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.

On Heavy Rotation

Recently I have been listening to four albums on heavy rotation and I can't seem to get enough of any of them. These women are crazy talented and are bringing some fresh sounds to 2014!

I highly recommend checking them out below:

Aquarius - Tinashe

This is the debut album of R&B singer Tinashe. Her first single of the album 2 0n is a total club banger and I love it! She's got a total Aaliyah vibe about her, particularly in this live performance on Jimmy Kimmel. What I love about this album though is that its not a throwaway album with cheap and quickly produced club banger tracks. This album is not what I expected from her, but I really am enjoying it.

I Never Learn - Lykke Li

This is the third album from Swedish artist Lykke Li and once again she has captivated me with her personal brand of etheral and haunting melodies with great beats. The love songs on this album simultaneously warm my heart and tear it apart. Definitely worth a listen. Check out the first single off the album, No Rest For the Wicked.

LP1 - FKA Twigs

The debut album from British artist FKA Twigs is one of the most fresh sounds I have heard in a while. It is a mixture of synth-laden R&B while evoking the sounds of bands like Portishead and Twigs' vocals being both soft yet piercing. Honestly this album is so much worth your time, she's definitely one to watch - which you can actually do live at Laneway Festival next year in Auckland! Check out her first single off it below.

Souled Out - Jhené Aiko

I first heard the voice of Jhené Aiko on a Drake song (From Time) and immediately knew I had to see if she had any solo music out. At the time she had an EP called Sail Out which I fell in love with. Aiko's brand of chilled out, intimate songs are captivating for their honesty and the beauty of her voice. Her songs are about issues close to her heart, ranging from breakups, relationships, her daughter, and the death of her brother. What really sets her apart however is her talent with lyricism and wordplay. She's definitely one of my new favourite artists <3

Take Me To The April Sun In Cuba...

Actually more like October sun in Noosa, which doesn't sound quite as exotic but you get the picture.

Holidays are awesome.  And overseas holidays are even more awesome.  Because seriously how could you not love seeing new places, trying new things (like yummy food), speaking a new language and numerous other reasons as to why travelling is just the best.

I am about to head off on my first overseas trip in 7 years.

Which is a) so nice, b) a little nerve wracking because I hate flying and c) just a tad depressing in that it has been 7 years since I last wandered around foreign lands.  Not that Australia is foreign but for now it's the closest I'm getting.  As you can imagine I have a pretty long list of all the places I want to go to, because List Girl is my middle name.

Hopefully one day I will be able to take off and permanently travel as I work my way through said list.  Until then I have this holiday and a pile of wonderful travel books to keep me going.

Men on the menu: delicious affairs from around the world / Bambi Smyth

"26 countries, 81 days, 294 meals and 75 blind-dates"

I'm a sucker for a good romance.

Any romance really.

So a story of a woman who travels the world looking for love sounds just my kind of thing

Romance and travel and food.    Just perfect, really.


 
Hitchy feet: a grown-up;s guide to running away from home and accidentally getting a life / John Card

"John Card was a bored 30-something high school science teacher when he decided to pack it all in and run away from life"

The idea of running away from it all sounds so tempting.

Certainly it's something that I've dreamed about.  Travelling the world and writing.  With a suitcase filled with chocolate and cherries.  And a laptop of course. 

Because life necessities.

The thing about Prague: how I gave it all up for a new life in Europe's most eccentric city / Rachael Weiss

"The story of a freewheeling Aussie girl who gives up her life in Sydney to live in Prague"

Travelling the world may sound tempting but so does the idea of going to live in a foreign country, immersing ones self in the culture, the language, the lifestyle... it all sounds very romantic.

The reality is probably far different and anything but romantic.

Still one can dream...

My sweet Paris / Caroline Mignot

"The top 150 places for dessert in Paris"

Food.  You just knew I had to go there.

Because how could I not.

After all I'm the girl who went to the same patisserie in Paris every day and tried something new. 

For a whole week. 

And it was delish.

Hot pink spice saga : An Indian culinary travelogue with recipes / Peta Mathias and Julie Le Clerc.

"A love affair with food, travel and India, celebrated by two of New Zealand's favourite foodies."

