ThisNext Blog

As our new month goes in like a lion, let us pay tribute to those ferocious females who rule the rock and roll jungle. The best place to start: None other than the so-called “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” herself, Tina Turner. “One of our favorite singers, the incomparable Tina Turner is equally adept at rock, soul, gospel, and R&B,” rave John and Rose, who deem her greatest hits collection Simply the Best a “fabulous CD.”

The duo also recommend Janis Joplin’s Greatest Hits, which includes classics like “Piece Of My Heart” and “Cry Baby.” “Who doesn’t know ‘Me and Bobby McGee’?” ask John and Rose of one of Joplin’s most memorable numbers. “Janis Joplin was a tragic figure and this fabulous compilation is one of the best I’ve seen from one of our greatest rock and roll stars.”

...continued: Lion Ladies

What film was so good, you had to see it twice?

Movie’s over. Fade to black. Roll credits. You’re dazzled, moved and transported to a state of mind where all you can think is, “Yes! Let’s do it again!” Name the movie that was so good, you had to see it again (and, even, again).

Read about the movies that (we think) get better every time we watch them. And recommend the ones that captivate you.

 How to Enter:

1. Recommend the movies you love.
2. Tag your recommendations “silver screen”
3. Multiple entries increase your chances of winning.

 Netflix.com  is kind to movie addicts. You can always hog a favorite DVD (and never get charged late fees for keeping it) as well as a couple of films you’ve been meaning to see.

One Nexter will win a one-year Netflix subscription for entering the “silver screen” contest!  Contest rules

ThisNexter’s have already started entering! Check out some of their entries on the Silver Screen tag page.

In 1989, hip-hop trio De La Soul released what The Rapaholic considers the “most inventive, assured, and playful debut in hip-hop history.” 3 Feet High and Rising not only broke the mold by “expand[ing] the palette of sampling material with a kaleidoscope of sounds and references culled from pop, soul, disco, and even country music,” but pioneered the practice of placing bits of sketch comedy between tracks. As Martini & Jopparelli ’s Music Selections observes, “nowadays skits are integral part of almost any rap album,” thanks in part to De La producer Prince Paul’s goofy genius. (For those unfamiliar with the record, 3 Feet High and Rising is “loosely organized around a game-show theme,” as The Rapaholic notes. The opening track marks the introduction to the show, with host Al Watts tossing out “an amount of four questions” - including, FYI, “How many feathers are on a Purdue chicken?” and “How many times did the Batmobile catch a flat?”)

Over the years, skits have been become essential for everyone from Eminem to M.I.A.. One of Urbane Hymns blogger Sean B.’s favorite hip-hop records, Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring the Refugee Allstars replaces De La’s game show studio with a courtroom, in which Wyclef himself is on trial for being “not only a player but a goddamn revolutionary.” The verdict, according to Sean: “In a world of overly frenetic and über-masculine hip-hop, The Carnival sounds loose, laid back, and even charmingly pastoral, even when talking about catching bullets in one’s goose.” And, he adds, “as the ultimate evidence for my love for this album: I even like the skits. Down Lo Ho? Bishop? Classic.”

...continued: Funny Biznis

“If you’re getting into the forties this season (and that’s definitely one way to go), John Galliano is the man to fulfill those latent Joan Crawford urges, no holds barred,” writes Voguette Sarah Mower for Style.com.

Your K’s more for flapper frocks and original It girl Clara Bow, though I’m sure—

“His ready-to-wear collection for Christian Dior was virtually a camp-fabulous Hollywood spectacular—like a pumped-up 2007 remake of The Women (Cukor, 1939; ever a fashion favorite), but this time played out in full glorious purple, pistachio, electric blue, and fuchsia, rather than black and white.”

Fabulousness, because if you’re living largely, life isn’t only bouncing between two colorless shades—your life ought to be psychedellic Pucci-print scarves, sky denim Birkin bags, it should be—

“A comeback from last season’s comparatively muted collection, this was Galliano performing at full throttle, filling the runway with 58 girls dressed, as grandma would say, to the nines,” reports Sarah.

