“we must remain the wildhearted outsiders”

Apnea has a wonderful blog, especially for goth & tattoo & gothic & ink fans, plus sometimes topless and NSFW. The video shows some of the stars and influences of an erotic art show. Much more information at http://apneasblog.com/

Of bodies and boobs

Katy Perry in bustier a la Betty Boop

“All I wanted out of life was a hit record and a great pair of boobs. I woke up one morning and I had both. I had finally arrived.”

Katy Perry made this statement in an interview with a magazine recently. My goals were a little different back in my mid-teens. Yes, I definitely wanted bigger breasts, to catch up with my – to me – huge nipples. Or, to be more accurate, big and puffy areolae around big nipples. Apparently, I have since learned, such ‘features’ are much sought after on modern websites, but back then I had a degree of self-consciousness.

Katy Perry and Hello Kitty outfit

Katy also mentioned her figure and this I definitely agree with. I totally wanted a figure to use as a clotheshorse for a huge variety of clothing styles. I was tall and fit but not, so far, curvy. I did see other, shorter, fuller-figure girls and would curse my tall, slim parents. Yep, if your hair’s straight, you desire curly, if you’re redhead you envy brunettes. I went through all that and it seems so childish now but, whew, it was there in all its glory then.

Katy Perry displays boobs & cleavage at the Grammies

Eventually DNA came to my rescue and I grew some hips and ‘proper’ breasts, so was able to indulge in all types of fancy dress – just like Katy explains: “On a Monday I could be a Betty Boop figure. On a Tuesday I’ll be Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. On a Wednesday I could be wearing S&M rubber.”

Of course, the wardrobe buyers, make-up artists and salaried assistants have not come my way (yet?) but it seems even Katy doesn’t need them all the time: “Most of the time I welcome attention but there are days when I need to keep a healthy distance from it. When I pop down the grocery store to buy some milk I leave all my glittery costumes at home.”

Damn. Successful and sensible, all wrapped in one glorious package!

Lisbeth Salander is back :: The Girl Who Played With Fire released :: Stieg Larsson’s sequel shocker

one of my top 3 favourite books of 2008 was a quite awesome crime thriller by a new Swedish writer, Stieg Larsson :: I say “one of” because my analytical brain and my emotional heart can swap dominance on occasion, so although the top 3 are clear, the definitive order can slip and slide

so, if you missed last year’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and the introduction of Lisbeth Salander, read it NOW :: with a brilliantly quick tongue, a technogeek’s power over computers, and a fearless strength of character, Lisbeth appealed to both my brain and heart :: and she is an enormously refreshing contrast to the lead characters in so much crime fiction

the trilogy of books are the work of Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson and were a hobby for some years :: apparently he would write in the evenings after his work on a “magazine with a conscience” and, no surprises then that the first book centred on a male investigative journalist, Mikael Blomkvist :: but it was the character of Lisbeth that grabbed the attention, in all her fiery, reckless, determined, secretive and startling actions and (part-revealed) history

the second book is called The Girl Who Played With Fire and continues the story of Lisbeth, although this time the odds are stacked even more against her :: Millennium is the name of the magazine run by Mikael (and also the name of the trilogy) and the story spins around a labyrinth of death, obstruction, false leads and tremendous danger :: compulsive reading

Larsson was a graphics editor at a Swedish news agency for 20 years, before joining campaigning Expo magazine as editor-in-chief in 1999 :: he died unexpectedly in late 2004 from a heart attack, not long after deciding to seek a publisher for his hobby :: so we are lucky to have a thrilling crime trilogy, but saddened that he will write no more :: the third book is called The Girl Who Kicked Hornet’s Nests and is due to be published around September

American Idol returns – with new, improved cleavage

the all new, revised Season 8 of American Idol started with some clever self-marketing :: Katrina Darrell appeared in stylish high heels and … just a bikini :: Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson had no problem with Katrina’s singing, or performance, or anything else

Amanda Overmyer

new judge Kara DioGuardi started a bit of vocal coaching, but did admit Katrina had a great derriere :: meanwhile, our favourites from American Idol 2008 have been busy over the past 6 months, including appearances on the American Idol Live Tour which ran from May to September

Metal Sanaz

Amanda Overmyer has finished work on her first album, Solidify, and has been gigging including a spot at Whisky a Go Go :: Amanda also has a relationship with Metal Sanaz, which we are keen to support as well

Carly Smithson, our other favourite goth-rock-chick from last year, has been on tour and also recording :: Carly’s strong vocals, stage energy and risk-taking were very much appreciated, and apparently she has been a great success on tour, not least because of her support for other artists – including comments that Amanda had been her favorite singer of the competition

Carly Smithson's warm cleavage

and, of course, Amanda and Carly were usually the only on-screen eye-candy for us “goth-rock, girl-power” viewers :: as the photo of Carly shows, female-fronted is still very much an appropriate term to describe her!

don’t forget, American Idol averages 30 million viewers each week :: plus 55 million viewers for the final :: plus 97 million votes were cast for last year’s final :: so anyone getting part way into the finals is always assured of some fantastic exposure :: for music and/or body!

