Vespa pin-up girls from the 50's & 60's: a huge set at Flickr of vintage pictures and illustrations of calendars. 180 pictures of gorgeous actresses, other famous women and pin-up illustrations in sexy poses with Vespa. Through these calendar photographs you can almost plot the changing attitude towards women in catholic Italy, from passive, accessorising 'eye candy' in the early 50's to aspirational consumers in the late 60's and 70's.

Related post: Scooter Art

Posted by Bibi at 11:42 PM in Pin-ups, Vintage ||

The Prelinger Archives, at Internet Archive, contains nearly 2,000 ephemeral (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) films. Ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is film made for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited time. Good term. However I have to disagree with this definition for many films on that collection.

I've enjoyed the films of the Archive for a long time, and the vintage commercials I've found there don't serve its primordial purpose: to sell the product, but they are still entertaining. That's the case for Chevrolet's commercials produced by Jam Handy Pictures. They produced many short training films, commercials and promotional cartoons in1930's to 1950's.

There are nearly 100 films produced by Jam Handy for Chevrolet. But I'm interested in those with animations. Down the Gasoline Trail is a good example: it starts with as a normal commercial and introduces the animation to explain the gasoline way from gas tank to the engine cylinder. It is starred by a very happy gasoline drop.

And, as I said before, there are cartoons, 9-10 minutes animations, that were probably exhibited before films for the family in theaters, since the cartoon style and stories aren't targeted to an adult public. They start telling a fairy tale or a fantastic story and introduce the car in an inventive way. There are four of those films at Archive: A Coach for Cinderella, A Ride for Cinderella, Peg-Leg Pedro and The Princess and the Pauper.

They are all the animations from the 1930s, however I have yet another example of animated ads from another decade, the Chevrolet Commercial of 1963's Chevrolets. It makes brilliant use of typography to illustrate reactions and feelings, with emphasis in the key words. Very well done. It's available at Google Video, as are all the other examples:

- A Coach for Cinderella (1936)
- A Ride for Cinderella (1937)
- Down the Gasoline Trail (1935)
- Peg-Leg Pedro (1938)
- The 1963 Chevrolet (1962)
- The Princess and the Pauper (1939)

More commercials with animation at: Animated Ads, 1950's French Commercials, Classic Television Commercials and Ferenc Cakó.

Updated: watch all the videos in just one time at this Videos with Bibi post.

Posted by Bibi at 03:50 PM in Animation, Vintage ||

Get some Victorian pictures, "put" them at your computer to play with the image, adding details of Surrealism and a personal mark. The result is the strange and fabulous work of Jeffrey Micheal Harp. The American artist was influenced by the work of René Magritte, the Menil Collection, Deano Cook and Adam Fuss among others. (via ben hayattayken)

Posted by Bibi at 01:22 PM in Art ||

The Dayalets are vitamin mascots, what I translate for scary human portraits made with food, cigars, objects and snacks. One more time the term "playing with food" fits like a glove, and this time moms have all the rights to say "don't play with food", if the result will be like that. If the images aren't so pretty,at least we can say they are curious, funny. BTW, it's almost impossible look at those Dayalets and don't remember of Giuseppe Arcimboldo paintings. I prefer Arcimboldo with any doubt. (via El Burlador)

Related posts: Bento Windows & Bento Art, Bologna art, Banana Art, Cute bento boxes, Funny sausages, Food to amuse and Yummy Fun.

Posted by Bibi at 12:38 PM in Food, Food, Fun, Fun, Weird, Weird | Comments (2) ||

That's neat. A group of physicits, coordenated by Robert P. Crease, a member of the philosophy department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the historian at Brookhaven National Laboratory, was invited to chose the the most beautiful experiment of all time. The result was publish in a pape by George Johnson in The New York Times and that's the result of Science's 10 most beautiful experiments:

1. Double-slit electron diffraction
2. Galileo's experiment on falling objects
3. Millikan's oil-drop experiment
4. Newton's decomposition of sunlight with a prism
5. Young's light-interference experiment
6. Cavendish's torsion-bar experiment
7. Eratosthenes' measurement of the Earth's circumference
8. Galileo's experiments with rolling balls down inclined planes
9. Rutherford's discovery of the nucleus
10. Foucault's pendulum

The site contains short explanations of the physical experiments with computer animations. More amusing scientific experiments at List of famous experiments and Timeline of Fundamental Physics Discoveries. (via del.icio.us)

Posted by Bibi at 11:56 AM in Science, Science ||

Valentine's day is coming, so it's better I start posting something about it. And I found something nice about it: A Flowering of Affection: A Victorian Valentine Cards at the Lilly Library. A selection of nineteenth century Valentine cards, from the sentimental to the comic. The history of Valentine's cards, images of cards and more images of fancy cards for girls. I hope this starts to inspire you.

