unicorn meat

on jewelry in photos

2009-11-10T17:10:00.000-05:00

One thing that I like to imagine is fancy photoshoots with my jewelry.
When I take classes, the creative process is driven by an art jewelry aestetic, encouraging creative design. But that doesn't work so well for me.
Personally, I like fashion jewelry. I like a lot of jewelry from J Crew. I love contrived editorials in magazines. I collect inspiring photos in a scrapbook and from that I draw ideas for jewelry. I think about clothing and settings and I try to envision where my jewelry would be fitting. I sometimes think about jewelry, inspired by other ideas for complimentary clothing and styles that I won't make the effort to create. So I focus on the jewelry.
In the course of my fashion magazine perusal, I've been drawn to photos that really showcase the jewelry. My favorite magazine for this is Zink. I don't know what I'd do without Zink. Almost every issue has an editorial that's heavy on the jewelry.

Now this one's on the corny side but I selected it because unlike the other photos I have here, it features a touch of color.

I love necklaces and boobs. Or jewelry on nudes, in general. As you can see, Zink is big on that.

In these ads, the jewelry is well displayed. Too bad it's not that cool.

I really like to see photos where jewelry is well integrated with clothing and yet entirely noticeable. Some of these are actually from Teen Vogue, which is my second-favorite american fashion magazine. Unfortunately I cropped some of them before the "whole picture" was of interest to me.
The Zink photos are great, but too consistently they leave out color. Searching the internet for "jewelry editorial" turns up lots of results from this epic shoot from "Flair" magazine (Italy, I believe):

I love this kind of effort.

A Bama

2009-11-05T09:40:00.002-05:00

Lately, this has been my favorite song about a place. As I've listened to it repeatedly, I've found it more and more moving.
At first I found the harmony pleasing. I realized the song is just the same thing.. over and over. A song like that has to be special. See also: Carter Family. Just the same pretty thing over and over.
I thought "I could sing this as 'West Virginia' instead of 'Alabama." I was wrong. I'm not sure if West Virginia has all the same crops and the same scenes mentioned in this song, but even if it does, this song deserves to be kept intact.
The Bailey brothers are actually from Tennessee. This song was recorded many times by Alabama natives the Louvin Brothers. Everything seems to point towards Charlie Louvin as the originator of this song.. but it seems like the Bailey Brothers recorded this in the early 50s at the latest, and the Louvin Brothers years later. Maybe not, I dunno. Anyway I like the Bailey Brothers more. Their music is more old timey.
The lyrics amount to one the most passionate odes to a homeland that I can think of. Very descriptive and sentimental. Without the usual bitter lament of moving to a big city and wasting time. This song makes me want to go to the beautiful places that I love, up in the woods and all around the Appalacians. The leaves are turning colors right now. There's not enough trees in the city to appreciate them.

The Bailey Brothers
Alabama

PS One last thing.. WHAT IS "CERISA"??

2009-11-02T21:33:00.006-05:00

The Real Wizard of Oz: The Life and Times of L. Frank Baum
by Rebecca Loncraine

This book drove me nuts, but it was ultimately somewhat enjoyable. As the title states, this is a life and times book. My main gripe was the way the "times" were tied into the story.
She's like: "[Baum] might have went to" this thing. Or: "might have" seen this story in the news. "Must have" thought ____.
I hated the constant speculation about what he might have done. I'm no Barry Paris but I believe there has to be a better way to get that idea across without sounding so goofy. Regarding a road that Baum saw as a child, which was made out of hemlock:
"However, the planks became worn.... and the old planks frequently had to be replaced. Fresh hemlock is a liight yellowish color... the famous Plank Road would have curved, like a yellow band, through the countryside." REALLY? OK WOW IT'S GREAT TO KNOW ONE TIME WHEN HE WAS A KID HE MIGHT HAVE SEEN A ROAD THAT WAS SORT OF YELLOW SHERLOCK LONCRAINE.
Despite these glaring flaws, I was satisfied by my reading experience, because I had never read a book about Baum's personality and the chronology of his writing career. I didn't find this book a chore to read - in other words a child would enjoy it, or a normal person could read it in one sitting.
I want to say something nice to balance out my criticism. The cover design is nice. Red metallic ink. The glimmer of ruby slippers on the big screen must have looked a lot like red metallic ink to the designer when the designer was young.

PS - Baltimore: If you want to read this or any of the previous 3 books I "reviewed", I am giving them to Book Thing or to you personally, so you can enjoy them for free.

2009-10-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Back to jewelry...
I am going to be doing my first craft-fair type thing on December 5th, Handmade Mart.

