Scatter-shots

New Yorker cartoons: So true, so funny, so painful...

2010-03-21T16:57:00.003-03:00

This cartoon from the 3rd August 2009 New Yorker strikes me as very funny and very real.

When I was job-hunting (recently, in my 50s) I felt young, my ideas were young, but my gray hair was certainly 'not young'. I believe my career accomplishments were energetic, innovative, and geared toward techno-enabled solutions.

But there seemed to be a bias toward someone "like me", i.e. the interviewee being older than the interviewer, that roused suspicions as to my integrity or my intentions. I was seeking to "dial-down" my responsibilities, rather than perpetuating upward career trajectory. Seeking more simplicity in my life may have been viewed as subversive and counter-intuitive.

Excuse me... can I have a bite of your underwear?

2010-03-12T19:56:00.005-04:00

______________________________________________

What next???

You have to love a company like AussieBum - it's made a killing shilling to a largely gay-male clientele, but always comes up with fresh products and fantastic marketing. Their products are varied but - let's be sensible here, but just for a moment - intended for guys who can carry off sexy swim wear and underwear.

The company put itself on the map for its retro version of a Speedo made of nylon rather than lycra/spandex. (photo to left)

I think it brilliant that their new underwear, made from banana fibre, can also be characterized as a 'banana hammock', one of the many nicknames for Speedos. (video)

...Those crafty Germans...

2010-03-08T19:53:00.006-04:00

This is my edit of a little article I saw in today's Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada).

At a recent tech fair in Germany, inventor Karl Lenser showed off a necklace made of dog feces from his Jack Russell, Charlie.

'I saw when it was in the microwave that it becomes hard. It becomes beautiful like a jewel. If people see it they want to have it. I am sure it will become a fashion.'"

Globe & Mail, p. L-8, 8th March

____________________________________

When I see things like this, my usual initial inner query is:

How did they discover this?

Oh... the dog pictured here is my Jack-a-poo (Jack Russell/Poodle) Bobbin, not the Charlie of the news snippet. As you might surmise from Bobbin's visage, she wouldn't put up with anything as ridiculous as excreting jewelry.

Future past-perfect: The Philco Predicta "futuristic" television set

2009-10-03T20:16:00.001-03:00

This photo is from the book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s (Cara Greenberg, HARMONY Books, 1984). The hi-light on this page is the Philco Predicta, which was from the late 50s and early 60s. These are now collectibles, and very hard to come by.

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This is the credenza or table-top model. Note that wonderful, very 50s metal stand, which plays off the wall art.

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This is the one in my library. It's the pedestal version. I purchased this for $75.00, about 20 years ago in Vancouver. The dusty, cramped radio/TV repair shop was ancient, as was the proprietor. The TV works (for a while, then goes frizzy), but I couldn't charm the man to spend time getting it tip-top. He shrugged his shoulders and said: "But who has the time?" He's right, as I don't even know if you can even buy the vacuum tubes needed to fix it.

If I ever wanted to sell this Predicta, the starting bid would be about $3,000. But I'm not so inclined.

Transportation can be so transient

2009-09-26T20:43:00.001-03:00

When we were at Expo 88 in Brisbane, we also took this hovercraft service from Brisbane to the Gold Coast (it's something like Waikiki but I think the beach goes 20 miles).

The service didn't last long. My experience is hovercraft or hydrofoil services often don't pay off.

Devon Rex cats are beautiful

2009-09-17T21:09:00.002-03:00

I've been reviewing my many boxes of photos.

This photo of two of our Devon Rex kittens, circa 1984, brings back so many great memories. It's actually bitter-sweet to see these beautiful cats again, as it was so wrenching when they passed on.

The fine print...

2009-09-16T19:18:00.000-03:00

Considering that some of the longest literary articles to be found in North American magazines are in the New Yorker, it is funny that it also has some of the smallest ads.

These niche ads must work, as these two - not exactly mass market items - have been running for years.

Dial-ing it down...

2009-09-13T16:18:00.002-03:00

The photo is a close approximation to my family's first telephone in late 1950s, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The phone did not even come with a curly cord, then, and was hard-wired to the wall. It would be a long, long time (possibly 15-20 years) before we even had wall jacks in Nova Scotia. We had a party line (another idea that is not easily assimilated by today's consumers) and only five numbers - no prefix. I think our first number was '44336'; I guess monumental events just stay with you.

I'm bemused by the fact that some of today's kids - possibly even young adults - do not know how to use a dial phone. But to be fair, communications and miniaturization have moved so fast that connected young people may look at this the same way I looked at telegram delivery by bicycle.

