(Portrait done of me by Elstabo Aviles www.elstabo.com)

My heart beats rhythms
that paint streaks of moonlight across my mind…
Blossoming against the page,
I write out my portraits in blue ink penstrokes…
Swallow my pride in the face of love…
Curl into myself when enveloped in pain…

I bleed in ink drops…
Cry tears of lead
that thud against the lines of a page
and etch my soul
in an eloquence I often deny having…

I cannot control the flood of my own heart…
Breaking barriers and boundaries
with a passion too often hidden…

I release my fury in words…
I live intensely…
I thrive on sensation…
My eyes burn with the embers
of a fever enscribed into my very fingertips…

A sorceress of my own divination…
A goddess juxtaposed
against a concrete back drop…

I am not perfect….
marred by ropes of scars
that show only what has hurt me…
the whos long left to the dust of memories…
I am not defined by my disappointments…
not defined by heartache or sorrow…

Yet…
My heart is full
of shards of light and bits of pearls…
I string each beat
with silken strands of hope and good intention
and wear it strapped across my throat
for the world to envy.

I stand on my own two feet…
brave the winds of fate…
smile despite gritted teeth…
and open my arms to show the sublime spectrum of who I am…
my destiny is my own masterpiece…

I ask you only…
to ignore the scuffs and spots…
appreciate the beauty of a flawed soul…
as I paint me on the canvas of a blank page…

Love the art of who I am and not the picture that you see.

Okay, so if you know me, you know that even though I think Kim Kardashian is gorgeous, I am not a fan of her men’s magazine sticky pages modeling. However, I found these amazing high fashion shots of her taken for the November 2009 issue of Australia’s Kurv magazine.

In the spread, Kim is depicted as a modern, even futuristic, Barbie. I love the angles, the sci-fi feel and I love that she looks like a model rather than a video girl.

Awesome job, Kim…this is the kind of work you should be doing on the regular!

Photography by Tony Duran

Despite her many controversies, Kate Moss continues to be one of the most sought after models for print work. She looks gorgeous in the Holiday 2009 ad campaign for her fashion line for TopShop. Based on oriental themes, the ads are rather sultry and seductive. I love it.

Photographer name not found

I know, it’s a Spanish song… LoL. This happens to be one of my all time favorites by the Queen of Latin Soul, La Lupe. I remember hearing my mother play this song in the house and falling in love with the emotion dripping in her voice and in her lyrics. Amazing song!!! As a treat,  I tried my best to translate… Hope it helps you non-Spanish readers.

Según tu punto de vista
In your point of view
Yo soy la mala
I am the bad one
Vampiresa en tu novela
Vampire in your novel
Ja!

La gran Tirana
The great tyrant
Cada cual en este mundo
Everyone in this world
Cuenta el cuento a su manera
Tells the story  their own way
Y lo hace ver de otro modo
And it is viewed differently
En la mente de cualquiera
In the mind of anyone
Desencadenas en mi
Throw out in me
Venenosos comentarios
Poisonous comments
Después de hacerme sufrir
After making me suffer
El peor de los calvarios
The worst of the ordeals(sufferings)
Según tu punto de vista
In your point of view
Yo soy la mala
I am the bad one
La que te llevó hasta el alma
The one who took your soul

La gran Tirana
The great tyrant
Para mi es indiferente
To me it is  no different
Lo que sigas comentando
What you keep commenting
Si dice la misma gente
If  the same  people say
Que el día en que te dejé
That the day I left you
Fui yo quien salió ganando
It was I who came out ahead (the one who won)

Para mi es indiferente
To me it is  no different
Lo que sigas comentando
What you keep commenting
Si dice la misma gente
If  the same  people say
Que el día en que te dejé
That the day I left you
Fui yo quien salió ganandoooooo
It was I who came out ahead (the one who won)

Okay, so every time I turn around this chick is the face of yet another brand of something. Here she is looking very different from her usual languid glamour in the Fall/Winter 2009 ad campaign for the Mango clothing brand. Modern and chic…I love these photos and I think her platinum blond bob is cute. And the clothes are pretty dope too.

