Lillian Alling: Tenament Life in 1920s NYC

When Lillian Alling arrived on the east coast of North America in the 1920s she was part of the post-war crush of immigrants from Europe. She joined the hordes of people processed through Ellis Island seeking prosperity, a new world, or just a fresh start. Many of these newcomers would end up living in Manhatten’s Lower East Side, in what would become known as the tenements of New York.

As immigrants flowed into New York City, builders rushed to construct housing quickly and cheaply. The most cost-effective way to meet the demand for housing was to put many families in the same building. Usually made of bricks, early tenements were built side by side on narrow lots. The law defined a tenement as any house occupied by three or more families living independently and doing their own cooking on the premises. Similar to a very small apartment, a tenement flat was usually no more than two rooms with shared toilets in the hallway. One room typically served as kitchen and living space, and the other as a bedroom. Families often set up one of these rooms as a workshop as well where they laboured for long hours, sewing clothes, rolling cigars or as in the photo below, making artificial flowers for ladies’ hats.



Many of the cramped rooms lacked fresh air and light until 1901 when new laws required landlords to construct narrow airshafts between the tightly packed buildings. Strung between the tenements, clotheslines reflected the lively spirit of the poor immigrants who inhabited the neighbourhood.



The sights, sounds, and smells of many cultures blended into a dynamic and vibrant part of New York City that was composed of several neighbourhoods, notably the East Village, Kleindeutschland (Little Germany), Five Points, Little Italy and the Bowery. All these neighbourhoods were squeezed together on a section of land in lower Manhattan just fourteen miles square.

With this snapshot into the maze of the tenements of New York City, Irene’s explanation to her son Jimmy of Lillian’s arrival suddenly makes sense:

Jimmy: Where did she go? What did she do?
Irene: “I come for to be with Jozéf Nikitich!”
Jimmy: So she found him?
Irene: The address she had was “Brooklyn, USA”. It only took her a week.
Jimmy: Holy God!

Take a tour into this world by clicking on www.tenement.org

Behind-the-scenes of the Jurassic Park movies...

It's amazing what you can discover by visiting Universal Studios in Hollywood. Amongst their wonderful costume and prop exhibits they had the secret of how they created some of the dinosaur footprints in the Jurassic Park movies.

Jurassic Park dinosaur footprint shoes and stamps on display

Photographed on June 21, 2010, these are raptor and dinosaur shoes and stamps used by the crew to create dinosaur tracks on set for 1993's Jurassic Park and 1997's The Lost World movies.

Jurassic Park movie poster

Also on display was this Stegosaurus maquette used in the production of Jurassic Park: The Ride.

Jurassic Park Stegosaurus maquette

Be sure to check out more models, props and vehicles from the Jurassic Park franchise.

Buy the movies in the USA: Jurassic Park Adventure Pack (Jurassic Park/ The Lost World: Jurassic Park/ Jurassic Park III)

Jurassic Park & Lost World (Limited Collectors Edition Box Set)

Knock It Off: Saarinen Tulip Chair

Next in our series of modern knock offs is the Sarrinen Tulip Chair:

(double click the image for a larger view)

The real deal from DWR coming in at $1285

1. the inspired Tulip Side Chair at $289.99
2. the Anile Dining Chair at $283.50
3. the Cyma White Chair at $192
4. the White Plastic Side Chair at $212
5. the Retro Design Contemporary Accent Chair at $158.99
6. a modern rendition of the iconic Tulip Chair at $215
7. the Mod Side Chair at $225
8. the Modern Reproductions Tulip Chair at $149.50

Treasure Box Wednesday: Luster, Shine and Glitter

Welcome, Treasure Box Wednesday friends! How's the week been treating you so far?

It was a treat for my inner-magpie this week, when a visit to the Red, White & Blue thrift store in Bellevue, PA uncovered a trio of interesting lusterware plates!
It's been some time since I've thrifted any unique lusterware, and this stack, just sitting among the glassware, was easy to take a shine to. Given the color and style of the pieces, it got me pondering those nifty thrifty questions for which I'm unlikely to ever have the answers...

Like, were these a part of a single person's collection? What did their house look like? Were they loved and displayed? And what happened that meant these beauties made their way to the thrift store?

Then I had another pleasant surprise this week, of the non-thrifting variety, that I wanted to share with you.

