If you’ll note in the blockquote below (which I have to fix the CSS on), SOMEONE will be speaking there. I’ve also ousted myself, so identity thieves, don’t go getting any ideas.

Actually, maybe you *can* do something about making my life more interesting.

DID I MENTION THAT I’M SLIGHTLY NERVOUS?

We’re super-excited to present our line up for our next event, held once again at the King Cat Theatre on September 14th at 7pm. We look forward to seeing you there.

Here is the list of speakers for Ignite Seattle 11 (in no particular order):

Todd Bishop (toddbishop) Geek Guide to Seattle

Andrew Hyde (andrewhyde) I own 15 things: The Art of Minimalism and Travel
Recently I gave away or sold almost 1000 items I owned. I now just own 15 and am embarking on a yearlong vagabond around the world. Homeless, unemployed and without any direct purpose or plan; I’m either the most alive or the most alone I’ve ever been. This Spark will be about the unintended consequences of these actions.

Michelle Bates Toying with Creativity – the Joys of Plastic Cameras
The world of photography has become a race for the newest and most advanced cameras. Spin the wheels of technology backwards with Michelle Bates as she introduces you to the wonders of image-making with simple plastic cameras that use film and have no adjustments. See world-class photographers using Holgas and other toy cameras for fine-art, photojournalism, portraiture, fashion, commercial and editorial photography. Learn how going low-tech can open up a whole new world for your creativity!

Jenny Ingram (jennyonthespot) How To Be An Internet Movie Phenom Without Taking Your Clothes Off!
Vlogging is all the rage. But let’s face it… YouTube has far, FAR more crappy vlogs than awesome ones. What does it take to go from “crap” to “awesome”? I have some ideas, and not one of them includes taking off your clothes for the camera.

Roy Leban (royleban) Anatomy of a Crossword
In this talk, I’ll discuss lessons learned from solving and constructing crosswords and other kinds of puzzles, reasons why everybody should solve puzzles, and how creating puzzles can you make you a better solver (and maybe a better person).

Roberto Hoyos (throwboy) King of Geeky Pillows: How I turned a one-time sewing hobby into a global business
Once upon a time, I was selling products for Apple. Today, I’m selling my own product and my own idea

Myra Stephens (SniperWulfzen) The Dark Side of Plastics

Jenny Lam (helveticagirl) – What Not to Wear: the typography edition

Frank Catalano (@FrankCatalano) How Science Is Destroying My Childhood
I love science: As a kid, I marveled at planets such as Pluto, wanted to see a real dinosaur, and enjoyed mysterious sea creatures. My love of science spawned a career including stints as a science and tech reporter, science-fiction writer and, lately, tech industry consultant. But science is slowly erasing my childhood, and Pluto was just the start. It appears no planet — or creature — is safe.

Lisa Bronwyn (junefontaine) Finding Your Nietzsche
What do you when you’re 36, for example, and still have no idea what you want to be when you grow up? What if you missed every memo and hint thrown your way? What if, horror of horrors, you were sick during fingerpainting class in kindergarten and that very day held the clue to your future self?

Tom Music (@tommusic) Lymphomartini: Immutiny on the Bounty
Knowing something is wrong, but not knowing why (or what you can do about it) is scary. Even scarier is when that something is cancerous! After learning the mechanical side of what he faced, and the ways to attack it, Tom was mentally ready to join the fight for his life.

Cheri Walters (@dearcheri) How to Taste Wine Like a Smarty Pants – 5 Steps to Building Your Palate
Many assume a golden palate is required to experience the nuances of wine. But this just isn’t true. In fact, if you were born with the ability to see, smell and taste you too can train your palate to compete with the experts.

Damiana Merryweather (merryweather2u)
Wookin’ Pa Nub on the Internets or A guide to successfully navigating online dating
Finding a love match has never been easy. Especially for those of us who work a lot, have busy lives already or who aren’t naturals at standing out in group settings. Thankfully, that is what internet dating sites are for. Unfortunately, being good at coding or running complex Google searches doesn’t mean that you a natural at on-line dating.

Jacob Appelbaum (ioerror) Going Dark

Yes, I owe some people some phone calls. Let’s hope that my voice doesn’t go away, as I’m still battling this thing. Bleh!!

