Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Spring Fashion Trends!!!!

The Angst-y guide to Spring 2008 trends- here you'll find all the hottest trends for this season and my assessment of them.

Global- want to look like a world traveler without, you know, ACTUALLY travelling to those horrible places that require you to get malaria shots? This trend is for you. OK, so I sound a little harsh but I actually like this look. It's like urban warrior in a way- and lord knows I'm definitely an urban girl. Suburbanites need not apply. Do not mistake this for a carte blanche to douse yourself in animal prints- a little goes a long way. Pick one and stick with it. I'm a big fan of accessories like a leopard print scarf or zebra shoe. You can wear a nice khaki shirt dress with some super-high wedges and wooden jewelry for a nice take on the trend. (Dress, Topshop...soon available in the US!!)
Color- let's face it, my wardrobe needs a shot of color. I've put a ban on purchasing anything black for a while since my closet started to resemble a big black blob. Anything bright will do: pink, blue, green, orange, yellow. This is a nice departure from those horrid pastels that are so ubiquitous in the springtime. I fucking hate pastels...I ain't trying to look like the easter bunny. I like a bright dress, for example, with muted shoes. It's a nice look for going out.(MARC by Marc Jacobs Cashmere Colorblock dress: $368.00)



Gladiator Sandals- love, love, love. There's nary a shoe I met that I didn't like. I think Old Navy makes some super cute ones for like 20 bucks. They come in either flats or heels and a variety of colors so they'd work for any occassion. Perfection! (these are from Old Navy, on sale for $16.50)Word to the wise tho, do not try this if you've got short legs since the straps will just break the vertical line.

Bandage Dresses- you know, Herve Leger. Meh, no thanks...I'm not gonna stuff myself into a sausage casing anytime soon. Rihanna rocks it tho.

Star Prints- Miss Moss is again responsible for starting up a fashion trend. I think this trend is really cute and works well with dresses and tshirts. Gotta have the attitude to match! (Star Print Silk Dress at Intermixonline.com: $285.00)

Wide-Legged Jeans- I have to admit that I'm a fan of this look on other people but can't work it to save my life. When done right it looks amazing but I've seen too many cute girls fall victim of the too short wide legged pant. Ugh, it's NOT pretty. Best leave this to the hipless set.

Man Candy

Gabriel Aubry aka Halle Berry's baby daddy. Damn...those two make one fine-ass couple. I bet their baby is just absolutely adorable. How hot would it be if she got Gabriel's blue eyes and Halle's caramel-y skin? HAWT. I love inter-racial kids! Can't wait to get my own...ok, maybe I can wait on that for a while.

Music To My Ears

My taste in music has been described as "eclectic." It's true, I listen to just about everything with the exception of country which I just cannot stand. If I hear anything about tractors and other farm machinery I might puke. So with that one genre aside, everything else is pretty much fair game. I used to be very much a music snob, especially in those oh-so-difficult teenage years when my affiliation with a particular musical style meant everything. It was a time when I had to prove my moral and intellectual superiority by shunning anything that was too "pop-py." Hence...my musical exploits were limited to classic rock, hard rock, and alternative. Pretty narrow, huh?

Well, since then I am proud to say that I've evolved as a person and no longer feel ashamed to say that I fucking love Justin Timberlake and occasionally groove along to some old school Britney. In addition, I've branched out into more experimental type music and genre-mixing bands. Yeah, I'm secure enough with my "coolness" to realize that my liking Rihanna and Beyonce doesn't take any of it away from me.