So I have some packaging and display considerations to be thinking about.. as well as having enough items to sell.
I'll be sharing a table with my pal Bendependent so hopefully I won't feel too awkward. This stuff is old hat for him so that would be embarrassing. I'm not exactly nervous but I am a socially awkward person and no kind of salesman so we'll see how I deal.
I really want to get some sales rolling so I can continue my hobby.
I've made some photo-jewelry pictures from my beloved frogstyle frogs, and some victorian cigar labels

and continue on with the rings and rhinestones

Be back soon with more music if my computer will let me.

7 songs

2009-10-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

I pulled this 10" 33 1/3 compilation out of a box of records I haven't looked at in a long time. It reminds me of record shopping, and when I used to get really thrilled in record stores and seek them out in my travels. I believe I got this at Rock & Roll Collectibles in New Orleans but that's just a hunch. The best thing about discovering old music was knowing nothing about it... I had no idea quite what I actually liked, so any venture to buy music would result in some random purchases. Those times may be behind me, but this is the kind of record I get excited to find even still. I'm sure it's not rare. It's not really that great. But it's got this.. essence. It's a 10", so it resembles a 78. It must have been promotional - it has a press clipping pasted onto the sleeve. That's probably the clincher for me.
And here I am turning it into a cluster of heartless mp3s. As if it still has some value without the motion of setting a needle on it. I left it nice and scratchy so we can pretend.
Download:
Curtain Call Series Volume 4
Marlene Deitrich - Ben Bernie - Libby Holman - George Jessel

Back, Back, Back to Baltimore

2009-10-16T21:45:00.005-04:00

This song appears to have no relation, other than title, to "Back, Back, Back to Baltimore" sang by those racist vaudevillians Collins & Harlan.
I'd seen that sheet music before and assumed that this recording would be my peek into it's questionable content. I had already formulated thoughts in my head about the times when people decide it's appropriate to re-record racist songs, changing the lyrics to make it seem okay. And whether a song is worthy of doing that. That can be a post for another day, because I've got some examples.
So..... Zeb Turner is some rockabilly guy, and apparently a local DJ here in Baltimore (and DC).
I guess this record is from the early 50s. It's cool that he wasn't just some guy who was cised on the original "Back to Baltimore," but it leaves me with little to say.

Zeb Turner
Back, Back, Back to Baltimore
King Records

hey a burlesque thing

2009-10-09T21:21:00.001-04:00

Exotic World and the Burlesque Revival from Exotic World on Vimeo.

2009-10-09T15:35:00.001-04:00

I've been trying to finish more items to list on etsy and so I haven't sat down to put any records into the computer lately. I have been listening to a lot of Pissed Jeans "King of Jeans." That inspired me to put together a jewelry-working/driving playlist including some Surgery, Slug, Eyehategod and Drunks With Guns.
On the complete opposite of the spectrum, when I'm walking to and from work or the grocery store I am still listening to Metric's Fantasies. I pick a song and listen to it for a few days then start feeling another song and so on.
There are times to put on background music and there are times to listen to songs. My mom used to get irritated with my dad's repetition of particular songs. I think she associated it with the irritating way the radio forcefeeds pop songs to the public, and perhaps with the airheaded pop music zombies that she detested.
I wanted to agree with her about the shallowness of song repetition, but before long I couldn't help myself. Whenever I was home alone I'd have my stack of records ready, waiting for my family to pull out of the driveway so I could queue up my current favorites. The knees of my jeans always became worn out due to kneeling on the floor and scooting around to gather my music. The holes created from doing that were never in the spot where cool people cut their jeans. My holes appeared lower than that, so I could never really play off my holey jeans.
When I am repeating a song that I like - (or even just a part of a song that I like), I am hearing the different parts. I'm memorizing the structure and I am homing in on whatever it is that made an impression on me.
Sometimes I ponder what it means to like a particular band/musician/group/whatever. Am I a fan of ___ or do I just like some of their songs? Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both.
Well anyway I'm going to go see Wye Oak this weekend and Eyehategod in a few weeks so you know.. music music I still care about it a little bit.

I made a heat box to cure my resin, since I've finally got some professional grade stuff to work with.

I used it a few times with Easycast anyway, and it made things cure up faster but with more bubbles. I should have known better.

However, it did help harden a piece that I may have mixed poorly or put too much pigment in. It came out of the mold kind of bendy and bad for filing/finishing but it came out of the heat box ready to get sanded up:

I decided to make a Christmas ring:

I'm working on more picture jewelry:

I got a stupid potpurri candle warmer because I think I can use it for creating/duplicating my wax models.

I have some other pieces to finish but I'm basically fixated on my rings.

those are the last three rings that I put on etsy.

