Pynchon's holiday

Joyce has Bloomsday on June 16th, but there's another literary holiday: get ready for May 8th's Pynchon in Public day! To celebrate the 'reclusive' high modernist/post-modernist writer Thomas Pynchon, people read in public and leave signs and stickers in publics spaces of Pynchonian symbols, like the W.A.S.T.E. muted trumpet or horn from The Crying of Lot 49. 

The American Pynchon [b. 1937] wrote: V., The Crying of Lot 49, the famous Gravity's Rainbow, Vineland, Mason & Dixon, Against the Day, Inherent Vice [now a 2014 movie!], and Bleeding Edge. 

Many people have the trumpet as a tattoo, or stuck on a phone as a sticker. The new 2nd season of True Detective has been hinted to draw inspiration from CL49, and hopefully it's as great as the first season. Here's a list of Pynchonian links and sites to read more, and you can read/join the Pynchon mailing/discussion list.

Below, here's a great piece of graphic art for CL49, it's from here by Andrey Belikov!

Fun

Great places to look at the art of Hinduism and India in general is ExoticIndiaArt. You could spend forever simply browsing and being exposed to amazing pieces of art.

Lana del Rey's song 'Queen of Disaster' seems perfect for this time of year, for some reason. It's such an enjoyable song, especially for people who like her faster-paced songs. FKA Twigs' has a great song in 'Numbers'.

Also, the French-Canadian group Ibeyi is a really interesting musically, and enjoyable; their piece 'Oya' is an amazing, moving song. It's the type of stuff I want to read reviews of on Pitchfork. Too often I try songs recommended and find them kitschy and silly-sounding, not moving.

World music is something that is an ocean of undiscovered love. The famous writer Paul Bowles recorded intense, incredible music in rural Morocco for the Library of Congress try this piece here or here's some non-Bowles Moroccan drums piece that are great--the music truly is incredible. Try any of the Sublime Frequencies recordings of music from Algeria, Sumatra or Java or my favorite, Morocco.

The huge perfume selection at Possets is literally ruining my life. I need to try 'Blue Danube' and 'Black Tea', and a million other scents. I'm obsessed with the 'black spruce' pine solid perfume at LVNEA--it's from Montreal and amazing. I mean they have 'Mourning Ritual' and 'Ghost Pine', 'Desert Night' and 'Black Sea'. It makes you think of Poe and Welcome to Nightvale at the same time, but make no mistake, these are serious scents for people who love perfume.

Convivial

Some easy fun is watching Chuck, the tv show--for Firefly/Serenity browncoats fans, it has Jayne Cobb ie. Adam Baldwin! His performance is truly excellent. I regret not trying this show earlier, I was unaware he was on it.

A funny blog we just discovered is the very funny, fashion-oriented Man Repeller.

For fun, light reading, try the fashion focused Dead Fleurette; it's stopped new posting, but reading back through it is quite enjoyable.

For fashion lovers and sartorialists, try looking through the photos at Chictopia, which is really fun. For people who prefer The Sartorialist to Polyvore, it's the place to be. It's like a more focused version of a fashion-focused Pinterest.

Reading

Blogs are written in many styles--two that are in the anecdote, picture load category are the great My French Country Home from rural Normandy and Dry Paddocks from a nature-focused life in New Zealand.

Usually I steer clear of heavily photographed blogs, but these have photos that allow yourself to 'see' everything. It's almost as if you're there. That's a quite unique effect. They are both fun, simple reads, and the pictures elevate them to excellence.

Alice

One great set of illustrations for Alice in Wonderland [there are the old classic ones by Sir John Tenniel or the more modern Arthur Rackham] is oddly enough by Salvador Dalí, look at it here. His 1969 version of the art work is incredible; often odd pairings of artists and texts can be interesting, like the Italian Renaissance's Botticelli for his work here on Dante's The Divine Comedy.

Even if you don't normally like post-Victorian or post-Impressionist art, it's quite interesting and sometimes beautiful. It's definitely psychedelic.

