Remember the Sleeping Beauty story of your childhood? You know, that family friendly, romantic fantasy musical? Ok, now take out everything but the beautiful girl and the fantasy, add a lot of soft core and inexplicable behavior.

The 2012 Sleeping Beauty is a complete enigma. I suppose it’s about a young student exploring her sexuality, or maybe exploiting her body for financial gain. Ultimately I arrived at the conclusion that our lovely Lucy was searching for her true self. In the classic modern single gal mode she signed up for any and all experiences offered to her. All those drugs, unexplained relationships, just plain weird habits, and random sexual encounters added up to a modern upside down fairy tail. Instead of getting the prince, Lucy is searching for a genuine feeling. We don’t have a clue what makes her tick and neither does she.

For about an hour and a half you will be completely baffled by our lead character. Clearly she is working her way through college by taking odd jobs such as a test rat in white walled labs and office drudgery in a perpetual paper pushing office. Who could blame Lucy for jumping at the chance of making some big bucks when she hooks up with a kinky temp agency.

Initially she is hired to serve rich people food in some fancy private club. The catch? All the waitresses wear racy lingerie and allowed themselves to be admired/leered at by old men. But wait, there’s more.
Lucy keeps getting promoted to more challenging and lucrative assignments.
Finally the audience gets to see the sleeping beauty reference. Not to spoil things for you, let me just say she drinks a potion, she sleeps, and old men do mysterious things to her. Yes, human sexuality can be perverse. You will see many examples of this, some full frontal, and behavior including random acts of unexpected kindness and disturbing brutality.
This isn’t your granny’s Sleeping Beauty. Or if it is, she didn’t write a book about it so you’ll never know.
Sleeping Beauty (2012) opens Friday, Jan 26,at brave independent theaters near you.

Shop Amazon Movies – Valentine’s Day – Romance Movies

Imagine your delight when you gain entrance to the super secret private art gallery located down an unmarked walkway along San Francisco’s Embarcadero. Tango Diva takes you on a sneak preview of the Pilara Foundation’s current show titled HERE, showcasing 34 photographers interpreting San Francisco. One highlight is the pairing of Eadweard Muybridge’s famed city panorama with a follow up 100 years later. Mark Klett’s panorama of the identical view fast forwards us through time. More info @ www.pier24.org

Shecky’s is celebrating their tenth anniversary of providing women all over the states with an excuse to leave work early, get a baby sitter, gather the gal pals and plan a rocking shopping night out.
This year proved to be less fashion and more party, with the emphasis on free cocktails. You will find Indie designers set up next to national cosmetics lines.

J FEIN DESIGNS wins the coveted Tango Diva Upcycled – Green Award for Creativity.
Owner and Chief Designer Jessica Fein has garnered rave reviews in press as diverse as Eco Fabulous, New York Magazine, Today’s Vintage, and Everyday Magazine with Rachael Ray, all fans of JFein urban-vintage jewels.
Jessica’s creative imagination comes up with beautiful new jewelry made from beads, buttons, cameos, mixed metals, and Swarovski crystals. If you’re looking for a special deal, check out her Facebook Page.

The first annual Tango Diva Bling Award goes to TRACI LYNN JEWELRY. Her prices are reasonable and promise to get you attention when you enter the room. Trend spotters will note the abundance of leather and metal bracelets. Want some free bling? Host a Traci Lynn party in your own home. So much more fun that Tupperwear.

Remember the door to door salespeople in all those early 60s films? Those characters were usually sad sack guys. Ok, so the opposite of that was this feisty woman from Texas named Mary Kay Ash who was tired of seeing men of less experience making more money than her. In 1963 she launched the MARY KAY Inc empire,

empowering women to have their own career and be their own boss through in-home parties and events. And there’s still around, as relevant as ever.
As a Mary Kay rep you could assume most of your cosmetic wearing customers were stay at home moms. Mary Kay rewarded her top producers with a custom pink Cadillac to match the fashionable lip pallet of the times.

