50 Years of Lego

When I was a little kid growing up in Brazil we played with little plastic bricks called Polly. They were nothing but Legos but with it's Brazilian licence (or copy?) name. They were made of really hard plastic, with very sharp edges and were nearly impossible to pull apart once they got stuck together. I remember having a lot of fun playing with them as I loved building things. Now Lego is celebration it's 50Th anniversary and we have a little tribute video for you to enjoy!

More Orlando, Florida

At Islands of Adventure they have this amazing area for kids called Seuss Landing. The place is chock full of incredible visual stimulation, colors everywhere, a real acid trip - not that I ever took one. It's all based on Dr. Seuss books and characters and whoever came up with the park's concept should be very proud of the work accomplished. The kid in me loved it!

Not to be outdone Universal Studios also has a great kid's area called Woody Woodpecker's Kid Zone and as you might already have guessed is all non-Disney characters (duh). Besides Woody you will see areas dedicated to Barney the purple dinosaur and Curious George, that has this awesome little landing depicted on the images below. It's a faux town center where every button you press, every rope you pull, every flap you open will squish water right on your face. The kids there (and their adults) were having a blast with all the water pistols located on the building's balconies. The piece-de-resistance happens every 15 minutes or so when two giant wood vats reach their fill and splash an amazing amount of water down below, soaking whoever happens to be standing about.

The goof-ball below got goosed by that horny little Woody, that is not so little as you can see!

So you think that the parks are all just for kids you are in for a ride. The lovely little roller coaster below is called Incredible Hulk Coaster, that takes you from zero to 40 mph in 2 seconds flat. The Hulk launches riders upward 150 ft. and reaches top speeds of 67 mph. The ride has a total of seven inversions (loops) and two subterranean trenches during the 2-minute 15-second ride. I went twice (against my will) but I have to say I loved it afterwards. You walk out of it with wobbly legs but it's totally worth the thrill!

Victoria Beckham For Marc Jacobs

Victoria Beckham shedding it all for a skin care campaign funded by Marc Jacobs. Check out this new T-shirt that you can purchase showing Posh Spice in her birthday suit. Proceeds will go towards The Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group.

“Since we moved to California I have realized how important it is to practice safe sun for myself and to keep my three boys’ skin well protected as well. “Skin cancer is a huge problem and I really wanted to help raise awareness by taking part in Marc’s initiative.”

More Pumpkin Mansion - The Office

I decided to share a little more of my "vie privée" here at Little-Pumpkins and I thought that my "office" space would be a good place to start. It's not an actual office, as I do not work from there, but it's where I keep my desk, my laptop, my books and all my inspirational thingies. It's also my den/TV/guest room, where I lounge in the evenings couch-potatoing in front of the telly. This is also my fun room, with collectable toys and very colorful high-low art. The rest of my home has a bit more conventional - though eclectic - decor, more muted and sedate.

I like things that have faces. In front of my Toshiba I keep several mugs and cups that serve as pencil holders. This is also where I have my morning coffee, read the news, answer e-mails and research posts for the blog. The red snowman mug actually has coffee inside and I bought it at Target for U$1.99 on their after-Christmas 60-70% off sale. The bunny face is also from Target and I bought it around Easter in 2005. It's meant to be a kid's plate but I use it as decor supported by a clear acrylic book stand. The pink Cheshire cat and the green Mike Wazowski (Monster's Inc) were purchased at Disney World earlier this month. The red Keith Haring-looking toothy monster I bought in Paris in 1994-95 and it's from a local artist. The skull cup is one-of-kind and I bought it in Portland, Oregon around 2004. The pair of lovely Japanese dolls were a gift from a very dear person in my life. At last, the clear Ultraman glass was gift from my sister when she was in Hong Kong or Japan, not sure now.

On top of my TV I keep a photo of Booboo, my beloved pug, along a couple of pug figurines. The smaller one I got in Provincetown, MA and the larger one is a piggy-bank that I bought in Amsterdam in 2004, I think. The bee antenna is from Booboo's first Halloween costume ever. The gnome is from Urban Outfitters and the Big Boy bobble-head is from Cape Cod also. In the background you can see a glimpse of a signed Murakami print I own.

