Marilyn Monroe and Alexander McQueen and why I love them!

Marilyn Monroe has always been a source of inspiration for me. As a child, I was slightly obsessed with her compelling life story, the mesmerizing allure of her film characters and her sensuous beauty captured in photography. My grandfather, Sam Shaw, was a personal friend and photographer, known for taking iconic images of Marilyn over the subway grating with her skirt billowing in the film The Seven Year Itch. Over the years, my interest and adulation has not waned. I have been known to wear Marilyn Monroe-inspired clothes including a white, halter dress that I wore on my recent birthday in Las Vegas.  I'm also blond now although it's more of a sandy-beach tone than a platinum blond.

So on the 49th anniversary of her death today, I wanted to honor Marilyn in the best way I know, which is to share a few thoughts on how she continues to live on and inspire popular culture, art and fashion.  When I recently attended the Alexander McQueen show, Savage Beauty, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was struck by how prolific and visionary McQueen was. I had followed his career carelessly through the fashion mags and blogs never realizing his genius until now. One of the most striking pieces for me was a balsa wood dress that rotated on its display. As the dress, turned slowly, I noticed a silhouette from the carved out wood, reflecting on the mannequin's legs. The skirt part of the dress, seemed to undulate, creating a fan-like appearance.  Something seemed familiar. Motion, light, waves, shadows.  I immediately got a slight chill and then an epiphany. (By the way, I usually get a very sensory reaction to art when something really moves me.) Then I gazed up to see what the top of the dress looked like and yes, it was a halter top! I was transfixed by the notion that McQueen had made his own version of the famous Marilyn Monroe halter dress. I also realized that the imagery McQueen evoked was not only of the dress, but of the essence of Marilyn in the dress; a sexy, urban and exuberant burst of glamor.  And that's why I love Marilyn and McQueen. And my Gramps. Check it out.
photos:
Sam Shaw www.samshaw.com
Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art  http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moodle/5801596827/

Mangia!

Yay,  I survived making dinner and it wasn't horrible. Penne pasta with steamed veggies and I whipped up some fresh ricotta and grated parmigiano from a Mario Batali recipe! Not bad considering I'd almost rather go to the gym than cook a meal.  Cioa Bella blood orange gelato for desert and it's a done deal. Now I have to come up with next week's menu. Any suggestions?

Now I'm Cookin'!

Ok, I'm a procrastinator by nature but 3 years later, is my new record.  The last time I posted in my blog, which was actually the first time I posted in my blog, I was newly married (another first for me) and in the midst of my summer vacation aka regenerating from my work as a special education teacher.  It's an intense and demanding job that I love (but I also love my summer vacation!).  Over the past 3 years, I've thought about my blog and in many ways I've used Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and various other forms of social media I've tapped into, to share my photos, thoughts, journeys and accomplishments with family, friends and colleagues. But being a Leo (if you're a Leo you know what I mean; if you're not well... it doesn't really matter) and wanting to reach out to a broader audience, I've decided to revive my blog.   So now I'm signing off to make dinner, another first, since my husband actually enjoys cooking and my version of making dinner is heating up a Lean Cuisine. Wish me luck. If not there's always take out, right?

Age of Aquarius

Welcome friends and thanks for entering my portal.

There's so much going on right now on our home planet, but I'm going to focus for a moment on the upcoming lunar eclipse tomorrow. It's a partial lunar eclipse that will illuminate and bring forth a higher level of consciousness, due to the influences of the Moon, Neptune and Chiron, conjuncting the North Node, sited in the Aquarius Papers, by astrologer, Robert Wilkinson, see www.aquariuspapers.com

My favorite astrologer, Eric Francis, puts it this way, "Luna dimming out in Aquarius -- the sign most associated with social patterns -- is like a beacon for us to consider changing the ways we create society. This extends from the seemingly pettiest social patterns to how we relate to our families (Aquarius is all about tribal themes), and by extension, our communities, cities and as a nation." For more on Eric Francis, a provocative visionary, visit the Planet Waves, website, www.planetwaves.net

Now, I can't help singing"Age of Aquarius" in my head. Well, I did watch 40-year old Virgin last night and I recently saw the Public Theater's revival of Hair at Shakespeare in the Park. I saw the original Hair on Broadway, when I was 10. Yes, 10. My mom was a bit progressive in that way. I have been influenced and even inspired over the years, by the memory of my Hair experience, as well as the music ever since. I still have my childhood button, slogan reading, "make love, not war".
So what's really getting me lately is the idea in the 37 years since I saw the original show on Broadway, as an impressionable child, with my own butt-length, wavy brown locks, I can't help but feel we haven't really evolved all that much. The parallels to what was going on at that time to what's going on now are eerie, to say the least. The main differences are that gas was cheaper then and now we don't get to see images of an unpopular war on TV every night.
So let's try to work on the collective conscious and bring about much needed change for the good of everyone. Is that too much to ask?
A 10 year old girl wants to know.
love and rockets,
mrsrocket
ps i think i'm going to start wearing my old button