Once you’ve started sampling the yummy cocktails the thought of a new cruise wardrobe doesn’t seem so far fetched. There were selections of retro kimono style silk caftans just perfect for lounging around the fondue pot. Of course you need a massage, it’s the ultimate impulse purchase.

Massage tables standing by for one dollar per minute. BENEFIT cosmetics offered up free brow waxing with purchase. Tip for next time, book ahead on line. And don’t forget the lure of the Shecky’s goodie bag. You can get into Sheckys for free, but to get a VIP goodie bag you need to pay $10 – $30, depending on which email deal you pounce on. The bag is always packed with girly necessities like disposable razors, skin lotion, m&ms, flavored waters, and some fun surprises. One year I scored a great compact with a condom hidden under the mirror. So start planning your next Shecky’s girls night out. They pop up all over the US.

Hello Ms Poor Impulse Control. This is your holiday.
Sooner or later you’re going to get caught up in the shopping frenzy with
all these tempting deals out there.
If you insist on jabbing elbows with your fellow bargain hunters there are
oodles of places to go to feel up the goods. Before you decide you have to have that santa sweater, consult your phone, which is smarter than you when it comes
to price comparisons.

APPS:
There are many new Apps out there especially for shiny electronics.

Black Flyday:
is the ultimate Android shoppers App. It uses GPS to track your shopping and
you chose which security level you want . Decide whether news of the designer dress reduced 99% is a secret for only your BFF or all your Facebook friends.
Still not shopped out?

A9 Flow:
This App from Amazon is great for checking competitive pricing based on scanning
your item of interest. You’ll get competitors prices and links to purchase, all while
your standing there in the aisle.

Decide:
Here’s your new best friend/ personal shopper.
This App claims a 77% accuracy in predicting whether the price of the widget
you’re looking at will go up or down. It also compares online prices to other nearby
store prices.

TO THE INTERNETS….

ETSY: plenty of beautiful hand made items on sale

Retail Me Not: deal finds from shoppers with promo codes & specials

Amazon.com:
conveniently lists all their deals on one page, CDs, TVs, much etc.

KROO:
Up to 80% off electronics carry cases

SONY:
Big savings through Cyber Monday.

Shopping all night is rough on the skin. Best to treat yourself to Dr Bandt’s skin care rescue package. Their Black Friday offer is for $225 worth of products for only $75, including free shipping. Such a deal.

BRICK AND MORTAR…..

Anthropologie:
50% off all sale items until 11am Friday, in-store

Barns and Noble:
The Nook matches Amazon Kindle’s price of $79 and B&N offers 50% off one educational toy or games in-store or online on Friday.

Aerosoles:
Everything in the store 20% off, all boots up to 50% off, in-store only. Check their site for locations and hours.

Old Navy:
Presenting GobblePalooza Nov 24 – 26, coupons, special offers listed on-line

Williams-Sonoma:
Special offers for the next 5 days

GAP:
Save up to 60% off on-line and in-stores

PROMO CODES:

kolo bags:
CODE: KOLO20 for 20% off thru Nov 28

Sky Mall:
CODE: BRDDD 20% off any order thru Nov 27

Griffin:
CODE: PROMOCODE15, 15% off thru Nov 30

Urban Outfitters:
CODE: PARTY, 10% off thru Dec 23, free shipping, no minimum thru 11/29

aerie:
CODE: 72429831 for additional 40% off purchase thru nov 26

KB Covers:
CODE: BLACK2011, 25% off everything thru Nov 28

Eddie Bauer:
CODE: GOBBLE, 30% off your order + Free Shipping

Lands End:
CODE DRUMSTICK and PIN 1121, 30% off your order + Free Shipping

Macys:
CODE: GOBBLE 15% off entire order

Puma:
CODE: PUMASURVEY1011 and PUMASHIP1011, Shoes up to 75% off Sale w additional 25% off + Free Shipping

MAKEUP PROMO CODES:

The Balm:
CODE BLACKFRIDAY: 40% off sitewide begins Nov 25, 9AM – 11:59PM PST

Bath and Body Works:
CODE: CYBERMONDAY25OFF, 2011 VIP Bag ($100 value) for $20 with any $40+ purchase, 11/23 through 11/25. Black Friday — 5 wallflowers, save $7.50; buy 3, get 3 free signature collection body care; 2 for $20 3-wick candles. Cyber Monday — 25% off any purchase, 11/28 through 11/29.