...continued: Paris Spring Double-Oh-Seven: J'Adore Dior

Your K would rather have a mink coat hug her than her hug a tree.

But green or not, these iWood sunglasses are classically glammy — Jackie O, jetset-styled peepers, in a cheeky chic wood, it’s really a footnote to your K that —

“iWood [is] eco-friendly woody glasses and jewelry! ” exclaims design bloggette NotCot.

Oh? Sounds so mignon, but I almost didn’t hear you, distracted by the shiny shiny of this CITIZEN Eco Drive watch. Louis XIV, Sun King-worthy bling powered by the sun, ThisNexter Helen Riegle digs it for practicality:

“Because it’s powered by light, I’ll never have to buy and discard another watch battery.” 

And because it’s so chic, I’ll never have to buy and discard another watch again.

Maybe.

...continued: Glammy Green

My vacation fantasy at the moment: a week (or two, or three) spent lounging around an impossibly glamorous eco-resort tucked away in some pristine landscape that I’ve never before visited. El Monte Sagrado Living Resort & Spa in Taos, Maho Bay on St. John, and Kamalame Cay off Andros Island in The Bahamas (all featured in DailyCandy’s Go Green Travel Guide) would each do quite splendidly, I’m sure - now I’ve just got to work out the part where I get magically whisked away.

Ever since visiting Tabernash, Colorado’s sustainability-minded Devil’s Thumb Ranch last fall I’ve felt slightly spoiled, hoping to find more and more getaways that pair the luxury of spa life with an eco-consciousness uncommon to far too many so-called sanctuaries. After all, the ultimate stress-melting experience can only become more healing when you know the planet’s being taken care of as kindly as your tension-addled body and mind. To others who wish to keep it green when blissing out, I suggest checking SpaFinder.com (a site that “gives a little mental escape and perhaps motivation to getaway,” according to ThisNexter Sharon Brown) to seek out the best earth-friendly spas around. And if you can’t manage an exquisitely eco escape at the moment, you can still pamper yourself with planet-protecting products at home.

...continued: Eco-Indulgence

Heavenly bodies in glammy gowns in ridiculously sunny SoCal?

Smells like prom in the OC.

I mean the Oscars.

Pinky promise your K watched Hollywood’s A-list at AA, she didn’t spend Sunday night vibing to Jay-Z, sipping a soy latte, e-boutique’ing in search of Giuseppe’s latest platforms…

Dot. Dot. Dot. 

Let’s review my fav red carpetters, which, fab fashion blogette I am, I studied last night while penning careful notes (i.e., I didn’t do a quick review blog hopping this a.m.), and…

» Take a lesson from the The Queen - Helen Mirren, winner of the Best Actress, and her Christian LaCroix gown remind the forever-21-year-olds of La La Land that “dressing your age” isn’t synonymous with “yawn,” “old,” and a slightly longer Juicy mini skirt.

» Leave the gold to Oscar and 99.8725% of Beyonce’s red carpet gear - Cate Blanchett does her usual unexpected glam, playing goddess in a Armani Prive pewter frock.

» Jennifer Hudson’s 24K shrug?  Shrug. Neither ridiculously glammy or ridiculous, the Dream Girl ‘s Oscar d. bolero seems more catty chatted about than the last time Sienna Miller forget to wear pants, for which your K gives her manager credit.

» Elegant S-E-X, Nicky Kidman always gets her red carpet on right; like a pair of Giuseppe Zanottis, you’d only be surprised if she rocked flawed. 

» Grand slammed by Perez Hilton, your K’s a fan of J Lo’s perfectly groomed hair and Marchesa gown’s rhinestone collar - I’ve always had a thing for poodles.

The perfect accessory, maybe I’ll go pick one up when I get my double soy latte today.

Here’s to the Queen! I mean Green! Oh, just put Jennifer Hudson on stage. ELLEN!

The 79th Academy Awards was over-all a pretty darn good show if you ask me.  Ellen Degeneres was funny, there were some fabulously amusing skits (Will Farrell, Jack Black & John C. Reilly), the speeches weren’t all too painful, and everyone looked really purty.  

The theme of the evening?  Go green and love the Queen.  Or at least that’s what I got out of it. 