Did I ever mention I collect pigs? Please, don't send me any as I have a box full of them that will make it to Ebay sometime soon. I will just keep the most charming ones like the selection above this book shelf. The palm tree is from Home Depot and lights up like a Christmas tree and I still have it on display as I liked it how it looked, even if the holidays are long gone. The ornaments are a mix of flocked animals that I've had since the early 90's. The velvet tiger is from a flea market in Providence, RI and didn't cost me more than US$3.00.

On top of the vitrine I keep a bunch of different figurines, very high-low once again. The Nara "Little Wanderer" is probably the most expensive thing there and the rest is a mix of Ebay finds, flea markets and gifts. The three small porcelain figurines were a gift and came from an artist out of Sao Paulo and are limited-edition. Below you see my devil figurine collection and if you look carefully you see my own picture in there inside a round frame.

On these two shelves I keep another mish-mash of odds and ends. I have lots and lots of boxes filled with toys, figurines and what-nots. It's hard to decide what to display so every so often I move it around so other things can see the light of day. I am starting to unload stuff on Ebay again so I can make room in my life again for more important things. Here you will see a group of resin female figurines I bought in Paris through the years. They are French comics characters and there is this little shop in Marais that has a great selection of such. The largest blond one is Miel, a character by Milo Manara, and she's made of porcelain. Her polka-dotted dress is flowing in the wind revealing her pulled down panties... How risque! The tallest one is a black African sorceress called Karaba and she is fierce! There are also faux food displays like cakes, pastries an ice cream sundae in the back row. The bottom shelve is a group of toy dinosaurs that I love and three Murakami stuffed dolls.

A larger view of my vitrine with my goose lamp on top.

This book shelve is next to my desk and it's just a mix of art, decor and collectable books. The gnome stool is Philippe Stark for Kartell. The side table is from a flea market, along with the lamp and the Thonet chair, that only cost me US$50.00 for the pair. You also catch a glimpse of my brown and yellow sofa and a bit of my TV dinner table.

This is my "office" full-view. The desk looks Art-Deco and was also from a yard sale in Cape Cod. The La Marie clear chair is also Stark from Kartell. The large picture is a signed limited-edition by Paul Frank and the frame is all carved by hand. The smaller pictures above are paint-by-number from Ebay and the picture shelf is from Target.

So this is where the magic all happens! Hope you liked the tour!!

Lisa Perry For Campbell Soup

Campbell is teaming up with six-time Grammy-award winner Toni Braxton - a heart disease survival herself - and designer Lisa Perry to support the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement. Perry created three exclusive Campbell's red dress designs, and America is invited to vote (I did) on its favorite by visiting GoRedWithCampbells.com from December 20, 2007 – January 30, 2008 .
For each vote cast, Campbell will donate US$1.00 to the American Heart Association (up to $100,000). The winning design will be unveiled by Braxton at the Woman's Day Red Dress Awards to kick off American Heart Month, this February.
“I grew up loving Campbell's soup and I have a strong connection to the 1960's iconic pop-art soup can image,” she said. “It is truly an honor to donate my time and talents to help Campbell raise awareness of heart disease.”

Marilyn Monroe By Bert Stern @ Galeria Estação - São Paulo

For three days in 1962 photographer Bert Stern shot one of cinema's biggest and most enigmatic icons - Marilyn Monroe - in a Los Angeles hotel suite. Unknow to both at the time this was going to be Marilyn's last photo sitting and perhaps one of her most revealing, where she shed her clothing to reveal more than mere flesh. Even after more than 45 years after her death she is still revered as Hollywood's larger-than-life screen goddess, who was unafraid to expose her vulnerability to Stern's camera, surgical scar and all.

Now at São Paulo's Galeria Estação you can view this complete sitting in the show titled "Marilyn Monroe - O Mito (The Myth)". The exhibit goes from January 26th to March 16th and if you happen to be visiting Brazil's largest city you shouldn't miss it.

Limited Edition Print By Gary Baseman

This signed limited edition print by artist Gary Baseman is titled "Open Wounds - Bunny Skull" and measures 12.5" x 12.5". Only 300 of these silk-screen prints were made & numbered, and you can order one via NOWhere Limited for US$100.00 each. I love it!!

