So, I know we’ve been somewhat mean about her in the past, and that she’s recently had a facelift, and is no doubt Botoxed to the hilt and airbrushed to the max, but good grief, her Madgeness is looking HAWT in her latest vid. And very inspirational to those of us who may be past our first flush of youth.
The song is the best thing she’s done in ages too.
Yesterday I fed my inner geek and sat down to watch the film Helvetica – a documentary film about a font.
I got very into fonts when we were designing the mirrormirror logo and spent ages searching through font libraries to find something to convey the sense of feminine yet contemporary that we felt the brand was all about (and we didn’t end up with Helvetica).
Still, it seemed difficult to imagine how on earth a single typeface could be the subject of a feature-length documentary, particularly when the documentary is very plainly shot, with no special effects or historical reconstructions, just lots of graphic designer talking heads and shot after shot of Helvetica logos and signage.
What I had never realised before is just ubiquitous Helvetica is, both in Europe and the US. It truly is the default font of the last half century.
Designed in the 50s in Switzerland, its spare lines and careful attention to proportion and negative space was very much a product of European modernism (the section about the font’s history is absolutely fascinating).
After changing its name from the unattractive Das Neue Haas Grotesk, to an easily pronounced name which celebrated its Swiss roots, Helvetica became hugely popular with both major corporations seeking to give a ‘modern’ feel to their image and with governments and municipalities who valued its clarity and legibility. As the film proves, the font really is absolutely everywhere – from the Dutch telephone book to the American Apparel logo – and pops up in the unlikeliest places
What gives the film its edge is the passion with which the graphic designers interviewed were either for or against Helvetica. For some it is the ultimate, unimprovable font – as plain and beautiful and necessary to the visual culture as water or air is to life. For others it is the symbol of globalisation and corporate dominance – one engaging female designer thought it was the typeface of the Vietnam and Iraqi wars.
Some designers loved the restrictions inherent in using it,seeking to refresh it with different spacing and weights; while others condemned the lack of imagination needed to choose it, saying, ‘if you’re not a very good designer, just choose Helvetica Bold for your typeface and it will look OK.’
In fact who knew how fascinating and funny graphic designers could be? I loved the chap who designed his wedding invitations in Helvetica and wanted to credit creator Max Miedinger on the order of service until vetoed by his wife.
Go see this film and spend the next few days spotting Helvetica everywhere you go – it’s not really about a font, but more a very entertaining conversation about how type and therefore visual culture affects our lives.
I thought I would write this post in Helvetica as a small homage. But Helvetica doesn’t exist on Microsoft computers. Instead you will have to make do with Arial, which was conceived as a copy of Helvetica and now, thanks to Microsoft, is as ubiquitous online as Helvetica is off.
I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Piers Morgan, mostly because, well, I’m a sucker for any man who can make me laugh.
But watching Piers being utterly and totally obnoxious here on the Celebrity Apprentice – running rings round all the has-been actors, singers and sportspeople, because he has more business-savvy in his little finger than all of them put together and a fatter contacts book even in New York than all the Americans on the show – has been utterly hilarious TV.
He is another in the long line of outspoken Brits (such as Simon Cowell and Gordon Ramsay) who don’t give a flying f*ck what anyone thinks of them and are so shocking to Americans because everyone here is so concerned with their public image.
And somewhere buried deep in all the ridiculous shenanigans with all the ridiculous people, there are some interesting business lessons to be learned about the power of networking, the value of just mucking in and getting things done even if you have to parade through the streets of New York dressed as King Arthur, and the fact that you can say practically anything in a British accent and people will take you seriously.
Go and see this and remember what it means to be human. Take tissues.
This blog post about the original book (which is also awesome, and which I didn’t think could translate to film but does superbly) is really thought-provoking. Oh, and the soundtrack is great as well.
One of the nicest things about moving to the US is being able to watch the Oscars as they happen at a sensible time of the evening instead of pinching oneself to stay awake into the wee small hours. I do miss Jonathon Ross’s snark though.
I have to say though, that I’ve never seen such a boring collection of Oscar frocks in my life. Mile after mile of vacuous starlets parading in slimline silhouettes and fishtail trains, their breast implants squashed into strapless or assymetrical off- the-shoulder necklines.
