I’ve always been a fan of before and afters, especially those that show up on design*sponge, and now I might be ready to take to the world stage with my makeover of this “disgustingly hideous” table from Goodwill:
Before:
After:
From abomination to festive home for our Christmas tree. Success!
This blog has died because I got a new job. I guess I have bigger fish to fry now but I do miss having the time to blog some nonsense now and then. I’ve.migrated from the world of libraries to that of
information and referral.
And I work in the Strip now so when I walk to and from work I see things like trombone playing older gentlemen and trains overhead. And fountains.
finally, it’s spring. or more like summer, but whatever.
Until today I’ve been pretty restrained with downloading apps for my new phone. But I got bored/curious and downloaded a few today, including Retro Camera by Urbian, Inc. I LOVE IT. I had fun today just taking pictures of my workplace; imagine what I could do out in the world! Even though retro-looking photos have been done so much it’s kind of sickening, I can’t help liking the look of them. What I especially appreciate about this app is how the interface changes with each retro camera to make it kinda look like you’re using a different one each time. And it’s just cute how the images hang on a string like in a darkroom.
The app makes sharing photos easy too. I just emailed them to myself (and friends) but you can Facebook them or share via Twitter. The only drawback I’ve found so far is that some of the buttons are small and thus hard to touch accurately on the first try, and the viewfinder window can be a bit tiny. I apologize in advance if I start posting millions of fake polaroids on this blog.
I’ve been working with current periodicals as my primary responsibility for over 6 months now. I used to get a kick out of the terrible cover graphics on the periodicals at the Business Library, but with this collection it’s more the titles that entertain me. Here’s the ones I’ve noticed so far:
| Tortuga ecuestre |
I do miss those business images though. My daily lolz.
I just checked my notifications on one of my Flickr accounts, and found out that a photo I had been asked to contribute to an online city guide was actually chosen and posted (like 6 months ago). It’s a picture of the Seattle Public Library, and it’s on a page about where to get access to the internet in Seattle. Ha! How appropriate. Here’s the main page for Seattle. This site is weird…apparently you can download their guide books and bookmark places. Actually this is a better description:
We released our first Schmap City Guides in March 2006: initially revised twice a year, our guides are now updated real-time, with local buzz for restaurants and bars from Twitter users, reviews from local residents, local photos from more than 300,000 contributing photographers, plus events, activities and local deals via users of our popular Twitter service.
Real-time guide books: that’s a good idea. I’ll have to check it out more when I activate my NEW SMART PHONE. Woo-hoo, welcome to the 21st century.
I got this great disco compilation for Christmas. This song is my current favorite:
Change-Angel In My Pocket
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLL3xW5X5Jc”%5D
This is a break-up/independence song to rival “I Will Survive” and its bass line is excellent. Plus…is that cowbell I hear? Oh yeah.
PBS Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M3moEeErr8″%5D
I like that this is set in the early 20th century. It’s good for me to change up my period piece periods once in awhile. Plus the dresses are great and not so heaving-bosom centric.
Paleo-Future
I’m excited to sift through the archives of this blog/site. I love past predictions for the future – which I guess falls under the handy name of “paleofuturism”. And the fact that there are so many vintage visuals on the site just makes it better – you get the crazy sci-fi thinking AND the retro design inspiration.
Winter is here, and once I’m done with the required seasonal illnesses, I’m going to be a sledding, skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, ice skating maniac. I would even snowmobile if it was possible. Okay maybe not. But I really wish we could still ice skate on the various ponds and “lakes” in Pittsburgh’s parks…
Highland Park’s Carnegie Lake: summer / winter
Schenley Park’s Panther Hollow Lake: summer / winter
At least we have an extra place to skate this year because of the Winter Classic. Not that I’m even a habitual ice skater! I do like the romance of it, though. Which is why I can’t NOT post this video, even though I will probably regret it later. (Do you ever find videos and feel compelled to post them just because someone took the insane amount of time to make them?)
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDGJfJ1wP8k”%5D
So I’m hoping this year will be the year that I try ice skating one more time, and succeed in staying on the ice for longer than 15 minutes before giving up! If that doesn’t work, at least it’s still fun to drink hot chocolate and watch other people fall down.
In my search for historic ice skating images, I stumbled across this article about the Schenley Park Casino, which is one of those Pittsburgh things that aren’t there anymore (as Sebak would say…yet he never featured anything this cool in his movies). It burned down within 2 years of opening. It seems, though, that this may have been the site of Pittsburgh’s introduction to hockey!
The following day The Pittsburgh Press had this account: “Between 2,500 and 3,000 (despite bad weather) showed how hockey and ice polo should be played when business is meant. Before 9 o’clock the boys lined up and gave an exhibition of hockey. This game has never before been seen in Pittsburgh, and it was a revelation. The Casino players, in truth, didn’t know just what to do with that little flat “puck” used in hockey. They didn’t know whether it was good to eat or whether it was a holiday toy. No account was kept of the hockey score, but the crowd marveled at the work of the visitors.”
Happy holidays, and GO PENS
Buxtehude- Klaglied : BuxWV 76/2
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cZhMXb62CU”%5D
Bach – Warum betrübst du mich, mein Herz : BWV 138
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJYbEBrtS0U”%5D
I am enjoying this album:
Dietrich Buxtehude: Ein starken music– : 6 cantatas
and really hoping I can get this one:
Klaglied : German sacred concertos
I guess it could be somewhat offensive to the photographers that I’m recommending their images as desktop wallpaper. But it just means I think it’s a great photo! If I had money and owned a house I would recommend photographs I like as “things to buy prints of and frame” but until then my computers have the only walls I’m allowed to wallpaper. Even so, I will change the name of these posts from now on.
The stars in that last image are really amazing. I recommend other photos in “Cap’n Surly’s” stream as well. Very dramatic! There’s also some silhouettes of horses, which turn out to be a monument that I’ve never heard of despite living in Washington and visiting various points along the Columbia river. I need to see this someday.
