Tag: Fashion (Page 1 of 2)

Seven Things I Love (5-23-2022)

Before we get started – hey Wordle fans, have you tried Artle yet? I read about it this morning on Hyperallergic. It was launched by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. I got the second piece of art today. Haven’t a clue what the first one was.

Also, I found a large stash of British coins in a Harrods coin purse I had (much more logical than in with my foreign coin collection because I plan on using these next time I go to the UK.) And there were enough for me to make the shield. COOL! I even had enough for two more shields less one coin each. I have a ridiculous amount of foreign coinage.

Anyway, back to the important stuff!

1. These Toast Plates – Those who know me will understand why I went a little gaga when I saw these and they also know I would never leave the store without having purchased them.

I found these beauties in the gift area of my local grocery store, but if you want them (and why wouldn’t you?!?) I found them online for significantly less than what I paid (about a third of the price.) I’m thinking I may need more than 4!
(Especially after I broke one of the glasses I bought in Prague today, glasses that I bought 27 years ago and can’t get any more. It me wish I had bought more than 4.)

Click on the picture below to go to the site.

2. This 13-Year-Old Singing Empty Chairs at Empty Tables – If this doesn’t make your heart ache you had better check your pulse.

[Found on My Modern Met]

3. This Turn-of-the-(Twentieth)-Century French “Influencer” – Cléopâtre-Diane de Mérode was born in 1875 in Paris. Her mother enrolled her in ballet classes at eight years old. Turns out that Cleo was a prodigy, and she debuted with the Paris Ballet when she was only eleven years old.

By sixteen, Cleo had become a teenage trend setter, becoming known for her signature hairstyle (a chignon.) The hairstyle became so popular it caused problems with the Swedish telephone service…

“The Stockholm telephone authorities are finding fault now with the way in which (switchboard operators) do their hair. It appears that of late the Swedish lassies …have adopted the mode of coiffure first initiated by the French dancer Cleo de Merode, in which the hair is drawn over the ears. The subscribers have since found a falling off in the hearing powers of the operators, as the result of which complaints of inefficiency in the service have been made.” 

The American telephone journal, Volume 8, 1903

This photo was taken in 1903 and would have been sold as a collectible card/postcard. Didn’t the person who do the restoration/colorizing do an amazing job?

Cléo de Mérode has been referred to as the most beautiful woman in the world.

If you want to read more about her, there is an excellent article here.

4. This Photo – I literally love everything about it. Literally.

5. This British Television Personality’s Laugh – this will make your day. I wish this show was on in the U.S.

[Seen on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver]

6. This Instagram Artist – You’ll absolutely go down the rabbit hole on this IG page. Ariel Adkins travels the world creating wearable art that matches or complements the places she is photographed.

[Found on Messy Messy Chic]

7. This History of Why We Decorate Our Nails – This was super interesting. It’s not just about the history of why we paint our nails, but also about the cultural significance of nail art. (Melissa K, you’ll want to watch, obs.)

[Found on CNN]

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Quote of the Week


Song of the Week

One last thing, if you have HBO Max, I highly recommend this documentary. It’s two parts. Click on the image below to see the trailer.

Seven Things I Love (5-9-2022)

1. This Outfit for the Met Gala 2022 – People have a lot of strong opinions about the Met Gala. Some say it’s an ostentatious event full of self-absorbed, pretentious individuals who have too much money. (After all, tickets are $35,000* a piece.)

Others say it’s a pretentious event full of ostentatious, self-absorbed individuals who have too much money. (Just kidding.)

They see it as an opportunity to showcase creativity in the areas of fashion and the performing arts.

Whatever side you fall on, you can’t deny, it’s a spectacle.

My interest is dependent upon the theme. This year I was excited about the theme – Gilded Glamour – because I love Victorian and Edwardian era clothing. I expected people to use fashion of the “Gilded Age” as inspiration for their gowns/ensembles. There were a number of incredible designers of that period (Charles Frederick Worth, Paul Poiret, Jeanne Paquin, Madeleine Chériut, and John Redfern to name a few) as well as a few modern designers who use fashion of the era for inspiration (Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Christian Lacroix.)

For the most part I was disappointed.

But then I saw Emma Corrin, wearing this outfit by Miu Miu, and, well, at least the Met Gala gave us this. Corrin did her homework (or her designer did her homework) and IMHO she won the Met Gala.

Emma’s outfit is a modern take on one worn by Mr. Evander Berry, known as “The King of the Dudes,” in 1888. He was a Gilded Age fashion icon and once changed his clothes FORTY times between breakfast and lunch. (You can click on his photo below to read more.)

There were three other dresses that I think did the theme justice – Nicola Coughlan, Cardi B., and Billie Eilish.

*Did you know that the Met Gala is a benefit for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art? The Costume Institute, which is self funded, will be receiving $17.4 million from the 2022 gala – a record amount.

[Seen at the Met Gala and found in Vogue]

2. This Barbie Doll – It’s sold out, but if you click on the photo below you’ll be sent to the Mattel page with all the close-up photos. The amount of detail is incredible. The original cost was $75. They’re already selling on eBay for $200-$500.

[Found by Jeannie and found on the Modern Met]

Also this Barbie Doll…

Part of a quartet of Star Wars Barbies. In addition to C-3PO Barbie I also love Stormtrooper Barbie but honestly, they’re all fabulous. They were released in 2020. At that time they cost $100 each. Amazingly you can actually still find them. C-3PO appears to be the one most available. It currently costs around $150. Stormtrooper Barbie is harder to find and is priced between $225 and $450. Chewbacca is running minimally for $500. And Rey is $200+.

3. This Guy, Perfectly Copying How Specific Actors Run – no words necessary.

[Found by my “little” bro, Chuck. Thanks Charlie!]

