Though details are short in coming, Peta’s latest creation should be up and running very soon. Peta revealed plans last summer to reserve one of the new internet domain names ending in xxx (designating a pornographic site) to create the world’s first “pornography site that draws attention to the plight of animals.” Though many companies including MTV are making moves to buy up domain names in the xxx arena, Peta will definitely be doing something with theirs, possibly taking a step past their “I’d Rather Go Naked” and showing a bit more than a body strategically covered in lettuce leaves. Ingrid Newkirk, Peta president, promises a shocking and profound experience, but probably, “not in the way that people think.” Personally, I can’t wait to see what Peta has in store… but for right now the website is at least accepting signups.
“Caesar Must Die” Wins Big at Berlin Film Festival
Brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani were on to something when they created their project “Caesar Must Die” which took the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. The Golden Bear is the festival’s top award, and the brothers beat out 18 other contenders in their victory. “Caesar Must Die” follows a group of inmates in an Italian high-security prison as they stage a production of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. Their goal in creating this film was to show, “that even an inmate, on whose head is a terrible punishment, is, and remains, a man”, Vittorio stated. The brothers, now in their eighties, spent six months filming, but in the end, the inmates went back to their life in prison, making the theme of freedom that is so present in the play, all the more real. The brothers have won numerous awards, including the Palme d’Or and a Grand Prix du Jury at the Cannes festival as well as the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, but this makes their first Golden Bear.
LAMB Fall/Winter 2012
Gwen Stefani is still going strong with her fashion label, LAMB. Her recent entry at New York Fashion Week has been getting a lot of buzz, and for good reason. With a backdrop of vintage black and white photographs, the models easily stood out with vintage looks of their own. Black and grays reigned supreme but pops of yellows helped set the tonal tastes of the show. Her take at Fall/Winter 2012 is all about the sophisticated side of the 1960′s with lots of tweeds, pencil skirts, sweaters and big hair that would make Bridgitte Bardot jealous. Though the show was a bit tedious for buyers and editors to see (models were rotated a few at a time on a tiny stage) it still packed a punch. The line is totally wearable, but still as was Stefani’s intention, very sophisticated. I honestly can’t wait to see what else the line holds in the future…
Cirque du Soleil Putting on Biggest Show Yet
With more than 50 artists performing in around three minutes, Cirque du Soleil is going to put on its’ show of shows this year at the 84th Annual Academy Awards. The show will have music by frequent “Soleil” collaborator, Danny Elfman, an Academy Award recipient himself. The act performed at the Oscars ten years ago, to almost disastrous results, but they somehow managed to get past rehearsal setbacks, and as the saying goes, the show must, and did, go on. This year there has been no news of how rehearsals are going thus far, but the performance is to be exclusive to the Oscars though the company performs a Hollywood themed show currently at the Kodak Theatre. Cirque de Soleil special events director Yasmine Kahlil cautions viewers to be, “very attentive. You don’t want to be blinking too much because you might miss something”, good advice, this performance will never be performed again.
Chromatics, Chromatics, Chromatics…
Disco isn’t dead. It exists as a heavily altered but omnipresent grandchild of what only a few of us remember as the freeing and club stirring anthems of bands like Voyage, Cerrone, and Salsoul Orchestra (and mainstream biggies like Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer of course). Chromatics has it all, and more; heavy synths, minimal lyrics, delicious ambience, and crushing beats. Though you won’t hear Chromatics at the club, they truly are the 21st Century’s answer to liberating and highly danceable music that doesn’t have that mass produced sheen. After Youtube suggested I listen to “Lady” it took thirty seconds of listening and I was sold, and I bet you will be too. Honestly, if I were you, I’d just immediately go amazon.com and order the album, but if you need a listen first, I understand. But really, it doesn’t take long before your teeth sink deep into that consciously dope disco rendering of what music still has to offer. Don’t take it from me… go have a listen.
We’ll be Back, in 2012!
Plastizine is taking a holiday break, and will be back January first! Happy Holidays Everyone!
Ju$t Another Rich Kid, The Interview
Ju$st Another Rich Kid could quite honestly be the hottest and most indulgent design palace in the world right now. Kenneth Courtney runs the show, creating designs and pieces straight out of a weekend of binge drinking and partaking in cocaine subculture, but in all the right ways. There’s something for everyone in the line, be it T-shirt, necklace or jacket. With inspiration ranging from gold to current collection, The Seven Deadly Sins, clearly a genius is at work here. From San Francisco to New York Kenneth came, bringing all the glitz and fun associated with the brand, and to my great satisfaction, I got to interview him.
