Family Slideshow Part 1

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Two weekends ago after Emily finished school for the quarter, we treated ourselves with a quick getaway to Whidbey Island.

It was our first weekend off since Emily's birthday in March and we started it right by swimming through some local hot spots on the way up.

Oyster shooters at the Conway Pub. Generally I shy away from food with names like poppers, shooters, or extreme poppers – but I will never be mad at a local oyster, artfully prepared in a shot glass.

More oysters in La Conner.

The La Conner Pub sits out over the Skagit River – you can watch fishermen come in and unload their haul across the way, and harbor seals follow the boats in looking for scraps.

When we got to Deception Pass we parked and walked across the bridge and down to the water.

This guy had the same idea.

Deception Pass is called Deception Pass because – well here, just read the sign:

I like the type.

I've been to Deception Pass hundreds of times but this time felt new. We've had a rough time of it this year with Emily in school and me working so much. I don't want to sit here and whine, but it's true – we haven't had a chance to do so many of the things we came back here to do. Still, I feel like things are looking up. Being up there was a breath of fresh air.

After that we went up to Toby's in Coupeville for some mussels and kind of stopped taking pictures, until we came back to the house and the sun was setting over the Olympics.

Some days are diamonds.

Freshen Up

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Stella McCartney Resort 2011.
See the whole collection at style.com.

Image of the Day

Untitled 15 M, 2008 (Tulip Bulbs), by David Bailey. An exhibition of Bailey's still life photographs of flowers and skulls is on view through July 2nd at Hamiltons Gallery in London.

[via Nowness]

3:14 PM

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My Gold Mask "Violet Eyes" from A Thousand Voices EP (2010)

Catchy in a Missing Persons/Yeah Yeah Yeahs kind of way, which ain't bad. More info on Chicago-based My Gold Mask at their website.

It Must Be Bobby

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The Bobby Didge cocktail by Adam Schuman – from the Tipsy Diaries, Frank Bruni's new column on drinks and drinking culture which appears every Friday in the New York Times. Click here to check it out and see a slideshow of other unique cocktails including the Algerian Typist, the Beggarman Thief, and the Penelope Cruiser.

“Bobby Didge”
1½ ounces Yamazaki 12-year-old Scotch
1 ounce Lillet Blanc
½ ounce sesame simple syrup
3 dashes house orange bitters
Orange twist.
Crack two pieces of ice in a pint glass. Add three more pieces of ice. Combine all ingredients over ice and stir for 15 to 20 seconds, adding ice until well chilled. Strain into a bell coupe. Garnish with a long orange peel.

[hat tip to Maxbillions / photo Evan Sung/NYT]

While we're at it:


RZA aka Bobby Digital "It Must Be Bobby"

Redefinition

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From the IMDB synopsis of Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky:

Paris 1913. Coco Chanel is infatuated with the rich and handsome Boy Capel, but she is also compelled by her work. Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is about to be performed. The revolutionary dissonances of Igor's work parallel Coco's radical ideas. She wants to democratize women's fashion; he wants to redefine musical taste. Coco attends the scandalous first performance of The Rite in a chic white dress. The music and ballet are criticized as too modern, too foreign. Coco is moved but Igor is inconsolable. Paris 1920, Coco is newly wealthy and successful but grief-stricken after Boy's death in a car crash. Igor, following the Russian Revolution is now a penniless refugee living in exile in Paris. Coco is introduced to Igor by Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes. The attraction between them is instant and electric. Coco invites Igor along with his wife - now sick with consumption - together with his four children and a menagerie of birds to stay at her new villa, Bel Respiro, in Garches.

Damage and chicness ensue etc. etc.
Now showing in select US cities. More info here.

7:53 AM

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Broken Social Scene "All to All"
from Forgiveness Rock Record (Arts & Crafts, 2010)
If you don't have that record yet, go on, git it git it. A couple weird tracks as with all BSS albums, but overall my favorite new release at the moment.

[photo: Bull Kelp in Deception Pass, WA, June 2010]

Your Weekly Mr. Littlejeans

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Young Fang takes a rest after a particularly vigorous session at the scratching post.

