Saturday, September 27, 2003
There she is...
Last week was the Miss America Pageant. Since I went to a tiny little university that somehow has been the home of three Miss Americas and countless (not literally, but I can't count them) state pageant winners, I'm usually pretty interested in it. This morning while looking through the Miss A site I discovered Miss America 1949, Jacque Mercer. She made a study out of winning pageants, and published her findings in a book called How to Win a Beauty Contest.
She also raised Maltese dogs, was in 4-H, and designed and made most of her competition wear.
Last week was the Miss America Pageant. Since I went to a tiny little university that somehow has been the home of three Miss Americas and countless (not literally, but I can't count them) state pageant winners, I'm usually pretty interested in it. This morning while looking through the Miss A site I discovered Miss America 1949, Jacque Mercer. She made a study out of winning pageants, and published her findings in a book called How to Win a Beauty Contest.
She also raised Maltese dogs, was in 4-H, and designed and made most of her competition wear.
I've got spurs
IF ONLY it were 1952, and I was off on a Western holiday, I'd be packin' a pair of these. Along with my dungarees, a couple of nice gingham "cow-boy style" shirts, maybe a hat with an adjustable cord under the chin to keep it on my head...
...and of course, my lipstick. Oh, and a nice piqué dress with a light sweater and a pair of pumps for the evenings, of course.
I do love those boots I just linked to. In 1987 I had the perfect outfit to go with them. And someplace to wear it.
IF ONLY it were 1952, and I was off on a Western holiday, I'd be packin' a pair of these. Along with my dungarees, a couple of nice gingham "cow-boy style" shirts, maybe a hat with an adjustable cord under the chin to keep it on my head...
...and of course, my lipstick. Oh, and a nice piqué dress with a light sweater and a pair of pumps for the evenings, of course.
I do love those boots I just linked to. In 1987 I had the perfect outfit to go with them. And someplace to wear it.
Western wear
Apropos of absolutely nothing: American Boots-Heel profiles for boots.
It never occurred to me until now that the difference between a "cowboy heel" and a "riding heel" was the spur ridge, but it probably should have.
Heels and toes are specific to brands, too, so while an "S toe" and a "J toe" are probably pretty standard, you might not find an "X toe" in just every brand.
And now you know.
Apropos of absolutely nothing: American Boots-Heel profiles for boots.
It never occurred to me until now that the difference between a "cowboy heel" and a "riding heel" was the spur ridge, but it probably should have.
Heels and toes are specific to brands, too, so while an "S toe" and a "J toe" are probably pretty standard, you might not find an "X toe" in just every brand.
And now you know.
Friday, September 26, 2003
Just because
I just really liked today's Bleat. Lileks is particularly good at capturing the feeling of a past he didn't live in. I know that 1941 feeling, but I didn't have it so much in 2001. I had it in 1989, though.
I've got to admit that most of the time when I listen to AM radio I have the same experience he had, but with ultraconservative ranters instead of ultraliberal ones. So I don't listen to AM radio much, except for WKBW, which is (eerily enough) the only station my 1939 GE radio picks up.
I just really liked today's Bleat. Lileks is particularly good at capturing the feeling of a past he didn't live in. I know that 1941 feeling, but I didn't have it so much in 2001. I had it in 1989, though.
I've got to admit that most of the time when I listen to AM radio I have the same experience he had, but with ultraconservative ranters instead of ultraliberal ones. So I don't listen to AM radio much, except for WKBW, which is (eerily enough) the only station my 1939 GE radio picks up.
Yup, people are really that stupid
I have a lot of sympathy for the point of view expressed in The Thrilling Detective Web Site Classifieds: Help Wanted, having at one time been the recipient of e-mail messages such as "SEND ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE ON THE OKALHAOMA CITY BOMMBING, I NEED PICTURES, PAPER IS DUE ON FRIDAY HURRY!!!!!"
I can't believe the sheer stupidity of people who think they're e-mailing, say, Stephen J. Cannell when they hit a Rockford Files site. I personally would not publish their e-mail addresses on my web site (except for the guy who says he's changing ISPs soon so a "quick response is recommended"--not APPRECIATED, mind you, but RECOMMENDED--and for him, I'd feel more like looking him up online and publishing his e-mail address, his postal address, and his phone number. Just in case somebody with the answer to his question wanted to contact him, of course) but their letters are entertaining reading. At least for those of us who are irritable insomniacs.
I have a lot of sympathy for the point of view expressed in The Thrilling Detective Web Site Classifieds: Help Wanted, having at one time been the recipient of e-mail messages such as "SEND ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE ON THE OKALHAOMA CITY BOMMBING, I NEED PICTURES, PAPER IS DUE ON FRIDAY HURRY!!!!!"
I can't believe the sheer stupidity of people who think they're e-mailing, say, Stephen J. Cannell when they hit a Rockford Files site. I personally would not publish their e-mail addresses on my web site (except for the guy who says he's changing ISPs soon so a "quick response is recommended"--not APPRECIATED, mind you, but RECOMMENDED--and for him, I'd feel more like looking him up online and publishing his e-mail address, his postal address, and his phone number. Just in case somebody with the answer to his question wanted to contact him, of course) but their letters are entertaining reading. At least for those of us who are irritable insomniacs.