Benefit:
CODE: THANKS, Free shipping, expires 11/28

Bloomingdales:
CODE: FREESHIP11, Free shipping, expires 11/28.

Borghese:
CODE 25CYBER11, 25% off entire purchase, 12PM EST-4PM EST 11/28

Clarins:
CODE: THANKS, Free 3 piece gift with $40+ order, expires 11/27

Kiehls:
CODE: HOLIDAY, $20 off $65+ orders, expires 11/31.  
CODE: BIGTREAT: Cyber Monday — free shipping + deluxe trio of your choice on $30+ orders, 11/28 only

Lancome:
CODE: NOVLAN,  Free shipping now through 12/24.  Receive four-piece sample plus free shipping with $45+ orders, expires 11/30.

Origins:
CODE: TENOFF, $10 off + free shipping on $25+ purchases, expires 11/28

philosophy:
CODE: BLACKFRIDAY,  Black Friday — door busters: Skin Care Favorites Trio ($43 value for $21), When Hope Is Not Enough Capsules ($50 value for $25), When Hope Is Not Enough Replenishing Cream ($18 value for $8), Celebrate Duo ($32 value for $16), Purity made Simple Bar ($20 value for $10), Summer Lip Shine Duo ($20 value for $10).  Sale on 67 different items/sets for four days.  You can get 10% off with code FRIENDS, expires 12/24. Free shipping, 11/25-11/27

Saks Fifth Avenue:
CODE: SFABEAUTY, Spend $100 on beauty/fragrance, get $25 gift card, 11/24 -25

shu uemura: 
CODE WISH2011, 20% off, 11/24 – 11/29, free shipping on $50+ orders

Smashbox:
CODE SBXFF11, 20% off, expires 11/28

Stila Cosmetics:
CODE: BLACK FRIDAY, On Black Friday, first 500 to spend $25 will receive a 6-piece eyeshadow palette + free shipping. Cyber Monday — Warehouse sale, up to 80% off, valid 11/28-12/2

Urban Decay:
CODE: BLACKFRIDAY11, Black Friday — $20 off Book of Shadows Vol. 4 to first 1,000 people to purchase

Violent Lips:
CODE VLFB50, Black Friday — 50% off any order + free shipping worldwide

YSL:
CODE: CYBER, 20% off now through 11/26
CODE: MONDAY, 20% off + free shipping; spend $100+ get free gift, 11/28-11/30 t

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY:

Don’t forget to shop local and help keep your favorite stores alive.
Sometimes it’s not worth saving a few bucks at their expense.
Great gifts you can give your friends include gift certificates to local spas,
Nothing wrong with bakery, bike accessories, candles, books, a meal out or
anything unique to your town. The folks in Wisconsin are waiting for their San Francisco
sour dough bread.

FREE SHIPPING DAY:
Dec 16, celebrants include Apple Online Store, Bed Bath and Beyond, eBags, Ghiradelli chocolates, Godiva chocolates, Kohl’s, Lands’ End, REI and Zales

Don’t read this link.

During a press conference this week to unveil the Museum’s spiffy new logo I slipped away to enjoy a self guided tour of the latest exhibition, “Poetry in Clay”. This well rounded collection comprised of Korean buncheong ceramics is from the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art.

