Does Target have it all, afterall?

I've recently been reflecting quite a bit about the nature of friends, particularly girlfriends, and the ways in which those relationships make life so much more vibrant. In this thinking, I quirkily entered "a friend" in a google search, just to see what came up. Interestingly, the top results didn't feature any porn ads, or any such nonsense. Shocking, I know! But then there appears, as top result #5, this intriguing option:

A Friend Target.com
Shop, find, buy "A Friend" and other related products at Target.com.www.target.com/gp/search.html?field-keywords=a-friend

Although I do think Target has just about everything I could possibly want, can you really "buy" a friend? I assure you, no. But then one must examine how they define 'friend.'

How do you define a friend? As for me, I've come to these conclusions - it's something beyond the simple give-and-take, the balance of yin to yang, the symmetry of common interests. I think the reason I have been blessed with great friends is that we all work at it - much like love - through the ebbs and flows, distance, the decisions that weren't the best, the decisions that change everything, the moments when you feel pride, frustration, adoration, the times when you laugh *genuinely* at and for each other, and yes, when life is sweet as a honey bee or when it rivals vinegar (and not a zesty balsamic, either).

I guess what I'm trying to say, on this autumnal Friday afternoon, is that my girl friends are beyond compare and astound me with their equal dedication to enjoying the ride. Thanks, girls (and you know who you are) for continuing to inspire me, to make lemonade when things are too tart, to regale me with tales of woe for a laugh's sake, and above all, for challenging yourselves to become more than what even you think you can be. I could gush. So could Helen.

Russell Brand - nay, a nut job - but a nut job who's nuts about our Helen!

This guy may have ruffled some feathers at the recent MTV VMA's, but he certainly knows a hot dame when he sees one...read on! http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0576818/

Launch Party Cancelled...for now

Darlings,

Well, it appears the cosmos (not the splendid liquid variety, alas!) have conspired to besmirch our revelry this evening, and we're needing to cancel the Vive Helen launch soiree. Illness, scheduling difficulties and life in general, meant that this evening just wasn't a go for the majority of us lovely ladies. We'll reschedule sometime in October and welcome input re: venue, dates, etc. so we can make this a truly memorable and well attended launch.

Please, dear friends, no tears. Despite this minor setback, your mission is to go forth and make it a Helen of a day! :)

Vive Helen! Launch Party | Schedule Change

Hello lovelies! Unfortunately, we've had to postpone the festivities slightly, but never fear, we've got a new date and all of the other perts worked out:





Vive Helen! Launch Party
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Roxy Restaurant and Bar
2381 Fair Oaks Blvd, Sacramento, CA

R.S.V.P. marcy[at]wackerdesign[dot]com

A post from your new blogger

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself as the new blogger to the Vive Helen team. I look forward to posting articles on our dear Dame over the coming weeks and months!


- LED.

"Lady Balls"

There are certain statements that don't evince more than a chuckle. For instance, I could tell you that I used to crimp my hair, or that I had what is best described as "tidal wave bangs." I could say "yeah, I wore men's jeans, bite me you little pixie in side-zippered Guess jeans that would be more like capris on me." I could say, "yep, I put sugar on my plain Cheerios as a kid," or "I once held a college dorm mates' bike for ransom because she parked it in front of my door one time too many."

But that's Mickey Mouse/Kool-Aid/Diet Pepsi stuff compared to how the latest newsrags are ragging on the refreshing honesty of our own dear Dame H. From the captions, British GQ got Helen to rattle off some lesser-known of her hijinks. Truly heady stuff. OMG! Can you believe she did (__________)?!?!

But don't take my word for it, see for yourself, at the link here, I'll wait (it will take considerable time to wade through their dripping jealousy that Dame H wouldn't ever give an interview such as this to them): http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20080902/en_celeb_eo/26814

Ok, so what I read is someone unashamed and unafraid to be utterly candid. She neither takes pride for her doings - whether perceived ill or not - and she doesn't condemn them either. What she does do, and here's the kicker(!), is take RESPONSIBILITY for her actions, opinions and involvements. Now there's something rare, indescribably interesting and newsworthy in a way modern media isn't interested in - a "here I am, take your best shot, I don't give a damn" sort of swagger.

