Olfactory Observations with Lizzie Ostrom

I love perfume. I love it as much as a person on a pretty stringent budget can – I usually can’t afford it, thusly, I love to read about it. I spend an inordinate amount of time trawling on fragrantica.com, and if I’m honest I feel that my profile there is the most revealing profile of myself on any social media forum. I think knowing that I *will* wear Autumn/Winter scents in Spring/Summer, that I am definitely not above wearing Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy, and that I suffered an addiction to Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium during my formative years is pretty much all you need to know about me.

Perfume can say a lot about a person – about their real or imagined selves, or at least whether or not you could stand being in a tight space with them.

In Lizzie Ostrom’s Perfume: A Century of Scents, you learn that it can say a lot about people in a much broader sense – politically, socially, geographically and more. As a harbinger of cultural developments and nuances, perfume is convincing and enthralling. Via a selection of 100 perfumes spanning 1900-1999, Ostrom waxes philosophical about their meaning, function, and creation and there is some interesting and still very relevant content – for instance, the façade (and ensuing mark up!) of ‘natural’ products (newsflash: a lot of toxic chemicals are natural), the cult of the celebrity and the ever-present devices of the advertising industry – how it has changed, and how it really hasn’t changed.

As a cultural investigation, it is impressive. But it’s also just fun to read, especially if you’re like me and are a person who loves perfume, and finds themselves asking strangers “Are you wearing Kenzo???” or slightly unnerving them by guessing which scent they’re wearing (I do this to patrons frequently, I’m not sure if they’re actually unnerved but I will definitely suggest Ostrom’s book to them in the future).

Whether you grew up during the 40’s and wore Madame by Rochas, or the 70’s when Jovan Musk was all the rage, or the 90’s when everyone wanted to smell fresh and preppy and loved Tommy Girl (memories of walking down Jervois Road with my mother as child come flooding back whenever I smell this!) – I think you will enjoy it. I remain heartbroken that Cacharel’s LouLou didn’t make the list, but I am willing to forgive.

Enjoy! And P.S - isn't Lizzie Ostrom gorgeous??? You can marvel at her here.

 

Celebrity Day Jobs

Not content with being beautiful, famous, rich and having millions of followers on Twitter, some celebrities need a little more to do in their spare time. Behold! The phenomenon of the Celebrity Day Job.

You may be aware of Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle website Goop, and perhaps you even subscribed to the newsletter – ironically - but then had to stop because you realised that juice detoxes, monogrammed linen napkins and 5-star hotels are just not really, and never will be, a part of your actual lifestyle. And maybe you’ve even - also ironically - looked at the Preserve website which contains some kind of information about life from plucky lifestyle guru upstart Blake Lively from Gossip Girl and then thought “yeah nah”. Perhaps you did those things.

But wait! There’s so much more. Celebs flashing their talents all over the place, expressing their boundless creativity, and doing random jobs that have nothing to do with their professional training. They have other skills that they want us to know about, so let’s indulge them, shall we?

Do you know that Brad Pitt, besides being a decent actor, is also a furniture designer? Sorry ladies, just because oft-voted Sexiest Man Alive on the Planet Ever designed a bed, does not mean you want to buy it.

Just look at that monstrosity! It would be a major pain in the neck to make every morning. I mean, it’s not like Brad Pitt is actually in the bed, amirite ladeeez??

Instead, why not enjoy Brad Pitt doing what he does best, which is: having abs in Fight Club.

Now, thanks to filmmaker Sofia Coppola, single serve sparkling wine in a can with a straw is a thing. Apparently it is also a thing that you can actually buy and then, presumably also drink, because OMG celebrity bubbles! If you have tasted this, please let me know in the comments section, and also let me know if it improved your ability to direct indie films because wouldn’t it be great if a drink could do that?!

Or, just watch Lost in Translation, possibly Scarlett Johansson’s last good movie, and also starring the wonderful Bill Murray, who, in real life, owns a restaurant and a baseball team which keeps him busy when he’s not wasting ghosts / reliving the same day over and over / seeking to avenge the death of his best friend who was eaten by a shark.

Speaking of ScarJo, when she’s not looking gorgeous and acting in (mostly) bad movies she also likes to sing. Can she sing? Not really! But she’s a celeb, so she does what she wants. Randomly, in 2008 she recorded an album of Tom Waits covers and even though her main job is “actress” she managed to suck all the emotion and meaning out of a bunch of great songs. If you’re new to Tom Waits, perhaps try his album Rain Dogs, one of my all-time favourite albums ever, and featuring 100% of songs not sung by a Hollywood actress.

Closer to home (but not that close, he’s an Australian, right??) is Russell Crowe who, aside from being in various bands in his spare time, recently became part owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, a rugby league team. So either he really likes rugby league or he intends to write a song that rhymes ‘Russell Crowe’ with ‘Rabbitoh’, which is what I suspect.

