Best Blogs: Morbid Anatomy

I love a macabre gal who isn't afraid of a carcass or two. Brooklynite photographer/graphic designer Joanna Ebenstein has pulled together an incredible visual collection of Morbid Anatomy on her wonderful blog. The Museum of Natural History tapped her to scan and retouch their archival images of their toiling taxidermists and visitors for the incredible online exhibition, "Picturing the Museum: Education and Exhibition at The American Museum of Natural History" (these are three of the shots). Check out the exhibit, her posts and her blog roll. Treasures all around.

Olympics Countdown: The Flying Scotsman

Eric Liddell, the fast, fervently god-fearing man you all know from this.

(Painting by Eileen Soper, 1925)

Olympics Countdown: Markku Lahdesmaki's China Series

L.A.-based Finish photographer Markku Lahdesmaki landed a first prize in Communication Arts' annual photo contest for his China series. It's post-Communist Communist Chic at its best. He also makes farm life quite alluring in his Personal Project 4.

All images © Markku Lahdesmaki

The Leather Campaign (Bed)

It's loveliness speaks for itself, but the dealer doesn't speak the price. Available at Craig Van Den Brulle on Elizabeth Street.

An Itty, Bitty Preview of the September VF Cover

Imagine the hysteria if French (ok, Italian) women started wearing British clothing? Well, let the games begin. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy looking very un-horsey in equestrian garb on the September cover of Vanity Fair. (Editorial Note: I'm not exactly in favor of all the purple the designers (Galliano) have been throwing at the gal lately. She looks damned good in tan (or in jeans...or potato sacks)).

Straight Edge: F.S.C. Barber Opens in the West Vil

Even boys with handlebar mustaches need to tend (or have someone else tend) to their cheeks and chins. This Thursday, the gents at Freeman's Sporting Club will start lathering up the lads in the West Village. The patrons will sit in chairs similar to the eastern outpost's, but sit under a more deco ceiling.

The folks at Urban Daddy report: If you've been to the shop in the back of Freemans Sporting Club, you know what to expect, but this spot throws in a few curveballs, like custom-made ivory straight razors carved from 10,000-year-old mammoth tusk, courtesy of Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons. Another new trick—soon to expand to the sporting club—is the Hangover Remedy, a hot towel followed by enough scented washes to clear away every trace of last night's excesses. Just don't call it a facial.

F.S.C. Barber, 5 Horatio St (at W. 4th and 8th Ave), 212-929-3917

British men. Polo. In the Sand. 'Nuff Said.

Six teams of men in white pants took to their horses and the sand for the first British Beach Polo Championships on July 11-12 in Sandbanks, Poole, Engerland.

Back-to-School Basics: J.Crew

Oh, how I loved back-to-school shopping. Back-to-work shopping would be just as nice if one was to have taken advantage of that very important something to come back from. However, even if one doesn't get such a break, nothing is holding us back from the shopping bits (or stocking up on new pencils). A few picks from the Crew. (The boys' stuff was fairly status quo).

Selima for J.Crew aviator sunglasses, $275

I appreciate these little arm extensions. Most jackets make us Hovey gals look like we have Herman Munster arms with those wimpy sleeve lengths.

Herringbone école jacket, $198

Lulu leather ballet flats, $160

Matthew Goode Lounges Around the Manor In Pricey Tweeds For Zoe Cassavetes and the New York Times Magazine (and Some Very Good News for The Burg)

Matthew Goode takes a break from mooning over those fancy Flytes in The New York Times Magazine this weekend. I, apparently the world's worst business traveler, remained in recovery mode all weekend (re-watching season 1 of Mad Men) and couldn't muster the energy to dispatch myself to BAM to see the actual film, but I hear from a couple movie buffs that it was quite fun (The Times' A.O. Scott found it more "tedious, confused and banal"). These movie buffs also shared some extremely welcoming, over-due news: they plan to open an art house movie theatre right around the corner from me in Williamsburg! Note to all non-New Yorkers, Brooklyn is the city in which movie theaters went to die. There are roughly one million residents per screen these days...and that may be an understatement. Hipsters rejoice!

Back East

It always drove me a bit nuts when my dad would go on about going "Baaack East." Well, I finally am, and so thankful for the rest that awaits. The Texan and Northern Cal travels were, well, exhausting (though the San Francisco near-sweater weather was beyond a treat). But I did have a couple hours (laden with luggage) to swing by the Mission before catching the red eye back. Was lucky enough to catch this guy flying down Valencia in this amazing toy, complete with leather straps! If one is to drive a vintage convertible around San Francisco without a helmet, the second best thing is to carve a helmet (and a chin strap!) shape out of your hair. 

Texas (then Frisco) Bound

2001-2003 were my cowboy years. I say cowboy because the look - given my hatred of all things frilly - was far more Ralph Lauren/Levi's/t-shirt than Annie Oakley. I obsessed over cowboy hipsters, cowboy tunes and cowboy boots. At one point, I got up to about 14 pairs of the latter. Last year, I gave many away to Ferd IV, fiddler in the wonderful Hackensaw Boys, so I may need to restock. This pair of Tony Lamas are goin' for 10 bucks. Perhaps I'll start there. (Editorial Note: Off Dallas for the day job tomorrow and Wednesday, then on to San Francisco...hopefully with time to post along the way!)

The Patient Pope

Nothing's harder than painting a bunch of feathers. I just started going wild with random dots and stripes after about 10 minutes during my last attempt.  Looks like Alexander Pope, Jr. had a tad bit more patience.  His Hanging Grouse is expected to fetch $3,000 to $5,000 in a live auction Tuesday.

