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Cosmo team blog
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The very posh library, that is (aka The State Library of NSW, in Sydney). A couple of us Cosmo kids escaped the office for a half hour this afternoon to check out the Magnum on Set touring exhibition, which is FREE to witness from now until June 23.
The Magnum photographic agency formed over six decades ago. A large part of its work back in the day was documenting what happened behind the scenes on some of Hollywood’s most iconic movies.
The exhibition features rarely seen photos of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and other classic stars captured in intimate, off-guard moments, on the sets of movies including The Seven Year Itch, Planet of the Apes (the image of ape extras hanging out next to a Go-Go Girls joint during a break in filming was my fave) and Rebel Without a Cause.
Magnum on Set is in Australia as part of the Head On Photo Festival, Australia’s largest photo festival with over 200 events at 100 venues. For more details, visit headon.com.au.
Twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Suddenly Last Summer, in which she co-stars with Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift. Sagaro. Spain. 1959. (C) Burt Glinn / Magnum Photos
Marilyn Monroe during the filming of The Seven Year Itch. New York. USA. 1954. (C) Elliott Erwitt / Magnum Photos
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Last week I got excited about the colder season coming and decided to dig deep into my cupboard and find my warmer wears. Apart from the usual discovery that I have absolutely no idea what I wore last winter, I found something terrible: my woollens have been attacked by moths. My prized J-Crew cashmere and Country Road cotton cable knits now look like they belong to the costume department of Les Miserables. The moths had carefully avoided the acrylic K-mart numbers and gone straight for the expensive. Those bitchy moths. Total fashion victims. I went to NYC for that J-Crew. They owe me a return flight to the America!
I was in a bit of a state, but instead of crying about it I decided to take action. Or rather, after a few sobbing phone calls to my Mum she convinced me to fight back before any more of my labels unravelled. I consulted Google and this is what I found:
Myth: Moths like light and only eat natural fibres.
Fact: They travel in packs and the purer the fabric the more they want it – OMG, just like me!
I also discovered that while moth balls, lavender bags and sprays are all very well, they aren’t going to get rid of the problem. So I developed this for you to follow too:
Action plan for when you find a nibble:
1. Empty the draw/cupboard
2. Clean/vacuum all dust, grim and eggs
3. Store out-of-season clothing thusly:
- Brush out any pockets, seams or collars of clothing
- Dry-clean or wash garment in warm water
- Store in vacuum bags (if you really mean business)
4. If you have floorboards considerecologicallyfumigating every six months
5. If you can afford it, invest in cedar wardrobes – it’s a moth’s kryptonite
As for the holey garment:
1. If it’s a small bite:
- Stitch
- Hot wash
- Iron with full steam to blast any remnants
2. If it’s at the white gunk stage, then I’m truly sorry for your loss.
Damn moths! The silver lining of all this of course, is that they don’t like shoes. Phew!
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I spent the weekend with Amanda Knox. At least, I feel like I did. I read her entire memoir, Waiting To Be Heard, in a day– it was un-put-down-able. (If you’re not up-to-date with the case, here’s a good timeline: The Amanda Knox timeline.
Amanda’s story starts out like a typical “not a girl, not yet a woman” travel adventure. She finishes high school in Seattle, works three jobs to save up some cashola, and decides to spend a year abroad in Perugia, Italy. She wants to learn the language, eat a lotta pizza, get an education, prove her independence to her folks, and you know, “find herself”. It’s so normal-sounding, it hurts to read it knowing that her whole world is about to break apart.
In 2007, Amanda moved into a villa in the middle of Perugia, and it sounds divine: walking distance from uni, sunlit, cute. Then, one night, her British flatmate Meredith Kercher was killed (the circumstances are so awful, I can’t bear to go into it). And almost immediately, Amanda was treated as a suspect – though she didn’t know it at the time. She made two awful mistakes: A) under crazy-awful pressure from the police (she alleges that they hit her, yelled at her in Italian, and coerced her to confess), she wrongfully named her boss, Patrick, as the killer. B) she didn’t lawyer up. If she’d had a lawyer, she’d have known her rights and everything could have been different. If there’s one thing we can learn from Ms Knox, it’s to always lawyer up.
