Jumpology

Philippe Halsman asked his subjects to jump for the camera, and called it "Jumpology". His portraits are charming and filled with life. The New York Times reviewed an exhibition of Halsman's work from the 40's and 50's here. Enjoy!

Party Girl

Of course, the video below reminded me of the 1995 movie Party Girl, with Parker Posey.
(The best part doesn't start until about 1:13 into the clip.)

Librarians Do Gaga

This is awesome.

I knew it all along.

Les choses sont contre nous -- "Things are against us."

 Photo via "The Haunted Household" by Christopher Niemann

Resistentialism, people. I swear, I spend half my time at my drafting table looking for the pencil or eraser I was just using. It sneaks off and hides underneath books and papers. Sometimes it quietly jumps to the floor and very carefully rolls itself into the spot that is least reachable. I know this for a fact. Ever wondered why your kitchen utensils always jam the drawer and keep it from opening? Inanimate objects conspire to make your life more difficult, that's why!

This is the nearest English translation I can find for the basic concept of Resistentialism, the grim but enthralling philosophy now identified with bespectacled, betrousered, two-eyed Pierre-Marie Ventre. In transferring the dynamic of philosophy from man to a world of hostile Things,’ Ventre has achieved a major revolution of thought, to which he himself gave the name ‘Resistentialism’. Things (res) resist (résister) man (homme, understood). Ventre makes a complete break with traditional philosophic method. Except for his German precursors, Freidegg and Heidansiecker, all previous thinkers from the Eleatics to Marx have allowed at least some legitimacy to human thought and effort. Some, like Hegel or Berkeley, go so far as to make man’s thought the supreme reality. In the Resistentialist cosmology that is now the intellectual rage of Paris Ventre offers us a grand vision of the Universe as One Thing – the Ultimate Thing (Dernière Chose). And it is against us.

Report on Resistialism, Paul Jennings, The Jenguin Pennings, 1963, reprinted from Town & Country (USA). 

More on this most serious subject here and here. Via Boing Boing.

Treehouse Party!

I want in on this party! via A Conversation on Cool.

Inspiration

Haven't had much time to blog, and I haven't been finding much inspiration online in the past few weeks, but here's something I like.

Bruno Munari, Immagini della Realta, Milan, 1977. An educational project for children with photographic images to learn about different representations of reality. I think these images are just beautiful.

via stopping off place.

Summertime

Spending too much time daydreaming about summer these days...

Catalan Avarcas from Ancient Industries

Carrie bicycle basket from Design House Stockholm

Provence

via

Gelato al limon

Busy, Busy!

 Bee necklace at etsy.

Busy couple of weeks! Still no time for scanning/correcting/posting work, sorry.

Here are a few entertaining things to look at in the meantime.

Alfred Hitchcock, of course.

Patrons of the London library during the Blitz. (see Maira Kalman's illustration here.)

I started a drawing very similar in idea to this months ago-- a woman sitting at a table sharing a drink with a hooded Death figure. I hadn't seen this photo.