Stephen Colbert has a term for this that I love - lady balls. Yep, Margaret Thatcher. Dame Helen Mirren. And [someday I hope] Dame Courtney. :)

But in the meantime, you know, there are more meaningful headlines to be made - maybe Dame J. Dench will cop to how many times she's cursed Dame H's name in vain during British Monarch casting calls. Ooh, now there's a "headline."

Riding the high tide on "Bikini-gate"

So while it's widely acknowledged that Vive Helen! is not the first, nor the only Helen Mirren appreciation forum (as well there should be more), we ought give due props to a fellow brethren's coverage of what shall now be pronounced, "Bikini-gate."

Here are the goods, courtesy of www.helenmirren.com/pages/newsblog.php:

HMAS (Helen Mirren Appreciation Society) member Barrie Smith, 61, from South Carolina was contacted by a producer for BBC Live Five to participate in a segment where a panel of various cultural "experts" discussed the idea of people finding a 60-something woman attractive in a bikini:

"I firmly believe that Helen Mirren has caused a paradigm shift," says Barrie. "There are an awful lot of women who need an example, a role model" - and Helen seems to set the bar for beauty, irrespective of age."

Would that Ken Starr commission a report on that. :)

Vive Helen! Launch Party

Mark your calendars, ladies. The Vive Helen! Launch Party is scheduled for Thursday, September 18. Details to come!

Raising Helen

Out of the mouth of [this] babe, born Illiana Lydia Petrovna Mironova (thanks, imdb!)...a few notable quotables to pepper into your coffee clatche convos:

"Being me right now is sort of amazing."

"It's great to be queen!"

"The trick in life is learning how to deal with it."

"All you have to do is to look like crap on film and everyone thinks you're a brilliant actress. Actually, all you've done is look like crap. "

"It's never been confirmed that Elizabeth I was a virgin. It's like the Virgin Mary - it's about branding, a logo. To use a modern term, Elizabeth was actually a bit of a slut."

"I'm a would-be rebel. The good girl who'd like to be a bad one."

It's Vive Helen, NOT Vive Eva!

Desperate? Housewife? Not our Helen. But there is a little issue about a certain pint-sized Loreal spokes(maudlin) and television "superstar" who takes breaks in between lingerie fittings and complicated dialogue like "I only slept with you to get pregnant, my husband doesn't have to know!" to pitch, you guessed it, consumer products. Uf. OMG - she has caramel highlights! She found a foundation to match her skin! She has a signature lipstick shade! She can contort her spine to show off Bebe bike shorts to their best advantage! She has to wear 8 1/2 inch heels to even try to save her NBA hubby from folding himself in half like Gumby to kiss her! She's. Just. So. Cute.

[cue steam escaping]

I'm sure she has lovely and substantive qualities...but honestly, Ms. Longoria Parker - how much LONGoria will the world cite you as the sexiest/best dressed/most beautiful/longest lashes/biggest lingerie collection/most likely to make men swoon?

As for the authors of this blog, we look to Helen and ponder how ELP will look at 62. Will Bebe come a'calling? Will Loreal make you the spokesmodel for "going gray with grace"? Doubtful. Besides, there's already one leading lady we admire for personifying complicated, dynamic, and REAL - our mascot Queen Helen. In fact, her signature lipstick shade is "kiss my ass, young Hollywood" and it's all over a little golden man named Oscar.

Now kiss the royal ring.

Welcome to Vive Helen!

Vive Helen! is a blog about all the things that are cool about being a chick. And the best thing about being a chick is hanging out with other chicks. This is the place to do that. We like to think of it as a virtual cocktail party.

We chose Helen Mirren as our mascot because she has it all: she's smart, strong, talented and beautiful.

So come on in and sit a spell. Have a cocktail and enjoy all of the fun stuff going on at Vive Helen! If you are interested in joining the posting, just send an email to marcy[at]wackerdesign[dot]com.