273: Fairytale

2008.

(Part of a warped-fairytale photoset for a digital photography course in college.)

272: Dapper

I really have to figure out a way to wear my bowler hat out of the house.

Photos via We Heart It.

271: My kingdom for a library

In today's installment of Things My Imaginary Dream House Has:

A library!
Preferably with ridiculously high shelves and a sliding ladder to access them.

(all photos via We Heart It)

270: Empire

via We Heart It

Boardwalk Empire is back, and along with it one of the creepiest, most unnerving characters out there -- not to mention interesting -- Richard Harrow, played by Jack Huston.  On a show like this one, where the plot crawls along at a snail's pace and I tend to zone out and just marvel at the sheer amount of atmosphere, I always have to pick a character whose scenes I watch attentively, so I know what's going on with at least one person.  It looks like Harrow's the one this season: between his sweet/creepy scrapbook of happy family pictures and his connection to the small faction trying to undercut Nucky Thompson's bootlegging business, it promises to be an interesting season for ol' Tin Man here.

269: Flashback

Brooklyn Bridge, New York, 2010.

(Running out the door to a birthday party, have a photo from last year.)

268: Glam

from MyVintageVogue, via We Heart It.

Let's pretend this is what I'm wearing today, instead of sweatpants and a shirt I got for free at a 5K.

267: Doing it wrong

Instagram photo, 2011.

Drinking hard cider and browsing sweater patterns.  Clearly another thrilling Saturday night.

266: Narcissism, Part 1000

2011.

 Photographing vintage to list on Etsy inevitably leads to far too many photos of ME ME ME.

265: Tile

via Parisa Yazjandoo on Flickr

Forget politics and cultural divides. I think we can all agree:

Iranian tilework is gorgeous.

(click to view larger on Flickr.)

264: Composition

Thanks to TunnelBear, I saw the premiere of Downton Abbey's second season on the ITV Player.  And then:

Erstwhile footman Thomas Barrow's act of desperation that will send him home to Downton.

This broke my heart.  And I don't even like Thomas.

Absolutely beautifully shot.

Let's all ship Thomas/dignity.

263: This is a Zooey Deschanel appreciation post

via We Heart It

Having just watched The New Girl and appreciated its Lord of the Rings references, its quirky humor, and, perhaps most of all, its hilariously abbreviated theme song, I'd like to take a moment to say -- haters to the left -- that I really like Zooey Deschanel, and I hope this show works out.

262: The vast wasteland

Missed another blog yesterday, because I watched the Emmys and got all excited about Downton Abbey taking home four trophies.  It was an okay show, with several horrible choices (the Emmytones) and a few good moments (Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage's cameo in the opening number; The Office's Creed buying meth from Aaron Paul).  But the best and funniest bit was (at least partially) unscripted: the lead comedy actress nominees lining up on stage like pageant contestants waiting for Rob Lowe and Sofia Vergara to announce the winner:

And then Melissa McCarthy (who I love) was crowned Miss Emmy.  I suspect Amy Poehler's hand in this, since she also arranged the eyewear bit from the 2009 Emmys:

That second clip proves the importance of having presenters who 1) can read off a prompter without sounding like they're reading off a prompter, and 2) have enough chemistry to make you believe they like each other.  Tina Fey and Jon Hamm: good.  Most other presenter pairings: not so much.

But anyway.

260: Accessories

2011.

Several consecutive days of dry, cool weather?  Must be time to break out the leather.

(Fossil bag, vintage boots. FYI.)

259: Pretension

2011.

...

I don't even know.

258: Lofty

Other things my imaginary dream house has: a sleeping loft.

via Flickr

257: Giggles

I get enraged every time I hear Michele Bachmann talk (irresponsibly) about the HPV vaccine, so I need some giggles, and I'll share them with you, Internet.  Enjoy:

256: Backlog

Temple of Dendur, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010.

(Yes, I'm just now getting around to fixing up my New York photos...from August 2010.  What of it?)

255: Spiral

via Ellenore Raven on Tumblr

In my imaginary dream house, there is a spiral staircase.  Possibly leading to a tower.

