February 28, 2010

Shake it, Lu-Lu!


If John Waters hadn't been born, someone would have had to invent him.

From the movie Polyester
1981
from American Buddha

Belle of the Bell


She looks so calm, for a woman being flung around by a bell clapper.

French Postcard
from Wayne's Nude Musicians

February 27, 2010

Armed Forces


It's like the distilled versions of all the faces from every World War II movie ever. The nurse is obviously toughest.

Pontiac advertisement
1944, artist Bradshaw Crandell
from x-ray delta one's flickr stream

February 22, 2010

Bone Crushing Anaconda


Frankly, I think the snake's getting the better of this fight.

Sideshow Banner
1960s
from ebay

Devils Head fire lookout station


Sometimes I think a job like this would be a certain form of bliss. Quiet. Isolated. Then I remember that I like to take showers and drink beer.

El Paso County, Colorado
from National Photo Company Collection

Room to Move


A famous photo I'd never heard of, this one surprised a laugh out of me when I ran across it.

Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero
1940s
from anna272b's flickr stream

Nairobi Merchants


Beauty: both a right and a responsibility.

Kenya, from the book Trading Places: The Merchants of Nairobi
photographer Steve Bloom
from PDN

The Flying Miguel


This is what it looks like when superheroes practice.

no stats available
from My Parents Were Awesome

February 16, 2010

Dandy Codfish


Ima Fish, indeed.

sheet music cover
1923
from wackystuff's flickr stream

How to Get Into Gliding


I'd love to wear a spiffy hat and glide along while people run to watch me.

Popular Science Magazine
1930
from Modern Mechanix blog

February 15, 2010


What a horrible idea that turned out to be. Now, let's talk about marijuana...

Seattle, Washington
1916
from King Kounty snapshots

Kitchen Band


You suppose they actually played those instruments?

Vermont
from bodie bailey's flickr stream

February 11, 2010

...while, above the city...


I want a big poster of this for my bedroom.

Contact Comic #12
1946, artist L. B. Cole
from Golden Age Comic Cover Gallery

A Real Woman's Woman


I really wish I knew the context for this.

no info available
from retro-space's flickr stream

February 10, 2010

Shelter From A Trying Winter


Here's another story I need to know. How did these people wind up together, living in a tarpaper shack, trying to survive? Are they a mama and daddy and three kids? You know what gets to me most, though? Somehow, somewhere, they found that boy a pair of glasses.

California
1935, photographer Harry Everett Drobish
from calisphere

Spirited


I've played with a Ouija board before, but it never threw a chair at me.

Spirit Photography
1927
from vvitch's flickr stream

all the pretty colors


Did you ever play SimCity, back in the day? That's exactly what this looks like to me.

Amarillo, Texas
from the Amarillo Public Library

February 9, 2010

Cleanliness is next to Godliness


Until just this moment, I never knew I wanted to wash an elephant.

India
2008, photographer Mohit Midha
from National Geographic

A Blue Ribbon Day


18 giant bottles of Pabst beer, 4 empty on each side. They look a little drunk, but they don't look like they're having a great time - more like all that beer is a chore to get through. What's the story here? Brothers? Where is the photog's share of the beer?

Muscatine, Muscatine County, Iowa
1915, photographer Oscar Grossheim
from the Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Collection

Bulmer's Cider


There's nothing about this ad I don't like. The effervescence of the cider. The heartiness of the apples. The copy itself. Supplies still limited but fair distribution offers everyone a share. It works: I want to go out and buy some. And I'm more of a lager guy.

UK Cider Ad
1947
from ca1951rr's flickr stream

Three boys climbing rock wall


My mama would have snatched me bal'headed if I'd tried a stunt like this.

Nitrate Negative
photographer Roy C. Andrews
from University of Oregon Photographic Collection

Sunday Best


These ladies are not playing around. Furs to church? That is serious business.

San Francisco, California
1943
from The San Francisco Public Library

Rotsler girls


Science fictions fan convention or Shatner's episode of the Dating Game?

Seacon: Seattle, WA
1961
from MidAmerican Fan Photo Archive

USN Postal Cover


Say what you will about the strengths and weaknesses of the different branches of the military, only the Navy can lay claim to mermaids.

Postal Cover from USS Langley CV 1
1935
from NavSource

Umbrella Rock


Know what's keeping that rock from just sliding on back down the mountain? Nothing. Or maybe some science magic hybrid spawned from that man's bowtie.

Rock City, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
1920s
from Bamagirl7's flickr stream

February 4, 2010

The Father of the Glaciers


I want the thousand words on this one.

Glacier Bay, Alaska
1902, photographer Clarence Leroy Andrews
from University of Oregon Libraries

February 3, 2010

Patient in a hot head pillow


Were I a religious man, I would get down on my knees and thank my god every time I get sick that I don't live in the 1800s.

Albumen print
1861-1872
from NY Public Library

Jennings and Holly


Waylon took the bus and made it. Buddy took the plane and didn't. A week before, goofing around in a photo booth, neither one knew. This is the kind of ignorance that I call bliss.

New York's Central Station
1959
from WITLOX's flickr stream

Diamond Lil


Some drag queens dress up and mouth the lyrics. Some drag queens rock and roll.

Atlanta, GA
1970s
from swampzoid's flickr stream

The Celebrity Lifestyle


The look on his face here cracks me up. This is the least glamorous young Elvis photo I have ever seen. Which is why it's one of my favorites. (He's actually eating ice in this shot.)

Jacksonville, Florida
1955
from State Library and Archives of Florida

February 2, 2010

Saintly



I want a dog. It doesn't even have to be a dog who can rescue skiers.

St. Bernard Hospice
from The Secret Museum of Mankind

February 1, 2010

Norma Shearer & Agnes De Mille


Some of these I consider a while before I put them in. Some don't take any thought at all.

8 X 10 inch silver print
1935, photographer Clarence Sinclair Bull
from Vernacular Photography

the crowned heads of Europe


I can barely draw a stick figure. Illustrations like this bring up the same feelings of envy and awe that I get from listening to Jimi Hendrix.

From East of the Sun, West of the Moon
1914, artist Kay Nielsen
from the ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive

Weightless


Are the special geek levitation powers worth the social awkwardness?

Eastman 5254 movie stock slide film
1973, photographer Matthew Cole
from The History of Photography