Two posts in one! EEYEAH!
Why Gok Wan is Epic Win
Who is Gok Wan? Well, he's a fashion designer from Leeds. I think he's of Korean descent, but I have no idea. “WTF, Alke? A fashion designer?? Did someone steal your identity and is now posting to your LJ?” No. He's actually amazing.
See, he has his own show. It's called “How to Look Good Naked.” Oh, yeah, another makeover show, ho hum. But here's the thing: while all the other shows make their millet off of making people feel bad, such as What Not to Wear and its choruses of “EW!”, Gok Wan finds a woman who hates her body and helps her love it. No surgery, no hairstylists and cosmeticians yapping on, and the most body modification I've seen is when he got a very nice basque for a girl who hated her tummy. Every time as far as I've seen, he manages to improve the girl's confidence by such a factor that she can do a naked photo shoot at the end of the show, and enjoy it, and love her body as it is. When he finds he doesn't have quite enough material to fill up an hour, he organizes a blind test of health and beauty products, like body butters and lip balm, often revealing that the most expensive products are the least effective and giving good advice to everyday women. He'll also give advice on how to wear the latest fashions on any body type, and usually, it works. (Can't say much for his taste in celebrity dresses, unfortunately... ruffles?!)
So yeah. Gok Wan wins.
The Whole Story of the House
So you can say you read my LJ when I start blithering about it.
In late 1970, my grandfather, having just turned 50, retired from the Air Force and moved with his wife and 17-year-old son from Metz, France to a little bungalow three blocks from a good high school in Ottawa: 603 Westminster. After they'd settled in, he bought a lot outside of town and began working with my father on building an A-frame cottage. Knee-deep in snow, they dug out for the footings and put up a damn fine structure that's still in perfect condition today. All that's changed is the floors and the dog. Shortly thereafter, my dad graduated from Nepean and joined the Navy, where he went all over Canada. My grandfather did likewise, but with the NRCC and rockets. After my dad left the Navy and the volunteer firefighting and all that, he went to Carleton for an English degree and joined the Sock 'n' Buskin acting troupe, where he met my mom. A couple of years after they were married, they were looking to buy a house where they could grow a family, and settled on a cheap Cape Cod fixer-upper two blocks from a good school. That would be 603 Brierwood. It wasn't long thereafter that my sister was born and it was discovered that the two 603s were only six blocks apart, providing my grandparents with babysitting opportunities that they continued with me. God, it must have been confusing for the post office. John A. living at 603 Westminster and John E. living at 603 Brierwood. But, now, after both grnadparents are gone, I'm just moving into Westminster. Eight months from now, I'll be moving out. I hope the Pearts don't knock down too much of it.
Who is Gok Wan? Well, he's a fashion designer from Leeds. I think he's of Korean descent, but I have no idea. “WTF, Alke? A fashion designer?? Did someone steal your identity and is now posting to your LJ?” No. He's actually amazing.
See, he has his own show. It's called “How to Look Good Naked.” Oh, yeah, another makeover show, ho hum. But here's the thing: while all the other shows make their millet off of making people feel bad, such as What Not to Wear and its choruses of “EW!”, Gok Wan finds a woman who hates her body and helps her love it. No surgery, no hairstylists and cosmeticians yapping on, and the most body modification I've seen is when he got a very nice basque for a girl who hated her tummy. Every time as far as I've seen, he manages to improve the girl's confidence by such a factor that she can do a naked photo shoot at the end of the show, and enjoy it, and love her body as it is. When he finds he doesn't have quite enough material to fill up an hour, he organizes a blind test of health and beauty products, like body butters and lip balm, often revealing that the most expensive products are the least effective and giving good advice to everyday women. He'll also give advice on how to wear the latest fashions on any body type, and usually, it works. (Can't say much for his taste in celebrity dresses, unfortunately... ruffles?!)
So yeah. Gok Wan wins.
The Whole Story of the House
So you can say you read my LJ when I start blithering about it.
In late 1970, my grandfather, having just turned 50, retired from the Air Force and moved with his wife and 17-year-old son from Metz, France to a little bungalow three blocks from a good high school in Ottawa: 603 Westminster. After they'd settled in, he bought a lot outside of town and began working with my father on building an A-frame cottage. Knee-deep in snow, they dug out for the footings and put up a damn fine structure that's still in perfect condition today. All that's changed is the floors and the dog. Shortly thereafter, my dad graduated from Nepean and joined the Navy, where he went all over Canada. My grandfather did likewise, but with the NRCC and rockets. After my dad left the Navy and the volunteer firefighting and all that, he went to Carleton for an English degree and joined the Sock 'n' Buskin acting troupe, where he met my mom. A couple of years after they were married, they were looking to buy a house where they could grow a family, and settled on a cheap Cape Cod fixer-upper two blocks from a good school. That would be 603 Brierwood. It wasn't long thereafter that my sister was born and it was discovered that the two 603s were only six blocks apart, providing my grandparents with babysitting opportunities that they continued with me. God, it must have been confusing for the post office. John A. living at 603 Westminster and John E. living at 603 Brierwood. But, now, after both grnadparents are gone, I'm just moving into Westminster. Eight months from now, I'll be moving out. I hope the Pearts don't knock down too much of it.