing.A true magnifying glass on how society treats those that have atoned for their crime and how they continue to pay he highest price for their debt to society. 


However the subject of Self-death has been brilliantly represented in comedies like John Cusack's consistent failure of it in "Better Off Dead", despite numerous attempts after a bad breakup with his first girlfriend.
No movie has done more for the art of slef-harm as "Heathers" Christian Slater and Winona Ryder pulled off some homicidal-cides so artistic and poignant that they made suicide a craze that was too cool for their high school.




21 August 2014

Cash at Hand

Some banks have saved public phone booths from street extinction by upcycling them into ATMs. Although this forces Clark Kent to find somewhere else to do a quick change, it will be more helpful when Superman is short of cash and in need of some quick change. 
Us non superheroes can always keep cash at home if we practice our superpower of saving. 
Money may open all doors, and since the only way to open this ceramic lock bank is to break it open, your money will be safe for a while.   
Know a techie that got rich quick on a cyber stock investment? Gift her/ him this computer-geek-chic bank to keep the profits.  
Cash is old school so keep your bling in an original-styled hip hop monkey bank.




20 August 2014

Plants vs Pollution: the Showdown for Clean Air

For those of us who work in a city, we walk amongst a fog of polluted air that our lungs can barely filter. We breathe, we smell, we travel in a sickly environment created by ourselves. 
Sure, we stopped smoking, but haven't done enough to clean our air. 

We go home, slam the door and feel we are safe. But maybe not as much as we thought. Some parts of our home can be contributing to the pollution problem. To make our homes more eco there are things we can do like, choose paint wisely, make sure there is enough ventilation space surrounding large appliances, and create indoor gardens that can improve air quality, 

The best weapons/plants to use in the war against polluted air in your house are as follows. 

Aloe Vera. It can remove volatile compounds like benzene and formaldehyde from the air and acts as a real air quality indicator. If dark spots appear on its leaves, it’s a signal of high indoor air pollution. 
Plant a peace lily somewhere too, it  has the capability of absorbing mold spores, that it uses as nutrition.
 Keep a snake plant in your bedroom as it releases oxygen at night.
Got allergies? A spider plant cleans allergens from the air.
Whoo! We can breathe a little easier knowing we're doing the tiniest bit to keep our home's air clean... now let's tackle that city pollution. 







07 August 2014

Author of the Goldfinch Crowned as a Fashion Swan

Successful authors are usually praised for their mastery at storytelling but today one is lauded as a new fashion icon.

Donna Tartt, author of the best seller "The Goldfinch" is now perched among fashion's most influential as she lands gracefully on Vanity Fair's Best Dressed list of 2014 -among style heavyweights Cate Blanchett and Vanessa Getty.
It's refreshing to see a respected wordsmith join the usual suspects of actresses, royalty, models and socialites in the world of Fashion.
See the entire list (men and women) here at Vanity Fair's website but here are  few faves of mine.

2014 BEST DRESSED: WOMEN

Cate Blanchett:


Lupita Nyong'o:


Emma Watson:


Digg! My Zimbio