Image courtesy Style.com, fabulosity courtesy Mr. Lagerfeld for Chanel Couture.

Dating sucks. Which is why when this Liberace-glam knight sashayed down the Spring Couture runway for Chanel, I said to myself, I want to go to there. It’s like the glitter fairy descended upon my dreams and decided I must have this trussed-up Tin Man. Mitts off, ladies.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Gates, like doors, are also portals to buildings- homes, places of worship, offices, etc. They are meant to instill reverence, fear and intimidation, awe, or delicate beauty as you pass through them. In Vilnius, they are often made of masonry or iron, adorned with frescoes and curled metal symbols, and only hint at the secrets that lie within.

West Village, NYC, West 4th subway stop.

Advertising courtesy DIESEL.

Stupidity courtesy New Yorkers.

My existential statement on urban behaviour exhibited while riding our odious subway system. And other smart sounding stuff here.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Welcome back to my obsessions- doors and windows. These are some of my doors, photographed all throughout Vilnius on my recent trip there. Some look like little portals for gnomes, others, entrances for giants straight from the slightly creepy Lithuanian fairie tales my father used to read to me as a child. But from the most simplistic shed door to the most ornate wood cathedral thresholds, they are truly all feats of architectural craftsmanship. (*CLICK to enlarge on image)

If you have any questions on the location of the doors, please email me. Windows to follow soon….

Celebupub LEO was at it again, my sources report. Pictures have now surfaced of America’s Sweetheart pup engaging in some decidedly un- puppy behaviour. Allegedly, three weeks ago, Sir Bones was caught with Brownie Bear exiting New York’s St. Regis Hotel ’s back entrance by building staff. While he carefully avoided the paps out front, it was a maid who apparently had obtained some scandalous images of the tarty twosome in a boozy haze of brown liquor & cigarettes, and shopped them to all the major magazine & celeb blog outlets. Fortunately, mildabublys.com was able to obtain them first, seen here.

Left, Sir Leo Bones at the opening for his new clothing line, JUSTBONES,
and right, in happier times with Mrs.C.

Details have not surfaced about Leo Bones’s whereabouts, but sources speculate that he was seem aboard Tiger Woods’s yacht not long after the scandal broke, licking his wounds with the fellow philanderer.  Soon after, rumors started to surface that he may no longer be stateside, instead opting to stay in his vacation villa in Costa Rica, while things blew over. Latest reports hint that he might be in fact ready to flock to the Florida Keys, to hopefully reunite with galpal Stacey C. We can only hope.

Image courtesy Dlisted.com

Designer Isabel Mastache. And I thought I had a BFF with issues of putting phalli all over her art….

Image courtesy Hollywood Rag. (Pun not intended)

Brazilian ‘Kini Wax needed here. That’s all I’m saying.

image courtesy www.newshotpost.com

Ok, So I know that every Tom, Dick and Elton has thrown in their 2 cents about their feelings on the recent death of Alexander McQueen. I have to say, it took me a while to formulate an opinion after hearing about the shock of his death. Truth is, no amount of media digging or inside word from his camp will ever know what was really going through his head and what ultimately made this tragic decision. Its more than abundantly clear that anyone with the slightest interest in fashion worshiped him like the fashion genius he was. Hell, I rememeber salivating after his designs when I was a student at F.I.T., and now, 12 years later, my own students proclaimed him to be also one of their favorites. I remember thinking, man, this dude is still edgy and has relavance with the Gossip Girl Generation. Truthfully, in fashion, anything over 10 years is really timeless.

But the tragedy of it all is what really gets me. I did a brief stint interning for Lee, (his nickname around friends and people that new him well) when he did his first and last show in New York. It was incredible- Gisele dancing around in her scanties during fittings as we soldiered on, sewing 100’s of  coins on a headpiece for the show sweat-shop style. There was a promising intern who worked on a parachute-size cape with patchwork octagons of red and white as $10,000 a day DJ’s mixed custom music in the corner. And of course, to every fashion King, there was a requisite Queen. His name was-shall we say- Sebastard.

