Alfons Maria Mucha

Alfons Maria Mucha (24 July 1860 – Prague, 14 July 1939), often known in English and French as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist, known best for his distinct style. He produced many paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and designs.

About Christmas 1894, Mucha happened to go into a print shop where there was a sudden and unexpected need for a new advertising poster for a play featuring Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress in Paris, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance on the Boulevard Saint-Martin. Mucha volunteered to produce a lithographed poster within two weeks, and on 1 January 1895, the advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou was posted in the city, where it attracted much attention. Bernhardt was so satisfied with the success of this first poster that she began a six-year contract with Mucha.

Mucha produced a flurry of paintings, posters, advertisements, and book illustrations, as well as designs for jewellery, carpets, wallpaper, and theatre sets in what was termed initially The Mucha Style but became known as Art Nouveau. Mucha's works frequently featured beautiful young women in flowing, vaguely Neoclassical-looking robes, often surrounded by lush flowers which sometimes formed halos behind their heads. In contrast with contemporary poster makers he used pale pastel colours. Mucha's style was given international exposure by the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, of which Mucha said, "I think [the Exposition Universelle] made some contribution toward bringing aesthetic values into arts and crafts."

He decorated the Bosnia and Herzegovina Pavilion and collaborated with decorating the Austrian Pavilion. His Art Nouveau style was often imitated. The Art Nouveau style however, was one that Mucha attempted to disassociate himself from throughout his life; he always insisted that rather than maintaining any fashionable stylistic form, his paintings were entirely a product of himself and Czech art. He declared that art existed only to communicate a spiritual message, and nothing more; hence his frustration at the fame he gained by his commercial art, when he most wanted to concentrate on more artistic projects.

Mucha considered his publication Le Pater to be his printed masterpiece, and referred to it in The Sun of 5 January 1900 as what he had "put [his] soul into". Printed on 20 December 1899, Le Pater was Mucha's occult examination of the themes of The Lord's Prayer and only 510 copies were produced.

The rising tide of fascism during the late 1930's resulted in Mucha's works, as well as his Slavic nationalism, being denounced in the press as 'reactionary'. When German troops moved into Czechoslovakia during the spring of 1939, Mucha was among the first persons to be arrested by the Gestapo. During his interrogation, the ageing artist became ill with pneumonia. Though released eventually, he may have been weakened by this event. He died in Prague on 14 July 1939, due to lung infection, and was interred there in the Vyšehrad cemetery.

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Funk

Funk.

And, not the good kind played by amazing people like George Clinton or Bootsy Collins...
The last 3 or so days have just been, weird. I feel weird and unmotivated and like I want to just go hide under the covers with my book and about a pound of chocolate covered marshmallows.

Fuck I love chocolate covered marshmallows.

See, and there's the other thing, I want to eat and be depressed. Not good. No. Not in the least. I fed this beast for 5 fucking months last year. It took me till March of this year to get over Christmas...I was doing so well...What now?

Last week was so much better, so much more full. I worked my ass off in like 4 classes in the gym at work, I was exhausted but felt amazing. It was the free week to try the gym and the woman I walk with encouraged me to join her in her classes. By the end, Thursday night, I thought I was gonna fall over. I wanted to go lay in a hot tub for the rest of my life.

I so looked forward to the long weekend, and so needed it when it arrived and then didn't know what to do with myself. Friday was good, ran a bunch of errands, got stuff done. Kinda...Then there was Arrested Development and reading and I got the bathroom clean and went to yoga...and completely avoided cleaning my bedroom...again.

Monday came and we tried to figure out how to spend it and I felt restless. I wanted to just go drive, drive in the sunshine and soak up the warmth and energy and fire and let it heal me and make me whole. We went and got boba at the outdoor part of the mall and got in the pool. I still hate boba by the way...I wasn't sure for a second, but nope, don't care for it. Then, I took on the bedroom. Monday evening. After texting and calling various people to distract me and failing to find anyone to save me from the stupid chore that has exploded in my head...then, at the end of cleaning the bedroom, came the putting of my fathers film and such into my closet...I took a deep breath and shoved things in fast and hard and sat with a thud on the floor and bit my lip and tried not to cry. My partner has gently suggested sorting this stuff once or twice, it came up again when I emptied a plastic bin in the closet of my belly dance costume crap, but I still haven't been able to give it enough of a go. I still can't really look at it. I still can't allow myself to process any of it, the pain washes over me and I feel like I am gonna puke...

