Game of Thrones, The Hound and Arya

A Single Game of Thrones Grievance

Please forgive this one comment on the Game of Throne finale: The chuckles of the lords and ladies over Samwell Tarley’s plea for a democratic resolution nicely encapsulated the show’s most consistent weakness. Far worse than the final season’s many notorious failings was the show’s lack of interest over its entire run in the lives of ordinary people. Not to take anything away from Arya and the Hound and other worthy characters, but it would have been nice if a few commoners had had a part in the great events other than as victims or as cannon fodder for the

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Damaged statue from E.T. Wickham art environment

E.T. Wickham: Well that it is as it is

The E.T. Wickham site in Palmyra, Tennessee, is one of the country’s spookiest art environments, even in the open field to which the family has relocated most of the statues. Credit the vandals who wrecked the work, but even more the ghost of E.T.’s vision that survived their pummeling.  The statues lining the north-central Tennessee back road were erected in the 1950s and 60s by Enoch Tanner Wickham to honor historical figures and family members. They did not fare well after his death in 1970s, but their state seems to have mostly stabilized. Thirteen years ago Wickham family members relocated

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Danielle Jacqui: The House of She Who Paints

I wish I could add to the story of the prolific and ambitious artist Danielle Jacqui and her House of She Who Paints, but not being a French speaker I don’t know much beyond what’s been published in a few English-language venues, including a Raw Vision article here and a SPACES account by Jo Farb Hernández here. But I do have photos from a serendipitous 2018 visit to her environment northeast of Marseille. We were going to do just a drive-by and take some pictures, but it happens that two friendly French ladies were arriving for a tour just when I was

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Vintage matchbook cover art from the New Deal Diner, Springfield, MA

Classic Diners — A Gallery

The art of vintage diners, via their promotional matchbooks, plus a smattering of little grills. I like the contrast between clip-art images and custom renderings. Meanwhile, hop over to John Baeder’s site for his spectacular renditions of matchcover diners, including the Yankee Flyer. Matchbooks

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Outliers and American Vanguard Art book cover

Review — Outliers and American Vanguard Art

Outliers and American Vanguard Art, by Lynne Cooke. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 412 pages, 450 color plates, 2018. ISBN: 978-0226522272. Hardcover, $65 Outliers and American Vanguard Art, filling several rooms at the National Gallery of Art, is a dauntingly large-scale show. And at five pounds, 412 pages, 450-plus illustrations and a 10 x12 form factor, its catalog is even more daunting. But, despite some excess imbrications and fixed subject positions, the art and the important points being made are plenty sufficient to interest non-academic readers. Curator Lynne Cooke’s core premise is that the story of modernism is woefully incomplete absent

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Wacky store names: Sign and storefront of Do Eat restaurant, Chicago

Some Really OK New Wacky Store Names

Another batch of the strange, the bizarre, the inexplicable wacky store names of the world. As someone pathologically prone to understatement, I’m especially fond of business names that don’t try too hard. Do eat some OK paella before buying a simply basic but typical gift. Do Eat Korean Barbecue, Chicago Favorable Chicken-Kebabs-Ribs, London: Photo by Martin Stocks Nice Pharmacy, Koh Samui, Thailand O.K. Paella, Toledo, Spain OK Painters, Siem Reap, Cambodia Simply Basic, Barcelona Typical Gift, Toledo, Spain Closely related to understatement, and just as dynamic, are the businesses  whose owners favor highly generalized branding. Here are those latest additions:

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LP Records For Sale

Vintage Vinyl For Sale

I’m selling many vintage vinyl LPs at my neighborhood’s community yard sale Saturday, Sept. 8, 9-4. Plus vintage furniture, art objects, collectibles, household items, vintage textiles and more. Of course, any reasonable offer will be considered. Here are the LPs that will be on sale:

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