Your Weekly Mr. Littlejeans

He's a regular Tom Collicchio of the feline world:

Or maybe Mario Batali is the more apt comparison.

When Jeans poses like this, Emily says it looks like he has his hands in his pockets. (Click to enlarge.)

But messieur, one thin wafer...

Maybe the day after Thanksgiving is not the best time to discuss food, but just in case you haven't had your fill, take a look at the Diner Journal, an independent magazine published by the Brooklyn restaurant of the same name (which is also affiliated with Marlow & Sons and Bonita).

More than just a repository for recipes and culinary trends, the Diner Journal is dedicated to the principle of using food as a wider lens for art, politics, culture and community – and apparently for beautiful design as well.

Visit dinernyc.com for more information, and click here for subscriptions.

Photographs via New York Magazine

Thankful

We just finished breakfast and as I type my mom is making some pies. Later today we're headed over to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Juanita – my cousin Spenser surprised them with a trip home from Boston. It's nice to be back and able to spend Thanksgiving with the fam, something I haven't done for ten years.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving, and thank you very much for reading my blog.

William DeVaughn Be Thankful for What You Got mp3

Human Animal

Marlene McCarty (Reflection) No. 2, 2008

Speaking of Rodarte – check out artist Marlene McCarty's new project at V Gallery, inspired by the designers' current collection. McCarty is best known for her large-scale ballpoint pen and pencil drawings of real-life teenage girls who murdered their families – a disturbing topic, to be sure, but McCarty's portrayals and technique (it reminds me of drawings you might find on a Pee Chee folder, but gigantic and extremely detailed) invited an empathy for the girls and an appreciation for the complexity of their stories.

Marlene McCarty (Progression) No. 4, 2008

For her collaboration with Rodarte and V, McCarty uses the same technique to portray model Anja Rubik morphing from woman to beast, presenting as Rodarte does "a new, dangerous femininity"...a "decisive unveiling of a cast of female archetypes moving in and out of definition." It's worth a look – visit the V Gallery Project to see the whole series and get more info.

More Marlene McCarty here and here.

Department of Covers

The new Department of Eagles record has a cover of one of my favorite Dave Van Ronk songs, "Green Country Road" (originally written and recorded by Len Chandler), from Van Ronk's LP Songs for Ageing Children [sic].

Here it is:

Dave Van Ronk Green Country Road mp3

Donate to the John D. Spalding Medical Fund

I feel a little weird posting this, because I never met the guy – but having read on various Seattle blogs of local musician John Spalding's recent passing after a long, courageous battle with cancer, I think it would require a heart of stone to not feel a sense of sadness. He seems to have lived an incredibly full life, even during the cancer part, surrounded by a huge group of family and friends who loved him. A fund has been set up in Spalding's name to help his wife Jody with medical expenses, and if you have even a few bucks to spare, consider dropping by any Bank of America branch nationwide and telling them you'd like to donate to the John D. Spalding Medical Fund.

Car Jamming

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One of the cool things about living in the West is that they don't salt the roads when it snows, so old cars tend to last much longer here. It's not uncommon to see VW bugs and buses, old Land Rovers, a whole gang of Thunderbirds, Continentals, and other boats of the land, and a lot of cars I've never even heard of—whereas in New York, most of the cars you see are either cabs, town cars, or miscellaneous things built in the last ten years (not that you necessarily notice or care, since you don't really need a car most of the time yourself). Anyway, I've been taking some pictures of cool old cars when I see them, and will be posting them up from time to time.

Specimen no.1 is this old Citroën – and below are some shots from 1960s Citroën pamphlets.

Photographed by André Martin:






Photographed by Helmut Newton:

Roll, Roll, Roll Brother Trucker

I found this book for a dollar at a thrift store in Langley last weekend, up on Whidbey Island. Trucker: A Portrait of the Last American Cowboy (1975) was written by Jane Stern, with some great photographs by the author and her husband Michael Stern.
click to enlarge:



Among other things, Jane and Michael Stern now contribute regularly to the website roadfood.com, write an award-winning column for Gourmet magazine, and are regular guests on the mildly irritating but useful NPR show The Splendid Table. They have authored more than twenty books, including Roadfood, Two for the Road, and Chili Nation: The Ultimate Chili Cookbook with Recipes from Every State in the Nation.

In an Instant

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A recent post by a former Visionaire crony of mine, the decidedly NSFW JD Ferguson, reminded me of Schohaja – a somewhat mysterious photographer who used to send our photo editor big boxes of Polaroids shot backstage at the Paris couture shows each season. Photos from each individual show would arrive rubber-banded together and I used to love going through them and choosing my favorites to put in the magazine or on the website. Here are a few:

Above and top: Givenchy

Christian Lacroix

Armani Privé

Valentino

There's something great about the imperfection of the shots, contrasting as it does with the absolute precision of couture. The unpredictable color and distortions of the Polaroids convey the specter of all the work that went into making a garment and putting the show together, culminating in this one fleeting moment.

John Galliano for Dior

Chanel

Armani Privé

Jean-Paul Gaultier

Visit vmagazine.com and search for "Schohaja" for more couture images, and schohaja.com to view her other work.