Tolkien

If you enjoy medieval art, Eastern European traditional art, Russian Orthodox style paintings or Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings, check out the incredible illustrations of Ukranian Sergei Iukhimov [or Yuhinov], article here or tons of his images at this tumblr here. His nazgul/ringwraiths are amazing so check them out, and I love this one piece above particularly. There is also a Tolkien site here with even more art, some from The Hobbit as well.

Slow

This manuscript of medieval music is in Italy, probably Florence or in Tuscany--our friend photographer has forgotten which town he snapped it in. While our Western music has evolved past the advancements Pope Gregory the Great [540-604] helped along, ancient music has great appeal if you approach it in the right way.

Put on 'Missa Pange lingua' by the famous Josquin des Prez [1450-1521] from the Netherlands, or his 'Berzerette savoyenne' from the Missa by Chanticleer and lie down and relax, or even clean/organize. During the summer especially, medieval and Renaissance music from the West gives a feeling of cool echoing, of stone walls and dim corridors, of sweet hints of incense and relief from the heat.

The hour long piece 'Gregorian Chants with the sounds of nature' is also a great combination if you enjoy that type of thing.

Fun

There is a sense in which life in earlier eras was simpler than our time. The diversions were different and few, though the culture was more alcohol and smoke infused. It is sometimes helpful to recall those distant days and think about how we too can enjoy the simple pleasure of life. Something as simple as a cool glass of water in the heat, or a green melon, or a slice of watermelon can be transporting and refreshing. There are no higher pleasures than the natural ones.

The sweet daub of perfume, the dark green of plants inside the house, the flicker of a candle at dusk--these things are more than they seem. It is important to enjoy them all. Those moments of silence and echoing beauty give the soul a kind of stalwart strength, a deep well of calm.

The painting above is one that illustrates this, portraying its title 'Reading Aloud' and Victorian life--it's by the American Julius LeBlanc Stewart [1855-1919], who lived mostly in Paris.

Exclusive

While we begrudge no one their luxuries, it is always important to understand why things are considered valuable. Ermine for example is dotted with those dark little lines that are so lovely to the eye. In reality, ermine animals' tails were pinned onto cloaks and capes to show how many were used in creating the specific piece of raiment.

It is difficult to step outside of your Western heritage [if it is yours], but if you try, sometimes the idea of  animal tails being tacked onto the capes of royalty for centuries seems quite uncouth. This type of historical origin story is important--we cannot forget the past. Why wedding dresses are white, why Romans wore iron rings, why the hand symbol [hamsa/hand of Fatima or Miriam] and blue eye [nazar/evil protection] symbol are widespread all over the world, especially the Mediterranean and Middle East: all these things are crucial to understanding our present. Sometimes the eye is even put on the palm of the hand symbol.

We can only know a culture if we know its past and where its customs come from.

Myth

For many areas of the world, this is a great time to get out into nature without intense heat or sun making the trip harder. Even a five minute rush around the block can be worth the feeling! I often get this feeling from art and from reading. The picture above is by illustrator Margaret Evans Price [1888-1973] from Jack and the Giant Beanstalk; it can be found in the 1930 Once upon a time book [here] of fairy tales, edited by Katharine Lee Bates. It's important to be sure that children are exposed to beauty at a young age. The white deer above is actually the beautiful Duke's daughter under a spell--who he saves and who wears a crown wreath of pink hawthorn blossoms.

For kids or people wanting to have a nice, simple time, reading Walter Crane's book with illustrations The Frog Prince and other stories here is well worth it for the illustrations alone; there's even Aladdin.

Many illustrators are the equal of great artists like the famous Erte, Beardsley, Barbier, Bakst and the later Edward Gorey in drawing especially. While artists often did children's books in the past, they used to do much more. Art used to be on the cover of most magazines and in other literary arenas.

People to check out are the Russian Ivan Bilibin (Ива́н Били́бин) [1876-1942] - I love his eerie Vasilisa and his take on Russian myth's sphinx-like alkonost monster; be sure to see Vasnetsov's gorgeous painting of them here.

