Greaser Girls, Monster Movies and Strange Pets

 When I decided to start this blog, I really wanted to post something once a day because it's a nice distraction from litter pans and sheep brains (don't worry, I'm not feeding them to the kitties, I'm taking an anatomy class and for some reason the powers that be feel that sheep brains and eyeballs are a good visual for nursing students. This makes me sad, especially when the eyeballs have eyelashes attached to them). Because of my procrastination, I've decided to post a few images with no real connection to each other, other than the fact that they're in black and white.  Enjoy!

"The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue."-Dorothy Parker

                       Behind the scenes of "Creature From the Black Lagoon" via Retronaut

And now for something completely different...

Kay Nielsen

A Danish author who died in poverty was never given the recognition that he deserved. His elaborate illustrations and vivid color can open the mind of the most agoraphobic individuals. Kay Nielsen's distinct style merged Art Nouveau and  Japenese style painting (ukiyo-e?) and the results left me breathless.

Milan Kundera

I'm not good at picking out favorites because it usually depends on my mood that day (only if I'm lucky, it can vary by the hour) but one author that always comes to mind when I'm drunkenly forcing novels down people's throats is Milan Kundera. The Unbearable Lightness of Being seems to be his most well known work and I was hooked. I finished that book in record timing (I'm the type that reads to the middle and then finds another book, reads the other book to the middle and then have to start all over again because I've forgotten much of the details) and inhaled his novellas (slowness is fantastic) and essays. His characters are never black and white, there always seems to be a gray ghost lurking in the corner somewhere and I love the air of mystery behind the developments.Aside from Unbearable Lightness, much of this early work is a political critique of totalitarianism, such as The Joke, and were banned due to their content. His ability to transform a traumatic past into a funny and poignant story is pure genius.

As a side note, I really love the new editions with his own sketchings on the cover.

Color Me Illuminated

Photographed by Alfred Cheney Johnston in the 1920s, The Ziegfeld Girls were performers in the Broadway show known as the Ziegfeld Follies. Inspired by the Folies Bergere (missing the grave accent because I'm hopeless in figuring out how to make that happen) in Paris, the visually stunning hybrid show of broadway meets vaudeville charmed it's spectator with elaborate costumes and sets. I took a particular interest in the set "The Illuminants" which are pictured above. The surrealist concept and it's subtle hints of irony make me want to run away and join the circus. 

Source:

Ziegfeld Grrl

je t'aime... moi non plus

I’m taking a French class this semester. I’m not sure that I thought it out completely because I’m also taking an anatomy class, but I quelled my fears and convinced myself that both courses simply involved memorization.  “Easy enough” was probably said out loud and in a public place, which caused me to blush because other people had noticed that I was talking to myself.  Anyway, it turns out that it’s quite hard to juggle two completely different subjects, but I’ve managed to find enjoyment out of both, and today I felt inspired to review a French subtitled movie that I’ve been wanting to see for a while, plus I could justify being lazy because it was in French. I do this pretty frequently because I have yet to see a French movie that I didn’t like (although I’m sure they’re out there…somewhere) and I shutter to use the word “Francophile” because the pretentious smog it leaves makes me gag. Still with me? Okay, here we go:

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

The movie begins with young Lucien Ginsburg (or Serge as we know him to be) whose family had immigrated to France from Russia in the 1940s. His audacious nature breaks through his miniature frame as he “seduces” women and improves his skills as a painter and musician; all the while a cigarette protrudes from his pre pubescent lips. The movie expresses, by way of poetic license, his fears of a German occupied France as a young boy, which in my humble opinion was done well. One of my favorite moments from the beginning is when Lucien arrives early to collect his yellow star of David and tell the officer that he wanted to make sure he got one before they ran out (I’m paraphrasing, you should really see it for yourself). The rest of the film illustrations his turn from painter to musician, and the struggle he faces throughout his career with regard to his born faith, problems with drinking and smoking, relationships and his appearance. One thing that gets under my skin is the comment that he’s not good looking, to which I vehemently disagree. Conventional beauty is fine and good, but Serge wasn’t and it’s refreshing to see someone who looks unique and is basically a musical genius, not that I'm the great bastion of musical geniuses, and I think many would agree with that observation. He was good enough for Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin…

Funny meeting you here

This is an attempt at something new. I've been told by my nearest and dearest that in addition my writing taking a back seat, I generally waste most of my free time doing, well, not very much at all.

It wasn't always this way.

In any event, Hello to you all (I probably should have prefaced with that), I hope you can find something on this cold and rehearsed collection of ramblings that suit your fancy. By way of this blog, I hope to share some fantastic artists, interesting outfits and DIY crafts to get that proverbial fire lit under my lazy you-know-what. It's lovely to meet you.