Learn Your Supermodels: Daria Werbowy

First off, her name is Werbowy. Never has a name been so well suited to its bearer. She was born in Poland to Ukrainian parents and grew up in Canada, in and of itself an endearing lifestory. She looks like a green-eyed cat. Just look at her. She’s a transformer. Modeling is all about inhabiting roles, and this one’s so good at it. She looks like a nymph. Or a leopard. Some kind of slinky animal. And, uh, her little ears are cute. (I don’t like it when I see girls on the runway with ears like Dumbo – if a model has huge ears, don’t style her hair so they stick out [but runway styling has nothing to do with flattering the girl, sadly.]) Mystique, that’s what she’s got. That’s what a good model needs to have. Movie stars have not mystique anymore. When you see a picture of someone beautiful who makes who stop and stare, and then you’re forced to know what they had for breakfast, the name of their dog, and where the go to buy coffee – that’s the opposite of glamor. Something should be left to the imagination. A beautiful image should tantalize the mind. That’s what we have models for. We know them, a little, but not too much. That’s glamor. And Daria is going to be around a long time, unless she chooses not to.

BF Bass (Ode to Olympia)

More eye candy of the chic one… You fit me like a glove, can’t get enough, etc… Soigné music for photoshoots, cocktail parties, making out and various other pursuits of highly sophisticated people. You know, like me in my bug and cat hair infested apartment. Or you, eating cold pizza on the couch in your pajamas.

Easy To Be Hard

There’s a consensus that movie musicals are silly entertainment (mostly by people who don’t watch them), but they are vehicles to deliver strong shots of emotion. Hair is a musical diversion that packs lots of Vietnam-era sociopolitical commentary, some of which might be dated. The counterculture vs. establishment tug-of-war isn’t really a thing anymore, in our time – though the message towards self-expression is continually relevant. Stodgy old rich people in opposition to the hippie youthquake is a battle that’s fought and done, funny as it continues to be. The class and age contrasts are dated, but there are many themes that aren’t. The antiwar message, a major theme, is no less relevant than when the source play premiered. Besides those things, the movie sneaks in some genuinely moving moments. The ending makes me feel very emotional, every time. One of the most touching scenes is this one, between Hud and his enstranged wife. Taken out of context, I see the scene in a deeper way. It’s a clash between the idealism of Hud, who’s abandoned his given name and identity to pursue the freedom of a new culture, and the pragmatism of his wife, who only wants her son taken care of. She’s asking, what’s the point of pursuing cosmic consciousness, free love and all those dreamy things you believe in, if doing so makes you no better that the ignorant deadbeats you’ve presumably come here to avoid becoming? All of which is expressed in the dynamic vocal performance of Cheryl Barnes, who delivered it in one continuous take. Barnes never bothered to pursue the stardom her talent could easily have led her to, so this remains the moment she’ll always be remembered by, one of the most recognized and beloved songs from an iconic cultural touchstone.