Try looking at Katherine Cameron's [1874-1965] work, or even William Robert Symonds [1851-1934],

One neat American Impressionist to try who lived his life mostly in France is Frederick Carl Frieseke [1874-1939], for anyone who prefers or enjoys that style.

Tv Rewatch

One great show to show your kids or put on in the background for fun is the 90's Clarissa Explains it All. It was just great, in every sense of the word. It shows you what a different world the 1990's were. I urge all parents to ensure their children are exposed to classics--because while everyone is a product of their time period and zeitgeist, be sure to include some awesome stuff.

I will recommend a few things:
It's worth it to get an old Mac or PC computer and get the bookish, page-like Mercer Meyer and Arthur games. Also have kids play ReaderRabbit [for early reading] and NumberMunchers [for math]. Also be sure to get MuseumMadness and TombRaider is also good to spark interest in archeology and history, despite the graphics.

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey - a beautiful picture book about blueberry picking and Maine; by the way the state is also a great place for vacations for kids; Acadia National Park is truly beautiful, with ocean, tide pools and forests--and lots of ice cream parlors!

For pure fun and mystery, be sure to page through the confounding book Maze by Christopher Manson. It's like the Choose your Adventure books but even wilder. You can also look through it online here and the old page was here, but it's not the same--go through the 'doors' to specific pages and enjoy it, write notes along the sides.

While I don't love all the sequels, the YA book Sabriel by Garth Nix is great for girls especially. It presents true mystery, magic and gives you a sense of the vast open wildness of the world. It is truly an adult book, and it's important that children get a sense of how beautiful and moving books are, how truthful about the hugeness of the world. The sense of eerieness is important.

Trips

For many people, summer means travel. There are two main types of vacations, among many: the lounging trip and the exploration trip. Relaxing and taking it slow can be great and revitalizing--one place to try it is on a glass beach or on sandy beaches on an island like Tahiti or Jamaica. California's Fort Bragg is one example of a beach full of brightly colored glass stones.

An exploration trip can be to Etruscan cave tombs in the Tuscan countryside, ie. in Tarquinia for example, or just experiencing the huge collections in Paris, Rome, Florence or London. Of course the USA has some great collections as well--in Boston, in Brooklyn, in Manhattan and in Washington, DC., which just had an exhibit of America's Andrew Wyeth; here's an example above from a Florida museum, it's the 1981 Wisteria.

Tiles

We love the antique Andalusian tiles and big green plants in the tropical rooms of Benedetta Tagliabue's re-designed 18th c. apartments in Barcelona here at HWTF and also profiled here by Eva in Madrid. Too beautiful. The one above is from here.

Tile colors are often white, dark blue and orange--in Italy these colors [with yellow] are still used in white terracotta reliefs of the Virgin and child. Here's a famous one by Andrea della Robbia [1435-1525] from the Renaissance.

They are often called azulejos tiles or zellige tiles (Arabic: الزليج‎), which were Arab, Moroccan or Moorish and focus on geometric patterns and shapes.

We are very picky about interior design--it should be a haven, beautiful yet engaging, not too plain but not too full of modern tackiness. Be sure to look at the really unique religious ones of the Virgin Mary and another of the Virgin and child from Valencia by the Archbishop's Church of San Juan Bautista de Chiva. Be sure to check out the famous Casa de Pilatos in Seville, which has them. It's an antique Andalusian palace in Spain.

Getaway

For the summer, straw-like or raffia bags [that's the palm type above] are always a fun symbol of the heat and the beach--there are some great ones profiled here at CoutureSnob, the little tan circle clutch is cute, and I like the plaid-esque simplicity of the other dark blue tote. I also like the white cloth handles on this small tan tote here.

One neat modernist, almost Philip Glass type pop song is the lovely [pictured above] Leila Adu from New Zealand's songs 'I'm Calling' and  'Dark Joan'. Her music quite reminds me of Björk's, which we are often fond of.

