We were just having a little office gossip about relationships and such when I remebered this gem of a thesis. I first read Rachel Elder's "Meet the Wimpster" when I was about 18 and it pretty much changed my life - I may aswell have wrote the thing myself because it essentially summed up every relationship I had been in up to that point. Obviously the article is meant to be taken with a grain of salt but it's currently circulating around the entire office and there have been some audible stabs of recognition. I dare say that every urban-dwelling 20-something knows or has dated someone like this.

So, the Olsen twins have added to their empire - whilst giving us a tiny peek into their much-guarded characters - with the release of their first coffee table book. Entitled Influence, the glossy tome is largely centered on discourse between the twins and, as described by Ashley, “the most interesting, challenging, creative people we know — the ones who helped pave the way for us and our generation". Some of these inspirational inspirations include Terry Richardson and Christian Louboutin - oh yes, you know that everyone outside the fashion/creative industries is going to LOVE this one! Of particular note amongst the reviews I've read so far is this piece of Mugatu-esque profundity from Unkle Karl:

AO: What do you do now to stay in shape?
KL: Nothing … I have a doctor who I made a book with that sold five million copies all over the world. Every country bought one, I think, in Russia and Italy and everywhere. But I don't get it — I don't know what Japan is going to do with a European diet book … Since I started my diet, which was like eight years ago, I haven't touched what I'm not supposed to: sugar, cheese, nothing! I don't even look at it. It looks to me like plastic.

And let's not miss this gem:
KL: Nowadays you start to model because you're young. Now the girls are sixteen, seventeen, fifteen, and Russian. They are like from another planet
AO: They can look very bizarre!
KL: I hate all these tall women. They are all giants!
MKO: If only I were a little taller — that would make me happy!
KL: You are one meter fifty-one. You are taller than that?
AO: We're five feet and one inch.
KL: Oh, I thought my office told me that you were four-foot eight or something. Not that it matters. What you need is a face. If you have a face you don't need height or a voice. Models know this; that's why the good ones don't need to talk much.

WOW!!!! Seriously though, the book does sound kinda cool and I'm sure will be under many, many an xmas tree come December.

Thanks for making my ears bleed whilst simultaneously ruining one of my favourite songs. In case you were wondering, the Duffster's latest single Reach Out and Touch Me greedily borrows, both lyrically and musically, from Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus. Peep the original here - think of it as a musical cotton wool bud. If your ears need further cleansing then look know further than this amazing rendition by the late Johnny Cash

OMG Sarah Palin is a totez inspiration y'all! Not only has she been giving the economy a boost with her CUTE AS outfits, but she's also HEAPS down with the Hispanic community - just look at this boar-knife sharp insight she gave in Virginia on monday:

"She was introduced by a construction company owner, Tito Munoz, whose name is common among Hispanics but not to the Governor of Alaska. "I'll tell you, Tito," Mrs Palin said, "not since the Jackson Five has the name Tito been used so often."

SO TRUE SARAH!!

And I love me an animal that thinks it's people!!

Mad Men is my new obsession - like, a three episodes per day obsession. Set in the advertising golden age of the early 60's, the series follows pitching, philandering and whisky lunching that takes place within the offices of Madison Ave agency, Sterling Cooper. Now into its second season, the show has thus far picked up two Golden Globe and six Emmy awards and is praised for its visual and historical accuracy. The costumes, sets and period acting are indeed amazing; the women look beautiful and the men dashing, hair is set in curlers before bed, ice cubes clink in crystal tumblers, gargantuan offices overlook the city, heavy-glass table lighters adorn desks, bars are smokey and heady with jazz and NYC looks simply stunning. Of course, in the name of being accurate, the male employees are also sexist, racist and wildly chauvanistic in most instances, while the women have two choices of submission: housewife or receptionist. Also, if you are offended by the sight of a cigarette Mad Men may not be for you - there's smoking in nearly every scene (hey, as the writers touched on in one of the earlier episodes - no-one knew smoking was bad for you back in 1961!). I think Mad Men is only shown on pay TV here...curses... but try and track it down on DVD. It is sooo good.

A month or so ago my fellow expat friend Erin decided that she'd had her fill of Sydney for a while and thus hightailed it back for some suburban bliss back in NZ (come back Erin - cold longnecks and summer trouble await you!) Don't call it a holiday though - in the time she's been gone Erin's helped her sister open an amazing gallery space; gotten a new tattoo and put together an entire exhibition of bad-ass new work. If you happen to find yourself in Auckland tomorrow then DO NOT MISS this one. Sydneysiders can next peruse Erin's fearless femmes and inner-city misfits at Black and Blue's group show this November.