The New 90210, Changes Already?

Okay, so I have to admit that although I don't watch Gossip Girl, I do have a slight addiction to the new 90210. Okay, maybe addiction is pushing it. I have a nostalgia for the old 90210 followed up with a dvr set to record the new one. Fair? If I miss an episode it doesn't break my heart, I don't try to watch it online, and it's not exactly a topic of conversation among my group of friends.

But like it or not, I gotta say that I'm shocked to hear the new casting news. According to Entertainment Weekly, Dustin Milligan will not be returning full time next season. I have to admit that this news leaves me rather disappointed. I kind of liked the fact that the hunk on the show, wasn't exactly a hunk, and he looked like he could have been in high school, oh and he seemed like a nice guy....wait. WAIT WAIT WAIT. I get it. None of the aforementioned qualities produce high ratings. Right. I forgot about that.

Either way, Dustin Milligan is a Canadian actor, who I've seen in random Canadian shows during my college years and therefore, I have a soft spot for him. I can't guarantee I will continue to watch after this season, but then again, I can't guarantee that I would have continued to watch even if Dustin Milligan would've stayed on.

Where to Eat: Elephant and Castle

Located in the West Village, Elephant and Castle is a small, reasonably priced restaurant that a close friend and I happened to stumble upon one night. I am all about trying new places to eat, trying new cuisine's and pairings that I would have never originally thought could go together.

I guess I actually didn't really do that this time, but she did, so I'll live vicariously through her decisions. For a casual, late-night dinner, she decided on a shrimp and bacon sandwich, while I stuck with potato, leek, and bacon soup. Both sound like standard, American fare, but ended up being a pleasant surprise to the palate. A surprising element was added to her sandwich with the basil vinaigrette. And my soup? A complete surprise. While I had expected a creamy tomato with nice chunks of leek and bacon, I ended up with a brothy tomato based soup with lots of veggies, somewhat disappointing until the first bite.

For dessert? Roasted hazelnut, chocolate, and whip cream crepe (split between the two of us). Elephant and Castle isn't anything super special, but it IS delicious, so if you're in the area, looking for something reasonably priced with a great atmosphere, check it out.

http://www.elephantandcastle.com/

Lindsay Lohan Fornarina Commercial

Okay, I pretend to be this really cool indie chick. And sometimes I am, but sometimes I have absolute pathetic tastes that I'm ashamed of. One is my desperate hope that one day, maybe just some day, Lindsay Lohan can revitalize her career.

I know, she's tacky. She's annoying, she's a fame whore, but all in all, she is an ok actress and there is something about her that I want to see thrive. I read all the gossip articles about her, I enjoy reading interviews with her, and I hope that some day she can get it together.

Well, today is not that day. I just watched her Fornarina commercial, which I refuse to provide a link to because the last thing I want to do is actually show anyone this atrocity.

Let me just describe it for you. A stick-thin, platinum blond Lindsay Lohan, looking very Barbie-esque as 80s neon graphics swirl behind and around her to tacky pop music. Remember Jem from the 80s? It's like Barbie, meets Jem, meets Butter's (from South Park) "Stick it in my Butt" video. Lindsay's job in this whole fiasco? To say words like smack, wink, etc., while getting cheeky with the camera.

After this, I can only feel as though the true reason I am waiting for Lindsay to once again reign supreme is so I can watch it all come crashing down again. It was fun the first time, and I have a feeling that it hasn't lost it's appeal.

Why I Can't Read "Chick-Lit" Novels

Okay, I am constantly exposing my close friends to new authors and books. Anyone that knows me knows that I love to read. Magazines, periodicals, gossip sites, fashion blogs, classic literature, everything. However, there is one type of book I usually stray away from. That is the so-called Chick-Lit novel.

Perhaps it's the fact that I pride myself and reading rather masculine literature, or that I secretly have a dream of reading an Ellis novel and seeing a gorgeous brooding male across the coffee shop reading the same novel and we'd be forever linked by our love of literature, or maybe it's just that I always claim to not be that girly.

Well, to humor a good friend, I recently read Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger. The story is about Bette, a newcomer to the New York City PR scene. This good friend of mine thought it would be an appropriate title for me considering my internship in entertainment PR. Knowing I would never willingly go buy this book myself, within days of recommendation, she had thrust her copy into my hands. Now I remember the real reason I don't even buy these books.

They are too damn wonderful and addicting. I couldn't put it down. Literally, I had thoughts of skipping work in order to read this book. And the worst part, the entire time I really just wanted that to be my life. I loved to drama, the name dropping, the fashion references, and most importantly, the love story. Feminist I may be, but nothing gets to me like a happy ending.

