Raoul Fashion Show @ Red Dot Museum!

Most treasured photo: With famous international fashion designer ASHLEY ISHAM!

pretty red dress – Leighton Meester inspired – courtesy of Foggiare

With Ashley Isham!

With La Senza's Brand Manager, Joyce!

Ronald Kor

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CHARLOTTE’S 21ST!

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Qualitative Inquiry – DOWN!

Exams are finally OVER!!! )

I had a really bad morning yesterday – couldn’t get to sleep the whole night because I was too awake/anxious, then in the morning when Eric came to get me breakfast I wasted his effort throwing up almost all of it in his car (in a plastic bag, thank God!) and again when I reached school. Plus slight diarrhoea. So for the first 40 mins of the paper I was in such a daze I couldn’t think…Well overall I hope it wasn’t too bad, save for that stupid “rapprochement” incident. I’m so glad it’s all over! Another day or two and I would have checked myself into an asylum! Now I’m just praying my results are decent enough…didn’t have a very good feeling for all my papers

But right now, I just wanna have a really good time, treat myself nicely and not think about it for the time being…

ADV: UNIQLO!

Look at Raoul bouncing up and down!

Am dimineti in care ma trezesc cu ‘Neata si Razvan si Dani’. Altele, cu Stirile din Sport sau cu stirile de pe Pro Tv… Dimineti si zile intregi cand tv-ul ramane blocat pe U sau MTV… Astazi am auzit melodia aceasta, deoarece fusese invitat cel care o canta la emisiunea colegilor de platou ai Danielei Crudu. Nu e genul meu, dar mi-a adus aminte de… cate ceva…

Se apropie sărbătorile de iarnă iar artiştii noştri îşi pregătesc melodiile cu care să ne aline sufletele atunci când ne vom aşeza lângă bradul împodobit şi masa îmbelşugată. Raoul sau Rareş Borlea pe numele său adevărat, le-a pregătit fanilor prima surpriză. Piesa “Poveste de iarnă” are deja videoclip pe care vi-l prezentăm şi noi pe blogul celui mai longeviv top de muzică românească. Înainte, însă să vedem împreună ce spune artistul despre propria sa melodie:  “Am strâns parfum de brad, miros de cozonac, foc mocnit şi fulgi mari şi albi de zăpadă în amintiri de copil ce îmi bat odată cu venirea iernii. E povestea mea a unui copil care este cel mai fericit din lume când vine Crăciunul. Vă spun tuturor o poveste de iarnă într-un cântec pentru liniştea sufletelor voastre….”.

Echipa Top Românesc, 22 noiembrie 2009

White Heat – 1949

Director – Raoul Walsh

Starring – James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, and Edmond O’Brien

The title of this film, White Heat, clearly comes from the boxed up frustration and rage capable of the late great James Cagney.  The character, Cody Jarrett, is a hot-headed gangster with some not so subtle mother issues.  Rounding out the cast of a 1000 dysfunctions is his wife, Verna, ready to cross him the moment he goes away, his right hand man, Big Ed, itching to step in and take his place, and his mother, Ma Jarrett, more than willing to accept and encourage his dependence on her.  Together, these characters set up the conditions for a dramatic explosion of volatility and emotion, and explode they do.

Feeling the heat for the robbery we see him commit at the start of the film, Jarrett confesses to a lesser crime alibi that he had set up beforehand.  Sent up to prison in Illinois, the federales plant a man on the inside in an effort to gain Jarrett’s trust.  While on the inside, Cody’s gang is strong-armed, and his wife is swept off her feet by, who else, Big Ed.  Without giving away too much of the story, things continue to fall apart from there.

Cagney’s performance matches perfectly with my pre-conceived image of him from the few film clips that I’ve seen, and through his performance in Angels With Dirty Faces.  Since White Heat and Angels are among some of his most popular and well-known films, unfortunately, that means that his characters don’t seem like carefully crafted creations so much as they seem like him just playing himself.  Whether or not Cagney possessed any similarity to the Cody Jarrett character, I’m not sure, but I had the distinct impression that he wasn’t really acting so much as talking.  Now I may be completely wrong on that point, lord knows I was completely wrong about my preconceptions of Humphrey Bogart, but that is yet to be discovered.

