On Our Radar: The Plaza Re-Opens

Back in the day when we were an intern before our senior year of college, we went to our very first grand event at the Plaza--an award show for the trade magazine we were working on at the time. We felt as if we were the epitome of glamour in the white spaghetti strap dress we had bought for the occasion. We still have the invitation in our scrapbook, along with some stirrers and matchbook with the original Plaza logo.

Since then, we've been fortunate enough to go to a handful of events and even had the opportunity to stay at the hotel. Unfortunately, this means we were also witness to the grande dame's demise: we were served out of chipped glasses and dealt with navigating around the tiny, outdated bathrooms that even had a speck of mold and no shelf for our toiletries.

Count us among the masses who will be lining up to visit the newly refurbished version, opening its doors tomorrow. The website promises that after the 2-year $400 million renovation, the hotel will keep all the fixtures we know and love (tea at the Palm Court, a lobby that duly impresses Eloise wannabes) along with some much needed improvements. We, for one, were excited to read about the 24-carat gold plated Sherle Wagner designed sinks and fixtures, which are certain to be mold free. Other highlights are a branch of the always fab Warren Tricomi salon and a the Oak Bar. But you'll find us at the Champagne Bar! Not only does it serve our favorite bubbly (anything served in a glass), the menu was created by Jean Georges' alum Dider Virot.

For reservations, click here.

awesome movie poster friday- the WILLIAM GIRDLER edition!

I nabbed most of these images from a wicked sweet William Girdler fansite I just discovered. I don't know why more horror-schlock fans aren't turned onto him.

Something Is Out There is the title under which Day of the Animals was rereleased after Girdler died. The alternate title and the accompanying poster don't actually tell you shit about the movie.

Attention comic nerds: the artwork for the first Grizzly poster (with the chick sitting by the fire) is by the great Neal Adams. Thrill your friends with your newfound trivia prowess!

"Warning: not for the bloody mary for lunch bunch!" is just plain awesome. And true!

Thursday is complete

This is sure to put some spring in your step.



Ah, Killer Workout. Someday...someday I'll get around to reviewing this movie, I swear. It's like a bottle of fine wine, though- you know, like Night Train or Wild Irish Rose or something- that I'm saving for a special occasion. I watch it, but I can't quite get myself to write about it, because, well, how can I? This video speaks louder than I ever could.

Does the song not kick ass? Killer Workout has the best '80s horror soundtrack by people you've never heard of, period. This isn't some John Hughes superstar-laden affair a la Pretty In Pink; Killer Workout simply boasts some of the best anonymous eurotechnocrap in all of moviedom. To wit: the soundtrack features a song called "Aerobicide".

The song in the video above, "Only You Tonight", is performed by someone who's not completely anonymous: Donna DeLory, who's undoubtedly best known as half of Donna and Niki, Madonna's back-up singers throughout the 80s and 90s.

What? I love Madonna. Don't you? And don't you love that Killer Workout video? Come on. Of note:

- the hideous-looking woman with the enormous boobs
- the woman who looks like Michael Jackson circa "Thriller"
- Rhonda's exaggerated eye-rolling and general bad attitude
- condom spillage, indicating that the girl is a slut
- said slut's fingerless gloves, high heels, and massive wedgie
- dubious exercises
- the shot of the woman on the exercise bike, trying to get healthy, for "comic effect"
- the sinister zoom on Jimmy

Not to mention it's just the best song ever. I bet it's stuck in your head right now, making for a kickass Thursday!

A Place We Don't Want to Go: The Eastern Garbage Patch

You can't travel as much as we do without being in love with the planet and we mean in a big way. In fact one JSG member has a tattoo of the globe! We were stunned to read in the March issue of W magainze about the Eastern Garbage Patch, a giant mass of floating trash, in the Pacific. This "island" is reputedly twice the size of Texas! Debonair banking air, David de Rothschild will be journeying to it on a raft built out of water bottles later this year on his Plastiki project. David founded AdventureEcology, which is the sexiest green movement we have heard of to date. His site offers fun daily tips, that not only were new to us, but are things we actually plan to do. Take yesterday's tip: Pour the dregs from your bottle of wine (either colour) into an ice cube tray and freeze. Next time you feel like risotto, and some extra flavour with your ready-made stock cubes.

