One-Dollar Wonders

OK, so only a few of you knew Rorschach. If you've seen or heard of "Watchmen" - either the movie or the graphic novel - he's the dude with the Rorschach ink blot test for a face. And he's freakin' awesome.

Walter Kovacs discovered his "real face" and what he considers his true calling as Rorschach through some pretty traumatic events, and this masked vigilante (NOT superhero, as he doesn't have super powers) tries his darndest to put the world right. He just happens to do it with a hefty amount of violence and not so much in the way of a larger perspective. Hey, when your true face is made of a weird, fashion-world-rejected fabric filled with viscous, black and white fluids, it's hard to see the world in shades of gray - that's what makes his character so interesting. His motto, "Never compromise, even in the face of Armageddon," means he is the one person in his fictional world who will always tell the truth, no matter the cost to him or anyone else.

In terms of style, I could argue that Rorschach has the most flair of any hero out there. True, he's not decked out in the kind of gaudy spandex that will catch your eye as he leaps over a tall building, but his outfit says a lot about him. His b/w mask represents the hidden truths of society - the kind you don't even want to admit to yourself and only become clear in a shrink's office. His trench and fedora show us that Rorschach's going after those truths, wether you like it or not.

My homage: black & white top and shoes, "ink blot blue" blazer, striped pants, and of course my caramel trench.

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ETA a Non-Comic Crowd Clue:

It's easy to watch men but, face it, dressing like them is never black and white. Sometimes I think I'll end up looking at ink blots by my inspiration's namesake!

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Recycle bin in alley this morning, tire tread where it was blocking my car. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face. The streets are extended parking lots and the lots are full of meters and when your quarter finally runs out, you will be fined no less than seventy-five dollars. All of the accumulated parking tickets and credit card bills and predatory loans will pile up around their waists, and all those who cut you off on the freeway and shove in front of you in line at the post office will look up and shout “Save us!” … and I’ll look down and whisper “No.”

.Я R.

Well, we've gone from yesterday's grizzled, jaded detective to today's wide-eyed, naive FBI agent - Dale Cooper. In some ways, he's the worst crime-solver I've seen. Still, the way he luxuriates in simple pleasures like pie, coffee, and the great outdoors is nothing short of adorable, and he makes a great "innocent eye" narrator.

Agent Cooper is rarely seen without his white shirt and a tie (often red), but since I don't own a tie, I went for a serious black and white look punctuated by red shoes. The gold heart necklace recalls the half-heart pendant found with Laura Palmer, the center of the Twin Peaks mystery.

To me, this outfit says, "Hey, just because you're here to investigate a murder doesn't mean you can't stop and have a little dessert break." And if you can have dessert then, well... that means you can have dessert always. :)

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Diane, I know I should focus on the mystery, but being a BB shirt twin piques my interest in fashion instead. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it; don't wait for it; just let it happen. It could be a new shirt in a men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black, coffee. I sure don't want to eat any cherry pie in this shirt, but I can never resist a damn fine cup of coffee! Oh Diane, I almost forgot. Got to find out what kind of trees these are. They're really something. I really love these shoes, too. Even if my feet are on fire, walk with me.

There's something so poetic about a robot hunter falling in love with a robot, only to discover that he's a robot himself - isn't there? I can't be the only one who thinks so, especially when said robot hunter is Harrison Ford in a trench coat and chiaroscuro.

Seriously, though, Rick Deckard may not be human, but he's an inspiration in a very human way. Deckard is literally hardwired to hunt replicants (androids) and view them as appliances - he's programmed to be ignorant of his own reality - and yet he transcends these built-in limitations. We don't know if it does him any good or if it makes him any happier... but it's a start. To some extent, we are all told how we should think and behave - and it's harder to overcome that than we'd sometimes like to think.

Compared to his nemesis, Roy Batty, Deckard's dress feels very earthy and organic - before it's clear that Deckard is a replicant, it seems to highlight the differences between synthetic and natural organisms. But since Deckard is revealed a replicant as well, the contrasting styles seem to rather make a statement about the differences between life and humanity. The varied shades of brown are both warm and low-contrast. There's an element of chaos in his pattern-mixed shirt and tie. And there's a distinctive sense of curiosity, wonder, intelligence, and history conveyed in his noir-detective-style trench.

Is Batty "more human than human" because he has super-human strength? Or is Deckard perfectly human - regardless of his origins - because his mind asks all the right questions?

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Is it wrong that most of my manspirations are fictional characters? Can I even hope to replicate that which only exists in the imagination? Do I subconsciously want more life than I have? Do I fall asleep to Rob Zombie songs, counting electric sheep and dreaming origami unicorns?