Each other character is overshadowed by Cagney’s performance, and while each probably fulfilled their roles quite adequately, none were stand outs.  Despite this fact, the story was still a very quick paced, enjoyable yarn about a self-destructing gangster.  The inevitability of Jarrett’s disintegration was never in question, the drama lay in watching how he would flame out (if you have seen this film already…pun intended.  If you haven’t seen the film…you’ll get it when you do).  Just remember when life is snapping at your heels, and it seems like everyone is after you, it never hurts to yell out “Top of the world, Ma!”

Nokia N97 mini

Nokia N97 mini hit the street last weekend. The phone was initially launched here in early October as RAOUL-branded limited edition. The standard edition N97 mini is now available for anyone to order from all three telcos here.

N97 mini shares the same features as N97, except that it has a smaller and lighter body, running on a lower capacity battery and a slower CPU. Designed with social and fashion-conscious consumer in mind, its customisable homescreen includes widgets like Facebook and Fashion Asia widget.

Here’s quick check on retail prices of N97 mini from all three telcos:

mist Photography is still working on getting some additional photos up from their wedding day but we thought we would share some previews from their formal portrait sessions.

Raoul just finished getting ready with such a bright smile!

And the guys putting on their GQ look (Indian edition!)

Raoul with all the ladies in the bridal party…

Sheena had a very elaborate wedding dress that was absolutely stunning

And an image that has that fashion magazine look…

After the ceremony – we took one of our largest group shots yet!

And this one could well be the signature advertising photo for the Four Seasons!

Congratulations to the happy couple.  We’ll have a few more installments for the previews of this wedding soon! Until then, feel free to leave a comment or greeting for the Sheena and Raoul and we close this preview with one of our favorite shots of the day!

The formal photos from Sheena and Raoul’s wedding can be found HERE.

Escpecially for Singapore, a swanky, more ’stylish’ version of the N97 mini, with a little revamped look and a host of extra accessories and bespoke packaging.

Why does it take so long to boot up?

Micuţa Maria Cristina Crăciun despre care echipa Top Românesc a mai scris, va cânta, duminica, 8 noiembrie, în spectacolul aniversar dedicat lui Mihai Constantinescu. Micuţa gălăţeancă va fi invitata Mirabelei Dauer care o susţine în permanenţă în demersul său artistic, pentru a lua parte în acest spectacol. Maria Cristina Crăciun a câştigat anul acesta trofeul la concursul Internaţional Slavianski Bazar din Belarus. În spectacolul dedicat lui Mihai Constantinescu, prezentat de Octavian Ursulescu, vor cânta Angela Similea, Mirabela Dauer, Margareta Pâslaru, Monica Anghel, Alexandru Arşinel, Gheorghe Gheorghiu, Andreea Balan, KEO, Gabriel Dorobantu, Anca Turcasiu, Marina Florea, Silvia Dumitrescu, Jean Paler, Simona Secrier, Raoul, Lucian Darie, Costel Lazaroiu, Maria Andrei, Verona Man, Trupa Autentic, Ciro de Luca. Spectacolul va începe la ora 19.00.

Echipa Top Românesc, 6 noiembrie 2009

Yes my friends that’s what we all said when we said goodbye to Phantom of the Opera. At least I did when I left Majestic theatre that fine night over a weekend. I was so sure I wasn’t coming back to NYC (sniff sniff) but hey who knew I would be back! And now, Phantom will return as well! Yes you heard it right, he’s a coming back.  So if you ever thought hey I wonder what happened to that Phantom dude? Or that gal Christine? Or Raoul?  Well guess what your dream will finally come true.

