Oh My Sweet Goodness, It's October!

I'm so happy that it's October. This might be my favorite month. Or December. Or maybe April? Hmmm. It's a tough one. Anyway, I love October for all sorts of reasons. I love Autumn! Halloween. My crazy craft fair season begins this month. And I like to see it a sort of fresh start. Seasons are the best that way.

Just a reminder/update: Weekly Song Lists are going to be up every Wednesday. I may do a few on a Halloween theme, but we'll see how it goes. I've heard a lot of great new music these past couple of weeks, so I'm particularly excited about this week's list.

Supernatural is starting back up this Wednesday, October 3rd. Oh my sweet goodness!!!(That's my new favorite exclamation.) And American Horror Story will be starting up on the 17th. Aaaahhh!!! So much awesome, dramatic, spooky TV.

I've seen lots of great live music this past week, so stay tuned for my standard-overly-detailed-accounts, and photos, very soon.

And that's that for now! I leave you with this beautiful black and white film still from The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, one of my all time favorite movies, and one of the great haunted-house-love-stories ever put to the silver screen.

Photo: Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison

My Secret Love From Grace Of My Heart

I would have included this song on my Weekly Song List, but alas it is not actually from the 1960s. It just sounds that way. "My Secret Love" was featured in the movie Grace of My Heart and was recorded by Miss Lily Banquette. 

Grace of My Heart is a fantastic gem of a movie starring Illeana Douglas. It's not officially a biopic, but it heavily references the lives, careers, and music of a few ladies of the era.

Photo: Illeana Douglas, Bridget Fonda, & Patsy Kensit

Weekly Song List: Wednesday, September 12th

It's starting to feel like Autumn in New England. This makes me very happy! Autumn is my favorite season, and even though I'm no longer in school, it always feels like a fresh start to the year. And with that, I bring you the first Weekly Song List of the school year!

1. Can't Let Go. Lucinda Williams: This song acted as a sort of soundtrack for my recent trip to San Francisco. I love the energy of the song and it's a great one to sing along to, especially when your driving along the Pacific with the windows down.

2. Stubborn Love. The Lumineers: It's no secret how much I adore this song. There's a certain build to the song that I love, and the lyrics are fantastic. A little sad, but that's how I like them (much of the time).

3. To Live Is To Fly. Townes Van Zandt: I only recently discovered Townes Van Zandt, and this is the song that sealed my love for his music. I could listen to this song all day long.

4. To Ohio. The Low Anthem: I love The Low Anthem, especially when they sing in that deep, gravelly voice. Swoon. Also, a sad song. "Lost my love before her time. Now every new love is just a shadow." Heartbreaking, right?

5. Twilight. Elliott Smith: Elliott Smith is one of my all time favorite song writers, without a doubt. XO is one of my all time favorite albums. I've listen to his music more than most. And this song is one of my particular favorites. So simple and sad and beautiful.

6. Kentucky Avenue. Tom Waits: I love this man. And I love this song. What's it all about? I have no idea, except what the lyrics tell me. It's an interesting story, and (for me) it's oozing with romance. "Watch out for broken glass, put your shoes and socks on, and come along with me".

7. Battle of Trees. Tori Amos: From Tori Amos' recent album Night of Hunters. I find this song perfectly charming and beautiful. And I love the Erik Satie piano.

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8. (Happy September Bonus Song) The Land of Might-Have-Been. Jeremy Northam: I thought I'd include a little something extra this week. I love this song from the movie Gosford Park, performed so perfectly by the impossibly handsome Jeremy Northam.

Photo: Tom Waits

Weekly Song List: Wednesday, August 22nd

Since I'm clearly preoccupied with my childhood  experiences of the gothic and the romantic (see my posts for the past week or so), I thought I'd dedicate this week's song list to just that. Songs that are gothic and romantic, and filled with some sort of darkness or magic. Songs that would have fit perfectly with my somewhat macabre childhood sensibilities.

1. Glass. Bat For Lashes: My favorite favorite Bat For Lashes song. From her album Two Suns. This songs makes me think of The Neverending Story. Which reminds me, I should watch that too as part of my mini movie marathon. Totally exhilarating song. It has such momentum and atmosphere.

2. 1816, The Year Without a Summer. Rasputina: This song is about the "Little Ice Age" which is apparently when Mary Shelley wrote or started to write Frankenstein. This event is also documented in the movie Rowing With the Wind (which is part of my mini movie marathon). Great song. Rasputina are one of my all time favorites. Love them.

