Trade catalogues from the Women Working collection. Harvard's Open Collections Program has scanned some gorgeous ephemera in its entirety, including a 1913 Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue of "out-of-door clothes for fastidious women", which sold riding skirts, bloomers, tennis oxfords, tyrolean and "mannish" panama hats, knickerbockers, voluminous swimming suits ("One piece blue or black Mohair. Open on shoulders. Feature of this suit is there are no buttons on bodice to become open..... $3.75"), and worsted tights to wear under them. (Above: Allen, Brock & Smith shoe catalogue from the same year.)
PJs As Daytime Fashion. What hath tracksuits wrought?
[Nicole] Schiffer [a BU senior] is certain that many on her campus spend a fair amount of time choosing flattering nightwear for daytime... Schiffer said college women prefer Ugg boots and stylish matching tops to complement even the most casual of bottoms... ''Some of the trendier girls wear really nice ones, like black stretch pants. And they'll tuck them into Uggs and wear them with, like, a little small jacket with fur on top," she said. ''I think it's almost like you want to look like you don't care, but in actuality you do."
The Believer reviews the Arcade Fire. Matthew Derby delivers a very accurate report of their live performances, not to mention a very accurate description of TT's: "They played on a stage that was approximately the size of a napkin, in a club that was exactly the size of a restaurant-style napkin holder." (Via Esmeseed.)
Swedenborg Chapel, Cambridge. Does your town have one?
For the last twenty-five years of his studious life, the eminent philosopher and man of science Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) resided in London. But as the English were not very talkative, he fell into the habit of conversing with devils and Angels... Christ had said that souls, in order to be admitted into Heaven, must be righteous. Swedenborg added that they must also be intelligent; later on Blake stipulated that they should be artists and poets. Swedenborg's Angels are those souls who have chosen Heaven... The Angels, in whatever direction they look—north, east, south, or west—are always face to face with God. They are, above all, divines; their chief delight lies in prayer and the unravelling of theological problems. Earthly things are but emblems of heavenly things. The sun stands for the godhead. In Heaven there is no time; the appearance of things changes according to moods. The Angels' garments shine according to their intelligence. The souls of the rich are richer than the souls of the poor, since the rich are accustomed to wealth. In Heaven, all objects, furniture, and cities are more physical and more complex than those on our Earth; colours areb more varied and splendid. Angels of English stock show a tendency to politics; Jews to the sale of trinkets; Germans tote bulky volumes which they consult before venturing an answer... The poor in spirit and hermits are denied the pleasures of Heaven, for they would be unable to enjoy them.
Entry for "Swedenborg's Angels" in Jorge Luis Borges' Book of Imaginary Beings (Penguin, 1974). It should be noted that I trust Borges about as far as I can throw his collected works (in hardcover).
I Want To Pinch Somerville's Cheeks. The mayor meets with the town newspaper in the back of the recently-expanded Diesel, a cafe whose name indicates the theme of its decor (among other things).
Seriously Mixed Feelings. My laptop is fixed but my photographs are gone, having been stored in the most-seriously-fucked sectors of the previous hard drive. If you have any of my pictures from the past year or so, at whatever resolution, on your own computer (Unsinn, I think you have an entire disc of Neubaten), please let me know.
Seriously gorgeous post. I have not the chance to peruse in depth as I must keep up the appearance of working, but never fear, I'll get round to it. Sushiesque, you are beautiful, you are dangerous and I
adore you!
Posted by: Nick | 24 March 2005 at 09:23 AM
That's rough. I have a handful of pictures of us getting drunk on Broadway that you took, I believe; I'll have a look tonight to see if there's anything else.
Posted by: R. | 24 March 2005 at 09:34 AM
Nick: We miss you. And there's a mix cd on its way to you.
R.: I'll have to get those from you, so I can reminisce about Winter Hill (or not). If I don't go to New York this weekend, may I stop by and dig through your files?
Posted by: sushiesque | 24 March 2005 at 09:44 AM
Yeah, I would focus my reminiscence on the drunk-with-friends aspect, more than the Winter Hill. You're welcome to dig through my files (well, not THOSE files, or THOSE OTHERS); we haven't seen you in forever besides.
Posted by: R. | 24 March 2005 at 10:12 AM
I'm amazed that you would even consider I *wouldn't* sitll have an entire CD of Neubauten pictures.
Posted by: unsinn | 24 March 2005 at 03:56 PM