From My Collection

I've been equal parts busy, uninspired and neglectful when it came to keeping up this blog over the past month. With my extended work trip up to the bay area and constantly shifting schedule back here (with a fair number of social engagements to provide distraction), posting snarky comments about hundred year old photos hasn't been anywhere near on my mind.


I promised I would post something from my own small collection of vintage snapshots, and I think I chose the right one. No real back story on this one. I got it on my last trip to the flea market on Fairfax. I have no idea who these people are. I wish I knew the story or even the year (my guess is c. 1915). Can anyone identify that steel bridge-structure behind them?

So there you have it: the first update in almost a month. (I feel so ashamed!) I thought this post would double nicely as a tribute to some friends (and they shall remain nameless by request) who will be visiting Hawaii. After all, those things around the woman in the center are unmistakably wearing lei's. Come to think of it, it can do triple duty by also paying tribute to some new friends (themselves Hawaii transplants) I acquired while staying in San Francisco about a month ago. Everyone wins!

There will be more posts like this in the future. However, I think I will try to diversify, and write about things other than old movies, old photos and old fashion.

More Hammer and Comics

I got a new job. Don't get excited, it's a one-day thing sorting my friend Kevin's comic book collection. Too bad it won't be a regular thing since it actually pays better than my last temp assignment.

Like most comic book people, my friend's backlog of comics is sprawling. He left me alone in his house for a few hours while he ran errands (was this wise? he will never know) but it did manage to plow through three long boxes, which were completely out of order, and sort everything into stacks. I kind of wish I had taken a picture.


The night before, I dragged the same friend to the Hammer to see something called He Fell In Love with His Wife, a VERY primitive movie from 1915. Those of you who are up with your 'who's who' in silent Hollywood annals will recognize the name of the director, William Desmond Taylor. Very few of his movies survive, and this particular one, which has been preserved, strikes me as not the best example of his work, although it has some nice moments. It suffers from many classic silent film problems: unbelievable plot (woman suffers amnesia after finding out her husband is a bigamist - well, I didn't buy it), really stiff acting and mugging at the camera, funny romantic scenes, precious few closeups. The lead actress, Florence Rockwell (below center), is kind of a butterface. It was, however, short (59 minutes), light on the reading, and Kevin described it as 'delightful.' As much as I enjoyed seeing it, too, it was the first time in a while that I've worried about whether or not my date was bored.


Tonight, the man's indulging me further and we're hitting a double feature: the Amos n' Andy comedy Check and Double Check (which promises to be a total cringe-fest), and another movie with a title that my friends have said is very me: Pointed Heels. Oh, how alluring. I wonder if the color sequence from that one (yes, THE color sequence) has been uploaded to youtube by the same magical wizard person who has access to scenes from 1931's illusive Dixiana. If so, I could steal it and make it part of my post tomorrow.