The final album by The Stairs (my first band and America’s ONLY band that started because a small town sued a Cable TV company ) is 10 years old this week. Digital download is FREE in celebration.
Readers! Between book projects, I've been working on a . . . wait for it . . . book project! But this is a sketchbook project and one with a super exciting concept at that. Let me explain.
Have you ever bought one of those fashion sketchpads filled with croquis (body figure templates) all excited to hash out your ideas? And then once you realize the figures are a little bizarre-looking, your excitement fades a bit? (By "bizarre," I mean that the figures are strangely elongated and spindly, and twisted into strange poses like the "broken doll" or the "sad alien.") That's because fashion people work with a concept called "nine heads," where the figure is nine head-lengths tall. To put this in perspective, actual people are only seven to eight heads tall. Here's an interesting image that breaks it down:
One of my missions over years has been to write about sewing and fashion in a body-positive, feminist way. So these nine-head ladies were bringing me down. And so the idea for this sketchbook was born and brilliant illustrator Sun Young Park brought it to life. Here's how it works:
For Gertie’s New Fashion Sketchbook, Gretchen Hirsch teamed up with illustrator Sun Young Park to reinvent traditional figure templates—known as croquis—for the 21st century. Instead of the unnaturally skinny, tall, and frequently off-balance croquis the fashion industry has been sketching on for decades, this game-changing alternative presents hundreds of realistically sized and proportioned female forms in balanced, lifelike poses. In addition, Park has rendered the croquis with multiple tracing lines, allowing the sketcher to follow the lines that most accurately reflect the body shape desired. Also included are an overview of the design and sketching process and a visual history of garment component styles, all to make it easier to create fashion sketches for women of all shapes and sizes.
The figures are presented in a "nested" configuration (almost like a sewing pattern!), so that you can follow the lines (bigger or smaller) to represent different figures. You can make the figures smaller on top or bottom to replicate a woman's actual curves and proportions. I tested the whole thing out with some wonderful sewing friends, and it really works! I can't wait to show you more once the actual books arrive.
Did you know Thomas Edison created a line of creepy talking dolls back in 1890?
You’re better off not acknowledging their existence, and you definitely shouldn’t listen to what they have to say, as it will haunt your nightmares forever.
The dolls were “the world’s first recorded-audio product designed, manufactured, and sold for home entertainment,” according to the National Park Service.
But they didn’t sell very well for a number of reasons, mostly because they were terrifying.
“Children found them difficult to operate and more scary than cuddly,” reports the New York Times.
Collectors of the dolls, however, have been trying to listen to the recordings without damaging the mechanisms inside, and thanks to recent technological advancements, this is now an option.
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory developed a system called Irene (Image, Reconstruct, Erase Noise, Etc.) back in 2009 that has made it possible for historians to recreate the sounds of the dolls without actually playing them.
While some of the recordings have been around for years, a few never before heard audio files were just recently uploaded online by the Thomas Edison Historical Park, reports the NYT.
Here are a number of the recordings posted on the NPS website which will make sure you never sleep again.
I have a thing for matching sets so I just had to design underwear that would compliment the Marlborough bra. Because I like to have both thong and brief options, I created both styles and you can buy them now!
One of my goals with these designs was to use the same lace, fabrics and elastics that are used when making the Marlborough bra so you only need to purchase extra supplies, not different ones. This led me to use power mesh for the back of the brief and the thong and a lace panel for the front of both designs. For information on the materials used to draft and grade my designs you can read my post here.
Another goal was to eliminate any rear elastic for a smooth profile under clothing. Given I did not want to incorporate additional materials, this meant getting creative! Happily, the final designs achieve this goal and both garments stay comfortably in place, all with no rear elastic.
Sewing underwear gives you a super high return for your sewing time investment. It takes me less than an hour to whip up both styles. As a bonus, you can use your overlock or a regular sewing machine depending on your preference or which one has the right color thread in it at the moment.
I will post images of the finished garments and more information over the coming weeks while I work on finalizing the next pattern! (Hint: It’s a bra!)
There is an assumption that studying world religion is like studying poetry—a garnish used to round out the “serious” subjects of a college education. But religious literacy is serious because religion is not a discrete and ahistorical phenomenon.
At the age of 12 in the USSR, I could assemble an AK-47 with my eyes closed. I had excellent marks in shooting and was fond of all types of weaponry. Guns were exciting to kids—we could spend hours playing war games and discussing military machinery.
Things are different in modern Ukraine. Children, particularly young ones, do not pay any attention to the firearms in their homes. On one occasion, I saw an armed father with three of his children around and none of them seemed to have the slightest interest in his rifle. It was as if he was holding a mop.
“Once in a conflict situation I had to show that I’m armed. It stopped the aggressive people. I had only a gas pistol in my hands. To use a firegun for self-defense may have catastrophic consequences for its owner. But the safety of my family is for me above all.” Vyacheslav, 37 years old, building engineer.(Andrey Lomakin)
Ukrainian law does not grant citizens any particular right to bear arms. All the same, private gun ownership has become common here in recent years.
The only way to own a firearm legally in Ukraine is to purchase a rifle or a shotgun for hunting. In 2014, during the tragic events in Ukraine (Maidan, the annexation of Crimea, the conflict in Donbass), sales of hunting weapons in Ukraine increased several times over. By the end of 2014, there were more than 555,000 registered owners of rifles and shotguns—by March 2015, the number of weapon owners had increased to 750,000.
Personally, I don’t have a gun, and I think I will never own one. My camera is the perfect weapon. I shot these photos of Ukrainian civilians in their homes between October 2014 and February 2015 because I wanted to show ordinary citizens who are trying to protect themselves and their families from violence.
