Cleverland. The other side of the Alps. 

When I told to my Russian friends, am going to Grenoble, they dropped "aaahh, the clever land!" And, yes, it is so, thanks to famous Grenoble University and the French analogue of Silicon Valley. It is very French and non-French at the same time. It is squeezed in the mountains and therefore has this "island feeling" - somewhere far and above the rest of the world... And people here are bit a melancholic blend of scientists and pirates at the same time)

 On the way to Cleverland, squeezed inside the mountains.

Grenoble is famous that any (!) city street ends up with the mountain.

Stripes are "so french" ))

Theatre. The most surrealistic (and cute) allocation of the sign. 

Coffeeshop (selling coffee, eventually)

Grenoble area is famous for walnuts

Students quarters are full of bars and not students only

Saturday night unfever

SpaceJunk art centre in Grenoble, exposing early graffiti artworks

more to follow...

little fetishes again: tattoos vs. magnets

Got new little fetish (gift from a friend who thinks that I rrrrooock;-))) 

 - a bracelet with skull and rose. 

It reminds me of sailors old school tattoos. 

By the way, European sailors in 1700s started bringing tattoos (as "souvenirs") from their first discoveries in Polynesia, i.e. James Cook got tattooed when he arrived to Tahiti. 

this is by ed hardy, but OK:

 this is nice))):

By the way Polynesian tattoos are really amazing. Design and shapes are not "primitive" at all, look very contemporary... 

Bringing tattoos from trips is more cool than bringing the magnets) But definitely I have more space for magnets...)

"Her name was the ..."

My srping wasn't romantic this year. I worked as a dog. Travelled as mad.
So, I decided that at least I'd smell like a flower. I got a fragrance that is very unusual for me.
Rose. Only rose. Pure - Natural - Mono - Royal - Garden - Rose.
Just like in the garden of grandpa when I still was a little flower)...

Subliminal messages

I had a dream that I opened a little boutique of lingerie. Vintage style: think «Les Liaisons dangereuses», think Vivienne Westwood. I had three girls working there - pure dolls, like from an old book. 

I, myself, was wearing horse-riding tight pants and horse-riding high boots and lace top. And I had to deal with the visitors - IT guys who went to install wi-fi, policemen who came to check up what's going on.... But no customers)))) And each of these people was astonished when they got in the boutique and saw this magic box inside. With my three dolls).

The window shop was very dark and old and not transparent, decorated with trashy velvet... and nobody could guess what treasures were inside. And I was saying all the time "we don't have the name, girls. we have to invent the right name. We need the right name, just like we are...."

And by the end of the dream I woke up with the name "Dangerous Creatures" - referring both to lingerie and the women, I guess))) so silly dream, but very vivid.

P.S. Nevermind, the most interesting thing is another - these days I had to invent some ad concepts (in reality) and I was hopeless for few days... But as soon as I woke up - I was already armed with some idea for advertising. And it was approved))).

Fantastic P J Harvey as an illustration of a dangerous creature)))

He is with me, finally

That's my Buddha from Thailand. This is a tiny statuette made from entire piece of rock crystal. I just love this serene and tender photo made by my friends Raketa&Kot who found it for me in Thailand:

After some thousands of km at my home:

BTW, the rose in the backdround - it's, in fact, Depeche Mode best videos dvd, so it looks like my sacre altar, indeed :-)))) 

And this is "pocket" Buddha, so he can travel with me easily

http://mariciok.blogspot.com/2012/01/fetishing-hes-mine-i-am-his.html

BACK TO ROOTS. The 1st house single.

That's really curious. I've found out what is supposed to be THE VERY 1st HOUSE TRACK in the music history. Unbeliavable. Do you know the very first rock song? Jazz or blues composition? Other?

House music knows its genealogy with a presicion to a single)

So, here it is:

Name: On&On

Date: January 1984

Place: Chicago (Shiiikago as they pronounce it)

DJ: Jesse Saunders

It's kinda of fractured, unpolished and totally undanceable (at least for me being sober). Well, in any case - it's the real biological father of all the house music!)))

p.s. another curiosity (for those who didn't know it): house music derives its name from the Chicago's club Warehouse, so that's why

last sunday dose of love

Last Sunday I saw Nicolas Jaar (see previous post) live set in Milano


And the gig was just great... An hour of complete trance and whole week after was saved, being nourished with that emotional dose. 
Jaar is composing, playing piano, some tracks have also his vocal


This (video from youtube) is a little piece from Milano.


So mooody, liquid stuff. What to say? In love. 

with just one beat you turn my skirt

Going on with recent (little) obsessions
Nicolas Jaar just 22 y.o. American-Chilean musician, already recognized by prof.society.

Am literally living on his tracks last few days. In general, such low-beat (as well as minimal and deep house) are probably the only music I'm able to dance to. Ok, sometimes, some groovy-jazzy-funky would go, but I have to be in a really good mood.


Well, back to Jaar and his low beats. I particularly liked as he said in one interview: "more unintentional things happen between the beats")))


"Mi Mujer". "El Bandido".   "Encore" has lovely piano.

"With just one glance".. (..you turn my skirt) 

in this case probably, with just one beat you turn my skirt)
"...the most unintentional things happen..."

Fetishing. He's mine, I'm his!

Even if I always appreciated beautiful things, there are very few objects that "take my soul". One real "fetish" is crystal buddha. Don't know why it happened. Their transparency and no borders, all is one, right?)

This candle I bought from epic John Moon (the Bambuddha Grove) in Ibiza some years ago. And it goes with me wherever I live or stay. It makes me feel really peaceful. 

