LadyLikes

That Alpert Amazing

2012-01-27T17:04:00.000+08:00

HAVING MADE A LIVING FOR OVER TEN YEARS capturing images of food as we know them, Caren Alpert decided to get closer to her subjects, and, with a fascinating series of microscopic food shots, get farther from their recognizable forms.

Those beautiful salmon-hued feathers up there? That's what your shrimp tail looks like up close.

Tempura anyone?

Terra Cibus by Caren Alpert, carenalpertfineart.com

That Cameo Noir

2012-01-26T17:26:00.000+08:00

FOLLOWING NET-A-PORTER'S KARL LAGERFELD LAUNCH, for which the designer interviews himself on cam, talk-show style, in his studio library, I've gathered here two new ways to wear the cameo, outside of being in blush, dangling at the end of a necklace. That's how I used to wear it in the 80's at least.

Though historically referring specifically to raised relief in contrasting color to its background, modern cameos are now being accepted as "cameos" even though they feature a single color, and in this case, a combination of both raised and depressed carvings; i.e. carvings above and below the background surface.

Bottega Veneta's cameo bracelet looks tough in all-black oxidized silver and Karl's cameo-intaglio embellished collar looks pop with a surprise ghost slogan printed around the back: "I only wear the latest thing. It's my job."

Really? I wish it were my job too.

Bottega Veneta cameo bracelet and Karl printed cotton-poplin cameo collar from www.net-a-porter.com

That Autodidacticism

2012-01-25T17:33:00.000+08:00

CHINESE-AMERICAN ARTIST AND POET WALASSE TING painted mainly female nudes, cats and other animals in broad strokes of lively colors. Despite being self-taught, his works have attracted a significant following and can be found amongst the permanent collections of MoMA, the Tate, the Guggenheim in New York and the Pompidou, amongst others. Ting is also a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship Award for drawing, as well as a published author of 13 books.

Self-taught, Walasse Ting is called an autodidact. From Greek autós or "self" and didaktikos, "teaching", autodidacticism is a form of learning wherein one directs one's own learning or literally, learns by oneself. This self-teaching may be done partially - in that the learning is complemented with some previous formal education and guidance from a mentor, or wholly - in that the learning is directed entirely by the learner.

While informal learning occurs spontaneously, experientially and in the natural function of everyday life, autodidacticism on the other hand contemplates and wills the learning, usually resulting in the autodidact spending considerable amounts of time studying, researching, reviewing or practicing. History's famous autodidacts include Leonardo da Vinci, Herman Melville, Tadao Ando, Abraham Lincoln, Heston Blumenthal, David Bowie and James Cameron; luminaries in diverse fields who have employed various degrees of self-taught learning that has brought success to their craft.

We don't all have the interest, ability or willpower to autodidact ourselves into historical stardom, in the same way that not everyone has the means to invest in many years of formal learning that may catapult us into historical stardom. It's just good to know that there is, this is, an available option for those who desire it, providing success or enrichment on levels both personal or phenomenal.

While I would grovel to accomplish even just a hundredth of what da Vinci had taught himself to be, Walasse Ting seems a realistic aspiration. Exhibited artist and published author curriculum begins today!

Okay, fine. Tomorrow.

Grape Flavor, Cat in the Garden, Do You Like Red Roses? and Lady with Vase by Walasse Ting, www.rogallery.com

That Tsarina of Tsarinas

2012-01-24T17:20:00.000+08:00

LOOSELY BASED ON CATHERINE THE GREAT'S MEMOIR, Josef von Sternberg's Catherine in The Scarlet Empress is a vicious and charming, almost loose, woman who finds herself both toughening and blossoming from girlhood amidst a bevy of other feisty female royals. Feeling more prime time soap than historical, the film is nonetheless a feast for the eyes with its grand halls of endless grotesques, sweeping scenes of excessive banquets, delicate lights against the darkest shadows and the most delicious costumes you did ever see.

Not to mention a most marvelous Marlene Dietrich who puts all of today's glamor to shame.

