Abecedarian: Newest Entries

Someone Should Write a Book on ...

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Someone should write a guide to Jerry Lewis films that aren't Jerry Lewis vehicles.*

*Inspired by Jonathan, who said, "We gave up on watching Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River. (Imagine my shock and outrage when this movie starring Jerry Lewis turned out to be nothing but a Jerry Lewis vehicle!)"

[Jonathan later added, "Did you ever see the film version of Visit to a Small Planet? See, there's a movie starring Lewis that's not a Jerry Lewis vehicle. Even Jerry Lewis's performances in the film are not Jerryesque."]

Restoring the Lost Sense

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

An illustration from a 1908 issue of Punch magazine.

Restoring the Lost Sense

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Father Time stands at the finish line for the seasons' quadricycle race: an illustration from an 1897 issue of Punch magazine.

The Right Word

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

"We've caught him in flagratto del grando." A still from Dear Ladies, series one.

Restoring the Lost Sense

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

"Snake-Talk": an illustration from an 1867 issue of Beadle's magazine.

Restoring the Lost Sense

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

An illustration from an 1877 issue of Punch magazine. The caption reads: "An arrangement in 'Fiddle-de-dee.'"

The Right Word

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook, for Gordon Meyer:

The text reads, "A pilcrow (¶) is so named because a 'pulled [plucked] crow' will speak paragraphs."

Restoring the Lost Sense

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Time Will Tell: Father Time reads the palm of the New Year: an illustration from a 1903 issue of Punch magazine. (Scroll to view the entire image.)

[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]

Restoring the Lost Sense

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

An illustration from an 1876 issue of Punch magazine.

The Right Word

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

An illustration from an 1886 issue of Punch magazine. The caption reads: "The New Verb: Banjo, Banjab, Banjat — Banjamus, Banjatis, Banjant!"

Restoring the Lost Sense

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

An illustration from an 1878 issue of Punch magazine. The caption reads: "There and (not) back!"

Restoring the Lost Sense

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

"There must be mirrors that reflect unwillingly."
—Stephen Sparks

The illustration is from an 1865 issue of Punch magazine.

Everybody's Doing This Now

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

An illustration from an 1878 issue of Punch magazine.

Forgotten Wisdom

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:

The text reads: "It's not that we get up on the wrong side of the bed, but rather on the wrong side of the dream. Freud identified the two basic sides of a dream: manifest and latent."

Restoring the Lost Sense

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

An illustration from an 1888 issue of Punch magazine.