So, I may not be filling my bookshelves with Chick-Lit novels from this day forward, but I'm definitely not ruling any of them out. Turns out, I may be much more feminine then I give myself credit for. But, let's keep this between you and me, because if any of my guy friends find out, I'll have to endure hours of "I told you so." ;)

Too Much To Handle: Inside

I am highly desensitized towards horror films. I have always loved being scared, ALWAYS. I used to read The Berenstein Bears and the Spooky Tree at least once a week. My childhood bookshelf was full of the Goosebumps series, all of the Scary Stories collections and the like. As I've grown older, this love of safe fear and terror has only grown, and become more visual.

In college, as a film minor, I took classes on Vampires in Literature and Film, as well as a seminar on Horror and Sci-Fi Film. I gave speeches on George Romero, wrote papers on female survivors in zombie films, and also analyzed the work of French horror director Alexandre Aja. Thus began my love of French horror film.

Anyone who has seen Haute Tension knows how gory, horrifying, and generally fucked up it is. Well, let me tell you, if you don't follow European and French horror film, this is nothing. A short while ago I watched Frontiers, one of the Afterdark Horrorfest Films, and hands down the most disturbing film I had seen to date. The entire time my jaw was on the floor, and although it made me a bit sick, I felt the need to see just how far the French would go.

I turned to Netflix, Amazon, whatever I could to find a few more recent French horror films that may rival the disturbance caused by these two previous films. Well, congratulations France, you win. I just watched Inside.

Strike that, I didn't actually watch the whole thing. I couldn't. It made me so viscerally ill that I actually had to turn it off. Between the multiple stabbings, heads being blown off, eyes being gouged out, and pregnant women taking a beating I thought I had been through it all. I handled all that, and then I was expected to handle a scissor given at-home c-section? No. No no no no. I don't think so. That was not part of the deal.

So, I stopped. I just couldn't do it anymore. I totally pussed out. And ya know what, I'm okay with that. I'm actually rather glad that even a horror phenom such as myself has limits. Although, it's probably a bad thing that I'm now suspicious of all the French people I'm surrounded by....

Hipster Must-See: Warriors

http://vassifer.blogs.com/

In my previous post, I discussed Walter Hill's Streets of Fire and the epic-ness that is the costuming of that film. Well, after my foray into Hill's box-office bomb, I picked up another Hill film, this time with a bit more press, The Warriors.

First off, let me just say that I can only fully appreciate this film because I live in New York. If I didn't, I just could not have even understood how epic this is. Second, if anyone knows where I can get a Warrior's vest please let me know, I think that is a necessity for my life.

So, the gangs of New York are sick of being at war, and Cyrus (leader of all that is good and righteous in the gans) calls for a cease fire between the gangs, so that they may focus their attention on much more important things, such as getting the fuzz. During the big meeting in the Bronx, Cyrus is killed, and everyone blames the Warriors. Now, the Warriors must make it from the Bronx to Coney Island via subway, with every other gang in New York after them. Joined by the Bronx Harlot, Mercy, the Warriors are up for the battle of a lifetime, only to make it to.....Coney Island. Really? That's where they want to get? Huh. Wow....I guess that's cool, that you'll battle that hard for....Coney...Island. Okay, wait, really?

So the plot is less then believable, but who cares? All the gangs where matching outfits and you're surprised when they don't break out into song and dance. Oh! And there is a gang of solely girls who use against the Warriors. Baseball bats, police battles, knife fights, undercover cops, this movie's got it all. That must be why Tony Scott is planning on remaking it in 2010.

Oh man, I gotta stop talking about this movie, it's making me want to beat people up again....and wear leather vests. Rent it, or own it, now.

Fashion and Film: Betsey Johnson versus Streets of Fire

While I was home in Montana last week I spent a day on the couch catching up on movies I had never seen or heard of that my dad loves. Now, what you have to understand about my family is that my parents are young, and therefore, their tastes are not your typical familial tastes. My parents live for the late seventies (hard rock, not disco), and the 80s (and all the gloriously large hair that goes with it, though they haven't went so far as to implement this into their lives, thank god).

Anyway, so my parents have always loved Walter Hill's film, Streets of Fire. When I was younger, I could not have cared less, but now, appreciating Diane Lane for the fine actress she is, I have started to go back and watch her films, so lucky for me, Streets of Fire was on the DVR. Lane's character, Ellen Aim is this hard-rockin' sexpot songstress who gets herself into a bit of trouble. Throughout most of the film she is running around in this black leather and red spandex get-up that is completely unexplainable. And nearly impossible to find a picture of.

Well, I think my beloved Betsey Johnson watched Streets of Fire while designing her fall collection, because this is rather reminiscent of Ms. Ellen Aim:



Or maybe BJ went through a Diane Lane phase, and stole this idea from Ladies and Gentleman, The Fabulous Stains, another Diane Lane film from the 80s. Ahhhh, the 80s, we should have never let you go.