Russian Sledges

“Draw Me Like One of Your French Otters”

Via Beginners Blog Otter

“I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love” came to me a few months ago. My mother and I were having some differences of opinion over the phone one night, and after I hung up, I worked things out through a few open-tuned guitar chords here at my San Francisco apartment. As the song was developing, I made a decision to not vent about our argument, but to write about what was truly eating at me: my fear of not having my mother to reach out to anymore. My mom is doing well, but she’s getting older. This song isn’t the first song in my catalog to reference my mom.

Five years ago I wrote an article for Børsen, the leading financial newspaper in Denmark, about the Panama hat. I told about the origin in Ecuador, the toquilla palm fibers, the grade related to the fineness of fibers used, the classic Optimo model with the fold in the crown, and the world-wide popularization, which came with the construction of the Panama Channel in start of the 20th Century.

Since then I have often had in mind to have one made up. To me a task like that demands a craftsman, though, and I didn’t meet one I would trust it to, so nothing happened.

Then, last year, I past a small but elegant hat shop on Store Kongensgade in the old part of Copenhagen. I had passed it before but this time I took a closer look.

It turned out that the owner, Susanne Juul, trained as a bespoke tailor before she went to hat making. Moreover, she apprenticed at Mokjær. This background made me very confident, because bespoke tailoring is supposed to be the mother of all clothing crafts. It gives you the founding techniques and feel for materials. I decided to start a Panama hat order. (Afterwards, I should discover that people, who know more about hats than I do, regard Susanne Juul as the best modiste and hat maker in Denmark).

To begin with, I had to find a raw hat for the project. That I bought from Robert at Panama Bob’s. I chose a 22 grade, which has a rather fine and thin fiber base but nothing extreme. The hat stayed in the drawer during winter, and in May the finishing took off.

First step was to decide on the hat form. I went for an old one from now defunct Skodsborg Hat Factory north of Copenhagen. The form has a tall crown, which should slim the face a little, which is convenient, if you have a broad face like yours truly.

Susanne Juul moistened the raw hat before she began moulding it around the form. Then she pinned it, and the hat would dry overnight.

Ironing began. Susanne Juul gave both brim and crown heat.

For the ribbon, I chose a thick dark brown band made of viscose. Susanne Juul told me that it is getting increasingly difficult to find this type of hat bands. Newer ribbons made of polyester don’t respond to heat properly, and don’t have the elasticity of viscose, which is important for a smooth fit of the hat.

Many producers will paint their straw hats with lacquer to set the shape. We avoided it. We agreed that lacquer isn’t in line with the history of the Panama hat. Susanne Juul did, however, strengthen the brim with a wire.

As always, if I intend to shoot a self-portrait, things got complicated, when I wanted to take a garden photo of myself in a bespoke apricote voile shirt and the Panama hat from Susanne Juul. Luckily, my sister spotted my struggle, and I could skip the self-portrait.

Source: The Journal of Style

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In the depths of his garden on Batam Island, Indonesia, dedicated macro photographer Uda Dennie has mastered the art of photographing jumping spiders that have droplets of water on their heads, giving them the playful appearance of wearing large, reflective hats.

"The massive water droplets stay in place for about a minute, which is just the right amount of time for the 33-year-old to snap these shots. While most of us feel a bit squeamish when looking at macro photos of spiders, Dennie has somehow taken that uneasy feeling away, replacing it with curiosity and glee."

Visit Uda Dennie’s website to view more of his amazing arachnid photography.

[via My Modern Metropolis]

In real life, Cranston looks more like "Malcolm in the Middle's" Hal than his "Breaking Bad" character Walter White (aka Heisenberg); he's clean-shaven, with a full head of hair. But just to mess with fans at Comic-Con this weekend, he put on a Walter White mask, complete with bald head and goatee, and roamed the halls unrecognized. (That's Cranston there, on the left.) He even used a higher voice to conceal his identity from fans.

“I’ve got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don’t intend to disappoint them all by getting myself ‘slightly’ killed.”

Historical Map: Pacific Electric Strip Map

Submitted by Sam Huddy, who says:

This is a strip map of the Santa Monica Air Line that appears on several station platforms along the Expo Line in Los Angeles. As far as I know, this idea is original to the Metro era. As a work of art, the stops are unlabeled, and typical of the PE, it’s unclear what makes some stops “major” or “minor.”

——

Transit Maps says:

This is actually a lovely little homage from the LA Metro: acknowledging what came before them (the Expo Line utilises much of the Air Line’s original right of way) and giving it due credit. Love it!

Historical note: the Santa Monica Airline was a Pacific Electric streetcar service that ran from downtown LA to Santa Monica from 1909 to 1953.

(Source: Photographed by Sam)

A Manhattan cellar where 27,000 cases of wine were stored was flooded during Hurricane Sandy, and collectors blocked from assessing the damage have sued.

The Charles W. Morgan, believed to be the last surviving wooden whaling vessel in the world, was restored at a cost of about $7 million at the Mystic Seaport museum in Connecticut.

When our disgusting heat wave finally broke on Saturday night, it went out in a blaze of dramatic lightning. For many New Yorkers, that looked like vague flashes behind neighboring buildings. But for NBC News social media manager Anthony Quintano, who was just across the Hudson from Midtown, in Weehawken's Hamilton Park, it was a picturesque display over a panoramic skyline. Fortunately for the rest of us, Quintano snapped some great photos, including the one above. The rest of his five-photo series can be seen on his Flickr stream.

