Frontiers of Learning: Brontë Sisters Power Dolls

Posted on August 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

Bronte Sisters Power Dolls.

Brontë Sisters Power Dolls! No, they’re not real. But they are funny.

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#history, #magazines, #museums, 8|1|2011

Posted on August 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

Fake Byron Letter
Photo: Letter allegedly by Lord Byron that was revealed as a fake. Morristown, N.J., National Historical Park

SPOTLIGHT

Cara Buckley of the New York Times writes about the closing of New York’s famed Chelsea Hotel.

Bruce Japsen of the Chicago Tribune talks with Dr. Howard Bauchner, the new editor of the Journal of the American Medical Assn., who is trying to bring the old and venerated journal into the Digital Age.

Bauchner said he will pursue a strategy of “intelligent innovation” for the journal, looking at ways to get information to doctors and consumers through several new platforms, such as social media, video and other digital forms.
…
Bauchner is also considering having the journal experiment with shorter, condensed articles, to better engage busy physicians who can take advantage of a “more CliffNotes version.” An original article might remain 2,500 to 3,000 words, but an online version of 500 words, with less background information but still providing “clinical nuggets,” would also be available to readers.

NEWS

A letter purportedly from Lord Byron to Capt. John Hay, in the collection of the National Historical Park at Morristown, N.J., was revealed as a fake during preparations for an exhibit, according to Dan Goldberg of the Newark Star-Ledger.

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat caringly crafted from Twitter feeds by the bots at paper.li

Posted in Chicago, Crime and Courts, History, Libraries, New York | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on #history, #magazines, #museums, 8|1|2011

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on August 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

1948_hearse_ebay

Photo: 1948 Buick Roadmaster hearse for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $9,102.

Queen of the Dead—dateline August 1, 2011

 

 • Elliott Handler, cofounder of Mattel, died on July 21, age 95. He and Harold Matson (thus the name: Matson, Elliot), founded the company in 1945; after Matson left soon thereafter, Mrs. Handler—Ruth (1916-2002)—joined up and proved to be a whirlwind of creativity and business acumen. Barbie dolls are Mattel’s most famous creation, but among its other memory-joggers are Hot Wheels, Creepy Crawlers, Cabbage Patch Kids, Magic 8 Balls, Polly Pocket, Chatty Cathy, and See ‘n’ Say. Handler is survived by his daughter, Barbara; his son, Ken, died in 1994. (I did some research to see if my sister’s old “growing hair” Tressy doll was from Mattel, but it was from American Character—who also manufactured Mary Makeup, which would be the best drag name.)

Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Comics, Eve Golden, Film, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

#history, #museums, 7|31|2011

Posted on July 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

2011_0731_sf_film_exchange_
Photo: The former MGM film exchange at Hyde and Eddy streets in San Francisco. Credit: Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen

The Bay Citizen used the upper photo with the story while NYTimes.com used the lower photo. I might have gone with the top photo.

Film Exchange
Photo: Old film vaults at the former Motion Picture Studio and Laboratory. Credit: Lianne Milton/The Bay Citizen

film_exchange_google_street_view
Although the image from Google maps’ street view shows more detail of the building.

As newspapers continue to grapple with online/print content and the future of the industry, one of the more unusual answers is reflected in a story that appears in the New York Times and the Bay Citizen of San Francisco, which provides print and online content in partnership with the NYT.

Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, History, Museums, New York, San Francisco | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Found on EBay – Ambassador Hotel

Posted on July 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Ambassador Hotel

This c. 1960 postcard of the Ambassador Hotel, which was torn down by L.A. Unified, has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $2.95.

Posted in Architecture, Found on EBay, Photography | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

#art, #history, #libraries, #museums 7|30|2011

Posted on July 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

louvre_illiumination
Jean Fouquet, Le Passage du Rubicon (détail), département des Arts graphiques, musée du Louvre

MUSEUMS

Souren Melikian of the New York Times reviews “Enluminures: Moyen Âge et Renaissance,” at the Louvre through Oct. 10.

The basic idea was to reveal to the public the dazzling medieval and Renaissance illuminated pages kept in storage for generations, but the show ends up by bringing to attention a largely ignored aspect of painting in the Middle Ages: the fun in medieval manuscripts.

Writing in the Washington Post, Jessica Goldstein visits the National Museum of Crime and Punishment.

Gregorio Luke will give an outdoor presentation on controversial murals, projecting them on a large wall at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach. Liesl Bradner in the L.A. Times’ Culture Monster.

LIBRARIES

Geraldine Fabrikant writes in the New York Times about five European libraries that offer relief from crowded cities.

FEATURES

One of my favorite blogs is the Washington Post’s Washingtology. Not a great title, but it’s full of interesting features about the city.

