AP Photo/Richard Drew, Stephen Chernin

In 2004, opera diva, Deborah Voigt was fired for being too big to fit in a little black dress for a role in Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. Fast forward four years later and Voigt shed some pounds - nay - A LOT of pounds and now she is going to be performing in the same production she got fired from.

What a way to turn the tables! In your face opera snobs!

Remember a while back when I did that post with a bunch of artists “connected” at the feet for Converse’s Century celebration?

Well, there are some new peeps who decided to jump into some classic Chucks and offer their artistic voice to the best sneaker brand in the world.

As an added bonus, Pharrell Williams, N.E.R.D., Santogold and Julian Casablancas recorded a music track called “My Drive Thru” that is totally free and available at Converse.com on June 10!

P.S. Kid Sister is fierce

If you haven’t read my Asian tattoo article in the paper today, then I guess you didn’t hear my latest fashion purchase. It’s kind of expensive. It’s stylish. It’s permanent. It’s a tattoo.

Tattoo artist, Oey from Sacred Tattoo in Oakland permanently marks my arm. I am not in pain at all. Photo credit: Chip Chipman

I’ve been thinking about getting another tattoo for a while. I already have one on my left arm and it says “Di-no” in Baybayin.

Let me back up a bit…

Baybayin is an ancient Filipino script used before the Philippines was colonized by Spain. Like many Asian writing systems, there are a series of characters representing different sounds, etc…etc…

Okay, so where was I?

So yeah, I wanted to get another tattoo and have debating on what to put on my body. Forever.

Luckily during my research on this story, I found Christian Cabuay, founder of PinoyTattoos.com. He lives in Walnut Creek and is one of the very few fluent in Baybayin.

Christian Cabuay and his Buddha tattoo - it’s one of many tatts that he has. Photo credit: Chip Chipman

After interviewing him for my story and a bunch of consultation emails, he designed a Baybayin tattoo that says Ti agmúla, agápit. In Ilocano (a Filipino dialect), it translates to “He who sows, reaps.”

That’s pretty deep, huh?

A couple of days later, I interviewed Oey, the owner and tattoo guru at Sacred Tattoo in Oakland. I asked if he would be willing to permanently ink my skin and he happily said, “Come on in on Saturday!”

So I did.

Oey, owner of Sacred Tattoo in Oakland. Photo credit: Chip Chipman

I have this small fear of needles…and blood…and pain. But I also have this fear of tattoo parlors. They are kind of intimidating. It’s like I’m a soc walking into the greasers hangout in “The Outsiders.”

Dee - the resident piercing maven at Sacred Tattoo. Photo credit: Chip Chipman

But as soon as I stepped into Sacred Tattoo I heard some top notch hip-hop music - and none of that bullcorn they play on the radio and I got comfortable immediately. The people were very friendly and welcoming in the shop lined with menacing tattoo art and rock n’ roller-ish paraphernalia. Oey wasted no time in getting started on my tattoo.

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As I was sifting through my pile of yet-to-be-transcribed audio files, I was excited to come across my interview with Howard Berger (pictured left), makeup and creature creator extraordinaire of “The Chronicles of Narnia” franchise at Wondercon earlier this year.

I had the chance to see “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and it was a joy - but I do miss Mr. Tumnus. Nonetheless, ever since I saw the movie I can’t stop proclaiming my faux citizenship in the wonderous world of Narnia.

Berger has been in the business for years doing the makeup effects with his team at K.N.B. EFX Group Inc. He has done everything from the blood gushing gore of “The Hills Have Eyes” (the remake) to the enigmatic surrealism of “The Cell”. He’s even nabbed a couple of awards (an Academy Award and a BAFTA to be exact).

Here’s how our conversation went down:

What process did you go through in translating such fantastic characters on the pages of C.S. Lewis’s novels on to the big screen?

It’s a big order. It’s tough because you want to be able to bring to life what people have in their mind. I wanted to created all the characters that our director Andrew Adamson had in his mind when he was a child and read “Chronicles of Narnia.” I felt that if I could do that, I would be very successful. I also utilized my kids a lot. I talked to them about how they saw the characters. They were a great point of reference because they don’t have any preconceived notions. They don’t say, “Make it more like this movie.” You get that more when you are working with a production committee. We had very good source material because the descriptions are vivid and there are illustrations. We also had Douglas Lewis, who is C.S. Lewis’s stepson, as a point of reference. There’s a huge design period that went on for a really long time and once we found those characters, we started to do all the test make-up and building things.

A centaur from “Prince Caspian”

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