Belated Lament

A (slightly) belated lament for the passing of Ray Harryhausen, seen here stop-motion animating Mighty Joe Young in 1949.

'Appendectomy' . . . Right

What the heck. I'm gonna post this pic every year on this date . . .

Her "supposed" appendectomy . . .

UPDATE:

I'm sorry folks, I guess I should have done this on April Fool's Day, except then it wouldn't have made any sense at all, at least to me.

I received a nice email from a person who was concerned about the 'facts', as he uses MM's appendectomy as part of his medical lectures. This is part of the note I sent back to him:

I'm sorry for any confusion. It was a stupid conceit on my part. 

Several years ago I posted this picture with a tongue in cheek reference that "MM and I were in a hospital on the same day. She was getting her appendix removed, and I was being born. Coincidence? You decide", kind of thing. Cuz, well, that WAS the day I was born.

My blog takes flights of fancy here and there, and with this post I was hoping to amuse people who were in the know. 

Sorry for the Delineated conceit. In fact, I'm going to use the very words above as a disclaimer on the post.

Unique Personalities

I love these sorts of photo portraits, and by that, I guess I mean of unique personalities confidently showing their eccentricities and connecting through the camera lens to us folks in the far future.

photo by d'Ora of the artist Tsuguharu Foujita — 1928

Mystery and Wonder

Ah, the mystery and wonder of the Orient, as portrayed by Hollywood photography of the 1930s. Adventure awaits the theater patron.

Otto Dyar — Anna May Wong — Shanghai Express — 1932

My Heart Sings

Oh, oh, OH my heart sings knowing that the Universe has such wondrous wonders in it.

Hubble Heritage Team — Interacting Galaxies Arp 194

Queen of the Murderous House of Atreus

I've always had a crush on Diana Rigg, even when she was Queen of the murderous house of Atreus.

Radio Times — 1979

This scan was found on the internet, sorry I've lost track of the source.

You Can See Why

You can see why they called her 'America's Sweetheart' . . .

Mary Pickford

A Little Credit

Yes, Garbo is a stunner, but let's give a little credit to the outfit . . .

And as Artman points out, to the camera people back then as well!

Cowgirls

If you're a cowgirl, then or now, you have my immediate attention and probable affection, not that you care, cuz you're probably busy with your horse(s). 

sigh 

Cowgirl — ca 1900

Viva la Evolution!

Today's post on the ever-intriguing Histories of Things to Come reminds us that this is Charles Darwin's birthday, thus reminding me that I had a couple of Darwinesqe items in the scan file just waiting to be posted. There's a relevant page on the Pictorial Arts Journal.

Viva la evolution!

 cartoon from Mr. Punch's Almanack — 1882

A magnificent portrait of Mr. Darwin

Xtreme Level

Taking fashion photography to an Xtreme level, a brave model barely hangs on to the Eiffel Tower, just to get our attention:

Erwin Blumenfeld — Sur la tour Eiffel — 1939

Out on the Town

What a funtastic photo of Tarzan's little family out on the town.

Tarzan's New York Adventure — 1942

Nefertari

Pictorial photographer Victor Keppler worked for all the slick magazines and ad agencies in the '30s, '40s and '50s.

His illustrative photograph of Queen Nefertari was for a slick magazine in the '30s, and great care was taken to be as accurate as possible in historical detail — with one minor exception, according to Keppler. Her left breast should have been exposed, but it was felt that was a bit too daring for mainstream America in 1936.

I made a quick pictorial search to see if that was indeed the case, but have not yet found reference that indicates that was so for Nefertari.

Victor Keppler — Nefertari — 1936

Thomas Haller Buchanan — Nefertari — 1987

My connection with Queen Nefertari, for what it's worth, is that I created a facsimile of a famous bas relief of her for a 1987 museum exhibit of Ramesses the Great, sitting side by side with authentic ancient Egyptian artifacts (mine was labeled as a facsimile). It was full size to the original, which was not available, and I created it by making a thick slab of plaster of paris and then chiseling out the negative space, just as the original was made (from stone), and I then distressed and painted it. My fingers were so numb from chiseling that my hands were useless for weeks. One has to wonder how the artisans of ancient Egypt filed for workman's comp.

"Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Merymut, was one of the Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses the Great. Nefertari means 'Beautiful Companion' and Meritmut mean 'Beloved of [the Goddess] Mut'. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut. Her lavishly decorated tomb, QV66, is the larges and most spectacular in the Valley of the Queens. Ramesses also constructed a temple for her at Abu Simbel next to his colossal monument.

Nefertari held many different titles, including: Great of Praises, Sweet of Love, Lady of Grace, Great King's Wife, Lady of The Two Lands, Lady of All Lands, Wife of the Strong Bull, God's Wife, Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt. Ramesses II also named her 'The One for Whom the Sun Shines'."

Faux Military

I love the faux military designs of Ralph Lauren that he also brought to the 2012 US Olympic Team. This design is from earlier than that runway. The look is commanding.

Ralph Lauren — Ski Wear

Showman of Science

For all his quirkiness, I really miss Carl Sagan — his enthusiasm, his optimism, his writing, his showmanship, his vision, his Cosmos.

And yes, his quirkiness.

Does anyone else miss Carl Sagan?

Time — October 20, 1980

IT

This girl was "it" in her day and, for some, still today.

Clara Bow in Hoopla — 1933

Winter Has Its Moments

Oh, Hey!

Oh, hey! It looks like I've got my new machine on line.

I hear firecracker explosions all around, in honor of the new year. Handle them things with care, will ya?

Arline Judge — Girl Crazy — 1932

No Visible Means of Support

Now here's an interesting fellow with no visible means of support that sits around down by the London Eye.

Calais Window Display

Quite a few winter wonderland displays here in Calais. I'm spending a lot of time sketching sites, scenes and architecture here and in London. Hope to show some of that sometime in January, assuming my magic machine will finally be re-enchanted.