There's a Birthday Girl Here

I have a birthday this month, although I decline to say when or what age I've reached. However, I will tell you that I have quite a wish list going, and there's a theme: blue and pink! To remind myself of all the lovely things I want, I decided to make myself a little Polyvore picture:

Birthday Wish List by CateIsMilesAway

Items include a Fendi Peekaboo bag, Alexis Bittar hoop earrings, Ma Dame fragrance by Jean-Paul Gaultier, Across the Universe nail polish by Deborah Lippmann, Yves Saint Laurent pumps, Vincent van Gogh's Almond Branches in Bloom, a star-spangled brooch from Tiffany, and I Dream of Jeannie. Although some of these things are out of reach (I'm looking at you, Fendi), I am happy to say that I did "receive" one already: a chance to view those almond branches with my own two eyes at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam back in March. And they were glorious, indeed.

Images via Polyvore.

-Cate-

No Bellybuttons Allowed

We never had cable television at my house until my grandfather moved in with us, sometime during elementary school. And then, suddenly, with the advent of cable came not only MTV, CNN, and Nickelodeon, but also TV Land.

At the time of its inception, TV Land was pretty much the coolest thing out there, at least as far as I was concerned. The network regularly showed old advertisements dubbed "retro-mercials," a fantastic slice of American life and popular culture. My favorite feature, though, was definitely the reruns of I Dream of Jeannie.

Sure, Jeannie is kind of ditzy. What do you expect from someone who's just been dropped into the modern world? But Barbara Eden plays her as full of heart and spunk., the sweetest genie you could ever hope to meet. Plus, she has that awesome hairdo.

Some of the episodes might be a little absurd. Still, that's part of the fun of the show: suspending your disbelief for 25 minutes and entering a world of slapstick effervescence. Besides, who doesn't love a couple of astronauts cavorting about the world through both time and space in the pseudo-mod atmosphere created by Sidney Sheldon and company? And what beautiful astronauts--Larry Hagman as Jeannie's master, Tony Nelson, with his classic good looks and Bill Daily as the adorable, slightly bumbling sidekick Roger Healey balance each other out and make for a good team.

I did always feel really bad for Dr. Bellows, played by Hayden Rorke, though. Not only is the man literally the only doctor the Kennedy Space Center--acting as both psychiatrist and physician to every astronaut at NASA--but he is often on the wrong end of magical highjinks, leading him to believe that he is suffering a breakdown on a pretty regular basis. Yet it is also fun to watch him attempting to figure things out.

In addition to the cast, Jeannie's absolutely of-the-moment wardrobe--when she is not decked out in her hot pink harem costume, that is--is a delight to see. Although I would not dream of wearing certain outfits of hers, the fashion sense is undeniable.

If you have not encountered this gem of a program, I highly recommend checking it out. You can start with a few episodes on Hulu and then work your way up to a full season on DVD. Happy watching!

Buy the complete I Dream of Jeannie through Best Buy for $139.99.

-Cate-

"Come On, Daddio"

As far as fictional characters go, I have a few favorites. Guy Montag from Fahrenheit 451, of course, and Rob Petrie from The Dick van Dyke Show, Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie, Calliope Stephanides from Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, the evil fairy in Briar Rose by Robert Coover, and several others. But the one with the most flair (not the magical kind--obviously Jeannie would win that prize) is probably Mrs. Mia Wallace, played by Uma Thurman, from my favorite movie, Pulp Fiction.

All right, so she's a coke fiend. And a little stupid. But, man, has she got some moves. She also has a fashion sense that I love: a crisp white shirt, simple black pants, and a fantastic bustier. Everything about Thurman's performance, from the way she sings along to "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" to the way she delivers the ketchup joke is so spot-on that Mia becomes immortal for the viewer, because she is far too human to be evanescent. Thurman definitely earned her Academy Award nomination, and I feel that it is something of a crime that she did not win.

Of course, she's not much of a role model (unless you aspire to need an adrenaline shot due to a heroin overdose, of course). What she is, though, is fun. For several years running, I made myself up as Mia Wallace for Halloween, and while very few of my friends understood, I got a kick out of it every time precisely because the character is so entertaining. She remains, for me, one of the best characters Quentin Tarantino ever dreamed up.

Buy Pulp Fiction on DVD through Best Buy for $14.99.

-Cate-