A phone app  shows the location of Banksy’s latest creations. Gizmodo.

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat lovingly prepared from Twitter feeds by the bots at paper.li

Posted in Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Libraries, Museums, New York, Washington | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on #art, #history, #libraries, #museums 7|30|2011

A Shot in the Dark

Posted on July 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

1957_0429_hed

1957_513_elm

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007 for the Daily Mirror when it was on latimes.com. I’m gradually transferring material over to the L.A. Daily Mirror.

 

April 28, 1957
Los Angeles

Let’s park here and sit in the car for a minute. It’s late, sometime between 11 p.m. on Jan. 3 and dawn on Jan. 4, 1957. The lights are on as if someone’s home. Hear the music? That’s the record player. Let me warn you before we go in that none of this will make any sense at all. Just a dumb little murder.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, 2007, Cold Cases, Homicide | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – A. Victor Segno

Posted on July 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

Victor Segno

Success Wave
Photo: A. Victor Segno sends out a “success wave” (artist’s concept).

A. Victor Segno  is probably our favorite Los Angeles charlatan. He made money by getting people to mail him a dollar a month in return for sending out a daily mental “success wave.” The money is gone, but the envelopes turn up frequently on EBay, and some of the stamps are extremely rare. This one, from Cuba, is listed starting at 99 cents.

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Found on EBay | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Russia to Invade Austria: July 29, 1914

Posted on July 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 29, 1914, Troops

July 29, 1914, Russia to Invade Austria

July 29, 1914, Times Cover July 29, 1914, Page 2

July 29, 1914: VIENNA– War was officially declared today by Austria-Hungary and offensive operations against Servia were begun. Austrian troops crossed the frontier, marching to Mitrovitza, the Servians being driven back.

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Russia to Invade Austria – July 29, 1914

Posted on July 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 29, 1914, Russia to Invade Austria
July 29 1914: VIENNA– War was officially declared today by Austria-Hungary and offensive operations against Servia were begun. Austrian troops crossed the frontier, marching to Mitrovitza, the Servians being driven back.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1914, Front Pages | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Leesa Jo Shaner Killing: Wisconsin Inmate Convicted [Updated]

Posted on July 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

Leesa Jo Shaner

William Floyd Zamastilwas convicted in federal court in Tucson on Thursday of kidnapping and killing Leesa Jo Shaner on May 29, 1973. Her remains were found Sept. 16, 1973, buried on the grounds of Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., a remote military base more than an hour’s drive from the airport, through miles and miles of unoccupied desert.

[Update: 9:50 a.m. I am now being told that there was no DNA testimony at the trial. I’ll refrain for posting anything further until I get some reliable information.]

As far as I can tell, none of the local papers have done anything more ambitious than picking up the FBI’s press release. I’m told by people who were following the trial that evidence was introduced showing Zamastil’s DNA on a parking ticket stub.   It would be interesting to know how long he was in Tucson and how he happened to be there, as he was a resident of Los Angeles at the time.

email me

Posted in 1973, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

#books, #museums, #history 7|29|2011 [Updated]

Posted on July 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

"Rebels in Paradise"

NEWS

[Updated at 7:25 a.m. The archives of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks reveal an account of an attempted rape by a white neighbor who employed her as a housekeeper. Associated Press via Washington Post.]

Historian Barry Landau and assistant Jason Savedoff were indicted Thursday in the theft and sale of historic documents. AP via Washington Post.

ALSO

Historian denied bail in document thefts.

BOOKS

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp’s book on the Los Angeles art scene in the 1960s is reviewed by former Times art critic Suzanne Muchnic in the Los Angeles Times and by Michael S. Roth in the Washington Post.

Muchnic: “Rebels in Paradise” is an independent project — served up just in time to be savored as an appetizer for the upcoming feast. More Vanity Fair than standard art history, it’s an affectionate, deliciously gossipy account of the decade when a convergence of renegade artists, entrepreneurs, curators, collectors and writers put Los Angeles on the art world’s map. Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, a longtime observer of the scene and a biographer of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, calls her new book “a love letter to Los Angeles, still a place of perpetual possibility and infinite invention.”

Roth: She tells us just a little about their work: how Ed Moses busted the borders of the gallery format, how Ed Ruscha integrated words into his paintings, how Robert Irwin and James Turrell discovered light as their medium, and how Judy Chicago explored sexuality and gender in this macho atmosphere. But we learn more about who was sleeping with whom, about prices for art when it was cheap, and about how these West Coast artists came to understand their careers in relation to the entrenched interests in the other art scene they sought to supplant: New York’s.

MUSEUMS

Andrew Stern writes for Reuters about the Art Institute of Chicago’s exhibit of Soviet posters from World War II, “Windows on the War. Eve M. Kahn writes about the exhibit in the New York Times.