4. This Amazon Commercial – I abhor Jeff Bezos which means, by association, I hate all things Amazon. I stopped my Amazon Prime membership from renewing and I only order from Amazon when I absolutely have to. (I always try to buy from small, local businesses.)

Having said that, even greedy corporations can do good things once in a while. And I think that is the case with the all-female delivery services they have set up in South India. Giving women employment opportunities in Kerala, Chennai, Kadi, and Gujarat is a big deal.

One thing I’ve learned in my years of supporting charities that help women: when you help women there is a much higher chance for success (i.e personal growth & advancement, health & education of their children, safety & security, etc.)

(If the video isn’t showing above click on the image below to go to YouTube.)

5. This Shel Silverstein Stamp – I don’t think that there are many people in the U.S. under the age of 60 who aren’t, at the very least, familiar with Mr. Silverstein’s book The Giving Tree, or who haven’t chuckled while reading/hearing one of his poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends.

I, along with so many other GenXers, have been a huge fan, so when I saw these stamps I knew that I had to get some. And I did, three sheets.

Being a children’s librarian for twelve years (before becoming a library director for another dozen years) I’ve read more Silverstein than the average person.

One poem that I (and pretty much every other librarian in the world) really love is his poem “Overdues” from ‘A Light in the Attic.’ Course as most libraries are now eliminating fines, some day it will be completely “dated.” Still, probably not in my lifetime, so I’m not going to worry about it!

But it seems that more people are now seeing the message of ‘The Giving Tree’ as being negative. I sort of get that. As a kid ‘The Giving Tree’ wasn’t one of my favorite books. I didn’t like that the kid used up every little bit of the tree. I thought the kid should have let the tree thrive and grow. (My favorite book was actually Mrs. Twiggley’s Tree.)

Still, the majority of Silverstein’s iconic books were only in black and white. I’m sure they wanted a picture that everyone would recognize but that also had color.

[Found on USPS]

6. This Perfectly Aligned Telescope – If you click on the picture below you can get all the scientific details but ultimately you can see, the photo on the left is the normal shot they’ve gotten in the past, and the photo on the right is with the new perfectly aligned telescope. MAGNIFICENT!

[Found on Gizmodo]

7. This Frank Lloyd Wright “Preserve” – When FLW designed homes he took every little detail into consideration. This is why most of the homes he designed included FLW furniture made especially for the house. He also was very aware of environment, making sure that whatever he constructed blended well and since he often used nature for inspiration his homes were located in green, woodsy spaces.

A couple who were trying to sell their FLW house couldn’t find a buyer. Urban creep was threatening to overtaken one of FLW’s creations. So a very remarkable solution was found.

This story made me weepy (happy weepy.)

[Seen on Sunday Morning – obviously.]

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What to Watch This Week

Seven Things I Love (4-18-2022)

  1. 1. This Shower “Tool” – I’ve used a loofah/pouf for decades. Originally I used natural sponge loofahs but I stopped after reading they were breeding grounds for bacteria. I switched to nylon poufs, which are a little easier to keep clean, but always felt guilty about the environmental impact, especially because they are so big and they need to be replaced every few months since they stretch out so much.

When I read about LuvScrub exfoliating scrubs, which have been used in West Africa for decades, they sounded like a potential compromise.

And they are. They may not be made out of a natural material but they are made out significantly less nylon than poufs. And there are other reasons why they are better than both loofahs and poufs.

  • They make may skin feel wonderful. It’s much smoother and softer. I feel it does a better job exfoliating than my pouf. Not sure why, it’s kind of the same material, but it does.
  • I love that you can stretch it, like you would a towel, to scrub your back. I had been using a separate brush with a long handle, now I only have the one thing in my shower.
  • This thing is going to be awesome if I ever get to travel again (which may never happen now that that dumb-ass Florida judge got rid of the travel mask mandate. I hope to god that get appealed, and quickly.) It’s small and compact and will be so easy to pack and it dries quickly.

[Found on Refinery29]

2. These Knitting Projects – I’m still just a beginning knitter but a girl likes to dream…

Details on the projects:

  1. “Foolish Virgins” Mittens – created by Lacesockslupins (knitting), this person used this scarf as inspiration. FANTASTIC!
  2. Fantailed Goldfish Hot Water Bottle Cover – created by MimiCodd (knitting), Mimi wrote that it’s going to be a Christmas gift for someone, “probably” (that made me smile). I would totally keep it. When I was in India in 2019 we stayed in an inn that gave the guests hot water bottles. It was heaven. Americans should use them more.
  3. Horse Sculpture – created by Psyche-dog (crochet) and many, MANY others for the National Waterways Museum. “500 – 4” granny squares were made by the museum crochet group plus yards of curly braid for mane and tail. All stitched to topiary frame by me. Made to celebrate the value of horses in the history of England’s canals. The horse will be displayed at the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK from the end of June 2017 for a few years, hopefully.” EPIC.
  4. Chair Cover – created by Ponnekeblom (crochet) for their daughter using loads of leftover yarn. Why pay hundreds of dollars for a reupholsterer?
  5. “Knit” Apple Pie – created by Knitsforlife (knitting), technically it’s the top crust. This person is one dedicated knitter.
  6. “A Very Warm Book” or A Knitted Book Cover – created by Craftivore (knitting). They had me at EX LIBRIS.
  7. Flashdance Chair Sock/Legwarmers – created by The KnittyStew. Gotta love people who have a sense of humor! I’m thinking these might have people sliding around but that might not be such a bad thing. At least they’ll protect the floors for a bit.

[Found on Ravelry]

3. This Basic Income Program for Artists in Ireland – 2000 artists will be chosen to receive €325 (about $355) per week with no restrictions. Ireland wants to make the idea of the “starving artist” a thing of the past (though I’m not sure how far $350/week will go). Still, it’s a start. They will be trying this out for three years.