Earlier this month, Andrew Lloyd Webber did a press launch at Her Majesty’s Theatre for “Love Never Dies” the highly anticipated sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, the longest running Broadway show in history.  The new musical story will take place ten years after the end of The Phantom of the Opera at Coney Island in Brooklyn! Yes that’s what happened to him, he immigrated to USA! Woo hoo.  By the way do you know that about hundred years ago Coney Island was like the 8th wonder of the world? Yeah seriously! Kind of hard to believe after my last visit over the summer but hey that’s what it was according to Andrew Webber.

Okay are you guys ready?  Here’s the video of the press launch.  It starts out with an introductory film that summarizes the success of the Phantom and later Webber talks about the sequel and introduces “The Coney Island Waltz” – Quite lovely!  Ooh and the best part comes around 11:41 when Ramin Karimloo performs “Till I Hear You Sing” – Karimloo will play the Phantom and Sierra Boggess (originated the role of Ariel in The Little Mermaid on Broadway 2007-May 2009) will be the new Christine Daae.  Ramin Karimloo is also currently performing the Phantom in the London production.

“Love Never Dies” will premiere in London at the Adelphi Theatre on Tuesday March 9, 2010 (previews from February 20) and New York on Thursday November 11, 2010! Overall thoughts?  Are you excited?  Will you fly to London to check it out or wait till it comes to NYC?

And if by any chance you can’t or haven’t watched any theatrical performances of The Phantom Of The Opera yet, I highly recommend you run, walk, or drive  to your nearest library or get it online and specifically check out the original cast of Webber’s production that started in 1986 with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman.  And after that you may check out the 2004 film adaptation staring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.

My tea for the moment: TAZO Lotus Decaffeinated Green Tea with subtle essence of lotus blossoms. Sounds good doesn’t it? hehe  Actually it is especially since I enjoy flower flavors.

Phantom Links
Love Never Dies – Official Website
Love Never Dies – Blog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Never_Dies_(musical)

The Phantom Of The Opera – Official Website
http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com

As promised,  mist Photography presents the 2nd day of Sheena and Raoul’s coverage – the Sangeet at the top floor of the Westin Park Central.  We couldn’t believe the energy in the air and here are some of our favorite images from the evening:

As soon as one enters the lobby, it was clear what special event was going on!

…and before the evening was over, we had this classic shot of Sheena and Raoul – with a little bit of |mist| magic applied…

We also had a few moments to take some great images of Sheena in her beautiful dress

Before the party really got started – Sheena and some of her friends strike the “Sheena pose”…

Their friend Duke was the speaker of the evening…

And two lovely friends of the bride presented a choreographed dance number as the whole room watched

A drummer kept the energetic beat up all night!

And there was dancing all night long…

Yes…the crowd was going wild!

We can’t wait to show you previews from the wedding day – we have so many great images that we’ll be doing 2 more chapters of the previews!  We’ll end this with 2 of our favorite shots of this beautiful couple…

The rest of the night’s images can be found  HERE.

Feel free to leave a comment and stay tuned!

Asociaţia Cultural-Artistică BEST ART şi DMB Music Records organizează spectacolul dedicat cantautorului Mihai Constantinescu intitulat “O lume minunata”. Spectacolul va avea loc duminica, 08 noiembrie 2009 – Ziua Sfintilor Arhangheli Mihail si Gavriil, la Sala Palatului, începând cu orele 19.00.Artiştii care vor evolua în cadrul acestui eveniment, sărbătorindu-l pe Mihai Constantinescu sunt: Angela Similea, Mirabela Dauer, Margareta Paslaru, Monica Anghel, Mihaela Mihai, Alexandru Arsinel, Gheorghe Gheorghiu, Andreea Balan, KEO, Gabriel Dorobantu, Anca Turcasiu, Marina Florea, Silvia Dumitrescu, Jean Paler, Simona Secrier, Raoul, Lucian Darie, Costel Lazaroiu, Maria andrei, Verona Man, Trupa Autentic, Ciro de Luca. Margareta Pâslaru va fi de asemeni  invitată în cadrul acestui spectacol după cum a declarat artistia, duminică la emisiunea Danutz SRL. Prezentarea spectacolului va fi realizată de Octavian Ursulescu. Acest eveniment este realizat cu ocazia Împlinirii de către îndrăgitul nostru cantautor Mihai Constantinescu a 40 de ani de activitate în industria muzicii usoare româneşti.

