Alla Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino
In ‘Camille’. 1921 via

Sally Rand, via.

Shirley Temple, 1933, via.

Lauren Bacall via

Wow, Lily Flexmore! 1905, via

The Blueberry Queen, 1955, via.

Louise Glaum, 1921 via.

Check out many more great images at back-then tumblr.

Intricate Curlings

The pattern of this Aubusson Rug (top) reminds me of the floor at the Uffizi Gallery (bottom). 

Constant Conversation

I kept hearing this song at work, and only today did I finally find out what it was... "Constant Conversation" by Passion Pit.

The music video features Analeigh Tiption (from Crazy Stupid Love) and Tarryn Manning, who caught my eye at the beginning (sitting on the couch, blonde hair.) She looks so different from her role as Doggett in Orange is the New Black that I almost didn't recognise her!

Constant Conversations also appears in the Ministry of Sound's album Futurism. I really like the colours of the album cover.

Which par coincidence reminds me of this Aubusson rug...

And Romany Soup's collage featuring my favourite... Maria de Medici! 

Whatever tenuous the links may be between those things, I hope you enjoy them.

Isme 

Tony Duquette - Dawnridge

Frazey Ford

Really vibing Frazey Ford's song "Done" at the moment. I particularly love her blue jumpsuit!

Bloom

Jim Lambie's staircase stripes, at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

Found via A Don's Life, the blog of historian Mary Beard. 

Timelapse: installing Jim Lambie's staircase from Royal Academy of Arts on Vimeo.

Which made me think of Bridget Riley's stripes...

And then just Bridget Riley in general.

Riley's transformation of St Mary's Hospital, London.

A beautiful portrait of Riley with her work.

Soon after that, I found this wonderful installation by Choi Jeong Hwa, which has made its way all around the world.

A time-lapse video of the installation of Choi Jeong Hwa's "Breathing Flower" in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza. On view during the "Phantoms of Asia" exhibition at the Asian Art Museum (May 18--September 2, 2012).

To my surprise, and frustration that I missed it, it was in Perth in 2012 - just around the corner from me! How did I miss it!?!?!?

This video is pretty good for getting a sense of what they mean by a breathing flower. 

Now for a tune. 

Of whose lyrics I particularly enjoyed:

'Cause he's better than the rest,

And his own sweat smells the best.

He He. Isme

Svalbard Seed Vault

I was blown away by the discovery of the Svalbard Seed Vault.

"Carved deep into the Arctic permafrost of Norway's Svalbard Islands, and located on a mountain far above the highest historic sea levels, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault safeguards some 750,000 unique crop varieties…" (source)

Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic, found here

 This is total genius, and I am definitely relieved to learn of its existence. It's an amazing project, and if in an eco-mystery/ action novel, I am sure that it would be the target of an evil, moustachioed super villain. The setting itself is fit for a Bond novel.
Do you think the Svalbard Seed Vault a fitting target for an anti-eco Bond villain? Tell me what you think in the comments below.

Spiders + Floods = Webs Galore

I stumbled upon this slideshow on the National Geographic home page.
The recent floods on the east coast of Australia have provided some surreal images of this phenomenon.
To escape coming tides, spiders go to higher ground. In large cohorts they form massive webs, which give them a mechanism to protect them from danger, and facilitate their escape.

Photograph by Daniel Munoz, Reuters, found via National Geographic

(Below) A woman walks her dogs through a field of spiderwebs in Wagga Wagga, Australia, on March 7 

Photograph by Daniel Munoz, Reuters, found via National Geographic

And you can see more great photos in the slideshow. It also has interesting stories to accompany the pictures.

Here are some more impressive webs from around the world.

Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch Source: AAP- I found here.

(Below) This one is actually quite pretty, it evokes fields of flowers for me.

Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch Source: AAP - I found here.

What do you think? Creepy or magnificent?

Alas I Cannot Swim

Cat!

Some days, I just feel like this... [that does not imply today, I just liked the photo!]

via

Desktop

At the moment I have gotten into the paintings of John Singer Sargent, and this lady has found her way onto my desktop. On one hand she is beautiful and elegant, but on the other hand, there is something haunting about her... maybe it's just because I see her eyes every time I open my computer, staring at me?