Photo by Berenice Abbott. This building built in 1909 is still there, an extravaganza of Victorian and Moorish elements. Alwyn Court, 174-182 West 58th Street and 911-917 Seventh Avenue, Manhattan (1938).
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Alwyn Court Apartments
Photo by Berenice Abbott. This building built in 1909 is still there, an extravaganza of Victorian and Moorish elements. Alwyn Court, 174-182 West 58th Street and 911-917 Seventh Avenue, Manhattan (1938).
Berenice Abbott (II)
Abbott took this eerie photo of a Victorian mansion, probably about to be demolished. Wheelock Mansion, 661 West 158th Street, Manhattan (1937). At the NYPL Digital Gallery.
Berenice Abbott
There is a treasure trove of photos by Berenice Abbott in the NYPL Digital Gallery. This is Murray Hill Hotel, from Park Avenue and 40th Street, Manhattan (ca. 1935).
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
NYPL Digital Gallery
I just discovered this amazing gallery of illustrations. It's clearly worth many visits. This is an illustration of Mytilus stagnalis by James Sowerby. I guess that means mussels. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org
PocketMod
This is a cute idea. Very low tech. This website has presdesigned pages to create a little paper PDA, then you print it (1 page only) and follow folding instructions. Voila, you have a little organizer. http://pocketmod.com
Monday, September 25, 2006
Jan Ekels II
This charming painting is at the Rijksmuseum. Writer Trimming His Pen. www.rijksmuseum.nl
Friday, September 22, 2006
Bizarre news story
From San Diego Union-Tribune. Edited for space.
Couple arrested in rock-throwing siege
By Kristina Davis
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 20, 2006
SAN MARCOS – Nearly every night for a month, fist-sized rocks and pieces of brick rained down on three homes along Via Camellia.
The barrage shattered windows, dented family cars and chipped stucco, not to mention scaring residents who were afraid of getting pelted by just stepping outside.
...
A married couple who had repeatedly complained to deputies about damage to their home and who claimed to have been hit by a rock were not victims after all, authorities say.
Jesus Maldonado, 25, and his wife, Krystal Maldonado, 23, were taken into custody after deputies caught a man and woman launching rocks at their neighbors' homes from their backyard, detective Sgt. Tom Bulow said.
...
Neighbors, including the Maldonados, would help walk the streets in the middle of the night looking for the vandals, residents said.
“But then Jesus would say he had to go inside and check on his kids, and it would be when he was gone that they'd get hit again,” George Torres said yesterday.
It wasn't until Deputy Victor David began to notice that the Maldonados didn't seem as concerned as their neighbors about their vehicles being struck that his suspicions were aroused.
On Sunday, during a surveillance of the home, the deputy's hunch was validated, Bulow said.
“We were really shocked,” Heather Groom said about the Maldonados' arrests. “When we'd get hit at night, they'd come running over and ask, 'Did you get hit?' We would've never suspected them.”
The motivation behind the attacks is unclear, and theories abound.
Jesus Maldonado told investigators that a neighbor made an inappropriate sexual comment about his wife, Bulow said.
...
Kristina Davis: (760) 476-8233; kristina.davis@uniontrib.com
Couple arrested in rock-throwing siege
By Kristina Davis
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 20, 2006
SAN MARCOS – Nearly every night for a month, fist-sized rocks and pieces of brick rained down on three homes along Via Camellia.
The barrage shattered windows, dented family cars and chipped stucco, not to mention scaring residents who were afraid of getting pelted by just stepping outside.
...
A married couple who had repeatedly complained to deputies about damage to their home and who claimed to have been hit by a rock were not victims after all, authorities say.
Jesus Maldonado, 25, and his wife, Krystal Maldonado, 23, were taken into custody after deputies caught a man and woman launching rocks at their neighbors' homes from their backyard, detective Sgt. Tom Bulow said.
...
Neighbors, including the Maldonados, would help walk the streets in the middle of the night looking for the vandals, residents said.
“But then Jesus would say he had to go inside and check on his kids, and it would be when he was gone that they'd get hit again,” George Torres said yesterday.
It wasn't until Deputy Victor David began to notice that the Maldonados didn't seem as concerned as their neighbors about their vehicles being struck that his suspicions were aroused.
On Sunday, during a surveillance of the home, the deputy's hunch was validated, Bulow said.
“We were really shocked,” Heather Groom said about the Maldonados' arrests. “When we'd get hit at night, they'd come running over and ask, 'Did you get hit?' We would've never suspected them.”
The motivation behind the attacks is unclear, and theories abound.
Jesus Maldonado told investigators that a neighbor made an inappropriate sexual comment about his wife, Bulow said.
...