Hard to Soft

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Balenciaga Resort 2011. More here.

Best Foot Forward

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Dolce Vita Farrah open-toe canvas ankle boots,
$190 on pre-order at Saks.
(Same idea as these, but attainable, not just aspirational.)

That Swing

Jean Shrimpton, early '60s, by photographer Brian Duffy

Brian Duffy, who along with David Bailey and Terence Donovan helped define the look of London in the 1960s, has died at the age of 76. Here's a small selection of his iconic images.

John Lennon

Grace Coddington, 1960

William S. Burroughs, 1960

Fashion photo for Queen Magazine, 1965

Nina Simone with her daughter Simone, 1965

"How to undress in front of your husband" series with Amanda Lear and a Panton chair

David Bowie as Aladdin Sane, 1973

The Year In Pictures has a nice remembrance of Brian Duffy and I'm sure many more are to follow.

The black and white images shown above are available from Chris Beetles Gallery [click to browse more and purchase]

Memory Lane

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I've wanted to write some stuff about this, but haven't had time, and now the night is upon us, so here it is:

The Foundation was a long-running night started in the mid-'90s by Sureshot, Supreme, Soul and myself at a bar in downtown Seattle called the Art Bar. Sureshot, Supreme and I deejayed a bunch of different places (Re-Bar, Crocodile, etc.) to finance our record label, Conception Records, but with Soul promoting, it took off. At first it was called Nitty Gritty because we were playing rare groove, but after awhile it morphed into almost all hip-hop, and we called it The Foundation (the ad-lib at the beginning of the Group Home song "Tha Realness" made me think of it). A bunch of different people started spinning with us and the night got huge – I would always try to spin first so I could play underground stuff that wouldn't really work for the dance floor later on. At one point they showed the flyer (designed by Modern Dog) on MTV because it was one of the longest running hip-hop nights in the country. Anyway, long story short, Emily and I moved to New York in 1999 and it went on for several years after that. Tuesday night the original cast of characters re-unites at the Lodge. It will be a fun party, you should come over.


Nas "Memory Lane" (Prod. DJ Premier) from Illmatic, 1994

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Update: Thanks to everyone who came out, it was cool reconnecting with a bunch of different people from way back and dusting off some old cuts. Special thanks to Soul and Alonso for putting it together, to Marcus for hosting, and to Kutfather and J. Moore for emceeing.

The Great Seattle Fire: June 6, 1889

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Fire Fire I Heard The Cry from Drew Christie on Vimeo.

Not Great Meaning Good but Great Meaning Big

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Downtown Seattle before the Great Fire. Photo by Peterson & Bro., c.1883.

The Great Fire, June 6, 1889.

Downtown Seattle after the Great Fire
(First Avenue between Columbia Street & the Skid Road).

[Images from the Museum of History & Industry, via KUOW. Visit KUOW.org for more images and recently-found audio clips of survivors of the Great Seattle Fire.]

Image of the Day

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Emily at Pacific Standard HQ.
No particular reason except that she finished the quarter today and I'm proud and happy for my better half.

Mesh

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Maya Deren (1917–1961) was a pioneer of American avant garde film – the first recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation grant for "creative work in the field of motion pictures." In 1943 she collaborated with her husband, Alexander Hammid, on a short film entitled Meshes of the Afternoon. I wasn't familiar with it until now but it has clearly influenced many filmmakers and photographers over the years. Here it is:


Part 1


Part II (I'm guessing Guy Bourdin might have seen this a few times.)

Maya Deren's Legacy: Women and Experimental Film is on view at MoMA through October 4, 2010 – click here for info.

Dark Details

. Cushnie et Ochs Fall/Winter 2010 campaign photos by Chadwick Tyler. I love how dark this is while at the same time capturing the great textures in the clothing. This is not an easy thing to do well with a camera and light.

See also:
cushnieetochs.com
Cushnie et Ochs FW2010 runway shots at Fashionologie
Chadwick Tyler's website

Your Weekly Mr. Littlejeans

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A large percentage of Littlejeans' life is spent upside-down.