Monday, September 24, 2012

... dining at the DIY ...

... one of the highlights of the televised Whitney Houston memorial service not so long ago was a moving testimonial courtesy of "The Bodyguard" co-star Kevin Costner ...
 
... last night, the A-list actor won a 2012 Emmy Award for his lead role in "Hatfields and McKoys" which was filmed in Romania, a practical manifestation of an earlier homily from Costner's film "Field of Dreams"..."if you build it, they will come" ...
 
... while I try to remain optimistic for my own Emmy-nom, I recall the sage advice of my grandmother who colloquially noted that in fallow times one should ... "tun yu han' mek fashion"...
 
... fusing these two inspirational sayings successfully can lead to a cool payoff, as proven by the home-made dining-room centerpiece in the bay-window of our new condo ...
 
... aside from raw materials, the main ingredient is expertise ... in this case, Uncle Rick, a ridiculously talented craftsman with experience, magnanimity and a can-do approach, was up to the task of marshalling this eager apprentice ...
 
... a hand-crafted trestle base, topped by Uncle Bill's salvaged solid-core door, required strategic augmentation and cosmetic touches before being painted semi-gloss, cloud-white to match similarly re-coated hand-me-down ladderbacks ...
 
... we built it, so I guess they'll come - for thanksgiving dinner ...
 
*** JAMAICAN GLOSSARY ***
"tun yu han' mek fashion"- (lit.) turn your hand make fashion
- be creative, use ingenuity to make something out of nothing

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

... who's that cockatoo? ...

... this story is a synergy of sartorial synchronicity, since, despite the occasion, I might have actually stayed at home if there wasn't something fly to wear ...

... I was leaning toward all-black default safety when my one-of-a-kind Mark Collins tailored shirt squawked audibly, "wear me!"...

... the vivid motif evokes body-ink and, in lieu of not having any tattoos, I was definitely into rockin' the rad patterns by proxy ...

































... Mark and I are of similar stature and he's seen my personal style, so he was able to fashion a prototype garment and deliver it directly to me across the Atlantic courtesy of Marisol, a friend from London who was visiting ... I had it within a week ...

... sporting my exclusive chemise, atop Duck and Cover black denim bought in Melbourne, a belt by s.Oliver that cost a fiver in a Northampton thrift-store and road-tested Clark's booties, this freebird was ready to frolic on the fringes of TIFF2012 ...

... naysayers aside, overall ensemble feedback was positive ...

... I'm pretty sure the colorful eyewear accessory by Adult Supervision put the finishing touch on a persona that was dubbed "cockatoo" by one who proffered comment ...

... in addition to suggestive breakdown of the word, cock-a-too, research into traits of this prized pet parrot is revealing ...

- beautiful, intelligent showoffs - can live over 70 years
- brains need stimulation on a daily basis
- social, affectionate ... thrive on being handled, loved and petted
- expect a lot of physical and emotional attention
- curious and, if allowed, will learn to manipulate you