Cute Alert: Pug With Tongue Sticking Out!

Just because baby pugs are too cute not to post about them for no particular reason...

Sex And The City - The Movie - New Promo Image

Another Carrie Bradshaw-style fashion look, by the hands of the ever so talented Patricia Fields. This image is part of the print advertising for the upcoming SATC movie and Sarah Jessica Parker looks fab in a wacky-bag-lady-is-gonna-pounce-at-you-from-behind-the pillar-look. I know for a fact that she's wearing a Burberry US$9,000.00 fur coat on the picture and I wish they had been a little more PETA conscious when choosing wardrobe for the shoot. Sorry, I think fur is an outdated status symbol and very un-politically correct, specially with all the information available on how they pretty much skin those poor animals alive. Pooh-pooh for fur!

Cute Alert: Kawaii Food Plates

This is a sure way to get the kids to eat their vegetables!

I love these kawaii-licious food plates, specially the Hello Kitty stuff, and they are making me very hungry right now. The lady with the cucumber beauty mask is award-winning material and the sleeping teddy bear above looks very yummy...

More Universal Studios Orlando

Say what you may but I had a blast during my Orlando theme park excursion. These images are all from Islands of Adventure, a connected park next to Universal Studios Orlando. Some of you may pooh-pooh it by saying it's cheesy/infantile/plebeian but the kid-in-me loved every minute of it. I was awed by all the graphics and the store & restaurant displays they had inside the park and you can guess that it's all very cartoon-based, Marvel meets Sunday comics, times 10!

The park has some amazing (and scary) rides as expected and today's new technologies makes them even more believable and exhilarating. The 4-D effects of rides like Spider Man, where you experience the feeling of a real roller-coaster thrill, wearing 3-D glasses in front of giant digital screens, startling you with strong gusts of wind , fiery heat and water sprays are too complex to explain. I really loved it!

Carmen Meets The Spartans

Carmen Electra knows a good thing when she sees one and couldn't keep her hands off the hunky leather-clad movie's cast at the premiere of "Meet The Spartans" - a new comedy-spoof of the movie 300. So jealous!

Wonder Woman, Anyone?

If you guys only knew how much stuff I've accumulated through the years... I wouldn't call myself a "pack rat" as I do have a very specific idea of what I enjoy collecting and saving, but you get to a point that all this stuff weighs you down. I keep waiting for the day that I will be able to have all my collections displayed in beautiful vitrines but that days does not seem to be around the corner. I have boxes and more boxes filled with collectable toys, most MIB (mint in box) or NRFB (never removed from box) and a lot of loose items like the ones I am starting to unload on Ebay. I've collected toys for as long as I can remember. I am mainly interested in TV and movie related toys, specially action figures and celebrity dolls, but I also enjoy many other "cluster" groups that are too many to enumerate here. As you get older your tastes change and I'd rather focus on more important things than "stuff" put away in storage boxes that I never get to see.

So if anyone is interested in acquiring a "loose" Mego 1976 Wonder Woman doll I have 3 for sale on Ebay. I realized that I really didn't need 4 WW dolls (the 4th one is MIB and not on Ebay yet) so I decided to make other people happy too. There is also a Diana Prince loose uniform that already got 2 bids as of today, and I'll be putting more stuff up for sale by the weekend. I am selling them for less than what I paid for but this is no time to get greedy, as I've bought & sold enough via Ebay through the years and have gotten plenty of amazing deals.

Happy bidding!

Christian Dior Couture Spring 2008

Christian Dior designer John Galliano is never a let down and provides Paris Couture Week with another phenomenal fashion orgasm. His inspirations were as varied as Symbolist painters, John Singer Sargent and Gustav Klimt but I can't help seeing a bit of 60's Courreges thrown into the mix as well. His colors are hypnotising and the aqua-green look above is simply amazing. The magenta confetti dress on the second picture is my favorite, but they are all breath-takingly beautiful creations and Galliano is a genius!