3. The Wolf. Fever Ray: From the soundtrack for the movie Red Riding Hood. Awesome song. There's something very tribal about it. In the movie, it plays during a sort of celebration that involves darkness, dancing, and lots of fire.

4. Heavy In Your Arms. Florence + The Machine: From the Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie soundtrack. When did these soundtracks get to be so awesome!?! This is actually my favorite Florence song. Gorgeous. Love the heavy sound, and the dramatic build.

5. Love Is Blindness. Jack White: Cover of the U2 song. Featured on the 20th anniversary full album cover of Achtung Baby. I've already written about song on this very blog. I love it in so many ways. I love the loudness of it at times and the space within it. I love Jack's voice. It's also one of my favorite U2 songs.

6. When Doves Cry. Prince & The Revolution: I thought I'd include a song that I was actually listening to in the 80s. I was really into Prince when I was 8 or 9. And this song held so much mystery for me. It seemed very intense and about things that I could not relate to, but were intrigued by. I remember being in my bedroom, dancing to this song in pink leather pumps that were two sizes too big for me.

7. Jackie. Sinéad O'Connor: From her album The Lion and The Cobra. Gorgeous song about a lady waiting (for eternity) for her Jackie to return from the sea. Haunting. Beautiful. Eerie. Perfectly ghostly. Perfectly romantic.

Photo: Rasputina

The Bride, Once Bitten, Labyrinth, And More!!!

My copy of The Bride arrived today. I'm so excited to watch it. I think I may have a sort of mini movie marathon this week and watch The Bride, Rowing With the Wind, Labyrinth, and Once Bitten.

These particular movies all came out between 1985 and 1988, and they all have a certain supernatural or fantasy element. All have a definite gothic atmosphere. And with the exception of Rowing With the Wind (which I don't believe I've seen all the way through), all of these movies had a huge impact on me as a kid. These stories seemed terribly romantic, very "grown-up", and very, very dark.

It seems crazy to me to think that I may have seen The Bride when I was only 7 years old. What!?! I remember my sister (as clear as day) talking about this movie, and how it was a big deal since Sting was in it. The poster totally intrigued me and I was completely fascinated by the story. It wasn't until years later, in high school, that I read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I think it may be time to read that one again. After I finish Rebecca, that is.

Photo: promotional still from The Bride

Classic Tale Of Romantic Suspense

I'm re-reading Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (the "classic tale of romantic suspense") and I'm loving every minute of it. Having read it years ago, and having watched the movie a zillion times, the story and characters are basically etched into my brain and imagination. In the past I've had a hard time seeing the story with any sort of new perspective or insight.

But recently I watched the movie for the first time in years, alone. And for whatever reason (perhaps my mood, perhaps some experience in my own life), I saw the movie in a whole new light. Characters seemed more tangible. More real. And I really related to the main character (who is nameless, other than being the new Mrs. de Winter), and empathized with her. I also saw Maxim very differently. It's hard to get past Laurence Olivier's mind melting good looks, but once you do it becomes clear just how deeply troubled his character is.

Rebecca remains my favorite movie. And as I said before, I'm loving every minute of the book. I highly recommend Rebecca to anyone who loves a good tale of romance and mystery, mixed with a great gothic sensibility and all around fantastic story telling.

Weekly Song List: Friday, August 17th

It's been a nutty week here in the Fussy Gussy studio. Getting ready for the Rock & Roll Yard Sale on Sunday. I'm very excited. But more on that tomorrow.

For now, on this ridiculously humid Friday night in mid-August, I give you the Fussy Gussy "Weekly Song List". I've included the usual 7 songs for the week, plus one "bonus" song that has been sort of my anthem this week. Enjoy!

1. In the Long Run. The Carrie Nations: From one of my favorite movies Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (not to be confused with Valley of the Dolls). The Carrie Nations are the all girl band at the center of the plot. This is my favorite of their songs. But they're all great!

2. Does He Love You?. Rilo Kiley: I love Jenny Lewis' voice so much. It's a perfect blend of sweet and strong. I think she's amazing. And this song is one of Rilo Kiley's best, I think. Great story. Love the build.

3. A Song For You. The Carpenters: Written by Leon Russell, though I'm most familiar with The Carpenters version of the song. Beautiful, heartbreaking song. My favorite lyric: "I love you in a place where there's no space or time". Swoon.

4. Raining Twilight Coast. Robyn Hitchcock: I was lucky enough to see this man live in a very small, dark club. When I was, maybe, 16 or 17. I remember much of the set (if not all of it) being just the man and his guitar. This song brings me back to that show. Brilliant.