So think about this mound of trash next time you use a plastic bag, buy bottled water or run the water while you brush your teeth.

While we're on our soap box and speaking of ink, we hope you'll indulge us a little longer:

A Tasmanian Devil isn't just every frat boy's favorite cartoon character for a tattoo, it's also an animal that lives on Tasmania, an Australian island. We were dismayed while at a cocktail party recently to learn that the Tasmanian Devil is in danger of becoming extinct. The poor little guys are developing a deadly cancer which typically kills them in under 5 months. In areas of high density population areas, the disease has already wiped out 90 percent of the devils in only 10 years. No one knows what's causing the disease and the environment may not be to blame.

Researchers are hard at work trying to find a cause and a cure. For more information, go to Save the Tasmanian Devil.

Sexy V. Slutty

We’re still a bit perplexed about the differences between dressing sexy and slutty, so we checked in with our friend and fellow Jet Set Girl, Monica Diaz, expert and founder of Style Matters, for some advice. “Sexy is never loud it is more of a whisper,” says Monica. We're all ears!

Here’s Monica’s list for the top 10 sexy items every JSG must own:

1. Anything silk - the way it drapes and reflects light silk is very sexy and feels sexy. (JSG Note: Our S.O. actually prefers silk lingerie to lace)
2. Jeans - the right jeans look sexy on both sexes.
3. High Heels - They make your legs look amazing! Just make sure you can walk in them (JSG Note: So true! Our S.O. hates when he sees a woman who has a wobbly or duck-footed walk.)
4. Backless dresses or tops - I love the surprise factor of a top or dress that is completely covered in the front and then your back is completely exposed. Very sexy.
5. Low cut tops that show just enough to keep them guessing.
6. Red is very sexy and every woman should own a red dress.
7. Soft skin so a great body cream with a touch of shimmer is sexy. (JSG note: Our fave shimmer cream is Mario Badescu’s Summer Shine Body Lotion. It gives the perfect touch of shimmer—not to little and not so much that you look sweaty.)
8. Perfume worn so that the person needs to be next to you to get a whiff of your scent.

9. Earrings the right color and shape earrings can add life and sex appeal to your look
10. Dresses are so sexy, especially if they flow and move with you and especially when it has a slit. The slit when you walk or sit is like a game of peekaboo.

We think we got it now--Scarlett Johansson, not Paris Hilton.

diminishing returns

I try as best I can to shy away from posting useless news item after useless news item about films in production (or pre-production, as the case may be). Sometimes tidbits get me amped and I don't want to spoil anything for myself (see: Silent Hill), and sometimes there's simply an information overload as new, pointless minutiae is released daily on MySpace or something (see: Rob Zombie's Halloween). Either way, the less I know, the better- and speculation is just an exercise in frustration until you see the finished product.

Sometimes, though, you just say to yourself...COME ON.


Today, Bloody-Disgusting posted some (alleged) details about...sigh...The De2cent, the forthcoming sequel to Neil Marshall's caving-expedition-gone-awry flick you may have heard of before. I mean, it's not like I've ever mentioned it before. But anyway, back in the heady days of July the film was announced and I did a bit of ruminating on the plot possibilities:

Will another group of hapless cavers get trapped and eaten underground? Will a group of paramilitary commandos head into the caves to do battle with the crawlers? Will the crawlers emerge from the dark depths and wreak havoc above ground? Will they try to assimilate in a wacky fish-out-of-water style comedy? The possibilities are endless!

Rumor has it that the creators of The De2cent (man, I hate typing that) are taking the Aliens approach. Quoth the B-D:

Shauna Macdonald's character of Sarah returns as a rescue crew finds her and takes her back into the cave to find survivors - where terror ensues once again. We've also been tipped that in the sequel you'll get to see "little" cave monsters in action.

I just...I can't...I have to remember to breathe. Who knows what the film will be when all is said and done? Still...I have to say...I'm not terribly excited beyond the fact that Shauna Macdonald rocked the house in the first film and I'll be happy to see her on screen again. But...it kind of defies all logic, doesn't it? Even Ripley didn't want to go back into the fire- is Sarah, who's a tad bit completely cuckoo nutso at the end of The Descent, really going to return to the cave to look for survivors- especially considering that she knows that all her friends are dead and there are no survivors? Ah, well. Again, speculating like this is an exercise in frustration.