Viva las classic movie vixens!

The Scarlet Empress, 1934. Directed by Josef von Sternberg.

That Two and Six, Fortune Sticks

2012-01-23T17:02:00.000+08:00

BAD DAY TO WISH. TRY TOMORROW. Though he had forgotten long ago about them, Jaime had bought me these Chinese fortune sticks from a trip five years ago. Terrified of bad fortune, I've used the sticks only twice before today, serving merely as an obscure piece of decor on my bedside table.

Said to be the oldest known form of fortune telling in the world, Chinese fortune sticks take from the Kau Cim fortune telling practice performed in Buddhist and Taoist temples. Flat, usually bamboo, sticks resembling incense sticks are printed with numbers and painted red on one end. They are stored in a cylinder or tube which is to be grasped with both hands and shaken until a single prominent stick pops or drops out. The number on this stick will then correspond to an interpretation by a temple priest, or in this case, an interpretation from a book of Chinese poetic phrases.

Chien Tung is considered by the Chinese as an art rooted in religion and is not done for mere game or amusement. The method takes its wisdom from the idea of a person's future becoming past through the present. Reflecting on and understanding these present experiences in turn allows one to better face future indicators as they come.

As it is Chinese New Year today, I take another step to embracing the tradition of our Chinese-Filipino friends by pondering my own future, as it becomes my present today. The fortune sticks say that today is a bad day to wish. I suppose it may be a better day to be content? To be thankful.

As for being vexed by a light woman, what does that mean?! Light-weight? Light-skinned? Light-haired? Light... footed? No matter. I'm always "vexed" anyway.

Now, what to wear. Maybe red. Maybe gold!

Chien Tung Chinese Fortune Sticks, Zara gold cable knit sweater and red envelopes.

Those Firecrackers and Water Babies

2012-01-22T17:33:00.000+08:00

AFTER A FULL AFTERNOON of reading through Year of the Water Dragon predictions and analyses, I've come to a bad conclusion: that I am so terrible at this, and a good conclusion: that it is a good year for the Rat! Wood, fire, metal, water, weak and strong, they all have different fortunes up ahead but all sources point to some positivity for my birth year animal the Rat, which is supposed to be a friend of the Dragon's.

Sounds good. I'll leave it at that!

For all the rest of you Oxen, Tigers, Rabbits, Dragons, Snakes, Horses, Goats, Monkeys, Roosters, Dogs and Pigs, I wish you happiness and prosperity, whatever the readings may be. Cue fireworks. Bring out the tikoy. Reveal the ravishing red dress. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Sea Sound, Wind Chime #2, Firecracker, Mother's Coming Home, Happy Fishgirl and Fishgirl with Stick by Wai Ming, www.waiming.com

That Alchemy

2012-01-21T17:18:00.000+08:00

J'ADORE WAS A SCENT I WORE LOTS OF IN 2007, reminiscent of steamy days and carefree nights in Bangkok, where I attended month-long shoots as a young art director. There were no actual work days for me then, apart from whatever production entailed, and thus there was plenty of time to gallivant the city of immoderate retail and nightlife offerings. Good times!

The scent makes its way back to me, this time more opulent, as the rose and jasmine harmony that is J'adore L'Or. So far, it reminds me of one particular experience: last night's excess at our -early- send-off party, followed by today's payback for last night's excess at our -early- send-off party.

Are we off to a bad start? Sounds better to say we're off to a fun start.

J'adore L'Or by Dior, www.dior.com

That Strata Spectacular

2012-01-19T14:27:00.000+08:00

THE RATTLING OF seemingly brittle pieces, geometric shapes juxtaposed with the iconic perfection of classical paintings set to ethereal ambient tracks. London-based Davide Quagliola, who goes simply by Quayola, is a visual artist, director, graphic designer and multimedia master, having shown and installed works in over 22 locations worldwide, from Seoul to Rome.