5. Little By Little. Radiohead: I recently fell head over heels in love with the Radiohead album The King of Limbs on an afternoon car ride (there's something magical about listening to music in the car). This is my favorite song from the album.

6. Black Tin Box. Miike Snow: My favorite Miike Snow song right now. Great deep, gritty sounds. Spatially dense. I'm going to be seeing these guys live this Fall, and I'm so very excited. I think it's going to be one of the best shows ever.

7. We Own the Sky. M83: Simple. Electronic. Yummy. Gorgeousness.

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8. (Happy Friday Bonus Song) Ball & Biscuit. The White Stripes: Thank goodness this song is over 7 minutes long. Amazing guitar. Love everything about it!

Photo: The Carrie Nations

Weekly Song List: Wednesday, August 8th

This week's "Weekly Song List" is (as promised) on a Jack White theme. As I started making my list of potential songs, I learned some fairly interesting things.

First off, choosing 7 Jack White songs for this purpose is (while not impossible, I suppose) difficult enough for me to have to take, like, four Nesquik breaks. I thought my brain was going to explode from the pressure. Too many great songs to choose from.

Second, when confronted with this problem, one must be decisive: dedicate this song list to The White Stripes (and The White Stripes alone), and allow for 2 songs per day instead of 1. Problem solved.

Keep in mind that Get Behind Me Satan is one of my all time favorite albums, so I could have included every song from that album on this list. But alas, I did not. What I did do (though) is realize how much I love Jack at the piano, and how much I love his ballads, especially the ones about love and girls and vulnerability and feeling lonely.

And so, here you have it! 14 of my favorite White Stripes songs. Note that instead of naming the artist immediately after the song title I've listed the album title, for your reference.

1. You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl). De Stijl: My first favorite White Stripes song. My (then) boyfriend and I had a mutual crush on Meg and Jack. And on the De Stijl inspired artwork.

2. Truth Doesn't Make a Noise. De Stijl: I love the lyrics. And everything else about the song.

3. The Same Boy You've Always Know. White Blood Cells: This is one of those songs that I love about girls and vulnerability.

4. Hotel Yorba. White Blood Cells: Catchy as all get out. Great to do the twist to.

5. You've Got Her In Your Pocket. Elephant: Another one of those songs about love and girls and vulnerability. I also love the simplicity. Just Jack and the guitar. I would do a variety of dramatic things to hear him play this live.

6. I Want To Be the Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart. Elephant: I think the title says it all.

7. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself. Elephant: Brilliant cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song made popular by Dionne Warwick.

8. My Doorbell. Get Behind Me Satan: Jack at the piano. Love it. It's also just plain cool. And snappy. Very snappy.

9. Little Ghost. Get Behind Me Satan: Hmmm? Mountain music + mandolin + love song about a ghost = perfection, oozing with charm. Also, one of my favorite songs to sing along to.

10. Instinct Blues. Get Behind Me Satan: I love the bluesy grind of this song. And Jack's voice sounds ridiculously good. Also, it's funny. "Even strawberries get it."

11. I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet). Get Behind Me Satan: Again, Jack at the piano. With the exception of one bit of lyrics that makes me chuckle ("she's homely, and she's cranky, and her hair's in a net. I'm lonely, but I ain't that lonely yet"), I find this song totally heartbreaking.

12. A Martyr For My Love For You. Icky Thump: One of my all time favorites. I love the organ, the heaviness of the sound, and the narrative. A man saving the girl he loves from himself. Swoon. And sad. Very sad.

13. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn. Icky Thump: This song is so full of majesty and a grand sort of atmosphere. And as a (supposed) descendent of Scotch-Irish gypsies (???), I also love the Celtic influence on this one.

14. Let's Shake Hands (Live). Under Great White Northern Lights: I believe this song was the very first White Stripes 7" single. The afore mentioned rendition is from the 2009 live album Under Great White Northern Lights. Great energy. Jack's guitar is killer, and Meg plays her drums with lots of gusto. It's so good!

Photo: cover of The White Stripes 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan

Hitchcock's Rebecca Never Ceases To Amaze Me

I watched Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca last night for the zillionth time. As the title suggests this movie never, ever ceases to amaze me. Joan Fontaine is the epitome of "perfectly lovely", and Lawrence Olivier is ridiculously handsome, gentlemanly, and charming.

And then there's Mrs. Danvers. One of the great movie villains.

