Queen for a day

Between the optimist and the pessimist, the difference is droll. 

The optimist sees the donut; the pessimist the hole! 

 — Oscar Wilde

Better than

Writer-director Preston Sturges on box-office appeal:

   A pretty girl is better than an ugly one.

A leg is better than an arm.

A bedroom is better than a living room.

An arrival is better than a departure.

A birth is better than a death.

A chase is better than a chat.

A kitten is better than a dog.

A baby is better than a kitten.

A kiss is better than a baby.

A pratfall is better than anything.

Ghibli set

Hayao Miyazaki films imagined as Penguin classic book covers 

A set of nine postcards by Jason K of 84/5 Studio is available for purchase

Beneath the waves

Sharks,

mermaids,

and octopus

oh my!

Love track

The Vogue Records label produced less than 75 double-sided 78rpm discs in their single year of operation. The records were notable for having embedded artwork in the vinyl on both sides, illustrating the tile of the song. The company went bust, but their records remain highly collectible.

Nothing in his pockets

Cool,funny, cerebral, sardonic, provocative John Baldessari 

 Text + film stills + dots + kissing + hats + subversion = no more boring art

 

Provocateur

The Esquire Magazine covers by legendary art director George Lois chronicled the turbulent sixties with distinctly powerful imagery. His bravado, humor and brilliant concepts challenged the status quo of magazine design and changed the ways and means of the world of communication. The Museum of Modern Art has a collection of his Esquire covers in their permanent collection.

Seven months after the assassination of President Kennedy, tears for a murdered leader and his legacy (June 1964)

Stripped of his title after refusing to go to war in Viet Nam, Muhammed Ali as martyred St. Sebastian (April 1968)

Ursula Andress strikes a pose as a modern, battered woman (July 1967)

Andy Warhol drowns in his iconic soup (May 1969)

Art of rocket science

In the 1960's, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration teamed with the National Gallery of Art creating a program that commissioned artists to visit NASA facilities to draw and paint freely, to record the strange new world of space technology.

Photographers Shoot Apollo 17 (1972) 

Nicholas Solovioff

Firing Room (launch control) 

James Wyeth

Lunar Confrontation 

Robert Shore

The Last Launch Daylight Launch of a Manned Apollo (1972) 

Chet Jezierski

Images from The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Soft cover

Gouache portraits of paperback friends by Richard Baker

Light meal

Latex balloons, fashioned to resemble cuts of meat, created

by Object Design League (ODL), a contemporary design group in Chicago.

Handmade and hand-painted, taking about 3 hours each to complete, the balloons were made for a featured New York event at Japan Premium Beef. Sadly for the rest of us, these inflatable steaks are not available for purchase. 

Proudly and prettily

Once hired, a new Bunny received two costumes, ears, collar and cuffs, bow tie, cufflinks, 

a Bunny tail, flashlite, and the official Bunny manual. 

(Photo, manual circa 1968)

50's modern

The striking mid-century home of Bob and Helen Parr

From Pixar's The Incredibles (2004)

Saying Grace

Grace Kelly poses with an upright piano, wearing the photographer's suede jacket. At the tender age of 23, she has not yet won an Oscar, or the heart of Prince Ranier III, but appears golden just the same.

Photos by Milton Greene.

Signature wit

I'm not a big fan of wallpaper, but Maharam has some lovely choices.

Design: Maira Kalman, On This Day

Design: Christopher Daniels, People Doing Different Things

That's a keeper

If you are planning a trip to California's Napa Valley, you can expect great restaurants, gorgeous scenery and charming hotels. Should you visit Francis Ford Coppola's winery, you can dine in his restaurant 'Rustica', enjoy swimming in his lush pool, and peruse his impressive collection of movie memorabilia at his gallery.

List of possibilities for the cast of The Godfather

(Laurence Olivier as Don Corleone?! John Saxon as Sonny Corleone?!)

Costumes by the great Eiko Ishioka for the 1992 film Dracula

The 1948 Tucker Sedan from the 1988 film Tucker: The Man and His Dream