Madonna, NFL and what I REALLY think...

So, I'm not normally one to fall out of line, express my real feelings in a forceful, gutsy and take-charge way. And by all means, I would not write under friends' facebook posts that I feel exactly the opposite of what they have deemed great, amazing or otherwise. I'm a peace-seeking, harmonious and friendly person in real life as well as in all social media I use.

BUT TODAY, the gloves are off, I am rolling the hard six, my own opinion is never wrong and I have decided to let my tongue roll and my fingers loose.

What am I talking about? Madonna. Last night. NFL, Superbowl. Long-awaited. Major hype. Super excited. Stars and stripes. Stars and songs. Dance and glory. And I know I will tread on toes, leave bad tastes and completely go against the opinions of many of my friends and lots of people out there. Frankly, it intimidates me; but today, I can't help myself.

What I am getting at is how irritated I am that everyone is saying how amazing her show was. And I hate to be the finger pointer, but really? Did you guys see what I saw? Here is how I break it down:

Stage/Set/Scene:

Now I know, that they didn't have long to build up the stage so I think it's great, that it was fantastically mobile and had stage lifts etc. Very good, not mind-boggling, but good. The videos that were played (or projected) were ok. The best being the dancer during "vogue" writhing on a Vogue cover.

Guests:

So, M.I.A., Nikki Minaj, LMFAO and Cee Lo Green all joined her. Well, LMFAO were great, but they are great anyhows. The others? Ok, Cee Lo Green is who he is too; but his contribution to "Like a Prayer" could have been stronger. but "Give me all your luvin'"? I saw the video clip online before last night and I thought: hmm, Lady Gaga really has overtaken her (even though I'm not the biggest Gaga fan) and Elton certainly knows what he's talking about. Really? I was just waiting for all the girls to start kissing each other like back in 2003 at the VMAs with Britney and Christina. There was no oomph, no power, nothing except very short skirts... Oh, and well done for sticking your middle finger up M.I.A.: very mature...

Costume:

Well... I mean, considering you're Madonna and you have top costume designers and stylist at your hands, it could have been more. Her outfit itself was bland, plain and the supposedly spectacular ripping off of the gladiator skirt went wrong and Madonna grappled at her skirt quite panicked to try and remove it. Not very pro. The dancers? Not really memorable... The only thing that stuck out was the Adidas tracksuits with music notes.

Dancers/Choreography:

The dancers were the absolute highlight for me. Fantastic through and through from parcours talents, slackliners and contortionists to the most talented dancers I take my hat off: legendary.

Madonna (dance and song):

Ok, so I've been relatively nice til now. But Madonna? Just her? The way she did it all? I mean Kudos for managing to hold through 13 odd minutes. But honestly? Neither the dance nor the singing blew me away. I mean, Madonna has never been a great singer, let's be honest. But she always managed to pull through by reinventing herself, her looks, her music. Now yesterday, none of that seemed tangible. Her dancing was awkward, as if certain movements hurt and she had to avoid certain bends or be assisted by her dancers. Her walking even looked weird, a bit like Tina Turner, bent at the knees, but Tina pulled it off. Were the heels too high? And the singing? Speculation that she wasn't actually singing live is already making its rounds. Ofcourse she wasn't. Lip-sync should be learnt: and yesterday we saw how it is not done.

Summary:

Now I'm sorry, if this is rude or if the comparison is unjust towards the "Queen of Pop" but if I look at what the "King of Pop" did in 1993 at the Superbowl with not half the technology we have today, with half the dancers, effects and costume changes I do believe that royalty has been delegated wrongly for quite some time and the queen should be kicked off the throne to make space for someone more worthy. See below the video of Michael Jackson at the NFL where the crowd cheers for two solid minutes while he just stands there, not even moving. The stage is simple, his entrance with the two doubles above the screens simple but effective, he possesses the stage, the effects are close to none, the dancers (a mere handful) and one costume change. Yet he sings brilliantly, performs like the legend that he is and his message of World Peace is conveyed adamantly throughout the entire show and not just at the end in bright, flashy lights.

I have nothing against Madonna, on the contrary, her music has brought many a groove to my hips, but that people are praising the performance last night the way they did, and considering she is put on par with the likes of Elton John, Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson, I think it is not right to say it was amazing, fantastic or any of the likes. I have seen stage shows in back alleys that have given me more of a thrill. 

