Uncouth Reflections

Art Du Jour

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

While watching KISS ME DEADLY a few months back, I realized that the 1954 Chevy Corvette C1 is my dream car.

Posted in Art, Commercial art | Tagged automotive design, cars, Chevy Corvette, Ralph Meeker, Robert Aldrich | 2 Comments

Thursday Music Selection: Ride / Seagull

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Sir Barken Hyena

Sir Barken Hyena writes:

Shoegaze pioneers Ride had a great sound, a fusion of psychedelic and punk energies that took to the skies the moment the tonearm was down. Here they are in their prime, from the album Nowhere:

Cool lyrics too:

My eyes are sore, my body weak,
My throat is dry, I cannot speak.
My words are dead,
Falling like feathers to the floor.
You gave me things I’d never seen,
You made my life a waking dream.
But we are dead,
Falling like ashes to the floor.

Definitions confine thoughts, they are a myth,
Words are clumsy, language doesn’t fit.
But we know there’s no limit to thought,
We know there’s no limits.
Now it’s your turn to see me rise,
You burned your wings, now watch me fly,
Above your head.

Looking down I see you far below,
Looking up you see my spirit glow.

Posted in Music | 3 Comments

Art Du Jour

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

“Women Who Prowl For Men” by Robert E. Schulz, year unknown.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Posted in Art, Sex | Tagged pulp art, Robert E. Schulz | 10 Comments

Docs About Movies 2: “Big Joy”

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes:

Welcome to installment two in my short series about documentaries about movies, a genre that I 1) currently happen to find very lively, and 2) watched a bunch of examples of recently. (Installment one is here.) Today:

Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged documentaries, James Broughton, Pauline Kael, San Francisco Renaissance | 5 Comments

Architecture Du Jour: The Wooden Churches of Eastern and Central Europe

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

The wood churches of Eastern and Central Europe are found across a vast region encompassing northern Russia and Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, and the Balkans…Three distinctive forms of wood church, found in the Ukraine and adjacent areas of Poland and Slovakia, were built by three different ethnic groups — the Boyko, Lemko, and Hutsul people — who stem originally from the Carpathian highlands.

…

The Boyko churches consist of three log rooms built along an east-west axis, each topped by a dome. The churches of the Lemko people followed the same three-part structure on an east-west axis. The churches of the Hutsul are also built on an east-west axis, but are formed by five rooms, with a dominant central square nave and two-storyed rectangular rooms connected to it on all four sides.

Related

I took most of the images from this wonderful blog.

Posted in Architecture | Tagged Boyko, Carpathian Mountains, Greek Catholic Church, Hutsul, Lemko, Poland, Slovakia, traditionalism, Ukraine, vernacular architecture | 2 Comments

Kirsten Mortensen’s Latest

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes:

Kirsten Mortensen’s latest novel, which is about a small chemical engineering company in upstate New York, is very clever. Kirsten’s fiction, which includes idiosyncratic works like “Can Job,” doesn’t fit comfortably into any particular box. That’s part of its charm. This particular book is especially multifaceted: it’s got espionage, romance, creepy scientists, arson, and lots and lots of pheromones. When a spoiled SoCal girl inherits the company, her presence initiates a struggle for control, not just for the firm, but for her romantic affections. Will she fall for the sarcastic sales guy or run off with the skeevy executive? The former’s got ex issues. The latter’s got a high-tech love potion — and he’s not afraid to use it. The writing is filled with the sort of small-town insight and quirky character detail one expects from one of Kirsten’s books, but the tone is more R-rated, more along the lines of a thriller. It’d make a cool Jonathan Demme movie — if Jonathan Demme movies were still worth seeing. You can buy it here.

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing | Tagged Dark Chemistry, kirsten mortensen, pheromones | 1 Comment

The Camera Loves…

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

…Brigitte Bardot.

Posted in Performers, Sex | Tagged Brigitte Bardot | 2 Comments

Sunday Jazz Selection

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

Ginza Samba, Cal Tjader & Stan Getz Sextet, 1958. Composed by Vince Guaraldi of “Peanuts” fame, he plays piano on the track.

Posted in Music | Tagged Cal Tjader, jazz, Stan Getz, Vince Guaraldi, West coast cool | 2 Comments

Architecture Du Jour: The Italian Trulli Stone Houses

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

Based on prehistoric building technique, dry-stone houses with conical roofs are found throughout the Mediterranean region and beyond. They follow similar construction principles, but each type has its own name and style. The trullo (pl. trulli) is the name for such building that are found scattered throughout the countryside of the Itria Valley of the Apulia region of southeast Italy. The trull guild in this region are either rectangular structures with truncated pyramid roofs or circular structures with ogival (pointed) roofs…The trulli here are distinctive rectangular-plan buildings, containing several square rooms with conical roofs, connected by semicircular arches.

These trulli are constructed out of roughly worked limestone boulders, collected from neighboring fields, and were built, without foundations, directly on the underlying natural rock, using the dry-stone technique (without mortar)…These walls are extremely thick, providing a cool environment in hot weather and insulating against the cold in the winter…

— Building Without Architects: A Global Guide to Everyday Architecture