Hello from the Two Sixers club!

Life is bloody good I say.  I turned 26 over the weekend and celebrated my special day by going on a train ride to Magaliesberg with my two really amazing friends.  We kept taking pictures on the way and I've been looking at them and realise that I've gained a little weight around the cheek and arm area. And I'm not freaking out as much I would have say a year ago.  Looking different comes with age but it doesn't help that I'm changing the make up of my blood by drinking too much Pongrazc.  I had a lot of it while laughing hysterically at odd hours with no more than two people at a time this weekend.  It was fun and unlike the other years where you feel you have to do something to validate your getting older, mostly for other people.  This time, I spent it having intimate pockets of conversation with four really funny and special people.  One of my favourite moments this weekend was discovering new music, videos and really cool shit from my friend's brother who is a walking library of all things cool. He shared this Blonde Redhead music video shot a few years ago using the Miranda July as the model.  She is the genius who wrote and directed a movie I'm sure many people, including myself, are obsessed with: You and Me and Everyone We Know. This is called One Pose Per Second. Thank me later. 

Then, as if life couldn't get sweeter, I was at CNA with my geeky friend who was there to buy Stuff Magazine when my life changed for the better. I discovered a magazine called The Gentlewoman.  As I approached it to pick it up with both my hands, I was not only enticed by the name, but also the woman on the cover, a stoic looking Adele posing with a fag in her hand and stars in her eyes wearing a dress designed for the cover by one Pheobe Philo. 

This is an English magazine with female and male contributors from around Europe.  It's about intelligent reporting on women's lives, which is very rare in a magazine that also covers fashion, art and history. I've only read half the mag but I've already had glimpses into the lives of a love-to-hate 64 year old columnist and TV producer and personality, an artist who is the only resident artist in the department of Astronomy and Physics at the University College London (one funny write up that); a woman who lives between England and France where she talks about the differences and similarites in thinking in English vs French and my favourite, an interview with Vanessa Bruno.  That is all I'm going to say because that's all I've read.  I don't regret spending my R120 on this and I can't wait for the next half of the year so I can buy the second issue of this biannual. 

I also found these after wondering what ever happened to Gemma Ward.  She was one of my favourite alienesque models of the later naughts and according to Huffington Post, she took a break from modelling after her boyfriend, Heath Ledger's death back in 08.  That's really sad and it all makes sense.  This Australian Bazaar cover is the first glossy she's graced since 2008. She is now pursuing an acting career and is said to be in   she's going to be in the next Pirates of The Carribean. Nice? Nice. The full story is in the Bazaar.

After

Before

Pics fashinogonerogue and Huffington Post

Oh, I must mention the musical delights of the Two Sixers club: So far, I'm enjoying Adele's new album as well as some DM Stith, Air, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a compilation called New Harvest thanks to a walking musical library aka Mlamleli Ngobese. Happy short week errbady!