So the winners are in, and Hollywood’s highest honor has been bestowed on a new gaggle of actors, writers, directors (yay Scorsese!), producers, and a bunch of other creative people who deserve more credit than they ever really get.

And wouldn’t you know it - ThisNexters guessed the winners long ago… 

» Cameron Diaz dons white bright with forgiveness for her last red carpet frock.

» Penelope Cruz rocks pounds more Versace than she weighs.

» Cate Blanchett gets on her usual unexpected glammy, in pewter Armani Prive.

» Borat cleans up for nice arm candy.

» Naomi Watts rocks a lemon Escada frock and accessorizes with a baby bump.

» Perez thinks Mr. Jennifer Lopez is rocking hotter than his wife.

[Photo via Catwalk Queen.tv]

For more scoop on the Oscar poop - we bloggers have got you covered.  The Popsugar team is all over the Academy Awards tomorrow:

• FabSugar will be doing live red carpet love it or hate it polls.
• BuzzSugar will be live blogging the show and asking you if you agree with the winners.
• PopSugar will be asking you about your favorite performances and if you think Ellen’s opening is a hit.
• All Sugar ladies will be in the live chat talking about our favorite celebs, the red carpet arrivals, the show!

And, YumSugar is apparently cooking up the same food they’re serving at the Oscars. (Though I think Sean has it coered in that department.)

How’s that for Oscar coverage?

[image via PopSugar] 

Like ThisNexters John and Rose, I’m pulling for Davis Guggenheim’s An Inconvenient Truth to snag the Best Documentary Feature award at tonight’s 79th Annual Academy Awards. “A longtime advocate for the environment, [Al] Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way in An Inconvenient Truth,” say John and Rose. “This is a rallying cry to protect the earth we all share. We are all walking on thin ice.”

One of the producers responsible for letting that rallying cry be heard by millions, enviro-activist/blogger/ThisNexter (and, of course, wife of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David) Laurie David offers up an “Activist Survival Guide” with a list titled “The Global-Warming Solution is YOU!”. To suggest your own solutions for going green and halting climate change, tag your planet-protecting picks “lauriedavid.” Just in time for Oscar night, here’s some inspiration to get you started.

...continued: Very 'Inconvenient'

“Hearts On Fire, known for their perfectly cut diamonds, has partnered with Spa on Location, to create a mobile spa to visit nominees, presenters and top VIPS at their home,” blogs People.com’s Off the Rack.

 Oh? So go on, gorgeous.  Dish the dirt on how Paris ordered a private spa-mobile and had a gay ol’ time while Brit got her Demi-Moore-circa-pre-Ashton-Kutcher on, though I’m more interested in how —

“The treatment to get is the Dream Girl Diamond Massage featuring one million dollars in loose diamonds.”

Ooh la love.

Your K might go from neon pink to green-eyed if she wasn’t haute and heavy with Selona Black Diamond Truffle bath and body gift set. Doubly delish and deluxe, a Dream Girl Diamond Massage’s use of a girl’s BFF is replaced with a girl’s fav food friend.

Nay, not a double soy latte, but something slightly more rich than a seven-dollar espresso and un-milk menage, it’s more the stuff of a —

“A Black Diamond Truffle spa treatment offered at Belle Vous Spa in Bishop, CA,” describes Sharon Brown of Selona Beauty.

...continued: Oscar-Worthy Beauty: A+ List Skin

With a few striking exceptions - Bob Dylan & Wonder Boys in 2000, Isaac Hayes & Shaft in 1971 - the Best Original Song category at the Oscars tends to be a total snoozefest. This year we’ve got not one but three Dreamgirls numbers up for the award, plus Melissa Etheridge’s “I Need To Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth and, of course, a Cars-featured number from film-score king Randy Newman.

Like totally claimin’, I’m of the belief that “once again, the Academy neglected some well deserved tracks from other movies that could have slipped in.” The most notable snub: Devotchka’s “Til The End Of Time” from the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack. “Lighthearted with a touch of whistle, it practically feels like the musical equivalent of a dysfunctional family road trip,” totally claimin’ astutely points out.

...continued: Movie Music