Happy PRIDE!

Happy Pride!

P.S: That adorables gif choice is no random googling accident; I just now started watching Sherlock because it was recommended to me and it is AMAZEBALLS.

P.P.S: And ugh, file this under nerdgirls are easy -- predictably, irrevocably (and as per usual, totally late to the party): Benedict Cumberbatch's brilliant turn on the BBC as Sherlock (okay, for real, it's also those thick. black. curls.), mind-blowing performance as bizarro reboot Khan in Star Trek, Into Darkness (okay, for real, it's also that. body.), and (just in case you're insane and didn't click on that Khan link) good lord sweet jesus his baritone, sex-oozing voice (gurl, for real, that. voice.). And so here we are, hook line sinker: one more for the man harem. If he stays away from man harem lifetime member James McAvoy's odd career choices he has a shot at a Paul Newman or Laurence Olivier caliber career.

The internets also pinky swear that Cumberbatch is, essentially, perfect: not merely satisfied with being talented, and handsome in that alabaster alien meets sexy ginger Keebler elf way, he is rumored to also be highly intellectual, modest, witty, polite, charming, and kind. He claims to love both his mother and reading books. He supposedly rides a motorbike, is OK firing up the occasional smoke, and speaks Latin. Holy hot hell. He's also remarked that he desperately wants to breed, so OK, baby daddy dealbreaker aside, he's almost my perfect man harem piece. But, since I will never really know any of those more intimate details for sure, better to stick with the basics, non? Can't go wrong with possessing documented talent AND teh sex (unless you're a rumored jerkface *cough*Fassy*cough*); most signs though point to his likability and general good guy-ness as fact. Cumberbatch is first string, lifetime member material all the way.

Seriously, click on that voice link. Do it.

So, I saw Haywire over the weekend.



Seriously a good time. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, it has super fun casting, with Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Douglas, and MMA fighter Gina Carano in the lead. I loved the clean and lean look of the film, and I especially liked the lack of jump cuts in the fight scenes, which lent them precision and a gritty realism; it felt like a European action flick. Really well done.

OMG, and I so get the Michael Fassbender thing now. Holy everything that is holy. And let me just say straight up: I am a sucker who would totally be killed by Fassbender's sexy, charismatic British freelance assassin Paul. Oy vey. This is why: I was talking to Trevor after the film about Fassbender's role and how I thought he was made out to be a bit more sympathetic than the other black ops guys, and he laughed at me. "Paul is charming and handsome, but he was willing to frame an innocent person and kill her for money! Now you know what it's like to be a man around a beautiful woman." Touché.

But wait a minute: not only is he charming and handsome, he can kill a man with his bare hands while wearing the hell out of a suit. Hot. Oh wait, that also describes my husband. No wonder.

I first noticed Fassbender in the passably entertaining X-Men First Class as Magneto (also starring man-harem lifetime member James McAvoy as Xavier), though I had seen other films that he had smaller, ensemble roles in, like 300 and Inglourious Basterds. Most recently I saw him again in Steve McQueen's beautifully shot and acted, but sometimes wincingly trite, Shame. This film was when I starting sitting up and paying attention to Fassbender as an actor (I know what you're thinking, and no, really, it was the acting!). The sterility and quietude of a film like Shame requires someone who can convey a bevy of human emotion over the course of several uncomfortably long close-up still-shots, without speaking. He nailed it (and okay, yeah, that pun was intended). I was riveted.

Anyway, I digress. Haywire: fun, action packed film well worth the unspeakable amount of money you pay now for a movie ticket. The Fassbender Sexy: confirmed. And he's not only beautiful, but he's absolutely flawless as an actor in this film, as well as Shame. Looking forward to seeing if future projects and personal conduct deem him man-harem worthy.

It is about time.



















When Del Monte Superfruit Smoothies asked a thousand women who they would most like to lick, they picked the newest Bond, Daniel Craig. So Del Monte got working on a limited-edition "license to chill" ice lolly based on a beach scene from "Casino Royale." It's no doubt the first popsicle with abs.

I'm loving equal opportunity objectification! Thank you third wave.

I'll admit, I can get on a Daniel Craig lolly. The sad thing is, Craig is supposedly quite a sweet man, but let's face it, he's so hot because -- I'm just going to say it -- he looks like he will hurt you *ahem* rough. Any Daniel Craig popsicle has to look good but taste like bad boyfriend.

Now to make delicious frozen treats that look like James McAvoy (Scotch), Bradley Cooper (watermelon), Zachary Quinto's Spock (milk tea with tapioca), Snape (blackberries), John Cho (coconut), and Jason Statham (chocolate), and I think they'll have almost all of my bases covered.

This pic of the phenomenal Helen Mirren has been flying all over the internets, and I am going to be the 5 millionth woman to say that I hope I look half as good as she does when I'm 50, much less when I'm 63.

She's without makeup, vibrant, voluptuous -- she's gorgeous! And I love that it looks like she hasn't had any work done. But it's also important to note, for fairness' sake, that she's had no children. In fact, she's said she "[has] no maternal instinct whatsoever." You go girl! Women like this can start a revolution.

Helen Mirren is the embodiment of what I hope for in my golden years.

Can't wait for The Last Station, where she plays Leo Tolstoy's wife, Sofya, alongside Paul Giamatti, Christopher Plummer, Anne-Marie Duff, and James McAvoy.

Some things I am loving right now:

1) Vegan eats at The Golden Buddha:














Actually, I'm also loving the entire stretch of Clement Street in the Inner Richmond where this restaurant is located. Here exists the most extensive and lovingly displayed anime toy store around, as well as the smallest but most fashion-forward Goodwill. Wondrous Asian shops selling everything from Chinese herbs and dried fish to firecrackers and probably Mogwai are also quite abundant. But it is truly the restaurants that rule!