Photography by Mario Sorrenti

“Off in the night, while you live it up, I’m off to sleep
Waging wars to shape the poet and the beat
I hope it’s gonna make you notice
I hope it’s gonna make you notice

Someone like me
Someone like me
Someone like me, somebody…”

Ashley Greene, one of the Twilight movie stars, looks absolutely delish in these photos taken for the French magazine, French Revue de Modes’, Fall/Winter 2009 issue.

 I love the 70′s feel to them, the fluid dresses, the fluffed hair and streaks of blush, the sexiness of it. She looks great and the photography makes it seem almost as  the photos were indeed  taken of some party girl leaving Studio 54.

Very glamorous.

“Poetry can unleash a terrible fear. I suppose it’s the fear of possibilities, too many possibilities, each with its own set of variations.  It’s like looking too closely and long into a mirror; soon your features distort, then erupt.  You look too closely into your poems or listen to closely to them as they arrive in whispers and the features inside of you– call it heart, call it mind, call it soul– accelerate out of control.  They distort and erupt and it’s in one strange pain.  You realize then, you can’t attempt breaking down too many barriers in too short a time ’cause there are as many horrors waiting to get in at you as there are parts of yourself pushing to break out, and with the same or more fevered determination.”

No…I don’t watch “Desperate Housewives” and I am more a baseball fan than a basketball fan (SHOCKING)… but I do love these gorgeous pics of Eva Longoria-Parker and Tony Parker for the 2009 Holiday ad campaign of the London Fog outerwear/ accessories brand. Not only are they a beautiful couple, but they look as if they enjoyed themselves…or maybe that’s just good modeling. LoL. Even so, the photos are great….I mean how intensely sexy is the second photo? Dope.

Photography by Nino Muñoz

High fashion on concrete…couture meshed with graffiti.  What an odd yet exhilirationg combination. Using the graffiti art of NY graf artist KAWS, the photography of Mario Sorrenti, and the fashion styling of Emmanuelle Alt…Paris Vogue, in their November 2009 photospread entitled “Graffi-Couture,” creates a dichotomy….a balance, if you will, between the world of urban art and couture fashion. I adore the photos and the poses Raquel uses are phenomenal. I love it!

It was a surprise when a friend of mine called me asking me if I’d like to join her for the preview showing of “County of Kings,” written and performed by Lemon Andersen.  Produced by Academy-Award winning Spike Lee, the award winning Culture Project, Steve Colman and Jayson Jackson, in part with the Public Theater, the show is a representation of a man-child finding his way in the twisted roots of inner city NYC. Almost like a modern day version of “The Alchemist,” Lemon weaves in and out of drama, poetry and hip hop, almost painting the stage with his experiences and the relationships that led to the fulfillment of his own destiny.

I almost forgot it was just him alone on the stage and was so involved in the story, I found myself laughing and crying with each wave of the story. A fantastic performer, Lemon stayed so true to his character that even when a fly happened to land on his face, he kept spitting out his lines, never lifting a hand to swat the pest away.

Now, to me, that’s a true performer.

Inspired by the show,  I wrote the following piece. It does his story NO justice, but is my tribute to him.  I applaud him on his maturity, his vulnerability, and his intense dedication to the project. It was an honor to sit in that audience, and if you readers get a chance to see the show, do so!!!!! It was phenomenal.

!!!!SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS!!!!

Follow County of Kings on Twitter: @countyofkings23

“County of Kings”
!!!!SIX WEEKS LIMITED ENGAGEMENT!!!!
Tuesday through Sunday
@ The Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street
(ONE block away from the 6 train Astor Place station)
Tickets available online at www.publictheater.org
or via phone (212) 967-7555

Read this awesome article on Lemon from the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/theater/27sont.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=lemon%20andersen&st=cse 

His mother cried for him…
Her fingers molded him from the clay of her own soul…
Her own good intentions…
Her own love.