Being one of my all time favorites (if not my one-and-only all time favorite), I'm certainly biased.

But in my opinion if you enjoy: gothic things, mysteries in general, black and white movies, movies that take place in creepy mansions, movies that take place on the coast of Cornwall, movies with awesome villains, movies with awesome female villains, Lawrence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, psychological thrillers, ghosts, (and so on) you've simply got to watch Rebecca. 

Sound Of My Voice

I saw (and loved) Sound of My Voice when it was first released in theaters, but it's taken me until now to fully realize what a brilliant movie it is. I think that Brit Marling is a super talented, interesting actress and screenwriter. The music in the movie is awesome. And the story is fascinating, subtle, and unsettling.

The story follows a young couple who are in the initiation process of joining a cult, lead by the beautiful and mysterious Maggie (played by Marling). Initiates believe that Maggie is from the future. She dresses in all white, as do her initiates. And there's a very complicated handshake that initiate-hopefuls learn in preparation for their first visit with Maggie.

One of the things that makes this movie so interesting, entertaining, and compelling is the suspense, so I don't think I'll share more than that, plot wise.

I had a discussion recently with my niece (the same one who came to see Jack White with me) about indie movies versus big budget Hollywood movies. I posed the question "are there indie movies out there that are better off being indie?" And when I say indie, I'm not talking about Miramax (though they've made some really great movies). I'm talking about super low budget, obscure, unlikely, and typically original movies with original stories. This is one of those movies. It doesn't need anything else. Not fancier sets, or more well known actors. It's got everything it needs.

I highly recommend this movie. It's indie movie making at its best.
Watch the trailer for Sound of My Voice here.

Written by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, who also directed the movie.

Photo: Brit Marling

Bret McKenzie + More Muppet Talk On NPR

I listened to yet another Muppet themed Fresh Air interview this afternoon, this time with Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords, who also wrote most of the music for the movie The Muppets.

I adore Flight of Conchords, and as you likely already know from my previous posts on the topic I'm a huge fan of the Muppets. I've loved them since I was a kid and I thought the new movie was just perfect.
McKenzie's song "Man or Muppet" (from the movie The Muppets) has been nominated for "Best Original Song" at the Academy Awards this year. The song is a duet between Jason Segel's character Gary and his Muppet brother, Walter. Both characters are trying to work out who they really are. "I reflect on my reflection and I ask myself the question, what's the right direction to go, I don't know. Am I a man, or am I Muppet?"

Unfortunately for all of us, the nominated songs will not be performed at the Academy Awards this year.

When asked about this during the interview, McKenzie said he didn't know why, but went on to describe what he might have done had he been asked to perform on stage at the Kodak Theater. His description surpassed my every imagining, bringing not only Jason Segel and Jason Segel's Muppet-self on stage, but also a background chorus of all of the Muppets. How awesome would that have been!?!

As for the song "Man or Muppet", Terry Gross (the host) very aptly (and with a surprising amount of seriousness) described the song as a "Muppet power ballad". Well, she asked McKenzie if he saw the song as a "Muppet power ballad", to which he answered in the affirmative. He said he listened to songs like "Without You" and "All By Myself" for inspiration. He even sang bits of them.

He then said something that had me practically choking on my breakfast tea, I was laughing so much. "I think that everyone's had this crisis at some point, trying to figure out whether their a man or a Muppet." I love this stuff!

Thank goodness I decided to listen to NPR this afternoon. It made my day. Or better yet, my week!

P.S. Check out this duet version of "Life's a Happy Song" by Kermit the Frog and Bret McKenzie. It's so adorable.

Jason Segel On NPR + the Muppets

On opening day of the new Muppet movie called The Muppets, I was lucky enough to catch Jason Segel and Nick Stoller on NPR's Fresh Air talking about the movie, and let me tell you...I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. This interview was absolutely priceless.

Muppets feature pretty heavily in my life. I refer to people as Muppety all the time (I've done so on this blog!) The Muppets Take Manhattan is one of my favorite movies. I have an "I Heart Kermit" lunchbox. The Muppets version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" is on my Christmas playlist. All of my siblings (I'm the youngest of 7) say "the Muppets always remind me of you" aka, me!

And so, listening to like minded Muppet fans on Fresh Air was a real treat for me. Jason Segel and Nick Stoller (of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, another one of my favorite movies) wrote and produced the movie. James Bobin (who has directed episodes of Flight of the Conchords) directed the movie. And Bret Mackenzie (one of the stars of Flight of the Conchords) wrote many of the songs featured in the movie. When talking about Bret Mackenzie and his song writing style, Jason Segel said "He's by nature very Muppety". I have to whole-heartedly agree.