“This gun was bought during the Orange revolution. That was a tumultuous time, like today. With a gun I feel reassured when I am going for a walk with my child and in particular if my husband is not around. Fortunately, I never had to use the gun.” Tatyana, 39, police officer.(Andrey Lomakin)
“My hobby is hunting. But I would use the shotgun without a doubt to protect my family, within the bounds of the law. I am a graduate in law and understand my own responsibility for all my activities.” Alexander, 39, entrepreneur.(Andrey Lomakin)
“The wartime is not so terrible as a post-war period. I share the principle of the Swiss army—each man should know how to handle a weapon and understand combat tactics. I have been doing military training for 5 months.” Alexander, 36, IT engineer.(Andrey Lomakin)
“I’m from Donetsk. In the spring of 2014 it became clear that life without weapons would be hard. A week after I bought a rifle, the house where I stayed with my friends was attacked by armed people. I had to shoot. Probably, it saved our lives.” Alexey, 29, businessman.(Andrey Lomakin)
“Having a gun at home, I feel myself fully confident in terms of protecting my home and my family. I need less than one minute to load it and be ready to use it in case of danger.” Alexey, 40, IT group manager.(Andrey Lomakin)
“I never thought that we would have a firearm in our home, but now I believe it is necessary. It took three months before I got this shotgun because of the deficit of weapons in Ukraine.” Andrei, 36, sales manager.(Andrey Lomakin)
“A man should be able to do many things by himself. In particular: protect his family. I am ready to use a weapon for protection of my own house.” Roman, 37, painter.(Andrey Lomakin)
“I do not consider my firearm as a means of self-protection in normal (non war) time. But now it could be possible that the military activities turn from Donbass to Kiev. I am ready for such a development.” Taras, 36, lawyer.(Andrey Lomakin)
“Once in a conflict situation I had to show that I was armed. It stopped the aggressive people. I had only a gas pistol in my hands. To use a firegun for self-defense may have catastrophic consequences for its owner. But the safety of my family is for me above all.” Vyacheslav, 37, building engineer.(Andrey Lomakin)
“An unforeseen situation in the country forced me to decide on weapon. Now it slowly turns to a hobby: visiting a shooting saloon, buying something new to upgrade the rifle. The weapon at home definitely disciplines and raises the responsibility level.” Eugene, 36, sales manager.(Andrey Lomakin)
The Empress of China is a Chinese television drama based on events in 7th and 8th-century Tang dynasty, starring producer Fan Bingbing as the titular character Wu Zetian—the only woman in Chinese history to rule as an emperor.
It is the third television production by Fan Bingbing Studio and boasts of a budget of over ¥300 million (roughly US$49.53 million).[1] As such, it is believed to be the among most expensive TV series in Chinese history,[2] beating the previous record of ¥280 million by Heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasties (2013).[3] The television series was first broadcast on Hunan Television on 21 Dec 2014 in mainland China.
Paquette’s October tweets focused largely on the role of bars and restaurants in these arrangements. But it takes two to tango, with the second partner being either a brewer or a distributor. And how’s this for irony: The ABCC has accused Paquette’s own distributor of tangoing.
I recently stumbled upon a fascinating piece of modern Sanskrit literary history in a library, the Lenināmṛta, a poetic biography of Lenin in Sanskrit. It garnered a lot of interest when I wrote about it on Twitter, so I thought I should maybe just put the whole thing out here to generate more conversation.
Backgammon is one of the oldest games in recorded history and culturally seems to span so many walks of life. From its Middle Eastern roots to the leisure class of Slim Aarons circles to cowboy bars, it's a game that seems to work everywhere. A backgammon attaché is such a great thing to have on hand as temps warm up. Play in the park, the beach, the pool, a canoe—you get the picture, it's just more fun than sitting and looking at your phone. I recently overpaid for a vintage Crisloid set on Etsy, and am kicking myself because I should have just purchased a handsome new Crisloid set ($150 and up) whose designs haven't seemed to change for over half a century. The boards are beautifully crafted and sturdy with gorgeous marbled checkers—all of this I had to find out after the fact. Crisloid was founded in 1948 in Brooklyn by Alphonse and Lucky Lodato, they are now based in Providence, R.I. and proudly manufacture all their products in the USofA. Gotta love that. Crisloid also makes custom boards, in fact our good friends over at Pierrepont Hicks show us how great a bespoke Crisloid board can look. And a gallery of images from the archives. Is there an intersection of tomboy style and backgammon? Maybe, just maybe. Keep up with Tomboy Style elsewhere: INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER.
doesn't adequately capture the intense michael-mann-ness of the glowing slow-motion elevator kiss
I have to go somewhere and I don’t think I can come back. But I just wanted you to know… Getting to be around you and Benicio was the best thing that ever happened to me.
it makes me happy when somebody texts me out of the blue to ask if I've made this (obviously I've made this)
May wine, also known as Maitrank, Maiwein, Maibowle and Waldmeisterbowle, is the name of a German beverage that uses aromatized wine as a base (see sangría). May wine is served in the spring, traditionally on the May Day holiday. The base is made by steeping the fragrant creeping herb sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum, sometimes called Asperula odorata, known in Germany as Waldmeister) that grows in the forests of Northern Europe in a white German wine.
I have a thing for matching sets so I just had to design underwear that would compliment the Marlborough bra. Because I like to have both thong and brief options, I created both styles and you can buy them now!
Crisloid also makes custom boards, in fact our good friends over at Pierrepont Hicks show us how great a bespoke Crisloid board can look. 
And a gallery of images from the archives. Is there an intersection of tomboy style and backgammon? Maybe, just maybe. 
Keep up with Tomboy Style elsewhere: INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER.