This entry brought to you by The Cars’ ‘Let’s Go’! This version is from the show Midnight Special. Doesn’t Ric Ocasek look like a cross between Nick Cave and Marilyn Manson? Nice suit! Did you know that Ben Orr, the official bassist, also sang Moving in Stereo, Bye Bye Love, Just What I Needed and Drive? I had a childhood girl crush on him, along with Adam Ant.

I’ve been reading a lot of poetry lately and want to share several poems.

Before Sleep by Catherine Anderson

I was in love with anatomy
the symmetry of my body
poised for flight,
the heights it would take
over parents, lovers, a keen
riding over truth and detail.
I thought growing up would be
this rising from everything
old and earthly,
not these faltering steps out the door
every day, then back again.

The Poet Fears Failure by Erica Jong

The poet fears failure
& so she says
“Hold on pen–
what if the critics
hate me?”
& with that question
she blots out more lines
than any critic could.

her lines.

Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Or does it explode?

It’s interesting when inspiration strikes.

So I’ve been using a certain hair product that I’d like to share here. It’s from Citre Shine by Schwarzkopf and is their Citrus and Argan Oil Express Repair Long Hair Strengthener. The thing about that link is that it’s not the new version of this product.

I picked up the newest version of this product at Fred Meyer and have been using it for the last week. The smell is great, citrusy and fresh and it has helped cut my blow dry time a bit and leaves my hair feeling silky and looking fairly shiny. Considering that I’m a quadruple process, this is no easy feat.

Remember that I’m not compensated or otherwise endorsed for any of my reviews of products and do this out of the kindness of my heart and by the grace of my own pocketbook.

Shine, love and light, J.

Remember I mentioned that I’d be modeling? Well, allow me to tell you more about it and also show you some pics that were really fun to shoot!!

Slip Boutique is an awesome vintage, modern and consignment shop with a twist. There will be art that will be showcased as well as a studio where you can learn some fine sewing arts as well as take classes in Photoshop and Illustrator.

The brick and mortar shop is located at 6016 NE Glisan Ave., Portland, OR 97213.

I’m so pleased that I’ll be collaborating on some images for their etsy shop in modeling some of the vintage fineries. The shoot on Monday was so inspiring and I can’t wait to possibly do it again in the very near future. I like to play dress-up and this was a great way to work some gorgeous vintage pieces into the equation.

Here are some pics:

I especially loved that hat, but of course it wouldn’t fit my big, fat head!! Yikes.

Remember that each of these items (and many more) are for sale at Slip Enterprises’ etsy shop!!! Click on that link for more details, including pricing and measurements.

Random vent: I know emphatically that I am not a fan of bad and ugly scarves, hippies (for the most part), and those who choose to be willfully ignorant and also pretend to be virtuous and innocent when they are anything but. Thievery is also something that I won’t tolerate. Ugh. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, thanks for letting me vent.

The rest of today finds me working and then going to my beloved Pilates Sculpt class at Studio Blue Pilates PDX. I cannot recommend this studio enough.

Stretches, love and light, J.

You are Remarkable

In case you want to see what I’ve been sharing with my Google reader, add me: missjunefontaine@gmail.com

This song has been stuck in my head since yesterday and it’s a good one to listen to while you read the rest of this entry. It’s PJ Harvey’s Beautiful Feeling.

Exhibit A: Everything is New (in reference to the New Year)

new year: remember it’s never too late for new beginnings. shed the weight that burdens your shoulders and go boldly forth into this new day, into this new year. tomorrow is yours; make of it what you will. the future is yours. tell the world what your future will hold, never the opposite. you are the master of your own world, and the owner of your dreams.

remember to live, to laugh and to love with great intensity and infuse all of your days with passion. remember that you are beautiful, beautiful, beautiful and your life is full of love.

just open your eyes to it and you’ll be sure to find it. remember that nothing makes you feel warmer than someone’s name beating through your heart, keep those names, those pretty birds, keep them flowingflowingflowing through your veins, and remember that your love for them and their love for you keeps you strong. they’re your white blood cells and they’ll help you ward off the bad.

every day is a good day to realize that you can change your life and that you can mold it into whatever shape you want it to be, but the beginning of a new year is an especially good time because the whole world is reminding you that new beginnings are always possible. happy new years lovelies, with love, we can all work together to make this next decade a good one.