And the colours – or lack thereof. Last night there were apparently only three choices available – black, red, or white/silver if you were really feeling rebellious. If you’re going to go to all the trouble of wearing a posh frock, then why would you choose black? However intricate the actual dress is, it’s never going to stand out in a crowd. And no, midnight blue is not really a much racier choice.
Though it did make me laugh to see all those girls who really thought they’d stand out by wearing red all queuing up in a long line like London buses.
If you must wear red, do it like Heidi Klum. Despite being completely addicted to Project Runway, I’m not a big fan of the robotic Frau Seal, but there’s no denying that her Galliano dress is absolutely spectacular. It’s apparently up for auction for charity, if you’ve still got some Christmas money left over.
Another contender for Best Dressed, despite being nearly three times the age of some of the vacuous starlets was Helen Mirren. Oh she makes me proud to be British.
If you’re going to do the fishtail look then why not go the whole hog and turn up dressed as a mermaid a la Best Actress Marion Cotillard in Gaultier. I was so thrilled with her win. La Vie En Rose was one of the few other movies I went to see last year and her acting was an absolute tour de force.
Worst dressed was difficult. Normally this would have been a slam dunk win for Tilda Swinton, who decided to turn up wearing a black bin liner.
However, it was such a relief to see something a bit different from all the strapless fishtails that I’ll give her a pass on this one, also because one has to respect her Bowie-esque fierceness and the fact that she manages to live with both the father of her children and her handsome toyboy. Though even given all those things, black really isn’t the right colour for you if your complexion is that pale.
The Husband, who saw Michael Clayton recently, reckoned she deserved her win, but I was sad that the Oscar didn’t go to 13-year-old Saiorse Ronan who managed to act everyone else off the screen in Atonement (not so difficult when you’re up against Keira Knightley, more so when it’s Vanessa Redgrave).
At least she managed to look ethereal and age appropriate (*cough* Miley Cyrus *cough*) in Alberta Ferretti, though the hair was a bit too severe. We will forgive her much for actually wearing a colour other than black red or white though.
One of the only people other than Tilda, who managed to stand out amongst the personality transplants was Diablo Cody, who won the original screen writing award. Again, I wouldn’t normally advocate tats and leopardskin, but it worked, because that is clearly who she is.
So who wins the mirrormirror Worst Dressed Award?
I’m sort of confused by Nicole Kidman’s effort. Pregnancy has clearly befuddled her brains sufficiently that she decided to turn up wearing a bib made of diamonds. It sort of looks OK here, but much worse when she was actually presenting her award as the necklace had got all askew and tangled by that stage. But at least she was trying something different.
She absolutely wins the ‘worst face’ award though. She really couldn’t move it for Botox when making her little speech. She appears to be morphing rapidly into Lady Penelope.
LADY PENELOPE
NICOLE KIDMAN
Sadly my girl Jennifer Hudson, of whom I have been a great fan since American Idol days and who quite often looks fab, was again let down badly by her Oscar stylist. After last years horrific bolero, she wore a frock that made her ample boobage look deformed. Even the Husband remarked upon it (we know now where he looks when it comes to clothes). It seems that designers and stylists are completely flummoxed when they have to confront a pair of real breasts. As a woman of ample boobage myself, I’d love to see her in something plunging and uplifting and in yer face which would get all the fishtailed starlets crying into their implants. But for the moment though, she’s a strong contender for Worst Dressed.
Editing to say that, now I’ve found a pict ure of it, this creation undoubtedly wins the Worst Dressed award. What on earth was Rebecca Miller thinking?
I’ve finally got round to reading a book which has been on my list for ages but which has been scaring me a bit. I found the tweeness of the title and the cover picture tremendously off-putting, but have recently been enjoying Yarnstorm – the blog that inspired the book, and thought I’d give it a go.
It’s been the subject of quite a lot of controversy in the UK, mostly from those who think doing stuff around the house, indulging in crafts and enjoying cooking is somehow a betrayal of the feminist movement. But as you know, I like to cook and potter in my house and garden and have tremendous admiration for people who can actually DO crafts, so I persevered beyond the horrible title and cover.
