book review: Little Fires Everywhere
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on September 15, 2017
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Penguin Press| September 12, 2017| 384 pages| $27.00| ISBN: 978-0-7352-2429-2
RATING: ****/5*
“She had, in short, done everything right and she had built a good life, the kind of life she wanted, the kind of life everyone wanted. Now here was this Mia, a completely different kind of woman leading a completely different life, who seemed to make her own rules with no apologies.”
What can I say about a novel that’s already garnered immense praise? Reese Witherspoon chose Little Fires Everywhere for her book club and plans to turn it into a miniseries. I adored Celeste Ng’s exquisite debut novel Everything I Never Told You. An immensely talented writer, Celeste Ng addresses race, class, youth, perception, expectations and family dynamics through gorgeous, thoughtful and tender writing.
At the outset of the novel, there’s a colossal fire and the why, who and how slowly unwinds throughout the novel. We start with the preppy picture-perfect Richardson family. Mr. Richardson is an attorney, Mrs. Richardson is a freelance reporter for the local newspaper. She grew up in Shaker Heights and convinced her husband to move back to the community to raise a family. The couple has four teenage children: Izzy, Moody, Lexie and Trip. Izzy’s the unpredictable one, Moody [aptly named] is the sensitive and cerebral one, Lexie is pretty and smart and popular one and Trip is the athletic one. I’d not heard of the idyllic Shaker Heights community –sounds like a gated community with its rules and regulations and standards–and this novel definitely provided me with a detailed visual. Growing up, I didn’t live in a neighborhood and at high school reunions always feel a bit excluded [not the only way that happens] when people connect through whatever neighborhood they resided in.
A single artist mother, Mia, and her daughter, Pearl, become tenants in a two-family home owned by the Richardsons, the disparate siblings develop connections with either mother or daughter or both. An itinerant pair, seemingly due to Mia’s artistic temperament, Mia promises her daughter Pearl that they’ll stay in Shaker Heights for a while. How difficult for a girl to have to constantly move about. There’s a romanticism to an artistic life but it’s the mother’s choice and not the daughter’s and understandable that she’d be attracted to the Richardson family’s stability and prosperity. Ng writes: “They knew important people, the Richardsons: the mayor, the director of the Cleveland Clinic, the owner of the Indians. They had season tickets at Jacobs Field and the Gund.” In comparison: “Mia and Pearl got as much as they could used—or better yet, free. In just a few weeks, they’d learned the location of every Salvation Army store, St. Vincent de Paul’s, and Goodwill in the greater Cleveland area.” There’s a moment where Lexie lends Pearl one of her tops and Pearl seems to be stepping into Lexie’s body and into the family by wearing the garment.
To supplement her inconsistent income from art sales, Mia finds part-time work at a local Chinese restaurant and with Mrs. Richardson’s encouragement starts cleaning and preparing meals for the Richardson family. By then Pearl and Moody have become close and Pearl hangs out to watch television at their house after school. In the same classes, Moody and Pearl develop a close friendship while she develops a crush on Trip, a junior and a jock, and longs to be more like Lexie. A fascinated Izzy soon begins work as Mia’s art assistant. Lexie confides in Mia in a way she’d never confide in her own mother. Quite understandable as these are moody teenagers striving to both fit in, express themselves and figure out who they want to be. Most everyone sacrifices something in their path to adulthood or to career success or family desires
When one of Elena Richardson’s oldest friends attempts to adopt a Chinese-American baby, it drives a wedge between Elena and Mia and finds their children questioning what’s fair. At that point, Pearl and Trip and Lexie and her boyfriend Brian are all sexually active. There’s a pregnancy scare to align with the adoption efforts. This is a lovely description of Pearl from Trip’s perspective: “Pearl was smarter than any of them and yet she seemed comfortable with everything she didn’t know: she lingered comfortably in the gray spaces.” Pearl possesses the wisdom of a girl who’s had to adapt to varied settings and too often make her place as the new girl. She’s adept at adapting. She’s observant and feeling. And now she’s feeling safe and comfortable. Elena starts to delve into Mia’s past and doing so will dramatically change her children’s lives forever.
Throughout the novel, Ng deftly takes the reader inside these family’s homes and into the depths of her characters’ minds and hearts. How can you separate your goals from those of others around you? What do you need to do to find yourself and to be satisfied with that? If fitting in means you have to give up your dreams will you ever be truly content? Several times as a plot twist clicked, I had to stop a moment to admire Ng’s cleverness. This is a must-read– a wonderful, graceful and moving novel.
–review by Amy Steele
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Penguin Press.
