Duane Michals

"This photograph is my proof. There was that afternoon, when things were good between us, and she embraced me, and we were so happy. It did happen. She did love me, look see for yourself!




"My shirt was wet with perspiration. The beer tasted good but I was still thirsty. Some drunk was talking loudly to another drunk about Nixon. I watched a roach walk slowly along the edge of a bar stool. On the juke box Glen Campbell began to sing about "Southern Nights." I had to go to the men's room. A derelict began to walk towards me to ask for money. It was time to leave."


Photography easily describes the exterior reality of events, people and places. The photographs of Duane Michals, especially the images combined with his writing, reflect his interior stream of consciousness. His humor and melancholy give shape and weight to the invisible.

Core values

I had a great experience buying and exchanging an item at Zappo's. On their website 'about us' page, their core values are listed:

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

Core values for Zappo's, and wonderful New Year's resolutions for the rest of us!

Gene Kelly

"I was twenty pounds overweight and as strong as an ox. But if I put on a tux like Astaire, I still looked like a truck driver... I looked better in a sweatshirt & loafers anyway. It wasn't elegant, but it was me."

Tossed and Found

There's a movement in the design world to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Yes, this is an ethical and 'green' approach, but considering how well made and nicely designed some vintage items are, it makes perfect sense.

Tossed and Found, a book by Linda Wary and John Meyers, is a guide to transforming trash into treasure, with how-to instructions, sketches and photographs. The authors (who are married) have a design firm; Wary Meyers Decorative Arts in Maine. John Meyers worked as the Corporate Display Director for Anthropologie, and the projects in the book share that quirky sensibility. Even if you're not one of the do-it-yourself set, the book is inspirational and sparks a new way of seeing things.

Bread

Hovis is a UK brand of flour and bread.

The name 'Hovis' was created by Herbert Grimes, who won a national competition held in 1890. The name is derived from the Latin phrase 'hominis vis' meaning 'the strength of man.'



Pedlars, a unique store in the UK, offers vintage Hovis tins for bread, or other uses.

Swanky

Advertisements aren't just selling a product, but also a lifestyle or fantasy. Who could predict avocado-green would be a stylish color in the 1960's, or that a television set would become the hearth of a home? These images are from the fun and interesting site, Vintage Ad Browser.