So, I guess in this long rant I have figured out why I am in a funk. I guess we got that. But, I mean, fuck SERIOUSLY? Is this gonna happen every time I have to move my parents crap around? That exhibit of his art is gonna take me YEARS at this rate...I am so frustrated. Some days are ok, and I keep on keeping on and have hidden my parents in that dark little room in my head where it doesn't bother me that I don't have them to talk to, I'm fine, it's fine. Then, other days knock me in the head and the pain is so sharp I can't see straight.

and that feeling lasts for days. and, here we are.

This dude was happily taking pictures of girls legs, feet and whatever else he pleased without their consent. So I snapped my own pic and said “enjoy the internet motherfucker’. He laughed at me. Plz share. #publicshame #newYork #subway
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My eye caught a dark form lying on the river bottom. It took me a few moments to comprehend what I had stumbled upon. Lying peacefully in the shallow waters of the river, only a few meters from shore, was a full-grown cougar. The contrast between the serenity of the scene I was witnessing and what must have played out here in the cougar’s final moments made me shiver. It was the first shiver of many, as I stripped down and waded out into the icy water to get this shot. (source)

How come one is always so tired after 3 day weekends...?

Yes

This.  A thousand times this:

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 See, this kid knows!

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This seriously just made my whole fucking day!!

They bow to the sound of Adam Ant yowling in Prince Charming!! SWOON! I love this lady more and more daily, this new troup is AMAZING. GO RACHEL! ♥ 

Saturday Happy Song - Placebo - Drag

Oh well, oh well

"Now my mind is filled with rubber tires and forest fires
And whether I'm a liar
And lots of other situations
Where I don't know what to do
At which time God screams to me
There's nothing left for me to tell you
Nothing left for me to tell you
Nothing left
Oh well, oh well, oh well, oh well
Oh well, oh well, oh well, oh well"


~ White Stripes: little cream soda

Hubert Stowitts

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Hubert Stowitts - Joseph Rous Paget/Fredericks Dance Collection, 1964.023, Collections of Photographic

I wish this was true...

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Ray Manzarek died...

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I can't begin to tell you how much this upsets me...

Nature's Butter Bitch

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Saturday Happy Song - Bonus Round! - Jan Pehchan Ho - Mohammed Rafi

Ok, because I love Indian music SO MUCH, double happy songs! WHOOT!
I first heard this one in a dark movie theater when my younger sister and I went to go see Ghostworld way back in 2001, fell in love with Mohammed Rafi, went and bought an album of his music and have been hooked ever since. I have seen this video many, many times over the years and it never gets old.
HUGE camp factor here. LOVE IT! ♥

Saturday Happy Song - Panjabi MC - Beware the Boys

 I love this song! I first heard this as part of the opening music for a now cancelled show called "Outsourced"
I just fucking LOVE Indian music in general, but hot damn is this one a jem. I had never seen this video before, it's hilarious. Adds to the camp factor. ♥

very close to 2 years into this job and I am still so overwhelmed and frustrated some days I sit in my cube and cry.

First song on new Black Sabbath album

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In case ya hadn't heard cause you're living under a rock, Sabbath is getting ready to tour, and they have released a sample of the new album. I have been living under a rock, so I only recently heard it. Whatdaya think?

Damn!

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Dave Vanian of The Damned

Life has turned on it's head again, this time in a really positive, happy way. New adventures, new opportunities, new possibilities. Things have all happened very quickly, but I think that only adds to the excitement.

I also feel a tidal wave of debt coming on as I need a car and a new apartment pronto, but I can't tell you how excited that makes me. So, I am passing up much of the worry to simply savor this moment as long a possible. ♥ 

The best people

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Russia is in the lead!

 

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This month my largest non-U.S. readership comes from Russia! 

Hello Russia! 

Здравствуйте Россия!

Goddess help me...10:30am on a Monday and already the suck has settled in. Can I  go back to bed now?

