alice in wonderland

The first-ever film version of Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland.  The 1903 film was severely damaged and restored by the British Film Institute (BFI) Archives.

"Made just 37 years after Lewis Carroll wrote his novel and eight years after the birth of cinema, the adaptation was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, and was based on Sir John Tenniel's original illustrations. In an act that was to echo more than 100 years later, Hepworth cast his wife as the Red Queen, and he himself appears as the Frog Footman. Even the Cheshire cat is played by a family pet."

green bathing suit

From December 1, 1944 in the Vogue archives.

che cossè l'amor

I discovered the fabulous Vinicio Capossela via Putumayo's collection, Italian Café, and in Che Cosè L'Amor - the album pamphlet saying that he "has been compared to Tom Waits because of his quirky creativity, use of unusual instruments, lyrics that describe complex and bizarre characters and nostalgic melodies that conjure up bygone eras."  Mr. Capossela is also a novelist, wiki reporting his lyrics "highly original" and "often inspired by literary sources such as John Fante, Geoffrey Chaucer, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and others."  From Putumayo:  "Che Cosè L'Amor (What Is Love?) deals with the meaning of love.  The impressionistic lyrics describe various unusual objects and characters, asking them their definition of love.  He asks the wind, he asks a frozen hammock blown from its gazebo, he asked a disinterested coatroom attendant and a dancing Peruvian, who tells him, 'What is love? It's like a pebble in your shoe that stings with each lazy step of the bolero.'" 

be nice or leave

A short documentary about "Dr. Bob" Schaffer, a New Orleans folk artist whose work is well known and displayed throughout the city.  Dr. Bob has been featured in many newspapers and magazines including the Smithsonian, the Times-Picayune, and Big City Rhythm and Blues-- and purchased by notables like Emmy Lou Harris and Mariah Carey.  Dr. Bob works in a 6,000 square foot Chartres Street warehouse often visited by other artists -- and where you can peruse a rich collection of signs, paintings, assemblages, found objects, and now charmed witticisms (like his familiar, "Be nice or leave.")

writing advice

With thirty-one pearly pieces of this wisdom from famous authors.  My favorite, I think, from Mr. Hemingway's typewriter:

"The first draft of everything is shit."

sautéed greens

A simple classic Sicilian dish from Simply Recipes.  Many a green will do, with pine nuts, garlic, and raisins.  For that matter, cranberries and almonds sound good, as well.

jazz swing

1959 in Vienna.  The photograph is by Volkmar K. Wentzel with National Geographic.

omar and his skyhook

An enchanting 2009 short from Doug Purver and Roadnorth - Omar and His Skyhook, styled after early silent films.

 

street fashion

This writer in red plaid.

over the rainbow

Happy Mother's Day ...

maker of monsters

Talking with and about artist Beau Dick.

associations

Paul Klee's puppets associated to Henry Darger.  In the early 1920's, he made 50 for his son Felix, 30 of which have survived.  Ptak also comments,
  
The puppets are intimate, made for his son for play, and are composed of bristle and bone and nutshells and electrical outlets and bits of gingham and cloth and wire and buttons.  Stuff from the junk drawn or whatnot box.  Klee did construct more elaborate puppets for his connection with the theatre, and of course was also a sculptor.  But I do like these little puppets, much in the same way as I enjoy the small toys made by Alexander Calder for his kids.

Charming Calder toy and circus photos here at Mochimochi Land who writes:  

When living in Paris in the 1920s, Calder created a cast of human and animal figures made of wire and scraps of other simple materials. Each of these toys could perform a trick of motion when manipulated by hand: a lion tamer snapped a whip, a dog walked around on its hind legs. Calder held entire mini circus performances in which he would get down on the floor and manipulate his modernist toys for audiences adults and children. (Back in New York, fans could book Calder’s circus through the Junior League at Saks Fifth Avenue.)

Via Mochi, the Whitney has this youtube of Calder performing his circus, though noting that seeing it in person during the 1920's must have been a vastly different experience:

*Photo credit/top, Ptak Science Books/3 of Paul Klee's surviving puppets/second, Mochimochi Land, an Alexander Calder circus toy.

yam and white bean stew

A vegetarian yam and white bean stew via Sauk River Review.

mcdonald's

Photographs by Nolan Conway of people in McDonald's.

playhouse

From The Last Reading On Earth, Ever - Playhouse, by Joseph Bates.