Exhibit B: Skin

your body doesn’t deserve what you do to it. you have a good body, a strong body, it doesn’t deserve this. you don’t deserve to hurt. your skin, this skin, it’s pale colour glows in the light. the constellations that freckle your shoulders. the flush in your cheek when, when, when.

you don’t deserve to hurt. you say but the outside must match the inside. that means you can’t harm it. if it must match your inside we must keep it beautiful, strong, unharmed. we’ll keep you beautiful, strong, unharmed.

There are so many transitions that I’ve been experiencing very recently and these help me to make some more sense of myself. I hope that you enjoy them as well.

Love and light,
June

Yes, it’s a daze, alright. No soon are we inundated with Halloween candy than we are oversaturated with all sorts of sales announcing BLACK FRIDAY.

Christmas-type music is everywhere.

Me, I’m going to do the right thing later today and eat goodies. I’m also going to be packing for my couple of weeks down in PDX that begin on Friday. I can already feel the adventures that are waiting to be written about.

In the meantime, here’s one of my very favorite things on the web ever. It’s a music video for Estradasphere’s Los dias sin dias by Andrei Bakhurin. Even after all of these years, I still watch this with wide-eyed wonder. You’re welcome.

Happy whatever you do or do not celebrate.

WATCH THIS OR ELSE. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

I’ve GOT to have PG Tips right now, with 1.5 packets of stevia and a splash of milk. The tamale will absorb some of the queasiness in my tummy.

Good times were had last night. An old friend comes to Seattle about once a month for work and we’ve been doing our best to make it a habit to hang out when he’s here. This is the bar of Rob Roy in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle. I’d never been and it’s quite the spot. Terrific bartenders and drinks and the decor reminds me of a few places that I enjoy in Los Angeles.

After coming home from the festivities before midnight, Netflix streaming surprised me once again. They had the movie 8 Miles High, which is based on the book Das Wilde Leben/High Times (German Edition) about Uschi Obermaier.

Here’s a trailer for the 2007 movie, which is a biopic about Uschi, a Munich-born model, 1960′s counterculture icon, groupie and now, jewelry designer.

The above is footage of the real Uschi in a cult movie called Rote Sonne (Red Sun) from 1969. I love her style and especially the big huge hair and doe-eyes with huge lashes. Now, to either learn German so that I can read her biography or get someone to translate it!! I give the movie Das Wilde Leben 4/5 stars. It’s great eye candy as Ms. Avelon spends a lot of time in the buff throughout this movie. It also happens to be a tender love story. I love her motto: “Don’t dream your life. Live your dreams.”

More specifically, this post is about Anna Wintour and a movie that just came out this fall. Earlier this year, I read a biography about Anna, who has been editor-in-chief of VOGUE Magazine since 1988. The biography is called Front Row: Anna Wintour: What Lies Beneath the Chic Exterior of Vogue’s Editor in Chief.

For me, it was an eye-opening read about a woman who has provided much fodder for the public, ranging from her indisputable influence on fashion, to the various opinions espoused about her in all mediums, especially the roman à clef The Devil Wears Prada, both in book and film versions.

Yesterday we went to a matinee, to see what I feel is a stellar visual companion to the biography about her, The September Issue. Although it’s now on DVD, I was glad to have a chance to see some of the larger than life fashion and personalities on the big screen.

I think that it’s nearly unanimous that most people wouldn’t call Ms. Wintour the most friendly and affable person. However, it is my opinion that lacking these traits is what has kept her at the top of VOGUE for so many years. A former boss once told me that we (the proverbial we) could be civil to one another and we didn’t all have to “sing and hold hands in the park.” I think that this is very apt to Anna Wintour and the big ship of VOGUE as well.

There are two standout individuals in this film, besides Anna. Andre Leon Talley, VOGUE’s editor-at-large, reminds me of a cross between RuPaul and Jay-Z., and I mean that in a good way. You enter his Louis Vuitton sponsored tennis lesson (ha) with bemusement and leave with more understanding of the dynamic of his relationship with Ms. Wintour. Grace Coddington was quite a revelation, though. She’s the creative director of VOGUE, a position she has held since 1995, and has been styling photo shoots for over 30 years, between her tenure at British VOGUE and American VOGUE.

I just added her book Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue to my wish list.

