the nonexistent one_if_by_sea ([info]one_if_by_land) wrote,
@ 2008-01-07 23:38:00
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Current music:The Pierces, "Secret"
Entry tags:heart, media

Together, let's fight crime!
Winter break ends in 5 days; I can hardly remember the past 2 weeks, or how I was still in Germany less than a month ago. I had a long list of ambitious goals to accomplish over break and, uh. Good news is, I managed to complete some of them, like re-tagging all my pictures in Flickr and burning off my Europe pictures / Gossip Girl Episodes / JE media from my laptop and buying one more pair of quality skinny jeans. Unfortunately, the goals that I managed to neglect are academia-related, ahaha oops.

For those of you who watch Gossip Girl, you'll probably recognize The Pierces as the featured artist during the debutante ball episode. Well, umm, through a series of rapid events, I've somehow landed the job of interviewing the two sisters by phone and writing up a concert report for their show in Boston next Monday. I'm more than a little terrified, as I haven't written anything journalism-related since. . . September 2006 and I hate phone conversations. My interview's scheduled for tomorrow at 1 PM; wish me luck. :(

Link from [info]anyotherknight: American Apparel will make you look like a fat hooker. lolol I'm glad to see some negative publicity for AA; I love them for many reasons and hate them for possibly even more. I love: that their clothes fit me and are (IMO) true to size rather than constantly changing to accommodate unhealthy national trends for purely commercial reasons (i.e. if larger sizes sell more, then sell larger sizes; don't re-size the smaller end without warning). I hate: the unjustified pricing. AA is not a luxury brand, nor is it very high quality. I love: the general store style. I hate: the snobby pretension that often leads to this kind of monstrosity. I love: the models in their ads. :") I hate: that the photography occasionally reminds me of the Terry Richardson approach to art.

Also! Hopefully most of you have received your postcards! I didn't anticipate the high request turnout and ended up making a few handmade postcards from German magazine clippings and cereal boxes, but those are the special ones, okay. A special ~BINGcherry~ production. re: my new default icon, Gaara/Pete Doherty has unexpectedly become my new OTP; expect great things from me, ne?

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[info]emblem
2008-01-08 05:22 am UTC (link)
Jeans! Do we get to see pictures?

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 05:34 am UTC (link)
They are just from H&M! I must have tried on 10 different pairs of skinny jeans under 3 hours from every store in the mall that sold them, and H&M had the only ones that remotely suited me and priced reasonably. aslkfj I should've just bought them in Europe; every store only sold skinny jeans. :(

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[info]panpipe
2008-01-08 06:05 am UTC (link)
I GOT YOUR POSTCARD IN THE MAIL TODAY!!! I loved it :") oh bingbing, you know just the way to my heart: 14 year old boys. That's going to look so awful to anyone who doesn't know the context of HSJ.

Good luck with your interview :|

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 06:13 am UTC (link)
CHINEN: THE NEW AND IMPROVED TEGOSHI, Y/Y??? Seriously, I find him adorable, and I really love Yamada. :( I envision these scenes where Yamada acts all tough because he's ~14~ and has kouhai now to look after, and Chinen completely misses the memo and keeps trying to sit on his lap. "I'm a kouhai!" he argues brightly. "WE'RE THE SAME AGE," Yamada rages.

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[info]panpipe
2008-01-08 09:12 pm UTC (link)
Y!! I think Chinen is really calculating, JUST LOOK AT THAT SMUG FACE OF HIS ALL THE TIME. I really love Yamada too :( I just saw some pictures of him from that boxing drama with Kame, omg I can't wait. He looks adorable in it :\

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[info]pornography
2008-01-08 06:20 am UTC (link)
that borat swimsuit ("Exposure to salt water and chlorine not recommended...") sure is something :\

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 06:33 am UTC (link)
I have mixed feelings about a lot of their clothes. I uh pretty much wouldn't buy any of their one-pieces, but I still tell myself that surely there are people out there that could pull it off, make it look amazing. But AA definitely relies too much on rock star looks & body shape and, to be honest, most rock stars and models don't wear AA. :|

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[info]imbrilim
2008-01-08 06:46 am UTC (link)
hahaha I was almost going to buy this: http://store.americanapparel.net/rsa1304.html

but then reminded myself why looking like someone stole an overweight Hansel's knickers isn't an awesome idea.