However, what little we know for sure doesn't bode well either, at least in my opinion. It was known from the get-go that Neil Marshall wouldn't be directing, but now it seems he won't be writing, either. And supposedly Lionsgate isn't interested in distributing the film, which kind of boggles the mind. Wasn't The Descent a success for them? Given some of the shit that Lionsgate does distribute, their turning it down is a big red flag. Yet again, speculating like this is an exercise in frustration, and we'll just have to wait and see. These tidbits, however, are leaving me decidedly unamped.

Strong and Sexy

Gucci by Gucci: this is not a perfume for the weak at heart. Quite the opposite, it's bold and spicy, similar to our Narciso Rodriguez. We loved wearing it dancing with our girlfriends and also for a special night out with the significant other (who kept saying,"God you smell great!). It was perfect over the holidays and lasted all night. This may not be right for the office; but it turned heads when we wore it out. No doubt we'll have it on with our Jimmy's this weekend.

Available at Neiman's, Saks, and Gucci boutiques.

bring it

Scarecrow movies are a real crap shoot. For every good, effective one, like Dark Night of the Scarecrow, there's a total- and I do mean total- stinkfest like Hallowed Ground. I watched it and it so made me want to kill myself that I couldn't even muster up the energy to write a scathing review; I could only take solace in the fact that star Jaime Alexander looked like she wanted to kill herself, as well.

One scarecrow flick I've been itchin' to see forever is the 1988 cult sensation Scarecrows. Long unavailable and long rumored to awesome and- gasp- scary, Scarecrows is available on DVD...which means it's prime Film Club material.

VHS cover vs. DVD cover: the battle continues

Here's the skinny, courtesy o' Netflix:

After pulling off a major heist, a group of ex-military outlaws commandeer a plane for their getaway. But when one of the group betrays them by parachuting out with the cash, the rest follow -- and find themselves in the middle of a nightmare. They take shelter in an abandoned farmhouse set in a cornfield, where sinister scarecrows soon come to life and start taking them out one by one in this spine-chilling cult classic.

Awww yeah. I'm so ready- this selection can't get here quickly enough!

The film: Scarecrows
The due date: Monday, March 24

Film Club: The Manitou

Oh, William Girdler, how I miss you and your work. Grizzly, Day of the Animals, Abby (or I as like to call it, The Blaxxorcist), Three on a Meathook, The Manitou...in a mere 6 years you delivered a lifetime's worth of horror schlock. What would you have given the world had your life not been cut tragically short in a helicopter crash? I can only dream!

The key word of that paragraph, of course, is "schlock". Schlock certainly isn't to everyone's tastes, and it's not usually...well, good. If there's one thing you can say about Girdler's cinematic output, however, it's that he brought us schlock con gusto. You might not actually enjoy The Manitou, say, but chances are you've never seen anything quite like it and you probably never will again. To that notion you might say "Well thank fucking Christ for that", while I myself say "Oh, William Girdler, how I miss you and your work".

Poor Karen Tandy (Susan Strasberg) wakes up one day to find some sort of lump on her back- a tumor or something that not only grows at a ridiculously fast rate, but also "kind of moves sometimes". Can I get an "Eww!" up in here?

Her ex-boyfriend Harry (Tony Curtis) is a sham psychic who spends his days bilking gullible, needy old ladies out of their dough by giving Tarot readings whilst decked out in a fake moustache and a fancy zodiac-laden robe. Harry is drawn into Karen's drama when a client, Mrs Herz (Lurene Tuttle)...uh, when Mrs Herz starts chanting the same nonsense Karen has been chanting at night and then...Mrs Herz screams, floats down a hallway, and throws herself headlong down a flight of stairs. As you can imagine, the scene is fucking awesome.




Seriously, I was clapping like a simpleton for, like, ten minutes.

Doctors determine that Karen's tumor isn't a tumor at all- it's actually a fetus. It's a fetus, growing on her back. Now, I've got nothing against motherhood whatsoever- I mean, if my mother wasn't into motherhood then...you know...chances are I wouldn't be here. If you want to have a baby, go for it. Me? I'm not at all interested in having a baby grow where it's supposed to grow, never mind growing on my fucking back. I would have been shrieking "Get it off me!" every second of every day until the thing was gone gone gone.