The words cinematic and theatrical get thrown around a lot in this movie, in describing Ms. Coddington’s photo shoots and I highly agree. Even though I’ve been ambiguous at times in my opinion of the fashion presented in VOGUE (especially during the coveted fall September Issue) I’ve always appreciated the photography and styling.

Grace Coddington brings a refreshingly authentic element to this movie. I’ll leave it at that and also leave you with the HD trailer for this movie. Go go gadget soundbytes.

I give The September Issue a 5/5 for its overall entertainment value, and its capturing of the complex subtext of the relationships between Anna Wintour and the personalities orbiting around her. Decent editing and I don’t feel that there were any wasted and boring moments in this film. It has something to offer everyone, even if you’ve never picked up an issue of VOGUE.

I’ve been fascinated since I first saw the movie Blade Runner when I was 8 years old. My family never censored anything in regards to me. They also had their constant melodramas to tend to and this yielded mixed results, ranging from me being frightened of the original Night of the Living Dead to shuddering at the gratuitous violence of such films as Scarface and beyond. Fortunately I remained fairly unscathed. That or it does indeed explain everything!

Blade Runner was one of those films that I didn’t quite understand in a secret adult handshake kind of way. I knew that I was missing out somehow and that the major subtleties and complexities were lost on me. I did attempt to read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? that same year and had to look up many of the words in the dictionary. I was missing their context entirely. Booooo.

However, I did appreciate all of the visuals from the film and knew that I’d be constantly referring to them in the future. Bingo. This indeed rang true and I still draw many spontaneous moments of creativity after every viewing of Ridley Scott’s masterpiece.

Last night, I got to dress up a bit and this is where I heavily drew from Blade Runner. I was intending to go for a Pris and Rachael love child (Daryl Hannah and Sean Young in the film, respectively).

On an aside, one of my random Halloween vents is about women’s costumes. At least, the store bought kind that are “slutty _____ (whatever, fill in the blank)”. These are so prevalent everywhere. Slutty witch, slutty cop, slutty maid, slutty sports chick, Slutty Snow White and so on. The following costume might fall into that category, “slutty flight attendant”.

However, when I was done with the makeup and hair, I think that it looked more replicant with a little bit of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow thrown in for good measure.

Exhibit A:

After I put on my base makeup/concealer, I used Smashbox’s Photo Finish Lid Primer to have a good base for the eye makeup to adhere to.

When the lid primer dried, I traced an outline of the “painted-on mask” effect that i was going for, using MAC Cosmetics’ Greasestick in Black (from the Style Black ’09 collection). This product proved to be just what I needed as far as water resistance and stay on power.

After I traced my outline, I went over it again to fill in any spots that I’d left behind, checking for symmetry on both sides. I then wet my shadow brush with water and after making sure that it was damp and not dripping, dipped it into MAC Cosmetics’ Mineralize eye shadow in Young Punk.

I’m sorry to report that both of those shades are sold out. Booo. I’d reserved mine in advance, but hadn’t properly used them until last night. Wetting your eye shadow brush makes all the difference in the MAC Mineralize shadow application.

After I patted the Young Punk shade on carefully, I curled my lashes and applied MAC Cosmetics’ Fluidline gel eyeliner in Blacktrack, rimming the eyes all the way around.

I applied Ardell’s Fashion Lashes in #105 Black, but before doing so, I handtrimmed them with manicure scissors, gently giving them a little trim so that they looked even more natural.

The only eyeliner that I can use in my delicate waterline is Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero). It gets the job done, doesn’t pull on your eyes and STAYS PUT.

Here’s another costume that I was experimenting with. You can really see the flecks of purple with the MAC Greasepaint stick. It is advertised as black, but I’m not so sure. Regardless it stayed put all night long and that was thrilling in and of itself.

Exhibit B:

I can’t wait to play with the other items that I got from the limited edition and nearly sold-out MAC Style Black collection. I wish that I’d had the luxury of an airbrush tool when doing the mask and now all I need to do is get some sleep so that I won’t have dark circles and puffiness!!

Here’s another look that I’ve been working on that’s also related to my replicant/assasin/I’m going to kick your ass motivation.

Stella McCartney top and boots, Wet Seal liquid leggings and Goodwill belt. Bonus points for the not completely clean mirror for requisite MySpace shot! Harf.