Almost Famous

Baby, my friends are goin' places! And I'm using the vast readership of my own blog - yes, all five of you - to tout their well-earned glory. Support these incredibly talented ladies!

One of my absolute favorite blogs (which happens to be written by one of my absolute favorite people) is getting recognized! Word, yo.

If you don't already read the Seattle street style blog It's My Darlin' you simply have to start. Now. Right now. Do it. The Fashion Editor of New York Magazine's website reads it, so why shouldn't you? Dana Landon, the fabulously stylish gal with the eagle-eye-of-style behind the scenes of It's My Darlin', recently received an email from said editor asking permission to regularly use her blog in a weekly compilation of the best street style posts from around the world. Yeah, they've got taste. Because, lo and behold, mere days later, It's My Darlin' became a featured blog on New York Magazine's Street Comber for the first time. The first of many times, I'm sure. Yeah, and her image is the first in the slide show. I'm one proud buddy. No one deserves it more.

Screenshot of It's My Darlin's NY Magazine image.

On to the next awesome pal o' mine.

A couple months ago, at Sonoma International Film Festival, I was privileged to see the world premiere of the most delightful movie, Leading Ladies. I went because it stars my high school friend, Laurel Vail, along with the lovely Nicole Dionne (who was a BLAST to hang out with that weekend), So You Think You Can Dance's second season winner Benji Schwimmer, the incomparable Melanie LaPatin, and more. What a superb cast! I originally went to support an old friend, but I would love to see this film again and again, even if I didn't know a soul who worked on it.

Leading Ladies is a heartwarming and fun tale of family, love, and dance. This SYTYCD fan was in HEAVEN, and not just because Benji sat right behind me during the viewing. The dance numbers made me want to get up and shake my booty, the family dynamic brought to mind the entertainment of a John Waters or early Baz Luhrmann film, and the love story between Laurel and Nicole's characters showed such chemistry and compassion to melt even the hardest heart.

Made for a song (or should I say a dance?), you won't find a film more indie than this. Leading Ladies has met with an amazing reception as it makes the festival circuit. But, in catching the distributors' eyes, they have strong competition against better-funded films with much larger marketing budgets. Watch the trailer (below), go see it at a local festival, and talk about it with everyone who'll listen. The more the hype, the better the chance it will soon make it to a theater near you! New York readers, you can see it August 29th at 7pm at BAM Rose Cinemas (Brooklyn Academy of Music).

And now for the final achievement I wanted to tout: MY OWN!

Nothing as big as starring in a quality feature film or getting featured on New York Magazine's website, mind you, but still pretty fun for me. Another awesome lady, with whom I also happen to be friends, has a cool blog of her own, Gamer Girl Gets Thin, in which she chronicles the journey of a geeky girl (my pal, Jenn) as she reaches her fitness goals. Jenn and I are alike in not only in our geek tendencies, but in our food fetishes. Turns out she's been reading my recent food posts and decided to feature la V en Rose on her blog! Jenn, you're my first linker! It's enough to make a gal blush, really. And, given our many common interests and the parallelisms of our blogging, we have big plans to guest post for each other. Yep, my first guest post on another blog and my first guest poster on my blog. Oh, big things are happening. Big. Huge.

P.S. Jenn - Next time we're in the same city at the same time, I will totally make you my Grandma Rose's Tabbouleh.