Another travel book and another book about food.

This time it's India and all it's bright and colourful delights.

I'm intrigued by the title alone

Home sweet anywhere : how we sold our house, created a new life, and saw the world / Lynne Martin.

"Lynne and her husband sold almost everything they owned and took to a global lifestyle, living out of a couple of suitcases"

My other half and I dream of this. 

Daily.

We have plans and counter plans and plans of plans.  And to go with those plans I have lists.  Endless lists of all the places and things I want to see.

And books like this just inspire me more.

The world's best cities : celebrating 220 great destinations

Because I love drooling over travel books filled with lots and lots and lots of wonderful photos I just had to include at least one book that filled this passion.

Of course looking through books like this means that by travel wish list just keeps getting longer and longer.

What's a girl to do?

Travel of course.

Hector and the Search for Happiness

Thanks to Becker Film Group, Auckland Libraries is giving away 10 double passes to Hector and the Search for Happiness, opening in cinemas on October 30, 2014. Visit our Facebook page to enter. This competition closes at 5pm on Sunday 26 October 2014.

Want to know more about the movie?

Read on!

Happiness: that elusive, mystical life goal we're all chasing, and Hector, the hero of Simon Pegg's new movie, Hector and the Search for Happiness, is no different.

On the surface of it, his life seems charmed:  a beautiful apartment, an even more beautiful girlfriend named Clara (played by Rosamund Pike) and a loyal stable of patients to his psychiatrist practice. But he the one who needs therapy? For despite all the outward appearances of success and happiness his life has, Hector feels something is missing. And so our dapper dressing protagonist sets out, armed with a notebook from Clara to record his findings, on an overseas Odyssey to discover "what is happiness."

What unfolds is a series of unlikely but amusing adventures in first China (involving a night of partying with a woman who is not all she seems and a visit with a skpying monk), then Africa (in which he escapes from a murderous drug cartel) and lastly Los Angeles (to look up the first woman he loved Agnes, played by the always delightful Toni Collette). The action is infused with a host of colourful characters who each provide their own insights into the happiness that Hector is seeking, and he records these nuggets in Clara's journal.

I loved these wise and perceptive little gems of insight and the way director Peter Chelsom chose to have them written and drawn across the screen as Hector wrote them down. Some of these really resonated with me like "If I seem happy, it is because I know I am loved for who I am," "Happiness is answering your calling" and the especially poignant and simple "Listening is loving."

Being a rom-com it was inevitable Hector would get his happy ending but it what a wild and fun ride watching him realise he had what he was looking for all along.

Hector and the Search for Happiness is based on the book of the same name by Francois Lelord: place a hold on a copy for yourself here.



Our thanks to Becker Film Group for providing tickets to an advanced screening of this film for our reviewer.

American Horror Story

American Horror Story is a horror television series where each season is a stand-alone story of a different horror theme. The actors remain the same in each season, but take on different roles. It's really awesome to see so many different sides to the actors.

I am not the biggest horror fan, but had heard so many good things about this show so tried to give it a go. I started at season 1, Murder House, and I could not get past episode 1. It was toooo scary! I really only watch scary films on Halloween, and even then I mainly focus on eating the movie snacks and making jokes to stop myself being scared. 

A few years later though, I decided to give it another go and just start from the current season which was season 3, Coven. This season seemed much less "scary" and had a lot of sass, which is what I like! Once I started I was hooked and have gone back and watched the first two (Murder House and Asylum) as well. Asylum was excellent but terrifying and I still feel weird if I see stills from it. 

Throughout my love affair with AHS (despite its rocky start!) I've fallen madly in love with Jessica Lange.

She is. Just. Fantastic. Words cannot even describe how she is the most perfect. See? My grammar goes out the door when trying to explain Jessica Lange.

Season 4 has just started and it is called Freak Show. It is set in Florida in 1952 and tells the story of one of the last remaining circus/freak shows of the time and their bid to survive. 

I would highly recommend this show, and it doesn't matter what order you watch them in, so get to it!


   Murder House                        Asylum                             Coven (place a hold!)

Below is a clip of one of my favourite moments from season 4, ep 1. I can't get enough of it!