something slightly wild

I'm terrible about anthropomorphising, everything from machines to animals. My car has a name (Bleeker), my mp3 player has a name (Captain Apollo), my elliptical has a name (Zoe). With animals, of course, it's even worse, because not only do I name the ones in my care, I also absolutely believe we share with them what we - selfish, ego-maniacal creatures that we are - tend to think of as "human" characteristics, specifically emotions, needs, desires... 

You know as well as I do that dogs love, cats get bored, elephants mourn. (You do know that, don't you?) But even without looking into it that deeply, it's easy, and fun, to think of them as being like us, isn't it?  I know I did my fair share of dressing kittens in doll clothes and parading them up and down Deerbrook Rd when I was little. 

These are postcards by an artist named Eugen Hartung (or Hurtong), who lived from 1897-1973. These cards, known as the Humorous Dressed Cats postcards or Mainzer Dressed Cats postcards, were originally published from the 1940's through the 1960's by Alfred Mainzer Inc. in New York City, known worldwide for their postcards and greeting cards.  The Mainzer company was founded by brothers Renate and Alfred Mainzer, who started the business in their New York City home in 1938. The early postcards had a rough finish, brilliant colors, and scalloped ("deckled") edges.  The cards were printed in Switzerland, Belgium, Turkey, Thailand, and Spain. An additional series of Mainzer dressed cats were published as the "Kunzli edition" - these appear to be set in older European environments, and are typically not as brightly colored as the American editions.  (source) 


I think they're absolutely charming, despite the fact - or maybe because of it - that for the most part the kittens seem to be completely wild.  If you've ever known a litter of kittens, or even one really worth its salt,  you know that in that respect, at least, they've been portrayed  true to their nature. 

    When you invite a kitten into your home,

you bring indoors something slightly wild,

often unpredictable,

and always entertaining.

~ Barbara L. Diamond

removes the rough edges

We watched the movie Cinema Verite last night. Have you seen it? It's based on the true story of the Loud family, who were the "stars" of television's first reality show in the early 1970s. This film tells the behind-the-scenes stories of what went on during the taping, which is interesting enough. For me, though, the real fascination was the set and costume design (and watching Diane Lane; she was phenomenal).  I was awash in nostalgia by the time it was over.

That said, there was some really great design in the 1970s...and some that was truly hideous. I'll let you decide for yourself how these images measure up.

"WOMAN ALIVE" 

Is this little perv looking up her skirt?! I think so!

(Speaking of pervy...)

Random '70s guy

Sexy!

 Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days. 

~Doug Larson

http://confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com/

strive to mend

I've always had a fondness for mended things, a thing so loved, or needed, or both, that when it broke or wore out, the thought of tossing it aside was never truly considered, and instead, repairs were made, carefully or clumsily, but enough to keep the thing intact.

We - most of us - don't live that way any more. When a thing breaks or shows signs of wear or bores us, we replace it. This practice is to our own detriment, I think. We're always and forever starting over with something new, and forgetting to cherish the treasures we have. 

I'll not willingly offend, 

Nor be easily offended; 

What's amiss I'll strive to mend, 

And endure what can't be mended. 

~ Isaac Watts  (1674-1748)

http://confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com/

interesting in an ordinary place

I love love love Rebekah's (of Little Byrd Vintage) eye and styling. I see these very same things at fleas and thrifts all the time, but I don't look at them and think "Ah, that would be really special in another context." Her real gift is her ability to separate the wheat from the chaff, and come up with the real treasures.


Take these hurricanes, for example: don't they make great cloches? Brilliant!

This photo just makes me smile:

How cool would this be for an outdoor shower? 

And this, oh my, YUM:

All images/items @ Little Byrd Vintage

...It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... 

I've found it has little to do with the things you see 

and everything to do with the way you see them.

 ~ Elliott Erwitt 

http://confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com/

undefinable yet paradoxical

When it was time to retire my 1960s hard-rock maple "Early American" coffee table I looked high and low for a glass-top table I could love. Maybe I was looking in the wrong decade...

All these images (via here) are from the 1970s, and while some of them are clearly from another era, there are several that could hold their own - as is - against any contemporary room out there. (I especially love 1, 6, and 9.)  Even the ones with particularly hideous elements have something that could pass as 2010. 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; 

the past is gone, the future is not come, 

and the present becomes the past 

even while we attempt to define it, 

and, like the flash of lightning, 

at once exists and expires. 

~Charles Caleb Colton

http://confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com/