I love their selection of collars and colors in their basic tees, I love their multicolored leggings and knee socks, I feel in those respects American Apparel has got variety down pretty pat (and I think the leggings and knee socks are actually decently priced). However, AA is more like I can't find whatever I want at GAP or H&M and need staple stuff ASAP regardless of price. It's kind of sad because I started shopping there right when they were new and just opened shop in Boston, and the stuff was more reasonably priced back then, also the ads not as creepy. How times have changed. It's like how I used to love Express but now I'm like. Eh.

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 06:55 am UTC (link)
Actually, I would totally wear that, dying. I love jumpers. I even love overalls, but people almost immediately stop listening to me before I have a chance to explain how charming they can be. Seriously, a well fitted pair of overalls with a cigarette leg over a feminine blouse = gold. Or even slightly baggy overalls over a tight graphic tee. I just have antiquated tastes. :(

I bought two footless cotton tights from AA last year, one in black and the other in white, and I've both both of them no less than 50 times each. I treat them as long underwear in the winter and I seriously don't miss a day. But after a while I realized that I spent $26 on each and I totally could've found exact same equivalents in any department store for half that price. >:o

My rant on AA still isn't going to stop me from buying this dress in red once Spring rolls around, though; I've been lusting after it for over 2 years now.

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[info]pierian
2008-01-08 06:22 am UTC (link)
;_; MY MAILBOX BRINGS ME NO BING!LOVE. did you send it to new york or tennessee?

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 06:30 am UTC (link)
New York, just to be safe! SO HOPE STILL EXISTS ♥ ♥ and dude, if the postcard didn't make it to NYC safely, I'll send you another one. US > USPS, bb.

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[info]pierian
2008-01-08 08:14 am UTC (link)
US > USPS

HAHA, bing, that made my night. it was even better than the gourmet chocolate that just melted in my mouth.

while hope exists, that postcard better exist, too! my mom wanted me to postpone my return until next week, but at least i know that something beautiful awaits. though if it did disappear, will you end up hand-crafting another one? also! you're in boston, right? do you visit new york often?

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 04:25 pm UTC (link)
I'm planning on going down to NYC for a weekend this semester! SO WE CAN POSSIBLY MEET UP. :o!!

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[info]peroxidepest17
2008-01-08 09:50 am UTC (link)
asdfhklsf GOT YOUR POSTCARD TODAY. Beautiful tower in a REALLY REALLY INTENSE way. <3

ALSO...

AS HE IS DRIVING HIM HOME HE REALIZES. OH RYO ILU.

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 04:30 pm UTC (link)
I TOLD MYSELF I WAS OVER JE AND THEN THIS PHOTOSHOOT HAPPENS. lakdfjf I hate you Ryo. I hate my eternal love for you.

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[info]peroxidepest17
2008-01-08 06:42 pm UTC (link)
THEY KNOW JUST HOW TO SUCK YOU IN TIME AND TIME AGAIN.

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[info]maya_morning
2008-01-08 07:06 pm UTC (link)
The um shiny blue tight trousers under the knickers (are the knickers??!!) are interesting.

Pete/Gaara. O_O The Libertines always scared me because all the cool people loved them and I never like their music and I sort of wondered if I should pretend to like them just to appear cool. I sound so pathetic now O_O

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 07:32 pm UTC (link)
Dude, I never got the hype over the Libertines. Even now, their music still sounds borderline boring to me; I only put up with it for ~Pete Doherty~. Oh man, I just remembered that you're in London; I bet the Libs hype is even more magnified. :o

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[info]maya_morning
2008-01-08 07:36 pm UTC (link)
Mmm yeah the whole indie wave thing is huge both here and up in York, despite half of the music sounding exactly the same i.e. The Kooks who just sound really Northern and boring. Its the same with Pete Doherty who I just ended up feeling really, really sorry for (even though the whole drug thing was kind of his fault...)