Karen is pretty much on my wavelength; the problem is, every time the doctors attempt to remove the thing, the fetus-tumor-lump wreaks havoc in the operating room. A surgeon cuts himself with the scalpel, a surgical laser starts zapping all over the place...it seems that the fetus-tumor-lump is on Karen's back to stay.

Harry seeks advice and aid in all manner of places in his quest to de-lumpify his lady love. He and his sham psychic colleague Amelia (Stella Stevens, all gypsy-fied in what is, essentially, black face lite) hold a seance at Karen's Aunt's house in an attempt to figure out what's going on. Despite a crazy light show and a weirdo-melty dude rising from the table, the gang doesn't learn much. Meanwhile, I learn that I can come up with a good number of Elizabeth Taylor jokes to make at Ann Sothern's expense, so all is not lost.

The Scooby Gang then hits up Dr Snow (Burgess Meredith), a cranky professor of something or other who, in one of his books, once mentioned a Native American medicine man being birthed out of a tumor on someone's arm or some shit. Seriously, by this point logic is your enemy; don't fight it- just go with it.

Dr Snow suggests that The Scooby Gang get their own Native American to do battle with the medicine man that's going to burst out of Karen any minute now, so Harry enlists the aid of John Singing Rock (Michael Ansara), who reluctantly agrees to do said battle.

At that point, I made a joke about John Singing Rock not being called John Singing Rock anymore because he's too old...now, he's called John Singing Adult Contemporary. I don't know if it's a good joke or not, but you can feel free to steal it when you show The Manitou to all your friends.

So. John Singing Rock and Harry head to the hospital to save Karen and the world, the medicine man busts a move out of Karen's back...and that's when things get weird. What, you thought it was already weird? You ain't seen nothin' yet, honey.

The last 20 minutes of The Manitou really need to be seen to be believed- any attempt at explanation is sure to fall miserably short, but let's say it's somewhat akin to sitting in a 1970's era Spencer's Gifts which turns into a kaliedoscope before your very eyes and then the kaliedoscope explodes. There's a dude in a lizard suit, the worst fake ice you'll ever hope to see, a jacked-up medicine man midget, decapitations, typewriters with souls, and a naked Susan Strasberg sitting on a floating bed shooting lasers at a big eye. Sometimes, my friends, all is right with the world.



It's pure madness, I tells ya. The Manitou makes no sense from the get-go, but then, somehow, by the time it's over it ends up making even less sense. I suppose you could glean some kind of science vs religion argument out of the whole thing, but really, what's the point? Again, just go with it.

And really, if elderly people floating down hallways and naked women shooting lasers at jacked-up midgets aren't reason enough to make you want to cram The Manitou down your pants, then it's obvious that you have no soul.

Oh, William Girdler, how I miss you and your work.

Film Club Coolies, y'all!

Look Back in Anger
Kindertrauma
Anchorwoman in Peril!
Meg Wood's Boyfriends in the News
Aphorisms and Ectoplasm
Askewed Views
Bloody Mary

The Secrets to Being a Good Bridesmaid

We love planning bachelorette party getaways. So much so, that it inspired us to start this blog. We took everything we've learned from planning the perfect bachelorette party, with just the right mix of girl bonding and debauchery and made that the basis of The Jet Set Girls. (We've also taken 30th birthday trips, which morphed into taking annual trips, which morphed into taking trips whenever we can get away!)

Because we know we're good at planning bachelorette parties, we know we're also good bridesmaids. Between us, we've been in 16. We were stunned to read in yesterday's NY Post in "Brides Maid to Order" about a bride who makes her friends sign a bridesmaid's contracts that says they should not gain weight (we've been a pregnant bridesmaid); have no visible tan lines (granted, a suggestion Cameron Diaz could have used at last night's Oscars), and not drink at the reception until the bride says it's okay (total dealbreaker!). The kicker was this bride wanted to plan her own shower but still expected her 'maids to pick up the tab. Ugh!