Sorry all you hardcore Madonna fans out there: but this is how I face the music.

Facebook Timeline Dilemma

So, I know this is kind of out-of-context for me and my blog but today I have decided to talk about the whole Facebook Timeline story that is all the rage on our widespread social media platform at the moment. Sooner or later, everyone will have it so it is worth thinking about already for when that transition arrives. I have asked myself a few questions regarding the Timeline:

1. What do I want it to say?
2. Do I want it to say something about me as a person or my ideals? (although I guess they go hand-in-hand)
3. Should it be a fancy OMG-that's-so-clever composition or just a "sweet" pic & profile photo?
4. Do I want to out myself in my profile pic? (as until now I have never shown my entire face)
5. Would it be a good idea to build it up professionally as in showcasing my talents or do I want it personal so that my friends can relate?

Question upon question and only one thing is clear for me at the moment: I kind of want it to stick out from the rest that is out there. I have seen different timeline ideas in the last week, especially on Mashable and ofcourse there have been a few where I thought, "wow, that is pretty awesome!". And that is what I want for mine. I just haven't figured out how yet.

I tried one thing, but failed miserably... It was a collection of items important/relevant to my person all laid out on the floor, which reminded me a little of the following comic:

... but I would have needed a) better lighting b) a product photo light table or c) just better equipment. So my version didn't turn out nearly as good and definately not usable as you can see yourself:

Top: @DavidWeir: great
Bottom: @MissLisa: rubbish

So now I'm still waiting on the world-shaking idea that I am capable of implementing (physically and digitally) and above all, the answers to all my own questions.
Until I find something, I'm gonna continue looking at other peoples timelines and laugh myself silly to Ben Champion's AutoCorrect song... gets me every time...

Christmas is nigh... (1)

The days seem to be flying by at the speed of light. Wasn't it November a couple of days ago? And now it's almost Christmas? Oh dear... Luckily almost all the presents are packed and we're set to go. But before we do so, here's a story I wrote quite a few years back about love, christmas and in general what we wish for. I'm gonna have to split it up as it's rather long but I hope you enjoy it anyhow. I called it: 

I wish… this Christmas

It had been a good two years since she’d last been in England and many of the memories had not been too joyous. This year, however, she wasn’t about to let it get to her. She had spent long enough working through her past and as the sweet words of ‘Silent Night’ sung in her ears she felt a wave of courage and boldness. Tonight she was going to find out whether the love in her heart was worthy of someone as good as him. 

The lights glistened in the white of the snow that perched silently on streets and pavements. Rainbows of colour spread a Christmas feeling throughout the city and despite the stress and rush of buying and finding there were smiles all around. In the trees rows and rows of lights beckoned for song and although Marie had always been a Christmas-lover and fond of anything that yelled for seasonal cheer; tonight she wasn’t going to be singing songs or smiling too soon. At least that was the fear that had nestled into the pit of her stomach since she’d stepped off the plane. 

Her stomach jolted; almost; almost she’d lost her balance for the fourth time. If only she hadn’t worn those boots that despite looking great had made her slip countless times on the ice. Slow down and take it easy; he’s not going anywhere; she told herself; over and over. Marie wasn’t even sure whether he’d be home on Christmas Eve. Surely he would have gone to his parents for the season? Determined she clutched the two carefully wrapped presents that had dug themselves into her cold fingers. She sniffed as the icy wind blurred her already teary eyes. It was somewhere here, she thought, racking her memory for the way to the house. She uncrumpled the piece of paper with the address on it. 3: that was the number of the house. She had written it so many times on so many letters that she knew he must have received but probably thrown away. 

Marie’s heels clicked and clacked on the cobbled stones. She’d always loved the cosiness of the colloquial England she had grown to know. The little town positively buzzed with a warm Christmas cheer and as she tried desperately not to slip on the ice her mind raced through countless memories of him. How much she would like to spend Christmas strolling around this town filled with children’s smiles and stretch up to kiss him in the middle of the street; savouring every minute as the snow flakes tickled her nose and planted themselves on his eyelashes; framing those deep, loving blue eyes with their delicate meaning. 