(Note: casual outfit #4 is not part of today's challenge, so don't factor it in if you are guessing the manspiration).

A couple of you knew this one! Tom Waits!

I was a fan of Tom Waits before I fully knew who he was - all I knew was that his character Renfield stood out even among all the freaks and monsters in "Bram Stoker's Dracula." Later, I discovered his oddball, lilting, gravelly musical sound quite by accident, while searching for Peter Murphy music and finding their duet, "Christmas Sucks." At a time when Linkin Park and Boy Bands ruled the airwaves, Waits's "Cemetery Polka," "Barcarolle," "Singapore," and "Jockey Full Of Bourbon" refreshed and inspired a kid who felt out of touch with her peers.

As for style, Waits is pretty much the Original Hipster - or what today's hipsters wish they could be. He's got a slept-in, almost demented look about him, yet it's fairly restrained. No gigantic mountain man beard worn with flip flops and gold lame... Waits's look is more a man out of time and out of options. Retro, wrinkled, and largely shot in black and white, contorted into some slinky pose that makes you wonder if his insides are okay (which they aren't, of course; except this insides in question are just his beat up heart and soul). ;)

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It looks like I'm up sh*t creek again, since I'm tired and totally reaching for today's riddles. I'm a real Dracula lately - anywhere I lay my head, I'm on the downtown train to slumberland. But don't worry too much; we all know you're innocent when you dream. Plus, I know karate and voodoo, too. And if I stay awake all day, there's a warm beer and chocolate Jesus waiting for me at home.

(P.S. I'm terrible at these moody black/white photos!!)

Seems like this cool dude needs little introduction on YLF!

Tom Petty wasn't one of my childhood heroes like Kurt Cobain was, but he has sure grown on me as I've grown up. Something about his combination of pseudo-Southern sensibility and Californian colloquialisms makes his sound ever so cool and relaxed - the musical equivalent to a lazy beach dude with a drawl. Things might get bad, but Petty approaches the tough times with an almost detached and philosophical air, earnestness, and charm that makes you think everything will turn out alright in the end.

To me, Tom Petty's style is a little bit on the 70s side of the 80s - he likes those short leather jackets as much as McGuyver, but Petty needs to look like he could break out in a harmonica solo at a moment's notice. I noticed a good amount of denim-on-denim, vests, and leather, so I ran with that as the theme for my outfit. He also seems to have an affinity for a touches of drama and color, so the bold stripes and red bag seem to work well, and the subtle Americana vibe of the red/white/blue color combo feels right for an artist who's definitely been played on many a cross-country road trip.
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It's been a long day yesterday, and I'm barely getting dressed this morning! But to get to the point, I feel summer creeping in again, and had to go for a short-sorts and wildflowers ring ensemble. Hubs and I are off to run down a dream and have one last dance with the weekend before Monday comes!

This was a tougher one, right? Although there have been multiple Punisher movies ("Punisher: War Zone" being the best by FAR, hands down, and also my most favorite comic book film), this character doesn't seem to have the widespread popularity of heroes like Iron Man or Superman. Frank Castle is more of an antihero, so he's tougher to relate to - a notch ahead of Bruce Wayne on the personal darkness scale.

Although he "punishes" only criminals, he doesn't do it in the typically heroic way. He does not tie them up and leave them for police. Rather, he *exterminates* the local crime syndicate, man by man, systematically and coldly - because his family was murdered by them. It's not so much heroism as it is pure, simple revenge. And yet, that's compelling, too, isn't it?

In today's world, there are plenty of things that make you feel small, hamstrung, and weak. People get stepped on all the time, and they're unable to fight back, either because they lack the necessary skills or because the law prevents it. In an odd way, the Punisher is his *own* hero, because he is both willing and able to eliminate a threat and avenge his family - regardless of how it turns him from a government-trained fighter into a wanted criminal himself.

As for style, Frank Castle has almost none - his one indulgence is the white skull painted on his black combat-wear, symbolizing his black-and-white approach to justice (and as shown in the movies, attachment to his family). Thus, my homage took shape with black, a white watch, military green, and the matching skull pendant I bought myself and my father.

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(Sorry this is so late! I almost forgot all about it, because it's been all mundane chores today!)

To be frank, I wore the skimpiest version of this inspiration that I could, and the heat is still punishing me. All I can do is marvel at the fact that my skull necklace didn't irritate me and try to spend the rest of the night safe in my semi-cool castle.

ETA: The evening version in pic #3.

