travel tuesdee - bright lights, big city

Taipei, Taiwan

Dou Liou, Taiwan

Hong Kong

me zombie, you jane

The night before last, my husband was feeling a bit under the weather and retired to our chambers at an ungodly early hour, leaving the ladies - rudy , hem and I - to our own designs. Armed with blanket, beer and tear-ducts cocked and loaded with pre-menstrual waters, we embarked on a viewing of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, as graciously provided by TVO. This was the 2007 version, starring Sally Hawkins (who was excellent) and Rupert Penry-Jones (who was delicious).

The funny thing about reading/watching Jane Austen for me is that for days, sometimes weeks afterward, i find my imagination clinging to that world, until walking about in my own city feels almost like traversing the moors in a long velvet cape, wind in my suddenly cascading locks. This particular time was no exception, and when i took to the internet, looking for interesting material on the subject, i came across two rather extraordinary references that i had no idea existed...

The first is an expanded edition of Austen's novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, entitled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies that begins:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.

Grahame-Smith has set a plague of zombies upon the village of Meryton and suddenly the Bennet sisters are taking lessons in swordsmanship and martial arts, so as to fend off the flesh-eating hordes. Oddly enough, judging from the few sample pages and reviews I've read, I think this might actually be a great read!

From here I stumbled onto yet another meeting of Jane and the zombies, but this time Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. It appears that in 1943, there was a B-movie made called I Walked With a Zombie that is actually a retelling of Bronte's novel (but with zombies). I haven't seen this yet but you can bet I will. Who knew there was such a sub-genre?!

under my umbrella. ella. ella.

wherever you're reading this from, i hope that when you walk out your door, you are bathed in sunshine and licked by the warm breeze. tragically, there is nothing beyond my door right now but pelting, unrelenting rain and shivering twisting winds. but as my lovely british mum always says: musn't grumble. and if there is one thing i enjoy about the rain, it's being able to use my elvis umbrella! umbrella's are a marvelous thing, don't you think?

more beautiful illustrations by Tanner Morrow here.


19th c umbrella from Archivia

cats with umbrellas from ArtbyMAR

girl guide wallet from dollypopvintage

video vendredi - the future of fashion

amazing video from the 1930s, predicting what the fashion conscious will be wearing in the year 2000. hilarity ensues, but some of it - like the shoes - is not that far off!

video vendredi - dame bjork

here are two ridiculously endearing bjork videos. the first is an astounding display of vocal skill, and the second an astounding display of quirkiness. enjoy.

video vendredi - ukele gal

you gotta watch this 'till the end. when the instruction is over there's a wee performance that's absolutely darling!

rainbow bright

i looove these photos by Craig McDean. the clothing is beautiful and her my-little-pony hair is frickin' awesome.

pinnochio paradox

(from the daily wierd)

fernando vicente

shocking, yet beautiful. a reminder of what's underneath us all. i love these. Fernando Vicente is extremely talented.

i take this shoe to be my lawfully wedded...

once again, i am made a champion of polygamy by an inanimate object. i can't help myself.


this Christian Louboutin shoe is so beautiful i half expect little beams of light to be rising from it. does anybody else see them?

springtime is for lovers

i wonder where these couples are now.  i like to think they're old and wrinkly and still holding hands.

photos from the Life archives

sunshine daydream

neclace & earings from Snohomish

hello may by ashleyg

yellow rose buttons from moriam87

rabbit print by poordogfarm

john dilnot

UK artist John Dilnot makes absolutely lovely diaramas (which i absolutely love). he makes all sorts of other lovely things too, which you can see on his website. here are some of my favourites:

the old forest

spotted woodpeckers

over dover

over lock lomond

neon boneyard

Photo by Shadowplay

i'm certain that many of you, if not most, are already aware of this magical place, but i myself had no idea it existed until yesterday, so here are some incredible photos from the neon boneyard in Las Vegas, where old signs go to die:

Photo by Matt McCormick, UrbanHonking.com

Photos by Paul Jacklitch


Photo by Mathew Langley

you can even have wedding photos taken there!

Photos by Heidi Ryder

music to my ears

yesterday afternoon, while fiddlin' on the computer, i stumbled upon what i consider to be a musical goldmine: a U.S. public radio program called American Routes, the archives of which can be streamed on the internet here. here's how the website describes it:

American Routes is a weekly two-hour public radio program produced in New Orleans,presenting a broad range of American music — blues and jazz, gospel and soul,old-time country and rockabilly, Cajun and zydeco, Tejano and Latin, roots rock and pop, avant-garde and classical. Now celebrating in our 10th year on the air,American Routes explores the shared musical and cultural threads in these American styles and genres of music — and how they are distinguished.
The program also presents documentary features and artist interviews. Our conversations include Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, B.B. King, Dr. John, Dave Brubeck, Abbey Lincoln, Elvis Costello, Ray Charles, Randy Newman, McCoy Tyner,Lucinda Williams, Rufus Thomas, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others. Join us as we ride legendary trains, or visit street parades, instrument-makers, roadside attractions, and juke joints, and meet tap dancers, fishermen, fortunetellers and more..

i have only just begun sifting through the vast treasure trove of their archives, but here are a few of my favourite playlists so far:

Records, Jukeboxes & Radio

Route 66

Emmy Lou Harris & Yo La Tengo

American Routes at the Movies, Starring John Waters and Les Blank

if you love old american music as i do, you owe it to yourself to check this out!

au clair de la lune

image from boston bill

i cannot remember the last time i looked at the moon.
sometimes i despise living in the city.
for all it's bells and whistles, what is it all without the moon?

travel tuesdee meets etsy

for this week's travel tuesday, i'd like to showcase some lovely etsy travel merch:

1. passport cover by MyPaperGarden

2. train case from kitchencupboard

3. travel journal by AwakenJournaling
4. neck purse by geniecrafts 5. compass button earings by TimelessTrinkets
6. anchor luggage tag by SweetTOriginal 7. vanity cabinet (i know you can't travel with this one, but it's travel themed, and it's sooo neat) by vanitycase

hobody nome!

i was reading this post over at Sally Jane Vintage, and it made me think about how much i love the unspoken mystery of abandoned places. i immediately thought of posting these photos i had seen at one of my very favourite sites: If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats (where you can find more photos of abandoned places, as well as a miriad of other marvelous things).

and when my curiousity led me to search for more, i found hundreds of sites and links dedicated to abandoned buildings and towns. the photos below are from a particulary interesting site called abandoned-places.com. at this site, photos are mingled with interesting stories and the presentation of the site itself is really something. it's like a wee adventure in itself!