A car raced by. She stopped. What am I doing? He won’t want to see you. He has a girlfriend; he’s probably not home. You’ve come all this way and you’re probably just going to hurt yourself. Turn around. Walk away while you can. Just go. Yet her feet kept going. 

Listen to more on my youtube page:

Christmas Christmas Christmas

So, after a month of searching high and low I have managed to fill 24 (!) bags with prezzies for my man. My kind of advents-calendar. Not the chocolate kind or where you get stupid plastic toys that noone needs. I invested time, thought and a pocket full of love (and also a bit of money ofcourse). I believe I have twenty-four presents that are a mix of sexy, useful, funny, delightful, agreeable, generous and attractive. So I look forward to every morning...

His face this morning, needless to say, was priceless. Last week we had talked about calendars for Xmas and he told me his mum used to craft and fill them herself with titbits: bit of money, sweets etc. Whilst he told me I tried so hard not to smile as I had already started filling the bags so long ago. Thank goodness I had my hot, spicy soup to accidentally choke on the stop myself laughing!

And the last week had been a back and forth with things he said he needed that I managed to postpone til today and obviously rearranged the contents of the bags to accommodate his wishes!

Obviously I can't tell you what is in the bags; he might read this too. But I can tell you this much: I think he will like every single one of those presents ;)

Get into the Christmas spirit with my fave at the moment: Michael Bublé:

Nan's Crackerjack Café and Milkshakes (2)

The last titbit of this chapter. I may consider not letting on too much about my book from now, so that you will be keen to buy it when/if it gets published ;)

“Riza! Hey! Wow! What’s up? Good news?” Lily spluttered and muffled through Riza’s coat and hair. “The BEST news!” Riza beamed as she stepped back and smiled at Lily. “But I’ll tell you when Natty is here.” She tore off her coat and threw it over one of the chairs. Riza was wearing a typically colourful and wonderful outfit with all shades of purple and pink. Lily loved Riza to pieces. They had met at University and had since been inseparable: soul mates tied at the waist. Except for the time after Stuart. But Stuart was a long story and Lily was never in the mood to tell it. After Stuart, Lily had spent a while in Berlin. She had always wanted to visit her roots in Germany and Berlin had been a great city. But she had missed Riza and Natty and her quaint English village life (well, it wasn’t that quaint but Lily loved wellies, English gentlemen and tea and scones and that all counted as quaint for Lily) and so she had returned. 

Riza was already diving into a full-blown story about her love life as they both saw Natty fighting her way through the crowd. “Alright? Do you mind movin’ a bit, love? This place is big enough for the both of us!” Ah yes, Natty loved to brawl. Lily and Natty had met at the Hard Rock Café on a particularly rocky night with goths, punks and all sorts. Natty was off her face drunk and had complimented Lily on her totally out of place head to toe white outfit amongst a sea of black leather and PVC (and the fact that Lily was not wearing a bra!). They had swapped numbers and been close ever since. 

“Hello Lovelies. God it’s full in here today: nightmare! And d’ya think I’d find a parking place when I’m wearing my Miu Miu’s and it’s bleeding knee deep in snow out there. Of course not! I had to walk ten minutes from the car. What a sodding winter!”
And so the afternoon with the ladies began.

Job, Life and me in the middle.

The things you see when stuck in a promotion job.

Channelling Asian Look for
Asia Wellness Programm
at convention

Passion for Fashion - ps. I love you

So, dear readers, I don't think I've written anything about fashion yet in my blog so I'm gonna make a start today. I've always loved fashion. It started as a young girl when, out of sheer desperation, I began sewing clothes for my barbies. I grew up in Portugal so you didn't really have toy shops with fancy barbie clothes. You pretty much depended on relatives and friends importing them when they came to visit. As I was so keen to play with my two barbies and it bored me to death to see them in the same clothes all the time I sat by my mum as she sewed clothes for her singing gigs for herself and bagged the left-over scraps for my own, hand-sewn, tiny, pretty barbie outfits.

During my university time I made my own ball gowns and ties for the men and even the costumes for our final performance. I loved it. I loved the creativity, the fabrics, how the dresses evolved and changed over the course of sewing them. And I still love it now although I don't have a sewing machine at home and I never sew things anymore. I guess I just don't have the time.