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Project Runway recap: We’re Sleeping Wear? [S16.Ep4]
Posted by Amy Steele in TV on September 8, 2017
Project Runway. Season 16. Episode 4 on LIFETIME. judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Zac Posen. Guest judge: Demi Lovato. Host: Heidi Klum. Mentor: Tim Gunn.
Episode 4: “We’re Sleeping Wear?”
Heidi and Tim arrive onstage. Apparently designers were called back right after last week’s elimination. Heidi is wearing a backpack and Tim’s hauling backpack on wheels. They announce that designers will be spending the night atop the Empire State Building.
This week’s challenge: create a sleepwear look for Heidi Klum Intimates sleepwear inspired by Empire State Building and New York skyline. Designers will also create their own textile.
Aaron: “Sleepwear’s kinda cute and sexy so I think it could be fun.”
Samantha: “I love painting so this seems like it’s right in my wheelhouse.”
Heidi calls out Claire for looking scared. Claire says: “That building is very tall.” They all head over in pajamas. Claire holds Shawn all the way up on the elevator. Amy notes: “It feels like floating through some kind of vintage movie dream.” Once on the 86th floor and out on the observation deck, they sketch for 30 minutes. “It’s definitely a magical moment,” Brandon observes.
Kenya plans to design a romper. Michael is making a slip style garment with angles like the Chrysler building or a “Harlem renaissance” dress. Kentaro says he’s not going to construct an all-black garment but instead a colorful maxi dress. In the morning, a full suited Tim bearing breakfast sandwiches sneaks up to wake the designers. I hope they brushed their teeth at least!
Back in the workroom they have about 11 hours for this one-day challenge. Brandon’s wearing his hair in two braids. Aaron said he’s doing a two piece. Sounds like pajamas to me. Kenya says her style is classy, sexy, trendy and she doesn’t do sleepwear. Shawn’s designing a long jumpsuit while her twin Claire is making an art deco print. The twins seem calmer and quieter. As annoying as they can sometimes be they’re also enthusiastic and dedicated. It’ll be hard when one gets eliminated before the other. Deyonte isn’t yet sure of his direction.
Kenya’s struggling with her textile. As he holds up his textile, Kentaro says to Brandon: “Hey brother it looks like I killed someone with this fabric.” Brandon explains: “Kentaro’s my buddy. That’s my G. That’s my brother. I look to him for advice. Just to have the connection has got me in a good place.” We’re getting to that time in the season when bonds get formed.
Heidi and Tim arrive for critiques and Heidi says: “Did you have time for a shower or no? No. That’s okay.” As they approach Shawn, Tim tells Heidi: “This is remarkable. She has something on a form. She never has for me.” Tim may not be a fan. Heidi tells the twins to chat less, work more. Deyonte’s hot pink and gray confuses Heidi who refers to it as a clown costume. Ayana explains she won’t be designing modest this time around because under the modest clothing is something not so much modest. Margarita shows her kimono robe. “I see a menstrual cycle,” Tim says. When Michael shows his strappy design, Heidi’s concerned. She wonders how to get out to go to the bathroom. I think it’s not the bathroom that concerns her. Claire is using purple and bright pink. Amy talks about a sunset and cityscape and Heidi tells her she’s thinking too literally. Heidi doesn’t think Kenya’s romper jumpsuit is very sleepwear. “You wanta be in the bed. You’ve got a boo. It’s gotta be easy.” In other words for the Heidi Klum Intimates collection it should be easy access and easy in and easy out. [I took a look at Heidi Klum Intimates and wasn’t wowed by anything. nothing stands out as unique sleepwear.]
Later on as they continue to work it turns out the twins ARE irritating everyone again. This time their tag team approach bothers the other designers. “I think we all help each other out in the workroom but I think the twins take it to another level. It’s not fair,” Margarita says.
Kentaro’s model says she’s the “Naomi of plus size” and that she gave some advice to Kentaro because she’s known for her shape. Aaron’s having problems with his fabric as its texture changed and there’s not much flow. Amy had remarked that he’d have a tough time working with his fabric. Kentaro has learned a new American term and tells Samantha he wants to stop being anal so often. Samantha hugs him. “Kentaro is all sugar and happiness and butterflies and so sweet,” she explains. A model says she feels frumpy and matronly and too covered up in Deyonte’s design.
Runway notes: Amy’s design is in a pretty print and color. Margarita’s look is bleh. Claire’s doesn’t do it for me. Michael’s look is very pretty. Don’t like anything about Deyonte’s design. I want Ayana’s look. It’s super lovely. I want Shawn’s look in a different color. Kentaro created a nice print. I adore Samantha’s design and want those pants.
HIGH SCORES:
Michael
He tells judges his inspiration is art deco.
Demi: “I love the color combination. The blush is so pretty and flattering on many complexions. The neckline is unique. It’s practical and comfortable.”
Heidi: “It looks sophisticated, sexy, expensive.”
Zac: “I wrote down Deco Cleopatra.”
Nina: “I love the effect in the back. The multi straps. It feels very 1920s. Very New York.”
Shawn
She says she noticed the plaque of origin that stated that the building is sleek and slender and she wanted to “evoke the same kind of feeling.”
Heidi: “You are giving us something sophisticated, sexy, elegant.”
Zac: “It looks very polished.”
Nina: “I love the detail of the print. It looks modern, sophisticated, sensuous.”
Kentaro
He says he saw a sunrise and the top part he modeled after the building. He also noted that it “flows like a butterfly.”
Heidi: “This I can see a woman wanted to go to bed in. We have design here. It feels easy. A little flouncy.”
Nina: “This is adorable, charming, fresh. There’s something very feminine about it in a very quiet and modern way.”
Zac: “Beautiful draping. Effortless. Easy. It has something playful. I thought it was a breeze and happy.”
LOW SCORES:
Aaron
He tells designers that he was inspired by a vent. Which is problematical in and of itself. A vent? Of all the aspects of that building?
Heidi: “I’m so surprise. You’re giving two pieces that are too tight.”
Nina: “The waistband looks like a bad sweatpant. It’s a problem.”
Zac: “I thought it was lackluster. This is Runway. The world is watching.” IS it Zac? I’m not sure ratings-wise.
Deyonte
He tells the judges that after Tim and Heidi’s critique he did some revamping and thinks the model looks beautiful and dreamy.
Nina: “First of all, this doesn’t even look like something to sleep or lounge in. It looks like a dress. Her armhole feels very high up so she’s looking tight on top. The shape is nothing.”
Zac: “It’s boring. This didn’t do it for me today.”
Heidi: “Where is the sexy? Show me the sexy.”
Kenya
For her inspiration, she says she thought art. She starts crying during the critique and judges go easy.
Heidi: “I’m sad to see you at the bottom.”
Zac: “You have a beautiful color palette.”
Nina: “You didn’t take the easy way out and you get a lot of credit.”
Michael is the WINNER
shop Michael’s design here.
Deyonte is OUT
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new music: The National
Posted by Amy Steele in Music on September 7, 2017
The National will release its seventh studio album, Sleep Well Beast [4AD], Friday, September 8, 2017. The beautiful, dark, melancholic, soothing, soaring album was produced by Aaron Dessner with co-production by Bryce Dessner and Matt Berninger and recorded at Aaron’s Hudson Valley, NY studio, Long Pond.
Sleep Well Beast TRACK LIST:
Nobody Else Will Be There
Day I Die
Walk It Back
The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
Born to Beg
Turtleneck
Empire Line
I’ll Still Destroy You
Guilty Party
Carin at the Liquor Store
Dark Side of the Gym
Sleep Well Beast
The National is:
Matt Berninger [vocals]
Aaron Dessner [guitar, keyboards]
Bryce Dessner [guitar]
Scott Devendorf [bass]
Bryan Devendorf [drums]
North American Tour Dates:
10/05/17 – Wang Theatre – Boston, MA (SOLD OUT)
10/06/17 – Forest Hills Stadium – New York, NY
10/11/17 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
10/12/17 – CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre – San Diego, CA
10/14/17 – Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
11/27/17 – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall – Portland, OR (SOLD OUT)
11/28/17 – Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
11/29/17 – Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
12/01/17 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Vancouver BC, CANADA (SOLD OUT)
12/02/17 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Vancouver BC, CANADA (SOLD OUT)
12/04/17 – Verizon Hall – Philadelphia, PA (SOLD OUT)
12/07/17 – Metropolis – Montreal QC, CANADA (SOLD OUT)
12/08/17 – Metropolis – Montreal QC, CANADA (SOLD OUT)
12/09/17 – Sony Centre – Toronto ON, CANADA (SOLD OUT) (SOLD OUT)
12/10/17 – Hamilton Place Theatre – Hamilton ON, CANADA (SOLD OUT)
12/12/17 – Civic Opera House – Chicago, IL (SOLD OUT)
12/13/17 – Civic Opera House – Chicago, IL (SOLD OUT)
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new music: Sparks
Posted by Amy Steele in Music on September 7, 2017
Sparks, Hippopatamus [BMG] out September 8, 2017
–art-pop, glam rock. Cinematic, international, avant-garde, cabaret style art pop/ glam rock from California brothers Ron Mael and Russell Mael. They’ve been around since the 70s. I’d not heard of them. The music reminds me of Wonderstuff and Dresden Dolls. Lots of piano. Varied instrumentation. It’s super creative, fun, daring, edgy.