254: Remember

via Flickr

253: Local color

I spent the afternoon today on a 12-mile bike tour led by the local police department, advertised as a tour of notable areas in the city.  In actuality "notable" areas?  Crime scenes.  And the unoffical nude beach.  Don't get me wrong, it was a great ride and an interesting look into violent crime in the area.  We stopped by the sites of several murders (or body-dumps) and hiked down to what is colloquially known as Bare-Ass Beach (no bare asses today, just some law-abiding teenagers and swimmers).  We also rode past scads of trees that were snapped by the tornado earlier this summer, which also tore up the paved trail to the point where we were essentially riding on uneven chunks of asphalt at some points.

And then the cops gave us sandwiches and cans of pop.  It was pretty cool.

via Flickr

Semi-coherent rambling, aaaaaaaand scene.

252: Cautionary spam

Found this screencap I saved in 2009; I think it speaks for itself.

There was no further information.  No link to a spammy website, nothing.  Just an admonishment to Always be ready.

Still, though, nothing will ever beat this capture, offered without additional commentary:

251: Temple

Temple of Dendur, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010.

Shot from the hip at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during my visit to NYC last summer.

(click to view larger)

250: Firenze

I've been doing research today, looking at Italy in the early-20th-century Edwardian era.  Happily, the Oregon State University Archives have a whole host of early photographs, circa 1915, on The Commons on Flickr.  When I'm looking for old photographs for writerly reference, I usually swing by The Commons early in my search, just for instant gratification.  Sometimes you stumble across truly cool photos. So: fun place to hang out, electronically, and nice source for people who need quick reference photos.

Enjoy some Edwardian Florence, Italy (all photos via Flickr):

249: Au revoir, Fair

Minnesota State Fair, 2010.

Until next year, State Fair.

248: Have we got news for you

In honor of Labor Day, here's the musical number with the most uses of the word "union" from the best/worst movie about labor strikes ever made, Newsies.

That little Christian Bale, he sure has spirit, yes he does.

(My sincere apologies to actual union members everywhere.)

247: Downton Pretty

So, as my friends know, I have serious Downton Abbey problem.  It is going to be difficult to stop tracking the "Downton Abbey" tag on Tumblr when the second season starts airing in the UK, but I'm trying not to get spoiled before it airs in the U.S. next January, ARGH.  Sure, new episodes of Downton will be a nice birthday present for me, but it's going to be torturous, waiting to find out what happens when Britain already knows.  For a series that spends its first season essentially dealing with British inheritance law and the family politics surrounding an entail, it's incredibly absorbing and fascinating, and the upstairs/downstairs soap operas are to die for.  Gay footmen, the secret pasts of the butler and valet, the romances (including the still-developing one between the chauffeur and the Earl of Grantham's youngest daughter) -- Julian Fellowes does it all so, so well.  It's like a longer, more involved Gosford Park, with less murder and more alarming medical procedures.  Also, there are the gorgeous costumes and the wonderful acting and Dame Maggie Smith, who gets all the best lines.

In any case, my point is that you should watch it, if you don't already.  My secondary point is that British press is starting to run promotional interviews and some gorgeous photoshoots, like these of Dan Stevens and Michelle Dockery that ran in the Daily Mail's Sunday magazines today:

I love you.

If nothing else, just watch for the shallow reasons: everyone on the show is this pretty.

246: Details

2011.

Closeup on the fabric of a vintage dress.

245: Posterity

So, it's Friday, and I spent the afternoon bored out of my mind, waiting around the emergency room for a bunch of medical students to identify the cause of some pain in my grandmother's hand, so I know I'm in need of a giggle. I am, therefore, sharing a voice memo I made last Friday night of my friend and erstwhile roommate addressing you, the Internet, at Vancouver pub The Wolf and Hound. Enjoy:

244: Changing seasons

2010.

It's September, and the unofficial start of autumn.  Sure, it hit 90 degrees in the Twin Cities today and it felt a lot more like July than September, but still!  It's back-to-school season, fall TV starts soon, and the neighbor's maple trees are already starting to turn red.  Pretty soon we'll all be layering and raking leaves and watching new episodes of Castle and all those good things.  It's weird to think that we're closer to Christmas than we are to the beginning of 2011.  Time flies when you're not in school!