Muses & Amusements

Restaurant reportage... A lowbrow twist on Italian interiors (with great meatball subs).

Afternoon light in my home sliced with shadows of vertical and horizontal blinds.

Gorgeous and youthful Rock Hudson, Paula Prentiss and Maria Perschy.  

This week I had my first viewing of "Man's Favorite Sport" from 1964, which had all the campy charm, madcap mayhem and colorful coquettishness of his troika of films with Doris Day.  I couldn't help but wonder how heroic, dashing, vibrant and completely desirable he must have seemed to movie-going women (and men) of this time period.

A Christmas gift from the 1950s (by way of my pal Steve) installed in my bathroom. 

Madonna dodges catty bitchness from Elton John (and wins a Golden Globe).

A treasure chest of vintage toys... Thoroughly explored and photographed.

Colorful moments and enjoyable conversation over dinner with Scott.

Moments where warm sunlight fills windows and pierces the deep January cold.

Re-filtered and re-imagined Instagram shots from a 2010 Goldfrapp show.

Lady Gaga claims her throne in the kingdom of Pop Royalty (and enthralls me) with The Monster Ball DVD.

1957 Times Square: The Sweet Smell Of Success

Several stills from another NYC film great: Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis' dual-star vehicle called "The Sweet Smell Of Success".  The Times Square we see here (1956 - 1957) is decidedly less grimy than the one depicted in later film fare, but the latter-day film noir touches used here create a moody foreshadowing of the dark times this district would see a decade later.

1968 Times Square: Midnight Cowboy

Stills from ANOTHER one of my favorite films, which also happens to feature Times Square.  In this particular film, director John Schlessinger has not only used this area as a backdrop for Joe (Jon Voight) Buck's meanderings, but also cast the square as a character:  a seething witness to all things.

8MM Film Stills: 1950s & 60s Times Square

A collection of screen shots from several amateur 8mm films found on YouTube.  Pretty colorful stuff that serves to animate many of the photos of the square I've been collecting since I was about 8 or 9 years old.