Because here’s the thing: I think Amanda Knox is innocent.
If you can’t make it through the book – it’s long, confronting, and gruesome at times – then please, know this: Amanda Knox is not a murderer. If her memoir is true, police, detectives, journalists, and the victim’s family wanted her to be guilty so badly, they wilfully ignored evidence of her innocence.
Did you know that there’s no DNA evidence whatsoever to link Amanda to the murder? And yet, she was depicted as a sex-crazed, heartless psychopath capable of unthinkable evil. She was called a demon, the devil, a slut. When really, she’s an awkward, introverted, intelligent young woman who was trying to find her way in the world… when her flatmate was killed, and she was sent to jail for four years for a crime she did not commit.
The night of Meredith’s murder, Amanda was at her new boyfriend’s house getting stoned, reading Harry Potter out loud, making dinner, and watching that delightful French film Amelie. She was not, as the Italian polizia would later say, partaking in a sex game that went tragically wrong.
Maybe I want her to be innocent, in the same way so many people want her to be guilty. It could be because I can see elements of myself in Amanda: her naivety, her introversion, her love of Harry Potter, her desire to learn Italian, her split family. But her book has really shaken me. Amanda’s the same age as me, and I’ve done so much since I was 20 years old… but that whole time, she’s been framed for the murder of a dear friend, spent years in a cell in an Italian prison, and battled an Italian justice system bent on taking her life from her. It’s beyond comprehension.
Waiting To Be Heard ($29.99 RRP), published by HarperCollins in Australia, is on sale now. Get it, read it, tell me what you think.I’m trying to make tweeting about books cool – so feel free to tweet me your thoughts @kateileaver.
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What do you get when you mix all of the best eras in music like, ever? Daft Punk’s fourth studio album: Random Access Memories ,that’s what.
The highly anticipated record hit shelves worldwide today, and since their lead single, ‘Get Lucky’ has been streaming like crazy since its release, you’d be right in guessing the rest of the album does not disappoint.
Having collaborated with the likes of Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers and legendary disco producer Giorgio Moroder, the electronic duo have stayed true to form with their trademark "robot" vocals as well as incorporating fresh appearances of drum kicks, guitar leads and live bass funk – offering over 70 minutes of disco goodness.
The French dance duo have been hyping the release through several teasers, including a big-screen advert during Coachella Music Festival last month, sending fans into frenzy and proving that Random AccessMemories is, by far, the most eagerly awaited album of recent years.
In short: the record is all about celebrating music, and it will make you dance.
Here’s our top tracks:
‘Get Lucky’ (featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)
‘Give Life Back To Music’ (featuring Nile Rodgers and Paul Jackson, Jr)
‘Doin’ It Right’ (featuring Panda Bear)
Listen to 'Get Lucky' here:
You can hear the rest of the tracks on iTunes.
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An estimated 2600 women die from breast cancer every year in Australia. In the year 2000, my mum was one of them. This stat especially hits home around this time of year: Mother’s Day. It’s always a sad feeling knowing that I don’t have a mum to spend time with on this day, or a mum to buy flowers for. And I have cancer to blame for that.
Angelina Jolie’s recent revelation in The New York Times about her preventative double mastectomy has also got me thinking about my mum’s ordeal more than usual. Don’t get me wrong, I think about her a lot. But this week she’s been on my mind constantly. (It could also be due to the fact that I’ve been sick and craving some motherly love ... and possibly the chicken and rice soup she used to make me.)
When I was three years old, my mum was diagnosed with cancer. I remember the story she used to tell me about how, as a single mum, she was devastated knowing that I may have to grow up without her. And because she adopted me when I was only months old, she was worried about the effect another displacement would have on my life. That’s my mum: so selfless, so caring. Forget that she was going through chemo and a damn tough time, she was only thinking about me.