We have our own, kinder, gentler set of rules which have served us well:

1. Never be a bridesmaid to an insane bridezilla.

2. Walk slowly and smile when you walk down the aisle. So many bridesmaids look at their feet as the hurry down the aisle. You may hate than you're in a coral strapless with a ginormous bow, but that doesn't change the fact that 100+ people are looking at you. Put on a smile and rock that frock!

3. Make sure the family of the bride are having a good time — they may not know as many people there, are going through familial stress associated with a wedding or are just shy. Trust us, if Uncle Fred is having a good time, everyone at the wedding is, too. We even went so far at our friend Shawna's wedding to have our date make sure her demanding mother had a drink in her hand at all times. It made everything easier for everyone involved.

4. Showers are inherently boring ("Oooooh, a toaster! A wine goblet!"). Try a co-ed cocktail party. Or if you must do a luncheon or tea, make sure the wine is flowing!

5. Planning a kick ass bachelorette party getaway? Not sure where to go? Email us your questions at jetsetgirls@gmail.com and we'll help you plan a party for the ages!

stuff you should know: the today edition

It's Oscar night, y'all! Now, given my tattoos and attitude regarding the Academy Awards, you might think that the last thing I'd be doing tonight is watching the ceremony. That's where you're wrong, o erroneous one! Not only will I be watching the Oscars, I'll be nerding out behind my computer liveblogging the goings-on with a few other rad film bloggers over at GreenCine! Guess what? You can even join in the fun...yes, YOU. Log on (the shit hits the fan at 4:45pm PST) and we'll all hold cyber-hands and kind of watch the Oscars together. It's so 21st century I can't even stand it! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!


You should also be aware that tomorrow is the due date for this month's Film Club pick, The Manitou. I still haven't watched it yet...I've been waiting and savoring the anticipation, but today's the day. Tomorrow all the cool kids will be talking about it. You do want to be cool, don't you?

On Our Radar: The Sundance Resort

The JSG make no bones about loving the beach; but a couple of times each year we bundle up and hit the slopes. Leave it to still sexy Robert Redford to develop the most woman friendly resort we could find. Not only does Utah's Sundance Resort, not far from Park City, offer world class skiing (remember the '02 Winter Olympics?), but when you need a break from the slopes, there's still plenty to do. The town's Art Shack offers 2-hour classes on things like jewelry making, watercolor and pottery throwing (who doesn't still fantasize about being Demi More in Ghost), the Spa at Sundance uses traditional Native American healing techniques and shopping and restaurants abound. If you're looking to brush up on your skiing skills, the mountain also offers women only ski and snowboard clinics. What a great way to fine tune your skills without "distractions."

While we're at it, here are a few pointers to make the slopes more friendly:

1. Always wear high SPF- nothing makes your nose look bigger than a day on the slopes and a sunglasses line on the bridge of your nose. One of our faves is the Kiehl's All-Sport "Non-Freeze" Face Protector.

2. Always wear chapstick- rehabbing peeling lips is much harder than avoiding them.

3. Remember our tips for the perfect snow-bunny pony.

Now on to the important stuff:

4. If you tree ski, keep up with the guys, or have children, consider wearing a helmet. They're not as goofy on the slopes as they used to be and you can take them off as soon as you get to the chalet.

5. A drink at lunch is fun, but don't get carried away. You're not half as good of a skier/boarder as you think you are after multiple cocktails. The first aid room is full of people who have made that mistake.

6. Never exaggerate your abilities to a friend or prospect, once you are hovering over that mogul run you'll wish you'd kept your mouth shut. The mountain is a great equalizer.

awesome movie poster friday- the JOHN CARRADINE edition!

Girls’ getaway questions to ask your friends before you plan your vacation

It goes without saying that you want a great group of girls who you’re psyched to hang out with for a weekend or longer. What makes a trip most successful is when you travel with a group of girls who define a good time the same way and are on similar budgets. A few questions to consider:

1. Can all of you veg out in a lounge chair for hours? Or does one of your pals need to chat, play card games and take walks at 30-minute intervals?
2. Are you OK with going out to nice dinners where entrees cost $30 or more? Or is one of you more the type who wants to scarf down Taco Bell in the company of her own hotel room?
3. Can you split up and do things separately? Or does everything have to be a group activity?
4. If one of you finds a guy to dance the night away with, are the others going to be cool entertaining themselves?
Some of these things you'll never know til you're in the thick of things and certainly none of them are deal breakers, but it never hurts to define your expectations up front.