So in the grand old tradition of list-making, here's a small list of artists currently on my ipod. You should check them out because I say so and I know what the fuck I'm talking about :)


Brazilian Girls- not Brazilian, and only 25% female. They mix quadri-lingual lyrics and funky, catchy beats. NPR favorites.
Download: "Jique," "Pussy," "Talk To The Bomb"


Orion Experience- New York City based indie pop group. They are "better than cocaine" (thnx Perez)
Download: "Obsessed With You"

Lupe Fiasco- representin Chi-town. Killer rhymes and thought-provoking lyrics (if you're sharp enough to follow), it's rap with a conscience and a social message. Oh, he's kinda cute too. Download: "Hurt Me Soul," "The Coolest," "Day Dream" (featuring Jill Scott)

VHS or Beta- St. Louis rockers that remind me of The Cure. Craig Pfunder, the lead singer, has one of the most hypnotic voices I've ever heard. Download: "Can't Believe A Single Word," "Bring On The Comets," "You Got Me"


Rihanna- love this girl!!! Good for listening to when you want something light and girl-powerish
Download: "Umbrella-ella-ella-eh" (sorry, couldn't help myself), "Take a Bow"

Elliott Smith- le sigh. Very talented singer-songwriter with lots of problems (RIP) I wouldn't recommend listening to him when it's dark and gloomy out because it will lead to a minor bout of depression.
Download: "Waltz #2," "2:45 AM," "Bottle Up and Explode"

Jeff Buckely- yet another dead singer songwriter. His version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is heart-wrenching. His stuff is generally dark. This blog is not called Angst in the City for nothing!
Download: "Hallelujah," "Despite The Tears"


Radiohead- Hail to Thome York! This man can do no wrong. I would also suggest checking out his solo album "The Eraser" which was part of the soundtrack to "A Scanner Darkly."
Download: everything

Indochine- French New Wave group. I think they split up but you can still enjoy their music.
Download: "J'ai demande a la lune"

The Killers- yeah, a little cliched but whatever. It's indie rock and roll for me! They recently released a B-Sides album which rocks, if I don't say so myself.
Download: anything from "Hot Fuss."

Amy Winehouse- girl has issues but she's GOOOOD. R&B, soul, and jazz all rolled into one fucked-up, bee-hived package. I'm eating it up!
Download: "Back to Black"

Sara Bareilles- unlike her so popular "Love Song" most of her other songs are surprisingly moody, which is just fine with me. It's rather amazing she has no formal musical training.
Download: "Gravity," "Come Round Soon"


Regina Spektor- Soviet import from Brooklyn. She plays the piano and has a really quirky style of singing. Her lyrics are very New York-centric and use a lot of typical slang (she does the accent sometimes too!)
Download: "Hotel Song," "Better"

That was just a really small sampling of my far-reaching musical tastes. I'll try to do a follow-up at some point because there's a lot more where that came from.

Happy listening!



Monday, April 28, 2008

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Man Candy

One more fine example of Man Candy and proof of the beauty of interracial fucking.

Fashion Misdemeanors

Ah, springtime in the big city. It is now that the air gets heavier and heavier with pollution and the sound of construction resonates in my ears 24/7. Truly one of the best times of the year. But along with sunshine comes a deplorable sense of fashion. You'd think that this is the time to break out the flirty dresses and peep toe shoes. NOPE! Here I've compiled a list of the most retinally offensive clothing I can imagine for the season:


FLORAL SKIRTS- not just ANY kind of floral skirts because the idea of floral skirts is quite lovely. I'm talking about ghosts of Easters past: dowdy, shapeless. and generally unflattering. For full effect pair with sheer black hose and ratty gym shoes.
RX: get thee a nice pair of flats/sandals and an A-line skirt that hit right below the knees. Ditch the sheer hose, invest in self-tanner.

KHAKI PANTS- how I missed thee, tapered, high waisted khaki pants! It's the return of the mom jean. And the pleats! Also de rigeur are a pink striped polo and "sensible" (aka ugly) sandals. Optional: short bowl cut or mom shag.
RX: flat front, flat front, flat front. And straight/bootcut legs. Also, ballet flats.


GYM SHOES W/SKIRTS- see above. What is wrong with people!!!??? OMFG!
RX: BALLET FLATS...cannot emphasize enough


CAPRI PANTS- not acceptable on anyone over a size 8-10, particularly if they're baggy and hit mid calf.
RX: may I suggest a nice bonfire under the highway?