Strata is a series of works that takes from the name itself: strata being a series or layers of rock. With this, now on its fourth installment, the artist investigates relationships between the digital and the classical, new formations layering upon old ones that result in a beautiful shattering of already familiar visions.

Excerpts from Strata #4 and Strata #3 from the Strata series by Quayola. www.quayola.com

That Space Invader

2012-01-18T17:05:00.000+08:00

I'VE BEEN SICK FOR A WEEK NOW and really, having friends in town is not the best time to be, as heading out and overestimating your resistance would only result in a longer period of downtime.

While my throat serves me up excruciating pain and my un-suppressible coughing, sleepless nights, I guess full days of net loitering in bed doesn't hurt, paired with justified gluttony and pop movie marathons. Ah, the life of a teenager! Last night over pizza I thought I'd watch something less obscure than usual and turned to the very long and enjoyable Watchmen, which I've seen a couple times before and do like very much minus the thoroughly cheesy narrations by Rorschach. Was the forced hoarse voice really necessary?!

There was that scene on Mars, barren and vast and large, quite spectacular with that glass clockwork of sorts and that glowing blue man. Made me wonder if and when the day will come when travel -business and leisure- will extend beyond our planet of blue and green. Would they build cities like they do here? Hotels? Resorts? And would they instate passports and visas too?

Steve Thomas creates travel posters for existing, impossible and as above, existing yet impossible destinations, rousing the imagination of sci-fi dummies like me who is finding themselves still unshowered at mid-day in an an unfashionable melding of rumpled bedsheets and an oversized Universal Studios T-shirt.

Whose shirt is this? Whose life is this? Why am I being possessed by an adolescent male?!

Need to get better and get out of here!

Travel posters by Steve Thomas, www.stevethomasart.com

That Pilgrimage

2012-01-17T14:52:00.000+08:00

OR REVERSE PILGRIMAGE? Severine goes from virtuous housewife to -quite literally- daytime whore in Luis Buñuel's Belle de Jour.

Interesting in the film are styling cues which employ cable-knits, tweed coats and other high-necklined numbers paired with Roger Vivier's iconic Pilgrim pump. These in contrast with a sheer veil-cloak, lacy undergarments, big unbuckled boots and a pair of brand new black stilettos taken fresh out of their box paint a clear juxtaposition between the antiheroine's worlds of domesticity and desire.

Have you ever ventured into living two disparate lives? What lines have you crossed in pursuit of desire?

Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour, 1967. Directed by Luis Buñuel.

Those Days of Completion

2012-01-16T14:46:00.000+08:00

FROM TODAY TILL SUNDAY, the show's last week on display, I will be posting a work a day on rudysanpedroart.com to gradually complete the full 7-day series that is Genesis.

See it live if you are in Manila. There's nothing like standing before a canvas and zooming into and out of details by stepping forward and back. And if by any chance you catch me there, I'll personally take you through each work myself!

Genesis by Rudy San Pedro, www.rudysanpedroart.com

Those Paper Faces on Parade

2012-01-15T17:07:00.000+08:00

HAUNTING. SUMPTUOUS. As you can and should expect from a magazine called How To Spend It. With masked ballerinas I suppose? Don't get me started on balletic regrets.

The images bring to my mind Annie Lennox, Dracula and the unnamed Phantom of the Opera; references I've carried since my high school days and thus influencing much of our high school plays. Dracula was one, Sleepy Hollow doesn't quite fall into the category but we wore the same costumes anyway.

Missing the old antics. I mean theatrics.

Holding Court from How To Spend It November 2011. Images from www.fashionising.com Watch the video on www.howtospendit.com

Those Bowler Hats and History Lessons

2012-01-14T14:48:00.000+08:00

ON A DRIZZLY RIZAL DAY, we took a lovely walk that way with Carlos Celdran. The old walled city of Intramuros, while not instantly picturesque, echoed of a bleak, colorful and golden past that we locals tend to take for granted. Anyone for Pearl of the Orient or Paris on the Prairie?

