I’m about to fly from LA back to my home in NY so I don’t have time for a proper post (many trip highlights and fun stuff to come!). I’ll just share some things that have been crowding my desktop this week before taking off.
I need to know where they find their ingredients:
And on the flipside:
This cake awakens my empathy:
And this one is just genius for other reasons:
Kellar, teach me this amazing party trick!
See you tomorrow from my home base!
I really wish I had some spare windows and lumber lying around to build one of these in my back yard.
I might have to avoid it in the summer due to the greenhouse effect, but I would LOVE to spend stormy afternoons and evenings protected in my own little glass chamber. It’s the perfect place for reading, meals, relaxation…even the occasional camp out.
This is one of the best subtle practical jokes I’ve ever seen. The mischievous child in me immediately awakened upon seeing it. The power of tiny googly eyes!
I happen to have an extreme surplus of googly eyes lying around my house. This trick could work with any anthropomorphic container, or even pictures on boxes. Look out Mrs. Butterworth, Kool-Aid Guy, Gerber Baby, Quaker Oatmeal Man…
Courtney Brims is a Brisbane based artist who does what I am always tempted to call “magical tragical” works in pencil.
I only wish I could create drawings like this with a box of colored pencils! She does some wonderful portrait style work as well:
See more on her site.
A recent email from my friend Morgan included a photo from Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison and I’ve been fiendishly drinking in their images ever since.
Morgan, I’m indebted to you because I’ve been meaning to post images from The Architect’s Brother that I’d saved, but failed to properly credit in my files. This is one of my favorite photo series.
Improbable contraptions, hazy sepia surrealism…my heart melts.
See the rest of The Architect’s Brother here.
And have a look at the website for amazing other work.
I was inspired by the recent Radiolab program called After Life to go on an image odyssey for the term “human soul.”
The program covers a series of ideas/musings on the moment we slip from life into whatever (if anything) lies beyond. Take a listen if such explorations strike your fancy.
I stayed clear of most modern religious “soul” depictions, simply out of personal preference. I much prefer images like this robot:
I do enjoy vintage woodcuts and prints of the “soul” though.
Some soul images were intriguing abstractions.
A tortured soul?
I love how this painting came up in the search (religious connotations? Yes. But too cool to pass up):
The New York Times recently featured an article on The New Antiquarians; collectors of 19th century oddities.
The accompanying New Vintage Life slideshow features some great personal collection photos:
Taxidermy, clubby insignia and ancestral portraits have been decorative staples at trendy Lower East Side restaurants and clothing stores for a while, but now they are catching on at home.
I find this an interesting trend and a refreshing break from standard modern personal art collections.
See the rest here.
I had a whole tacky taxidermy theme week planned (now I plan to focus specifically on taxidermy artists). But I think Crappy Taxidermy renders my efforts to post stunning examples obsolete.
You have to see the site for yourself. I can’t properly convey the cornucopia of horrors found here. I want to collect the images on Crappy Taxidermy and turn them into the world’s most awkward coffee table book.
I mean, can you beat Sausage McMuffin Fox?
Hula Ferret?
Or these lovely, tranquil creatures?
Girls, all of your friends will envy your fashionable change purse:
I *think* this image is work safe…
You get the idea.
Here are a few of the isolated pieces I was going to post in my theme week:
Duck Lamp (perfect for the guest bedroom)
Something extreme is going on in this scene. Bonus points for anyone who can tell me what it is.
This photo proves that someone felt giant bats were the perfect canvas for presidential portraiture. Naturally.
This one was up for sale. Adds a sense of serenity and peace to any home.
Source (above 3 images)
Seamoose is all kinds of wrong.
Source
Everyone knows white rats are the classy ones.
Source
I rarely post a single image, but I’m making an exception. Celebrity photographer Kurt Iswarienko has an extensive portfolio, but I was struck by this single photograph:
Anne Hathaway looks delightfully dark and delicate as the subject…and the wallpaper…fantastic!
Found here.
Is nothing sacred? After reading this news about a remake of one of my favorite classic animations, The Secret of NIMH, I see that (certain) movie makers are willing to suck the life out of anything for a profit.
There was something deeply soulful and moving about this movie. The animation had an intensity that I’ve yet to see in any CGI film. I watched it countless times as a child, transfixed by the glowing fluid images that emerged from darkness.
Still frames simply don’t convey the depth of visual experience. The main characters may be cute, but they are entangled in a sinister story of science and destruction. I absolutely love how the cold human practices we barely acknowledge are juxtaposed with the underground magical, mystical rodent kingdom. Humans appear to be the callous, clumsy, alien species through the eyes of these tiny enlightened creatures.
Original trailer:
Anyone else have fond childhood memories of this movie?
SheWalksSoftly 