‘Hippopotamus’ tracklisting:
01. Probably Nothing
02. Missionary Position
03. Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)
04. Scandinavian Design
05. Giddy Giddy
06. What The Hell Is It This Time?
07. Unaware
08. Hippopotamus
09. Bummer
10. I Wish You Were Fun
11. So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play?
12. When You’re A French Director
13. Amazing Mr. Repeat
14. A Little Bit Like Fun
15. Life With The Bacbeths
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book review: The Burning Girl
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on September 5, 2017
The Burning Girl by Claire Messud. W.W. Norton| September 2017| 247 pages | $25.95| ISBN: 978-0-393-63502-7
RATING: ****/5*
“You get to middle school, and you think about these things. The world opens up: history stretches behind you, and the future stretches before you, and you’re suddenly aware of the wild, unknowable interior lives of everyone around you, the realization that each and every person lives in an unspoken world as full and strange as your own, and that you can’t ever hope entirely to know anything, not even yourself.”
Writer Claire Messud adroitly explores themes such as friendship, what it means to be a woman, opportunity, choices, class, perception and artistic personalities with thoughtfulness and precision. The Emperor’s Children stunned me with its near perfection and it remains one of my favorite novels. I tore through her brilliant novel The Woman Upstairs. I realize now I need to read Messud’s back catalog. Messud’s known for writing what many consider unlikable characters. She excels at it. It’s the strength of a talented writer to write unlikable characters in a readable, magnificent and emotive manner. We may all possess unlikable qualities. Sometimes likeable characters are just too perfect, just too likeable to make for a satisfying read.
In this compelling novel with a realistic portrayal of female friendship in all its infatuation, moodiness and competitiveness, childhood friends Julia and Cassie fall out in high school, not surprisingly as we often change and need different things at different stages of our lives. Something terrible happens to Cassie. How much can one remember about our childhood friendships and what drew us to that person and what pushed us apart? Julia, the narrator of this novel, acknowledges that her memories might be murky way back when she and Cassie first met and “became friends in the second week of nursery school when we were four years old.” Julia recalls what drew the girls together and ultimately pushed them apart.
It’s rare the childhood friendship that carries into adulthood. Most of us evolve so much that those relationships fall to the side. This novel will make you reminisce about your childhood friendships. I’ve seen some childhood friends at high school reunions, while others I’ve lost forever, some for no reason then that we grew apart, we went in different directions as we developed into adults. It’s comforting to have this intelligent, masterful author write about these things because those were challenging times for many of us. Messud divided the novel into three sections. In the first section, the girls are children. This section’s influenced by fairy tales, Messud explains. In the second section, time passes and events have wider consequences as Julie and Cassie move into adulthood. In the third section, Julia and Cassie are “nominally into adulthood” and are both making up stories.
It doesn’t bode well for Cassie that she lives with only her mom Bev, a hospice nurse struggling to make ends meet. Messud writes: “It wasn’t hard for Cassie, who never confided in her mother. Bev Burnes wasn’t reliable; she was moody and weird in spite of her perma-smiles, and even if she seemed cool about something, it didn’t mean she’d stay cool with it, and weeks or even months later she would throw it back in Cassie’s face, or blab like it was nothing. Cassie had learned the hard way not to trust her mother.” Julia lives comfortably with two parents who earn enough money to allow Julia the comfort to not worry about daily necessities. Both work from home which means Julia always has her parents around for guidance, security, etc. Julia’s father is a dentist with an office in the (no longer used) stables on their property [“When he goes to work, he walks a hundred feet out the back door.”] and her mother “is a freelance journalist, a vagueness that seems to mean she can be a journalist when it suits her. She writes restaurant and movie reviews for the Essex County Gazette, and for the past few years she’s written a literary blog that has a following, including an adult English class in Tokyo that writes very polite comments.” Julia recalls: “Even when I was alone, I liked to know that I wasn’t really entirely alone; but that wasn’t how it was for Cassie.”
It seems clear that something will happen even if we aren’t already expecting it from the book jacket because these two girls are from such different family situations. When you’re young you can ignore those differences and how they may shape your future and your development. There’s this astute observation: “With someone you’ve always known and have loved without thinking, there’s the strangeness of knowing everything and nothing about them at the same time.” Julia’s the “good girl” and Cassie’s the “bad girl.” At least as literary characters. Cassie lives on the edge. She’s delving into everything and anything she can without hesitation and without considering any consequences for her action and behavior. Developing brains and all. It’s hard to be a teenage girl. Some girls want to grow up quickly. Some girls want to be more adult than they are. Some girls are more adult than their age. It happens. I had lots of friends who got fake IDs so they could drink before they turned 21, both in high school and in college. My brother got my friends the fake IDs. I had no desire to do so.
