Natural healing

Illustrations from the 1888 book,  Das Neue Naturheilverfahren (The New Natural Healing)

by Friedrich Eduard Bilz.

Stop motion king

  Ray Harryhausen with one of his skeleton warriors

 Dead but threatening

Jason battles with seven warriors of the thin variety

Over time, the details of a film, even a classic, tend to blur and fade.

Bringing Up Baby: Annoying rich girl, leopard, dinosaur

Gone with the Wind: Annoying rich girl, war, Atlanta fire, dramatic break-up

Dr. Zhivago: Epic love story, Russia, fatal heart attack

Bullitt: Handsome cop with great driving skills, witness protection, San Francisco

French Connection: Not-typically-handsome cop with great driving skills, drugs, New York

Jason and the Argonauts: Greek gods, Bernard Herrmann score and the unforgettable battle between Jason and the skeleton warriors

Unpredictable

  As Daniel Desario in Freaks and Geeks

As Alien in Spring Breakers

I watched Freaks and Geeks when it first aired (1999), so distant from my own high school experience I could appreciate the sad irony of the many archetypes flailing through all that angst, acne and miscommunication.  The series was my introduction to James Franco, who played Daniel Desario, the handsome stoner least likely to succeed. Sure, he was great-looking, but also likeable. Likability can act like a deflecting shield or life preserver, protecting an actor from the crash and burn of

a terrible performance or a disastrous stinker of a movie. Fool's Gold? Meh. Pineapple Express? Yawn. Eat Pray Love? Zzzz.  Rise of the Planet of the Apes? Um, why? 

Oh, but he was terrific in 127 Hours .

And most recently, a completely unsettling menace in Spring Breakers.

His choices of roles continues to be unpredictable, which only adds to his likability.

Outside the box

It's better to be at the bottom of the ladder

you want to climb, than at the top of the one you don't.

—Stephen Kellogg, musician

Wayne White: artist, musician, designer, performer, puppeteer

Diana Vreeland: Editor, muse, critic, visionary, bon vivant

Two excellent and inspiring documentaries that bolster the ideas:

a. When you're really, really talented, and work really,

really hard, people tend to notice.

b. Innovators not only have great ideas, they effectively

communicate those ideas with imagination and boldness.

Take your seat

I love every model of the Moe Chair, new chairs

inspired by old school seating.

Government-issued

Covered girl

Codie Young by Satoshi Saikusa

Gloria Swanson by Edward Steichen

Creative time

Clever ways to tell time, from Uncommon Goods.

Color Blind clock 

Moon Clock

Book clock

Clear your head

Indoor graffiti

Posters by Anthony Burrill

Sari for you

The riot of mixed patterns and vibrant colors of vintage Indian Kantha 

quilts (made from old saris) knock me out!

Don't judge a book by its cover

Gorgeous conversion of an old textile factory.

 In Melbourne, Australia, yours for $682K. Wow!

Up and away

Leon Gimpel, Hot Air Balloons, Grand Palais, Paris 1909

Preparing to leave Oz. The Wizard of Oz, 1939

Portraits of Lee

My young nephews favor short hair on women, which is surprising but also

very cool. It takes a certain confidence and self-possesion to dismiss the fuss and bother

and stigma attached to long hair. It never hurts to have a great face.

Lee Miller, photographed by Man Ray

Bowl me over

It's true, I'm easily amused,

and a total sucker for vintage figural

wood skittles (bowling for kiddies!)

All of these  amazing sets are currently available on Etsy!

Birdcage

I'm usually drawn to the most industrial lighting, but I'm totally charmed by

these birdcage pendants by Mathieu Challieres.

Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.

Nothing sparkly can stay.

—S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

S.E (Susan Eloise) Hinton was 17 years old when she

wrote The Outsiders, a young adult novel based on the rival gangs at her

school. First published in 1967, it has never gone out of print and has sold 

over 14 million copies.

In 1983, a film adaptation was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. 

The cast was notable: Tom Cruise before Risky Business, Ralph Macchio before 

The Karate Kid, Emilio Estevez and Rob Lowe before the Brat Pack, 

Patrick Swayze before Dirty Dancing. 

Coming from the outside

Be yourself. I much prefer seeing something, even if it is clumsy,

that doesn't look like somebody else's work.

William Klein