Instead I have kept my passion for fashion alive in my every day. Although I don't always dress up (especially not for work) I do love it when we got out or for a special event when I get my best frock out and spend my time on my hair and make-up and relish every minute of it. I don't really own expensive things, neither my clothes nor my make-up are fancy and expensive but the combinations always make the difference.
So I watched ps. I love you yesterday with my mum. And I have to say, Hilary Swank has never been a favourite of mine. But that film made me cry and laugh and gaze in wonder at her character's wardrobe. So feminine, light and still bold and special. And her hair: elegant and simple. So tomorrow I'm going to the hairdressers and have put together an outfit for my next "performance" ;) It's a mixture of fifties petticoat, Audrey Hepburn elegance and Stepford's housewife.

Will keep ya posted. Am not up to date with the fashionworld at the moment. Saw Roberto Cavalli's show: interesting. But widening my horizon to Chanel, van Laack and Vivienne Westwood at the moment. How I'm gonna get them all under one hat yet, I don't know.
But I'll be sure to tell you soon ;)

And until then: here is the fantastic scene out of ps. I love you with Gerard Butler dancing. Yum!

Nan's Crackerjack Café and Milkshakes (1)

Following on from Friends, Gabba and Cosy Nights.... Promise to also find a way to categorise my posts to enable easier reading for you all ;)

The next day Lily had a day off. It wasn’t always easy working freelance. She found herself spending months with so much work: modelling, acting, translation work and the job at the boutique followed by a slump where she earned no money and had to use her savings in order to cover the most important costs. Frankly, she hated it. But on the rare occasion of having a day off, Lily liked nothing more than to meet with her friends and chat about life, men and probably shoes. 

Lily had decided to meet the girls in one of her favourite little cafés: Nan’s Crackerjack Café also known also Nan’s Crack (Awful, I know, but hilarious!). It was a fantastic little place. The owner, Patty Jackson, was a brand of her own. She seemed to have got stuck in the 50’s with her permed and perfectly styled jet-black hair complete with quiff and livid-red flower; flaming red lips; thick black eyeliner under perfectly arched eyebrows; heaving bosoms caged in a dark-blue and white polka-dot dress, covered scarcely by a crisp white apron; suspender tights in skin tone with a black seam and killer red heels. At the age of fourty-nine Patty had an enviable figure and was the life and soul of every party around town. Today, Patty’s kids were hanging about too. They were two adorable little things, who both dressed in the unmistakable fifties look. Jethro, the youngest of the two, had his hair slicked back expertly with pomade into a ducktail (John Travolta eat your heart out) and wore a tiny baseball jacket and dark blue Levis doubled at the hem. His sister Judy, loved pink. Everything had to be pink. Appropriately she was sporting a pink and white polka-dot ensemble with a white belt clinched at the waist, tiny white ballerinas and her mum had gone to the trouble of sewing the words Judy on the back of the gorgeous little leather jacket she was wearing. With her golden-brown locks loosely tied back and teased into an elvis quiff at the front she looked fit to take over the world if she wanted to. 

Lily also liked to make herself look pretty when she went to Nan’s Crackerjack Café (whose name had come about from Patty’s nan. She had owned a cracker manufacturing company with her husband, Jack Jackson. No one questioned the name of the café/diner but the nickname had meanwhile reached Patty who needless to say was less impressed!) Nan’s Crackerjack Café meanwhile had an outrageous list of special, famous guests but Patty liked to keep things simple. She didn’t roll out red carpets, nor did she adhere to special wishes for coconut water, organic baby carrots or colour coordinated M&Ms. She served great food, a mix of home cooking and diner specialities and mixed a mean mojito. From hot chocolate in the winter to fresh smoothies or cola floats in the summer, Patty stuck to her menu and strongly opposed to special wishes (which normally resulted in the celeb being kicked out by her burly husband; Grant). 