Messud, at a recent book reading, explained that as teenagers we have “a choice to opt out of the sexual economy.” Such a brilliant way to describe that phase when we hit puberty or start liking boys (or girls). Julia isn’t hurrying into sexuality as much as Cassie and that definitely separates them in junior high and high school.In high school, I had a group of friends who didn’t date or hook up with boys. Of course, this was a while ago, in the 80s. There were others who always seems to have boyfriends. Teens become sexually active even earlier these days. Julia focuses on her future outside of the town while Cassie focuses on her future outside her house and apart from her mom. This friendship won’t last once these girls become independent young women.
Claire Messud will be reading at The Brattle Theatre for Harvard Book Store tomorrow, September 5, 2017 at 6pm.
–review by Amy Steele
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from W.W. Norton.
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Project Runway Recap: ‘A Leap of Innovation’ [S16.Episode 3]
Posted by Amy Steele in TV on September 2, 2017
Project Runway. Season 16. Episode 3 on LIFETIME. judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Zac Posen. Guest judge: Maddie Ziegler. Host: Heidi Klum. Mentor: Tim Gunn.
This week’s challenge: create a look inspired by dance, movement and innovation.In another inexplicable tie-in/inspiration, designers watch the children’s animated film Leap! as well as a performance by the dance group Hiplet. Designers will have 30 minutes to sketch and $200 to shop at Mood.
Batani: “This challenge is perfect for me. I do hip-hop dance. I do belly dance. I do Indian dance. To bring it together with fashion is just going to be explosive.”
Kentaro remarks that he’s only worked with size 0-4 models. Might be challenging for him that his model this week doesn’t fit that size range. Margarita will use her Puerto Rican culture as inspiration. Ayana has become an early favorite for me. This week she creates her own starry textile. She notes that her design is “flowy and has movement but also looks like stars and looks like midnight. Reach for the stars.”
Kudzanai wants to get the judge’s attention this week as he’s been safe so far. Whenever someone says this they ultimately win or get eliminated. He states: “I’m African so I’m incorporating a lot of different aspects from African culture—feathers, colors, all those aspects of motion and movement.” Deyonte chose a chartreuse fabric. He then has a sewing accident. A needle goes right through his finger. Medics bandage him up and he continues on.
In the workroom, there’s not yet much friction between the designers. The twins seem to annoy everyone. And you know producers were excited to bring this element to the show. Because why not? Twins worked on The Bachelor franchise. Kenya: “I’m just tired of the twins running around the workroom like their heads are cut off.” Kudzanai: “The twins are a lot. I wish I was sitting somewhere a bit quieter.” Project Runway has always attracted vast swaths of designers, this season’s cast is especially diverse. Michael and Margarita bond over their Latina backgrounds [he’s Mexican; she’s Puerto Rican] and speak Spanish to each other. Brandon, already quiet, gets in what he calls “Zen mode” when designing. He’s so focused that he blocks out all noise and distraction.
Tim comes in for critique. He tells Claire what maybe many are thinking, to “stay away from Red Bull and coffee.” He tells Shawn she might be thinking too literally. He warns Aaron not to make his garment “a pu-pu platter of different treatments.” [side note: do millennials know a pu-pu platter?] He tells Margarita that her design “looks like full tilt costume.” To Ayana: “There’s a lot going on. I’d reel it in a bit.” And to Kudzanai: “It’s a look that’s about being a lot of look and at this point I think you just have to go for it.”
Runway show notes. Deyonte’s design is way too short. Not flattering. Kudzanai’s design isn’t flattering at all. Margarita’s look is puffy. Claire’s looks ill-fitting. Ayana’s look is stunning. Shawn’s look is okay. Batani created a pretty flowy floral look. Samantha’s design is edgy.
HIGH SCORES:
Batani
She tells judges she got her inspiration from the inventor in Leap! She thought about colorful butterflies.
Nina: “When I first saw the shadow of this I already liked it and then when it walked down the runway, the print, the color, the fluidity of the fabric really captured it for me.”
Zac: “I was mixed on it.”
Heidi: “I am a huge fan of Burning Man and a lot of people wear this kind of stuff there. It’s loud. It’s a little bit sexy but a lot of people have wings.”
Margarita
She tells judges that she’s inspired by dance and that Bomba, the traditional Puerta Rican dance came to mind. “So I set her in a little tropical paradise ensemble,” she states. I didn’t love this look. I wouldn’t have picked it for top three.
