Allison Harvard
| November 9, 2011 | Filed under Art, Fashion |
You might recognize the name Allison Harvard from America’s Next Top Model; she’s the one dubbed “weirdly beautiful” (and also happens to be my favorite). But did you also know she is an artist? Visit her website here.
Beppe & Carla
| November 9, 2011 | Filed under Fashion, Photography |
I hope Nathaniel and I look this good when we grow up.
Ross Island
| October 27, 2011 | Filed under Plants / Gardening, Portland |
Earlier this summer, Nathaniel and I had a crazy goal of visiting every park in Portland. One thing we realized was that there are too many parks in Portland! We also realized that Ross Island is only accessible (legally) if you go as part of a volunteer project. So we signed ourselves up through Portland Parks and Willamette Riverkeeper for a “Planting Party” and held our breath! Last Saturday (the 22nd) was the date. We met up at OMSI and then canoed upstream (south) to Ross Island, where we planted Spiraea, Ash trees, Pacific and another variety of willow, and Red Dogwood. All together we planted over 200 trees and shrubs!
Here’s some photos of the day:
Briefing before departure
Choppy waters!
Leaving the dock
Pulling ashore
We have arrived!
Learning about underbrush
Some of the Ash trees
An impromptu sand map of Ross Island showing our location
About to pass under Ross Island Bridge
Heading home!
Iain McKell
| October 25, 2011 | Filed under Photography |
Beautiful images of Horse Drawn Travelers in England.
Thanks much to Kaleb and Michelle for the book! Be sure to check out Iain McKell’s other work at his website.
Coolies
| October 25, 2011 | Filed under Family, History, Photography |
Being of Chinese-American descent myself, I am particularly interested in the Chinese Railroad workers of the mid/late 19th century. Although my family line was on the East Coast, the time period roughly coincides with the insurge of Chinese Immigrants to the west, and I wonder what kind of opposition my great-grandfather might have faced; the Chinese Exclusion Act wasn’t legally repealed until 1943.
Here are some photographs of Chinese laborers (mostly rail).
Chinese America Placer Miner, circa 1860s-70s. Courtesy of Nevada Historical Society. Found at On Gold Mountain.
Surviving Central Pacific Chinament, Wong Food, Lee Chao, Ging Cui. Unidentified Artist P1967.727 gelatin silver print, 1919. Courtesy of Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas. Found at On Gold Mountain.
Photo by Roy Graves, found at Bay Radical.
found at Michigan State University.
found at Golden Gate Model Railroaders, Inc.
above two images from Library of Archives Canada, found at Rocky Railroad High.
found at GoldSea.
found at BakitWhy.
Bluegrass
| October 19, 2011 | Filed under Film, Music |
Have you seen the movie “Bluegrass Roots?” I haven’t but I’d love to! Here’s a blurb about it from youtube: “Way back in 1964, New York filmmaker, David Hoffman was headed down with his new 16mm hand help camera (weight 49 lbs!) to spend three weeks driving the backcountry around Madison County, North Carolina, in the center of Appalachia, with the 82 year old founder of the pioneer Asheville Mountain Music and Dance Festival, Bascom Lamar Lunsford. The resulting film, ‘Bluegrass Roots’ lets you hear and experience the hard scrabbling, dirt road real people sounds that dominated the back country of the southern mountains 40 years ago. It presents a string of the most extraordinary singers, players and dancers the BlueGrass Mountains had to offer. Many later became famous. Some were never heard from again. Most of the songs are classics, including Lunsford’s own tune, ‘Mountain Dew.’”
One of the best scenes was “filmed at Bascom’s home with a local dance group came to dance in Bascom’s living room”, but unfortunately it’s not embeddable.Click here to view the clip – you’ll just have to trust me.
Or, just trust these stills.
Whiter Shade of Pale
| October 8, 2011 | Filed under History, Music |
A few summers ago I was obsessed with this song. Still love it, and really really love the video.
A Weekend Folly
| September 15, 2011 | Filed under Animals, Photography, Places, Plants / Gardening |
Photos from Michelle’s parents’ garden in Kennewick, WA.
And finally, this guy. Might I just say this is not exactly what you want to see inches from your face upon looking up from being engrossed in composing a shot.
Square Watermelon
| September 14, 2011 | Filed under Food, Places, Plants / Gardening |
What on God’s good earth are these? Inventive photoshop work? Nope – these are all real fruit! Here’s the snippet from Wikipedia:
“In Japan, farmers of the Zentsuji region found a way to grow cubic watermelons, by growing the fruits in glass boxes and letting them naturally assume the shape of the receptacle. The square shape was originally designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but the square watermelons are often more than double the price of normal ones, and much of their appeal to consumers is in their novelty. Pyramid shaped watermelons have also been developed and any polyhedral shape may potentially also be used.”
Also – shaped cucumbers.
Somehow I find this so, so wrong, yet I am tempted to try it myself. It’s not GMO or a chemical alteration, merely a creative gardening “solution”. Would you eat a geometric fruit?