Linda Wheeler, in the Washington Post’s A House Divided blog on the Civil War, writes that an original Civil War banner was found in the attic of the Sandusky County Ohio Historical Society.

New York Times gallery listings.

The L.A. Daily Mirror  and L.A. Crime Beat lovingly prepared by bots from Twitter feeds at paper.li

Posted in Books and Authors, Chicago, Crime and Courts, History, Museums, New York | Tagged , , | Comments Off on #books, #museums, #history 7|29|2011 [Updated]

Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook – Third Street Promenade

Posted on July 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 4, 2009, Third Street Promenade

Third Street Promenade by Marion Eisenmann, Sept. 4, 2009

 

Note: This is one of the sketches that Marion Eisenmann did for the Daily Mirror when it was at latimes.com. I’m reposting it just as it was in 2009.

Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade awakens a bit at a time in the sweet coolness of a summer morning near the ocean. Along the darkened strip of gleaming glass and steel shops — Armani Exchange, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Diesel, Urban Outfitters and Foot Locker — the Starbucks flickers to life. Men with long-handled push brooms sweep the gutters and people selling earrings and jewelry set up their kiosks along the street closed to cars.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Art & Artists, Artist's Notebook, Music | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook – Third Street Promenade

#history, #libraries, #museums 7|28|2011

Posted on July 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

battle_of_manila
Image: Battle of Manila Bay. Credit: Wikipedia

NEWS

Justin Jouvenal in the Washington Post’s Buzz, writes that the Patsy Cline Historic House is opening in Winchester, Va., on Aug. 2.

The Independence Seaport Museum has made an emergency patch on the hull of the Olympia, an 1892 cruiser from the Spanish-American war. The museum is seeking a new home for the craft,  which was Rear Adm. George Dewey’s flag ship during the Battle of Manila Bay. AP

Is there a place for art on the “Redneck Riviera?” Kim Severson of the New York Times takes a look at the struggles of the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Miss.

The tombstone of Hinda Amchanitzky (d. 1910), who wrote what may be the first Yiddish cookbook, has been returned to her grave on Staten Island, according to Sam Roberts of the New York Times’ City Room blog.

Katie Zezima, writing in the New York Times, says that some homeowners love old windows — and we’re not talking Win95.

The creation of New York’s Central Park erased an African American community known as Seneca Village. Now archeologists are excavating to see what traces remain, according to Lisa W. Foderaro in the New York Times.

The Newberry Library in Chicago has found some rare items among the books donated for its annual fundraising sale, William Mullen writes in the Chicago Tribune.

Posted in Art & Artists, History, Libraries, Museums, Music, Preservation, Retro, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Second Takes – ‘Naked City’

Posted on July 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

March 10, 1948, "Naked City"

March 10, 1948: “Naked City” opens in Los Angeles. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Several years ago, when Kim Cooper of the 1947project and I were briefly discussing a book, I did some research on film noir, particularly “Naked City,” the last movie by producer Mark Hellinger, who died Dec. 21, 1947, at the age of 44. At one point, I went through microfilm of old issues of American Cinematographer to see how World War II had changed the movies.

Reading the 1947-48 Cinematographer articles was a profound experience because they strip away all the layers of over-intellectualized,  uber-aesthetic, DVD Web page claptrap that have been written about film noir over the years.

The motives and the causes were simple and easy to understand, and frankly most of them were workmanlike solutions to workmanlike problems: Crews had become accustomed to shooting on location — in combat or making training films — often with minimal lighting and small, 16-millimeter cameras.

There was also a strong emphasis on naturalism, with actual locations, real people and minimal makeup. One of the films that came out of this new perspective was “Naked City” for which William Daniels (d. 1970) won an Academy Award for black and white cinematography.

Here’s what I mean: The Cinematographer article on “Naked City” from 1948. Everything that Daniels (often described as “Garbo’s photographer”) did was for the simple reason of telling a story, with minimal lighting, real locations and crowds of actual New Yorkers. Even the majority of the cast had little previous exposure on film.

Notice one other hallmark of the film noir in “Naked City”: The movie is narrated, though not by one of the characters (like Walter Neff in “Double Indemnity” or Joe Gillis in “Sunset Boulevard”) but an external observer, Hellinger.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1948, Film, Hollywood, New York, Obituaries, Photography, Second Takes | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Found on EBay – Hotel Huntington

Posted on July 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

Hotel Huntington

Main and 8th St.

Main and 8th via Google maps’ street view.

A postcard of the Hotel Huntington at Main and 8th streets has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $3.

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

#art, #authors, #genealogy, #history, #museums 7|27|2011

Posted on July 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

1937 Mercedes

Photo: 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Spezial Roadster. Credit: RM Auctions via the New York Times.