Valentine's Day is a holiday with a long history. Though it bears a saint's name, its origins seem more firmly rooted in pagan celebrations of the beginning of spring than in the history of its martyred namesakes. Valentine's Day traditions are wide-ranging, but have long involved the exchange of some love token or small gift with one's valentine. In 18th century England and North America, these exchanges often took the form of hand-made valentine cards. By the 19th century, these traditions expanded. Home-made cards were widely replaced by commercially produced valentine cards, and the cards were sent not only to one special valentine, but often to a wider circle of friends and relations.

Related post: The Scrap Album

Posted by Bibi at 11:10 AM in History, Vintage | Comments (6) ||

Full Moon Clay Company sells lovely hand crafted ceramic cars, inspired by the wonderful classic designs of Corvette, Porsche, VW and other vintage cars. Those super coloured car sculptures have models for family, with trailer, for just two people, fancy models, hot dog car, for vacation and other with other cheerful designs. They were all created by Scott and Naomi Schoenherr, husband and wife, both graduated of Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles. (via smidigt.se)

Posted by Bibi at 10:42 AM in Art, Sculpture ||

I used to read Peanuts in the newspaper and watch the cartoon at the Sundays. It was nice, but I missed something: Peanuts isn't for kids. To really understand it you need of more knowledge that you just get with time. I think I will try to read it again, sign the feed to received the comic strips daily, and explore the Peanuts Gang Wiki.

All this because Manuel found The Peanuts Gallery, a nice collection with 21 vintage covers of Peanuts and Tip Top.

Posted by Bibi at 02:23 PM in Comics | Comments (2) ||

From the collection of the New York Public Library, Russia and Eastern Europe in Rare Photographs, 1860- 1945. A huge collection with thousands of images, photos and political cartoons, in more than 150 albums. Many were originally part of Romanov palace libraries nationalized by the Soviet government and sold abroad for hard currency.

Subjects include Russian Orthodox churches, monasteries, and ecclesiastical art; views of cities, as well as small provincial towns; secular architecture; tsarist- and Soviet-era political exiles; and the diverse peoples of the Russian Empire. A number of albums include portraits of the Tsar or the imperial family; state occasions, military maneuvers, and relaxation at the imperial hunting lodge are all depicted. Represented as well are military operations, particularly during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Russian Revolutionary-era photos are extensive, ranging from the immediate aftermath of the February Revolution, to the Stalinist period.

Posted by Bibi at 12:25 PM in History, Photography, Photography ||

The Chinese film director Wong Kar-wai has many fans. A kind of fans that create sites (wongkarwai.net and Chasing The Metaphysical Express) forums and calendars.

If you don't know his works you should do. Start with the Guardian interview, read this good article ofsenses of cinema, and watch In the Mood for Love. After that film try 2046 with a kind of Blade Runner atmosphere.

Posted by Bibi at 10:02 AM in Cinema ||

Art Face Off is a new social site for artists upload their works describing and adding tags, and it's also a competition, where the visitors vote for the best of two works. Winners move on to the next level of competition, and final prize is $1000US to the overall winner of each general media, a spot in the Athena Awards collective exhibition, and an award at the ceremony.

The experience of chose between a picture and a drawing can be strange. You can select to see works of the same support. For me it's a place to discover new artists and explore beautiful new images. BTW, some of the works you will see aren't safe for work. (via Techcrunch)

Posted by Bibi at 05:20 AM in Art, Internet, Painting | Comments (2) ||

Tomayto Tomahto is the portfolio site of Adam Nickel. He illustrated children's books and he's now working as a freelancer. There are few images of his works, what is a pity since the 3D illustrations are very pretty. (via Drawn!)

Posted by Bibi at 02:06 AM in Illustration ||

I loved the work of the make-up and hair artistry Angel Jagger. She is now the go-to girl for pin-up hair and makeup. She has always admired the classic styles of the1930s thru 1960s. You must check her works of fashion, glamour, beauty, magazines, film and TV. (via erotismo grafico)

Posted by Bibi at 01:36 AM in Photography, Photography, Pin-ups ||

Political Cartoons of the Lilly Library: America in Caricature 1765 - 1865. The caricatures depict times of turbulence in American history and range in date from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 and to the presidential elections of 1860 and 1864 which brought Abraham Lincoln to the White House. Few images, but still an interesting place to visit for its historical content.

Posted by Bibi at 11:54 PM in Comics, History ||

The fabulous collection of American Social Hygiene Posters (ca. 1910-1970) from the University of Minnesota has everything girls and boys need to know for a healthy sexual life (or maybe not):

The social hygiene movement of the early twentieth century combined moral indignation and public health methods in an attempt to combat prostitution and venereal disease. Especially during the two world wars, civilian and military authorities produced many posters to educate armed forces personnel on how to remain disease-free and “fit to fight.” The U.S. Public Health Service and the American Social Hygiene Association prepared elaborate poster displays during the 1920s as part of a campaign to eradicate what we now call sexually transmitted diseases.

Other way to browse the collection with 212 posters is using the search. One other preciosity displayed in the collection this poster:

"Pick-up" acquaintances often take girls autoriding, to cafés, and to theatres with the intention of leading them into sex relations. Disease or child-birth may follow.

Avoid the man who tries to take liberties with you. He is selfishly thoughtless and inconsiderate of you.