Suspension of dis-belief...

2009-09-11T19:55:00.026-03:00

When traveling, I'm always drawn to bridges. I have lived near suspension bridges on both sides of Canada. My admiration of the beautiful, and yes, sensuous lines of a suspension bridge never wanes.

I've driven across the Lions Gate and the Macdonald bridges numerous times as a resident of Vancouver and Halifax.

I've driven over the Golden Gate Bridge when vacationing in San Francisco.And I was on cruise ships when sailing under the Lions Gate and the Lisbon Bridge.All of the bridges evoke similar admiration regardless of the length of the span.

The bridges, from the top:

The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, Halifax Canada

The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco USA

The April 25th Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal

The Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, Canada

Oh, my nerves... Ellen on American Idol

2009-09-10T20:55:00.003-03:00

To each his own...

I've tried and tried, but I just can't stand her. (Not her views, certainly not her orientation...)

My view is that she is not funny, but millions think she is. I advise you to actually listen to her, and see that you can anticipate a lot of what her humourous comments will be, once she starts on one of those meandering topics. She actually makes the long departed George Gobel - whose patter also had a kind of Bob Newhart languidness - look like he's a fast talker.

I don't think it genius of the AI producers to hire her. She has been patently un-funny as host of the Emmys, the Tonys, and the Oscars. And on Idol, she has the ego of Simon Cowell to deal with, and the diva aspect of Ryan Seacrest. (On second thought, this might be a train wreck that I won't be able to turn away from.)

By the way... her show is being sued for copyright infringement of recorded music. Hmmm... now isn't that what is normally called a conflict of interest?

Waiting for their 19th kid

2009-09-09T20:21:00.007-03:00

The Duggars of Arkansas are expecting their 19th child.

I think this is aberant behaviour, but there is nothing illegal about it.

Since the Duggars are white and fervent Christians, one is not expected to find this behaviour anything but loving and generous on their part.

I posit that if an immigrant Muslim family, say, from Iraq, was awaiting their 19th child, there would be a hue and cry about "them taking over", "that's just not right!", and so on.

Evita's crypt

2009-09-08T21:13:00.011-03:00

Eva (Duarte) Peron's resting place is one of the most-visited tourist spots in South America. You don't actually see anything but the door to her family's crypt, but the historical, and yes, tragic story of her rise from poverty to First Lady of Argentina is so incredible it seems more like fiction than fact.

Kathleen Turner in Crimes of Passion

2009-09-07T14:39:00.001-03:00

This film is all about dichotomy and conflict. There are themes of damnation & redemption, repressed sexuality & explicit sexuality, fidelity & adultery, honesty & hypocrisy. These themes are all driven by a blazing and unhibited performance by a young and radiant Kathleen Turner, only two years after she came to fame in BODY HEAT.

In a satisfyingly characterization (verging on camp) of a misguided, actually deranged preacher, Anthony Perkins gives us a scarifying jolt as a man of very ragged cloth.

The movie's pacing is mostly frenzied, but Turner's performance as good girl clothes designer by day and hooker bad girl by night is nuanced and rooted in reality regardless of the plot's fantastic machinations. This Ken Russell film was not a popular success but there is a core constituency of fans extolling its sheer creativity and audaciousness. This film is not for the prudish - it is ADULT and has some graphic sex scenes and violent situations.

From Sydney, with love...

2009-09-05T23:26:00.012-03:00

The Sydney Opera House really is worth seeing. It is as spectacular as you think it is, especially at night.

The SOH went on my to see list when I first heard of it the year it opened in 1973. You may not be aware that the commission for the opera house was launched in 1959 - yes there was that much politics and then construction problems, etc. It was generally reviled when it opened, but then soon became a source of pride for Australia. (The same scenario also applied to the Eiffel Tower - disdain then love!)

These photos are (c) Ted White, 1988, on our first visit. Two of them are taken from the Manley Island Ferry.

From Mars, with love...

2009-09-03T20:08:00.000-03:00

The University of Arizona - Tucson released more wonderful, quirky, and beguiling close-range photos of Mars. This crater evokes some kind of flower.

Fantastic.

For Mom, with love...

2009-09-02T21:03:00.003-03:00

I think it's about time Mom made it to the web.

She died four years ago, today. She was 88, and well looked after by my sister for many years.

Carmen and I will make a visit to the gravesite tomorrow.

Six-toed in Hemingway country

2009-09-01T22:08:00.002-03:00

This is one of the descendents of Ernest Hemingway's six-toed cats from several decades ago (perhaps the 1930s or 40s). If memory serves, there were still about 70 cats that have free rein of the Hemingway House in Key West.

