Archive for July 2015
“Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it”*…
email readers click here for video
“Fabulously glamorous puppets model fashions and bewitch men at The Cypress Club in London, 1960”
Part of Vintage Fashion, a subset of the 85,000 historical films available from British Pathé.
* Yves Saint-Laurent
###
As we canter down the catwalk, we might send elegant birthday greetings to Giorgio Armani; he was born on this date in 1934. A fashion designer probably best known for his mens line, Armani brought clean, tailored lines, natural fit, and subtle colors to his work. While he was warmly received from his first collection (in 1975), Armani became a sensation in the 80s when his clothes were worn by Richard Gere in American Gigolo and by the protagonists of Miami Vice. By the late 80s, his “power suits” had become a symbol of success. Today, Armani’s brand adorns home goods, books, and hotels in addition to clothing; he’s widely regarded as the most successful Italian designer ever.
“Life’s a lot more fun when you aren’t responsible for your actions”*…
Josh Millard has created “Calvin and Markov,” a “machine” that generates scrambled variations on Bill Watterson’s classic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, using a Markov chain process.
Just land here, then keep hitting refresh to experience a steady stream of random, but somehow still inspired, silliness.
And if (as your correspondent hopes and expects) you like it, try Millard’s other wonders: Garkov, Previously, On The X-Files, The Big Markovski, and Jesus Markoving Christ.
* Calvin, in The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
###
As we mix it up, we might send Kryptonite-free birthday greetings to Joseph “Joe” Shuster; he was born on this date in 1914. A comic book artist, he is best remembered for creating (with his high school best friend, writer Jerry Siegel), the DC Comics character Superman, who debuted in Action Comics No. 1 (June, 1938).
“Questioning anything and everything”*…
Ryan Richardson, one of the United States’ foremost collectors, archivists, and dealers of punk rock records and ephemera has given us a most welcomed gift. Richardson has uploaded the entire print run of the classic L.A. punk magazine, Slash, to his website Circulationzero.com…
The importance of Slash to the L.A. punk scene, and really to the worldwide punk scene in general, cannot be overstated. The writing of Claude “Kickboy Face” Bessy,Jeffrey Lee Pierce, and Chris D. helped to define the attitude and outlook of the nascent subculture, while the imagery of illustrators Gary Panter and Mark Vallen established punk as an art movement working outside of—but in conjunction with—the music scene. Photographers like Ed Colver and Jenny Lens provided essential documentation of the era, making names for themselves producing some of the most important rock photography ever captured…
More at “The Entire Run of Classic Punk Slash Magazine is Now Online.” [TotH to Richard Kadrey]
* “Questioning anything and everything, to me, is punk rock.” – Henry Rollins
###
As we ponder the pogo, we might recall that it was on this date in 1955 that that Bill Haley & His Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock”reached number one on the Billboard charts– the first rock and roll record to ascend to the pinnacle.
Exactly one year later, Dick Clark began one of television’s longest-running stints as a host when he debuted Bandstand on WFIL, a Philadelphia TV station. The show was eventually picked up by ABC-TV and changed its name to American Bandstand.
“Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance”*…
… geriatric crime poses special challenges. During the trial of Germany’s “Grandpa Gang,” the gang members described how their 74-year-old co-defendant, Rudolf Richter, almost botched a 2003 bank heist by slipping on a patch of ice, forcing them to take extra time to help him into the getaway car. And the 74-year-old had another problem, co-defendant Ackermann told the court: “We had to stop constantly so he could pee.”
Bloomberg on the rise of crime perpetrated by the aged worldwide: “Instead of Playing Golf, the World’s Elderly Are Staging Heists and Robbing Banks.”
* David Mamet
###
As we respect our elders, we might recall that it was on this date in 1898 that Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith uttered his last words: “My God, don’t shoot!” Smith, a confidence man who was “following the gold,” had moved to Skagway, Alaska, after successful criminal careers in Denver and Creede, Colorado. He’d assembled a gang and taken control of the docks– an important distribution point in the Klondike Gold Rush. A committee of vigilantes formed to rid the town of Smith and his gang. When federal authorities failed to act, they decided to confront Soapy themselves. Smith met them carrying a Winchester rifle. In the event, only one of the citizen’s committee– Frank Reid, who’d been a bartender in on of Smith’s saloons– was armed. The two men struggled and wounded each other, after which another member of the committee, Jesse Murphy (a recently-arrived employee of the railroad) wrestled the rifle from Smith and killed him with it. Reid also died from his wounds; though his own reputation was far from untarnished, his funeral was the largest in Skagway’s history, and his gravestone was inscribed with the words “He gave his life for the honor of Skagway.”
Soapy Smith
“Cats have been domesticating and harvesting humans for at least two millennia”*…
email readers click here for video
This film, featuring two cats wearing boxing gloves and packing a punch, was filmed in Thomas Edison’s studio in 1894. The performance was part of Professor Henry Welton’s “cat circus,” which toured the United States both before and after appearing in Edison’s film. Performances included cats riding small bicycles and doing somersaults, with the boxing match being the highlight of the show. As for why the cats were filmed (apart from being an early example of people enjoying footage of cats), it might have possibly been a publicity stunt to advertise the show. It could also quite possibly be the first ever “cat video” (though, of course, before the days of video).
Via Public Domain Review and the Library of Congress.
* “Cats have been domesticating and harvesting humans for at least two millennia, albeit slowly, generation by generation. With the Internet, they are moving much faster, and in only two or three more generations, we will be completely incapable of sustaining a line of thought for more than half a second, and therefore effectively be zombies in the service of our feline masters who will use lame Photoshoppers to communicate with us”
–Matt Smith
###
As we memorialize memes, we might recall that it was on this date in 1936 that Henry F. Phillips received several U.S. patents for the Phillips-head screw and screwdriver– a system in which a matching driver with a tapering tip conveniently self-centers in the screw head. Phillips founded the Phillips Screw Company to license his patents, and persuaded the American Screw Company to manufacture the fasteners. General Motors was convinced to use the screws on its 1937 Cadillac; by 1940, virtually every American automaker had switched to Phillips screws.
You must be logged in to post a comment.