Labradoodle puppy

Cute!!

English Country Cottage

October bats

Aren't they cute? From site Bibliodyssey (in links list).

Colette Calascione

Swimmer (1998). Her paintings are surrealist riffs on classical and old-school surrealist art (e.g. Max Ernst). Very nice paintings.

http://calascione.com/index.htm

Neptune and Amphitrite

neptune and amphitrite
Originally uploaded by heavenuphere.

This beautiful mosaic is very large and decorated a wall at Herculaneum. (from flickr)

Theater Poster (c. 1894)

Image at NYPL Digital Gallery.

For Annie [1849]

FOR ANNIE
E.A. Poe

Thank Heaven! — the crisis —
The danger is past;
And the lingering illness
Is over at last —
And the fever called "Living"
Is conquered at last.
Sadly, I know, I am
Shorn of my strength,
And no muscle I move,
As I lie at full length: —
But no matter! — I feel
I am better at length.

And I rest so composedly
Now, in my bed,
That any beholder
Might fancy me dead —
Might start at beholding me,
Thinking me dead.

The sickness — the nausea —
The pitiless pain —
Have ceased, with the fever
That maddened my brain —
With the fever called "Living"
That burned in my brain.

The moaning and groaning —
The sighing and sobbing —
Are quieted now; with,
The horrible throbbing
At heart: — oh, that horrible,
Horrible throbbing!

And ah, of all tortures
That torture the worst
Has abated — the terrible
Torture of thirst
For the napthaline river
Of Glory accurst. —
I have drank of a water
That quenches all thirst: —

Of a water that flows,
With a lullaby sound,
From a spring but a very few
Feet under ground —
From a cavern not very far
Down under ground.

And ah! let it never be
foolishly said
That my room it is gloomy
And narrow my bed;
For man never slept
In a different bed —
And, to sleep, you must slumber
In just such a bed.

My tantalized spirit here
Blandly reposes,
Forgetting, or never
Regretting, its roses —
Its old agitations
Of myrtles and roses.

For now, while so quietly
Lying, I fancy
A holier odor about me,
of pansy —
A rosemary odor
Commingled with pansies —
With rue and the beautiful
Puritan pansy.

And so I lie happily
Bathing in many
A dream of the love
And the beauty of Annie —
Drowned in a bath
Of the tresses of Annie.

She tenderly kissed me —
She fondly caressed —
And then I fell gently
To sleep on her breast —
Deeply to sleep from the
Heaven of her breast.

When the light was extinguished,
She covered me warm,
And she prayed to the angels
To keep me from harm —
To the queen of the angels
To shield me from harm.

And I lie so composedly
Now, in my bed,
(Knowing her love)
That you fancy me dead —
And I rest so contentedly
Now in my bed,
(With her love at my breast)
That you fancy me dead —
That you shudder to look at me,
Thinking me dead: —

But my heart it is brighter
Than all of the many
Stars of the Heaven —
Sparkles with Annie —
It glows with the thought
Of the love of my Annie —
With the thought of the light
Of the eyes of my Annie.


------------------------

[Annie was Nancy Locke Heywood Richmond. Poe and her closest friends always called her Annie, a name she adopted legally after her husband's death in 1873. In a letter of March 23, 1849, Poe tells Annie Richmond, "I think the lines 'For Annie' (those I now send) much the best I have ever written."]

From E.A. Poe Society of Baltimore website: http://www.lfchosting.com/eapoe/works/index.htm

Liam's Images From Old Books

This person has scanned a lot of images from antique books, including their covers. Really great stuff.
http://www.fromoldbooks.org/

Autumn

Mountain Birches // Colour
Originally uploaded by laBolstad.

Beauty of fall.

It's October

A Dream Within A Dream
E.A. Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow --
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand --
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep -- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Holy Family

Muenster.
Originally uploaded by Marcel van Gunst.

Generate personalized notepaper

This is pretty neat. I love low-tech things like this.

Harvard instructor Simson Garfinkel offers a web service which creates custom lined notepaper PDF documents for download.

The PDF includes your name and an "if lost please return to" note, a place to record page number, a small monthly calendar, and an optional notes summary box. Choose the font family of the text and whether or not the paper should have punch holes for perfect binder filler. This is also a great way to recycle printer paper at the office - print out notepaper on the blank, unused side.

http://www.simson.net/notepaper/index.cgi

Alfonso Ossorio

This painting, Double Portrait (1944) immediately struck me as surrealistic without any pretensions. The artist was obviously disturbed.

This elegant, hallucinatory drawing combines grotesque anatomical fragments, realistic portraiture, and surrealistic fantasy. Ossorio's state of mind can only be described as tormented, induced by his experiences during World War II, a recent divorce, and his uneasy acknowledgment of homosexuality. Double Portrait is based specifically on his memories of Camp Ellis, Illinois, where he suffered a life threatening accident and also worked as a medical illustrator, documenting injured soldiers and prisoners of war. (from Smithsonian website)

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám - Elihu Vedder

From the moment of its publication, Elihu Vedder's Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám achieved unparalleled success. The first edition appeared in Boston on 8 November 1884; six days later, it was sold out. Critics rushed to acclaim it as a masterwork of American art, and Vedder (1836 - 1923) as the master American artist. (from Smithsonian website)

American artists at Smithsonian

The top picture is Strasbourg, le Pont du Corbeau (1936) by Maurice Achener. The bottom painting is Toward Evening (1951) by Junius Allen. From the Smithsonian American Art Museum site: http://americanart.si.edu/index3.cfm

M.C. Escher

We all know that Escher is great. When I was a teenager, the Escher paperback came out and he was all the rage. I used to stare at his artworks while listening to George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" album. These images are from the National Gallery of Art (Washington DC) website.

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).

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

Jan Ekels II

This charming painting is at the Rijksmuseum. Writer Trimming His Pen. www.rijksmuseum.nl

Happy New Year

Jerusalem of Gold
Originally uploaded by lapidim.

Shana Tova everyone!

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

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.

Jacob van Ruisdael

These paintings can be viewed very large at the Rijksmuseum website. They are gorgeous. http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/index.jsp

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

Why isn't Get Smart on DVD yet??

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.

Adrienne Segur

Another beautiful illustration. http://segur.artpassions.net/

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.

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/

Not much to say, we all know Dylan is cool.

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

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...

Peaceful

Peaceful
Originally uploaded by vidalia_11.

I am absolutely luxuriating in the peace and quiet! Happy Labor Day!

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