There’s good reason to support the arts – it has a positive impact on society and communities that have strong arts programs thrive. And, though this isn’t necessarily good for the artists themselves, it has been discovered that as public art goes up so do property values.

Meanwhile, over in Dublin, a legal battle over street art is brewing.

Mural by Nick Harvey in Galway, Ireland – photo by Hardiman’s Galway

[Found on Hyperallergic]

4. These New York Libraries Giving Access Nationally to Fight Censorship

New York Public Library

Books for All – The New York Public Library is giving anyone who wants to sign up free access to a variety of commonly censored titles through their free reading app, SimpleE. You can download the app on your iOS or Android device and read the “unbanned books” through May 31st (must be 13 years of age.) There is no wait time!

Books UnBanned – Brooklyn Public Library is doing one better. They are offering cards to any young adult in the country, age 13 to 21, for an entire year. The service is meant to be used to supplement and fill the gaps of what YAs can’t get in their own communities. Additionally (and this is super cool) “Those 13 to 21, who access the free eCard from BPL, will be able to connect with their peers in Brooklyn, including members of BPL’s Intellectual Freedom Teen Council, to help one another with information and resources to fight censorship, book recommendations and the defense of freedom to read.”

If I were a teen right now I would totally be doing this. (BPL also has a collection of frequently censored titles with no wait times.)

To apply for the card, teens can send a note to BooksUnbanned@bklynlibrary.org, or via the Library’s s teen-run Instagram account, @bklynfuture. The $50 fee normally associated with out-of-state cards will be waived.

[Found on Time Out]

5. This Iris Apfel Ring – Sigh. Ms. Apfel teamed up with H&M and put out a fantastic collection that was also affordable. It became available in the U.S. last Thursday and SOLD OUT in hours – before I even had a chance to read the Refinery29 article. UNFAIR! There are many things I would have loved to have bought but this ring is the one thing I really, REALLY wanted.

Photo of some of the pieces from the collection including Iris Apfel wearing THE ring.

[Found on Refinery29]

6. This Bio-Series – Bio-series, I think that’s what this would be called – so many different names for the various types of television series nowadays.

This new show, on HBOMax, is about Julia Child as she works through the first year of her cooking show being on the air. Overall it’s fairly historically accurate but of course nobody knows exactly what people say or do in private, so the writers extrapolated some of it using biographies, articles, documents, letters, recordings, and even Wikipedia. And a few things they made up but it totally works.

It’s simply called Julia and that is a perfect title. I LOVE THIS SHOW! It’s exactly what I think people need right now – upbeat, cheerful, funny, and hopeful. After all, we all know that she’s going to succeed.

If you don’t have HBOMax you may want to get it just for this, or at least get the 7-day trial and watch it (though if you do that, wait until May 5th since that is when the last episode will be airing.)

Also, if you have or get HBOMax I recommend watching Our Flag Means Death and Minx.

Sarah Lancashire as Julia Child

7. This Man, Who Won the Lottery and Used the Winnings to Start an Environmental Foundation – This is what I’ve said I always wanted to do if I ever won the lottery! If you don’t believe me I have multiple friends you can ask – there’s a group of us who all want to do the same thing.

A retiree in France won the second highest lottery in French history €200 million ($217 million) and used the money to start a foundation that concentrates on revitalizing forests, and preserving and regenerating biodiversity. He also has money set aside for supporting family caregivers, which is amazing. You can read more if you click on the image below.

[Found on MyModernMet]

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Song of the Week

Seven Things I Love (3-7-2022)

Tuesday is International Women’s Day
CELEBRATE accordingly!!!

  1. 1. This Ukrainian Artist’s Work – Maria Prymachenko’s artwork are cheery and colorful but some of the pieces are darker, which is not surprising considering what the Ukrainian people have been through over the past decades.

[Found on Kottke.org]

  1. 2. This Website – The V&A Museum kept quite busy in 2020 and 2021, and through social media and online activities they kept their patrons informed and engaged during the pandemic. I follow them on Facebook and get their newsletter but somehow I missed this.
  2. Luckily a friend of mine’s daughter is dressing up as Marie Antoinette for school and while I was looking for this picture to show both of them I found this fun page.

What we have is an interactive site that allows you to create your very own Marie Antoinette style wig! You can make it as small or as LARGE as you like (I discovered that depending upon the way you swoop you can even create braids). After you’ve made your wig you can decorate it with a various feathers, flowers, pendants, and other items (note the ship). Last, but not least, you can powder it to your heart’s content (there are some lovely colors to choose from.)

Here’s one of my creations

I always love learning new things, especially history. This was particularly fun. Is seems the wigs got pretty out of control for a while. Men’s wigs were as big a deal as the women’s wigs.

[Found on Dazed Digital]

3. This Mom’s Sense of Humor – Kayla Marie Sullivan used her skills from when she was a reporter to convey the difficulties of parenting a two-year-old.
It’s H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S.

@kaylareporting

Now accepting donations for babysitters & or take out! Venmo: @Kayla-Sullivan-96 🤣 #NewsVoice #ToddlerMom #EveryKiss #newsvoice #YerAWizard #2022

♬ original sound – Kayla Marie Sullivan

4. This Historic Mystery Solved! I have loved the Venus of Willendorf (sometimes called the Woman of Willendorf) since the first time I saw it. I mean, what’s not to love – they worshiped a voluptuous babe!

The Venus is estimated to be around 30,000 years old and made from oolite limestone. It’s called the Venus of Willendorf because it was found in 1908, somewhere close to the banks of the Danube River near Willendorf, Austria. But they’ve never know her origin.

Researchers led by Gerhard Weber, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Vienna, believe they have matched the figurine’s limestone with a location near Lake Garda in northern Italy, revealing the likely origin of “one of the most famous signs of early modern human symbolic behavior,” according to a study published on Monday in Scientific Reports

The new research suggests that the crafters of this iconic object, a hunter-gatherer culture known as the Gravettian people, traveled hundreds of miles across the treacherous landscape of Europe before the last ice age, though the team noted that it’s unclear what might have prompted such a journey. 

