Girls, girls, girls

After watching the same show online for years I've finally found a new one.

Girls.

I had seen bits and bobs (literally) of it on HBO when I still had cable, and a television, last year but it never really hooked me. 

Until I decided to give it a chance.

Directed by, written by and starring the inimitable Lena Dunham, Girls tells the story of a group of 20-something women (or girls?) living in New York City.

Sound familiar?

Dunham plays Hannah Horvath, a budding, yet struggling, writer with a propensity (also known as obsessive-compulsive disorder) for the number 8. 

Or 64.

Apart from portraying OCD with brutal honesty, and courage, Girls aims to portray a number of issues, including friendship, relationships, sex and addiction with integrity. 

It also nailed loneliness. 

Another great aspect of the show is the music. From well-known hits to lesser-known gems, the 3 seasons I perused over a series of near-hibernation-like days introduced, and re-introduced, me to some great tunes.

Including...

 britney bitch

icona pop

cali swag district

the echo friendly

... and the previously referenced Robyn.

Not to mention the fact that season 2 featured Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, as Hannah's black, Republican boyfriend.

Said Glover about his role on the show: I need those people too, (referring to haters) because if everyone enjoys what you're doing you're just not growing. You need a conversation to get to that point.

And this is why he has haters... 

But personally, I'm a lover.

Speaking of love... who else LOVED Yoko Ono at the Grammys this weekend?

Peace out!

The better way? Me thinks not

Now that I've been back in the city for a little over three months I can safely say the honeymoon is over!

Taking the metro into work this morning, all my old feelings (annoyance, aggravation and anger, to name but a few) came flooding back.

Every time I lineup to take the metro, whether it be in the morning on my way to work or in the evening on my way home, I feel like George Costanza. I mean... we are living in a society here, right??? So why doesn't anyone else seem to be aware of that?

The rules of society (it's called first-come, first-served people) and the Societe de Transport de Montreal, or STM for short, dictate that everyone wait their turn. The STM even took the time, and spent taxpayers' money might I add, to have diagrams drawn on the ground of every metro platform, so commuters would know exactly where to lineup before embarking.   

But nooooooo.  

At least 50% of commuters disregard these diagrams completely, budding ahead of the other 50% of people who are desperately "trying to live in a society here!" 

Getting on the metro is literally like whatever sport is most like a shoving match. Football perhaps? Or maybe rugby?

Gripe #2: Move to the back of the bus assholes! 

Every time I force my way onto a "packed" bus and literally squeeze and curse my way to the back of said bus, I want to take a picture.

Why, you may ask?

Because the entire back of the bus is EMPTY!

That's right. Emp-ty.

Most commuters are too stupid selfish to realize that if they move to the back of the bus others will be able to get on - as opposed to freeze their buns off while they watch half-full buses drive by without stopping because there is "no space left."

URGH!

My last anger-fueled rampage is aimed at pedestrians who think they own the sidewalk.

You don't!

While you and your three friends may enjoy walking down St. Catherine Street arm in arm a la Sex in the City, I will not jump out of your way, into a ditch or oncoming traffic, so you can do so. I will continue walking and make direct physical contact with you.

And we're back to football... 

While the Toronto Transit Commission's slogan is "the better way," I suggest the STM's should be "the most annoying way."  

And I could really do without the music every. single. time. the metro doors open and close...

Love, life, (labels) and the pursuit of happiness

Like Seinfeld, Sex and the City spawned a slew of quotables that can be used in everyday life. Nary a day goes by, in fact, that a SATC quote, or situation (getting broken up with on a Post-It note, anyone?), doesn't come to mind.   

But maybe that's just me.

I was out for dinner at Il Cortile with a friend the other night when she unleashed one of the greatest compliments ever. 

"You remind me of Carrie," she said. End quote.

While some people may not view the above statement as a compliment, given Carrie's ever-so-slightly neurotic nature, I most certainly do.

Like Carrie, I'm a writer. Like Carrie, I'm a bon vivant of not just food and drink but also of clothes and shoes. Like Carrie, I'm blessed/cursed with a Mr. Big. Like Carrie, I have curly blonde hair... and so forth.

Like the actress who portrayed the ever-so-slightly neurotic writer, Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP), my initials also run the gamut of three characters - with J firmly ensconced as the middle one; UJL.

Freaky!

A couple of weeks ago, when my laptop suddenly crashed, I was reminded of the following quote from season 4, episode 8 (My Motherboard, My Self): "No one talks about backing up. You've never used that expression with me before, ever, but apparently everybody's secretly running home at night and backing up their work."

Like Carrie, obviously, I'm not one of those people. Unlike Carrie, my computer didn't die. Yesss...

Some SATC quotes are funny. "You can't swing a Fendi purse without knocking over five losers," "I like my money where I can see it - hanging in my closet," "I have a style and jewelled panties aren't it," and "All righty? He said all righty? Now I'm thinking the upsetting thing isn't that you proposed, it's that you proposed to a guy that says "all righty,"" are some examples.

Some SATC quotes are life lessons, like "maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. Maybe they just need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with," "They say nothing lasts forever; dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style," and "You and I are like that red wall. It's a good idea in theory, but somehow it doesn't quite work."

And finally, some SATC quotes are just plain sad. "Oh, it's never different. It's six years of never being different! This is it! I am done! Don't call me ever again! Forget you know my number! In fact, forget you know my name! And you can drive up this street all you want - because I don't live here anymore!" is a doozy. "We're so over we need a new word for over," is another.

By the way, I'm back in the city. I guess that makes me a citycountrycity bumpkin.    

 

Calling all fashionistas

This weekend, while it rained, I curled up on the couch to watch In Vogue: The Editor's Eye, a documentary about the many fascinating women who have held the coveted titles of editor-in-chief and fashion editor at (American) Vogue. 

While I watched the film, which included interviews with Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman, I was struck by the many creative, and eccentric, women that have toiled at Vogue to make it "the bible" it now is.

From Diana Vreeland and Polly Melen to Grace Coddington and, of course, Anna Wintour, the film is a literal who's who of the fashion industry past and present.

And it reminded me so much of this scene from one of my favourite movies, Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn, which pretty much set the tone for my fashion sense at the tender age of... 13?

Speaking of Audrey Hepburn...

LOVE!

In addition to being one of my early fashion inspirations, she also had the best apartment - as Holly Golightly.

My love for a certain style (part boho/part bordello!) may have started with Breakfast at Tiffany's but it positively blossomed with SATC and Carrie's New York (not so maxi) pad.  

Vogue!

In closing, from thinking pink to being pretty in it, I absolutely love it when what I watch onscreen somehow sartorially inspires me in real life. 

Like this.

I actually bought a pattern and made a dress after watching Andy doing the same. 

And how much do you love Annie Potts' Chinatown apartment?

Tomorrow... into the closet we go!