For the Love of Burlesque: Part 7

And today, I was feeling a bit Brooklyn... so I thought I would share with you some "Little Brooklyn" humor. ;)

This particular burlesque act had me falling out of my chair the first time I saw it in Manhattan.

Little Brooklyn, hands down, has the BEST facial expressions I've ever seen from a burlesque performer on stage.

No. Seriously.

This video doesn't do it justice, but if you ever have the honor of seeing her live ...

Please, for the love of God ... get a front row seat. 

Her eyebrows move in ways you didn't think possible. And she is absolutely sexy to boot!

This particular "Kong" act is by far one of my favorite burlesque performances.
Pure genius I tell you!!
I mean, she made her own "half-Kong-body suit" ...
Who thinks this stuff up???

The Beauty Mark

If I could ask "God" for 3 body modifications, here's what they would be.


1. A bigger booty. 

2. A couple of extra inches ...  vertically speaking. 

3. A beauty mark like Marilyn Monroe's.

Many people speculate that Marilyn's beauty mark was a fake.
But I must say, if it was, she was nothing if not consistent!

 Many years ago, I actually "purchased" said mole in the form of a piercing ... aptly named for Marilyn herself.


(Quite honestly, I got tired of the smeared black pencil that would inevitably make its way across my face by the end of the night. And a tattoo - I decided - would have just looked like a gigantic clogged pore) ...


So today, I went to a tattoo shop on Haight Street to get a black stone for my Marilyn piercing. This way, I can mimic the classic beauty's placement AND color with a smear free, sterling silver option. ;)

But it got me to thinking ... why do we call facial moles, "beauty marks" ??


What is it about this slight facial "abnormality" that causes such a stir?

Woman for generations have actually been penciling in "skin lesions" to make themselves more desirable.

Marilyn, Jean Harlow and even Cindy Crawford have been the talk of the town, with girls as far as Siberia stenciling moles to mimic these classic beauties.



But it seems that, as all things "beautiful" do ... beauty marks have their limits.

Location is key ... and Size is everything.  ;) ;)

Vintage Austin, TX

I'm back in "sunny" California, after a nice (and very much needed) break in Austin, TX.

It was warm, people were friendly, BBQ sauce was flowing like wine ... everything you would hope for from a TX vacation.

So I thought I would share with you some of my favorite "vintage Austin" shots. The town is incredibly 1950's-centric, but we rarely see images of the city from lazy Texas days gone by.

Hope you enjoy some "flashbacks" from my hometown!

"Elizabeth Taylor's Closing Act" - A Vanity Fair Success in my Book

Much to my dismay, my June 2011 edition of Vanity Fair was delivered to my door with Katy Perry on the cover, and as you all know by now ... I'm not her biggest fan.

Grace Kelly ... Yes.
Katie Perry ... Nyet.

So you can imagine the joy I felt upon opening the magazine only to find that multiple pages were devoted to "Elizabeth Taylor's "Closing Act," detailing the last 10 years of her extraordinary life.

I quickly swept the floozie on the cover to the back of my mind, and went on to devour the article about "Maggie the Cat," the woman with the "lavender eyes."



I highly recommend you buy this copy of Vanity Fair, and read the full article. But in the meantime, I'll give you some of the highlights ... or at least the highlights as I see them. ;)

Did you know Elizabeth Taylor was married 7 times, and starred with the best of the best, including Paul Newman, Rock Hudson, and Montgomery Clift?? She was also the gay man's icon, and frequented gay bars ... sipping watermelon martinis belonging to others, from her wheelchair ... until the very end.

She was the first influential HIV activist, the owner of millions of dollars worth of jewels which she lavished on her guests and her dog in the ultimate game of "luxury dress up" ...

And quite possibly the classiest woman alive.
But interestingly enough, renowned for her "dirty mouth"...
I mean, what a woman!



According to Vanity Fair, "There was no such thing as a typical day for Elizabeth. She had a genius for creating chaos around her."


"Behind the swimming pool, Elizabeth's secluded garden bloomed with gardenias, lillies of the valley and birds of paradse amid lush palms and bamboo. Orchids were cultivated in a small greenhouse..."

"She had to abandon strolling in the garden, one of her favorite activities. As she found it necessary to rely on a wheelchair she still made forays into Hollywood, wearing cowboy boots, dressed in resplendent colors and ablaze with diamonds. She favored deep coral red lipstick and nail polish and wore her hair coiffed high and dyed Liz Taylor black."

She testified before Congress in 1990 to raise awareness for HIV, and apparently ... "Congressmen and senators who were opposed to taking on such a controversial subject left the hearings completely persuaded - and dazzled - by Elizabeth."

"Orrin Hatch, the staunch Reublican from Utah, left the hearings grinning like a schoolboy who had just been kissed by the prom queen. He voted for the bill."  And even better yet ... "No one wouldn't take a call from her. She'd call the Republican cloakroom, and senators would pass the phone to one another just to hear her voice." 


