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FISHING POSTERS
I have lots and lots of pictures I want to put on the walls of my new house...too many, really. I might be heading for a nightmare of clutter. It occurred to me that maybe I should minimize what's...
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HYBRID ARCHITECTURE
Boy, the 50s was a great time for architecture. I suspect though, that few thoroughly modern houses were built in that period. Most were hybrids.There was a transition period where modern design was...
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WOOD AND BRICKS
What do you think of this tiny house by Sou Fujimoto? Okay, it doesn't look very comfortable, but it's only a proof-of-concept structure, not a finished house, and it certainly makes its point. Geez,...
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TWO MOONS OF SATURN / JUPITER'S SOUTH POLE
For comparison: two small moons of Saturn, both embedded in the planet's rings. The one above is Pandora. It's strangely smooth. Where are all the little craters you'd expect? Maybe the surface is...
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DO-IT-YOURSELF HOMES
While looking at random houses in the town I'll be moving to I discovered a whole neighborhood of do-it-yourself houses. Boy, people are ambitious in that part of the country! When they feel the need...
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THE HISTORY OF GIRDLES
I don't remember my parents ever telling me the facts of life. I got it from my kid friends, and from whatever I could glean from newspapers and magazines. What I most wanted to know was what women...
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HOMEWRECKER
This post is all about...THE HOMEWRECKER!Obviously men can be homewreckers too, but melodramatic convention requires that we see it from the female victim's point of view, which requires a female...
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A GOTHIC ROMANCE
EXT. BRANDYTHISTLE MANOR: NIGHT:REBECCA (VO): "I have to look good for D'Arcy."INT. BEDROOM: REBECCA: "The next time we meet will be the clincher." REBECCA: "Oh, he was stand-offish at first..."REBECCA...
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AMAZING MOON OF SATURN
Above, a stunning photo of a little known moon of Saturn, only 30 kilometers across. It's called "Pan." The soon to self-destruct Cassini orbiter took the picture last week.Why the heck does it look...
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A TALE OF THE FARM HUSSY
My name is Mildred and this is my autobiography.I grew up on a farm where I had a certain reputation...deserved, I suppose.But it was kinda boring there.All the boys in my town just liked to drink and...
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MY BEE STORY
Here's how it happened. My wife and I were talking about the new house we're hoping to get and I mentioned a type of screen we could get for the back porch. She said something like, "Oh, not that...
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OPENING PARAGRAPHS
Don't you love the way the best magazine writers used to begin their stories? How do you like this opening:"The floor beneath Conners' feet dropped like a gallows trap. What had been solid, shining...
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THE BEST MODERN FASHION DESIGNER
Listen, I don't know anything about fashion but I love art and the most artistic and funny modern designer that's come to my attention is...by far...Thom Browne.Browne's been around for a long time but...
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A FASHIONABLE MOLE
I know what my new house will need...a touch of class. Maybe I'll put up some portraits of old English nobility. There must be prints you can buy like that.Yeah, the Baroque look. Gee, all the wigs in...
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PEDESTRIAN FOOTBRIDGES
Here's a photo (above) that made me want to stand up and cheer when I found it. It's of New York City, at Broadway and Fulton Street and Park Place, taken in 1866.A book called "New York Then and Now"...
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ART SCHOOL PLASTER CASTS
Every art school used to have a huge collection of white plaster casts. Some still do. White allowed the student to see shadows more clearly and shadows are a lot of what pulls a composition together...
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CANS WITHOUT LABELS IS FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!
Ahem! I'd like to announce...for those who haven't heard...that John K's film, "CANS WITHOUT LABELS" is finished!!!!!!!!!!!I've seen it and it's unbelievably delicious. It's easily one of the best...
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THE MANNEQUIN STORY
ON A BIG NEW YORK DEPARTMENT STOREINT. DEPARTMENT STORE WINDOW: ON THE MANNEQUINS INSIDE:MILDRED: "Am I imagining it or is it getting hot in here?"REGINALD: "Haw! Good old Mildred, always...
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THE ORIGIN OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY
Who are these immaculately dressed women, and why are they dressed differently than everyone else? I think you'll find the answer interesting. Do you want to hear more? Well, fashion has been with us a...
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HOW SMOKING HAS CHANGED
I don't believe in smoking...it's obviously bad for you...but I do believe in being honest about whatever benefits it does bestow.Maybe I should say "used to bestow," because those benefits have...
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