BECAUSE YOU'RE WORTH IT?

Perfect hyacinths, chrysanthemums and thousands of other blooms at last week’s annual UK Chelsea Flower Show.

What do you think of such events - be they Flower Shows or Haute Couture/ London/Paris Fashion Shows? Do they set the bar impossibly high/ raise false hopes for the rest of us?

Can ordinary mortals ever attain this degree of perfection? Not just in their gardens but in their clothes, body weight, general appearance. In this age of "because you’re worth it" advertising, are we (and especially the young and impressionable) being manipulated by PR hype, the media and, don’t let’s forget, the retailers who depend on our purchasing pounds/dollars/euros.

AM I BEING TOO CYNICAL? DO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

(The Royal Horticultural Society flagship flower show has been held at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea since 1913. This, the 87th show, originally known as the Great Spring Show was first held in Kensington in 1862.)

Happy Memorial Day and Happy Ruby Tuesday to everyone in Australia, New Zealand and the Far East where it’s already Tuesday! And do visit other Ruby Tuesday posts! (Links at Work of the Poet.)
Enjoy!
XOXO LOLA:)

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW'S "ACE OF DIAMONDS"

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW’S "ACE OF DIAMONDS"

Above is the "Ace of Diamonds" Garden at this week’s annual UK Chelsea Flower Show.
A garden decorated with £20 million worth of jewels! If you like your gardens gaudy, ostentatiously expensive and populated with several burly security men in sunglasses and dark suits, this is the one just for you!

BUT HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR GARDEN?

For you, is it a place to entertain, relax, strut your stuff?

Or, er, is it frankly nobody else’s business?!

Happy Six Word Saturday! Other great posts @ Show My Face.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Mwah!
XOXO LOLA:)

'S' IS FOR ...

Dear readers, I am participating in Alphabe-Thursday where ‘S’ is for SHOCKING HOAXES OF ALL TIME!

Here are some of the most famous (read: infamous!) hoaxes from the present and past centuries:

KEY:
1 Soon after 9/11, a faked photo of a tourist on top of the WTC (above).
2 Sealing kittens in glass container in 2000 ("Bonzai Kitten Hoax")

3The Loch Ness Monster (photo revealed 1994 as a toy submarine + sea-serpent head)

4 "The Cottingley Fairies" (1917 photo - revealed in late ‘70s as paper cut-outs)
5 Fake corpse of a fairy (2007 April Fool’s joke)
6 Creepy gnome videoed by teenagers stalking Argentinian streets (later discredited)
7 In 1995, Ray Santilli claimed this as film footage from 1947 Roswell UFO alien autopsy. (Admitted 2006 the film wasnt genuine but a "reconstruction".)
8 BBC footage of penguins flying from Antarctic to Brazil (April Fool’s prank 2008 - one of most viewed internet videos).
9 Fake composition of 2 photos claimed as National Geographic Photo of the Year 2001
10 Snowball the Monster Cat,2000 (size attributed to proximity to Canadian nuclear lab).

Which of these hoaxes do you find the most shocking and/or unusual?
Do you know of other hoaxes? Do tell me!
Have a great Alphabe-Thursday! And check out other Alphabe-Thursday posts @ Jenny Matlock’s great site!

XOXO LOLA:)

PUBLIC ART?

The Elephant Parade 2010, Trafalgar Square, London

Do life-size statues like these have a place in a busy, congested city like London?

Or are they simply the despair of commuters but the delight of tourists? What’s your view?

A Happy Ruby Tuesday to everyone in Australia, New Zealand and the Far East where it’s already Tuesday!!
And do visit other Ruby Tuesday posts! (Links at Work of the Poet.)

Enjoy!
XOXO LOLA:)

"UGLY EATING HABITS OF BEAUTIFUL STARLET"

"Ugly eating habits of beautiful starlet"
American starlet Megan Fox, who is best known for making lists like "Sexiest Woman Alive" and cover girl for Allure magazine's June edition, has a sad message for young (and possibly anorexic) girls around the world, saying:

"I'll starve to death before I'll cook for myself. I think I could survive a week without eating."

Has she any responsibility to her young fans or has she the right to do (and say) whatever she pleases?

In your opinion, what rights and responsibilities does any celebrity (major or minor) have - in public?
And have you ever yo-yoed in weight? Now’s the time to ‘fess up - in confidence of course! It’ll just be between you and me (and, er, thousands and thousands of my dear readers!) Do let me know your views!
Happy Six Word Saturday! Other great posts @ Show My Face.See you again for Ruby Tuesday!

Mwah!
XOXO LOLA:)

'R' IS FOR RETRO BLOCKBUSTERS & TOP 10 FILM SEQUELS!

Dear readers, I am participating in Alphabe-Thursday where ‘R’ is for RETRO BLOCKBUSTERS & TOP 10 FILM SEQUELS!

This is a two-parter special for film buffs!

Firstly, Retro Blockbusters!
Welcome to the explosive return this summer of the all-action heroes! Stallone and Schwarzenegger are back in The Expendables, just one of a number of macho, retro blockbusters. Is it a response to the 'war on terror'? An antidote to the credit crisis? No, apparently audiences just love the adrenalin rush!