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[info]beardo
2008-01-08 07:18 pm UTC (link)
what's wrong with terry richardosn! unless you mean they're ripping him off?

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 07:30 pm UTC (link)
I uhh also have a love/hate relationship with him (running theme, huh); mostly, he has a brilliant eye for manipulation, and I almost never leave a photoshoot of his without feeling intensely disturbed / a voyeur (which I assume is his desired result, which. . .means it works). So I guess that's my roundabout explanation for simply saying that AA ads occasionally make me feel like a voyeur, which isn't my emotion of choice when shopping for some innocent legwarmers, okay.

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[info]beardo
2008-01-08 08:43 pm UTC (link)
Wow! I totally understand what you mean!

fdgsfdugs like, I usually get pretty pissed when people think Terry Richardson's stuff is "pornography" like it's a bad thing? Or like it's not art or something. This is a theme in a lot of the comments from that foto_decadent link. I also hate that comm but love the HQ scans :(

Anyway, yeah, I think using that kind of stuff for advertising is shitty and like, I don't know, so unuseful? What are they selling in those ads? Clothes or a cool kid? OR a slut. Also EXACTLY, everything in American Apparel is so fucking boring how come it has that super-hipster air? I probably don't understand this because I'm from Uruguay but yeah, colored t-shirts, colored underwear, colored hoodies....... sounds really boring to me. It's great 'cause you can print stuff on them but not at THAT PRICE.

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-08 09:58 pm UTC (link)
Yes! To be honest & loose with the definition, any type of visual design that evokes an emotion other than pure lust (and even then, lust vs desire is pretty hard to judge) can be considered art, and I like that Richardson uses the fine line to his advantage, even if some of his stuff is too over the top for me to enjoy.

re: AA, YEAH, SERIOUSLY. I kind of feel that way about Neighborhoodies too, except at least Neighborhoodies is a legit ~local~ start-up clothing line whereas everyone and (literally) their mother in Boston/NYC wears AA. I've been stalking [info]whatiworetoday all week and yawn yawn yawn.

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[info]givemehistory
2008-01-09 01:12 am UTC (link)
aa is my worst nightmare

i hope i could help wrt: the interview (although i know i didn't, not really in the important ways anyhow)

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-09 01:30 am UTC (link)
Em, no way; I felt so much better after talking to you! ♥ Thanks so much for the Audacity tip; otherwise I seriously would've just tried to type her answers as we talked, and I've never been very good with multi-tasking. :| I just finished transcribing our conversation and bawling, I'm so awkward on the phone. Well, hopefully these quotes will help beef up the concert report and the 650 words will come painlessly.

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[info]givemehistory
2008-01-09 01:49 am UTC (link)
that's okay, i think the first one is always somewhat awkward. it'll get better! << i should take my own advice

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-09 01:58 am UTC (link)
Yeah, you never know when Jerry Springer might call your cell for a follow-up. *g*

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[info]arboretum
2008-01-09 02:18 am UTC (link)
djgfgdfg I hate AA's ads so much. what do they think they are selling, why is a girl's 500x enlarged buttcrack staring at me from a billboard off the freeway, and what is with this obsession with flash photography :|

also, really don't understand why they need to have a gold lame variation on everything in their catalog, though whatever, more power to whoever actually buys that stuff, I guess XD

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[info]one_if_by_land
2008-01-09 03:11 am UTC (link)
When I first heard about AA in high school, I was so psyched about it and couldn't wait to start blowing money after I went to Boston. . . only to realize that I could probably make half their clothes with some stretchy cloth and a sewing machine. :| A store that has rarely let me down, however, is Lush. Now there's a winner. ♥

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[info]arboretum
2008-01-09 04:37 am UTC (link)
*g* I love Lush~~~

But hey, don't get me wrong, I like AA for its basics, stockings and t-shirts and whatever... although they are kind of pricey. I just. What. The ads... are so bad... XD

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