In Holesovice Prague 7, in the year 1997, permanently parked in front of our building there was a Trabant. It was a beautiful matte burgundy colour with a vivid green plaid interior. Close your eyes and imagine a burgundy plastic car with a multi-green plaid interior. Someone made that, they looked at the burgundy and said to themselves ‘You know what would make a great interior…’.
A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness
(Endymion, John Keats. 1884)
(Paintings by Lawrence Alma-Tadema)
-N.
I love this opening scene from Bright Star. The hands at work in the deep blue morning light, cutting and sewing the linen together, with the marvelous close-up of the needle and thread moving elegantly. The music is also just so exquisite.
“ Beauty is truth, truth beauty,
- that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”
(Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats, 1819)
All images via Production Scrapbook of Bright Star, a film by Jane Campion (2009).
Roger Fenton (20 March 1819 – 8 August 1869) was a pioneering British photographer, best known for his pictures of the Crimean War, which were the first extensive photographic documents of a war. Fenton, who spent fewer than four months in the Crimea (March 8 to June 26, 1855), produced 360 photographs under extremely trying conditions.
*****
Strange face, with your eyes
So pale and sincere.
Underneath you know well
You have nothing to fear.
For the dreams that came to you when so young
Told of a life
Where spring is sprung.
You would seem so frail
In the cold of the night
When the armies of emotion
Go out to fight.
But while the earth sinks to its grave
You sail to the sky
On the crest of a wave.
So forget this cruel world
Where I belong
I’ll just sit and wait
And sing my song.
And if one day you should see me in the crowd
Lend a hand and lift me
To your place in the cloud.
Original song written by Nick Drake
“Cello Song” by The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
-N.
Ice hockey is an incredible obsession for Canadians. They had a terrific day yesterday.
I’m not Canadian nor a hockey fan, but I had no choice but to enjoy the exciting moment especially when the Winter Olympics were here in Vancouver. Yesterday I could not be more thrilled to watch the men’s ice hockey final (Canada vs USA). After Canada got the spectacular Gold win, the entire city just exploded. Blowing car horns and chanting noises immediately spread all over the place, and that easily pulled our curiosity to dive into the downtown madness (see the video clips).
Hi everyone,
Please forgive me for the long absence from Lark About. It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t feeling guilty not being able to update this blog for the whole week. This Hunter’s face shows how I’m feeling. (I’m not just hungry.)
I’m back now.
-N.
I’ll admit that this made me a bit misty eyed. Tom Brokaw is one of my favourite news castors.
-Veronika
-N.
This fur collar (the top picture) is my little design collaboration I did with Tannis Hegan. Tannis collects an incredible amount of vintage fur and handcrafts these fabulous earmuffs, and I knew she was the one to talk to when I was searching for what I had pictured in my head. Then it really happened 
(Above: Women playing hockey. Toronto, Canada. 1910)
![[1921women.jpg]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_awtafni6vMw/SdK0Kiktf4I/AAAAAAAACp4/I-872Byczj0/s1600/1921women.jpg)
(Above: A girls ice hockey team in 1921)
The history of women’s ice hockey goes back over 100 years.
Lady Isobel Stanley, daughter of Lord Stanley of Preston’s (Canada’s Governor General at the time), was a pioneer in the women’s game and is one of the first females to be photographed using puck and stick (around 1890) on the natural ice rink at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. By the early 1900s, women’s teams were common throughout most of the Canadian provinces. They were still required to wear the long skirts, which could be helpful at times. Players were able to crouch in front of their goalie with the hems of their skirts spread out and no shot was able to get past them to score a goal. (More info here.)