Full disclosure: I know absolutely nothing about these beautiful well crafted Korean ceramics which look nothing like the 86 BC pots I memorized for my fine arts degree. Luckily I happened upon Docent Extraordinaire Dinny Chase. If it wasn’t for her PhD level knowledge of ceramics and my reliance on Wikipedia, you wouldn’t be reading this.

Let’s begin with the buncheong ceramic style, known for having bluish-green tones. Buncheon style replaced the previous celedon fad. During the five century long Joseon Dynasty, Korean artists started coating their pots with a white slip, painting with iron pigment. Buncheong once again fell out of favor in Korea due to the popularity of white porcelains after the 16th century. That loops us back to modern times with the current Korean buncheong revival.

Humor is clearly evident in the many renderings of turtles, elephants, birds, dogs and half fish, half dragon designs. Did you know that double fish symbolizes a harmonious marriage? The pot with the inlaid fish/dragon represents passing a high level in the civil service. I’m getting t-shirts made up immediately! But wait, there’s more.

You probably already knew that cranes represent longevity. The lotus is the Buddhist symbol of purity. The elephant ceramic in this show was used as a ritual vessel. The incised dog flask from 1450- 1500 is an excellent example of the artisan’s whimsy. Strolling around the collection you will see magnificent examples of stamping, inlay, paint, incising and carving.
The Korean bucheong collection is available for viewing from September 16th through January 8th, 2012.

Asian Art Museum
Closed Mondays
Tuesday through Sunday:
10:00 am – 5:00 pm.
Thursdays:
10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Asian Art Museum is on Facebook

I got this tweet today:
“Where in San Francisco did Francis Ford Coppola shoot scenes from his movie The Conversation? #penready #hint” ( ahhh, Union Square !)
After Thursday the team move on to another city. They’ve already been to Toronto, NYC & Pennsylvania.

What’s the catch? Nothing more than a promise of uploading 20 photos to a
new Tumblr blog at http://penready.com, which will also enters you into a sweepstakes to win a $1000 travel prize from Jet Blue. Go there now to feel really really jealous and plan just when you will have to take a long lunch break. Speaking of jealous, an entire Jet Blue plane full of passengers received suprise Olympus camera gifts on a recent flight. It’s all been recorded on YouTube.

You can keep track of the PEN Ready team on the ground in key cities by reading the blog at http://penready.com/blog.

What ever happened to the environmental movement? I know we’re all about reducing the carbon footprint by shopping local and all, but let’s admit it, Pottery Barn has a lot of cool products. A peek inside my home is like an informal catalog showroom for the king of semi-affordable furniture. This specific rant is about excess packaging. Fast food restaurants got the message last century. Take a look at all the stuff that came with my new Pottery Barn lamp. The box is big enough for an economy coffin. The lamp was artfully encased in styrofoam and sealed EMPTY boxes!

After doing my web research I walked into a local Pottery Barn and requested the lamp of my dreams. After thirty minutes of mysterious back room shuffling a box was produced that could house a family of three. And it was heavy. What was I supposed to do with all this stuff? Couldn’t the store just give me the lamp. Nooooo. If I want to return this puppy I would have to find some place to store the giant cardboard box. Not likely.

Since this lamp is a modern knock-off of an old timer design, the company could have taken any liberties it wanted. Granted, the assembly was non-existent, a guilty pleasure in this D.I.Y. Ikea world.

Special props to Urban Outfitters for their product design. Equally old timey in looks, this slightly bigger lamp was shipped in a box one third it’s size. This packaging Houdini act was made possible by a three part post that easily screwed in to each other and then the base. Someone at Urban Outfitters deserves a raise.

As if we all needed more things to worry about, the land fill crisis should not be ignored. This recent retail trauma of mine has been quite useful as I now think about how much space my stuff is taking up and how much stuff I really need. I still love to shop, just think I’m finally ready to shop wisely.