From “Scientists Solve 30,000-Year-Old ‘Venus’ Statue Mystery, Study Says” by Becky Ferreira; March 1, 2022; Vice-motherboard

[Found on VICE]

5. This Crowd-Sourced History Project – Charles Dickens is well-known for his literary genius but one lesser known element of his life is that as a younger man he taught himself a form of shorthand using Thomas Gurney’s 18th century manual on Brachygraphy. The word Brachygraphy means “a system of writing using abbreviations or special characters” – in other words, shorthand.

There are several documents that Dickens wrote using brachygraphy that scholars have been struggling to decipher, some with success. But the one that has been most elusive is the Tavistock letter.

Two Dickensian scholars, Claire Wood of the University of Leicester, and Hugo Bowles of the University of Foggia, decided to create the Dickens Code Project in the hopes of getting assistance from puzzle experts and code breakers around the world. They ended up with sixteen full submissions, none of which were complete.

Shane Baggs, a computer technical support specialist from San Jose, California, won the overall contest, while a college student at the University of Virginia named Ken Cox was declared the runner-up.

Since then, Baggs and Cox have managed to finished deciphering nearly 70% of the letter, far more than they ever expected. You can see a line-by-line translation here.

Full page of the Tavistock letter.

6. This Inspiring Article – With all that is going on in the world we need some positivity and hope. Here ya go.

[Found on Harper’s Bazaar]

7. THIS Postmodern Jukebox Video – I was lucky enough to get to go to a REAL concert last week. I saw one of my favorite bands – Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ). And man, I was not disappointed!

PMJ does covers of songs in a variety of styles, such as the roaring twenties, sixties girl group, swing, jazz, gospel, and “film noir.”

This video is one of the songs sung at the concert – you will recognize it right away. We didn’t have this many performers but some of them – like Tia Simone (wow), LaVance Colley (wow), and Olivia Kuper Harris (beautiful) – were there on Friday!

Click on the photo below to see the video.

Word of the Week


Quote of the Week

Seven Things I Love (2-21-2022)

  1. 1. This Knitting Clock – I want one of these SOOOOOO badly. I’m not sure how great it would be for actually telling time but it knits a row a day so I think it could work more like a calendar. Either way it’s super fun!

At the end of the year you have about a 79 inch (2 meter) scarf. It’s incredibly brilliant. There’s also a grandfather clock version.

2. This Miniaturist – her attention to detail is truly mind boggling.

She also does these incredible replicas of television program* sets:

(*how much am I dating myself calling them “television programs”?)

3. This Guy Who Should Be Bound for Broadway – You have to watch it, that’s all I’ll say.

4. These Fashion Models – Can you image being at Milan Men’s Fashion Week and all of a sudden you see JEFF GOLDBLUM and KYLE MACLACHLAN strutting down the runway? Okay, I know, realistically, can any of us imagine ourselves even at the Milan Men’s Fashion Week. But still, these two men in their sixties can totally hold their own against the twenty-something models and I think that is fan-freaking-tastic! We need more 6o+ year-old fashion models!

Kyle MacLachlan & Jeff Goldblum at the Prada fashion show during Milan Men’s Fashion Week 2022 – photos by Daniele Venturelle (Getty Images)

5. This Black Woman in HistoryPauline E. Hopkins was an extraordinary woman: Author, Publisher, Editor, Singer, Activist, Lecturer, Hopkins wore many hats.

She was most likely the first black woman to write theatrical drama, detective stories, and a horror novel but never received recognition similar to that that white authors, even female white authors, received.

Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins was among America’s most influential magazine editors and feminists of the 1900s. She was an American novelist, journalist, playwright, historian, and editor. As a shareholder and editor, she sat at the helm of ‘The Colored American’ – the first monthly publication dedicated to African-American culture. She was ousted for being ‘too radical’. Hopkins is also considered a pioneer in her use of the romantic novel to explore social and racial themes.

from MessyNessyChic (Vol.DXCI)

A few of her books have been or are being reissued. Here’s one that is coming out in August that I absolutely want to get. It’s already available in other versions, if you don’t want to wait to read it, but I love the cover art on this…

Here’s the description from Bookshop.org:

A mixed-race Harvard medical student stumbles upon a hidden Ethiopian city, the inhabitants of which possess both advanced technologies and mystical powers.Long before Marvel Comics gave us Wakanda, a high-tech African country that has never been colonized, this 1903 novel gave readers Reuel Brigg –a mixed-race Harvard medical student, passing as white, who stumbles upon Telassar. In this long-hidden Ethiopian city, the wise, peaceful inhabitants of which possess both advanced technologies and mystical powers, Reuel discovers the incredible secret of his own birth. Now, he must decide whether to return to the life he’s built, and the woman he loves, back in America–or play a role in helping Telassar take its rightful place on the world stage. Considered one of the earliest articulations of Black internationalism, Of One Blood takes as its theme the notion that race is a social construct perpetuated by racists.

6. This Guy’s Commentary on Planes Landing at Heathrow During Storm EuniceBig Jet TV’s commentator, Jerry Dyers, is the best kind of British. His enthusiasm is infectious and you will find yourself rapt as you watch these planes in harrowing weather conditions. It may no longer be live but it doesn’t make it any less gripping (and in some parts truly entertaining) to see.

7. This Ruling from Colombia’s Highest Court – Today Colombia joined several other predominantly Catholic Latin American countries (and Cuba) in decriminalizing/legalizing abortion. Women in Colombia will now be able to receive abortions up to 24 weeks in safe facilities and doctors won’t have to fear about ramifications if they are put in a situation where they need to give an abortion to save the life of a mother or if they are asked to abort a fetus that resulted from rape or incest.