Via Style.com

Heath Ledger Dead at 28

I am so shocked right now! I just heard on CNN that actor Heath Ledger was found dead at his NYC apartment. There are rumors of a drug overdose, depression and prescription drugs but nothing has been confirmed yet. The Australian actor was only 28 years old and leaves a daughter with actress Michelle Williams, whom he met during filming Brokeback Mountain.

I just saw the trailer of the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight" a couple of weeks ago, which Ledger play The Joker and he was just so great! So sad...

The Pin-Up Art Of Gil Elvgren

Gil Elvgren has joined the ranks of Petty and Alberto Vargas as one of the premiere American pin-up artists...the Norman Rockwell of cheese-cake. His heroines are often caught in humorous but distressing situations. His exquisite oils of gorgeous girls-next door their skirts often blowing up to reveal lovely nylon-clad limbs rival his mentor Haddon Sundblom's "Coca-Cola" Santas for sheer nostalgic pleasure.

Elvgren looked for models with vitality and personality, and chose young girls who were new to the modelling business. He felt the ideal pin-up was a fifteen-year-old face on a twenty-year-old body, so he combined the two. An Elvgren model was never portrayed as a femme fatale. She is, rather, the girl next door whose charms are revealed in that fleeting instant when she's been caught unaware in what might be an embarrassing situation. Gusting winds and playful plants grab at her lovely, long legs. She is intruded upon as she takes a bath. Her skirts get caught in elevator doors, hung up on taps, and entangled with dog leashes. The elements conspire in divesting her of her clothing.

Via The Pin-Up Files

Demi Times Three @ V Magazine

Demi Moore photographed by Mario Testino for the new issue of V Magazine.

She was beautifully photoshop-ed into a flawless, taut, wrinkle-free creature, though she was born in 1962 and has three teenage daughters.

Let's Destroy New York: Cloverfield / I Am Legend

It was a dreary Sunday here in South Florida yesterday. The whole day was overcast, drizzly and a bit chilly - for Florida standards I mean - light jacket/long sleeve weather. What to do on such an uninspiring gray-sky-ed day-off? I went to a matinee to catch the latest disaster movie to come out here in the US - Cloverfield - produced by J.J. Abbrams, he of the gold touch behind TV's Felicity, Alias and Lost series.

I am not a disaster/action flick kind-of-guy, I might add. I deeply dislike overused special effects, explosions galore and slim plot lines, as in most blockbusters that crowd our movie screens. But there was something about Cloverfield's trailers that really instigated my curiosity and made me want to go watch it. I don't go see movies as often as I should/would like for several reasons (laziness, lack of company, etc) so when I make it to the local mega-plex I want to watch something that will blow my socks off. Cloverfield did not disappoint me, actually I liked it a lot. This is no Godzilla movie, by the way - no goofy Matthew Broderick running around in this one. I don't want to give away too much about the plot line so I will just mention the basics not to spoil it to anyone that might go watch it in the big screen.
The first 20 something minutes of the movie are spent on a going away party being thrown for the main character, who is soon to move to Japan. Big Lower Manhattan New York loft, tons of young hipsters, plenty of small talk, some relationship drama, blah blah blah. The whole party is being filmed on a hand-held cam and it's film will be a parting gift from the hostess to her fiance's brother that is going away. Suddenly a huge loud thump outside, lights go off, earth shakes. They all rush to the roof to witness a huge tanker, that just capsized on the not too distant harbor, explode into a meteor-like rain of flaming debris. As they rush to the streets buildings start to crumble, a New York tourist icon is decapitated and from afar they catch a glimpse of what's causing all this mayhem. And that's what is so cool about Cloverfield (the title refers to the Army's case-name for this occurrence), all you catch are dark glimpses of this "creature(s)" that terrorize the city. What is scary is what you can't see. This shaky-shaky flick is all filmed on the said video cam, a first-person view of the disaster. We see what the main four characters get to see and the effect is simply amazing. It is full of jump cuts, quick editing, blurry dark scenes and all that add to the sense of claustrophobia and panic that they/we experience. Sure there were a couple of "say whats??" during the movie (high heels on the rubble, that 50 plus floor hike) but nothing that really took away from it. I though the film was brilliant and loved it all the way to the (not so typical Hollywood) end.