By the way, that is a urinal in the background. Hemingway took it from his favourite Key West bar (if I've got my story right), but his wife told him to get rid of it. It remains in the garden as a planter.

photo (c) M. Stewart, June 2003 in Key West

The Arch in St. Louis, Missouri

2009-08-31T20:44:00.001-03:00

Still my favourite man-made sculpture. Simplicity really is the best when it comes to art that does not age. This still looks fresh... can you say the same about Mount Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty. (I'm not knocking them, just contrasting them.)

Technically this is a monument, and it is an engineering marvel. I saw the film detailing the construction as part of the admission to the ride up to the top. Old footage, of course, but fascinating information on how this was built to meet in the middle, much like the Chunnel was built from both France and England to meet.

The Duchess

2009-08-30T14:25:00.001-03:00

I finally got around to watching this 2008 movie. What a joy. You have some idea of what to expect when Ralph Fiennes is in a movie, but Keira Knightley may surprise you with this nuanced performance.

She is best known as the feisty damsel in distress in those silly PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movies. She was also excellent in ATONEMENT - another well-done film but one with a very sad narrative.

Is it art or is it math?

2009-08-30T13:49:00.000-03:00

I like to peer into them, but then my head starts to hurt.

A fractal is generally "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole,"^[1] a property called self-similarity.

(Wikipedia)

We're not that big a thing...

2009-08-28T14:33:00.001-03:00

The photo and text is from a UPI.com article on July 17th, 2009. We can always use reminders that the world does not revolve around us, but that we are but a small part of the universe.

The Earth rise is seen from the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969. NASA marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon and the historic first "moonwalk" this year. During the eight-day space mission, Armstrong and Aldrin explored the Moon's surface and brought back rock samples for scientists to study. Collins piloted the command module in the lunar orbit during their 22-hour stay on the moon. (UPI Photo/NASA) |

Air so clean...the view so clear...

2009-08-27T20:23:00.004-03:00

It's late August (already!) but not too late to take a look around and enjoy a peaceful setting.

Barring unknown complications, our future cottage will be built here at COTTAGE COUNTRY near Windsor, Nova Scotia. (Falls Lake, near Vaughan, NS.)

The lake was so clear.

The brook so placid where it flows under the resort's bridge.

The bull-rushes at the front of my property so plentiful and standing so strong.

The ducks so serene in the pristine lake.

Yes... it is a good thing to take a breath, look around, and appreciate the wonderful nature that defines Nova Scotia.

Photos (c) M. Stewart 2009

The squeaky wheel gets re-lease...

2009-08-26T20:59:00.000-03:00

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was freed from federal prison this month. She served more than 30 years for trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975.

Let's face it - she earned kook status just by being a follower or friend of Charles Manson. But in attempting assasination of a President, she showed that she was also stupid. Regardless, I think 30 years was too much for the offense, at least compared to what she would have gotten in Canada. In our home and native land, successful killers have spent single digit stays in prison. (Not everyone, what with mandatory sentences, but 30 for an attempt would be considered cruel and inhumane punishment.)

Image from USA Today, 06 August 2009

The edge of stupidity...

2009-08-25T20:47:00.000-03:00

Nova Scotia experienced Hurricane Bill this past weekend. It wasn't as bad as some in the past, but still churned up some extremely high and dangerous waves and surge.

Without fail, these storms bring people out to Peggy's Cove, which is renowned for its desolate beauty. It is also known locally for the fact that during or immediately after the big storms someone gets washed away watching the big waves. This year several people were washed off the rocks, but were lucky to be rescued. Lucky them... stupid them... but lucky.

Photo by Eric Wynne, Halifax Chronicle Herald, August 2009

St. Peter's the great..

2009-08-24T20:28:00.001-03:00

Whether a fervent Catholic or not, one cannot be but dazzled by the majesty of St. Peter's Basilica and the Square in Vatican City.

Photos (c) M. Stewart 2004

Jennifer O'Neill / Summer of '42

2009-08-23T19:50:00.001-03:00

I read the book and saw the movie in 1972, I believe it was. I thought Jennifer O'Neill one of the most naturally beautiful women - you know... the well-scrubbed next door mythos - I'd ever seen. And I just read this same phrase on the net in someone's appreciation of this movie and she.

I was only 20 myself, and the emotion of the movie (whether it seems hokey or not now that I'm older) remains with me to this day. I loved it then, I love it now.

I'm Henry VIII, I am... Welcome to MTV-Cribs

2009-08-22T19:35:00.001-03:00

Exploring sites of historical &/or architectural interest is one of the essential aspects of all my travels. I usually purchase one of the official books on sale in the gift shop, take it home, and never read it. Whether I read the book or not, it is always in my library as a reference point.