Eighties action hero movies were the Reagan decade's response to old Hollywood's cowboy films, albeit often with some martial arts Eastern mysticism added to the brew. The popularity of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme etc was evidentally, too, a reaction to wimpy New Man politics of the 1970s.

In any event, the action movie is back, bigger than ever before in the early days of the current Obama administration with Stallone and Schwarzenegger together on screen in The Expendables. Remakes of Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja and even a big-screen version of TV's The A-Team are in the works. Meanwhile, Stallone has already successfully re-branded Rambo and Rocky.
THE EXPENDABLES:
1 Sylvester Stallone & Jason Statham (above)
2 Sylvester Stallone & Arnold Schwarzenegger (below)

3 Trailer

Secondly: The top 10 film sequels (according to Lovefilm DVD rental company):
1. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (below)
2. Terminator 2 (1991)
3. The Godfather Part II (1974)
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
5. Aliens (1986)
6. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
8. Toy Story 2 (1999)
9. Meet the Fockers (2004) 1

10. Shrek 2 (2004)

WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE FILM OF ALL TIME?

OR IS IT A RETRO BLOCKBUSTER/SEQUEL?
Have a great Alphabe-Thursday! And check out other great Alphabe-Thursday posts @ Jenny Matlock’s great site! And thank you so much for all the comments, new followers and visits.
PS Have a great weekend and see you for Six Word Saturday this, um, Saturday!
XOXO LOLA:)

WORDLESS ...

Hey, it’s cold outside! Hop inside - there’s room in here for two!

A Happy Ruby Tuesday to all my dear readers in Australia, New Zealand and the Far East where it’s already Tuesday!!
And do visit other terrific Ruby Tuesday posts! (Links at Work of the Poet.)

Thanks to Babu, the orangutan who allowed himself to be photographed in a builder’s bag at Twycross Zoo, UK. And thanks too for all the comments, visits and new followers!

Have a great week!
Enjoy!
XOXO LOLA:)

PS See you for Alphabe-Thursday this ... Thursday!

"TOO MUCH GOOD TASTE IS BORING!"

“Too much good taste is boring!”

Diana Vreeland (Editor-in-Chief, Vogue 1963-1971)

Do you agree with Diana Vreeland?

Or is there not enough good taste in fashion and design?

In other words, some bad taste? Very bad taste? Do let me know!

(Pictured: the late Gianni Versace & Donatella

and Versace designs. Below some race goers at the

UK Grand National, 2010)

What are your views about taste? Each to his own? Do let me know!

Happy Six Word Saturday! Other great posts @ Show My Face. Have a great weekend!

And see you again for Ruby Tuesday!

Mwah!

XOXO LOLA:)

'Q' IS FOR *QUITE* EXTRAORDINARY FASHION TRENDS!

Dear readers, I am participating in Alphabe-Thursday where ‘Q’ is for *QUITE* EXTRAORDINARY FASHON TRENDS AT THE MET COSTUME INSTITUTE GALA 2010
This annual Gala Benefit, which took place at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art on Monday, May 3 and hosted by Oprah Winfrey, Patrick Robinson (Gap), and Anna Wintour (Editor-in-Chief, Vogue), is an opportunity for "celebrities" to trial more daring trends than at the Oscars.

Dear readers, which do you think succeed and which fail?

KEY:

1 Katy Perry (above left) - makes Katie Price in a ball gown look tasteful!
2 Diane Kruger (above right) - new minimalism?

3 Tina Fey - THE jumpsuit!
4 Chloe Sevigny - some skating dress? (Proenza Schouler)
5 Carey Mulligan - giant lace blob?
6 Kirsten Dunst - wedding dress? (Rodarte, Gap)
7 Gisele Bundchen - tassels! (Alexander Wang)
8 Sienna Miller - Pucci & bondage shoes
9Rachel Zoe - Marc Jacobs: mellow yellow?

Which outfits do you like best and which the least?
Have a great Alphabe-Thursday! And check out other great Alphabe-Thursday posts @ Jenny Matlock’s great site! And thank you so much for all the comments, new followers and visits.
PS See you for Six Word Saturday this ... Saturday!
XOXO LOLA:)

WORDLESS!

WHAT DO YOU THINK THESE GIRLS ARE T-H-I-N-K-I-N-G?!

A Happy Ruby Tuesday to all my dear readers in Australia, New Zealand and the Far East where it’s already Tuesday!!
And do visit other terrific Ruby Tuesday posts! (Links at Work of the Poet.)And thank you so much for all the comments, visits and new followers after my last post!
Enjoy!
XOXO LOLA:)
PS Have a great week and see you for Alphabe-Thursday this ... Thursday!

"EVERY GIRL NEEDS GAY BEST FRIENDS!"

"They never let you down, they have the filthiest jokes and the best gossip. A gay man will never let you out the door looking less than perfect!"

"Every girl needs gay best friends (like Elton John pictured here with Victoria Beckham, Kate Beckinsale & Eva Longoria) when you’re too busy with work commitments and don’t have time for long-term relationships", according to Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, former British IT girl, speaking to Vogue Italia.

Do you agree? Time to 'fess up - in confidence of course! It’ll just be between you and me (and, er, thousands and thousands of my dear readers!) Do let me know!
Happy Six Word Saturday! Other great posts @ Show My Face.

Happy Mother's Day weekend too!

Mwah!
XOXO LOLA:)