Nokia Singapore and Fashion house RAOUL teamed up for a special N97 mini limited edition.  The Pack along with N97 mini would contain RAOUL strips at the back, Calf Skin Leather Pouch which would match Leather Dangler. Also the phone would have built in Fashion Asia widget . Also one can get a $50 Gold Membership with Nokia Singapore and in addition to that if the phone is ordered before 29^th October an additional Singapore $50 voucher would be given. Available for pre order right now for 400 euro and 589 US dollar. The production right now is limited to 1000 units if successful same strategy later can be applied to other regions.

Joi, 22 octombrie, va avea loc lansarea unui nou album semnat de Mirabela Dauer. Albumul intitulat Pentru inima mea cuprinde 15 piese compuse de Raoul şi va fi lansat la Palatul Regal din Bucureşti, în sala Auditorium.  Dacă doriţi ca o piesă de pe acest album să figureze în luna noiembrie la Top Românesc, la propuneri, ne puteţi scrie la cunoscuta adresă topromanesc2009@gmail.com. Mirabela Dauer a lansat până acum zeci de albume şi discuri şi a obţinut nenumărate premii. Recent, ea a fost distinsă cu un Premiu de Excelenţă pentru întreaga activitate la Gala Gesturilor de suflet în sănătatea mintală unde interpreta a susţinut şi un recital.

Sursă: www.mirabeladauer.ro, 20 octombrie 2009

mist photography has been extremely busy these past few weeks that we haven’t had a chance to update the blog with our latest work, but we’ll try and do a few updates over the next few weeks.  |mist| was commissioned for Sheena and Raoul’s wedding celebration – 3 days of celebration in fact!  We were there for the Mehndi ceremony on Thursday, followed by the Sangeet on Friday, and of course, the wedding on Saturday.  We love to cover Indian weddings since our artistic style lends itself well to the vibrant color and atmosphere.  We also love the fact that we get to shoot several wedding dresses…so as our first installment of our previews, we’re featuring Sheena in each of her 4 dresses during the wedding festivities.

Green was the color for the Mehndi.  Sheena getting the henna patterns…

The green hue from the pool lent a magical glow to this image.  She was still waiting for the henna to dry so she was very careful with her hands

Sheena with her radiant smile

Sheena’s dress at the Sangeet the following day was a stunning pink.  We spent a few minutes getting some amazing images during a lull in the festivities.  A traditional pose with a muted color tone…

And a little bit more artistic – we just loved the way the dress contrasted with the brown background

And a fun shot that was one of our favorites from the evening!

On Saturday, Sheena wore a very elaborate red dress for the wedding ceremony

The Four Seasons always has some great scenery as backdrop to this image of Sheena with her bouquet

And a stunning close-up that could find it’s way to a fashion magazine…

And the final change for the reception…we only had a few minutes to catch her on her way to the ballroom

And we’ll close this initial preview with one another close-up…what stunning jewelry!

Sheena and Raoul are on their way to their European honeymoon but we’ll definitely have some more previews before they get back in a couple of weeks!

Stay tuned!

Nokia together with RAOUL will be launching the Nokia N97 mini RAOUL Limited Edition at the end of October. Only 1000 units will be available in Singapore only. The RAOUL limited Edition kit comes with an additional back cover with RAOUL’s signature stripes, a calf-skin leather pouch and leather dangler. The whole package will be sold in a leather-wrapped RAOUL box. A complimentary RAOUL Gold membership with S$50 credit, which can be redeemed at the next purchase is also included.