The general vibe of the interview was light-hearted, humorous, and (like the movie itself) smart and very sweet. On how they went about writing the movie, they said: "we wanted to be Muppet purests". I adore the idea of Muppet purests. I really, really like/admire Jason Segel. His musical sensibilities, his sense of humor, his love of Muppets. On the character of Walter, the wide-eyed, innocent Muppet-mega fan, and star of the movie, Segel said: "he reminds me of what Kermit was, maybe, before he became famous, you know when Kermit was still living in the swamp." This cracks me up! My favorite song from the movie is called "Man or Muppet" and features Segel as Gary, a Muppet version of Gary (which apparently the studios allowed him to keep and now lives at home with Segel and his other puppets), Walter (Gary's Muppet brother), and Jim Parsons as a perfect and very funny human version of Walter. They played the song during the interview. It's awesome.

If I don't stop myself now, I'm just going to ramble on about how much I love these guys and the Muppets, and the songs from the movie, and so on and so forth. And so, I'll end by saying this: I'm so, so happy that the Muppets are back, and thank you Jason Segel and Nick Stoller for writing such a touching, funny, and perfectly wonderful movie, just in time for the holidays.

I Finally Saw the New Muppet Movie!

I saw the new Muppet movie yesterday (simply named The Muppets) and it was everything I could have hoped for, and more! It was hilarious (that kind of goes without saying!), sweet, smart, thoughtful, and clearly made with lots of love for the Muppets. I'm definitely going to see it again at least one more time while it's in theaters.

The story is fairly straight forward. The world's biggest Muppets fan and his brother (and brother's girlfriend) have to reunite the Muppets and raise $10 million or the Muppet Theater in LA is going to be torn down so that the evil Tex Richman can drill for oil.

There are some amazing musical numbers, like the movies' show stopping opener "Life's a Happy Song" and "Man or Muppet" (my personal favorite!) Most of the original music is written by Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie, so the songs are pretty hilarious and cleverly dramatic.

The movie is also chock full of celebrity cameos. Neil Patrick Harris, Feist, Zach Galifianakis, and Sarah Silverman, to name a few. Jack Black is also in the movie, but he plays more of a prominent role, as himself. It's a lot of fun!

Stay tuned for more about the Muppets! I listened to an amazing NPR interview with the movie's writers (Jason Segel and Nick Stoller), and I have some priceless tidbits to share.

The Muppets Are Back!!!

The Muppets opened today in theaters, and Jason Segel and Nick Stoller were on NPR's Fresh Air to talk about the movie and their love of Muppets. It's been a very good day!

I'll write more about the Fresh Air interview this week (there are so many little tidbits that I have to share!), but I'd like to say for the record that I have not laughed so hard and so consistently over a half-an-hour period in a very long time. Hearing these guys talk about the Muppets was sooooo hilarious. Hearing them talk about the Moopets was equally hilarious.

As you may well know, I love Muppets and have been waiting for this movie for a long time now. One of my very first posts on this blog was about a favorite movie of mine Forgetting Sarah Marshall and about how Jason Segel may or may not be bringing back the Muppets. Well, it's happened. And I am one very happy girl. Can't wait to see it!!!

Canadian Maple Trees On Etsy

I love this photo of Canadian maple trees by fellow Etsian Raceytay. It's so lush and rich and sort of hypnotizing. I think it's just gorgeous!

It also seems fitting with my new found love of The White Stripes and the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights, which follows the duo on their 2007 tour of Canada. Canadian maple trees, the red, black, and smidge of white in the sky.

Jack White + the Slow Build

My appreciation for Jack White has been a slow (albeit steady) build.

As I wrote in my post from a couple of years ago about The Dead Weather, I saw The White Stripes on Charlie Rose a few years ago and I really liked Jack White and the things that he had to say about his music and the creative process.

The White Stripes have been on my radar since their album De Stijl. It was our closing time music at the cafe where I worked during college, and we all loved it so much. It was like a big, noisy present after a long day of making latte after latte after latte. 

I've loved Jack White's other bands, like The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. I was even lucky enough to see The Raconteurs live when they toured with Bob Dylan a few years back. They were amazing, totally killed it (in a good way), and they looked phenomenal. I really love their style.

