Saturday, December 28, 2013

Alarums and Excursions


So there we were last night, the four of us, two large and two small, sleeping quietly in our little room...

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Mamie Christmas!



What does it say about me that one of reasons I treasure the holidays - not a major one, granted, but an annual moment to cherish nonetheless - is the opportunity to appreciate again the Eisenhower's 1960 Christmas card?

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Monday, December 16, 2013

Distinctly Not a Fruitcake



In many ways, I truly don't feel like the holidays are upon us until I've seen this a few [dozen] times.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Shameless Saturday Camp Explosion: Accept No Substitutes



"...the Camp sensibility is one that is alive to a double 
sense in which some things can be taken." 
- Susan Sontag, "Notes on Camp"

In the recent televisual Sound of Music, Poor Miss Carrie Underwood was given the unenviable task of filling the shoes of the likes of Miss Martin and Miss Andrews.  The phenomenon is hardly new.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

File Under "Architectural Ornamentation, Unlikely"


The dogs and I, in the course of our daily 6:00 a.m. morning constitutional (a time I generally devote to heartily missing the Villa Muscato's small but exceedingly convenient garden, a household feature that rendered 6:00 a.m. morning constitutionals an extremely rare feature of life), regularly pass this formidable gentleman.

Monday, December 9, 2013

My Head So High Above the Clouds


If you remember this song from childhood, and then remember being surprised/annoyed/bereft when it suddenly disappeared from the annual broadcast, you're probably about my age, more or less two-score-and-ten.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Shameless Sunday Camp Explosion: The Divine


Taste has no system and no proofs.
- Susan Sontag, "Notes on Camp"

Since it's Bette Midler's birthday, herewith, Dear Readers, a gift for you.