So my beloved, graphic b/w striped bag finally gave out this year after about 6 years of faithful service - a feat for faux in my closet. I wanted to replace it and almost went for the Marc Jacobs dotty snake that Natalie and Rita have, but I didn't want to do another faux bag after mine just died... plus it was more on Ebay than I'd payed for a bag yet in my life.

So, I found a cream version of my favorite snakey bag, new, discounted because of some dye transfer and decided to paint her up with stripes to meld my original bag with the Dotty look.

I meant this to be a how-to post when I started, but the taping didn't work too well with the super textured surface. The paint bled under the tape, and I had much better results freehanding things anyway. I can say that I used Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint in black and loved it! My bag has a suede-like texture, and the parts that got painted have a look like smooth leather - I dig the effect. I thought about using suede dye to keep the texture, but I was afraid a thin dye would bleed. Since I needed a crisp line for stripes, paint was the way to go. My other tip for bag striping is to measure, measure, measure to get a good, straight line - and to use a tailor's measuring tape instead of a ruler. The bendy tape will allow you to draw your line with the curves of the bag.

Anyway, here's my new snakey bag! I'm not sure when it will debut because of Manspiration Month, but I couldn't wait to share!

I know many of you commute via bicycle, so this is not directed at *everyone* on a bike. But geez, I don't have that many pet peeves, but two things that make me rage with the fire of a thousand suns are rude service and cyclists. in. Los. Angeles.

Just for the record, if you are insterested in incurring rage and ill will wherever you go, please do the following:

- Take up an entire lane of traffic on a street that only *has* one lane. During rush hour.

- Bike on the wrong side of the road so that you come flying at people with little warning - especially when you round a corner and appear on top of someone turning right.

- Cut off cars in the left turn lane, again during rush hour, and then go through the turn as slowly as possible, fiddling with your handlebars and gears the whole way, so that only one car may make the turn in time and all the others have to wait an extra ten minutes to go thirty feet.

- Slow or stop in front of vital driveways and areas, like those to gas stations, post offices, metered parking spots, the emergency room...

- Cut across four lanes, without signaling, and without checking for oncoming traffic.

- Ride your black bike in a black hoodie and black jeans without any lights or reflectors in the middle of the night.

- Make sure to speed up when riding on the sidewalk with your girlfriend on the handlebars, so that you can cut in front of that car that's been waiting to turn for five minutes (instead of going behind, or pausing for a second so the car can go on its merry way). If you don't beat this car to the punch, you will look like such an unmanly fool!

- Ride in groups, but never in single file. Make sure to take up as many lanes as possible, so that you may chitchat and ride even slower while the road piles up behind you.

- Above all, when cars try to go around you, pass you, or otherwise circumvent the delay you're causing, scream and swear like it's bloody murder. You own the road, and how dare anyone else try to use it!

>:0

Ok. I think I'm done and can move on with my day now that I let that out... but dude, seriously, in any vehicle, if you think you deserve consideration on the road, be considerate yourself.

It's wonderful how many guessed this one correctly!

I can't say too much about Ned Stark, or I'll go on and on and end up ruining someone's surprise. Suffice to say that he is the world's most honorable man - in a world that no longer seems to have much need for honorable men.

I think I first read "Game of Thrones" in 1999. I was a sophomore in high school, The Coolest English Teacher Ever (who also attended my wedding!) had this book in his room - I don't remember if I read it for book club, as an individual assignment, or if I simply nabbed it from him because I'd been devouring gigantic Fantasy novels since I was ten. The point of my story is that my little mind was sufficiently blown, and I've followed the series loyally ever since. Read the books! It will definitely help when watching the show, which is also nicely done.

Since it's warm here, I mimicked the northman's southern attire: simple black shirt, vest, rivets, leather. Bring on the intrigue!

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This game is heating up - I wonder who will sit the throne as today's winner!

Winter is coming... but it's still far off, so I'm in a lightweight shirt and vest while I still have a hand in the matter. I am not 100% comfortable with tucking into skinnies, and as the jeans loosen up, I notice that that the rise is still and inch too high on these, but I'm trying not to lose my head.

Pic #2 is a bonus of what I wore last night - I'm wearing my tiger necklace in both outfits - do you think the tiger is becoming my sigil?

I know there are a couple people from outside YLF who are mainly checking in on the blog to see the Superhero outfits... Due to wardrobe and dress code restrictions, I'm going to go ahead and implement a schedule change. I will now have:

- Fantasy Fridays
- Superhero Saturdays

Easier to do well, and increased alliteration!