I even bought The White Stripes' 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan because I loved the cover so much. The apple. The red, white, and black. Jack White's sinister-ish facial hair. Meg's coifed do. I loved it then and I love it now. In fact, it's one of my all time favorite records. It's extremely rare that I love an entire album, and this is one of those rarities.

But somehow (and I don't fully understand it myself), my love of The White Stripes never stretched beyond De Stijl, Get Behind Me Satan, and the occasional song. Until now.

I watched the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights this past week. The film follows Jack and Meg White on their 2007 tour of Canada, which would ultimately be The White Stripes swan song. As I understand it, this tour preceded what was supposed to be a full US and UK tour for their album Icky Thump. Their last show was played in Southhaven, MS. The band stopped recording (with the exception of their cover of "Rated X" for the Loretta Lynn tribute album), and officially disbanded earlier this year.

Under Great White Northern Lights is one of the most sensual, aesthetically pleasing, and entertaining tour documentaries I've ever seen. It was beautifully shot. A lot of black and white (and red, of course). The live music performances are so, so good. Oh my goodness! I felt like I was there, you know? I may even like their live versions of songs more than the studio versions. There's a raw intensity and energy that I love, and White's voice has so many different layers to it that really come out in the live performances.

And not only did they perform the usual big shows, but in the afternoons (before the big shows) they performed a series of "side shows" in unusual or unexpected locations, giving people little to no notice (think local bowling alley, or city bus). Like an impromptu acoustic performance of "Apple Blossom" for (what looked like) one family with an absolutely adorable bouncy baby, at the Wildcat Cafe in Yellowknife. Very sweet.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves Jack White or live music documentaries in general. The duo perform such personal favorites as "I'm Slowly Turning Into You" and their atomically charged/very moving cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene". The movie closes with an extremely touching performance of "White Moon", with Jack at the piano, and Meg at his side fighting back the tears. Eventually those tears win out, and Jack hugs/snuggles Meg in very sweet and tender way. It's an intense and bittersweet ending to what I think might be the best film I'm seen this year.

And I'm happy to say that I now own it as part of my ever growing live-music-documentaries collection. And I'm sure I'll be watching it plenty this holiday season while I get ready for craft fairs galore! More on that later.

Rebecca On Etsy

Yesterday as I was perusing Etsy, spending my precious morning hours gazing upon handmade delights of all kinds, I happened upon a Rebecca themed treasury and thought, "wow, kindred spirits!"

Thank you Ellie-Rose for curating such a splendid treasury!

Rebecca is possibly my favorite movie of all time and I tend to love virtually anything written by Daphne du Maurier (who wrote the novel of the same name that the movie is based on). What a treat to see so many lovely handmade and vintage items along such an equally lovely (and mysterious, and romantic!) theme.

The photo above by Elle Moss is featured in the afore mentioned treasury. Elle Moss' photos are haunting, surreal, and perfectly intriguing.

Camelot

Richard Harris and Vanessa Regrave, as seen in the movie-musical Camelot. I can definitely see the resemblance between Richard and his son (see my post below about the lovely Jared Harris), especially in the chin and jaw line.

Speaking Of Jared Harris

As a result of my feverish Mad Men-athon this past week, I did a little research on Jared Harris, the lovely British actor who portrays my favorite Mad Men character, Lane Pryce. As it turns out, he's Richard Harris' son! This is totally blowing my mind, while simultaneously making me very, very happy.

I've always really liked Jared Harris, though I've never had a specific reason why. I just enjoy watching him in movies and TV shows, I suppose. He's a great actor, he's got that perfect strawberry-reddish hair, and he looks fantastic with a beard.

And so, when I read that he's Richard Harris' son, it somehow all made more sense, or came together in some odd way. I adore Richard Harris, and he made quite an impact on my childhood. Camelot was a staple in my house, and A Tramp Shining was my father's favorite album.

As an adult, I also quite enjoy Harris in Orca, The Killer Whale. And A Tramp Shining is now one of my favorite albums. I especially love the songs "Paper Chase" and "Dancing Girl"...and "MacArthur Park", of course.

The other interesting tidbit is about Jared Harris' mother, Elizabeth Rees-Williams. She was married to Harris through the late 60s, and then married Rex Harrison. He's another one of my childhood favorites. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is one of my all time faves, and who can forget My Fair Lady.

It's interesting, I think. And to get back to subject at hand, Jared Harris will be killing it (in a good way!) in the role of Professor Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, to be released in Decemeber of this year for the holiday season.

Scarpette Rosse

I love this Italian movie poster for The Red Shoes.