Got any other questions to consider? We would love to hear 'em!

calling all YOU.

Good ol' Arbogast recently sent me an email regarding the odd proliferation of negative reactions round Yon Internette to Neil Marshall's forthcoming apocalyptic thriller Doomsday, and it's got me thinking. In a word, what the fuck? Unlike me, most people don't seem to be pumped about it; there are cries of "Looks like Escape From NY", "Looks like Mad Max", "Looks like a pump, feels like a sneaker", blah blah blah. Well no shit. It's a post-apocalyptic, action-flavored, popcorn extravaganza. Is there something wrong with that? Add to that Marshall's impressive track record and I'm baffled by the dismissals.

Internet cynicism kind of bums me out- and believe me, I say that knowing that I've done more than my share of ragging on stuff sight unseen. But...I don't know, it's different when I do it, dammit! Yeah, I'm sure everyone feels that way about themselves. Maybe the difference is, I'm not afraid to get excited about movies. When did looking forward to something or having an unabashed I cannot fucking wait to see that attitude become passe? These are movies, people...they're entertainment. I pay money to be entertained, and I want my fucking face rocked off. I want to circle a release date on my calendar and be the first in line when the date arrives. Sure, sometimes the hype doesn't pay off- I know that Silent Hill certainly didn't measure up to the months and months of metaphorical boner-popping excitement I experienced before it hit screens. But you know what? Those months and months were fun, and pardon me- I'd much rather look forward to a movie than instantly write it off. Are excitement and anticipation uncool? Fuck that.

Because I'm all about putting up rather than shutting up (starting right now, at least), I'm sending out a call to arms to anyone in Internet Land who is on my wavelength and wants to write it down. Yes, people, it's the

HEY, INTERNET, STOP BEING SUCH CYNICAL EFFING DOUCHEBAGS BLOG-A-THON!

One day, and one day only: Tuesday, March 18.

You: write about something in the world of film that fills you with complete and total unbridled fucking retarded JOY.

I don't care what it is. I don't care if it relates to horror, although that'll be my bag for sure. Write about a movie you adore. Write about a single movie moment you adore. A performance, an actor, a trailer you're looking forward to like crazy. Write about that time you went to the movies and what you saw made you so happy you wanted to make out with the screen. Write about that film you couldn't stop thinking about for days, and how awesome that feeling is.

In other words, for just one day, internet, don't be a cynical effing douchebag. Wear your heart on your sleeve and tell us all why you love something. That's not so hard, is it? I mean, that's why I started this friggin' blog to begin with.

Write something on your own blog or site and send me a link. If you don't have a blog or site of your own, send your writing to me and I'll post it here. C'mon, let's rock this shit like we did on Friday the 13th. On Tuesday, March 18, I want the whole internet to feel like this:

WITH AWESOME.

One More Reason to Watch the Oscars

We know, we know. There are hundreds of reasons to watch the Oscars from seeing who is going to dress Kiera, Reese and Drew, how crazy Johnny Depp’s tux is going to be this year to who will actually take home the big awards (our money is on There Will Be Blood). But here’s a reason not to run out for more ice or Cab Sav during the commercials (or at least if you do, push pause on your DVR)—the new Diane Von Furstenberg commercial for American Express.

We love, love, love DVF, an original jet set girl herself. Not only does she make some of the sexiest and most flattering clothes around (though we’re still not quite sure if the blue dress we bought last year was not in fact a top. Whatever—it worked in Vegas!), was disco fabulous as a Studio 54 fixture back in the day, but we once ran into her shopping her own sample sale where she gave us fashion advice—swoon!

Her commercial was shot by Bennet Miller the director of Capote and the print ads were shot by Annie Liebowitz. The commercial follows her around her home and design studio. We’re still cracking up over the Ellen DeGeneres commercial where her raccoon makeup artist gives her raccoon eyes, not to mention the Robert DeNiro commercial about NYC which brings tears to our eyes. Can’t wait to see what the Queen of the wrap dress comes up with!