Under the Radar: Natalia Clavier

Sphere: Related Content

You should check out Natalia Clavier's debut album Nectar. Why you ask? Because it's pretty damn good.

According to Latina magazine, Clavier "used to sing cheesy Euro techno-pop 'to pay the rent,' but now she's found her sound."

Her sound is a mix of Argentina's native tango and sexy electronica.
Check out this you tube video of my favorite track "El Arbol" ("The Tree" for all my Spanish language impaired people.)

The Face of Lace

Sphere: Related Content Call me a racy, call me Lacy! This fall lace is on everything from bedroom attire to shoes and I am so loving it.

Maybe it's because I'm planning my wedding but I can't help how overly excited I get when I see it. The fabric can mean so many things, depending on how it's worn.

Maybe lace just reminds you of your sweet old grandma. Or your nasty jerk grandma, either or.

Could it be the virginal white lace of a glove you crave?

Still, nothing says bombshell like an inky, lace frock.

I think I love lace because it has as many personalities as I do.

Clockwise from top right: Tadashi's black lace v-neck detail taffeta gown; Christian Louboutin's black satin lace 'Vanitarita' pumps; Marcal Wander's crocheted cotton and epoxy resin chair; Stuart Weitzman's Lace "Lingerie" pumps; Xtrax's "Lace Flower" parasol with lace overlay;Kirby Linen Rental's "Eden Lace" (used as panel);Marc by Marc Jacobs' Mia lace dress;Garment District's lace face mask

Polyvore set created by me - inspired by W magazine spread

Happy National Tequila Day!

Sphere: Related Content

July 24Th is National Tequila Day! Let's celebrate with a poem by Randall Mann.

Last Call

A giant bird-
of-paradise
has climbed the bar:
in this paradise
there are no flowers,
no flowers at all.
When Happy Hour
becomes Last Call—
Adam in drag
our royalty—
we buy her gin
for eternity
(an unseen deejay
scores the years
with pulsing music
of the spheres).
Now the queen has gone,
gone again
in search of love,
in search of sin.
It’s closing time.
You were not at fault.
I drain my glass
and lick the salt.

Now you can say you vomited on your shoes and read a poem by a 2003 Kenyon Review Prize in Poetry winner! You are soooo multi-tasking today.

Poet on the Scene:Carlos Andres Gomez to present new double album

Sphere: Related Content I just received an email from Michael Rosen of the Bowery Poetry Club tipping me off to an awesome event that I plan to hike my ass all the way from NJ to see.

Check out the press release:


*Carlos Gomez Grabs “Fate by the Throat” at Bowery Poetry Club*

Bowery Poetry Club presents the release of renowned spoken word artist/slam poet Carlos Andres Gomez’s new double album, “Fate by the Throat”. *August 23* at 7:00 PM, Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery between Houston and Bleecker; /F train to //2nd Ave//, 6 to Bleecker), /$12

Gomez, a stand-out, acclaimed poet on both the New York City slam scene as well as the national college circuit, has been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and played a prominent role in Spike Lee’s “Inside Man” alongside Denzel Washington and Clive Owen.

He will be giving a full-length, feature performance of his work-to-date including material from “Fate by the Throat,” his sophomore album which includes both studio and live cuts of over 20 new poems.

Hosting between 20 and 30 shows a week the Bowery Poetry Club (BPC) is proud of our place in the lineage of populist art: the Yiddish theater, burlesque, vaudeville, beat poetry, jazz, and punk that gave the Bowery its name. Located in “HoBo” at the corner of Houston and Bowery.

For more information please go to bowerypoetry.com

Below is footage of Gomez on HBO's Def Poetry Jam performing "What's Genocide"



You can check out his website here: http://www.carloslive.com/

I know, I know. You can thank me later for turning you on to this shit.

Skinny Bitch: This book makes me feel like I'm on crazy pills

Sphere: Related Content Last year I bought this book with the intention that I would become what the title suggests.

Maybe I'd go a little easy on the "bitch" part of it.

Maybe not.

It didn't work out and I left the book to rot on my bookshelf.

I cracked it open again yesterday to see if maybe I read it wrong the first time. Nope, same old bullshit.

The book is like a really hot chick who all the guys are intrigued by until she opens her mouth to reveal she is a freaky nut job. The reaction is the same as well: Avoid eye contact and bolt like a bat outta hell!

When I started to crack the book open the first time, I grew excited at the thought of "skinny" things like itty-bitty bikinis, tiny Marc Jacobs dresses, skinny jeans,ordering water with lemon in it instead of a chocolate milkshake and those really big shades the Olson Twins always wear.