Last I heard, this little Spanish sycophant was off busing tables in his native island of Majorca, but at the time, he was Lee’s right hand and my worst nightmare. To say he was unpleasant was an understatement. I don’t want to sound too self-involved, and though it was true that I had a slight shine of Midwestern ignorance within my pallor, but I felt it gave him personal joy to torture me by belittling me in front of the rest of the group and forcing me upon impossible errands he knew I couldn’t complete. He even accused me of stealing gloves en route to the show, when everyone, though exhausted, was in wonderful spirits and grateful for one anothers’ mutual contribution. Many mornings before heading to that short-lived internship, I would cry from a payphone to my mother, and she would patiently tell me that I needed to stick it out, thicken my skin, that this was an experience I would remember for a lifetime. And she was right. I did.

But despite all of it, what I did remember was Lee, who, one day cheerfully plopped down a scented candle onto the table I was working at.  He smiled at us all, grateful for our free assistance to making his show a success. He was smart, knew what he wanted, but was unfortunately, at the time, mired by these people that fueled their own insecurities by making other people feel worse. Now, while I’m not suggesting that this brief experience over 10 years ago was what triggered the events to unfold as they have, but I can’t imagine that the world he surrounded himself with was more than a visceral tonic. I hope Lee finds rest in the never-ending peace of eternity, and he’s certainly left this designer with tremendous gratitude in having friends that ground her, keep her honest, and above all, love and support me for everything I am.

written by Milda Bublys, just shy of her 9th birthday.

Union Square East, NYC.

Damn, someone must have filled out her Mystic Tan punch card with fury, because all I thought that you got free was a 2-fer packet of coconut tanning lotion and a handful of Lifestyle condoms. Hookin’ must be good if you’re getting a precious pair of pumps from Christian Louboutin. And by Louboutin, I mean, a $5 discount to the Strawberry on 14th st.

You see the darndest things on the subways of New York. Namely, fashion-erm, MOMENTS that stay with you. So I beg of you, of both our contenters today, WHO WHORED IT BEST?

Contender on the left is a lovely Indian man whose presence I was graced with on the way back from Jackson Heights, Queens. He has rightly decided to ventilate himself properly from the steamy summer conditions of the subway by draping himself if this precious cloth. Contenders on the right run a close second in the elegance department. The delicious derriere facing you in none other than this girl’s “boyfriend”, who seems to be wearing a matching outfit. My, I hope it didn’t upset poor Suzy when she realized Little Johnny fit into her same size 6 white capris from Joyce Leslie. The little things you have to get over in order to look properly coordinated in the city of fashion!

Please vote- which one did you like best?

As delicious as a deep-fried Twinkie smothered in butter.

Artist Unknown, featured at Lietuvos Technikos biblioteka, 

Vilnius, LT

I like to keep the mood and spirit of my blog light- the occasional gripes, but mostly full of the inspiration that sourrounds me in my every day that I will hope will also inspire you, too. But recently, I was saddened by some recent posts to my blog on the last few entries about my recent trip to Vilnius. I deliberated if i should indeed accept the comments, as I screen all of them, and ultimately decided that everyone’s opinion, for the most part, deserves the right to be heard. If you are interested in reading comments on the posts, click here or on each one (respectively) on the main page and scroll down.

A few notes to the unfortunate and ignorant commentator- and given the name and source of his email address, seems to be a native Lithuanian. Vilnius is such a beautiful city, and as I stated, full of the ability of promise to overcome its bloody history. Admittedly, its still has its less-than gorgeous sites, but in no ways would I liken it to a “gas station“. The most amazing thing about the history of Lithuania, and more specifically, Vilnius, is its constant acceptance of a variety of different cultures, ethnicities, and religious beliefs. The comments that “vilnius is full of polaks and russians..not to mention jews” is not only extremely prejudicial, but tremendously contradictory to the basic principals that Lithuania was founded on. It was Lithuania’s own Vytautas, one of the most revered and storied leaders in Lithuanian history, who encouraged diversity in his great country. In Vilnius- City of Strangers, author Laimonas Briedis writes,

“Vytautas embraced this local diversity, which was, in part, created by his own policies of allowing people of various creeds to settle in and around Vilnius.”