It was a miracle that she survived her first cancer battle. And I don’t use the term “miracle” loosely. She was only given three months to live. Three months. But yet my brave mum fought long and hard and was rewarded with another 16 years of life. Sadly, she wasn’t so lucky the second time cancer greedily invited itself back into her life. She was 61 years young.
Perhaps what gave her more years than expected was her single mastectomy. She lived with only her right breast for many years. And for many years I saw first-hand how it affected her self-esteem. She was always self-conscious about her body and, perhaps as a coping mechanism, would joke about it from time to time. But I saw pain through her jest. I guess in a way it made her feel less like a woman, less whole. To me, it didn’t matter how she looked; she was my mum. But it did matter to me how she felt.
That’s why I applaud Angelina for using her platform to help raise awareness for this issue. And kudos to celebs such as Giuliana Rancic and Sharon Osbourne, who too have had mastectomies and chose to share their heroic experiences. Hopefully their stories will help many breast cancer battlers and survivors feel more empowered, more accepting, and less ashamed.
In her article, Angelina writes, “I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.” I could only wish that my mum was alive today to read this. No doubt it would have helped her accept her body and know that she was still very much a woman.
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Let’s PRETEND that you accidently hit snooze seven times this morning, leaving no time to style your stands. So you hop on the bus with wet hair then check your calendar and realise you’ve got a function to go to. ERROR.
Now you have to PRETEND that you’ve done your hair with no access to product or heat-styling tools. You’re basically Bear Grylls of the beauty world. Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you rub the guy’s head sitting next to you for product residue (why do guys always use waaay too much hair product? Let’s discuss that in another post).
Just do this:
Create a deep-set side part. Why? Because I said so. And because a side part is instantly more formal than a typically off-duty centre part. If we were PRETENDING that this was my actual scenario this morning I would have created it with my letter opener as I didn’t have a brush in my bag. A pen will create the same straight line. Fingers will do as a last resort (hopefully you have those with you).
Sweep the smaller side around the nape of your neck, tucking it behind your ear so the bulk of your hair is unified on the other side.
Now sweep the bulky side behind your ear, too. Do this over and over, reinforcing the shape of the hair behind the ear as your strands air-dry. PRETEND you have a tick or OCD if that helps. IF this was me I would discreetly play with my hair in this fashion for the reminder of the bus trip.
Right before arriving at our destination, let your hair out from under your ear. See what you’ve done? You’ve created a wonderful, subtle, PRETENDING-to-be-styled wave. Nice work, ear!
Exhibit A:
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Next week I tell you how to apply make-up from crushed rocks and cigarette butts.
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As fun as summer is, I have always been a major fan of spring and autumn. You know those days when it's chilly in the morning and then heats up during the day and all you want to do is sit outside, close your eyes and tilt your face up to the sun? Surely I'm not alone?
As far as fashion goes, it's lightweight layering that you need to be aceing. Personally my legs rarely get cold, so I focus on the layering up the top. Our lovely intern Danielle is modelling my idea of a perfect autumn outfit.
Since it's not cold enough yet, try wearing a vest (rather than a jumper) over your shirt.
It’s all in the details: for a more interesting look, think about mixing different textures like knits, denim and silks in one outfit. I'm also a big believer in mixing your metals. Who said you can’t wear silver and gold together?!
And to finish it off, it's all about the flat ankle bootie so you can run around all day without wincing!
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You might not know this about me yet, but I’m a politics nerd. Love me some politics news. And one of the issues I care most deeply about is mental illness and the way we treat those affected.
So, when I heard that ex-Democrats member Natasha Stott Despoja had been made Deputy Chair of Beyond Blue – one of the best not-for-profit organisations in this country – I jumped at the chance for a chat.