Today Lily had decided to wear her pleated coral-orange knee-length skirt with a crisp white blouse and a navy cardigan. She had decided to wear quite thick tights and little booties too alongside her winter coat that kept wonderfully warm in the bitter winter they were having and reached way over her knees but unfortunately looked like a sleeping bag!Lily brushed a few flakes of snow off her eyelashes and stomped the remnants of slush off her boots as she unbuttoned her coat and tried to make out her ladies, Riza and Natty. Nan’s Crackerjack was so wonderfully whacky and simultaneously heavenly homely. The walls were a gorgeous mix of turquoise and dusky pink and speckled with memorabilia that reminded of Elvis, the Beatles, children’s tea partys, ladybirds, Dame Edna and a Las Vegas show meets Cher meets Elton John’s glasses collections. From the big-bosomed, Beryl Cook inspired salt and pepper shakers to the Pop-Art Napkins and the red and white checkered table cloths Patty had managed to combine a thousand looks from all eras and make them look holistic and cosy. 

Lily inhaled deeply as a fresh apple crumble made its way past her on the white gloved hand of a waitress dressed in a sailor outfit with petticoat and navy boat hat. “Mmmm, that smells delicious…” Lily muttered under her breath, her mouth watering. She made her way past the first tables; artists, actors, writers, families, couples and even a few businessmen. Patty really pulled in a wide crowd. Finally she found a table upstairs in the attic space of the café: her favourite part. The attic ceiling was slightly skewed and had rustical tables made of old tree stumps and car motors with glass plates on them. There were hardly any chairs that were alike: it was a mixture of sofas, armchairs, swivel chairs, highchairs and interestingly painted ikea chairs (Patty had once had a creative phase in which she had painted everything that came into her hands!). Lily found a table made of three very worn (and interestingly painted!) mannequins with a glass plate on top. It was covered with an old lace tablecloth with napkins decorated with ladybirds next to bright yellow plates and tall glasses with lime slices drawn on them. Perfect. She slid onto a highchair that resembled a hand. Just as she was tucking her coat away she saw Riza legging it up the steps, panting like an athlete. “Lily! Lily, Lily, Lily! Oh my GOD!” she squealed as Lily buried her head in her hands with a smile and slowly pushed the chair back. Riza shoved a swivel chair aside, almost knocking it over, slammed into Lily and squeezed her tight. 

Don't forget to check out my youtube channel too:  themisslisa1984

Growing old in Love.

A little something I wrote as I observed an older couple, thickly in love and wonderfully caring towards each other. Something we should all wish for and work towards.

Picture by misslisa
Original: Käthe Kollwitz

  Visit more here.

youtube: I'm giving you a go...

As of today, I shall attempt to play some of my written word onto youtube too. I have so many papers lying around filled with poetry and words dancing across the lines. And I guess I have come far enough since those relatively morbid and sometimes dark lyrical musings to share them with you all. Sometimes we need distance to be able to stand above things. So, enjoy and stay tuned (literally, cos I will be talking to you directly.)

Here it is: themisslisa1984 on youtube <-- just click here!

Your, Miss Lisa

Furore of Angel's Wings

(Love and what it does to you...)

Aurora whispers;
my thoughts overcast
eyes in a cold sweat
blanket in starry Utopia.

Hands conducting
brazen-mouthed queues
meow
metallic-black.
Stomach
shorn with ether
as a zephyr whitewashes my lips.

No-man’s-land.
Fish out of water
in the womb of time;
struck with inspiration.

Frosted flashes
of familiarity
faltering in flight;
fastened to fatigue.

Exhale…
Inners sigh. Gasp!
Exhilaration grins in malice
patience persists
heart docks at dew point.

Nerves effervescent
Setting sun submissive;
selfish in vacuum.
A night taints my flesh.

A melancholic smile
morrow!
for you, love.

Light Faith...

… she whispers,
hands clasped in musing;
lightly creasing
with feet
cocooned
in twinned ruby purrs.

… she beckons,
eyes bathed dormant;
whilst lips veiled
in shredded
sleepless cloud
umbrella agape rupture;
livid with windows and
spry in coloured promise.

… she smiles,
day breezy on stars;
toes blazon plum twinkles
holding honey hands
untied
in stitched unity;
brushing in bold life.

… she sings,
sketching memories
thick with small hours;
light in black earnest;
knotted in faith;
apprehensive in chest
and word-painting in ripe breath.

… she believes.
And I, adhering to,
light in faith pray to
mirror;
so circled in silhouette;
so saturated in giving.

Light faith
I thank
for the one that is two;
for the us that is
you and me.

Copyright: Lisa B.