ROYGBIV

I love these sheets. This design is everywhere, like the Rainbow Raindrop Bedspreads by Garima Dhawan, who's done tons of designs for DENY Designs. They've got everything in this awesome print: clocks, duvets, pillowcases, pillows, coasters--literally everything. I love how cheerful it is.

If you like colorful designs, check out the other artists at DENYDesigns.

Today

I love The Great Gatsby feeling of the Jeffrey Michael Short Feather Dress from London. It's a cute update on flapper, Poiret and Eastern tinged fashion from the 1910s and 1920s.

On the other side of the globe, let's focus on Tarun Tahiliani, the Indian famous designer; here's some of his work on sale. One of the ultimate Indian style blogs is Luxemi [TheLuxeReport]. The picture above is Esha Deol from Bollywood. Her sari is gorgeous.

If you like sites like The Sartorialist, be sure to check out WhatDoIWear, which has tons of looks to page through.

Art and entertainment

For any Marvel fans, there's a 'real world' gossip and entertainment news site MediaAvengers with all the top mags--except they feature the Avengers. It's hilarious.

For a fun trip in art, be sure to get exposed to many different styles, countries and time periods of art in this overview of the paintings on the walls in the tv show Hannibal at ixiLecter here.

The picture above is just a beautiful wood painting of Krishna and Radha from a crafts museum in New Delhi. Notice the little Lotus in her hand, beautiful. And the multi-styled parts of the backdrop or wall behind them, what lovely patterns.

A spin on travel reading

Design*Sponge is a site that needs no introduction, but what I like the most about it is its city guides, like the one to Florence--it makes me want to write in and give my opinion, to try their suggestions and meet up in a shop near San Lorenzo and talk.

What a great way to explore other places, just through reading. They do tons of cities in the USA and almost every country. Whether you agree or not, or want to add things, it's a great starting point to get exposed to other cultures and places.

I have complicated feelings about their posts on Rome and Montreal and Madrid--and that's how you know they got into the meat of things. I love it. I want to go to Bali, Jamaica, Brazil and a host of other places.

Tropical Home

These pictures of the north of Vietnam are really beautiful from HWTF, I love travel photos, especially National Geographic. Also, I love these gorgeous examples of strong, wild wallpaper that entices, that you could live in. I find wallpaper is often a pastel, weak joke instead of something invigorating. I'm not even very modern, but fragile colors can't dominate a room, they usually are more for edging. I like a lot of the orange patterns, surprisingly. They're in great shades of tangerine.

I also really like Sketch42's posts on wallpaper. ElleDecor had some neat looks, but their focus on entryways unexpectedly turned out to be incredible, with photos from disparate beautiful interiors--be sure to see the one from Egypt filled with unique antiques and the bright colored patterns that dominate several of the rooms. The one thing I always love is bright colors, or excellent antiques, or unique flotsam and jetsam, or enormous mirrors.

Fromental from the UK has some great wallpapers and furniture in this tropical vein--I love the big green trees and leaves on this set of stuff at ElleDecor--I love the PierryFrey Aloha patterns, like Miami and Mauritius.

Latitude

- With maps, I either love them or hate them. They are tricky to get right, but are as beautiful as art sometimes. I saw the map as art post on HWTF and really, Majesty Maps & Prints here has all the great pictures and maps. I love the photo above and the map too.

- Also be sure to look at the beautiful photos of old, abandoned and time worn estates, palaces and buildings of the German Sven Fennema photographer here on HWTF. It makes even sloths want to become urban explorers--which would be especially neat in countries like Italy and Indonesia, I think.

- One of my favorite places for beautiful objects is Bly, which spans the globe with imports from everywhere. They've got Mexican stuff, things from India and Malaysia, it just goes on and on. I want all the beautiful kitchenware pieces from Morocco here. It's like an expanded, huge, awesome version of the little NYC store Kiosk.

Actually these Moroccan Azilal carpets from Imports from Marrakesh make me want to just use all my leisure money on carpets--and hang them on the wall. I find that they are often so beautiful they're more like art than anything else. It's fascinating how they're very modern art-like and yet ancient beyond words. Truly an incredible tradition.