Here, we talk about mental health advocacy, sensible shoes, and whether Natasha ever wanted to be the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
BTW: If you don’t know, or were a young’un like me when she was in politics, Stott Despoja was a Democrats senator for South Australia from 1995 – 2008. She was only 26, the youngest woman to become a member of parliament until Sarah Hansen-Young was elected in 2007. These days, she’s on the board of the Museum of South Australia, Museum of Australian Democracy, the Burnett Institute, and the Advertising Standards Board. She’s an ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Australia and the Orang-utan Project. Impressive lady!
I respect the work Beyond Blue does enormously. Did you get involved because you’ve been personally affected by mental illness?
My friends and family certainly have, but not me personally. You know, when you’re looking at one million people living with depression in Australia currently, or two million who have experience anxiety - not many people are untouched. Girlfriends of mine have experienced pre-natal depression or post-natal and I’ve had friends who’ve killed themselves, so I’ve definitely been touched by it. And I guess that’s just as much a quirk of fate that I personally haven’t been affected - but certainly friends and family that have been, and that’s driven my attraction to Beyond Blue.
I get the impression that politicians never fully give up being political. Is that true; once a politician, always a politician?
I think so, especially being involved early like I was. I guess the difference these days is that I can actually make a difference. It’s so nice to be engaged in policy work without that real personal nastiness that seems to have crept into politics over the last decade. I think that’s really off putting for some of the talented individuals who want to get into politics – especially young women, and I so want to get more women involved in politics.
I think everyone’s confused, and disillusioned – from people like you, to some of our readers who are first-time voters. Has politics changed since you’ve been in it?
Undoubtedly. When I first entered parliament, there was only 14 percent of the parliament that were female. I had issues because I was relatively young, and I was female. I was often a novelty and sometimes targeted in a way that could be a little nasty but nothing like this. I look at the way that people regard each other, even the way that people ask questions in question time. It’s very personal; it’s not about general government policy.
Was it ever your plan, to be the first female Prime Minister of Australia?
Definitely not! I joined a minor party and I always loved the senate. Reviewing, analysing and sometimes amending legislation was always my first love. I knew I was not going to be in a position of executive power, and that never bothered me. My role, as I saw it, was keeping them honest. I was quite happy to live vicariously and watch other women ascend to executive positions.
And yet, you had a lot of media attention. Must have been the Young and Attractive factor, do you think?
There’s always that element of superficial judgment, yeah. Kate Ellis knows what it’s like to be a minister and have your looks always referred to. I always found it very hard to reconcile the fact that I was not that interesting or exciting when it came to my social life... And yet, by virtue of being young and looking a certain way, I was treated differently. I think it was actually Cosmo who did one of the first interviews with me!
I have spotted you in past issues, actually!
For the first one, the photo shoot was on my birthday. I remember because I was meant to have this so-called party girl image! I was only in my first year in office and they said, “Oh, what are you doing for your birthday?” And I said, “Going through some legislation tonight”. And they were like, “What? Aren’t you going out and partying?” And I said, “Not at all”.
It was so funny! They were the first sort of glam shots of me and I didn’t think there’d be anything wrong with it - I knew my stuff and I was a policy nerd and there was nothing wrong with looking a bit glam. The media made such a big deal: “Oh, look at her! She’s dressing up in a frock!” I always look back at that quite fondly, because it just shows, not only the power of the media, but also what happens when people say, “Oh you’re a good-looker”. And this is when I had my sensible shoes and my coke-bottle glasses, so it’s really so funny.
I do hope, despite all this, that more young women will get into parliament. And that maybe some of the ridiculous stereotypes I was subject to might go altogether and make it easier for other women to get in. The same with Julia Gillard’s experience – I hope next time we have a female PM, some of those crazy rules have gone for women.
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A new exhibit shows off candid shots from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
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After I lost my fave gear, I started a war with the little insects.
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Amanda Knox's memoir shows her case in a new light.
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A gift from @grantburgewines and Cosmo to celebrate a hard days brainstorming. Well done team!