Rap: How did you get into clothing design?
Ken: I was living in Brooklyn at the time. It was just after the Internet collapse in New York. There were lots of people out of work – including me – who were hanging out together working on creative projects. It was a very cool time to be in New York / Brooklyn.
Rap: Where did you get the name for your brand?
Ken: It’s a long story, but let’s just say there are a lot of people in the creative industries these days who are either rich kids or have very advantageous family connections that give them a leg up over the rest of us.
Rap: What inspires your work most?
Ken: Next to music, New York City and the mix of people, styles, and visual stimuli inspire me most.
Rap: Have you had any superstar clients?
Ken: None that I know of. Still working on that one.
Rap: What is the ideal Ju$t Another Rich Kid customer?
Ken: One with a credit card.
Rap: What is the ideal just another rich kid’s shindig and the morning after?
Ken: Morning after? Our parties don’t end till after noon the next
day.
Rap: If you could build a shrine, who to?
Ken: My grandmother.
Rap: How does music inspire your work?
Ken: It’s essential to my work. There is no Ju$t Another Rich Kid without music.
Rap: I feel you’re a modern day Andy Warhol in the sense of you taking pop culture, throwing it into a fan with blades on high, and then taking the pieces to put something back together… does that have to do with your unorthodox approach to subject? genius?
Ken: I’ll leave that up to you and others to decide.
Rap: Tongue in cheek, with a grain of salt, how should your work be taken?
Ken: With a shot of tequila.
Rap: Who are your style icons?
Ken: I don’t know their names, but I see them in the streets of New York every day.
Rap: Tell us about the Seven Deadly Sins collection.
Ken: It’s a 7 piece collection of unisex charm necklaces based on the Catholic Churches list of vices – Gluttony, Pride, Sloth, Greed, Lust, Anger, and Envy.
Rap: What is in the works?
Ken: At the moment, it’s top secret. As soon as I can say, you’ll be the first to know.
Rap: What recurrent themes do you believe in?
Ken: Change is the only theme in my work and life.
Rap: What mantra do you live by?
Ken: All I want is more.
There you have it, the most delicious interview to date. Thanks be to Ju$t Another Rich Kid.
Natalie Wood Case being Reopened
The thirtieth anniversary of Natalie Wood’s strange death has come. In 1981 she was out sailing for the Thanksgiving weekend with husband Robert Wagner and costar Christopher Walked when things took a turn for the worse. Not much is clear about that fateful night aside from the fact that Wood went missing, police were called later than expected and Wood’s body was found floating the next day in a fluid (dark seawater) that she feared above anything else. Speculation has been ripe since that day but apparently information is coming out, statements are being made, and the case is being reopened because of “additional information.” Wood’s sister, on the Today show, has said she’s pleased the case is being looked into again but is also, “Frightened of hearing things that I don’t want to hear. I would like to be told that everything is exactly as they said.” There’s much that can be said of Wood’s life and career, she was a terribly good actress, overlooked if anything, but all that can be said of her tragic death is exactly that, how tragic… Even if nothing comes of the reinvestigation, her death doesn’t go without remembrance. 
Jacqueline de Ribes, Icon
In the annals of the fashion world many of the greats get swept under the rug, almost to be forgotten. One of those notables is Jacqueline de Ribes, an iconic dresser and party-goer that when mentioned, might get a shake of the head in the wrong circles. She was born in France to an aristocratic family and the rest is truly history. She was brought up in the best circles and eventually played muse to Valentino and Yves St. Laurent, but that withstanding one of her greatest accomplishments was attainting a status likened to a Queen, no party was complete without Jacqueline. She attended quite literally the parties of the century including Carlos de Beistegui’s La Bal de Siecle, Alexis Von Rosenberg’s Bal des Tetes and was on the invite list for Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball. She was inducted into the International Best Dressed List in 1962, for good reason; with effortless chic Jacqueline has worn the best designers in the best taste from a very young age, showing a richly divine aesthetic that is long absent from society. She is known as the Queen of Paris, and for her work furthering taste, I label Jacqueline de Ribes, an icon of the top most caliber.
IMAGINE, back for a fourth year
Yoko Ono continues to awe and amaze with her support of charitable and peace stirring projects the globe over, and this year is no exception. For the fourth year in a row, Ono has paired with Hard Rock International to battle world hunger with their IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER campaign which directly benefits the WhyHunger initiative. Their wish is to help the more than 900 million people who go hungry every day. Please visit WhyHunger.Org to find out how you can help!