Picked this up last night: Marion Peck's I Cari Estinti (The Dearly Departed). Sentimental portraits of small children and pets.
You can picture how fast my little legs took me to the check out counter at the downtown Berkeley comic shop. Weeeeeeeeeeeeee! The little girl above is how I picture Imogen. Just perfectly. I even have a wig similar. Sigh. I lurves her so much!
Marion Peck favorites: Hair, Divine Swine, and The Happy Captain!
I don't know how I feel about this. Article at New York Times.
I just don't know why they can't do something more rock 'n' roll and keep the costumes more traditional. Or something. I'm not that stuffy, I've loved some non-traditional adaptations. But they have to be good. Like "Titus." Yarm, yarm!
But I really haven't liked much of the recent Tudor pix or series, and one of the reasons is their modernist approach and all that "must get the ignorant masses to relate to crazy tudor england" stuff. I love Jonathon Rhys Meyers though. And Jonathon Rhys Meyers in gold lame even better.
I guess after Anne of the Thousand Days it is all downhill.
Also, why "The Tudors"? Looks like it is just one Tudor to me. Meh.
I'm just sayin'.
It arrived today. Zoink! I had no idea! By the price ($32 discounted) I figured it was typical small format Taschen, but when it arrived Mr. Kallisti thought I had spent a fortune. 24358745 pound box. Double format, hard cover in slip case, huge. And omg, the photographs! First volume 18th-19th century, second is 20th. I'm just sayin'.
Only 4 left as of this morning.
I dream often of living some place less expensive, where I could afford to buy a house, where the people are a little less politically correct, and the cars are fewer... (insert "Swiss Family Robinson" theme music here)...
But I've had such an amazing week, all due to local color and local comforts.
Last thursday we took my uncle to see "Restoration Comedy" at Cal Shakes theater, which neither of us had ever been to. A gorgeous outdoor theater in the wilds of Orinda, nestled amongst the hills in a glade of giant eucalyptus, we were dive bombed by dragonflies throughout the performance, but no mosquitos (pronounced muskeetas if you're like me and yer mama is from the midwest)!
Look! I took a pictures with my new camera phone:
Wow. 1.3 megapixels and it still sucks. Only use in case of emergency! New phone is cool though :p
I'll let you read more about the play here. It is only playing til the 30th. It was so brilliant and so funny, and oft times so very GAY that I was literally falling off my lawn chair I was laughing so hard. And the costumes! Oy! Lots of costume puns and general fabulousness. If this play comes to your town, SEE IT.
We had dinner downtown at "Casa Orinda"... and old timey relic of a restaurant that has gone a bit upscale but still serves awesome fried chicken and and steak and spaghetti and stuff. And they had REAL GRAVY. Like not brown gravy, or craft service yellow gravy... real gravy. I could bathe in it.
The icing on the cake of a perfect evening: when we dropped my Uncle off he loaded me up with yet another chunk of his ancient library... specifically the Restoration plays (printed late 17th century), a contemporary copy of The Beggar's Opera (18th century), and a biography of Henry VII by Sir Francis Bacon (16th century). More on those later. After I roll around in them naked for a bit.
Sunday night, in the middle of our little heat wave (yes, it was 94 in El Cerrito) we went to The Merritt Bakery for dinner in Oakland. Another relic, and old diner, again specializing in fried chicken and cake! It was sooper. We then went and saw the pirate movie at The Grand Lake, yet another beloved anachronism: the gigantic gilded movie house. Used to go there quite a bit as a kid.
Last night we drove to the City for a hair cut. And nipped down to 16th Street and Pancho Villas for burritos. It may be hard to believe, but you just can't get Mission style burritos anywhere but the Mission. Berkeley don't have it. No sir. It is only fifteen miles away, and there ain't nothin' like it no where else. Sigh.
I am replete. Living here is no punishment, despite the high cost of living. I still fantasize daily about Baltimore or Portland or New Orleans or the Wilds of BigFoot Country. Sigh.
From the producers of Haute Doll! The first english language book dedicated to Asian Ball-joint Dolls. OMG, I hope it is as good as it looks! I'm reeeeeally excited about the Hypermaniac interviews. They're fairly enigmatic, and my absolute favorite. And Mercy's guide to all bjds ever. And so many patterns! My bonnet teacher is the lovely lady who did the pattern for the book, so all ya'll will be able to get it now! And exclusive Liebchen... she's gorgeous, btw, you have no idea the vast and exquisite skills of Miss Fancyboots.
Amazing cover art by Aimee. Mew.
Reserve a copy, for June shipment I think...
Karen, editor in chief, made a nice announcement on DoA for more info. If this one does well, there will be another! Please to buy.
Edit: Just found out from Mia that some pictures I took of Merry Wink (liebchen) are in the book ^_^ um... yayay!!!
The bookstores!
I don't loathe Berkeley... but one always has a love/hate relationship with one's hometown.
We went bookstore trawling last Saturday. Not only did I pick up an ARMLOAD of cool dolly clothing/pattern/costume books (mostly on antique dolls) at Half Price Books, but found these two gems at Black Oak.
Lewd & Notorious: Female Transgression in the 18th Century Edited by Katherine Kittredge
and...
Breaking The Codes: Female Criminality in Fin-de-Siècle Paris by Ann-Louise Shapiro (with some amazing prints)
So yeah, I spent my haircut money on books. YAY!
You know I love the rain, but if you ruin my satellite connection for the Bleak House series finale I'll just perish! (yeah yeah, it plays on 3 other channels all week. but I want it NOW!) Also, I can't spray Mr. Super Clear in the rain (sorry Mercy, but the Eyebrows Mach II look FAB!!!), so I'm making a fairy ball gown for Aschenputtel. It might suck. But it might not. I hate when you can't tell till you've spent two days on a project whether it will suck or not.
Speaking of Gilly (Anderson), we saw Tristram Shandy on Friday night and it was fantastic! Had serious gut splitting moments where I thought my eyeballs were going to explode. But best part??? LIBERTINE PREVIEW. Dude, I think I have a bodice ripper boner. March 10th.
Love,
Me
P.S. I'm sorry I caused all that cancer.
Little Princess Alice themed Doujinshi
*&@#^&@!!!
Fucking fuck. Libertine and now Tristram Shandy are still in limited release for January 27th. Libertine keeps getting pushed back. Which makes me worry about Tristram Shandy playing here. WTF, I'm not in the frickin' wilderness, for criminy.
I really want to see Tristram... they keep touting it as a book no one has ever read, but I've read it! I had a mad, mad summer 6 or 7 years ago where I read a bunch of Henry Fielding along with Smollet, Burney, Aphra Behn (ok, she's 17th cent. whatever), Defoe and some other random stuffs. Tristram Shandy among them. Gilly is in it. I die.
Me loves some 18th-goddamn-century Literature! Rawr.
Cranky-pants.
Speaking of Gilly... have we all been good li'l muffins watching Bleak House on PBS? Now THAT was a surprise! It wasn't on the '06 calendar! It just showed up on my TiVo box. Whoopeeee!