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Man Candy

The love of hot football players continues here at Angst In The City. I'm grateful for DWTS otherwise I wouldn't have known who this fine man is...and he is FIIIIINE.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

This Just Gives A Whole New Meaning to "Bitch Drink"

Oh yes, I remember this wine! I just stumbled across this picture and it brought back good, yet fuzzy, memories. I think we found this one at a liquor store on 2nd Ave (?)
Not exactly sure how it tasted like but if the name evokes anything it should be bitter, with a sarcastic bouquet, and angsty undertones.

Update: Yes, it was in fact 2nd Ave and the wine was TERRIBLE

Hola Sluts

So there's no REAL reason to this post except to thank you all who've been reading this so far. I hope it's at least marginally entertaining and such. Tho I suspect that most of you just come back for the regular dose of manly hotness. *sigh* I cannot compete with James McAvoy.
There's still a few tricks up my sleeve and plenty more Man Candy to come!
<3

Man Candy...Kinda

Okay, so this is a slightly different Man Candy. Yay Aladdin!!! I was in love with him when the movie came out, little did I know that he's not actually a real person. But he's got a magic carpet and a magic lamp with a genie!! And check it out, he's swinging from a magically suspended rope while waving a big sword. *Swoon*

Monday, April 21, 2008

Man Candy

So following through with the diversity hotness theme going on here today's man candy is Adam Beach of the Saulteux tribe descent (that's Native American...err, Canadian) Oh yeah, he plays resident hottie detective Chester Lake on Law & Order- SVU. His looks definitely remind me of Johnny Depp.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Man Candy

I was looking through Man Candy when I noticed that there is an absolute lack of hot asian guys in my posts. So I did a quick google search for "hot asian men" and voila! Daniel Henney- half white half Korean (nom nom) One thing I love about asian guys is their amazing bone structure and I'm also totes into pretty boys. He's soooo purdy. Anyway, Daniel is an actor and will be in the upcoming X-Men movie. Can't wait!
I know that some people will disagree with my choice but I don't care. I don't discriminate when it comes to hotness. Did I mention he's 6'2"? Dayum. But just in case you have any more doubts:

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Man Candy

Yummy yummy! I can't even stop salivating over his 6-pack long enough to write anything else...

The End of An Affair*

*The people, places, and events of this are all real. Details, however, are subject to interpretation.

This is a tale of love, loss, betrayal, and deceit. It starts in Chicago and ends in New York City and spans several years of my life that I will never get back. The names of people are inconsequential but for the sake of clarity let’s just call him “X.”
X came to visit me one beautiful weekend in October. But it was over before he even got there. It had been over for more than a year and yet both he and I clung to something. Nostalgia, perhaps. In any case, we both knew it was done with but for those three days we suspended reality and lived in a fantasy world. And is there a more perfect backdrop for failed romances than New York City? If this were a movie it would be equal parts film noir, comedy of errors, and pornography. Soundtrack? Hmm…more than a heavy dose of Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith.

So for three days our lives played like a movie. It was all dulce de leche ice cream, sex, movies at the Sunshine Cinema, sushi in the East Village, beer, walks by the Brooklyn Bridge, and lazy hours spent at cafes. We pretended to be a couple, pretended to be adults, and pretended to afford a lifestyle that we both knew we couldn’t. I played my role and he played his. I was the naïve girlfriend, oblivious to all his indiscretions and cheating. X was the perfect guy, also oblivious to my snooping and indiscretions. Yeah, we were kidding ourselves since in reality we knew all too well what the other was up to and it sure wasn’t pretty. It all seemed so perfect (surely, we can put aside our anger, jealousy, and all could be forgiven) but as soon as I dropped him off at Port Authority and promised to see each other again, it was completely and undeniably “finito.” No more e-mails, no more calls, no more nothing. Part of me was devastated but part of me knew better than to fool myself into believing in a relationship that wasn’t and being in love with someone that I didn’t know anymore.

Just like any modern romance, this one ends in apathy and oblivion. The details of it will, over time, be forever sucked into the black hole of my brain.