The RAOUL Limited Edition will have an exclusive Fashion Asia widget, by Nokia and F J Benjamin.

Those who pre-order before 29th Oct will  receive additional $50 Nokia voucher and $50 RAOUL voucher and pre-order can be done at any of the participating RAOUL and Nokia outlets.

More information can be found here.

Nokia N97 mini Raoul

This limited edition Nokia N97 mini comes with lots of leather and the stamp of approval from fashion plate RAOUL.

When it hits streets in Asia around the end of October the kit will include a special back battery cover with RAOUL signature stripes, a leather pouch and leather dangler. Unfortunately for cows, the whole package is sold in a big leather bound box, all for about $590.

Because the phone is only being released in Singapore, you might as just wait for the inevitable knockoff and save yourself hundreds of dollars. Still want one? Head to Asia and snatch up one of the 1,000 going on sale after October 29. [GSM Arena]

1.Ce bucurie mare in zori cand ma trezesc
Pe cerul meu e soare si soarele-l iubesc
Iubesc si luna noaptea si zilele ce trec
Imi este draga viata si vreau sa o petrec.

REF:Si-am sa iubesc ca viata e frumoasa
Si am sa cant in fieacare zi
Am sa iubesc tot ce-i frumos odata
De doua ori si cat oi mai trai
Am sa iubesc in noptile cu luna
Si-n fiecare zi din calendar
Si nu conteaza lumea ce-o sa spuna
O viata avem cu dulce si amar

1.Ce bucurie mare in zori cand ma trezesc
Pe cerul meu e soare si soarele-l iubesc
Iubesc si luna noaptea si zilele ce trec
Imi este draga viata si vreau sa o petrec.

REF:Si-am sa iubesc ca viata e frumoasa
Si am sa cant in fieacare zi
Am sa iubesc tot ce-i frumos odata
De doua ori si cat oi mai trai
Am sa iubesc in noptile cu luna
Si-n fiecare zi din calendar
Si nu conteaza lumea ce-o sa spuna
O viata avem cu dulce si amar.

Mirabela Dauer se pregăteşte pentru lansarea unui nou album care se va intitula Pentru inima mea. Albumul cuprinde 15 piese compuse de Raoul şi va fi lansat pe data de 22 octombrie. Artista a promovat deja o primă piesă de pe acest nou disc, respectiv Femeie, în braţele tale. Evenimentul va avea loc la Palatul Regal din Bucureşti, în sala Auditorium. Vom reveni cu detalii despre acest nou produs. Dacă doriţi ca o piesă de pe acest album să figureze în luna octombrie la Top Românesc, la propuneri, ne puteţi scrie la cunoscuta adresă topromanesc2009@gmail.com.

Echipa Top Românesc, 1 octombrie 2009

Mai mulţi artişti vor cânta într-un spectacol aniversar dedicat lui Mihai Constantinescu. Evenimentul va fi prezentat de Octavian Ursulescu şi va marca cei 40 de ani de carieră ai lui Mihai Constantinescu. Angela Similea, Mirabela Dauer, Margareta Pâslaru, Monica Anghel, Alexandru Arşinel, Gheorghe Gheorghiu, Andreea Balan, KEO, Gabriel Dorobantu, Anca Turcasiu, Marina Florea, Silvia Dumitrescu, Jean Paler, Simona Secrier, Raoul, Lucian Darie, Costel Lazaroiu, Maria Andrei, Verona Man, Trupa Autentic, Ciro de Luca sunt artiştii care vor cânta pentru Mihai Constantinescu pe data de 9 noiembrie la Sala Palatului din Bucureşti. Spectacolul va începe la ora 19.00 iar biletele pentru acesta pot fi deja procurate  pe siteul bilete.ro, urmând a fi ridicate după data de 6 octombrie.
Pret/bilet :
Cat. VIP : 50 lei
Cat. 1 : 35 lei
Cat. 2 : 25 lei
Cat. 3 : 20 lei

Sursă: Bilete.ro, 1 octombrie 2009

now the cat is out of the bag.