2009-10-07T12:00:00.001-04:00

I was happy to see that my favorite resin artisan, Jasmine Scott has relisted her collection on etsy. Not that I hadn't been checking her website, but having all my favorites in one place is convenient.
I admire the jewelry and I envy the reputation she has rightfully earned. (just look at the number of views on the items in her shop)
Using my birthday as an excuse, I bought this ring in July:

I don't have any flimsy excuse to order any more rings so I just admire from the computer monitor.
I think these are the current rings that I covet the most, although my preference roves from day to day:

More Jasmine Scott on Etsy..

lady gaga if I may

2009-10-06T11:55:00.001-04:00

I don't think I've expressed my love for Lady Gaga on unicornmeat, so I thought I would make it known.
I enjoy a fun pop song, and some of her songs are decent or have good parts in them.
But anyone who may know about my past obsession with burlesque costumery, fetish wear, glitter, wigs, lace and high heels could surmise that I'd be all over this one.

Amplified beauty to the point of ugliness and back again.
Thank you for existing Lady Gaga and please stick around and don't do anything too stupid for me to keep liking you.

Baltimore & Ohio employess shout it out with glee.

2009-10-04T21:04:00.005-04:00

The B & O Railroad. If you have any interest in such things, I encourage you to read the wikipedia, because I really can't pick out the fun facts to include here, let alone facts relevant to the song/glee club.
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad employees' Glee Club is referenced a lot in this book on corporate management, of all things. It looks like it could be an interesting book.. I at least find the preface engaging. However an amazon reviewer condescendingly notes: "A word of warning as stated by the author in his preface: This is NOT a "choo-choo" book!...... This is a MUST READ for all those in corporate venues who want to get ahead." Uh okay guy.
Well anyway, it appears that the B&O Glee club formed during the mid-twenties, was successful in glee club competitions (perhaps in part due to the "selected non-employees" that had been added?), had a record on Decca in 1945 and this self-released record from.. also the 40s?
The song is kind of fun, not to mention the wanton self-references to B&O, and Baltimore, and Ohio. That's how I like it.
The guy who recorded this record is someone special, so if you really want to get intense on reading about some 78s, check out this page on Orlando Marsh. And even better, this one. Hell yeah.

The Baltimore & Ohio Glee Club
Casey's ghost Comes Back
year: ?

email subscription to unicornmeat..

2009-10-02T13:47:00.002-04:00

I added this thing on here. I guess it emails you when I post stuff.. if you don't like to use rss readers and stuff.

2009-10-02T13:24:00.002-04:00

Messenger of Truth: A Masie Dobbs Novel
by Jacqueline Winspear
As murder mysteries go, this was a lot better than Sunset and Sawdust. It had some serious flaws, such as an ending that comes out of nowhere, but I kind of enjoyed it anyway.
This book is the fourth in a "Masie Dobbs" series of detective novels. As female crimefighters go, Masie has everything on "Sunset," probably because this book was written by a woman and not a gross old horny loser. Like that other book, this takes place in the 1930s, but the setting is completely different. Instead of Texas, this story happens in Merrie Olde England.
An artist is murdered and Masie delves into the exciting art world, as well as encountering the high society that propagates and patronizes this art. Masie and her assistant get bitter about the class divide, but ultimately some humanity of the entitled rich jerks touches her.
It could be slow moving, and I don't know much about mysteries but I thought they were supposed to give the reader more clues so we can feel smart and try to crack the case.
I guess I'd give it a 3 out of 5 but luckily I read it soon enough after that last 30s murder mystery to contrast this one in a pretty positive light.

Eva Tanguay revisited

2009-09-30T20:53:00.006-04:00

This little gem on the eclectic nonesuch label does what I dreamed of doing 25 years later - re-recording the signature songs of the most famous vaudeville ladies.
I chose the first track, which appropriately is Eva Tanguay's "I Don't Care".
The musicians on this record, Joan Morris & William Bolcom are apparently married and still going strong.
In fact, they have a new CD out.. today (this is a complete coincidence with me pulling out this record).
I can't say that I found Morris' voice compelling. For example when I listen to this song I've posted, I get the feeling that she does care. However, I am aware that I am prejudiced against these types of reenacting performers, probably because I'm jealous or have some high expectations.
Therefore, I am now interested in setting aside my attitude problem to give a fair listen to their new release. The description of "Someone Talked: Memories of World War II" declares that it was recorded/released "pride and respect for those who sacrificed to preserve democracy during the turbulent years of World War II", but the title suggests something more. It is narrated by an NPR host. I'm sure he will shed some wry NPR light on the subject, so I can wrap my adult contemporary mind around it.