Heidi: “I loved this look. It moved beautifully on the runway. It looked sophisticated. Maybe the midriff is a little too open.”
Nina: “I love the spirit of this dress.”
Brandon
He tells judges that hip-hop was the inspiration. Also something that’s inspired his designs from the beginning. After this runway, I expect Brandon to be showing at NYFW. When I saw his final look I just thought: it’s black and white. It doesn’t appeal to me. I like man-bun Brandon and his quiet Zen energy though. The models also favor Brandon. He’s handsome. And mysterious.
Nina: “Wow. I love this. I love the creativity. I love its boldness.”
Heidi: “I love your taste. It is fabulous. It is different. Something we haven’t seen before.”
Zac: “These are the moments I wait for on Project Runway. It’s a really focused point of view. It talks about movement and innovation.”
LOW SCORES:
Kentaro
His inspiration [and his inspiration from the beginning of the competition] is his training as a pianist and classic ballet.
Zac: “I don’t think it had the biggest runway impact. It’s just not enough. I’m not impressed.”
Heidi: “It’s a little too literal. It’s a little too snoozy.”
Nina: “There needed to be some kind of punch when we saw it.”
Deyonte
He tells judges his woman is going out on the town to see the Hiplet dancers.
Zac: “It’s definitely vibrant. That’s about it. It’s dull. A sheer skirt and lace top and a mullet hem?”
Guest judge Maddie Ziegler: “This reminds me most of dance because I’ve worn a costume almost exactly like that.”
Heidi: “You guys are designers. This is supposed to be fashion. I see an ice skater. I see bad 80s. It is a little bit painful.”
Kudzanai
His inspiration is mixed West Indian culture. Earlier in the episode we saw Kudzanai’s African/West Indian backstory.
Heidi: “I feel you got a little too inspired by a children’s movie because it looked very juvenile. It’s also not very flattering. It kinda looks like a piñata that exploded in the back.”
Nina: “This is maximal at the max. You embellished it so much that it’s taking away.”
Brandon is the WINNER.
Kudzanai is OUT.
Project Runway airs Thursday at 9pm on LIFETIME.
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fall tour and new album: Gary Numan
Posted by Amy Steele in Music on August 27, 2017
Gary Numan will tour North America this fall in support of his 22nd album– Savage (Songs From A Broken World) [BMG]– which will be released on September 15, 2017. Featuring plenty of dark and fervent electronica beats, the new album is bold, guttural, expansive, provocative, primal and emotional. I could listen to it on repeat for days.
Savage (Songs From A Broken World) Tracklisting:
- Ghost Nation
- Bed Of Thorns
- My Name Is Ruin
- The End Of Things
- And It All Began With You
- When The World Comes Apart
- Mercy
- What God Intended
- Pray For The Pain You Serve
- Broken
**vinyl format adds ‘If I Said’ (Track 9) and ‘Cold’ (Track 12) while ‘If I Said’ also features on the deluxe CD (Track 10)
North American Tour Dates:
Nov 15 – The Observatory North Park; San Diego, CA
Nov 16 – Teragram Ballroom; Los Angeles, CA
Nov 17 – The Observatory; Santa Ana, CA
Nov 19 – The Fillmore; San Francisco, CA
Nov 21 – Wonder Ballroom; Portland, OR
Nov 22 – Neptune; Seattle, OR
Nov 23 – The Rickshaw Theatre; Vancouver
Nov 24 – Commonwealth; Calgary
Nov 26 – Pyramid Cabaret; Winnipeg
Nov 28 – First Avenue; Minneapolis, MN
Nov 29 – Thalia Hall; Chicago, IL
Nov 30 – St Andrews Hall; Detroit, IL
Dec 01 – Opera House; Toronto
Dec 04 – Paradise Rock Club; Boston, MA
Dec 06 – Union Transfer; Philadelphia, PA
Dec 07 – Brooklyn Street; Brooklyn, NY
Dec 09 – 9:30 Club; Washington DC
Dec 11 – The Masquerade – Heaven Stage; Atlanta, GA
Dec 12 – Exit / In; Nashville, TN
Dec 14 – Trees; Dallas, TX
Dec 15 – Warehouse Live Studio; Houston, TX
Dec 16 – The Mohawk; Austin, TX
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Project Runway S16: meet the designers
Posted by Amy Steele in TV on August 27, 2017
Season 16 of Project Runway premiered August 17, 2017 on Lifetime. This season designers will design for various sized models (from 2-22 Tim announces in the first episode). The designers will work with a different model on each challenge. They’re also incorporating a model mirror where the models comment about the designs and the designers. Another season featured model “confessions” and I think it didn’t carry over to the next season as its a design show and focus is on the designers not necessarily the models.