Ask you can imagine, there was much celebration.

People demonstrate in front of Colombia’s constitutional court against and in favour of removing abortion from the penal code, in Bogota, Colombia February 21, 2022. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

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Seven Things I Love (9-13-2021)

HELLLLOOOOOOOO! I’ve missed you all!

Sorry to have been absent for awhile but there was good reason. I migrated the website to a new host – YAY! Unfortunately it took WAY longer than expected. The data finally finished transferring last Monday, so now I should be able to do a lot more with the site. It’ll just be a matter of figuring out how to do it.

I’m starting an online course this week so expect some big changes in the near future (fingers crossed – I have a vision of what I want in my head, let’s see if I can actually pull it off!)

I’ve been saving things to post and have a lot to choose from so let’s get to it!

  1. 1. This New Show on Hulu called ‘Only Murders in the Building – I’m OBSESSED with this new series! And I’m not the only one, it’s getting rave reviews.
Only Murders In The Building — “Who Is Tim Kono?” – Episode 102 — The group begins researching the victim. Meanwhile, Mabel’s secretive past starts to be unraveled. L to R, Mabel (SELENA GOMEZ), Charles (STEVE MARTIN), and Oliver (MARTIN SHORT). (Photo by: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu)

Steve Martin came up with the idea for ‘Only Murders…’ and co-wrote it with John Hoffman. He stars alongside Martin Short and Selena Gomez. Anyone who is a fan of Steve Martin & Marty Short know they work very well together. The addition of Selena Gomez though seems way out in left field. But it works, so well. She’s an excellent straight person to the zaniness of two of comedies great legends.

Mabel Mora played by SELENA GOMEZ

Here’s the premise – it’s about three people who live in an old but still rather posh apartment building in NYC. They are all pretty much alone, each having issues in their personal relationships. Martin & Short’s characters, being in their 70s, are also dealing with their feeling of obsolescence and/or fading stardom.

Oliver Putnam played by MARTIN SHORT

There is one thing that connects the three of them – their love of murder mystery podcasts. And one night, as they discover their common interest, they find out that a person in their building has died by suicide. But the trio isn’t satisfied with how the police have closed the case so the they decide to start their own podcast (named “Only Murders in the Building” because they are only going to solve murders that occur in their building) and they vow to solve the mystery.

To pair up with the show there is, obviously, a PODCAST to listen to.

The episodes drop once a week, on Tuesdays, on Hulu. They’ve already done four episodes and there will be a total of ten episodes in the season.

Charles-Haden Savage played by STEVE MARTIN

(Although a second season hasn’t been officially announced, there is a good chance there will be one. The writers/actors involved seem to be onboard to continue and the viewership has been great. Although streaming services don’t release actual numbers (why is that?), Hulu did say that ‘Only Murders…’ was the most-watched comedy premiere in its history. That comes with a one big caveat though. Either way, people are excited about it and watching. If you aren’t watching yet do it now – we want to get a SECOND SEASON!

  1. 2. This Tweet of a video of Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in slo-mo.
    Are they both married to other people that they adore, yes. Did they put this on for the cameras to promote their new movie, yes. Is it swoonworthy, HELL YES.

3. These Gowns from the Met Gala, 2021 – this year’s theme is “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” Of course there was no Gala in 2020 but the themes for the last five balls were:

2019 – Camp: Notes on Fashion (and by camp they meant to camp it up, be campy)
2018 – Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (my favorite theme so far)
2017 – Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between
2016 – Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology
2015 – Through the Looking Glass

I personally find this year’s theme a little boring compared to the previous ones but nevertheless, the clothes did not disappoint. Here are a few of my favorites:

Natalia Bryant (Kobe’s daughter) wearing an exhibit dress by Conner Ives chosen by Anna Wintour. I think it’s beautiful – the color, the sparkle, and the fact that it de-emphasizes a woman’s figure to me is a wonderful statement on body image and body positivity. Gorgeous!

Billie Eilish – I personally love this dress because it’s (a) Oscar de la Renta, (b) pink, (c) a classic design and (d) totally out of character for Eilish! Plus, the girl actually has gorgeous boobs! Who knew!

Alexandria Ocacia-Cortez with the designer of her dress, Aurora James. Message is loud and clear AOC! (It says “Tax the Rich.”)

Jennifer Hudson, wearing AZ Factory – the woman is a goddess.

Rep. Carolyn Mahoney (NY-D) – I’m a sucker for positive political statements if you haven’t figured that out.

4. Russian Caviar Sofas – I’m not sure who thought of making these or why but honestly, I absolutely ADORE them!

[Found on MessyNessyChic]

5. This Tweet of a Video of Steve from Blue’s Clues! – Menopausal Broads are a little too old to have grown up actually watching Blue’s Clues, but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t get to experience it. Either we had our own kids who enjoyed the show, or our siblings had kids who were fans, or maybe some of us were even children’s librarians, who worked with kids, for well over a decade, during the time Steve was on the show, and who always made sure that Blue’s Clues books and videos were always on the shelves.

SO lovely to see him again. All those warm & fuzzy feelings!

6. This Patch You Can Order on Etsy – TOO PERFECT! Unfortunately the shop owner is currently away, but you can ask to be notified by email when they open back up.

7. This Response by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the Governor of Texas’s LOATHSOME & OUTRAGEOUS claim that he was going to “eliminate rape” when he was asked about the new Texas abortion law not having an exemption for rape & incest – AOC is excellent at explaining things clearly and in a way everyone can understand. It’s why she is such a threat to Republican politicians and why they have done everything they can to demonize her to their base.

Word of the Week


Quote of the Week

(And to be clear, there are pros and cons to both.)

