Sunday, September 06, 2009

Exciting Show at Casino De Paris! Opens Sept 7, 2009

Vintage postcard from Casino De Paris
From Steve Chasmar's Opium Museum flickr set
Opium on Film "Dandy-Pacha" (France; 1908-1918)

The shoes Christian Louboutin made especially for Dita's Opium Den show.
From Sept 7- 17, 2009 "Gentry de Paris Revue with Dita Von Teese" will be at the Casino de Paris - the birthplace of La Grande Revue - it's the first Revue in 50 years!
"Miss Gentry de Paris who not only wrote the show, stars in the show and is its creative director is on a mission to revive the Ziegfeld-follies in its purest form - with original song and dance production, a narrative storyline in two acts and 18 tableaux not to mention the lushest of lush costumes!" For an interview with Miss Gentry please read:
CASINO DE PARIS
Anyone who reads my blog knows that I love the Casino De Paris vintage postcards, the Ziegfeld Follies and Steve Chasmar's flickr images. I am currently following Dita Von Teese on twitter as she tweets about her show LIVE at the Casino de Paris and tells us how uncomfortable her shoes are!

Saturday, September 05, 2009

U900 Japanese Ukulele Duo


Here's "Diamond Head" and "Walk Don't Run" performed by U900. I could not decide which one I liked better! So funny. http://www.myspace.com/ukuleleduou900

(thanks, kerokerokingDX and boingboing)

The Art of Amy Crehore

Friday, September 04, 2009

Vaux's Swifts on YouTube




On Sunday, August 30th, 2009, I happened to see an amazing sight at the twilight hour. I was walking past old Agate Hall (an elementary/junior high school building that was built in 1924 and is now part of the U. of Oregon) with a couple of friends when I saw an odd group of people standing in the alley. They were looking toward the old smoke stack and staring up at the sky. A big hawk flew out of the chimney and, pretty soon, tens of thousands of smaller cigar-like birds started to circle the sky in swirling tornado formation. Around and around they flew until one of them said, "let's go in" and they followed the leader into that dark hole until there were none left. It seemed to take forever and it reminded me of a David Lynch film. It was a truly surreal sight to behold. I never heard of Vaux's Swifts before, but I was lucky enough to be walking by that night. Apparently, there are other cities with old schools and large chimneys (like the Chapman School in Portland, OR) where these particular birds go to roost or nest. Not sure what they are doing down there- I'm still learning. Anyway, here's a film made in Portland that I found on YouTUBE that clues you in to what I'm talking about. The action happens near the end, so keep watching until you see the birds do their thing. Crazy man.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Crehore Sketchbook Pages







Here are some pages from my current sketchbook. Some of these compositions will become paintings. I work out ideas in my sketchbook without putting any pressure on myself....they are images that come to me at that particular moment. I erase and re-draw. It's hard to describe, but I tend to "feel it all out". My method is pretty spontaneous. One just has to be in a drawing mood. I will blog some small paintings from these sketches later on, as I finish them.

Childrens Book Covers 1860-1920



I have this book at home: 'From Mother Goose to Dr Seuss: Children's Book Covers 1860-1960' by Harold Darling, 1999 (with a forward by Seymour Chwast). It's one of those books that I look at over and over again. There are a few more covers in BibliOdyssey's flickr set.

Emperors and Roosters

"Caligula" painting copyright Ray-Mel Cornelius 2009
Ray-Mel Cornelius has painted a lot of beautiful roosters with names like Nero, Caligula, Augustus, and Claudius for his upcoming art show, "Emperors and Roosters".
If you are in Dallas, Texas on September 12th, 2009, stop by
from 6 pm - 8:30 pm to catch the opening. This show will run through October 10th. (Gallery Location: 3318 Shorecrest Drive, Dallas, Texas)

Monday, August 31, 2009

Film Posters from Ghana


These wild-looking film posters were used to promote temporary mobile cinema in Ghana. More can be found in a book called Extreme Canvas: Movie Poster Paintings from Ghana: Ephemera Assemblyman blog has source links and images.