In addition, during WWII, unspeakable crimes against Jews and Poles also occurred here, not too far from the city center in a village called Paneriai. We’re talking about a massacre of 100’s of thousands….and I’m appalled at the fact that such a rancid stink of the atrocities that occurred here would exhibit such anti-semitism from a native, who, in the very least, should be more cautious and apologetic. I know that the blogosphere is polluted with negativity and criticism, but, in my opinion, blatant hate is not acceptable.

This will be the last I will post on this subject, we have too much love and beauty to live for in our short, very blessed lives. Lets try to move forward and live in love, in lieu of sowing seeds of hate. They only fester.

This one goes out to you, Mariau- whoever you are:

Vilnius, Lithuania

One thing theme plagued me constantly while I was in Lithuania- the fierce juxtapostion of the continuing hope of Lithuanians and their progress in their world contrasted with the relics of Soviet oppression and dominance. The cold, crumbling cement boxes that dot the landscape outside Old Town and the power plant located outside the megaplex cinema are just constant reminders to me of what my relatives suffered through in this bleak landscape. This portrait reflects it perfectly- the strong, hopeful beams of light streaming through the sooty cloud that still has yet to lift.

I met a visiting ex-pat there who commented on how much he relished Soviet memorabilia- the recreated bunkers, statues, memorials or Lenin and such- and how “cool” they were. All the while not appreciating the suffering that occurred to our ancestors- essentially, being maimed or bludgeoned by the very same weapons and symbols of communist autonomy that he deems “so cool”. The energy of the city hangs heavy with the imprint of not only being conquered and being a war zone for hundreds of years, but also, participating in the horrors that occurred here.
I only hope that the sunset prevails.

I’ve already posted about this once, but I had to recontribute some images for my newest obsession- the amazing graffiti art in Vilnius. Especially the work of one tagger, Omega, whose designs and cool colors stand out crisply against the fresh winter snow. The best part about it is that Vilnius has so many abandoned house and buildings, it adds a little color to all the otherwise sad, crumbling decay.

Vilnius, Lithuania.

Here’s a little more of his handiwork, courtesy Flicker:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=omega%20graffiti&w=all&m=tags

Vilnius, Lithuania.

(Left) Teta Irena's baked apples, fresh from her backyard garden.

(Right) Teta Audra's crispy yet buttery kugelis.

(Left) "Kepta Duona" (Black Rye Garlic Cheesy bread?) Cili KAIMAS, Vilnius, LT.

(Right) "Sokolado Namai" handmade chocolates, Vilnius, LT.

And people wonder why I’ll be coming back 10 pounds happier. This post is brought to you courtesy my Aunt Irena (famous chef of the baked apples baked above) and who contends that hot butter served in your tea will cure fluid in your lungs. Paula Deen, watch out.

Glitter Jesus! Okay, its sequins, but it still looks like mosaics from the magic land. (that’s be Lithuania, folks!) I grabbed these images on a quick tour at my aunts workplace, which is now a Technical Library for Patents on Machinery and the like, but used to be a nunnery! (more on that later…..)

Artist Unkown, Lietuvos Technikos Biblioteka, Vilnius, Lithuania.

P.S. Why is it always spelled “Jesus’ Eyes” and not “Jesus’s Eyes”??? Drives me nuts!

Vilnius, Lithuania

Sventos Kotrynos Church   Vilnius, Lithuania

Having arrived in Vilnius just in time for a Lithuanian Christmas with my sister, I was greeted by the rosy tint of several cheerful buildings. All its missing is Skipper and Ken and the matching pink car.

Sv. Kazimiero Church, Vilnius, Lithuania