Seven Things I Love (5-31-2021)

  1. 1. This Design by Stephen Burrows – If you haven’t watched Halston yet on Netflix, DO! They rather thoroughly cover “The Battle of Versailles Fashion Show” which occurred on November 28, 1973. Publicly it was advertised as an event to fund raise to revamp the Versailles, which was in dire need of restoration, but it also was an opportunity for American designers to show that they could hold their own against the French.

Created by Eleanor Lambert and Versailles curator Gerald Van der Kemp, the show pitted French designers (Yves Saint LaurentPierre CardinEmanuel UngaroMarc Bohan, and Hubert de Givenchy) against American designers (Oscar de la RentaStephen BurrowsHalstonBill Blass, and Anne Klein, who brought along her assistant, Donna Karan).

Many of the designers who were involved in the ‘Battle of Versailles’ have either retired or passed away but Stephen Burrows is not only still around but he’s on Instagram!

2. This Parody of the famous Queen Song called ‘Menopause Rhapsody’ – I mean, is there anyone who doesn’t love the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,” even when it’s used for satirical purposes? This is kinda genius.

3. This Painting – ‘The Merchant’s Wife at Tea’ by Boris Kustodiev, painted in 1918, oil on canvas; at the State Russian Museum.

4. This Fascinating Short Film about the Last Matriarchy in Europe – Kihnu is a small island off Estonia’s western coast. There are men on the island but they work as fishermen and leave for long periods of time. So the women are left alone and have learned to do everything for themselves. It’s an incredible microcosm and it would be tragic if it was lost. In fact, the Kihnu culture is on Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage of humanity list. But the younger members have been leaving to go to larger cities, where they can make more money and have more options.

Of course this is happening everywhere in the world. It used to be that people grew up and tended to live in the community where they were born. I know if you look at my family, both my parents had three siblings and five of them live within a 50 mile radius. Then if you look at their kids, even just on my mother’s side of the 14 grandkids only TWO live within a 50 mile radius.

Still, I think there are young people who would like to live this lifestyle. All those millennials into cottagecore.

Still, trying to find them might be difficult and of course they all would want wifi. And the current residents of Kihnu may not welcome newcomers.

5. These Gorgeous, Biological Illustrations by Ernst Haeckel – “Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel was a German zoologist, naturalist, eugenicist, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist, and artist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology, including ecology, phylum, phylogeny, and Protista.” [Found on MessyNessyChic]

6. This Poem by Alison Luterman – thanks to my friend LeAnn for posting it.

7. This New Series on PeacockTV – To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have watched this (I can’t start a new series!) but then I saw the cast – Sara Bareilles (Jesus Christ Superstar and who doesn’t love her song ‘Brave‘?), Busy Philipps (been in a bazillion things and I just adore her), Paula Pell (most famous as an SNL writer but also recently did a hilarious Quibi series called the ‘Mapleworth Murders’), and Renée Elise Goldsberry (one of the original Schuyler sisters!) The premise of the show actually seems made for me (the only thing I would have changed is making them an 80s band instead of a 90s band – obviously.)

Girls5eva used to be a popular girls band back in the 90s when these women were only teenagers. The name plays on the number of band members. Unfortunately things happened and the band separates and loses touch.

One day Dawn (Bareilles) hears a popular rapper doing a cover of one of Girls5eva’s songs on the radio. It occurs to her she’s owed some royalty money so she checks in with her old agent. She finds out he’s been sitting on the royalty checks for almost three months and the checks will be void with a day so because she doesn’t want her former bandmates to lose out on the cash she decides to deliver them and reconnects. I don’t want to get into any more of the storyline but here’s my thoughts:

  1. I had no idea that Sara Bareilles was just a good actor (yes another one of those people who is multi-talented
  2. Sara Bareilles wrote the songs used in the show, so of course they are amazing
  3. I really wanted to like Renée Elise Goldsberry’s character (Wickie) better but I feel like they haven’t developed her character enough/told enough backstory – I pray they do a second season!
  4. Was kinda bummed that they had all the women except Paula Pell play themselves as teenagers because she’s the only one who isn’t “thin.” I think they should have gotten teenagers that looked like the three other girls too.
  5. I think anyone who considers themself a Menopausal Broad can use a “second chances” story.

Word of the Day


Quote of the Day


One last thing that I have to close with, a video from ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.’ He wasn’t on the air but he did gift us with one of his delightful web exclusive videos. As usual, John Oliver nails it.

Seven Things I Love (5-24-2021): History Edition

  1. 1. This Patent Drawing – Which finally puts to rest the question over or under. I don’t mean to gloat but I KNEW IT and my Mamma never lead me astray.

From My Modern Met:

Over or under? This is the question that has plagued the Western world since the invention of modern toilet paper. It was in 1857 that New York-based inventor Joseph C. Gayetty developed the first packaged variety to be made widely available in the U.S. However, it wasn’t until 1871 that perforated rolls of toilet paper were invented. Seth Wheeler filed a patent for his innovative design for the first time that year, and he filed another for a refined version of his invention again in 1891.

The illustrated diagram from Wheeler’s 1891 patent sheds some light on how the toilet paper roll was originally intended to be used. According to the image, it appears that the dangling end was designed to hang over—rather than under—the roll. This may be a crippling blow to those who are of the persuasion that under is the way to go. Even so, if hanging your toilet paper roll under is wrong, they probably don’t want to be right.

Original Patent Drawing Puts an End to the Great “Over or Under” Toilet Paper Debate” by Arnesia Young; May 13, 2021; My Modern Met

2. These Videos about Women’s Clothing in History – They are all just too good. The first talks about how women’s clothing may actually have been created to help protect. The second gives the history of how standard sizes came to be and the motivations behind doing so (hint, it’s always money.) The third video is a fascinating history of why men traditionally wear pants and women traditionally wear skirts (or did they….)

