Sep 27, 2015

the little prince

have i ever mentioned that the last 3 years i have been living in Zurich? i don't think so... nevertheless, these days Zurich is celebrating its 11th film festival (zff.com). as i was going through the programme this Friday night, i discovered this:



you cannot imagine how happy i was!!! not only because i love watching animated films, but also because i think that "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is one of the best allegories ever written.

the film was first aired at the Cannes film festival this May & its synopsis, as included in the press kit, is the following:
"Rediscover one of the most beloved stories of all time. At the heart of it all is The Little Girl, who’s being prepared by her mother for the very grown-up world in which they live – only to be interrupted by her eccentric, kind-hearted neighbour  The Aviator. The Aviator introduces his new friend to an extraordinary world where anything is possible. A world that he himself was initiated into long ago by The Little Prince. It’s here that The Little Girl’s magical and emotional journey into the universe of The Little Prince begins. And it’s where The Little Girl rediscovers her childhood and learns that ultimately, it’s human connections that matter most, and that it is only with heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye".


new film based on the book of little prince

































i don't have children, but i really look forward to spending 1,5 hours watching such a sweet film.
so, if you do, don't miss the chance to introduce an amazing book to your little ones through its animated adaptation. although animated films for children have been criticised in the past, i still believe that they portray a much better world than the one out there & are full of hidden (or not so hidden) messages that a child can easily pick up. how these messages are to be interpreted is a different story, however. after all, watching a children's movie is nothing if it is not followed by a beautiful & productive talk with your little ones...

Sep 20, 2015

friendship vs. distance

i am sure you remember what happened in the last episodes of Sex & the City just before this image...


























if not, check it out here:



that was the feeling of this past week... living far from your friends & loved ones, you feel like you are missing a big part of their lives and, most importantly, of your life too.
you are not there for their birthdays, their anniversaries, the birth of their children, and then their children's birthdays. you are not there at their happiest moments.
& unfortunately, you are not there at their saddest ones. these hurt you the most. because deep inside you, you know that it is then that you are much more needed. just to be by their side. hold their hand. tell them "i am sorry". in person.... & not through a telephone line.
as i am terrible at picking up the phone, i have developed my very own & extremely naive way to cope with this... i am doing something i call "long distance support". so, whenever i know a friend is going through a tough time, i focus on remembering all her dazzling moments, all her happy times, all her success stories. i am sure all your friends have moments when they shine. wherever i am, in the tram going to work, in the supermarket buying my groceries, at home cooking, i spend some time remembering all these moments. moments where my friend was happy & smiling. & i try to surpass all the distance that keep us apart, by sending all my positive energy to her.
i know it is extremely naive & romantic, but, somehow it works!
after all, even Aristotle at Nicomachean Ethics commented that "distance does not break off the friendship absolutely, but only the activity of it". 

Sep 14, 2015

from Sherlock to Hamlet & beyond

i am sure that you have heard of Benedict Cumberbatch...
if not, you don't know what you are missing! for a brief introduction, just enjoy this video filmed for Harper's Bazaar back in 2010.


Benedict Cumberbatch - My Cultural Life from Treetops Productions on Vimeo.

so, who is he? his full name is Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (somehow difficult to remember...). he was born & raised in England, which you can easily guess from his accent. although he started his acting career in 2002, it was only in 2010 he received a worldwide recognition & fame, basically due to his role as Sherlock Holmes in an amazing TV series produced by BBC.































on the big screen he made shorter or longer appearances in Atonement, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 12 Years A Slave, August: Osage County, The Fifth Estate, & more recently, The Imitation Game, which led to his first Oscar nomination as a male actor in a leading role.


he also "borrowed" his magnificent voice to movies like The Hobbit & Penguins of Madagascar.

& if you happen to be in London until the end of October, you might have the chance to see him acting live as Hamlet on the stage of Barbican Theatre. according to one of his interviews, he has been dreaming of playing this role since he started working as an actor (or even while studying... not really sure). nevertheless, Hamlet appears to be a milestone in his career, which simply raises our expectations & makes a visit at Barbican worthwhile.









although the show is sold out, every day 30 tickets at the price of £10 are offered to those who are lucky enough. this basically means that you have to wake up around 4:00 am, go to the theatre hoping that there are less than 10 people ahead of you and, of course, stand in the queue until 10:30 am when the ticket counters open.
if, on the other hand, London is far away from your home, you still have a chance to catch the show live on October 15, as National Theatre Live will offer a live broadcasting at selected cinemas throughout Europe, U.S., Japan & Brazil. for a list of the participating venues, as well the availability of tickets, just press here.

so... are you convinced that Benedict deserves some of our attention?
if not, take into account also this: last Thursday, after the conclusion of his performance at Barbican he urged the audience to donate cash to the refugee crisis. his exact words were "a parent only puts their child on a boat when the sea is safer than the land", a quote from a poem titled Home. he also appeared giving a message before a new charity single, Help is coming, to raise money for the plight of refugees around the world. all proceeds from the song will go to charity Save the Children and it is now available to download on iTunes.