“Es tan corto el amor
Es tan largo el olvido” –Pablo Neruda

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Man Candy

I'd say that Orlando Bloom is pretty fucking gorgeous in my opinion. I'm very much into scruffy, pretty, hipster guys and Orlando is like perfection. It doesn't hurt that he has a good sense of humor since any actor that appears on Extras (he was on Season 2, Episode 1) gets mad respect points. <3

Monday, April 14, 2008

I'm Not A Superficial Bitch?

I’ve been thinking about the idea of “beauty” for a while now. And the conclusion is that “beauty” is just that…an idea. I don’t think there’s anything remotely universal about it as evidenced by all the different standards of non-western beauty. Western ideals of beauty are by far the narrowest of them all and it pains me to say that I am completely susceptible to them. I suppose that ideally I’d like to live in a world in which physical appearance wouldn’t matter and we’d all be judged by our character and intelligence. But that would be extremely naïve. The truth is that “beauty” DOES matter.

It’s rather a self-perpetuating evil- if you’re told how good you look on a daily basis it becomes rather hard to not let yourself be wrapped up in that image. On one hand it’s embarrassing but at the same time completely flattering and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t (secretly) relish it. Part of me hates it but part of me loves it too. I judge people based on their looks all the time, especially girls that I view as potential “threats” and constantly feel the need to put others down based on their negative qualities. I suppose it’s the bitch in me. But yeah, I know it’s wrong since I wouldn’t want to be judged like that although it’s safe to say that I AM being judged. So it’s a double edged sword. On one hand I’m all about female empowerment but on the other I don’t even think twice about making a nasty, superficial comment. *Sigh* So what’s pretty to ME might not be pretty to someone else and vice-versa. I suppose I shouldn’t judge people’s personal preferences.

Mr. Right...or Mr. Right Now?

The top 15 qualities women look for in a man, according to the Internet Bible of stay-at-home wives (that would be ivillage.com)

1. Honest
2. Supportive
3. Funny
4. Caring
5. Sensitive
6. Loving
7. Goal Oriented
8. Handsome

9. Fun
10. Independent

11. Cuddly
12. Good to His Mother
13.Humble

14. Financially Stable
15. In touch with his feminine side

I say, what a bunch of crap. Not that there's anything wrong with all these qualities per se but one would be hard pressed to find all these rolled up into one hot, washboard abbed package. Actually, I believe that the "perfect" man does not, in fact, exist. I'm willing to bet that whoever came up with this list included characteristics that their exes actually LACKED?
My problem with coming up with such dumb lists is that no man will ever live up to it. He could be all of those things at times but never everything all at once. In my experience, I've fallen for the guys that I least likely expected to. If I were to make a list of ideal qualities and stick to it they would never measure up to those standards (and that's not meant to be a diss.) For example, I suppose my ideal guy would be at least 6 ft tall. But does that mean that anyone who's not 6ft tall is automatically "out'? Nope. There was a guy who was barely half an inch taller than me and he made me smile whenever I thought about him.
Too often I think that women look for individual traits in a guy and fail to see the whole package. The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.

Man Candy

Michael Vartan's alias should be...?
Help me out here, I need something witty that rhymes with "hotness"

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Angst Is Back...And With A Vengeance

Apparently, being smart, funny, good looking, and promiscuous is not enough for a girl to get some love in today’s world. And if the promiscuous part alone is not enough then what is?! It seems that coming with a personality is actually detrimental in the dog eat dog world of dating. On top of that, self-respect and intelligence are repulsive qualities that one must work hard at concealing. Well, I was just kidding about the promiscuous part. But the rest I totally mean.

Clearly, there is something terribly wrong with what I said above. And yet, time and time again it keeps getting re-enforced in my experiences. Now I'm not saying that I'm a model of perfection, just that I kinda have it going on and it pisses me off to be ignored for humorless, self-righteous bitches. Yeah, and when I stand up for myself I'm the one accused of treating people badly. Well, fuck that! If you play with fire you get burned. I'm not above admitting that I'm wrong (although for the most part I'm right) but when men act like they are fucking God's gift to humanity that's where I draw the line and don't offer any fucking apologies.


So here's to a better, badder me.