Did you forget to pack your sanity when road tripping with the kids? Well now there’s an App for that.
Take one iPad, add one Crayola Color Studio HD App and your new best friend, the iMarker digital stylus.
Good old Crayola has come up with an electronic coloring book complete with sounds and animations. You have several pages to color in, and best of all, you can erase and redraw endlessly. If you are really pleased with your creation and want Grandma to see it immediately you can email your picture right from the drawing board. Fridge quality drawings can be printed out. Are you catching my drift parents? One full hour of quiet play time in the back of your car, plane seat, or dentists office, oh the mind reels.
With no messy inks, clothing stays party dress perfect when you arrive at your destination.

I downloaded my free App and was ready to draw in less than five minutes. The directions were pretty intuitive and I’m embarrassed to admit I got sucked in for a good three hours. This baby could take me all the way from San Francisco to Chicago on the plane without looking up for coffee service.
According to the package, this Crayola product is meant for children over the age of three. Even though I qualify I determined the true test required an actual child product tester. The most beautiful and talented 4.11 year old Molly once again humored auntie Lynn with yet another of her crazy projects.

Molly selected her first page to color, a friendly looking monster attempting to hide under a lamp shade.
Once auntie Lynn figured out that the stylus works better if it’s turned ON, Molly was good to go. I let her in on a couple of secrets, the location of the color wheel, how to make the brush bigger and using the erase tool to make polka dots. That’s it. Because Molly is under age 12, she had zero trouble figuring out that if you press on an icon something will happen. As she made her way around the page, eyes would appear under the bed and a rug, the lampshade fell off the monster’s head, and a train chugs around the room. Molly was completely absorbed in coloring her first page. After a half hour she said her hand hurt from pressing so hard on the stylus but she didn’t want to stop. She also said that the monsters were kinda scarey, but again, she had no desire to stop playing. I noticed that Crayola devised the coloring program to make staying within the lines pretty easy. Any excess could be easily erased. Molly decided she was happy with her first creation at 45 minutes of quiet uninterrupted play. We picked out a second page for her to color and away she went for another 15 minutes.

A special note to parents. That amusing repetitive train whistle and chirping owl may engross your child for endless hours, but the average adult can last for 10 minutes without feeling like you’re trapped on an endless Disneyland ride. Remember, the settings icon is your best friend. That’s where the mute button is located. Enjoy!

No ink, no mess, and you’ve saved a tree!
More info available from Griffin.

Mary Lou was originally created as an award winning four part Israeli television series in 2010. If you are one of those people who get catchy songs stuck in your head, consider yourself warned. This musical tells the story of young Meir Levi who shares his mom Miriam’s love of the Israeli rock star Svika Pick. Pick even makes a cameo appearance in one scene. His music has an infectious 70′s beat with raw emotions and a touch of the exotic thanks to the melodic Hebrew lyrics. With Miriam singing Pick’s tunes my mind drifted off to a parallel universe with Doris Day singing Kurt Cobain’s depressingly raw lyrics with her signature sunny disposition.

Meir and his mother Miriam are living a hum drum life in rural Israel. The opening scene has them dusting in matching head scarfs, our first hint that this young boy might grow up to bat for the other team. My favorite quote from the film is spoken by Miriam as she explains that “it’s easier to defeat dust than sadness.”

Mom mysteriously leaves town during Meir’s tenth birthday party. As a slightly built bleached blond teen of flamboyantly non-hetero appearance, Meir suffers through the stereotypical high school taunting. If you have watched enough Glee you already know that the worst tormenters are acting out of fear of their own sexual identity issues. Meir’s beautiful gal pal Shuli makes life worth living as his trusted confidant and protector. (Shuli is played by Dana Frider, who was discovered on the Israeli version of “So You Think You Can Dance.”)

Enter Gabriel, the impossibly handsome dark skinned love interest of both Meir and Shuli. Shuli forms a relationship with Gabi and the heartbroken Meir moves to the big city of Tel Aviv. His quest is to find the famous Svika Pick, whom he has woven an elaborate fantasy involving his mother having run off to sing in Pick’s band.
Along this journey he is befriended by Ori who introduces him to the world of drag performing. Meir eventually becomes a cast member of “The Holly Wigs” and transforms himself into “Mary Lou”, a character in one of his mother’s favorite Svika Pick songs.