Cleavage Wars 2 – Golden Globes 2008 – Awards Ceremony 2009

fantasy fashion now 'normal'

way back in 1944 at the first Golden Globe Awards, there was rather different coverage of the awards ceremony – and drastically different outfits worn by the stars :: the men have stayed fairly true to the tradition, with perhaps just a little more sparkle in some of their suits :: the women, on the other hand, have blossomed

the January 2009 Awards Ceremony for the 2008 Golden Globe Awards was a great showcase of style and talent – and that’s just the fashion designers :: many of the actresses wore figure-hugging, and definitely bust-hugging outfits that emphasised their own golden globes :: the pun is relevant as the media is hungry for glamour :: and that glamour is even more stylised and is now close to many fantasy images of yesteryear

corset-thin waists, accentuated and heaving bosoms, and glorious female cleavage now looks ‘normal’ at so many red carpet events :: and that is no complaint

just as fantasy art has inspired so many gothic metal and symphonic metal bands, as well as stage (and off-stage) clothes of most of the leading ladies, so we are seeing goth and fantasy styles appearing at many awards ceremonies :: the Golden Globes ceremony ‘featured’ many attractive women in fantasy fashion, like (from left) Beyonce, Madeline Zima (one of our favourites from Californication), Miley Cyrus (emphasising the power of 2), Blake Lively and Salma Hayek

Golden Globes 2009 - the stars and their cleavage on display

Being a sex symbol is also about strength

Cristina Scabbia is a powerful frontwoman in gothic metal, but not a 6ft 2in scandinavian athlete :: speaking about her image and that power, she explains “I didn’t choose the thing of the sex symbol or the ‘hot woman’ and stuff. I always tried to give the message of, ‘be sexy however you are, even if you’re a supermodel or you’re a little ugly girl that still has to double up her inner beauty’.”

as part of the Bullet For My Valentine series of gigs around Europe, along with Bleeding Through and Black Tide, Lacuna Coil were very able to whip the crowd into a music frenzy

altho Cristina has a tremendous range, some of the venues are less than perfect for good acoustics ::  nonetheless the band have concentrated on getting the sound right, making sure the strength and power of Cristina’s vocals are clear and crisp :: in fact, for their next album (due in the Spring) they want to use the live sound as a starting point

Cristina’s strength of character is evident in the way she controls the stage and delivers the emotion and passion of their songs :: her co-lead singer Andrea Ferro is no slouch, and delivers his vocal lines to great effect, even if his magnetic appeal is less than Cristina’s :: she says “No matter what, be strong, because the message that people will get is from your strength. There is not just one kind of beauty in this world.”

After Forever

Floor Jansen of After Forever

talking of power and passion, have spent the afternoon wrapped in the warm (vocal) embrace of Floor Jansen and After Forever :: some voices have bad days as well as good, altho Floor always seems great :: Life’s Vortex really stood out today.

according to Wikipedia, Floor has a light-lyric soprano vocal range :: it is certainly pure and crisp, adding just the perfect topping to the band’s dynamic sound.

Energize Me – i should say so!

Lost Love is becoming tedious

well the new season shows on tv are still continuing with the American malaise of dumb relationship misses :: doesn’t seem to matter whether older or teen, or even new shows versus new series of older shows :: and it is getting SO tedious:

Gossip Girl is a prime example and i soon ceased to care after the 5th or 6th deception and lie :: but especially Rufus and Lily’s lost love was really dumb

Pushing Daisies takes things to a silly extreme – kiss the one you love and they die!

House is equally frustrating, not just for House but also his ‘youngsters’

i had high hopes for Greek but even when the characters get close to sex – or even have it – there is still a problem of some sort, so at least one character gets to suffer

Kristin Kreuk as Lana

of course Heroes has a similar problem to Smallville and Superman in that super powers bring extra difficulties, but the seemingly endless tears of Lana in episode after episode, series after series, is super-tedious (if you’ll excuse the phrase)

meanwhile Friends played the mistakes and misunderstandings for laughs and we didn’t really mind cos the guys are all wimps anyway :: and Desperate Housewives is actually a comedy rather than a drama, cos the women are all wimps and i have ceased to care what happens to any of them – altho the stupid situations they get themselves into are great for some chuckles

seems the US of A has significant relationship issues at all sorts of levels, which are overpowering any good storytelling :: just as most American movies are full of violence rather than passion, so their tv is full of unrequited love rather than sex

bring back amazon queen Xena who gives and takes passion without any hangups!

Hedonism appeals

the idea that one can live a life based on pleasure is appealing, especially to someone like me who is an optimist :: which might sound strange from someone so into gothic music and culture, but the dark and powerful elements of goth are also uplifting …

just look at gothic architecture, those imposing and inspiring churches and cathedrals that can leave you in awe of their majesty … and yet invite you to understand and follow their message.

and i probably err on the side of quality rather than quantity when it comes to sex and passion, altho a new flame can provide hours and days and weeks of quantity alongside the quality :: so new frontiers and boundaries interest me, whether musical or sexual, and the alternative lifestyle provides the best of opportunities.

a photoshoot by a friend

pleasure can be experienced in many ways, of course, and having the main aim of life to be gathering pleasure is both liberating and exciting :: because ultimately the philosphy leads to a belief in freedom, for me and everyone else – a stark contrast to most church teachings.

my life can be portrayed in complementary duality
- the beautiful warmth of the sun is ‘true’ happiness – giving light and warmth to everyone and everything
- the brilliance of a new moon is ‘true’ passion – brightness surrounded by mystery and the unseen

warm cleavage

in fact, i don’t mind if the warmth comes from the sun or someone’s breath, but i hate being cold :: my bones need to stay warm, which happens in Australia :: when i was in europe my bones often felt cold, with just my skin getting warm on occasions