It was a lovely afternoon too, spent with friends old and new, eager to take in some heritage before a generous intake of pancit, kare-kare and salsa monja, amongst other much enjoyed sides and courses at dinner in the Legardas' ancestral home.

Kudos to Lara Santico, pictured above, for spotting the rainbow.

Rizal Day at Intramuros, Manila, December 30, 2011. Carlos Celdran tour information at celdrantours.blogspot.com

That Journey of Little Charms

2012-01-13T14:56:00.000+08:00

WHY WON'T YOU LET ME GO? From Christian Borstlap of Part of a Bigger Plan, an animated short definitely not short of charm: The Great Journey of Little Bagcharms launches Louis Vuitton's Hot Air Balloon Bag Charm, the newest addition to its decade of elegant little collectibles.

Friday the 13th today. Are you adorning yourself with any particular charms?

The Great Journey of Little Bagcharms by Christian Borstlap for Louis Vuitton, www.youtube.com Also on Louis Vuitton's New, Now, www.louisvuitton.com

That Simple Guide to Musing

2012-01-12T17:22:00.000+08:00

A GOOD FRIEND RECENTLY GAVE ME a journal -not this one- as an early going-away present for when we move. He says the print on the cover reminded him of the autumnal mural in our dining room, a work of art which I will greatly miss.

Perfect, I thought. My blog's grown quite a bit since its inception and I could use a more private channel for my odd ideas and bizarre moods. As well, with pen and paper, you can't delete, erase or undo. So it's raw and real. Plus, you can draw.

And so have I been indulging my natural melancholy, especially so on sick days like these when it hurts my throat to sing loud and proud. I can't be deprived of writing too!

For the beginner at introspection, journal-writing has been made simple with Taschen's best-selling Simple Diary by Philipp Keel. In print format and mobile app, the diary "offers structure for those who don't have time to wonder, making it easy to record life's moments." And non-moments too.

GIRLS ARE BORN... 4. to feel and to deal. Revealing!

Keel's Simple Diary by Philipp Keel, www.simplediary.com available at www.taschen.com

That Naming Game

2012-01-11T17:33:00.000+08:00

THEY'RE ANIMATED GIFS. BUT NOT. With a coined and trademarked name, elevated quality and an impressive client list, visual graphics artist Kevin Burg and photographer Jamie Beck breathed new sophistication into the .gif, poising it as a new format of promise and potential: the Cinemagraph.

Moments looped to eternity. Trendy or revolutionary?

Cinemagraphs by Kevin Burg and Jamie Beck, cinemagraphs.com

Those Paintings in Waiting

2012-01-10T16:39:00.000+08:00

AN END IN SIGHT FOR A NIGHT OF BEGINNINGS. I am so not good at this whole events business and really it was ambitious for us to take on it ourselves, along with everything else needed to launch an exhibit. Not to mention flaring and flailing tempers between family members. Hey, it's bound to happen at some point.

Nonetheless tonight is the night and I wish I could say -and do- relax after all of this is done. But it's really just another check in the long list that is January and I'm surprised to be reminded it's only been ten days since the year began.

Music, check. Thank You cards, check. Dress, check. Now what to do about my neglected toes?

Genesis pre-show at ArtistSpace, Ayala Museum. www.rudysanpedroart.com

That Sushiquette

2012-01-09T17:20:00.000+08:00

IT WASN'T ALWAYS the way we know it to be today. Sushi was first in south China before being introduced to Japan and literally means "sour-tasting" in reference to its original composition of fish wrapped in fermented rice. Very different to today's fancy Western-style rolls.

But whether it's chirashizushi, temaki, futomaki, nigirizushi, the more uncommon narezushi, oshizushi and inarizushi, or the more common California, Dragon or Dynamite rolls, what is shared by all types of sushi is sushi rice and well, sushi etiquette.

With a Wiki search, some mildly entertaining videos, some highly entertaining forum discussions and a personal tip from a friend, Hiromichi Tani, I've come to discover how to bid sayonara to my sushi-eating faux pas. At least some of them.