Joan Morris & William Bolcom
I Don't Care
Vaudeville: Songs of the Great Ladies of the Musical stage
1976 Nonesuch Records

sorry, this is the illustration on the record

2009-09-29T16:30:00.001-04:00

I was trying to wait until I made a sale of my own before buying anything else on etsy but now I believe maybe the last copy of Create Your Own Resin Jewelry by Kerry Wilkinson went and sold.
The thing is I don't think I need it to learn how to create resin jewelry.. I just have this collection of books on resin jewelry and I feel the need to keep it complete.
I used to do the same thing with books about burlesque until there was just too many new ones. Which is why I don't need the ebook.. I just want it on my bookshelf.
I have this cute pendant made by the author:

Overall I'm pretty much obsessed with resin jewelry, even more so now that all metalsmithing is on budgetary and time investment hold. When I'm not working on it I want to be reading about it.
I thought it'd be fun to make a pdf zine with the same design concepts of nylonzine or kitten magazine, but I don't think I have the time to do that so I'm just going to add jewelry to the list of things I may write about on unicornmeat.
Ultimately, despite no sale yet, I made a different purchase on etsy today. This necklace:

I enjoy looking at the sellers' resin creations and dolls, but none of it had really been the style of jewelry that I might wear. However, right now I'm really into the casino color scheme of red and black and gold. So when I saw this piece I knew that I could finally make a purchase from her.
So to sum it all up, I'll be making the occasional posts about jewelry that I admire.

WBA what the hell

2009-09-18T10:30:00.000-04:00

???
TOTEM TOM TOM

This record smells great. It smells like my grandparents basement full of old books and random treasures. Such as the old 78 players that eventually became mine.
I don't get what this record is all about. It is mint condition shiny 78rpm 12 inch. The song name typed on the other side is "CHCIAGO" [sic?] Good typing job there.
Just this piano playing that sounds like the skill level of my elementary school music teacher. No offense Mrs. whatever your name was..
I associate WBAL with baseball games on the radio. And their call letter jingle, "double yoo bee eh elllll!!"

self promotion

2009-09-16T16:56:00.000-04:00

I put up a burlesque related bracelet just for old times sake

most of my stuff is like this though.

WHFS top 50 of 1992

2009-09-13T22:59:00.000-04:00

I compiled this myself.
The hardest song to find was that "Beneath the Damage and the Dust" song. I imagine that the guy who sang that is like the father on the Gossip Girl TV show and he talks about his hit.
Anyway, most of these songs remind me of riding around in a car. I loved the radio. I hope to compile 50-100 as well as the top 100 of 1994.. but it took some effort to do.
So I figured I ought to share it.
I got the list from here

Baltimore our Baltimore get the spirit

2009-09-10T22:11:00.003-04:00

Baltimore Public Schools
Baltimore Our Baltimore
year: ??

Are these high school students? What year is this?
Look at this record - it's RED. And translucent.
My computer is soooo messed up that it is a true labor of love to do these songs. And I don't love it enough to do it often.
But for reasons I won't get into I have a few spare moments here so check it out, this lovely song. You can play this at the Ravens games and stuff.

More music posts coming soon.

2009-09-01T09:33:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in awhile. I have a few songs I'd like to post and write my thoughts about but I always forget when I'm at home.
The dog is great, life is ok. I'm listing my jewelry on etsy to make some money to make more jewelry.
I went to Las Vegas and to Zion last week. I listened to the Sons of the Pioneers and understood their worship of cool water.

2009-07-09T12:53:00.002-04:00

In lieu of spending a lot of money collecting records, I mostly spend a lot of time collecting and organizing mp3s. I have all these different itunes smart playlists so I can make my way through piles of music that I haven't heard. A lot of it is stuff I don't even like and will never listen to again.. but I just always want to hear new things.
The other day I spilled water on my keyboard and while blotting it up I accidentally deleted my shoegazey playlist. I didn't notice until it was too late to do anything. It took me a long time to think of all the possible things to add in there.
So I had to go to a previous version of my itunes library.
The problem now is that it reset the play counts on all this crappy stuff I already listened to, so it's back on my unlistened new downloads playlist. So now I'm driving around giving all this stuff a second chance.
This is inconsequential but I have nothing better to do.
I just like contemplating the different ways to enjoy music, and how they change over time. When I was a child I'd start at the bottom of the radio dial and listen to one song on each channel. It's sort of like that now except with free mp3s.
Sometimes I'll think of a song, weeks after I've listened to it, and only then do I realize that I like and want to hear that song again.
Sometimes I'll hear a song and I know I need it.
Mostly I listen to thousands of songs and forget who they're by and what they sound like, and they fade into the oblivion of my hard drive, probably forever. This is what the digital age has allowed me to do.

3 videos I enjoy

2009-06-29T14:12:00.002-04:00

I've realized I can search youtube for videos I used to have.