Michael Jackson was one of her very best friends, along with Marlon Brando ... and one day, MJ called her out of the blue for advice on how to "kiss a girl" ... Her answer ... "As if you wanted to climb into the other person's soul."



"At age 74, she had herself lifted from her wheelchair and lowered into a Plexiglas shark cage. When the tour guide cautioned her to remove her jewelry because their flash and glitter would drive the sharks into a frenzy, Elizabeth reportedly answered, Isn't that the fucking point??" 

"She had wanted to go (to a local gay bar) for Halloween one year, but Cooley discouraged her because there were just too many people. And anyway, there were six of her there already!" 

"To the end, Elizabeth was a perfectionist when it came to her hair and makeup. The way she would do her eyes, the way she would blend those different colors of eye shadows, the different blending of lipsticks. She was very passionate about it.



"She was fearless in standing up, with out hesitation, for those she felt were being treated unfairly, whether it was a close friend, a crew member, or an entire class of people."  ...

"But perhaps Richard Burton said it best years ago ... You haven't lived unless you've known Elizabeth"

Thank you Vanity Fair, for yet another inspirational article about an incredible woman. If you are interested in the full story, I highly encourage you to buy this issue. It's filled with juicy tidbits about her life, and quite frankly, made me grin from ear to ear.

I must add, that I wrote this while donning a set of diamond earrings and a vintage Dior necklace ... in true Elizabeth fashion. ;)

Busy Bee Again !!

Hello guys and gals!

I've been busy as a bee this week with my new job ... and loving it, by the way ;)

But I haven't been able to post as much as I would like. So today, this will be short and sweet.

My new job is dealing with online marketing campaigns, so I thought I would take us back to the good old days, when media was really just taking off, in honor of how far we've come.

If only soap and water could still be this glamorous!


I'm not gonna lie ... this 1950's commercial below almost has me running out to find the nearest bar of ivory!  .........

Or the nearest clam shell shaped bathtub.
Whatever comes first ;) Enjoy!

The Salty Dog Chronicles - "Pisco Sour"

And yet another Rockabilly-Worthy cocktail for your repertoire!

As you may have noticed, I have a certain affinity for "fizzy" drinks, which are typically made with whipped egg whites.

(Ruby Fizz, being my favorite) ...
But the Pisco Sour is a close second.

This drink is incredibly refreshing and uplifting, AND has a rather interesting past.




Apparently, in the 17th century the King of Spain banned wine ... I would have died ... leaving the poor Peruvians no choice, but to drink their imported European grapes in a new form.

Enter - Pisco, a colorless grape brandy produced in both Peru and Chile.


Then, in 1872, Elliot Stubb took off for Peru on a ship named, "Sunshine" ... determined to open a bar come hell or high water, and ended up concocting the very first Pisco Sour.



His concoction consisted of Pisco, lemon - or lime, egg whites, simple syrup and bitters.

Here, you can link to a fantastic recipe if you are interested in experimenting. The picture to the left shows one that Freddy whipped up for me recently. SUCH a yummy mix.

And on a side note ... since 2003, Peru has celebrated a National Pisco Sour Day, which takes place on the first weekend in February each year.

I think we should all mark our calendars going forward! ;)

Wedding Fever !!

It seems like EVERYONE is getting married!!

Tonight, I'm going to my dear friend Jayma's wedding in Carmel, CA.

Should be absolutely lovely :)

So in the spirit of "wedding fever" I thought I would post a couple of classic wedding photos, to get us in the mood.

I mean, you simply can't go wrong with the King and his adorable bride, Priscilla...

And what many would deem the most "Classic Rockabilly Wedding" of them all!

Flashback to May 1st, 1967 ...

Wanda Jackson - The Party Ain't Over !!

Last night was phenomenal!! 

Wanda Jackson - The QUEEN of Rockabilly music, performed live in San Francisco last night, and literally rocked the house! She sang all of her best songs, and covered her favorites by Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and even Amy Winehouse! 

If you've never heard her sing before, check out this clip. She was SUCH a firecracker ... back in the day, and still going strong. ;)

 

Wanda Jackson - Tonight!!!

And that's all I have to say, right?

Miss Wanda Jackson is playing tonight at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco! If you don't have tickets, get them - NOW! ;)

Wanda is an icon from the 50's and 60's, known to many as the "Queen" or the "First Lady" of Rockabilly.

She was famous for wearing fringe dresses, high heels and fancy jewelry .... and renowned for bringing "glamor" to the country music scene.

Her musical style mixed rock n' roll with country, making her the first Rockabilly sweetheart. And she's still rockin' today!

Wanda toured with AND dated Elvis ... jealous! ... And has had a music career so successful it lead her to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and an American Lifetime Achievement Award.

Talk about a "Rockabilly Sophisticate!" ... and I get to see her LIVE tonight!