Hampton Court has a rich history prior to, during, and after Henry VIII received it as a (likely not-so-willing) gift from Cardinal Wolsey. There's lots of background on this in the library or on the net.

Really, all I wanted to say was that I recall how much I enjoyed the official tour of the buildings when there in 2000. But the next time you see Hampton Court in historical (semi-historical?) presentations such as THE TUDORS, ask yourself:
Why do the buildings look 400 years old if they are being presented in the context of current events rather than historical interest?

photos (c) M. Stewart, 2000

The first time I saw Paris...

2009-08-22T14:01:00.000-03:00

David McKenzie, a sexologist in Vancouver, says humans have a “natural proclivity” to have relationships with inanimate objects. Consider the 2000 movie Cast Away in which Tom Hanks connects with a volleyball he calls Wilson.

The lady on the left, Erika LaBrie, is gaga over the Eiffel Tower.

The first time I came across the concept of people being attracted to inanimate objects, usually in lieu of people, was on Boston Legal. They had a case wherein a woman was claiming discrimination because she was in love with her toaster (or something like that).

But then again, I recall the movie CRASH (David Cronenburg's adaption of J.G. Ballard's novel - no relation to the other movie called CRASH) where the lead characters could only achieve sexual satisfaction if they were physically involved in car crashes. And they would become aroused if they caressed damaged vehicles. (The movie disturbed a lot of people, but I thought it was an interesting examination of a sub-culture. I mean, is getting aroused from a car crash that far from getting excited by speeding? Isn't there danger inherent in both situations?)

Even plastic can be "timeless" design

2009-08-20T18:01:00.000-03:00

This is the Solair chair, an icon of mass market design that is excellent, comforting (and comfortable), and at one time ubiquitous in motels, home patios, and casual meeting places.

According to the Toronto Sun (June 10, 2009):

Michelange Panzini and Fabio Fabiano designed the now familiar plastic seat with open cutwork, snapped on to a steel rim. The company that ordered it paid about $5,000, a fortune for them. “We opened champagne and gave away the rights,” Panzini recalls.

Isn't he happy???

2009-08-19T18:55:00.000-03:00

This is one of the handmade paper "prints" that I got in Honolulu in December 2002. It just makes me smile. I think if I were to get a tattoo, this is the one: it's simple, concurrently familiar and ambiguous, and it is certainly more singular than much of the body art that one sees.

The cat's meow

2009-08-18T20:56:00.000-03:00

I long wanted to make a trip to Key West, with a stop at Ernest Hemingway's house on the itinerary. I got there in 2003. This is the gatehouse where you pay your fee. This cat lolling away the day is one of the 70+ current descendants of the famous Hemingway six-toed cats.

Photo c. M. Stewart 2003

Where's Jaws?

2009-08-17T13:31:00.000-03:00

This is one of the old-style cable cars once used to get to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro. It's on display at entrance to the gondola. They've been replaced by sleeker ones, but there is something to be said for the old wobbly ones.

James Bond and Jaws fought on top of one of these in the movie MOONRAKER.

Photo M. Stewart c2002

Boston subway December 2007

2009-08-16T20:59:00.000-03:00

Now, this is funny. That's me on the left, looking every inch like an exhausted working Joe ignoring everyone else on the subway. But I was actually coming back from a lovely lunch at Harvard Square.

Photo shot by Ted White, 2007

Do not disturb the grass...

2009-08-14T19:36:00.000-03:00

The Band Stand in the Halifax Public Gardens. This is a lovely, formal garden touted as being a Victorian Garden... it is indeed lovely, but very uptight. The signs prohibit dogs (even on leash), no running, no walking or sitting on grass (there is one congested area where one can lay down or kids can play), no music, and not even a jog is allowed. One could not confuse this garden with New York's Central Park nor Vancouver's Stanley Park.

The Public Gardens is also closed for the winter, rather than having its paths cleared so people might enjoy a brisk walk through the park. Now, the intention to keep the park pristine is laudable, but Halifax (the city I was raised in and recently returned to after three decades) with its myriad regulations, does have a nanny state complex, protecting citizens and the grass from outlanders and interlopers.

(photo c M. Stewart, Aug 2009)

South America does enjoy its Catholic iconography

2009-08-13T20:14:00.000-03:00

A statue of Mary, Mother of Jesus, taken in Santiago, Chile, December 2001. She overlooks the city, but must have been on vacation when Pinochet had so many citizens killed.

Photo c. M.Stewart