Kristina Davis: (760) 476-8233; kristina.davis@uniontrib.com
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Coney Island of the Mind
I've never been to Coney Island. An American, noir, surreal place. The names of the amusements parks are evocative: "Dreamland", "Luna Park", "Steeplechase". There was once a PBS special on Coney Island that I've never seen repeated. Did I imagine it?
Magical Places - El Escorial, Spain
IMG_1236
Originally uploaded by Mike Connelly.
Royal monastery...photo blogged from flickr. Click on link to see the photographer's other photos.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Jacob van Ruisdael
These paintings can be viewed very large at the Rijksmuseum website. They are gorgeous. http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/index.jsp
Monday, September 18, 2006
Art of the Congo
Pwo Mask, pre 1950, Chokwe; Democratic Republic of Congo, wood, cloth, raffia, glass beads, cowries. At Orlando Museum of Art, Florida. http://www.omart.org
Edouard Duval-Carrié
He is a contemporary Haitian artist. I know nothing about him, to tell the truth. http://www.edouard-duval-carrie.com
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Emergency!
I don't remember if I already put Randy Mantooth aka Johnny Gage on here. It doesn't matter because I will probably have to include him more than once.
Republished!
This book I remember from childhood has been published again and is available at amazon.com. Hurrah!! My older cousin owned it and I envied it greatly. Golden Book of Fairy Tales, translated by Marie Ponsot and illustrated by Adrienne Segur.
Friday, September 08, 2006
The Diary of a Nobody
From Wikipedia: The diary is that of Mr Charles Pooter, a lower middle-class man, a city clerk, with modest social pretensions. Other characters include his wife Carrie (Caroline), his son Lupin, his friends Mr Cummings and Mr Gowing, and Lupin's unsuitable fiancée, Daisy. The humour comes from Pooter's unconscious gaffes and self-importance, as well as the snubs he receives from his supposed betters. This is a very funny book, originally serialized in Punch in 1888-89. I didn't want it to end, but unfortunately, it did. It is also free as an audiobook from Librivox.org, very entertainingly narrated by Martin Clifton.
Alfred Rethel
This is from a wonderful series of woodcuts done in the old Germanic style of the 1500's. This is Der Tod als Erwurger, ca. 1885. It can be seen larger at the Fine Arts of San Francisco ImageBase. http://famsf.org/
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Mrs Caudle's Curtain Lectures
"Curtain Lectures delivered in the course of Thirty Years by Mrs. Margaret Caudle, and suffered by Job, her Husband." The curtain refers to curtains hanging around the bed as Mrs Caudle nags and scolds her downtrodden husband. This is a satirical work from 1846 by Douglas William Jerrold, published in Punch magazine. It is public domain and available on the web to read. It is hysterical. http://www.hereweare.net/CAUDLE/CAUDLEHOME.htm
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb often played sophisticated, urbane, sardonic, characters who jousted verbally and never lost a battle of wits. He was a queen, yet dignified. He played Mr. Belvedere in several hilarious movies and he had an unforgettable part in the noir classic, "Laura".
Food loves - Spaghetti
Spaghet.
Originally uploaded by vidalia_11.
I could probably eat spaghetti every day, no problem. Especially with meat sauce or meatballs...
Monday, September 04, 2006
Peaceful
Peaceful
Originally uploaded by vidalia_11.
I am absolutely luxuriating in the peace and quiet! Happy Labor Day!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Toots Hibbert
Toots and the Maytals are a classic reggae band. Toots has to be pushing 60-something by now. His performances are soulful, gospel-tinged and very danceable. I saw Toots and the Maytals one time - it was impossible to remain seated during their performance.
Bizarre news story
Omeed Aziz Popal's family, worried about his recent mental breakdowns and erratic behavior, tried to keep an eye on him all the time.
But Tuesday morning, relatives and authorities say, the automotive worker from Fremont slipped away -- pulling a trick on his mother and sister that got them out of his sport utility vehicle, then speeding off on a hit-and-run rampage that killed one man in Fremont and injured at least 19 people in San Francisco.
On Wednesday, San Francisco prosecutors charged Popal with 18 counts of attempted murder for crimes that police said he committed because he "just wanted to."
This guy was paranoid schizophrenic and had been hospitalized several times - the family admitted that they never left him alone. However, his mother and sister were easily tricked into leaving the vehicle, so that he was able to bolt back into it and go on a rampage. His family, knowing of his mental illness, also arranged for his marriage to some unsuspecting woman in Afghanistan! What were they thinking?!
He was very angry that the family wasn't allowing him to visit Afghanistan alone to see his bride. Basically, he was a two-year-old in an adult body, who had a deadly tantrum.
See full story at San Francisco Chronicle: www.sfgate.com
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