olde timey lolz

The Breakdown 1914

If you thought sharing funny photos of cats was invented by the internet, let me introduce you to the work of Harry Wittier Frees. A century before Cute Overload, Frees was dressing up animals in human scenarios and taking ridiculous photos of them. 

Fire! 1914

Free's career began at a birthday party in 1906, when a paper party hat was passed around the dinner table and landed on the pet cat's head. Harry took a picture and just like that, the LOLcat was born. As time went on, his props and scenarios became more and more elaborate. His mother even sewed tiny outfits for the kittens, puppies, rabbits and pigs he photographed. 

Hanging up the Wash 1914

Though he photographed many different animals, Frees maintained that, "the kitten is the most versatile animal actor, and possesses the greatest variety of appeal". This dude knew what he was talking about. I'm not even a cat person, but look at that kitty hanging up her laundry! I can't even handle it- I think my head is going to explode. 

Making Baby's Clothes 1914

OK, ok, so the puppies are ridiculously cute too. Frees was obviously a genius. Check out the Library of Congress archive if you think you can handle more. 

[all photos by Harry Whittier Frees at Library of Congress via Vice ]

cilantro

I've been slacking off on gardening lately, and my cilantro plants took the opportunity to go nuts. 

At first I blamed my lack of garden maintenance, but a little research told me otherwise. The Coriander plant (apparently only the leaves are called Cilantro- who knew?!) is an annual that flowers and goes to seed after three to four months. For years I've thought that I've just been terrible at keeping Cilantro,  er, Coriander, plants alive!

According to the excellent book, Golden Gate Gardening, you must resow the seeds every few weeks if you want a continuous supply of leaves from young plants.  I seem to have made the rookie mistake of planting too much at once, if the explosion of flowers taking over my garden bed is any indication. In the future, I'll try staggered plantings of just one or two plants at a time.

I left a couple of the flowering plants alone to see if they'd produce seeds, but had to cut the rest back to make room for new seedlings. 

All was not lost though. Both the small leaves and the flowers on these stalks are edible. Plus, the flowers make for a deliciously fragrant arrangement. Who wants flower tacos?

photoshop for reals

This physical model of Photoshop is so clever. Look at all the detail! I think the color palettes on the right are my favorite part. 

After coming across this photo on their tumblr, I checked out Photojojo's online shop. I'm not a serious photographer, but all the awesome gizmos in their shop could definitely inspire me to take more photos.

This flash bounce is genius- maybe I wouldn't be afraid to use my flash if I had one of these. I think I could have a lot of fun with this bike mount for a camera or smart phone. And as much as I love my old Polaroid, I can't help but kind of want one of these high tech new instant cameras. 

P.S. All you fellow Photoshop nerds out there should check out Buzzfeed's recent round up of simple tips for editing photos. 

[Photo via Photojojo. Artist directors: Andeas Junus and Irawandhani Kamarga. Photographer: Anton Ismael]

cutoffs

It's summer, and that means I pretty much want to live in cutoffs. I've been on the hunt for a new pair after my trusty old favorites finally bit the dust. I was eyeing a pair at Madewell, but I just can't justify paying big bucks for something that is so easy to make yourself. Unfortunately, I didn't have any old jeans I could just cut (why can't my jeans ever get holes in the knees instead of the inseam??), so I decided to hit up my local thrift store. 

a great summer read

I picked up a copy of Where'd You Go, Bernadette?  recently at my local bookstore. I was looking for something light to read on a camping trip and had heard the author, Maria Semple, used to write for Arrested Development (the book's cute cover didn't hurt either). To my surprise, it turned out to be one of the most imaginative and entertaining books I've read in a long time. Semple's innovative narrative uses e-mails, letters, bills, and even F.B.I. documents to piece together the story of Bernadette Fox, a certified-genius architect turned eccentric recluse who disappears before her family's planned trip to Antarctica. Rather than just serving as a novelty, the varying formats of the story work to keep you engaged in the absurd antics of even the most unlikeable of characters. 

I like reading trashy tabloids as much as the next gal, but if I'm going to take the time to read a novel I want my trash to at least be well-written. Semple's acute observations and wry sense of humor elevate this novel far above your standard beach read. Maybe its my inner nerd, but I like to feel like I'm learning something from everything I read. The desire to learn often leads me to non-fiction, but its nice to be reminded how great fiction can trigger your imagination and pique your interest in new subjects. In the course of reading this novel, I learned quite a bit about the particulars of traveling to Antarctica, but I was too busy laughing and enjoying the story to even notice. It wasn't until after I finished it, that I found myself daydreaming about Semple's vivid descriptions of towering glaciers and icy alien landscapes. Maybe it was just the heat wave that hit us this weekend, but I feel ready to jump on the next cruise and join Bernadette and the gang on an adventure to the frozen ends of the earth.

[book photo from Barnes and Noble]