Spectacular Street Specs

Unless they've got a prescription in 'em, I never pay more than $10 for sunglasses -- a good thing since most pairs end up smashed at the bottom of one of the 6 purses I rotate. However, these three pairs deserve special treatment -- be it the side pocket or even a glasses case for the especially diligent days. The top two were from a vendor on Prince Street right off Broadway and the others, which look like they came from Marni, actually fell into my hands in Washington Square Park. All just 10 bucks a pop. (And yes, just another day of modesty at Casa Hovey). Oh! Porter's bathing suit looks a lot like this one, but she picked up hers at Old Navy. The stripes are J.Crew and the Balenciaga knock off you can't see at all at the bottom is H+M. Editorial Note: Despite the bob and the bathing suit, Porter hates small men and is not obsessed with Katie Holmes (publicly).

Acquisitions: Bag with Major Brass

There it is. My new little pride and joy from Luddite. (Sitting atop my other pride and joy zebra skin rug).

Luddite Lovin'

After laboring for most of the morning, I decided to brave the blistering heat and accompany Porter on a little stroll in the name of her new, delightful polaroid project. On the way up Broadway, we stumbled upon a treasure trove, Luddite, a brand new store, selling well aged things.  Perfect things, actually. I picked up an absolutely wonderful gladstone/doctor's bag with incredible brass hardware (will show that off next!).

Luddite, 27 Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

 

All photos (and countless others) from www.porterpolaroidproject.com

Me, Expressing Travel Woes in the Sunday Times

Due to the economic anxieties associated with flying around and/or renting a car and driving a couple hours, Porter and I have not visited Babingon House or the Hotel Nimb in person, deciding instead to stay firmly in place, acting like tourists in our own town (the Bronx! Woo!). Click here to read Alex Williams' wonderful New York Times piece on many people's recent travel woes, including a few complaints from me. Quite a nice outlet for complaining, I must say!

Coveting Calvet

I tried my hand at furniture making in college - and adored it. I laminated together a few boards and carved a banana leaf to ergonomically fit my back. For the main support, I welded a semi-cube shape (two sides open for sitting purposes) out of industrial steel square pipes. And then I attempted to needlepoint a leopard-print cushion. Never finished that. I did finish college, however, and brought the whole thing to New York in pieces. Unfortunately, that steel cube was .25 inches too big from all angles to fit into my first miniature studio apartment. So much for that chair. These are a prime example of a designer (architect) paying a bit more attention to his designs' eventual surroundings. Around 1905, Antonio Gaudí designed this chair and bench for Casa Calvet, one of his architectural marvels in Barcelona. Today, BD Ediciones is recreating them for a lucky few who probably (probably not -- see prices below) live in slightly less marvelous homes. The chair and the bench can be yours for $10,482 and $27,059, respectively. (The chair made it into Vogue this month).

Destinations: Babington House

If ever seeking shelter in Somerset (some day when things aren't so £-heavy), they may let you hang your hat at this humble abode. It's a part of SoHo House, but they will open the door for the occasional plebe.  

The House Bar (pictured) for one kind of relaxation...or at the Cowsend spa for another.

Or have fun playin' in The Playroom...

...with the claw foot tub AND fireplace!

Intelligent -- AND Leisurely

When you couple my crippling issues with books with my absolute abhorance of academic paper writing, it's no surprise that I've never had intentions of spending another day in a classroom. That's not to say that I'm not wildly interested in appearing brilliant and interesting to speak to at parties. Lucky for me, M.I.T. is helping classroom phobes the world over seem like the smartest person in the room. With a couple clicks of a mouse and a few purchases on Amazon (and no tuition fees whatsoever), you can honestly go around dropping bombs like, "we talk about this all the time in my Statistical Thermodynamics of Complex Liquids class at M.I.T." That phrase alone will intimidate all comers so wildly that they'll believe anything you say thereafter -- even if you never crack open one of those Amazon-purchased books. If you're less of an ADD-afflicted phony, you may actually learn a thing or two about Detective Mystery Best Sellers, the British royal family from the Hanovers to QEII or even those pesky enumerative combinatorics.

Acquisitions: New, Quite Large Tortoise Specs

I could've chosen to get all gussied up to show you all my newest pair of specs, but that would've been wildly vain. Instead, you get me unwashed, with head scarf, sans makeup on the G train coming back from Coney Island (where my eyes accidentally - and unfortunately - landed on an elderly, deeply tanned man in a very small thong performing leg lifts from the on-hands-and-knees position...if only I hadn't been wearing my glasses!). The frames were $10 on Ebay...the lenses, once they talked me into all those coatings, rang in around $300, causing quite a shock to the ole system. But I do love them.

Comfortably Nimb

It's not so often that we Americans get grand hotels with on-site dairies at our amusement parks. It's not so often that the Danes get grand hotels in their capital (with the exception of the Hotel Skt Petri and the fun, yet tiny Hotel Fox). The new Hotel Nimb in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens fills all sorts of bills - it's grand, it's full of high quality touches and yes, it houses an on-site dairy. The exterior is a bit Moorish whacky and the highly-touristy Tivoli makes the bustle outside a bit Times Squarish, but it's Scandinavian perfection within and the food looks divine. The blokes at Monocle talk to the owner in front of a roaring fireplace.

Family Photos: Hoveys at the Beach

An extremely tan and thin grandma Armene with dad and his grandparents, early '50s (probably California).

There's grandpa Hov in Honolulu in '36 with some excellent belted speedos.

A less brawny gramps five years prior...again in Hawaii.

More of the speedos - 1936.

The whole clan on the boat over to Hawaii on the '36 trip.

An even earlier trip across the Pacific in the late '20s.

A gal named Mol, '36.

Hov and Dotty at Viareggio, Italy, 1937

Hov, Dotty and Ed, Viareggio, '37