New favorite

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Re-posting this photo on all my social media ports for the last, like, month cause it was the toast of the tribal belly dance town and I love it! The amazing Masha Archer as photographed by her amazing husband Charles Homer Archer. Photo made public by their daughter Larissa Archer. Incredible full coin tribal style bra made by Masha using saints medals. I collected these in my youth. ♥ 

 

Seriously, this photo makes me so happy!  

Happy Mother's Day!

 

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Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there. 

Go hug your mom if that's possible today, hug her again for me.
Remember she loves you no matter what you look like:

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But out of respect you should still put your pants on when you're taking photos of her beautiful dinner table: 

 

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"I LOVE livin' in the city!" 
~Lee Ving (FEAR)

That time of year when you have to get used to shaving the entirety of your legs and not just the part below your knees.

Saturday Happy Song - 5, 6, 7, 8's - Whoo Hoo!

ohmygod!

Robert Plant has a psycho stalker and it's not me! :-O

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8-Bit Spock

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Blatant promotion post! No, I haven't been paid to say this either, this girl is a personal friend of mine who happens to be broke thank you very much!

Go like 8-Bit Spock: https://www.facebook.com/8BitSpock

And here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/8BitSpock

And here:
http://instagram.com/8bitspock#

And here:
http://8bitspock.blogspot.com/

AND here:
https://twitter.com/8BitSpock

and buy stuff, so she can pay me for this type of blatant promotion in the future. ;)

Friday Fascinations

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Above amazing illustration by Mab Graves 

It's been a grim week people. Lots of really bizarre news out there. Weird vibe in the air. I don't follow astrology, but those that do would probably say something about the moon being in the house of Mars and that causing bad juju. Or, something. Anyhow, I have also been in a weird place all week, and that has affected all of the relationships around me and made it all just a little, uncomfortable. I am SO GLAD it's Friday! I started the unwinding and celebration last night with Pinot Nior and Pim's orange biscuits. I was bad. Oh well, it's not every week work is slow and you pore over all the gruesome crap the internet as barfed on shore. 

 ☠ 3 girls finally escaped the fucked up guy that held them captive in his Ohio home for 10 YEARS!!! 10 fucking YEARS. One of them has a daughter with the sick freak. These poor women. I am so amazed this could happen. Thing that made me sadder: the girl that did the breaking out and made the call, Amanda Berry, her mom died while she was in captivity. 

I mean, I'm sure lots of people were born and died in their families, but still, her mom...

  

☠ Jodi Arias was found guilty of killing her boyfriend Travis Alexander in 2008. I couldn't remember hearing about this, and I haven't been following the trial like many other people have. This is crazy. This woman is crazy. DO NOT google image search Travis! I was trying to jog my memory of this murder and the crime scene photos are all over the internet! Bloody body in a bathtub photos. The "porn" photos of them together right before she killed him have little black bars over the naughty bits. The photos of him in the bathtub? Nope, all blood and stab wounds and rolled back eyes for the whole world to see. This poor guys family.

 ☠The jury is still out on how to punish the 14 year old boy who shot his mother to death cause she took away his video game. Then he tried to rape her...He texted his dad to say he killed mom, dad thought it was a joke. What the hell is wrong with the world?


On the sunny side of the street (or this is where I sound like a self-centered whore after talking about how fucked up the above situations are)

♥  I am addicted to LU Pim's Orange Biscuit thingys. No I was not paid to say this. I just fucking love them. They are very similar to Jaffa cakes.

♥ My bedroom is going through an overhaul this weekend (yes for real this time) and I am trying to figure out the best way to do that.  

♥ I am in the middle of Stephen King's Eyes of the Dragon and loving it.

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Julanne Johnston (1924)

Julanne Johnston (May 1, 1900 - December 26, 1988) was an American silent film actress born in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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Zoe Jakes and Ashley Lopez perform at The Massive Spectacular

Those times when something moves you and other people look at you and shrug.

many things for May

Prolific month so far 'eh? Amazing things happen when one avoids facebook and amps up bullshit posts on ye old blog instead.

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Monsoon Season Bitches!

    

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Get ready, cause it’s Monsoon Season Bitches! 

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I'm SO HAPPY!! 

 ♥  ♥  ♥ 
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Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

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Open your mind

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“She was a genius of sadness, immersing herself in it, separating its numerous strands, appreciating its subtle nuances. She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum. “

                     
~Jonathan Safran Foer