So let me get this straight...
This guy sells posters (he calls them "fine art prints" because each one is printed from an individual file) that are basically scanned paperback covers that he's touched up so they look original. If there's any indication that he actually owns the rights to the originals of any of these works, I can't find it on his site. But he doesn't want YOU using HIS work.
I don't discount--exactly--his skill in retouching scans of old paperbacks. But I do NOT believe that it constitutes the creation of an original work of art.
I wonder... if I were to take one of his "works" and scan it and retouch it so it looks like an old book cover, then sell it on my own web site, would he have a problem with that? I bet he would.
This guy sells posters (he calls them "fine art prints" because each one is printed from an individual file) that are basically scanned paperback covers that he's touched up so they look original. If there's any indication that he actually owns the rights to the originals of any of these works, I can't find it on his site. But he doesn't want YOU using HIS work.
I don't discount--exactly--his skill in retouching scans of old paperbacks. But I do NOT believe that it constitutes the creation of an original work of art.
I wonder... if I were to take one of his "works" and scan it and retouch it so it looks like an old book cover, then sell it on my own web site, would he have a problem with that? I bet he would.
...and in related news...
Found this excellent overview of paperback cover artists after winning a copy of the FIRST mapback edition of Fools Die on Friday (the one with The Cover)
Found this excellent overview of paperback cover artists after winning a copy of the FIRST mapback edition of Fools Die on Friday (the one with The Cover)
Monday, September 22, 2003
Still not showing here...
I CAPTURE THE CASTLE never did put in an appearance here, despite our town's cries of culture and sophistication. Oh brother.
Anyway, this review from Roger Ebert is kind of lukewarm, but well worth reading if only for the note about the rating. This sort of thing is one reason he's my favorite movie reviewer.
I CAPTURE THE CASTLE never did put in an appearance here, despite our town's cries of culture and sophistication. Oh brother.
Anyway, this review from Roger Ebert is kind of lukewarm, but well worth reading if only for the note about the rating. This sort of thing is one reason he's my favorite movie reviewer.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
A civilized society
Read the rest: Dynamite, Manhattan, 1939 by David Gelernter (thanks to James Lileks for bleating this)
"We rebel in our very souls nowadays against the idea that conventional behavior, dress, and manners could possibly matter. We abolished all those rules with the best of intentions. But there is no getting around the fact that in the 1930s, people simply got more practice in acting as they ought than we do. I can't say what all that dogged practice was worth when push came to shove. I do know that in 1939 you could leave a pile of dynamite unguarded in the middle of New York City."
Read the rest: Dynamite, Manhattan, 1939 by David Gelernter (thanks to James Lileks for bleating this)
The provenance of vintage books
I think one of the really fun things about vintage books is thinking about the people who used to own them. Did a teenager once hide Suburban Wives from his parents? Did the woman who underlined passages in my copy of Elegance start storing her cashmere sweaters on top of the wool ones so they wouldn't get crushed?
I opened a copy of Etiquette: The complete modern guide for day-to-day living the correct way and found two copies of an article called "Writing Thank-You Notes." I found them so interesting because they're both on letterhead from the Buffalo Evening News. Was this something you could write in for, or did the former owner of my book write an etiquette column in the News? Since I don't really know where I picked this up, I have no idea.
There are some samples of good thank you notes. Here's one of my favorites:
That's a very good thank you note, and could be applied to anything from a sweater to, say, an Amazon gift certificate. It could be sent by e-mail if, say, you didn't know the person's postal address and didn't know how to look it up on the Internet.
I also like this:
I think this one would come in handy for thank yous for job interviews. Something like "The tour of the company grounds was truly impressive" for one of those "I'd-love-to-work-here-if-everyone-I-just-met-wasn't-such-a-jerk" interviews.
I think one of the really fun things about vintage books is thinking about the people who used to own them. Did a teenager once hide Suburban Wives from his parents? Did the woman who underlined passages in my copy of Elegance start storing her cashmere sweaters on top of the wool ones so they wouldn't get crushed?
I opened a copy of Etiquette: The complete modern guide for day-to-day living the correct way and found two copies of an article called "Writing Thank-You Notes." I found them so interesting because they're both on letterhead from the Buffalo Evening News. Was this something you could write in for, or did the former owner of my book write an etiquette column in the News? Since I don't really know where I picked this up, I have no idea.
There are some samples of good thank you notes. Here's one of my favorites:
"Dear Sandra,
I'm so excited about the (name of gift) that you sent. Who but you would have thought of something so clever and charming? I so appreciate your thinking of me.
Love, Jane"
That's a very good thank you note, and could be applied to anything from a sweater to, say, an Amazon gift certificate. It could be sent by e-mail if, say, you didn't know the person's postal address and didn't know how to look it up on the Internet.
I also like this:
"If you really detest the gift, find something nice about it (such as color) that you can praise sincerely."
I think this one would come in handy for thank yous for job interviews. Something like "The tour of the company grounds was truly impressive" for one of those "I'd-love-to-work-here-if-everyone-I-just-met-wasn't-such-a-jerk" interviews.