Now, on the other hand...let's talk about "I Am Legend", that I saw 3 weeks ago but didn't get a chance to "review" here at Little-Pumpkins:

"I Am Legend" is another movie that it's great trailer made me want to rush to the theater to watch it. Just like Cloverfield's, IAL's trailer was all mystery, dark shadows, heavy breathing and despite Will Smith being the hero guy - not a plus for me - it intrigued me a lot.

What a let down this was... I should have listened to my instincts about Will Smith, great actor and all, but not a star that headlines movies that I enjoy watching. Men In Black is an exception, by the way, also a comedy. He is too "Will Smith" for me to really care for his character. Too Hollywood hero, too "I will fight till the end", too full of morals, too American I hate to say it. The problem here is that this movie abused of the special effects and was great all the way to the point where we actually get to clearly see the "creatures". Once again I will try not to spoil the "plot" here but this is a tough one.

We are back in New York City, this time it's in 2012. The city has been evacuated and quarantined after a man-made virus wipes out 90% of the world's population. Smith's character - an Army scientist - is part of the 1% that is immune to the air-borne virus and survived the plague. He must hunt for food and gather supplies during day light, with the aid of his dog Sam, as nightfall brings out what now the infected human population (and animals) have become - extremely aggressive vampire-like beings that are hyper-sensitive to light. Smith must take shelter during that time and is still in hopes of finding an antidote for the virus.

This was a very scary movie and I jumped my seat several times in the first 40 minutes or so (I actually cover my face when it gets scary in movies...). When it's all dark and mysterious, you know the enemy is lurking out there and you can't see where it is or WHAT it is. That is what makes a great scary movie! Now, the moment that you realize that the zombies (oops) are just fake-looking vengeful CGI monsters I lost all interest and respect for this movie.

Nah, didn't believe it at all. Thumbs way down.

Muslin Women Can Jump

Who says Muslin women can't have fun?

I took these shots at the Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, FL, a couple of weeks ago and you can clearly see that Muslin women can jump! I must confess that I was a little weary of snapping paparazzi-style pictures of complete strangers, as you never know how they might react (if they catch you). I wasn't meaning to be disrespectful but it was such a great shot that I had to document it. Sometimes you have all these preconceived ideas of how some people and cultures are supposed to behave and it's cool to realize that people are all the same in the end, despite different habits, costumes or religious practices.

She has clearly having a great time and they didn't put a jihad on me!

New Ann Demeulemeester Shop in Seoul

Ann Demeulemeester is a graduate of Antwerp's Royal Academy of Arts, that along side Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkenbergs, Walter Von Beirendonck and Marina Yee formed the Antwerp Six, an influential group of young Belgian fashion designers whose distinct vision established Antwerp as a notable location for avant-garde design in the mid 80's.

Her new shop in Seoul, Korea - after Antwerp, Tokyo and Hong Kong - was designed by local architectural firm Mass Studies and it's a vision of the incorporation of nature and design.

The building is comprised of one subterranean level and three floors above. The shop is located on the first floor, with a restaurant above and a Multi-Shop in the basement. Landscaping of dense bamboo form a wall along each of the remaining three sides that border neighboring sites. Inside the first floor shop, undulating dark brown exposed concrete forms an organically shaped ceiling. Round columns on the edges of the space continue the ceiling surface while providing the necessary structural support. The outside building material is primarily a geo-textile planted with a herbaceous perennial to form a living facade, while the other three sides that face bamboo borders are clad in steel sheets.

Via Yatzer

Universal's Classic Monsters Cafe

I took these pictures at the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando last week. This is a small fast-food kiosk selling hot-dogs and stuff like that, but what makes it extra cool is the decor on top of it. This rotating display features the classic Universal Studios movie monster icons like the Monster of Frankenstein, The Werewolf and the Creature From the Black Lagoon enticing our stomachs with yummy carnival food offerings. I actually have a small collection (one of many) of limited-edition classic movie moster figurines and dolls.

Love it!

No Golden Globes? AVN Awards Will Be!

So no Golden Globes this year. No red carpet, no celebrities, no gowns... Because of the on-going writer's strike Hollywood might suffer another big loss soon: the much anticipated Academy Awards - or The Oscars - might not take place this year.

But don't be sad just because you didn't get to see Kiera Knightley in Chanel or Charlize Theron in Dior! The AVN - Adult Video News - Awards just supplied enough "stars-in-gowns" to sate your fashion addiction until this damn strike is finally over. OK, they are not really "stars" of the same caliber of Angelina, Halle or Renee but they are stars in the (dirty) mind of many fans too. Sure they do porn and their scripts do not require a lot of memorizing. Actually they don't even need to go to acting school as they immediately graduate to porn-star, not requiring to pay their dues as a porn-actress first. The fashion choices range from demure to slutty to super-slutty and somehow I could see some of the more sparkly gowns on the Daytime Emmy's or the Country Music Awards too.

My favorite brunet beauty is Tera Patrick (top 2 pictures) in her satin lace-up front dress, just a gorgeous girl. Jenna Jameson is looking scarier every time she shows up in the press lately. She is just loosing too much weight, looking haggard and definitely not too pretty. I actually like her leopard-print dress but I would have nixed the train she's dragging behind her. Mary Carey is one kooky-kook girl and I love her for that. Her black dress is a so-so choice but it's her personality that makes her so fun to watch and FYI, I never watched any of her other "work". She's currently on American TV in VH1's "Celebrity Rehab", that - you guessed - is about C-list celebs facing their addiction problems. In the first episode she tried to smuggle dildos and porn tapes into the facility! Her fellow rehab pals include Brigitte Nielsen, Joanie Laurer (ex-wrestler Chyna), a Baldwin brother and American Idol finalist Jessica Sierra, among others. Needless to say I had to watch the second episode last night too, that was not about giggles this the time as reality can also be very sad to watch.

Via Egostatic

New "Sex And The City - The Movie" Poster

This is the new poster for the upcoming "Sex And The City - The Movie", opening in US theaters on May 30Th. The full cast returns for a new romp in New York City and I just can't wait to see it! I've posted a few articles on the new movie, including several wardrobe pictures but nothing compares to the real thing. In the new poster we see lovely Sarah Jessica Parker in her usual runway strut in a hot pink dress, hair to the wind. The slogan says "Get Carried Away", don't you just love that?

I hope to see more versions of the poster too as the other girls deserve to be seen too!

It's A Small World After All

Take the legendary boat ride around the globe on this musical tour of nations!

Hundreds of international dolls sing and dance to the famous "it's a small world" medley!

But after it's over, just try to get that tune out of your head...

The ride features a multitude of audio-animatronic figures in the style of children of the world singing the ride's title track which has a theme of global peace. The little boats travel through a tunnel into the show building, which is much larger than the facade, on a 15 minutes world tour. About 400 of the cutest dolls ever will charm you with their wooden-stiff movements, very 1960's, through a very psychedelic-looking Willi Wonka world.

In 1956, Walt Disney attended a conference, along with many other notable celebrities of the time, at the invitation of President Eisenhower. The conference was about founding a national organization to help promote world peace through international civilian travel. Inspired by the ideas from the meeting, Disney returned to California and set to work, creating the It's A Small World ride at Disneyland.
Like several other Disneyland attractions, "It's a Small World" originated with the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. After the fair closed, the ride was transferred to Disneyland along three other attractions from the fair that year. The attraction's design was by Mary Blair, who was also an art director on several Disney animated features (including Cinderella and Peter Pan). Like many Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions, scenes and characters were designed by Marc Davis, while his wife, Alice Davis, designed the outfits of the dolls. Many of the dolls were created by Joyce Carlson who is honored with a shop window along the Magic Kingdom's Main Street U.S.A. The name of the ride was originally "children of the world". When Walt Disney demonstrated it to songwriters, the Sherman Brothers, the ride's soundtrack featured numerous national anthems all playing at once. Disney said, "I need one song." In response, the brothers wrote what would arguably be one of the catchiest songs ever: It's a Small World.