The first episode featured a red carpet challenge. Amy stated: “My trunk is packed full of wisdom so I don’t think this is going to be that hard.” Brandon, who designs menswear, said: “I’m out of my element. It’s got me questioning myself and my abilities.”
Deyonte won. ChaCha lost and was eliminated.
Deyonte’s winning design:
ChaCha’s losing design:
On the second episode designers worked in teams on an unconventional materials challenge using recycled materials. Why do they do unconventional and team challenges so early on? During the judging, Claire said: “I’ve never designed for a curvy girl.” Maggie Q whispered to Marie Claire‘s Anne Fulenwider: “She’s totally normal.” Anne replied: “I think she’s skinnier than I am.”
Ayana won. Sentell lost and was eliminated.
Ayana’s winning design:
Sentell’s losing design:
Here are the designers:
AARON MYERS
Age: 23
Hometown: Sevierville, Tenn.
Resides in: Brooklyn, New York
Education: Columbia College Chicago
Style Icon: Alanna Pearl
AMY BOND
Age: 46
Hometown: Idaho
Resides in: Los Angeles, Calif.
Education: MFA in fashion design
Style Icon: Tilda Swinton
Current: professor at Otis College of Art & Design
AYANA IFE
Age: 27
Hometown: New York, New York
Resides in: Salt Lake City, Utah
Education: Middle Tennessee State University– textiles, merchandising and design
Style Icons: Chriselle Lim, Rihanna
BATANI-KHALFANI
Age: 32
Hometown: East Los Angeles, Calif.
Resides in: Inglewood, Calif.
Style Icons Rihanna, Janelle Monáe
BRANDON KEE
Age: 24
Hometown: Murray, Utah
Resides in: San Francisco, Calif.
Education: Art Institute of San Francisco
Style Icon: Rihanna
CHACHA
Age: 24
Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan
Resides in: Chicago, Ill.
Education: Art Institute of Chicago– masters in fashion design
Style Icon: Miley Cyrus
CLAIRE BUITENDORP
Age: 27
Hometown: Grand Ledge, Mich.
Resides in: Grand Ledge, Mich.
Style Icon: Katy Perry
DEYONTE WEATHER
Age: 36
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
Resides in: Lynwood, Wash.
Style Icon: Beyonce
KENYA FREEMAN
Age: 37
Hometown: Norfolk, Virginia
Resides in: Atlanta, Georgia
Style Icon: Tracee Ellis Ross
KENTARO KAMEYAMA
Age: 38
Hometown: Gifu-Ken, Japan
Resides in: Los Angeles, Calif.
KUDZANAI KARIDZA
Age: 32
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Resides in: Atlanta, GA
Style Icons: Pharrell, A$AP Rocky, David Beckham
MARGARITA ALVAREZ
Age: 30
Hometown: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Resides in: Los Angeles, Calif.
Style Icon: Iris Apfel
MICHAEL BRAMBILA
Age: 25
Hometown: Oakland, Calif.
Resides in: Oakland, Calif.
Style Icons: Tilda Swinton, Panos Yiapanis
SAMANTHA REI
Age: 36
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minn.
Resides in: Minneapolis, Minn.
Style Icon: Janelle Monae
SENTELL MCDONALD
Age: 33
Hometown: New York, NY
Resides in: Bronx, NY
Style Icons: Tracee Ellis Ross, Corinne Bailey Rae, Solange Knowles
SHAWN BUITENDORP
Age: 27
Hometown: Grand Ledge, Mich.
Resides in: Grand Ledge, Mich.
Style Icon: Gwen Stefani
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book review: Madame Zero
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on August 17, 2017
Madame Zero: 9 stories by Sarah Hall. Custom House| July 2017| 192 pages | $23.99| ISBN: 9780062657060
RATING: ****/5*
In this brilliant collection of dark and strange stories, author Sarah Hall deftly examines relationships, sexuality, existence, nature. She dips into different characters and POVs with exquisite writing throughout, making for a compelling and rewarding read. Leaning into middle age, I’m immersed in existentialism and appreciated the subject matter as well as Hall’s bold, often disturbing and unique writing style. It’s easy to become engulfed in each story. I prefer to read a short story and let it settle a bit before delving into another. These stories seethe into your mind and you need time to fully absorb the details.
A woman transforms into a fox and her husband attempts to sustain a relationship with her in “Mrs. Fox.” At first he brings her home and tries to co-exist but the fox yearns for freedom. He resigns himself to this new reality. Later, he runs into her out in the woods and they develop a comfortable, respectable bond of sorts. Hall writes: “To be comfortable inside one’s sadness is not valueless. This too will pass. All things tend towards transience, mutability. It is in such mindful moments, when everything is both held and released, that revelation comes.”