Each petal exactly like her own,
she smiled as his arms wrapped around her roots…
She revolved around her suns…
and died with their love on her eyelids.

Little man-child with big aspirations
of a nothing they told him he was worth…
what can you do if you hold out your hand
to feel the breeze of the world walking by?

He grew…
Despite the demons of his anguish
and the bravado of his youth…

He grew…
Amidst the cold gray of another winter gone…
Making gold out of concrete…

He made moves…
and she wept for her sun…
who never saw his own brilliance…
until a mic turned on.

Flourishing despite the rubble…
Learning from the past…
Pushing through the anger…
He grew….
Spread his word…
So no one would forget…

So the next would not be alone.

He raised his arms like lotus petals…
like rays of sun…
He stood, proudly in her presence…
smiling…
still hugging his roots.

A lotus in the courtyard.

I admit, not everybody is a fan of Amerie’s music (I am.)  Yet, I haven’t met one person who has not remarked on how uniquely beautiful she is. C’mon… admit it, she’s fly!

 She looks great in this Jazz-Age photo shoot for Essence Magazine’s November 2009 issue. I love the modern couture poses against the faded retro background. It looks like a restored photograph. Me likes!

Photography by Andrew Vee for Essence Magazine

This is about the second or third (or even fourth..LOL) entry on Scarlett I have done.  She just has “it”…the acting skills, the sheer va-va-voom that Marilyn Monroe exuded in each breath and the elegant class of a lady. Scarlett is one of the rare few young actresses who has not been on the news for trips to rehab or too much hard-partying, and I absolutely adore her style. 

Here she is in the new ad campaign for Moet & Chardon champagne.

Photography by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggot

One of my favorite blogs is Kanye West’s personal blog, updated constantly with new tech gadgets, modern art, old school visuals and his own personal upcoming events, items, and material.

He posted an entry recently regarding the photography book from his “Glow in the Dark” Tour and the images he showed from his sneak peek of the book were awe-inspiring. Colorful, avant-garde, and unique, I already know this is definitely going on my Christmas wish list.

Photography by Nabil Elderkin

Interested in getting the limited edition which includes a CD of unreleased Kanye West music?

Contact Rizzoli Bookstore @ 1-800-52-BOOKS

While perusing Etsy.com  (it’s one of my favorite guilty pleasures), I searched for watercolors, and in the middle of a myriad of watercolored cats, clowns and fish, I found this amazing Italian artist named Vincenzo Rizzo. I love the way he uses the paint to depict different emotions in his subjects. I adore it.

According to his Etsy profile, Vincenzo received a degree from Italy’s Academy Belle Arti, and has been featured in exhibitions and shows across Italy since 1996.  He is currently collaborating with the Laboratory of Art, Teknemata.

Check out his Etsy page:

 http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6879293 

I saw this video at the MoMa exhibit on Dali they had in 2008 and scoured YouTube looking for it. I could never find anything more than some grainy, horrific version taken from someones video phone, until someone sent me this full clip with great quality. I loooove the concept and I love the detail. Absolutely jaw-dropping and gorgeous.  

I posted some phenomenal photos of Penelope Cruz from Vanity Fair last week, but it seems like she may have some competition from her very own sister, Monica. Here she is in the October 2009 issue of Elle España. How absolutely sensual, how intensely gorgeous does she look? Very French film, very Brigitte Bardot-esque. LOVES!

(minus the cancer stick smoking…LoL)

Photography by Bernardo Doral

(“Note to Self”-By Insanely Beautiful–www.deviantart.com)

I have spent a lot of my time focusing on matters of the heart. Perhaps too much time. I started school again with a new drive, a new ambition that my heart was no longer allowed to speak for me. And yet, there I was, allowing my emotions to dictate my life, allowing my simmering love to guide me along like a current.