CHOPSTICKS Traditionally, sashimi is eaten with chopsticks. Sushi you eat with your fingers. When picking up either one from a communal plate, use the back end of your chopsticks so the mouthpiece end doesn't touch the other food. Turn your chopsticks back the right way around once the piece is on your plate. Though wooden chopsticks commonly provided in more casual restaurants tend to splinter, rubbing them together is discouraged. Doing so expresses that you consider them of inferior quality.

SOY SAUCE Pour only the soy sauce you need. Refill later if necessary. When dipping in soy sauce, dip the sushi upside down as the soy sauce is intended for flavoring the topping, not the rice.

WASABI Mixing wasabi into soy sauce is traditionally considered acceptable when eating sashimi but not when having sushi. Ideally, sushi is sized to be eaten in one bite and has the right amount of wasabi to be eaten without adding more. If you prefer more wasabi, smear some on the topping before dipping into the soy sauce. Sushi served with their own sauce, on the other hand, are generally not meant to be dipped at all.

GINGER Have a piece of ginger in between bites. They're provided as a palette cleanser and not as a condiment or side dish.

Of course you can eat sushi in whatever way you like. The Japanese themselves aren't all strictly traditional about it and different places serve sushi and Japanese tableware differently anyway.

Just as we don't necessarily always use the right glasses for particular liquor or separate forks for salad and dinner, everyday eating need not be overwhelmed by etiquette. If anything, it should be a joy, not a burden, to eat things right.

Sushi tonight!

Heavy - The appearance of a Fukagawa waitress in the Tempo Era by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, www.artsanddesignsjapan.com and Bowl of Sushi by Hiroshige Utagawa, commons.wikimedia.org

That Room to Grow

2012-01-08T17:22:00.000+08:00

IT'S NEVER EASY BEING THE BETTER PERSON. Especially when you're up against someone of age and supposed wisdom or experience.

The good can handle it, growing taller and stronger than most and rising above and beyond most things. Even things they shouldn't have to.

But what if you aren't good? What if you're just average?

Wig by Tania Da Cruz, taniadacruz.portfoliobox.net

That Color of Your Energy

2012-01-05T17:24:00.000+08:00

HAVING GROWN UP WITH MEDIUM SKIN TONE in a culture obsessed with fair, light or "rosy white", I've always kept to a wardrobe palette that would do everything but enhance my natural tan. Brights were out, as they made me look darker. Even more so neon, which had the same effect, intensified.

Sticking to pastels and neutrals most my life, the colors -or lack thereof- seemed to have shaped my general temperament into semi-permanence: sallow and subdued, never cheerful, loud or aggressive.

Unless intoxicated that is, which turns me bright and bubbly, no matter what colors I'm in.

What colors best define you?

Kenzo Spring/Summer 2012, photographed by Erik Madigan Heck. www.maisondesprit.com

These First-Timers

2012-01-04T17:06:00.000+08:00

A BIT OF FUN: Madonna's first-ever talk-show appearance back in 1987.

For my first post of the year, I mulled and mused for three days over what to show or say. I thought about it in the kitchen, on the road, while waiting to fall asleep, while exasperated over the inconveniences of 2012 so far, while having late breakfast, while having even later coffee.

Then last night, while exasperated over the inconveniences of 2012 so far, I thought I'd cheer myself up with some Madonna, my queen, my ultimate. After bouts of nostalgia and emotional outpouring over "Like a Prayer", "Dear Jessie", "Rain", "Oh Father", "Cherish" and other old-time favorites, I came upon a clip I'd have been too young to see and decided to stop thinking about what to post because here's something that put a smile on my face. And that felt good.

Though after quarter life it feels as if most milestones have been reached, most firsts experienced and fond memories already made, there's still much excitement to be had in this seemingly plateau-ed drag of adulthood. We just need to recognize them when they come and make them when they don't.

We're all virgins to something. If there's life, there are firsts.

Now. I really should buy me my first proper bustier.