And last but not least (and this is a a wee bit of a stretch but I’m including it) a video about the clothing in the show ‘The Nevers‘ – my current favorite television show, which can be seen on HBO Max. They’ve already aired the first half of season one (8 episodes) and will be airing the second half sometime in the fall I believe (another 8 episodes.) As the vlogger mentions, the show is extremely historically accurate with their costumes (and she should know, it is her area of expertise.) She takes the opportunity to bust the myth that clothing from that era was extremely restrictive. There have been anti-corset campaigns for some time. Certainly the extremely boned corsets that reshape the body are not/were not good, but for women of this era most weren’t wearing the tightly drawn or heavily boned corsets (like Scartlett O’Hara). Unless a woman was from a wealthy family she would have been quite active and probably wouldn’t have had the luxury of having a ladies maid.

3. This Article about the New Version of the Game ‘Oregon Trail’ – A fascinating essay where the author, who is a black historian, is in a battle between his longing for childhood nostalgia and truth-telling in history. Is there really any correct way to make a game about colonialization?

John Gast, “American Progress” (1872), oil on canvas, 12 3/4 inch x 16 3/4 inch
(image courtesy Wikimedia Commons, painting in possession of Autry Museum of the American West)

4. This Article on Book Curses – In medieval times, because books were handmade, written by scribes, and took a long time to make, they were rare and had great physical value. Most scribes and book owners did not have the financial means to protect their libraries with armed guards so instead they used words to fend off would-be thieves. Fortunately for them, most people believed in curses so it worked fairly well.

What I want to know is why don’t we use book curses today? They would look so nice on a bookplate. Even if most people don’t believe in curses anymore, at least it would remind them to keep their paws off of things that aren’t theirs.

I looked up some more and found one [here] that I am going to make into stickers so I can put it inside all my books:

Whoever steals this book
Will hang on a gallows in Paris,
And, if he isn’t hung, he’ll drown,
And, if he doesn’t drown, he’ll roast,
And, if he doesn’t roast, a worse end will befall him.

From a 15th century manuscript owned by Count Jean d’Orleans.
12th century Hell. Herrad von Landsberg/Public Domain.

5. These Articles about Coco Chanel and Her Nazi Connections – I’ve always been a huge fan of Coco Chanel so when I first read about this it made me extremely sad. The first article was from nearly a decade ago and appeared on MessyNessyChic. It was written about eight months after the book Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War by Hal Vaughan was released. This was the first book to really include details about her involvement with the Nazis (not just that she was dating one) such as her code name, agent number, that she was included in nazi missions and worst of all, that she had taken advantage of her “Aryan rights” (meaning the seizing of Jewish-owned property and businesses.)

The second article was equally interesting. This one appeared on Forbes last year. The author is trying to determine if we can justify overlooking such a horrifying past in someone like Coco Chanel, whose left such a legacy. It’s an interesting question. I think this might be a good analogy – what if there was a building built by the nazis and after the war, all that remained was the foundation. So the French come and build a ground floor and the English build a 1st floor and the Norwegians build a 2nd floor (I’m doing the european counting of floors) and the Danish build a 3rd floor and so forth. And each floor is filled with beautiful things. But ultimately that base was built by nazis – should the entire thing be torn down and rebuilt? Should it be moved? I don’t think so.

BUT what I do think is that Chanel should stop avoiding Coco Chanel’s horrific history. I know that they think it can’t be good for PR but what they need to do is use it to help and get ahead of it. Just admit – we realize that our founder was a nazi sympathizer, possibly a nazi collaborator and our response is that we are appalled by the information as much as you are. Our founder was a talented woman and we cannot deny that Chanel wouldn’t exist without her genius but the nazi atrocities were unforgivable and that she was involved is a huge black stain on the origin of our company. They could put their money where their mouth is and contribute to a Holocaust organization.

My believe is that we should not be completely erasing bad history but instead we should be making it accurate and using it as a teaching opportunity.

6. This Article about How Women in the UK/Ireland Were Duped into Believing it was Bad to Drink Tea – Though it’s me who is saying that the women were actually duped. The article implies it but doesn’t come right out and say it. Neither does this one.

Here’s the situation – first and foremost, tea was considered expensive back then. So was sugar if you wanted to sweeten it (because milk and honey in tea just doesn’t work.) Right away men (husbands and fathers) were going to say that women shouldn’t be drinking something as expensive as tea.

Then there were the wealthy, who liked to feel that drinking tea was something the gentrified did, certainly not the poor.

And of course, there was concern that women who sat around drinking tea would have time to talk to one another and that could lead to anarchy.

Even without social media, the “powers that be” managed to get messages out that women shouldn’t be drinking tea – said it was “unhealthy”, it made you lazy, etc. And the worse part is that the poor, uneducated women were the ones that bought into the lies and helped spread it. Hmmmm, that sounds vaguely familiar.

c. 1900 The Glencar Tea House in County Leitrim

7. This ‘Self Portrait’ by Photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston – I was thrilled when I finally found out who this photo was of and what it was about. I’ve loved it for years! Taken around 1896 by the photographer herself, it is supposed to represent the “new woman.”

Here’s a great article about the photo and the photographer from Smithsonian.

Frances Benjamin Johnston could be both ladylike and bohemian, which abetted her career as a photographer. (Library of Congress)

Word of the Day


Quote of the Day

Seven Things I Love (4-19-2021)

  1. 1. This Cover of VOGUE Magazine – The world was given Amanda Gorman in 1998 but so many of us were unaware of this gifted woman until January 20, 2020. Thank goodness President Biden chose her as his Inaugural Poet! Good job Vogue – keep going – let’s see scientists and artists and teachers and healthcare workers and activists and environmentalists and small-business owners and single Moms and… on the cover.
May, 2021 Cover of VOGUE Magazine

2. This Graphic Showing what “Reasonable Police Officers” said as the Trial of Derek Chauvin Regarding Use of Unreasonable Force – I can’t say I love this but I appreciate that someone put it together. I have listened to a good portion of the trial and happened to turn it on today right at the point where the defense attorney was discussion this specific topic in their closing arguments. It was infuriating listening to him try to manipulate and twist his words to make it sound as though what Chauvin did was at all reasonable, even after so many officers had said it wasn’t. I only pray the jury sees through his legal speak.

