A Visual ComparisonParis vs New York is such a simple and lovely visual comparison between two of the world’s most amazing cities. They are from the creative mind of Vahram Muratyan, a Paris based graphic designer and art director. I found the link on Refinery 29.
My big blue eyed baby boy made his arrival Sunday, October 24th at 10:29 am!!!!
He’s lovely and perfect and home with mommy and daddy.
He’s got his grandma’s eyes and we think he looks exactly like a baby version of Simon Pegg, which is pretty funny.
He might have a cleft chin and was born with ash blond hair that looks like it could have some wave to it.
We’ve learned that he really does love Leonard Cohen (just like he seemed to in utero) and have used this secret weapon for soothing.
Brixpicks entries will be sporadic for the next few weeks as we settle in and probably feature lots of photos of Mr. Van Malcolm Sanders.
Speaking of which, there are many, many below/after the jump of his first days. We love him so very, very much.
Click here for the rest of Baby Van is Here!!
Aired on FX, Available on Netflix InstantI know! I had absolutely no interest in watching Damages either. Single plot dramas on FX can be hard to get motivated to watch, especially if you can’t jump in mid-season or miss an episode, but with the highly critically acclaimed show on netflix instant, it’s given new life for viewers (like me). Life it desperately needs, as their ratings have fallen significantly the past (third) season.
With a first rate class cast led by Glenn Close and Rose Byrne, Damages seems to be the network’s attempt at a more serious, female driven drama to its roster of other dramas I don’t watch (The Shield, Rescue Me, Sons of Anarchy). From the fully satisfactory first season, I can say that maybe those shows should get a second look from me to0.
I don’t want to give too much plot away. It’s about lawyers, but far from a Law and Order type courtroom drama, it focuses more on the behind the scenes manipulation, double crossing and even murder that happens before a trial, specifically a trial against Mr. Frobisher, a corporate giant that, through insider trading, stole the savings and livelihood of his employees while becoming richer and richer.
It’s an appropriate bad guy for our times with real life corporate greed making headlines daily, but it’s played with an almost naive complexity by Ted Danson, who I am just liking more and more these days (he even outshines Galifianakis in the middle of the road Bored to Death). Instead of a bloated caricature, he’s very human with his confused ego, though no less terrible. Close, similarly complex, is more of an anti hero than the good guy. Even if her motivations are for the right side, she’s more capable of evil than anyone.
We’re going to start season two soon which continues the tradition of good actors featuring Timothy Olyphant, William Hurt, and Marcia Gay Harden.
Rolling Stones Founding MemberIt was wild man Brian Jones who gave the Rolling Stones their name and even though he left/was asked to leave the band on unfriendly terms, he had a huge influence on the band’s sound. Known to be complicated and both incredibly charming and extremely difficult, Jones’ short life was spent with several of the decade’s most beautiful women (Nico, Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithfull).
It’s little wonder, with his deep set eyes, shaggy blond hair and dapper peacock style that was never shy of ascots, patterns, hats, scarves, and loud suits. I know rock and rollers try to emulate the look today, but it tends to just look like costume compared to the real original. Sorry, I just don’t think Russell Brand could pull off a huge rhinestone brooch and a white cap in the same way.
Of course, Jones is now perhaps more remembered for his tragic death at 27, reported as an accident but believed to possibly have been murder. Due to a recent reporters investigation and previous confessions and interviews, the general consensus is that it wasn’t fully investigated and that general contractor Frank Thorogood was the killer.
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by Tim Burton (1997)The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories is a simple collection of quick witty poems, stories and illustrations that could only be the work of Tim Burton. Macabre and charming, they focus mostly on body morphing and children being born very, very strange.
The drawings are delightfully ghoulish yet childlike. As Halloween and before you know it, Christmas are approaching, it’s a perfect read for those wanting something a bit off center for the holidays.
I also love the design of the book from it’s black cloth binding down to its font, which embodies the mood exactly. Several of the books characters have been made into toys and Stain Boy has been made into a series of animations written and directed by Burton.
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Wonka CandyThe Everlasting Gobstopper is the stuff of sweet tooth kid dreams from the mind of Roald Dahl. In real life, it doesn’t last forever and it won’t be used to test your commitment to Willy Wonka but they are harder to find than one might think.
Thankfully, at least for a couple more days, I can pull the pregnancy craving card and spend several errand runs tracking some down.
from Real SimpleIt’s finally brisk outside and among the wonderful things this brings (jackets, hot drinks, autumn air to name a few) it means it is chowder season. Real Simple usually offers easy recipes that pack more punch than their ease and limited ingredients would suggest, and this thick, potato and pancetta enhanced belly warming Scallop Corn Chowder is no different.
by Sam Cooke (1963, released 1984)Sam Cooke is considered one of the founders of soul music. His short career boasted many well known hits, most of which he plays here on One Night Stand! Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club including the toe tapping Twistin’ the Night Away, Having a Party, and Chain Gang as well as some great love songs like my favorite Bring It On Home To Me, It’s All Right and Cupid.
Even if you’ve heard these songs before, they have new life in this quick, dynamic live performance at the cramped, hot (and according to the liner notes, scorpion infested) Florida club. The audience is palpably enthusiastic, Cooke is charismatic, and it just sounds like tons of fun. Only a year before his untimely and sordid death, none of the impending tragedy hangs in the air – just a passion and energy that’s hard to capture on tape. It’s considered one of the best live soul performance albums of all time.
Punk PioneerWith her dread lock Medusa hair and monotone voice, Slits singer Ari Up was a pioneering feminist in punk music. She had a flamboyant look that was part rave, part toddler with a Rasta twist and a generous helping of hooker thrown in. Clearly beholden to no one in the way she lived her life, she was a mentor to many and one of the most interesting, if overlooked women in punk who at times lived off the grid with the indigenous people of Indonesia and Brazil. She continued making music, even getting the old band back together last year, up until her untimely death yesterday. She was 48.
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Lake Ave, Colorado Springs, COMy old home in Colorado stands in the foothills above The Broadmoor, a hotel originally built in the late 1800’s that was the backdrop for lots of childhood memories (from feeding ducks on the pond to making out with a boyfriend named Jeff under on of its huge bushes).
There are several restaurants housed in the hotel, which we frequented as kids (beginning a love for fancy foods) but since those days, the hotel’s become less welcome to the surrounding community save for the exquisitely handsome British pub, The Golden Bee that hosts sing a long ragtime at night and classic food lunch and dinner.
The restaurant, where any vest and monocle wearing gentlemen would feel comfortable came to Colorado in the sixties – a complete 19th century pub reassembled from England. It’s really lovely to look at and the food is great to boot. They serve a jar of cheese butter spread that haunts dreams and offer great takes on traditional dishes like fish and chips and ploughman’s lunch.
A visit isn’t complete without a golden bee sticker (which that waiter tosses at your shirt) and at least a half yard of beer. Jim and I had a great time there during a visit last year.
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