Madonna on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, 1987. www.youtube.com

These Beginnings

2011-12-31T17:25:00.000+08:00

TEN DAYS TO GO! Keeping me busy all month, employing every bit of my not-so-free time off employment, the show has required me to be writer, designer, coordinator, runner, promoter, web designer and consultant, all while being daughter to an artist and artist's wife.

A month well spent, a month well done.

Genesis is my father's second one-man-show since retirement, an aggressive and remarkable leap I believe from his more subtle first exhibit in 2009.

The show re-imagines the Hebrew story of creation, depicting the narrative through a gradual transition from abstract to fully realistic. Expect the first few creation days of light, space, sea and sky in abstract, then the succeeding formations of land, beasts and sea creatures in an increasingly almost-photographic rendition.

Genesis marks beginnings for me too, happening just before Jaime, the pets and I are set to end this chapter lived in our bright, white Manila home to begin a new one somewhere beyond the sea. In leaving Manila, I had also left advertising -possibly momentarily, but who knows- in a charmed career that has defined me for the past five years.

What now? Do I paint and take after my father? Do I attempt to rekindle my love for theater? Do I do nothing and for once just gallivant, flounder, leave it be and live?

It's not easy to wait and see. But when you've lived all your life as if you were running out of time, maybe it's good to pause and realize that a break is not necessarily a waste. There's plenty of time and plenty more opportunities. After all, Julia Child didn't discover her French culinary calling until she was almost 50. That gives me 23 years.

Here's to beginnings!

Genesis runs from January 10-22 at ArtistSpace, Ayala Museum, Makati Avenue corner De la Rosa Street, Makati, Metro Manila. www.rudysanpedroart.com

That Constant

2011-12-30T17:09:00.000+08:00

SOME THINGS WE THROW OUT after our end-of-year not-so-spring cleaning: junk, clutter, stuff that have gone too old or that we've grown too old for. Some things we try to throw out after our end-of-year not-so-spring cleaning: issues, baggage, bad habits.

While change is the only constant, there are many changes we need to induce. Some changes, after all, cannot come about on their own.

Some changes too, need not come about at all.

Life goes on. But the good things, we keep.

This Predator, That Prey

2011-12-28T17:03:00.000+08:00

LITTLE RED MEETS WOLF MEETS GRANDMA in Ulyana Sergeenko's Fall/Winter 2011-2012 collection lookbook. Lovely collection. And yet winter calls a very reluctant me.

Thoughts on power and sexuality fill my mind today after yet another memorable and disturbing two hours with Almodóvar. La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In) drastically alters nature along with the paradigms that have become natural to us in this world we live in.

When lines are blurred and roles reversed between predator and prey, where or with whom does one's compassion lie?

Ulyana Sergeenko F/W 2011-2012, images from www.glamour.ru

That Feasting Fixation

2011-12-26T17:32:00.000+08:00

OF THE MANY PLEASURES WE INDULGE IN TOGETHER, feasting has still got to be a -if not the- favorite communal activity for any human being belonging to a community. After all, we still celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's eve, Chinese New Year, Eid ul-Fitr and other important dates with a meal and not a game, video game, work, sex, kissing, exercise or TV show; though some of these activities may find themselves present in certain households.

More common I assume are video games and TV?

Despite various new world ways we spend time with one another, as well as an undying desire for perfect, flaunt-worthy physiques achieved via emerging and re-emerging diet and fitness trends, it's safe to say that our appetite for communing with each other while consuming more food or drink than we can handle trumps all.

Pledge all you want to never eat or drink again. There's still New Year's eve next week. Let's see then how we go.

Paintings from top: Christ in the House of Mary and Martha by Vincenzo Campi, Hip hip hurra! Künstlerfest in Skagen by Peder Severin Krøyer, Bauernhochzeit by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Das Diner by Franz von Stuck, La Fruttivendola by Vincenzo Campi, Le Déjeuner by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Pantry by Frans Snyders, Autumn Feast by Niko Pirosmani, Kitchen by Vincenzo Campi. All images from commons.wikimedia.org