Happy New Year!

From one of our favorites, “Chinese Go Go” by the Happy Lucky Combo.

“Inside Llewyn Davis”

Last night we went to see the new Coen Brother’s movie starring Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan with help from John Goodman, Justin Timberlake, and a F. Murray Abraham with friends. It was cold outside and cold on the screen. “Inside Llewyn Davis” takes place in Greenwich Village, winter 1961, Llewyn is a struggling not so nice folk singer loosely based on the real life singer songwriter Dave Van Ronk. Van Ronk’s album cover is pictured above and I think the Coen Brothers took their color palate from this cover…as well as the cat.

The stars of this film were the cars, the sets, the smoke in the coffee shop, the cold, and the cat. There were beautiful scenes while driving from New York to Chicago and back again. But Davis just can’t get a break and ends up where he started.

John Goodman, a jazz musician,  is a very large man with bangs and walking sticks is just so weird and F. Murray Abraham is powerfully present as the owner of a club in Chicago and offers Llewyn advice he can’t take. It reminded me of “A Serious Man” but darker and less fun.

His agent, the secretary, the other folk singers, his friends, everyone was so believable and the acting throughout was superb.

Go see this stripped down Coen Brother’s film. You decide for yourself.

Introduction to Photo Conservation

The video above features Grant Romer  of the Conservation Department at the George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film.  Romer discusses conservation at the George Eastman House.

The George Eastman House in Rochester, NY has posted 117 videos on youtube about photography and its’ history.

Here is another fascinating video about the conservation of a glass negative plate of a portrait of Abraham Lincoln before he was president by the George Eastman House.

In addition to still photography the Eastman House also restores motion pictures.

Here is a link to a short article on the Eastman site about an once thought lost unfinished film by Orson Welles. The film was restored by the George Eastman House in 2013. The unfinished film, Too Much Johnson, was made in 1938 and stars Joesph Cotten, and directed by Orson Welles. It was to accompany a stage production but was never shown in that capacity.

In the fall of 2013 Too Much Johnson premiered in Italy and in New York.

The Nature of a Neighborhood

On Sunday we stopped by Nest at 3404 Semmes Avenue to see the new show by Melissa Burgess titled, The Nature of a Neighborhood. Nest is an Antique & Gift shop with a nice one room gallery tucked away in the back of the store.

Currently through February 5th you can see Melissa Burgess’ paintings of Richmond scenes and insects. Beautiful paintings. There were a few I would have loved to have taken home. Here is a nice article about Burgess from the RTD by Holly Prestidge.

Detail from “Fairfax Avenue.”

It is so great that Nest has seen fit to include a gallery in their shop. We wish them all the best and look forward to upcoming shows.

Edgar Allan Poe

Happy 205th Birthday Edgar Allan Poe. Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) whose death is still cause for speculation after many decades, was a mystery-suspense writer whose poems and short stories still cast a shadow over our culture even today.

The Poe Museum on East Main Street in Richmond, VA is open to the public who want to lean more about Poe and his writings. The museum hosted a Birthday Bash yesterday with artists including Abigail Larson and special events.

Here is the link to some of the Poe items the museum has digitized for your perusal. and here is the Wikipedia entry of the museum. Well worth a visit.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Poe.

Coffee Grinder

After waking from dreams of a new house with a large arched window, cracked with what looked like a bullet hole, and a brilliantly colored bird flying over a sunlit okra colored ocean I am making coffee and reading Marcel Duchamp: The Afternoon Interviews by Calvin Tomkins. These interviews took place in New York in 1964.

From Duchamp’s interview:

My brother the sculptor, Duchamp-Villon, asked me to make a little painting for the kitchen…So I just had the idea of making a coffee grinder….

My coffee’s done.

Good morning.

1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States

The DSL (Digital Scholarship Lab) at the University of Richmond has digitized and enhanced with 21st Century technologies the maps from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States by Charles O. Paullin and edited by John K. Wright.

The Atlas covers numerous areas of interest from Indian tribes, Distribution of Wealth, Populations, Political & Social Reforms, cartography and more.

There is an intro video that explains what has been done with this atlas. Have fun.

Scanning and digitizing for this project was done by the Discovery, Technology & Publishing department at the University of Richmond’s Boatwright Memorial Library.