In “Wilderness,” a woman on a dangerous, challenging hike with her boyfriend and one of her boyfriend’s friends [ “Zachary’s prevailing mood was melancholia bordering on despair.”] contemplates her mortality. Hall writes: “The railway tunnel had a strange industrial eeriness, a primed feeling, like its memory of trains hadn’t faded or it was convinced trains were still coming. The clinker ground underfoot like old bones.”
An epidemiologist examines guilt during a deadly viral outbreak in “One in Four:” “The truth is, we’re all so desperate to carry on, but we’re nothing really, just specs on the glass.”
In “Evie,” a woman’s sexually charged behavior turns alarming for her husband. And Hall really delves in. She GOES THERE: “The man on the screen pulled out of the woman. She presented herself, wider. Her genitals were depilated, the flesh dark purple. The man knelt, put his face between her legs and began to tongue the crease. Evie rolled on her back, held her head up so she could still see the screen.”
–review by Amy Steele
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Custom House.
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book review: Mrs. Fletcher
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on August 16, 2017
Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta. Scribner| August 2017| 320 pages | $26.00| ISBN: 9781501144028
RATING: *****/5*
It’s amazing sometimes that you read the right book at the right moment. In reading you might feel connected with and find solace in characters on the page. It’s comforting to read relatable characters. Although I’ve never been married and don’t have any children I felt a kinship with Eve Fletcher. She’s figuring out what she wants to do next. Me too. She’s taking a class. Me too. She works as executive director at the senior center. I’ve worked in elder care. An apt description: “It was hard sometimes, dealing with old people, having to cast out the unfortunate souls who could no longer control their bladders or bowels, trying to reassure the ones who couldn’t locate their cars in the parking lot, or remember their home address. It was hard to hear about their scary diagnoses and chronic ailments, to attend the funerals of so many people she’d grown fond of, or at least gotten used to. And it was hard to think about her own life, rushing by so quickly, speeding down the same road.”
After Eve’s son went off to college, she felt a bit adrift and disconnected. She’s looking for meaning. Eve enrolls in a gender studies class at the community college which is taught by a trans woman. Once she starts class she finds how much she enjoys being part of this intellectual experience and academic community. At night she scrolls though her Facebook feed “reminding herself that she wasn’t really alone.” She also finds herself hooked delving into porn. And why not? She’s exploring her sexuality. Her marriage ended after her husband met a woman through the Casual Encounters section of Craigslist.
As he’s effectively done in previous novels, author Tom Perrotta details the tragicomic trials and travails for Eve and those around her. On her family: “Her only real alternative was to drive down to New Jersey and spend a couple of days with her widowed mother and never-married sister, who were living together in the house where Eve had spent her childhood. She was overdue for a visit, but it was always so exhausting to see them—they bickered constantly, like an old married couple—and she just didn’t have the patience right now.” He provides biting and relevant commentary on suburban life– from its quiet moments to its meticulous homogenous appearance. Mrs. Fletcher contains several points of view: Eve Fletcher; Eve’s colleague Amanda; Eve’s son Brandon and Brandon’s classmate Amber. Perrotta excels at developing colorful, flawed characters in an amusing yet warm manner.
Amanda: “Without realizing it, she’d been part of a hipster reverse migration, legions of overeducated, underpaid twenty-somethings getting squeezed out of the city, spreading beyond the pricey inner suburbs to the more affordable outposts, like Haddington, transforming the places they’d once fled, making them livable again, or at least tolerable.”
Amber: “You were supposed to love the weekend, that all-too-brief window of freedom, your only chance to wash away the stink of boredom with a blast of fun. Use it to drink and fuck yourself into a state of blissful oblivion, the memory of which would power you through the work week that followed, at the end of which you could do it all over again, ad infinitum, or at least until you met the right guy (or gal) and settled down.”
Eve: “It had been like this all winter long. She found it difficult to relax after dark—couldn’t curl up with a book, or settle down long enough to watch a movie from beginning to end. She was full of nervous energy, a nagging jittery feeling that there was somewhere she needed to go, something else—something urgent and important—that she needed to do. But that was the catch: there was nowhere for her to go, and nothing to do.”
Definitely one of the best novels I’ve read this year. Perfect summer reading.
–review by Amy Steele
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Scribner.
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About Me
covering mostly music and books. focus on alternative/indie and women in music, literature and the arts. feminist. vegan. mostly alternative, a bit bohemian. Masters in journalism from Boston University. BA from Simmons College.
Entertainment Realm by Amy Steele is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at entertainmentrealm.comCopyright © 2009. All writing, unless otherwise noted, by Amy Steele.
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