Meir and his friends learn universal coming of age lessons and all arrive at their own version of adulthood by the end of the film. You also get to find out what happened to Miriam.
Get to know Mary Lou, you’ll be blown away.

MARY LOU
US Premiere:
Sept 17 – 21, 2011
Castro Theatre
429 Castro St
San Francisco, CA

info on showtimes:
The Castro Theatre

After watching A&E’s hit TV show Hoarders I’ve taken a fresh look around my house. Sure, it’s easy to prepare for guests by shoving all your stuff in the closet, but what about your beauty stash? Perhaps you’re one of those organized people who know where everything is, well, at least the makeup. But do you know when that collection of products becomes a museum of germs? Most people don’t.
European cosmetics are required to sport expiration dates on all labels. In the United States the FDA gives minimal resources to regulating ingredients in cosmetics. The best you can hope for is something like a M12 label on your foundation. That’s secret code for please throw out in 12 months. CheckCosmetic.net allows you to find the expiration date of popular makeup brands by entering the batch code or lot number. These numbers can be found somewhere on the label or package.

I know all the excuses, like I paid a lot of money for this stuff, or I’m waiting for next year’s 70′s party to rock that blue eye shadow.

Dermatologists will tell you that if you are holding on to that mascara wand for too long, adding water, or repeated touching it, you are adding germs. Not scared yet?
Ok, you asked for it. Remember that last mild skin rash? It could turn into hives, swelling, blistering, even hair loss!
Good lordy girl, it ain’t worth hanging on to that travel tube of makeup remover.

Your eyes are the biggest danger zone. Most makeup related infections go unrecognized. You can get lot’s of icky side effects from your makeup regardless of if it was purchased at Walgreens or Chanel of Paris. Back in the 90′s when fashionable lids were lined with sultry kohl, while traveling in Morocco I scored a lovely bottle & wood applicator for 20 cents. Sitting at a cafe with my mint tea & honey I decided to go local and dabbed a bit of kohl under my right eye. Just as I touched my right eye my brain cells snapped to attention. I think I just screwed up! Two days later I was at the British hospital with conjunctivitis in both eyes. They were swollen shut. So much for my exotic adventure.

That lovely experience caused me to take a look at what’s in those lotions and potions. That all natural kohl is traditionally made from grinding lead sulfide with other ingredients. Many lipsticks contain lead. There’s formaldehyde in your Brazilian keratin hair smoothing products.
According to the Cancer Prevention Coalition,
cosmetics are the least regulated products. There are over 800 toxic chemicals used in cosmetics as you’re reading this. Don’t count on the FDA to save you from the consequences.
See preventcancer.com for a terrifying list of ingredients & their side effects.
Before your next visit to the cosmetics counter, print out this helpful list from the lovely named zerozits.com.

One more thing. Don’t be fooled by some of those “pink” products hiding behind the veil of breast cancer awareness. Read the ingredients no matter what color the label is or how pretty the picture of birds and trees are on the bottle.

I’m guessing you’re so freaked out now that you’ve thrown everything away.
When you return home with your new, safe mascara and eyeliner, print out this list of suggested cosmetic expiration dates. Take a Sharpie and mark the buy &/or throw out dates directly on each product.

MASCARA:
3 months (yep, only 3 months)
EYE LINER:
pencil, every 2 years, sharpen often
liquid, 3 months
FOUNDATIONS:
water-based 1 year, oil based 18 months.
CONCEALER:
1 year
LIPSTICK
1 year
NAIL POLISH
1 year
LIP LINER
2 years
EYESHADOW:
powders, every 2 years, creams 9-12 months.
POWDER:
2 years
BLUSH:
powder 2 years, cream 9-12 months.