I am not one to claim perfection…I clam up and get defensive if I feel threatened, I wear my emotions on my face and my heart on my sleeve, and I bleed them all out for the world to see. I have my insecurities and I have my moments. I make mistakes, I trip up, I fall flat on my face over and over again, trying to get it all right.

I was hurt. I was hurt so immensely that there are moments of that pain that lie only in the poetry you read on this site. I gave in to be given up on, lost all strength and faith in love. And I hated that person for it…somewhat smeared that person’s name out of my anguish, out of my anger, out of my hurt. Was it the right thing to do? Possibly not.

No…there won’t be any Howevers, Buts, or Thoughs. No, instead, I talk to myself…to my fragile heart. Remember that the biggest parts of life are falling down… because it’s all in how gracefully you get up.  Trust in yourself before you trust in another…love intensely when you get the chance. Realize that this person is only partly to blame (though they are MOSTLY…LoL)…. it was your feelings of abandonment, intense anger, hurt…they all played a part in things. Lay your guards down at your feet and open your arms to the universe…allow a love to enter again without fear, without anger, without hesitation.

Learn to live with love already in your heart.

“Yes I was burned but I called it a lesson learned.
Mistake overturned so I called it a lesson learned.
My soul has returned so I call it a lesson learned.
Another lesson Learned…”

I am DEFINITELY NOT a huge fan of Shakira’s English music, simply because, despite her music’s popular catchy melodies and her hips gyrating to the generic pop rhythms of it, I prefer her singing Spanish rock. Her Spanish rock music was gritty, real, intense and way less I’m-a-video-chick-watch-as-I-put-my-legs-behind-my-ears. However, despite my dislike of her crossover to English pop music, I can not deny how absolutely gorgeous Shakira is. She is pretty dope.

Check out this photo spread she did for the November 2009 issue of i-D magazine. Very dominatrix, Shakira. The angles are crazy!!!!

Photography by Kayt Jones

(“Hidden Beauty” by Windcharmer—www.deviantart.com)

For @ahlexandria (www.ahlexandria.com)

Her face is scarred,
tears that dug burrows deep within her flesh….
forever a reminder of the pain
that engulfed her every movement.

Swimming against the current,
she fought the waves to reach her horizons…
kept a smile on her face,
despite bleeding lips salted by angry oceans.

She emptied her heart into the hands of another.

Hugged a ghost that mirrored her reflection…
she did not love you despite her desire to…
she loved only
what reminded her of her own gilt soul…

Never knowing the horizons she longed for
were always within her…

She pushed through the damage to get to you…
only to see she was alone…
The sun creeps along her back like silk…
She opens her arms wide and realizes
the only love she ever needed was her own…
the only horizon she needed to reach

Was her own.

Stringing stars against her throat like diamonds,
wrapping the blue of oceans around her waist…
Her beauty resonates with every wave’s crest…
Her scars remain only to show the world
that the most beauteous things
can stem from the deepest pains.

(www.ahlexandria.com

Follow her on Twitter @ahlexandria)

I have to admit, I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Penelope Cruz…. Vanilla Sky, anyone? Ha, Ha! Anyway, no matter what I think of her, I can not believe how gorgeous she came out in the latest spread for Vanity Fair’s November 2009 issue.

Absolutely stunning!

Photography by Mert Alas/ Marcus Piggot

Styled by Jessica Diehl

“People say that you’re going the wrong way when it’s simply a way of your own”

Solange Knowles, to many is best known for being Beyonce’s sister. However, her critically acclaimed electro-soul album “Sol-angel & the Hadley St. Dreams,” continues to be one of my favorites of the past few years. People made a HUGE deal out of her cutting her hair short, but I applaud her for basically not following the trends and going with her own style. Kudos for your originality.
Here she is in a Honey Magazine spread in an eclectic array of fashion styles. One of my faves is the billowy, black Peter Pan collar vintage Dior dress, featured in the first photo. So, unique!

Styled by Charles Wade Photography by Angela Boatwright