3. This Comic Book Artist – I actually saw these a few years ago but ran across them again and needed to share. The artist’s name is Francois Schuiten. He illustrated a series of comic books called Obscure Cities, written by his longtime friend, writer Benoit Peeters.

As you can see, the artwork is magnificent. For years the only way to get them in the US was in black and white and in the original French but the good news is, just this year, Penguin began releasing them in English and in full-color! I’ve ordered one already from my local bookshop.

[found on MessyNessyChic]

4. These Selections of Brahms – Famous individuals from the music world choose their favorite five-minutes of Johannes Brahms. A fantastic way to become accustomed to Brahm’s music if you are unfamiliar or reacquaint yourself if it’s been a while. [From the New York Times]

5. This Television Series from a Series of Novels – The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness (A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life) were published between 2011 and 2014. This series is based on the three books with each season covering one of the books. Two seasons have been aired so far, the second season only recently becoming available. I was able to watch it via Prime with my AMC subscription but if you have a Sundance subscription that is another option.

People have often compared this series to Twilight and Harry Potter, the former because of the vampires and other creatures in the story and the latter because of the literary aspects, and I can see why they would, but as a friend of mine said, these are more mature, grown-up versions of the stories – more complicated, more clever.

And I don’t think I mentioned that there is time travelling. The second season is spent mostly in Tudor London while the first season is mostly in modern day Oxford (or Venice or the French countryside.) The entire show is a treat to watch.

6. This Email from Kitsch Regarding Mother’s Day Promotions – I’ve never received anything like this before and I really wish more businesses would follow suit! There are a multitude of reasons why Mother’s Day is difficult for me. Being bombarded by ads and promotions (not just in my inbox but on television and radio too) for nearly the a full month before the actual holiday, makes it all the more difficult.

Email from Kitsch

7. This Sneak Peak of a Bourbon Street Chemist (with Products Made Entirely in Felt) – I love Lucy Sparrow’s art. She works primarily with felt and wool and often creates life-sized recreations of everyday objects.

Her latest exhibit is at the Lyndsey Ingram Gallery and you can see a nice overview at the video below. You can purchase the items at the NFS (or National Felt Service, which is Lucy’s spin on the UK’s NHS or National Health Service.) As they are pieces of art, they are not inexpensive.

Here’s another exhibit she did in a deli in New York with seafood.

Word of the Day


Quote of the Day


Seven Things I Love: Inauguration Day (1/21/2021 – Special Edition)

I am going to guess I’ll be adding to this in the future but I want to get this posted this afternoon so I’m going to stop here…

1. This Celebration in Kamala Harris’ Ancestral Village – I believe I lived in India in my last life so this makes my heart swell.

2. This Poem Read by the Youngest Inaugural Poet in History – Amanda Gorman finished writing this poem immediately following the Capitol riots.

3. These Coats – I’m not ashamed to say it, I will always notice pretty things. What the First Lady wears (and so will what the Vice President and first families wear too) has always had a significant impact on fashion. Here’s a Town & Country article on the best coats at the Inauguration. Here’s an article on Dr. Biden’s inauguration outfit. Here’s an article about Vice President Harris’ ensemble. And here’s an article about what Michelle Obama was wearing.

Second Spouse, Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, and President Joseph R. Biden
Emma Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ step-daughter stole the show with her coat.

4. This Performance by Lady Gaga Singing the National Anthem – Gaga did NOT disappoint. I had already been teary-eyed by openly weeping by the end of this.

https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1351933239133405184?s=20

And JLo’s performance was beautiful!

5. This Unfamiliar Act of Humility – looking forward to all of us acting more kindly, respectfully, generously, humanely, and with humility. Everyone knows you must lead by example.

6. This Field of Flags – between the pandemic and the potential risk of domestic terrorism there couldn’t be many people in attendance at this Inauguration so an installation of flags represented those who could not be present. The flags represent every state (with Washington D.C.) and territory including American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Here’s a time-lapse video of the installation of the flags.

Flags are placed on the National Mall, looking towards the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial, ahead of the inauguration of
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Approximately 191,500 US flags cover part of the National Mall and represent the American people who are
unable to travel to Washington, DC for the inauguration. JOE RAEDLE/GETTY

7. This 93-year-old Inauguration Announcer – no explanation necessary.

8. I wasn’t going to include this but just had to.
Good night, good bye, and good riddance.

A POEM FOR THE END by Sheila Dershowitz

Good night loon,
Good night goon,
Good night nastiest man in the room.
Good night lies,
Good night spies,
Good night rants and alibis.
Good night twitter,
Good night tweets.
Good night all those crazy bleats.
Good night red hats,
Good night cruel chants,
Good night sniveling syncophants.
Good night wall,
Good night cages,
Good night endless midnight rages.
Good night fine people on both sides,
Good night losers, good night suckers,
Good night evil nasty fuckers.
Good night Ivanka
Good night Jared,
Good night Barron, we hardly knew ya.
Good night thief,
Good night grief,
Good night cruel and callous chief.
Good night fake news,
And Fox and friends,
This is how the nightmare ends.
Good night at last.
It’s time to go,
The American people told you so.

Goodnight Loon: A Poem For The End found on Crooks and Liars

9. And let’s end with the President’s Inaugural Speech – which Fox News’ Chris Wallace called the “best inaugural address” he’s ever heard.

10. One last one. The First Tweet from the @POTUS Account…. under new management. A significantly different demeanor from the previous @POTUS user, n’est ce pas?

[Updated – have to add this, from the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

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