2) This picture of James McAvoy from the August 2008 issue of Details magazine:


















Holy hot hell. You really must embiggen and get a look at those eyes. Sweet mother of god.

Such a perfect 21st century, iconic photograph -- the type that will get referenced in his future retrospective -- but still not unlike one of my favorites of Paul Newman from the 1960s that was featured on the cover of GQ last year. Yum.

Not only is Mr. McAvoy also yum, but seems smart and grounded, and BTW did you see Atonement? The man can act. On his way to legendary.

Details, however -- eh, not so much. More like creepy and trying too hard. But this is pretty funny.

3) The wallpaper in the ladies' room at The Avenue (may be NSF your W).

4) yoCup in San Francisco, and live culture, probiotic frozen yogurt in general. Now that this phenomenon is exploding in Northern California, I am crossing my fingers for one to open up in Oakland so I no longer have to dream constantly of 150 calorie tart goodness topped with enormous succulent blackberries. Damn, I would BART across the Bay right now if they were open.

5) Cocktails at Flora, especially with my sweetie, and my good friends Chris and Jumoke. Never was much of a gal for gin, but you learn something new everyday!

Oi, I feel like I can barely fit in eating today, much less blogging -- which means a ginormous post dump of things in the queue.

Hold on to your hats!

Things making me happy right now:



















:D

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The Miss Piggy sandwich and a glass of Rosé at 900 Grayson. I could eat this every day:















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Oh how I love Juliette Binoche.

Botox makes people look older. You look at women who have had it, you see the fear of aging on their face.

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Not a big watcher of fanvids, but this is so awesome. Plus, random Michael McDonald. Those crazy Minnesotans!



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Recent acquisitions:

Billy Bragg -- Mr. Love and Justice
Lyrics Born -- Everywhere at Once
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds -- Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
Portishead -- Third

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For those of you on the edge of your seat in suspense, I was deemed Dee Dualla.

A young but capable bridge officer, your loyalties are more to your people than to your job. You're willing to bend — even break — the so-called “rules” if necessary, and you have a very strong sense of what's right and what's fair. You're always up for a little constructive conspiracy, and you're great at keeping things quiet.

Which is not so bad except for the whole Apollo thing -- girl, have some respect for yourself. I would never ever go there. Run away!

Anne-Marie Duff, nominated for Best Actress for Saint Joan, at last night's 2008 Lawrence Olivier Awards in London.



























Oi, Anne-Marie Duff -- isn't she something else? Forget about her merely being a magnificent actress just for a moment. She's also cute like a pixie, dressed like a dream (WANT this dress!), and, lest we forget, married to sex on a stick. Would want to be her if I didn't already have the best one out of three of these things myself.

(For those keeping score at home, I'm fierce like an Amazon and dressed like Saturday afternoon softball and beer.)

:)

Marion Cotillard, you are so deserving of the Best Actress Academy Award for La Vie En Rose, and you were also the best thing about the Oscars last night.



























Okay, maybe the second-best thing, next to a swoon-inducing Javier Bardem (in a beautiful four-button suit) picking up Best Supporting Actor and thanking his mother -- who he brought as his date to the Oscars -- in Spanish. All of the women present in the room I was in swooned in unison. Take note, boys.

Anyway, love Marion's Gaultier dress. Love her old-school Hollywood glamour and her humility. Love her!

Also, I squee madly at this sweetness:



























James McAvoy is truly sex on a stick, but he and his wife Anne-Marie Duff are so lovey and cute and modest and solid that one feels downright filthy for ogling him so.

So, I'll end this with the fact that he was absolutely robbed of a Best Actor Oscar nom (not win, but nom) for Atonement. That's the brain talking, swear! :)

Sorry, just slightly obsessed with this couple at the moment...

The Modest Heartthrob: Atonement Star James McAvoy's Tiny Flat and £1,000 Nissan Micra.












What happens when talented but relatively small-time actors, living somewhat normal lives, become crazy famous? Usually the opposite of this. Oooh, the irony of my admiration: I hate to contribute even more to the jibber-jabber around their lives, but it is worth noting, and applauding -- this is how you keep your sanity, by staying down to earth.

I've read that McAvoy and his wife, actress Anne-Marie Duff, are very much about living a simple and private life away from all the parties and exposure. Sure, I'll bet things around the car and flat may change -- may be inevitable at least for privacy's sake -- but if they continue to keep their heads about them and, as Duff says, their hearts "not up for public consumption" (and stay in the UK), I doubt they'll change much else and be able to keep their simple life. Hard to do when under constant scrutiny, but they seem to be approaching fame with a grain of salt, and they also seem so in love (Yes, I am a sop). If any couple is going to make it in the over-the-top world of international celebrity, I predict it will be this one. Respect.

I just watched Atonement. Oy vey, I am still weepy about it. Go see it, it is really well-done, but be warned it is very very sad. Pushed all my buttons -- class and injustice, war and the tragedy of wasting human life, true love that cannot be consummated...

And of course, a devastatingly handsome (and apparently super down to earth in real life) lead -- James McAvoy. Hot damn:














BTW, this guy's fully Glaswegian and you would never know it from his accents in his film roles. Almost always upper crust British, and more recently, American. Funny too that he's said that in real life English people couldn't understand him sometimes and Americans just couldnae get it at all, so since he's got such a hand at accents, he's toned his brogue down. Tragedy, because that delicious Scottish accent is something else!

Check it while he and fellow Glaswegian Craig Ferguson almost require subtitles for us Yanks.



Too bad the rumors about McAvoy playing Kurt Cobain are apparently false. Though I think I can live without him playing Scotty.