OK so maybe I'm glad this book was written in the Twilight Zone.

This book is nothing but demeaning insults and vegan propaganda from start to finish. The tone is flippant and the content is misleading.

So here's the book in a nutshell:

"Wanna look like a model? Of course you do you lazy cow. Now get off your ass, exercise and don't eat any meat whatsoever. Or processed foods. Oh and no alcohol, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, dairy, meat or refined sugar. By the way you are terrible for eating meat and here is why...Here is a list of unaffordable foods you can only buy at Whole Foods. Maybe. OK so you should totally be a model by now."


Now I'm all for saving animals. I have two cats that I actually talk to and treat like children. I once watched a PETA video on the horrors of chickens and cows going to slaughter. I didn't eat meat for an entire week.

In the end, I love meat and had to get my protein on. I can't help it that I'm a steak and potatoes kinda gal. Do I agree with the methods of how my Big Mac gets on my plate? No. Would I eat free-range animals if they were offered? Yes. Am I human? Yes.

Furthermore, did I purchase a book for $14 dollars entitled "Skinny Bitch" expecting to be lectured about my carnivorous ways on the sneak tip? Hell nah.

Needless to say, I've been shedding some pounds the good old fashion way. Hard drugs. No really, I owe it all to exercise and eating proper portions.

Maybe I'll never be a "Skinny Bitch," but I'll also never be a psychotic, vegan, zealot either so I guess it all balances out right?

(BTW, no offense to vegans/vegetarians/fruitarians who aren't insane. I respect your lifestyle choice. I've tried soy chicken nuggets. They were yummy. I've had a garden burger or two in my day. I'm just not ready to try tofurky though. Wheat gluten and tufu can't excite me like a thanksgiving bird can.)

Visit the Skinny Bitch website, and feel the crazy for yourself.

The Arcade Claw and its Tragic Flaw

Sphere: Related Content

I'm writing this post for all of you who have or plan to to play the "arcade claw" game this summer.

Me? Oh I already lost all my rent money to it back in March. Yes I said March.

Queue flashback sequence.

See the fiance and I were bored and didn't have much cash so we decided to take a drive "down the shore" and just kick it.

Although we had fun frequenting my beloved "Wa Wa" convenience mart for the necessary junk, not much else was poppin'.

Picture the tumbleweeds in your mind as we jumped out of our truck and made our way towards the boardwalk.

After being coerced by desperate boardwalk carnies to play that stupid game where you pop balloons to get a prize, we decided to move on to the arcade.

It is there that we were determined to win an iPhone out of the arcade claw machine. Neither of us actually care to own an iPhone. We just want to sell it to you on EBay. Wink.

Needless to say after $60 dollars spent, our efforts were fruitless and we could do nothing except kick the machine and go get an overpriced bite to eat. Still, we had fun.

But it would have been more fun had I seen this before I went!



Damn that yellow box to hell I say!

Good Foot says Goodbye?

Sphere: Related Content A year and a half ago, I submitted some poetry to one of my favorite publications: good foot poetry magazine.

A professor (Carmine Simmons), who taught me some of the best things I know about literature and poetry is (was?) an editor for the mag.

Ever since I picked up one of the journals for myself, I have wanted to see my poetry in it.

I received a rejection letter in the mail a couple of days ago letting me know that they can't accept my poems for publication at this time.

Normally, this wouldn't be such a sad thing for me. I have learned to embrace rejection. Sylvia Plath used to collect rejection slips and I'm thinking of following suit.

So what's the big deal? I tried to check out their website as I usually do, expecting to see the usual names and sample poems that have been published in the journal.

Instead, I saw in its place one of those sites that come up when you misspell a web address. You know, the ones that come up as a shitty white page that claim you can "find what you are looking for here" with "related searches" with links to magazine subscriptions, auto quotes and car insurance.

Confused, I checked to see that I had spelled http://www.goodfootmagazine.com/ correctly.

I had.

I then Googled them to no avail. All I found were online literary sites who linked to the good foot's old website.

I think I know what has happened. They ran out of funding. This is only speculation, but literary magazines come and go because its hard to fund them. They didn't charge for submissions and the journals were quite affordable.

Actually, when I saw this mag being sold in a bookstore I picked volumes 4 and 5 on separate occasions, hoping to do my part in funding for $8.00 a pop.

Perhaps in hind site I should have subscribed for the annual fee of $14.

The magazine was full of great poetry and photography and if it's truly gone then I hate to see it go. If it is gone, consider this a eulogy from someone who was truly touched by the work and the editors who made this magazine such a masterpiece.
If it's not gone and I'm just missing something, please let me know!