Then last summer I saw just a perfect thing in Venice - a crystal Buddha by Kenzo for Baccarat. It was a vivid perfection. Big, heavy, full of light and so fluid. I was staying there absolutely magnetized and was thinking if I could spend 4000 euros for it or not. I didn't. (I think my future special one will do it khm-khm;-) 

And now my dream comes true. Thanks to my dearest friends (Raketa&Kot, I love you!!!), my another personal crystal Buddha came to me from Thailand. 

And it is so special. It is no name, it's tiny, unique, and was found specially for me))). 
He is mine. 
My pocket dose of peace and love.

Santa loves high heels

Today is our (Orthodox) Christmas. And I did couple of presents to myself (from myself). 
First gift was that I finally came back to Milano that was soooo sunny and welcoming... 
Second gift was a pair of Louboutins.

Love the shoes, love this silly post...

 ....am I a girl or what??? 

2012 to charge on Moleskine

My innocent little obssession is pocket daily planners. Not for work. For private life.To collect travel notes, meetings, movies, books, links and other life ingredients and memories.

In private daily planning am "pure old-school", analogue-era person.

This year I didn't find my favourite Japanese agenda in plastic pocket that I was customizing with various photos and pictures. So, this year I will be with quite old-school Moleskine, that's customizable with different color stickers:

"dinner", "cocktail", calls", smiles and even "what if....", "it happened!!!" )

There are some quite strange (politically correct?) stickers:

 

As they say: "The Moleskine notebook is a battery that stores ideas and feelings, releasing its energy over time. Today, Moleskine is synonymous with culture, imagination, memory, travel and personal identity. it represents the symbol of contemporary nomadism..."

Contemporary nomadism definitely suits me).

My old analogue friends:

Erotic - Hypnotic video for the Love Magazine

This video was specially created for the UK LOVE Magazine (2011).

I like it's under-water rhytm and lights on pale skins.

and I also like the reference to "Leda and the Swan"myth...

Diesel sells jeans. And not only.

Diesel comes up with an in-store promotion idea to run along the 'Sex sells. Unfortunately we sell jeans' campaign to help increase sales. They created the Knee.J, a spoof sex toy  to be given away to all customers that ran a bill above $ 150. What was meant to be a one-store activity got enough publicity to manufacture more pieces and take them across all stores. The sales picked up by 40% and customers were spotted kneeling for more.

Source: http://superpunch.blogspot.com/2011/02/diesel-gave-out-knee-pads.html

New frequency.

Recently I feel myself as a computer with a very powerful processor, but which is set in the sleeping mode. I feel it's enough just to touch the right button and the processor will wake up, the screen will become bright and vivid, and the whole new life frequency will start. 

Why is this feeling of dreaming and accumulating power...? I guess it's not just because of the darkest month and the end of the year... it's been growing inside for much longer time.

Well, in any case am ready to switch to new frequency. Ready for 2012)))

wrooom wrooom))))

"You gonna fight! For your right!"

Do you know what's happening in Russia right now??? 

On Sunday we had elections to Duma (Russian Parliament). 

Since the announcement of the results, people went out to the streets (at least in Moscow and St. Petersburg) to protest about the falsification of the results. THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTIONS ARE FALSE. they are considerably corrected in favour of Putin's party.

The TV and official media are feeding people with the unreal picture - they are creating a parallel false reality, "the Matrix". But God bless Internet! Thanks to online independent media we know what's going on and people may unite. "Mr. Smiths" are afraid. They sent 100.000 policemen in Moscow. They arrested more then 500 (569!!!) people in Moscow and more than 200 people in St. Petersburg. Some most powerful independent websites falled under the hackers attacks, but now they are back to normal work.

There is no democracy in Russia, there is not transparency in Russia. But there is an enourmous corruption that like a cancer spreads in all levels of the society. Without this corruption and amount of thefts, Russian economy would boom much more efficient, because there a lot of positive, energetic, smart and hard-working people living in the country. People who able to see through the Matrix.

Ideal weekend. Girls only.

I don't remember when last time I had such a wonderful weekend. I went to see my friends in Florence. And we had everything what a girl could possibly wish during a pure girlish weekend (romantic weekend is another genre - maybe, next time ;)))

So, two and a half sunny days in Tuscany. Art, food, wine, shops, sun, music ...... Sweet Nobember, indeed.
P.S. and even night club with some quite cool house and electro...

Laaaaate breakfast in historic bars in the centre. like Gilli

Fiorentina steak for dinner

some colourful cocktails at night. Girls showed me their favourite bar with two handsome barmen Paolo and Marco - twins! So, when you happen to be in Victoria bar, be sure that there are TWO identical barmen , not  that you drank too much)

Although, my favourite spot in Florence is a tiny enoteca (maybe the tiniest I ever saw)) run by a 24 y.o. Tommaso. His parents and firends help him... Saturday is a busy night, so Tommaso is moving with turbo speed:

they also organised self-service for 2 eur just outside their door (veeeery smart, considering the lack of space))):

Lenny Kravitz was there - see the bottle on the left side. And on the right top is Tommaso with his famous crostini (one magazine published this photo):

Tuscanian salami as a receiver of cosmos signals and vibrations... look at this silly happy face of mine...vibrations are definitely positive:)

We were in a magic place - the ancient pharmacy near Santa Maria Novella cathedral. It is an amazing palace full of aromas and ancient blends and creams and substances.

I always said that the best dressed men are in Florence. Only there you can see such very creative and sharp interpretion of classic tradition. Ok, it is also met in London and New York, but more ...ironically (Paul Smith etc). Although, men in Florence are serious with their looks, but never ridiculous. Even, if they dress like this, they are absolutely authentic:

Some vintage stuff shopping: 

just some more shots of Florence. I think it's my favourite town in Italy now, well at least for short escapes)