First the good bits. The book is sumptuously produced and a hugely pleasurable read. The chapters are short, so it’s very easy to dip in and out of, and the book is absolutely chock-a-block full of photos, which are, actually, the best bit. Jane’s photos are gorgeous and inspiring and I would post lots up here, but apparently I have to get her express written permission and I really couldn’t be bothered, so just check out her blog instead. But it is to her enormous credit that most of the photos in the book are taken by her and not by some anonymous stylist.
Jane’s prose is also utterly beautiful, she has a very visual way of describing things and writes in a very intelligent and thoughtful way. And the book is not just about knitting and baking and quilting, it also talks about domesticity in film and art and books, which is fascinating. It also contains an excellent list of ‘Resources’ at the back, including inspirational books, blogs and materials stockists. Oh and there are lots of ideas about how to get kids involved in crafts and domestic projects.
So what didn’t I like? Well the book is very personal to Jane. It is by no means an instruction manual, it is all about how she thinks about craft, how she gains inspiration, and the creative process behind her craft projects, though with no detailed instructions beyond a few recipes. And unfortunately her aesthetic is just a bit too genteel and Radio 4 for me – the pink heart-shaped mousse on the front cover does absolutely sum it up (though the colour balance on the front cover is ghastly, there’s a more subdued and nicer photo of it in the book itself). I’m a sure a ton of people will absolutely adore the stuff she makes but I’m just not an embroidered crinoline ladies sort of person.
Does anyone know of crafters out there who are doing stuff which is a bit more well, ‘fierce’? Not knitting plastic bags sort of fierce, but stuff you might want to put into a more contemporary home.
On the plus side, the book has inspired to pick up my knitting again! Knitting is the only craft I can do. Here’s the beginnings of a bag for the Minx. Pattern, with tweaks, courtesy of this book. Colour choice courtesy of the Minx (and only because they didn’t do this yarn in bright eyeball-searing red).
This is the next American Idol.
I promised myself that this was the year I wouldn’t get sucked in, and I only managed to hold out until the Top 24. Self-discipline is not my forte.
A researcher from This Morning has called in the Bee Mirror for a feature which is supposed to be happening tomorrow (Thursday 31st January).
Keep everything crossed that it happens. It will be fascinating to see what sort of impact TV exposure has on sales
This will mean beans to anyone in the US, so I suggest you carry on trick or treating and come back again tomorrow.
One of the books I read on the interminable flight to England was The Secret.
Fortunately my personal trainer lent it to me as I really didn’t fancy actually paying for it, but I was interested to see what all the hype was about.
It’s a very easy read and in essence is just all about the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction, which you can find in lots of self-help books. It goes a bit further than some books I’ve read though, by suggesting that you just have to ask the Universe (always capitalised, natch) for something and if you fully believe that you will receive it and act as if it’s already in the bag then the Universe will deliver. Apparently the Universe is just one big mail-order company.
Which is of course all a load of old drivel. Except that life always seems to go better for me when I have a positive attitude.
So, we are going to conduct a little experiment. In an ideal world, I would like to ask the Universe for mirrormirror to be acquired over the next month for millions of pounds with me retaining overall executive responsibility and an extremely fat salary. But I think I would have difficulty mustering the necessary belief for that one. But maybe next month.
Instead I am going to request that mirrormirror achieves some sort of significant leap forward over the next 30 days – over and above what it would normally achieve (which shouldn’t be difficult as September and October are usually very slow in mirrormirror land). I’m going to think and act as if mirrormirror were already phenomenally successful, weed out any negative thinking, and then on the 20th October note any great breakthroughs – such as meaningful spike in the volume of orders or visitors, a fabulous piece of PR or just links from great blogs or websites. Or any other ways in which the Universe chooses to help mirrormirror grow. I’m really not fussy.
Interestingly, since I read the Secret on the journey out to the UK and tried to think positively at all times, there has been a mini-flurry in orders and I’ve had two major pieces of luck, involving a handbag left behind in a taxi and an empty house with an unlocked door. Cue spooky Twilight Zone sort of music.