Sep 12, 2015

the september issue

"if fashion is a religion, VOGUE is the bible"! this is the statement on the film "the september issue" that was released in 2009 & showed the whole world how the efforts of releasing one issue can define the fashion statements of the next season, & ultimately of the whole fashion history!


having grown up in a house full of the latest fashion magazines, reading fashion magazines regularly is one of the little luxuries of life that i really miss the last years in my life, especially after having kids. i could even admit that reading fashion magazines has been left as a ritual for the few times i go to the hairdresser ... 


so you can imagine my excitement when the last week of august, flying out of chicago, returning home, i saw in a stand in the airport the september issue of the american VOGUE of 2015! i could buy it, i would even have time to read it in the airplane (with no distractions! from cover to cover) and i could save it for the coming months in our living room, as a daily reminder of what fashion really means! hurra! what a happy moment!



 it is true that you dont get to read any text until you reach page 226, up to which page it is only advertisment, but who cares, really, the inspiration is breathtaking! check out a few of the fashion statements of this year that i loved !

the peacock Givency dresses




the new statement shoe of Valentino








Sep 7, 2015

the goldfinch



summer is gone, so are our summer reads...
& although I never reached my target of reading 3 books in 3 weeks (target totally unrealistic now that I am thinking about it), it was only yesterday when I did manage to conclude "The Goldfinch" written by Donna Tartt...



I have been wanting to read it since the moment I found out about it, almost 2 years ago!
the story is about Theo (Theodore) Decker, a 13-year old boy who initially lives in New York City. his life is turned upside down due to an event of immense dimensions. in contrast, his teenage years are haunted by a painting of far from huge dimensions. the book is based on the triptych: love, almost obsession, self-destruction & art. the narrative is pretty dense, modern & easy to read. the feelings the book brings about? in my case, it was sympathy, sadness, disappointment sometimes, shock, understanding. I was so glad to see that Theo found his own redemption at the end! plus, the last pages of the book are pretty interesting and, at least in my view, a little out of the ordinary. as you can see, i am not revealing much, in case you are interested in reading the book yourselves!
"The Goldfinch" won the Pulitzer prize for fiction in 2014 & it is about to make its next step towards the big screen. for more eloquent reviews you can click here and here.

Sep 4, 2015

Cactus Love!


well, who said that thorns should not be adored? our latest discovery is how wonderfully you can decorate your space with these amazing succulent plants, that actually demand very little attention and yet again deliver a wonderful color and character to your rooms!

small or huge, they can be placed in all kinds of pots and decorate all kind of rooms!

http://entermyattic.blogspot.co.nz/
etsy store:

www.sugarandcloth.com


http://look33-blog.blogspot.de/


source: pinterest









are you getting too much in love with these fascinating plants? here are some crazy ideas of how else you can show your cactus love!

sugar & cloth
Adairs
source: pinterest


tip: if you want to try it out but do not want to spend a fortune, try out the cuttest cactus plants in IKEA! 

Sep 2, 2015

Stan Smith forever!

yes, we were among those 23,7 millions who in 1994 bought a pair of the famous Adidas Stan Smith. Me, personally, being an athlete-avert, I used my only pair throughout all the year of high school, as my only gym/ activity shoes. I frequently polished them with white shoe polish, especially when the leather was completely destroyed in the front and changed the laces once in a while so they can look new again! i loved them... the more worn they looked , the more I adored them!


... and then when I graduated, I dismissed my love for this pair of shoe!

while the whole world continue embrassing it, changing, re-decorating, messing it up, making it more elegant,more quirky and back to basics,  I actually started despising it ! Too white I thought (starting going towards the black-from-top-to-toe phase). Too childish, "come-on-grow up" I thought, when I would see a date showing up wearing them. Too wide, too "what kind of green shade is this anyways", too "non-fashionista"!!

gosh, I was so wrong... this iconic shoe has developed propably as much as I have all these years. It changed color, skin,it grew a fringe, it grew higher, and it went back to completely white, only for a short while, in order to start all over again!

so, what do you think? do the thrillic stan smiths deserve our eternal love??