Disneyland (California) plans to temporarily close the ride in January 2008 for 10 months to refurbish the ride as well as deepen the boat channel due to multiple layers of fiberglass repair patches that have caused boats to bottom out and get stuck during portions of the ride. It will also feature the original boats, a fresh coat of paint, and the original spires. Despite rumors to the contrary, Disneyland does not blame the issue on overweight tourists (yeah, right).

It's a Small World is also a feature ride in all Disney's parks around the world, with small changes from place to place. Very Kawaii!!

The Orlando Chronicles

The first time I went to the theme parks in Orlando was in the 80's and so not to date myself I will keep mum about how old I was at the time, but let's say "early" teens. I had all these great memories of Disney World, Sea World and several other parks I had been taken to in this excursion trip. My sister and I were abroad for the first time and without parental supervision, though the tour guide was supposed to keep an eye on us and on other 30 kids or so in the same group. We had a blast and as good Brazilian tourists we shopped like crazy, buying all these silly souvenirs, tee shirts and related dust magnets.

Now, many years later I return to this magical land of illusion to relive those wonderful memories of a time gone by. Disney's Magic Kingdom remains exactly the same as I remember, not a topiary out of place. With the exception of a few new rides and Mickey's Toon Town the layout remains the same as in Walt Disney's 1970 opening day. The place seemed smaller than in my teen year's memory as we were able to cruise most of the park's rides in a few short hours. Maybe it was because I skipped several of the ones that were a bit too infantile for me now (20 some odd years later) or because I was more focused on what I wanted to experience. They also have this great "Fast Pass" system that allows you to "book" a ride a couple of hours in advance, skipping 40 minute waiting time standing in line for Space Mountain, a in-the-dark roller coaster, and other popular rides. I remember the long lines that Disney was known for and that was not my idea of a fun time.

I won't bore you with all little details but will force-feed you some lovely pictures I took there this past weekend.

I love the little girl in the shot above. She is covering her ears during one of the many musical numbers that take place throughout the day in front of Cinderella's castle . The music is loud as it's all happening outdoors and she looks so cute dressed as a little pink princess sitting on her dad's shoulders. At Disney they have this kid's beauty salon called Bibbity Bobbity Boutique that transforms little girls in head-to-toe Disney princess make-overs. It's so cute to see all these made-up Jon Bennets, covered in face glitter and sporting adorable Snow White dresses or Jasmine's harem pants! And they are all over the park! I am sure that this make-over costs a pretty penny because the outfits, hair and make-up were quite elaborate. Love it!

Missing in Action

I must apologize for being a no-show for these past couple of weeks. I had a very special out-of-town guest staying with me and my lack of good time management skills made Little-Pumpkins get neglected for longer than I wished. It's tough to manage a full-time job plus a very dear house guest - with whom I wanted to enjoy some outdoors time - so something had to give. I did get to travel around my new home-state of Florida a bit and took many cool pictures that I soon shall share here at the blog. I did some sight-seeing too and ventured out to learn more about the "hidden wonders" of the "Sunshine State". Please forgive me for my absence as I am back in Pumpkin business!

George Nelson's 1947 Ball Clock

I've coveted one of these wall clocks for as long as I can remember but the salty US$300.00 price tag always kept me away. I love the colorful ping-pong looking balls sticking out of it and it would look fab at the Pumpkin mansion but I'll keep it in my wish list a little longer...

Available via The Conran Shop

Speedo By Comme des Garçons

Brazil usually comes to mind when one thinks swim wear fashions, after so many beach trends hailed from the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana in the past decades. The warm weather, the beautiful paradisiac beaches and the sexy locals make it the perfect inspirational mix for Brazilian designers but the new wave in swim wear seems to be coming from the unlikeliest of places. Not Iran, Japan! One of the most surprising partnerships in recent memory, Comme des Garçons' designer Rei Kawakubo joined forces with swim wear powerhouse Speedo for an unexpected capsule collection. Prices range from £9.00 for her logo swim cap to £55.00 for a women's one piece, not bad at all considering how much her own label retails for. The pieces are definitely on the basic/functional side - no 3-legged trunks to be found anywhere in sight - and surprisingly logo-heavy for an usually minimalist designer.