SPOTLIGHT

The University of Virginia has posted audio clips of William Faulkner recorded in 1957-58. The home page is here. If you have never heard Faulkner’s voice you will be surprised.

Jonathan Schultz of the New York Times has a feature on the upcoming auction of a 1937 540 K Spezial Roadster, which is expected to set a price record. Rob Myers, founder of RM Auctions, says the rare auto may go for as much as $15 million.

EXHIBITS

Vermeer "Woman With Lute"

“Woman With a Lute,” about 1662–63, Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–75). Oil on canvas.
Lent by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900, via Los Angeles Times

Johannes Vermeer’s “Woman With a Lute” is on display at the Norton Simon through Sept. 26. Reviewed by Sharon Mizota in the  Los Angeles Times’ Culture Monster.

The National Museum of American History is putting some of Phyllis Diller’s gag file (donated in 2003) on display, according to Jacqueline Trescott of the Washington Post. I can’t say I have ever found Diller particularly funny, but she does have a place in entertainment history. I recall her from an early appearance on “You Bet Your Life” in which Groucho Marx interviewed her — and her immortal husband, Fang.

NEWS

The Los Angeles Conservancy has issued an action alert on the impending demolition of Richard Neutra’s Kronish House, which was also reported by Martha Groves in the Los Angeles Times. Given Beverly Hills’ que pasa attitude about multimillion-dollar teardowns (it has no preservation laws), I’d say activists haven’t a chance, but I would love to be wrong.  Everything is new in Beverly Hills – even the money.

Chad Bray, writing in the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, has the story of a large seizure of illegally imported ivory.

FEATURES

Barb Valentine writes in the Chicago Tribune about programs that introduce children to genealogy.

And the Galesburg, Ill., library is closed on Sundays, but admits genealogists and then locks them in!

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat lovingly prepared by bots from Twitter feeds on paper.li

Posted in Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Genealogy, Libraries, Museums, Nightclubs, Pasadena, Preservation, Television | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on #art, #authors, #genealogy, #history, #museums 7|27|2011

James Curtis: L.A. Voices – Dick Lane, Part 2

Posted on July 27, 2011 by lmharnisch


"Alias Boston Blackie"

This is Part 2 of James Curtis’ 1975 interview with Dick Lane. In this segment, Lane discusses his start in films in Los Angeles, making “Union Pacific” with Cecil B. De Mille, Howard Hughes’ takeover of RKO  and making “Boom Town” with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy.
Part 1 is here.

Photo: Dick Lane, Adele Mara and George McKay in “Alias Boston Blackie,” listed on EBay for $10.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1975, Brain Trust, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – C.C. Pierce

Posted on July 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

c_c_pierce_study_in_bronze_ebay

A hand-colored postcard published by M. Rieder of Los Angeles, based on a photograph by the studio of C.C. Pierce, has been listed on EBay. Pierce was an early photographer in Los Angeles who mostly specialized in buildings and atmospheric shots. I don’t recall seeing too many photos of people. The card is listed as Buy It Now for $7.95.

Posted in Found on EBay, Latinos, Photography | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Found on EBay – C.C. Pierce

#film, #history, #museums, 7|26|2011

Posted on July 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: “Dear Friend Hitler.”


Tripti Lahiri writes in the Wall Street Journal about “Dear Friend Hitler.”

Based on the previews, the movie is “Gandhi” meets “Downfall“  meets “The Sound of Music,” in Hindi with an all-Indian cast. A less charitable view in the Hollywood Reporter is that Bollywood has unwittingly brought Mel Brooks’s play within a play, “Springtime for Hitler,” to the screen.

But will he rant about the iPad and Carmageddon?

John Markoff of the New York Times writes about an article by Steven M. Bellovin in Cryptologia on what may be the earliest description of an encryption technique known as the one-time pad, a method that is extremely secure because it is used once and discarded.

NEWS

Carol Vogel of the New York Times writes that attendance is the highest in 40 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in part because of three blockbuster shows

Robert Samuels of the Washington Post says that George Washington University is building a 35,000-square-foot facility for the Textile Museum and a 20,000-square-foot center for storage and conservation.

OBITUARIES

Margaret Ramirez of the Chicago Tribune has a great obituary hat maker Raymond Hudd.

Reed Johnson of the Los Angeles Times has an obituary on artist Gilbert “Magú” Luján

owney_stamp

Margaret Webb Pressler writes in the Washington Post’s Kids Post that Owney the Postal Service mascot is getting his own stamp.

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat lovingly prepared by bots from Twitter feeds at paper.li

Photo: Owney the Postal Service dog. Credit: National Postal Museum

Posted in Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Film, History, Hollywood, Museums, Obituaries | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment