The Place Where I Live

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A small but significant exhibition of previously unseen Andrew Wyeth paintings opens today at the Seattle Art Museum (alongside a way bigger show, Target Practice, which deserves several of its own posts). I thought I'd take the opportunity to post some images from this Wyeth book my parents had when I was a kid.

Andrew Wyeth (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1968) with text by Life magazine reporter Richard Meryman

This massive book was, at least in my mind, one of the more valuable and special things we owned. I didn't get to look at it very often, so it always seemed new to me. In addition to just loving the color, the technique, the subjects and scenery, it was hugely influential in terms of thinking about fully exploring my immediate surroundings. Here are some select images from the book – click to enlarge.

"I think one's art goes as far and as deep as one's love goes. I see no reason for painting but that. If I have anything to offer, it is my emotional contact with the place where I live and the people I do." –Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth: Remembrance runs today through October 18th at the Seattle Art Museum.

Day to Day

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Miscellaneous recent photos:

Rude finger gestures from such a pristine lady.

Snoqualmie Falls. Way too crowded but still cool to see.

My buddy Jason at Big Green Egg-fest '09. That nugget on the toothpick is a little smokey and cream cheese in a half-jalapeño, wrapped in bacon.

My dad's truck in front of Oddfellows.

More of this guy.

There are a lot of little stickers, paste-ups, etc. around the world but for whatever reason I really like this character – if anyone knows who it is, let me know.

Emily at Greg Kucera Gallery yesterday (thank you for the reminder General Bonkers). Show closes Saturday – see it if you can, it's really good.

Rodriguez afternoon show at the Triple Door. (Hear it at KEXP.)

Everyone hates on crows because of their laid-back freegan lifestyle. I actually am kind of a fan – they're beautiful when you look at them up close. This one was taking a bath in a puddle of water near my office this morning.

More lil' smokies, these ones cooked in Manny's Pale Ale at Calamity Jane's in Georgetown.

Not to be all Eric Cartman and explain my photos or anything but I liked the red, green and yellow in this picture.

And I liked the greens in this one. The end.

Jamon It*

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Charlie Davies and Jozy Altidore
(AFP Photo/Roberto Schmidt via FIFA)

The U.S. team just defeated Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup, which is widely viewed as the lead-up tourney to next year's highly anticipated World Cup. Spain is the current European champion and the top-ranked team in the world. The team had been undefeated since 2006, winning 35 games in a row until today's upset.

Street soccer near the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium, where the Confederations Cup is being held. June 16, 2009, Bloemfontein, South Africa. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) via The Big Picture.

Brazil plays South Africa tomorrow, and the U.S., in its first major international final ever, plays the winner of that game on Sunday at 2pm EST.

*Yeah we know, we know: what is this, the Post? I hereby pledge that "Jamon It" is the last corny title I will ever deploy – I swear it.

Space is the Place

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[I was reminded of this (and related videos) by a recent edition of the always entertaining and informative Wall of Sound weekly e-mail update.]

Kodachrome, 1935 – 2009

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Steve McCurry, Sharbat Gula, Afghan Girl,
at Nasir Bagh refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, 1984

Kodak announced yesterday that it is retiring Kodachrome, its oldest color film stock. The film, which now accounts for only 1% of Kodak's still film sales, was used to produce numerous iconic stills and moving films during the 20th century (including Abraham Zapruder's 8 mm film of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963). National Geographic, which published the image above on its June 1985 magzine cover, described it as "a photographic medium that changed the way we document the world."

Photo by Eric Meola

The film is apparently extremely complicated to develop – it is black and white when exposed and the color spectrum is produced by the addition of primary colors in three separate stages during the development process. Only one lab in the U.S., Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas, still processes it (way to represent, Kansas).

B. Anthony Stewart, Trieste, Italy, 1956

On Thursday, the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. opens a show of more than 100 Kodachrome images of Europe from the 1950s and 60s. The exhibit, which is free, runs through September 7.

More info and images on the New York Times' website and Lens blog. Kodak also has a tribute to the film on its website, including a slideshow of Kodachrome photos.

R.I.P., Kodachrome.

Glas Italia

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I want these shelves by Shiro Kuramata.
Designed the year I was born.

Also by Glas Italia, this backlit mirror by Jean Marie Massaud. Massaud is so smooth with his designs, he always captures an aesthetic that is the epitome of futuristic: clean lines, ultrathin and lightweight. He has designed for a range of luxury furniture companies like Cassina and Poltrona Frau, among others.

Glas has worked with some of my favorite designers from the '80s such as Kuramata, Sottsass and Branzi. Similar to another Italian contemporary of theirs, Fiam, they work exclusively in glass and mirrors, an interesting limitation with limitless possibilities. The Glas Italia website has a nice feature showing images of their factory and production process.

The incredible, edible egg

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Some old family photos that just re-surfaced:

My mom and my uncle Perry collecting eggs on my grandpa Don's chicken farm, Vashon Island, ca.1951

My mom's kindergarten class, Vashon Island – that's her in the middle row, fourth from our left. Click to enlarge – the back row looks like trouble.

Don Woodfin Poultry Farm float, Vashon parade, early 1950s. The sign on the front of the truck says
"How do you like these Chickens?"

Pikesville

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I remember one time cleaning out my Dad's liquor cabinet, which had been growing with every type of unwanted liquor, from Schnapps to way-past-their-prime Ports, and sadly we poured out 4 or 5 bottles of my Grandfather's Early Times bourbon, inherited on his passing, probably 10 years or more aged in the bottle on the shelf. We thought we would never drink it, it smelled so foul it made us wretch, but I know now that he probably drank it every day and bought it by the case. It's funny to me when people pick one drink and stick with it forever – their signature drink.

Yesterday I was at the liquor store, and lately loving on Manhattans and ryes on-the-rocks, I decided to try something new instead of my standard, the Old Overholt. The price was $15.10 and the bottle looked so authentic I decided I might live blog this new taste. The live blog never made it off the ground but the bottle was opened, and although I wanted it to be a new find (the price was right and the label was beautiful), it was sadly over-oaked and suffered from the vanilla flavors on top of the bourbon base.

But it is Rye, and like its brother bourbon, it warms you up and takes the edge off a hard day's work. Come over sometime and I'll pour you a drink.

Insight, foresight, more sight

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The Sound of Young America radio sweetheart/boy detective Jesse Thorn has a great interview up right now with Pharoahe Monch, who rose to prominence as one-half of Organized Konfusion and then as a solo artist. Organized is easily in my top ten favorite hip-hop duos of all time and I'm glad to hear they'll be doing some reunion shows this summer, starting tomorrow at the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival in DUMBO.

Organized Konfusion's second album, with artwork by Matt Doo

Pharoahe and Prince Po never really made that late '90s jump to pseudo thuggishness that brought other formerly-innovative MCs down (I'm talking about Black Sheep's second album, Special Ed's third album, Intelligent Hoodlum changing his name to Tragedy Khadafi...), and I think maintaining that certain level of weirdness positions both of them well for continuing to do interesting things.

Click here to listen to the Pharoahe Monch interview. (The previous week's interview with Brother Ali is also great, and I recommend combing through the gigantic Sound of Young America archives for interviews with Tim & Eric, Zach Galifianakis, Bob Odenkirk, Miranda July…the list goes on and on.)

Some favorite Organized cuts:

Organized Konfusion Stray Bullet mp3
from Stress:The Extinction Agenda (Hollywood)
Organized Konfusion Releasing Hypnotical Gases mp3
from Organized Konfusion (Hollywood Basic)
Organized Konfusion & O.C. You Won't Go Far mp3
from the New Jersey Drive OST (Tommy Boy)
Prince Po Love Thang mp3 (produced by Dangermouse)
from The Slickness (Lex)
Attica Blues Tender (Organized Konfusion remix) mp3 (Mo'Wax 12")
Prince Po freestyle (Stretch & Bobbito, June 1992) mp3

...and a few more from previous posts.

Your Weekly Mr. Littlejeans

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stretchy

Your Weekly...WHAT THE F??!!!!

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This is real, I'm not joking. It's German.

I Need a Miracle...

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(Before.)

...Or more accurately, I need a shoe repair capable of performing a miraculous feat of engineering on one broken metal stiletto heel. Yes, I am a klutz.

(After. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH.)

I've long been a devotee of Shoe Service Plus on 55th in NYC; they've (grumpily) extricated me from many serious shoe disasters in the past. But this is pretty ugly heel breakage and I don't think they're going to come through for me this time. If any of you, dear readers, have other suggestions, I would be eternally grateful for your help. (I'm open to sorcerers residing either in Seattle or NYC – or elsewhere if we can do business by mail. And I love these little guys so cost is no object...sorry, Strath!)

Thank you, and please forgive the interruption. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Shades of Gray

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Cinematographer Pierre Lhomme's color tests from the production of Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows. More images at the Criterion blog.

After almost a full month of sunny-and-75º, gray weather is threatening Seattle again. I actually don't mind it – walking out of the office last night to meet my mom for drinks at the Hideout, the rain had made everything smell fresh (there's a specific word for that phenomenon, I can't remember it). The gray skies remind you that it won't in fact be sunny forever and that you have to take advantage of it while you can. The Northwest is truly unbeatable when it's nice out.

That's all. I just wanted to quickly discuss the weather. More than other places I've lived, the weather here is like an actual personality at play in your life, and you have to acknowledge it.

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Speaking of Criterion and darkness, I wanted to mention that on the recommendation of Merchbot's Movie Reviews, we just watched the 1961 noir Blast of Silence. I also highly recommend it, though possibly as a rainy day activity, rather than the way we watched it, hungover on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Here's the trailer:



Check out another clip and the Merchbot review here. For more info about the Criterion DVD click here and here.

Now go outside and play.