Read more posts by Adam Martin

Filed Under: things that are pretty ,photo ops ,lightning

OnlyMrGodKnowsWhy

FT Putin

Map of European leaders.

[Reposted from eridanamporasbutt via chowmein]

Original Source

Yeah, you read that correctly. From the Los Angeles Times:

The W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University and the Hip-Hop Archive announced the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship on Tuesday. The goal of the fellowship is to provide chosen scholars and artists with an opportunity to show that "education is real power."

The mission of the Hip-Hop Archive, according to the announcement, is to seek projects from scholars and artists that build on the rich and complex hip-hop tradition; to respect that tradition through historically grounded and contextualized critical insights; and most important, to represent one's creative and/or intellectually rigorous contribution to hip-hop and the discourse through personal and academic projects.  

Read more at the Times.

Original Source

You Might As Well Look Good When Walking Your Cat.

Cary Grant.

suchaprettyworld:

Alexis Mabille Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013 details.

ancientpeoples:

Ring Key

Roman London

A complete, copper alloy lever lock rotary ring key. S-shaped bit with four teeth; piped cylindrical shaft; ring with incised lateral raised moulding and rectangular raised face. 

Source: Museum of London

Shangaa: Art of Tanzania is the first major exhibition in the United States to focus on the traditional arts of Tanzania. “Shangaa” means “to amaze” in Swahili, the primary shared language in East Africa. This exhibition features more than 160 objects on loan from private and institutional collections throughout the United States and Europe, ranging from expressionistic to abstract, from raw to refined. Mostly sculptural, these works highlight how Tanzanian cultures use art to channel energy to heal, embody authority, mark initiation into adulthood, address the spirits, and celebrate life and competition. The objects range in date from the 19th century to recent works made by celebrated artists for contemporary events, underscoring the vibrant, living traditions of art and culture in Tanzania.

"I can play along with Superman using a steel girder to swat someone into outer space, but I just can't get past the idea that The Daily Planet still occupies one of the largest skyscrapers in all of Metropolis and is totally impervious to newsroom layoffs or dwindling home subscriptions," said comics blogger Marc Daigle, adding that it was impossible for him to even look at Superman's alter ego, Clark Kent, without immediately thinking he would have been replaced long ago by a freelancer who gets paid nine cents a word and receives no health benefits. "Every time The Daily Planet shows up, I just get taken out of the story completely. I usually flip ahead to Superman freezing a volcano with his breath or something."

Dali Fruit

Despite the siren logo on their property, some Colombian coffee farmers receive no benefit from Starbucks' sustainability program.

Social media screens for potential hires automatically put employers on the wrong side of the law.

fuck-yeah-romanov-hotties:

An incredibly sexy, 21-year-old Nicholas II  c. 1889.

Wow ok I’m sorry for all the Romanovs lately uh… I’m not really sorry.

Biden calls him Johnny, considers him a pal. John pulls me aside. "So," he asks, "is this what you expected of the vice president of the United States?" Guys in this unit used to guard Cheney. "Night and day," is all one will say of it. "Night and day."

http://50watts.com/Golden-Age-Illustrator-Kay-Nielsen:

http://50watts.com/Golden-Age-Illustrator-Kay-Nielsen

Excessive heat and humidity delayed trash collection for a few days in parts of the city recently.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgians shouted "Long live the king" Sunday to welcome their new monarch to the throne on a sunny national holiday. But several legislators from northern Flanders boycotted King Philippe I's coronation, highlighting longstanding feuding between the nation's Dutch-speaking Flemings and Francophones — the biggest challenge the new monarch will face.

Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of Detroit "ruin porn" is it inherently ignores the very real people who still live in the city. Now there's a convergence — the amazing story of Allan Hill, the man who legally lives inside the city's abandoned Packard Auto Plant.

What's most surprising about this moving mini-documentary is Hill's "quality of life" doesn't look as terrible as you'd imagine, nor does his reasoning for choosing to stay in the largest abandoned factory in the world seem so unsound.

The whole creation is a huge gut-check to our biases. Yes, the Packard Plant is so giant and empty and strange they shoot Michael Bay movies there. And, occasionally, kids push a dump truck out a window.

Yet, Hill has power, Internet access, a welding setup, and a small kitchen. He even maintains a webcam. The owner apparently gave him his blessing so long as Hill works as a custodian of the property.

HILL from thismustbetheplace on Vimeo.

The Armour-Stiner House (A.K.A. the “Octagon House") in winter, Irvington, Westchester County, NY.

Ludwig II of Bavaria

"Ludwig II became king of Bavaria, in 1864. During his reign, Ludwig II spent all of his personal funds on the construction of fairy tale castles. He was painfully shy, and ill-equipped for his duties as king. He spent hardly any time governing his people, and had a strong aversion to public appearances.

In 1886, Ludwig was accused of being insane. Whether his eccentric behaviors were caused by insanity is unknown. The man who declared him insane had never examined him. He was deposed on the grounds of insanity at the request of his uncle, who may have wanted control of the government. The day after the king’s deposition, he was found dead in a pond, along with the very doctor who had declared him insane."

giantcypress:

Shoji screens for power outlets, made by Tori Sugimura. Awesome.