And anyone who’s anyone has a cookbook /advice guide/ diet book /children's picture book out these days. Just a quick glance at the library shelves and I spotted such gems as: Badass: a hard-earned guide to living life with style and (the right) attitude by Shannen Doherty; April loses it: lose 30 kilos in 30 weeks by April Ieremia; and Dream more: celebrate the dreamer in you by Dolly Parton. Celebs. Is there nothing they can’t do?

But my favourite example of celebrity day jobs is in the second season of the Simpsons when Homer, normally a Nuclear Safety Inspector, designs a car so shabby that it bankrupts his brother’s company:

Lesson learned: don't give up your day job.

Trailers, trailers, everywhere...

I seem to be stuck in trailer heaven... or maybe it's trailer hell.  I'm not that sure anymore because I've watched so many over the past few weeks.  And not just movie trailers but book trailers. Wonderful little snippets made by publishers and authors and the like, all in the name of reaching out and promoting their books.

They've come a long way in recent years.  No longer bland little ads that really didn't tell you much , they are now professional mini movies with special effects, celebrity cameos and so much more.

And they're marvellous   And also highly addictive.  Which of course meant that I just had to share. Because like all new addictions I've just got pass it on to others.

The following are just a few of the trailers I've found and enjoyed.  Most strangely enough are for books I had never thought of reading until I saw these trailers.  And now I am madly adding to my ever increasing holds list.  As you do.

The one flaw with some of these trailers and a great many others out there are the voice overs.  Seriously someone somewhere could make a really good living out of doing decent voice overs for book trailers.  Sadly it doesn't seem to be a career choice for anyone... yet.   Personally I can't wait for someone like Richard Armitage (he of Hobbit and Spooks fame) to become involved.  Of course if he or someone with an equally swoon worthy voice did start to book trailers I'm might never stop watching them...

One More thing by B J Novak

I have to admit I'll probably won't read the book.  But I just love this trailer anyway.  It's just so French and quirky and French and charming and French... did I mention French.  Oh good I did.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I so want to read the book after watching this creepy trailer.

The Ring and The Crown by Melissa de la Cruz

I kinda wish that this was a TV show.  Because it certainly plays out like a TV show trailer.  Like I said book trailers have come a long way

Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Weirdly enough I had trouble putting this trailer in my blog post.  I blame Youtube.  Or maybe Blogger.  Either way I got it in the end.  Take that.

Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Annoying voice over aside I am tempted to read this because hey awesome special effects.

Reboot by Amy Tintera

I'll be honest.  This is kinda badly made.  Annoying voice over, amateur movie making and yet I still want to read the book.  Sometimes bad can work.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

This might win my award for the most annoying voice over.  In fact it has two annoying voice overs.  Which is even worse  Still dragons.  As people.  So yeah I'm hooked.

As Dead As It Gets by Katie Alender

This trailer rocks.  Like seriously.  Great soundtrack and great voice over.  Now this is how to do a book trailer.  Great ending too.

Actors Anonymous by James Franco

A celebrity trailer.  Starring not only James Franco who also happens to be the author but a handful of other actors.  I just love some of the sights.  Awesome stuff.

Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman

I love and adore Neil Gaiman so I just had to include this.  Because Neil is in it.  Talking about his book.

Stalking the catalogue: Twitter wit

"Once again it occurs to me that you could kidnap anyone by standing confidently in an airport with a card with their name on it."
 - Neil Gaiman | @neilhimself

Sometimes, what happens on Twitter shouldn't stay on Twitter.

Warning: this title contains much hilarity!  Twitter is not for everyone.  I feel like that should go without saying...and yet I stated it anyway.  Just in case.  The good thing about this book is that you don't have to be a Twitter-user to understand the jokes.  If you like your humour in small doses (i.e. 140 characters or less) or have a goldfish attention span (much like me) then this is ideal.

Title: Twitter wit : brillance in 140 characters or less
Editor: Nick Douglas
Published: itbooks, c2009

Dirty Little Secrets or I Used To Be Famous But Now I'm Not

We've all thought about it. What it would be like to be famous.

As a kid I wanted to be a rock star. Not like Madonna. Instead I wanted to be like Joan Jett or Pat Bentar or Nancy Wilson from Heart. I wanted to sing and play a mean guitar  Unfortunately I didn't have a talent for either.

My next dream seemed at least a bit more realistic.  I wanted to be a journalist. Alas this also fell by the wayside.  I lacked that drive that journalists have to go after a story no matter what, even if it would have been kind of nice to see my name in a byline.

Now I'm quite happy to be anonymous and hide myself by the pseudonyms that I use.  If one day fame ever comes hopefully it won't be my name that is in print but my alias instead.

Others seem to have no problem revealing all their secrets.  Whether it's because they want to share with the world so others can learn from their mistakes or a need to reflect on past glories, fame for them is something that they can't quite give up.