Last night I finished watching video recordings of the very last of the Inspector Frost series ("A Touch of Frost"), which ran on the BBC through 2010. That's fifteen seasons, folks. A lot of TV. And most of it was first rate: the very high quality of the videography, the well-rounded interesting characters, the humor, the great writing, and the gorgeous soundtrack. I think the reason it holds up so well over so many seasons is that more than one writer wrote the episodes; that kept it fresh. David Jason is compelling as the irascible inspector, and the rest of the cast is also wonderful.
A really funny thing happened toward the end of the broadcasts—I started seeing Downton Abbey characters in the Frost episodes. A little younger, and in modern dress, but the same actors. There may have been more, but here are the three I recognized: Joanne Froggatt (Anna, the housemaid and ladies' maid in Downton); Lesley Nicol, (Mrs. Patmore, the cook in Downton); and Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes, the housekeeper in Downton). Ms. Logan was Frost's love interest in the final episode of A Touch of Frost; it was quite a shock to see the prim and proper Mrs. Hughes as an attractive fortyish lady in a long black wig.
On the weaving front, here is a crepe draft with color added. I think this particular draft for 32 shafts would be a great one for featuring special yarns at certain points in the threading. I had fun playing around with it. This is my favorite version (click to embiggen):
Spring, the best time of the year in the Piedmont (and in all of South Carolina, actually) is upon us, calendar be damned. On my walk this morning the birds were in a frenzy of song. I'd like to share the experience with you:
My neighborhood is criscrossed with streams, all of which are running high after all the recent rains. They make beautiful music. Here's one of them, in a photo and a sound file:
I seem to be caught in a balancing act between physical books and ebooks. I enjoy reading ebooks, and have read over half a dozen in the past year (The most recent is Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding. Loved it.). I also enjoy reading physical books, but I find them harder to hold comfortably, particularly the ones whose print runs into the gutter areas of the spine. What finally tips the contest in favor of ebooks, for me, is that I can make the print bigger in an ebook. That's a great thing, especially for "a person who has a certain number of birthdays," as my optometrist coyly states.
Yes, I see the wave of the future. More ebooks, fewer physical books. So here I am, very much behind the curve, launched wholeheartedly into an obsessive pastime of bookmaking. Go figure.
Here's the batch completed today:
While we're talking about books, you might like to see this video. It's an amazing stop-motion animation shot in a real live bookstore, with "real" books. Thanks, Jim, for sending me this one.
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em…(Kenny Rogers, please forgive me.)
The following picture is courtesy of Bruce. It documents what I've been doing in the studio the past few days. I tore down 50 sheets of 21" by 30" Frankfurt paper (by Zerkall of Germany) into signatures for 16+ books. There are certain economies of scale when you organize things this way, and the time did go by rather pleasantly, as the repetitive motions are conducive to thinking and planning. While folding and tearing, I caught up on my favorite knitting podcastsand a podcast on the history of Japan. And then there was the live broadcast from the Met on Saturday—La Fille du Régiment.An enjoyable couple of days.
Now there is this to show for the time spent (my favorite hand carved bone folder is in the foreground):
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Do yourselves a favor and watch this video. Laurie is a writer, and this is the story of the creation of her "Mad Woman in the Forest" cottage. Enthralling.
Yesterday I drove up to Hendersonville with some fellow photographers for the North Carolina Apple Festival. It was mostly a street fair, but yes, there were some apples, and apple tarte…
…and fresh lemonade, and the most beautiful Greek salad…
Some people preferred Italian ices, and others took time out to rest their feet and make a phone call…
In the department of personal adornment, there were some interesting hairdos, and face-painting in progress…
Everyone seemed to be having a good time, except for maybe this guy…
There were stripes in abundance…
…and hobby horses…
…and dinosaur marionettes.
After lunch we checked out the W.N.C. Air Museum, a little private museum with a collection of lovingly restored (and functional) planes. To my delight, there were plenty of opportunities for photographing stripes…
…and tucked off in a corner I found a stacks of aviation-related books, some awaiting cataloging…
…and this very strange scene, which I am utterly unable to explain.
If you're still with me after the barrage of photos, here is your reward: a little video of an ornithopter, captured at the Apple Festival:
