"family day", improved by friendly monsters

Canadians get a day off on Monday for our newest holiday: family day. do any of you in other countries have family day? either way, in honour of our newest holiday, may i direct you to Relleno De Mono's awesome flickr stream of vintage photos (many of them family photos), improved by friendly monsters. so wacky i just have to love it! :D have a great weekend!!

you wanna see this.

this little video made me smile. i'm thinkin' it'll make you do the same :)

R.I.P. Alexander McQueen (March 17, 1969 – Feb. 11, 2010)

yesterday's muse # 18 - mary jane russell

born Mary Jane Walton on July 10, 1926 in Teaneck, New Jersey, Russell began her modelling career in New York City in 1948. the fashion world at this time was swept up in 'the New Look'; a post-war concept coined by Dior, who believed, and rightly so, that people were in need of something new after years of war, brutality and hardship. the new look was a return to traditional femininity, featuring long skirts, tiny waists and luxurious fabrics. during the war, women had been mobilised to work on farms and in factories while the men were away fighting. in peacetime, those women were expected to return to their more passive roles as housewives and mothers, leaving their jobs free for the returning soldiers. Dior’s “flower women” fit this paradigm very well.

but i digress :)...

in the midst of all this, Mary Jane Russell spent 13 years working for the Ford Agency, appeared on dozens of magazine covers and was a favourite of photographers Irving Penn and Louise Dahl-Wolfe. she was somewhat diminutive compared to other models, standing just 5'6", but her long neck and classical features complemented the elegance of the era.

(above with evelyn tripp)

Mary Jane would marry her highschool sweeheart, Edward T. Russell, who appears to have been a hopeless romantic. while serving as a radioman aboard seaplane tenders in World War II, he once addressed a letter to ''The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Bronxville, New York.'' Somehow, it reached her. Edward proposed to Mary Jane on his return from the war, suggesting Dec. 21 as their wedding day because, as he said, it was the longest night of the year. *sigh* the couple had three sons, John, David and Mark, and remained married until Jane's death in November 2003 of pulmonary fibrosis. she was 77 years old.

jeremy forson

i discovered the work of San Francisco artist and illustrator Jeremy Forson while browsing Eric's blog the other day, and was rendered a bit dizzy by his astounding talent. a trip to his website and/or blog makes one swiftly aware of the boundless breadth of this man's style and creativity. love.

kissing in the museum

these images are from a marvelous photo essay entitled k-i-s-s-i-n-g in the museum. see more here.

34 things to do in my 34th year

so last year, just after my birthday, i came up with a list of 33 things to do in my 33rd year (as inspired by Hula Seventy), not expecting that i would finish them all, but hoping that i might. this morning i calculated my completion rate to be about 42%, which, although none too impressive, is still something, i suppose.

so here sits i, at the dawning of year 34, in creation of a new and equally as lofty list. with any luck, i'll get to 50% this year :)

(pink = done)

1. drive Route 66 from beginning to end and make a book of all the photos i'll take

2. stand on the edge of the grand canyon

3. improve my energy level and flexibility (yoga, perhaps?)

4. get a bike (and ride it)

5. learn to master my new DSLR (or at least come close to mastery)

6. go someplace spooky and abandoned and try to communicate with ghosts :) - no real attampt at communication, but i did visit "the ghost road" in Port Perry, Ontario

7. live like less of a slob (try to keep my house a wee bit cleaner)

8. illustrate a children's book

9. photograph at least two weddings

10. complete at least 5 more pieces in my loose leaf film stills series [giveaway to come]

11. go to a drive-in!

12. spend more time with ma ladies

13. spend more time in the sunshine (with the appropriate spf, of course)

14. dip my feet in an Ontario lake

15. sing songs by a fire pit

16. find a more fulfilling day job (finished in 35th year)

17. rid my life of needless junk (i.e. ruthlessly clean out my closet & cupboards)

18. draw things

19. call my mom more

20. publish something, anything

21. use lots of photobooths

22. have a picnic with my husband

23. go to a farm and pick something (fruits/veggies)

24. save up for a used car

25. shop at farmers' markets

26. cut down on my smoking [i'm quitting at 35]

27. do more good turns (revisit the girl scout in me)

(and now: a few roll overs from last year's list)

28. read two new authors (completed this one last year, but bringing it back for an encore)

29. go to a museum by myself

30. repaint my apartment

31. lose 40 pounds (last year's list said lose 20, but i gained 20, so now it's lose 40 *sigh*)

32. send postcards to my friends

33. drink more water

34. win the lottery there. written in stone. we'll see where the year takes me. wish me luck :)

i am 3(4)

above is a picture of my brothers and i on my third birthday, back in 1979 in Kenilworth, England. it's difficult to see, as the photo has seen better days, but i am wearing a big red button that says I AM 3 (which i still have, incidentally). today i turn 34. on a winter monday. and though i may be tired, cold and hungover from my weekend festivities, i still feel like a three year old at heart, and if someone made silly buttons for 34 year olds, i'd be sporting one as we speak :) here's to another year young, and may you all keep the children inside you as close to the surface as possible! xo

hall of dames # 16 - anne bancroft

born Anna Maria Louise Italiano, Bancroft chose her new name from a list presented to her by the producers of Don't Bother to Knock in 1952, who felt her birth name was 'too ethnic'. Anne studied drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, and began her acting career in live television. her first foray into Hollywood resulted in several forgettable films, prompting a return to New York to concentrate on stage acting. "The studios wanted to give me the Monroe-type sex buildup", she later said, "[but] I wanted to develop my acting, not my body."

on Broadway, Bancroft won Tony awards for Two for the Seesaw with Henry Fonda, and The Miracle Worker with Patty Duke. she would later win her only Oscar playing Anne Sullivan, teacher and mentor to Helen Keller, in the film adaptation of The Miracle Worker. best known for her Oscar nominated performance as the seductive Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, Anne also received nods for her performances in The Pumpkin Eater, The Turning Point, and Agnes of God. other noteworthy films include Lynch's The Elephant Man, and 84 Charing Cross Road. Bancroft wrote and directed Fatso, an underrated film starring Dom DeLuise as a man wrestling with obesity, that features Anne as his sister, urging him to lose weight.

Anne's first marriage to Martin May in 1953 ended in divorce just 4 years later. in 1961, she met Mel Brooks at a rehearsal for the Perry Como variety show. Brooks bribed a studio employee to find out where she was having dinner so he could meet her again. once Bancroft met Brooks, she went to her therapist and told him they had to conclude the therapy as fast as possible because she had met the man she was going to marry.

the couple married on August 5, 1964. they had one son, Maximillian, in 1972, and were together for more than four decades, until Anne's death in June 2005 of uterine cancer. her death surprised even friends, as she was intensely private and had not released details of her illness.

this sh*t just blew my mind

what if i told you that the landscapes you see in these photographs are not landscapes at all, but careful collections of cottonballs, fun fur, paprika and other such bits n bobs? does that not blow your freakin mind?! these incredible worlds are created by the extraordinarily talented artist Mathew Albanese, using forced perspective techniques to fool the eye. in the photo above, for example the fields are made of faux fur, the clouds are cotton, and the mountains are sifted tile grout (!). you can see more of his fascinating work, and how it comes to fruition, here.

above image: paprika, cinnamon, thyme, chili powder, charcoal

above image: steel wool, cotton, ground parsley and moss

my boyfriend's back

sequin boyfriend blazer

single button boyfriend blazer

hooded boyfriend blazer

herringbone boyfriend blazer

wee boyfriend blazer

i've died and gone to bathroom heaven

The Water Monopoly combines exquisite restored antique English and French bathroom pieces with select reproductions. they do tubs, toilets, sinks, showers and accesories, and it's all absolutely gorgeous. the Paris bath, pictured above, is a faithful reproduction of an early twentieth century French fireclay bath.

this teak bath is handmade by a boat builder in the highlands of Scotland *sigh*

a French double ended copper bath, circa 1880

and this awesome contraption is a reproduction of a traditional Needleshower, thermostatically controlled, which has four circular spray bars to hit you from all angles. awesome.