I still find hard to envision Ms Kawakubo, a creator of many challenging and cerebral avant-garde fashions, splashing about in a Speedo maillot of her own design, but what do I know?

Available at Dover Street Market

Little-Pumpkins' Top 10 Posts of 2007

It seems like yesterday that I started blogging away about whatever comes to mind and Little-Pumpkins was created. I always enjoyed reading other people's blogs, often commenting on cool articles and even submitting unsolicited post ideas to my favorite ones. Sometimes they would get picked up, sometimes not. Then one day I thought to myself, why not do my own blog, with my ideas, aesthetics and what-nots? If I thought something was cool maybe I'd find other people that felt the same way. And that's the Little-Pumpkins story! Touching story, no?

So after a few months of blogging, something that I do for love (clearly not money), I am amazed of how some stories really generate traffic to the site. The one thing in common that my top 10 posts have is the titillating idea of sex. I realized early on that anything that suggested nudity or sex, specially when combined with "celebrity" was a sure traffic booster, not that I do that gratuitously. Little-Pumpkins is not a gossip blog, as there are already way too many sites re-heating the same lame stories and that's just not my bag. When I do post celebrity pictures is because there is something more to it (in my mind) than just Paris sporting a new dress or Lindsay toting a new boyfriend around. Maybe it's a cool photo spread, or a magazine cover that came out great (or not) or just someone I admire for whatever reason. This is not a "sex" blog either, posting nudie pictures just so horny teenagers and bald middle-aged men can get their kicks. If I see a sexy image I like, and that's so subjective to taste and opinion, why not post it if there is a context? I keep the blog somewhat SFW because I believe the allusion to sex & nudity far more appealing than the explicit debauchery, that is so readily available online. Trust me, I am no prude! ;-)

So to make a long story short here are the 10 most click-generating posts of 2007 at Little-Pumpkins, via direct links or Web searches:

#10 - Heidi Klum @ Max Magazine - 584 clicks - Posted Nov/27/07

The Project Runway presenter bared all in this spread at German's Max Magazine and people were anxious to see it.

#09 - Tom Ford Nude - 654 clicks - Posted Oct/10/07

That was a "hidden" post showing Mr Ford's booty and was linked to another post coming up on the list. I made it a separate link for the NSFW crowd.

#08 - Jesus Stencil Art - 664 clicks - Posted

Besides being a cool image the story was picked up by the very popular Andrew Sullivan's blog and that gave us a big boost. Thanks again Andrew!

#07 - Ms Olympia 2007 - 774 clicks - Posted Oct/03/07

This one actually surprised me with the traffic it generated considering that it was not necessarily very original material but I guess photos of muscle-y girls in bikinis always have their appeal.

#06 - The Pin-Up Art Of Bill Ward - 788 clicks - Posted Oct/25/07

This is actually one of my favorites as you might already know that I love anything pin-up related. I found the images online while researching something else and I am glad that other people liked them too.

#05 - Ricky Martin Tattoos - 791 clicks - Posted Oct/07/07

Mr. Puerto Rico's tattoos rilled a couple of commenters with this misspelled tattoo and faux-Buddhist leanings. I just thought the picture was hot, so I posted it.

#04 - New Tom Ford Ad By Terry Richardson - 1,025 clicks - Posted Sep/24/07

#03 - Tom Ford's Naked Photo @ Out Magazine - 1,223 clicks - Posted Oct/10/07

#02 - Tom Ford's Forbidden Ad By Terry Richardson - 1,385 clicks - Posted Oct/12/07

This is the fourth appearance of Mr Ford on my Top 10 list and that makes him a very intriguing person, or people just want to see his ass. He is a provocateur who knows very well that sex sells and he's not shy about using it on his risque ad campaigns.

#01 - Naked Britney Spears Figurine - 9,220 clicks - Posted Dec/13/07

Wow, that was a shocker for me!! Almost 10,000 people clicked to see Britney Spears' little plastic cha-cha and that was huge for the blog. The story was picked up by several sites around the world and in 2 weeks Little-pumpkins was flooded with new traffic and readers. I found the images when doing another story on toys (that I love) and had to post them. Thanks Britney!