Believe no one who says it is necessary to indulge sex desire.

Know the men you associate with

Don't forget to read What sex brings to the girl and What sex brings to the boy. (via coisas do arco da velha)

Posted by Bibi at 06:29 PM in History, Posters, Vintage | Comments (2) ||

Do you remember those science videos you watched at school? What do they look like in your mind? Did they look naïf? Do they now seem badly produced, dated? You may even think that they would look funny nowadays. If that is the case, you are not the only one. There is a BBC series called Look Around You . It's a satire of / homage to 1970s and early 1980s educational films and schools programmes, with a different scientific subject being discussed in each episode, or "modules" as they are referred to in the series.

Mixing real theories, with absurd situations, nonsense experiments and a great mise en scène, Look Around You looks like a real 1970's documentary, specially if you watch them while distracted. They did a perfect reconstruction of those old documentaries: clothes, colours, the incidental music, the camera movement, make-up, edition, narration, objects... it's terrific. The episodes of the first season, produced in 2002, are hilarious, starting with their nonsense openings.

The first series is composed by eight episodes and a pilot of 20 minutes about Calcium. They were presented in the following order: Maths, Water, Germs, Ghosts, Sulphur, Music, Iron and The Brain. You don't need to watch them in sequence, and I highly recommend you watch at least one of them. They are also available at YouTube in a playlist. (Thanks Dri!)

Posted by Bibi at 04:54 PM in Fun, Fun, Science, Science, Video ||

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a prolific writer most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and the adventures of Professor Challenger. Conan Doyle wrote also other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction.

He wrote four novels and fifty-six short-stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, something remarkable. But even more remarkable is the number of Holmes' adaptations to the big screen. Since 1900 numerous films and versions have been made: screenplays based on Sherlock Holmes' novels, adaptations, screenplays based only in the characters. Almost everything you can imagined was done. If they didn't is just a question of time.

The first Sherlock Holmes version I saw to the cinema was Young Sherlock Holmes, a very nice film is the image that get of it, and the flying candies and muffins. It was one of my favourite films until I discover Citizen Kane and change my mind about what is a good film.

Among the hundreds of cinematographic versions, many of them are in public domain, including those with Basil Rathbone (if you are one of those curious people take a look at this List of people who have played Sherlock Holmes). In public domain and on-line to download and watch. And one more time a made a list with many links to download, watch, to IMDb, Wikipedia's articles, to the books' articles and links to download the them. I hope you enjoy.

- A Study in Scarlet directed by Edwin L. Marin (1933): download here or here; video. Based on the book A Study in Scarlet: read the book here or here, or try the audio version.

- Dressed to Kill (Prelude to Murder) directed by Roy William Neill (1946): article; download here, here or here; video.

- Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (Sherlock Holmes Fights Back) directed by Roy William Neill (1943): download here or here; video. Based on the short story "The Adventure of the Dancing Men": read it here or here.

- Silver Blaze (Murder at the Baskervilles) directed by Thomas Bentley (1937): download here or here; video. Adapted from the short story "Silver Blaze": read it here or here.

- Terror by Night directed by Roy William Neill (1946): article; download here or here; video. Based on the short story The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax: read the it here or here, or try the audio version.

- The Hound of the Baskervilles directed by Terence Fisher (1959): article; download the trailer; watch the trailer. Adaptated from the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles: read the book here or here, or try the audio version.

- The Sign of Four directed by Graham Cutts (1932): download here or here; video. Adapted from the novel The Sign of the Four: read the book here or here, or try the audio version.

- The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes directed by Leslie S. Hiscott (1935): download here; video. Adapted from the novel The Valley of Fear; read the book here.

- The Woman in Green (Sherlock Holmes and the Woman in Green) directed by Roy William Neill (1945): download here; video.

Plus:
The Lost World directed by Harry O. Hoyt (1925): article; download here or here; video. Based on the novel The Lost World: read the book here or here, or try the audio version.

Related posts: Dressed to kill (1946), The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Birthday and Cult Television.

Posted by Bibi at 10:39 AM in Books, Cinema, Video ||

Pretty girls, great shots and cute dogs at Pinups For Pups - The original pinup dog rescue organization.

Dedicated to helping the 4 to 6 million homeless animals that are killed each year, Pinups for Pups was established in 2005. An independent association of animal rescuers, Pinup models, and photographers, managed by and for its members, the mission of Pinups for Pups is to promote responsible pet ownership and to advance the practice of both animal rescue and spaying & neutering to control animal populations.

When are they going to do a pin-ups for kitties organization? (via placeboKatz)

Posted by Bibi at 03:38 AM in Animals, Photography, Photography, Pin-ups | Comments (2) ||

Did you ever think about have your own planet? Now you can Create Your Own Planets with a little help of that Flickr group and this tutorial. The group pool has wonderful examples of what kind of planet you can make with a good picture and GIMP or Photoshop. Polar Panoramas group has more examples to inspire your inside "Petit Prince".

Posted by Bibi at 02:43 AM in Flickr, Photography, Photography ||