Nokia launches N97 mini Raoul Limited Edition.

And why should I care now that I’m an iphone user? Just because I was behind the team that made this!
it was a first for Raoul (and other FJ Benjamin brands, ie GAP, La Senza, Banana Republic, Guess) to be launched on phone platform, a first for Nokia to launch a fashion widget in Asia, a first for Foreign Policy to be doing the whole fashion interface design, a first for me to be even doing screen-based design commercially.

Sadly the widget now only runs on Nokia. no plans for iphone, otherwise i’d have bragged it everywhere i go.

At one extreme, this choice is an unfortunate action verb.  At the other end?  A dashing English actor.

Thanks to Corinne for suggesting Ralph as Name of the Day.

I’m not clear when we started conjugating ralph.  In the 1910s and 20s, Ralph was a Top 20 pick, a favorite akin to Nathan today.  He fell steadily through the years, plummeting after the 1970s and 80s.  (When, I suspect, Ralph morphed from merely out-of-fashion to out-of-the-question.)  In 2008 he ranked #868.  Though I wonder – how many of those Ralphs are juniors answering to R.J.?

Besides the slang, there’s Chief Wiggum’s oddball son Ralph on The Simpsons; John Goodman’s unlikely monarch in the 1991 movie King Ralph and Jackie Gleason’s legendary Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners.  Memorable characters to be sure, but none of them likely to inspire a son’s name.

But there’s also the charming Ralphie, hero of A Christmas Story. Ralph Lauren hasn’t been troubled by his less-than-debonair given name.  (Though he did drop his surname, Lifshitz.)  Ralph Waldo Emerson is about as admired as can be.

And then there’s Ralph Fiennes.

Don’t call him RALF.  He’s RAFE, thanks.  And while that might seem affected, it is legitimate.  Rádúlfr was brought to England by the Vikings; the Normans simplified it to Radulf.  The rad means counsel; the ulf, wolf.  Rafe emerged as a diminutive – and that was the spelling and pronunciation in use, along with Ralf.  Ralph came into the game only in the last 300 years or so.

If you prefer Rafe, why not use Raphael or Rafael or even, well, Rafe?  He’s artistic and angelic and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, too.  In the US, the odds of Ralph being pronounced like the actor?  They’re not great.

And yet Ralph his history:

• There’s the ninth-century Ralph/Radulf/Raoul, Bishop of Bourges, founder of monasteries.  He’s now considered a saint;
• Ralf of Mantes was an English noble in the 1050s, responsible for kicking off castle building pre-Norman invasion;
• Ralph d’Escures was a twelfth-century Archbishop of Canterbury;
• Saint Ralph Crockett was English-born, ordained in France and martyred once he returned to his native land – the year was 1588, and he’d come home to reconvert England under Henry VIII.

Head to a magazine stand in Australia, and you’ll find Ralph Magazine – something akin to Maxim.  (Maxim, of course, ranked #701 in the US last year.)

Ralph is also a surname, as is Ralphs – as in entrepreneur  and grocer George Ralphs.  Head to California, and you can pick up a loaf of bread and a quart of milk at Ralphs.  The original location in Los Angeles’ Westwood Village was photographed by Ansel Adams and is now on the National Register of Historic Places – and is no longer a grocery store.  But the chain is alive and well, and part of the Kroger family.

None of this necessarily boosts Ralph as a baby name.  But perhaps he’ll gain some traction amongst stylish parents in the UK.  Actor Matthew McFadyen – you probably remember him as Mr. Darcy, opposite Keira Knightley in 2005’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice but he’s also appeared on the BBC’s MI-5 and Frost/Nixon.  He named his daughter Maggie, and his son, Ralph. 

So that’s one bright spot for a name that has suffered much indignity in the past few decades.  I’m still not sure he’s wearable, even though there are probably a lot of Grandpa Ralphs out there who would argue otherwise.