matouenpeluche

Right On!

I have recently discovered two very fine You Tube videos from the 1970s. The first one is from an  American variety TV show called Soul Train. This show featured live performances by soul groups and singers such as Gladys Knight and the Pips and James Brown. The best part of the show, however, is the line dancing! I very much enjoy dancing myself, and I've been told I'm relatively good at it, but I don't even touch the hem of these folks' garments! Behold ---> The best dancing I've seen in many a moon.

The second clip is a toe tapper from 1970 by Mungo Jerry. The facial hair of the band and the lead singer's *ahem* clothes are a little distracting but hey! It's a fun song! Correct me if I'm wrong. Happy Tuesday!

Images from here, here and here.

How to avoid...The Olympic Games.

People who are crazy about The Olympics look away now. I guess any Olympic Games are a bit ho hum for Sydneysiders as we had "The Best Ever Olympics!!!" in Sydney 2000 *ahem cough cough*. I think I totally burnt out on the whole thing that year and have never fully recovered. So, if, like me you have Olympic fatigue, I have five strategies you can adopt to minimise exposure and possibly even avoid it altogether. Please see under diagram for a further explanation.

1. Fly to India and hang out at an ashram for the fortnight. Why not?

2. If you can't make it to India, avert your gaze. A bit tricky I know, but worth a try. It adds to the overall party pooper effect if you frown and mumble under your breath a bit as well.

3. Develop selective hearing difficulties.

4. Stage your own alternative Olympics. That way you'll be way too busy with your own event to catch the real thing, and you may even distract some of the world media away from the main event! Highly unlikely I know but worth a try surely.

5. Commune with nature! Go camping for the full two weeks and don't forget to leave your iPhone at home.

Having said that, I would really like to see Usain Bolt run the 100 metres - can anyone tell when that's on? :0)

Olympic Posters

Only a hermit in the remotest part of the Tibetan Himalayan foothills would not know that the London Olympics had begun. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if even these hermits all had iPhones and were watching it live via The Gaurdian website. Anyway, all the Olympic hoopla inspired my search for past Olympic posters. Which is your favourite? Mine is, without a doubt, the 1976 Montreal poster featuring the funky beaver. It's totally out there! 

 

Images from here, here, here and here.

Albrecht Dürer

These two drawings are lovely, are they not? Both by Albrecht Dürer. Both via Miss Moss. Happy Thursday!  

Speechless

So, the past few days I've been unable to speak (*crowd cheers in the background*) due to a very full on bout of laryngitis. It started off as a very sore throat and then...well, I've drawn a diagram to illustrate what happened next. See below illo for a further explanation of events.

1. Suspiciously, the super sore throat went last Thursday. Good! I thought, that's the end of that then! However, at lunch on Thursday everything went pear shaped. I started going croaky and by the end of the day it was all over. That evening my voice was more of a squeak and then finally there was silence (*crowd cheers in the background*).

2. Thank goodness for my brand spanking new iphone! Were the gods of technology and purchases smiling upon me or what? I've only had it a week and really I don't know how I could have survived without it! I have become the queen of texting.

3. I have proceeded to drink as much hot lemon and honey drinks that I can manage, but I am starting to feel a little peculiar.

4. I've also got right into eucalyptus and steam inhalations. These are doing me the world of good, although I've started to attract some unwanted attention from the locals.

5. Thank goodness for a newly discovered TV series! I've been watching hours and hours of a new British legal series called Silk. It's terrific! It's well acted, the plot is gripping and the outdoor scenes of The Old Bailey and the city of London make me want to head to the nearest airport and jump on the first flight to Heathrow!

So, feeling a bit frustrated with the lack of voice, but I am bonding nicely with my iphone and getting up to speed on the British legal system...

A Cartoonist's World View.

The Guardian has a nice feature today called A Cartoonist's World View. This cartoon is by Stephen Collins.

Dali and Babou

I found out today that Salvador Dali had a pet ocelot from Columbia called Babou. He used to take Babou everywhere. He took Babou with him when he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, had him stay with him at hotels and even took him to restaurants. Crazy stuff considering ocelots, also known as dwarf leopards, are fiercly territorial and will fight to the death to protect their turf.

Images from here, here, here, here.

Jane Birkin: John Barry vs Serge Gainsbourg

March/ April Easter SALE! I am having a 4 for 3 SALE in my shop! When you buy any 3 same sized prints you get another absolutely FREE! Click here for more details. Now back to our scheduled programme...

I guess everyone knows about the elfin beauty Jane Birkin. Jane was the epitome of '60s prettiness with the impossibly straight fringe (*v.jealous*) and waif like figure. Perhaps you also know that she was Serge Gainsbourg's main squeeze too. But! Did you know that before she became Serge's paramour she was John Barry's wife? I bet you didn't. I should think perhaps you don't even know who John Barry is! John Barry is one of the most important composers of the 20th century. Think James Bond theme tune and title music such as Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, You only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever e.t.c. Also, in addition to the James Bond work that he did there were film scores ranging from Midnight Cowboy to Born Free. So, that Jane, she sure liked her chaps musical, did she not? Here I have a selection of Jane photos, Jane and Barry photos and lastly, Jane and Gainsbourg photos.

...Jane and John.

...and with Serge.

How hilarious is this photo? What's going on?

Images from here, here and here.

Max Dupain

Penny Farthing's Design House has many lovely things you can buy for your home such as prints and posters and neon signs, but I like these circa 1940s Max Dupain prints best. They seem so incredibly Australian. I'm not sure if that's because I know they were taken in Sydney or because they truly do have an Australian feel to them. I guess I'll never know! Happy Sunday.

Wild Rugs

Is it just me, or are these rugs unbearably lovely? They are antique Moroccan rugs from the Nazmiyal Collection site. I love the joyful colours and the groovy haphazard designs. It's as if the weavers were doing free form jazz improvisations with coloured threads. I don't know what I would do if I actually owned one. I think I'd probably think of excuses to stay at home so I could gaze at it all day.

All images from here.