One of my favorite decorating magazines is Romantic Country. While it's sometimes just a tad heavy on the floral patterns for me (I'm more of a paint instead of wallpaper gal), it's always chock full of vintage goodies and soft colors. I just wish it came out more than four times a year...
So as I was leafing through it yesterday, enjoying a morning cup of coffee, I was shocked to see someone very familiar!... The internet's Good Lady o' Glitter, Rosemary Olson...

Now, I met Rosemary online some years ago when we both discovered the same decorating and crafts forums. She's a sweet lady with a terrific eye for creating magical, whimsical-style gift and decorative items, like tiaras, wedding favors and seasonal boxes.

So I just wanted to take a moment to say, "Congratulations on the lovely magazine spread, Rosemary!" I'm so happy to see you getting the recognition you well-deserve!

Shine on! (And don't forget to wash the glitter and glue off your hands before you try to frame that great photo spread. You'll stick.) :)

You can check out Rosemary's blog-- Rose's Petite Maison-- here.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Luster, Shine and Glitter

Welcome, Treasure Box Wednesday friends! How's the week been treating you so far?

It was a treat for my inner-magpie this week, when a visit to the Red, White & Blue thrift store in Bellevue, PA uncovered a trio of interesting lusterware plates!
It's been some time since I've thrifted any unique lusterware, and this stack, just sitting among the glassware, was easy to take a shine to. Given the color and style of the pieces, it got me pondering those nifty thrifty questions for which I'm unlikely to ever have the answers...

Like, were these a part of a single person's collection? What did their house look like? Were they loved and displayed? And what happened that meant these beauties made their way to the thrift store?

Then I had another pleasant surprise this week, of the non-thrifting variety, that I wanted to share with you.

One of my favorite decorating magazines is Romantic Country. While it's sometimes just a tad heavy on the floral patterns for me (I'm more of a paint instead of wallpaper gal), it's always chock full of vintage goodies and soft colors. I just wish it came out more than four times a year...
So as I was leafing through it yesterday, enjoying a morning cup of coffee, I was shocked to see someone very familiar!... The internet's Good Lady o' Glitter, Rosemary Olson...

Now, I met Rosemary online some years ago when we both discovered the same decorating and crafts forums. She's a sweet lady with a terrific eye for creating magical, whimsical-style gift and decorative items, like tiaras, wedding favors and seasonal boxes.

So I just wanted to take a moment to say, "Congratulations on the lovely magazine spread, Rosemary!" I'm so happy to see you getting the recognition you well-deserve!

Shine on! (And don't forget to wash the glitter and glue off your hands before you try to frame that great photo spread. You'll stick.) :)

You can check out Rosemary's blog-- Rose's Petite Maison-- here.

Paradigm erm what? A word adventure.

I have been thinking again.................. I know, I know, what am I doing that for?

It all started with a simple tweet from @zebraspolkadots, and a link to her blog post Claiming A New Paradigm...For Myself. This post intrigued me, in fact just the word 'paradigm' grabbed my attention. So then she wrote this post Claiming A New Paradigm For Myself-Part 2  and finally part 3.

Paradigm is/was one of those words that registered somewhere is this brain of mine, but I wasn't sure why and it what context I had heard the word previously. So I decided to go on a google adventure of sorts, find the origin of my paradigm memory and then try to understand the context in which @zebraspolkadots intended in her posts. My brain has felt more than flabby lately and I fully admit to not knowing everything, even though at times I act like the worlds biggest smart arse. Why pretend to understand something when I plainly don't?  It is exciting and challenging learning new things,so hold onto your hats, because I may confuse you, as much as I confuse myself with this post.

First I insert 'Paradigm' into the great googly moogly and trawl through the results until I get a 'Bingo!' moment. That is when I read something that either tickles a memory and/or makes sense to me.

The bare bones definition is:

The word paradigm ( Greek:παράδειγμα (paradigma),composite from para- and the verb δείχνυμι "to show", as a whole -roughly- meaning "example") has been used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts.

A more realistic definition for me:

The most annoying and misused word in the English language; used intentionally by stupid people to sound smart or by smart people to sound unintentionally stupid. Urban Dictionary

The first thing that tickled a memory was seeing these images whilst reading about 'Paradigm Shift'

Old Woman and Young Woman My Wife and My Mother-In-Law, by the cartoonist W. E. Hill, 1915 (adapted from a picture going back at least to a 1888 German postcard)

Duck/Rabbit Source: Jastrow, J. (1899). The mind's eye. Popular Science Monthly, 54, 299-312.

Both of these images, show how you can look at the same thing and in turn 'see' two different things. Nothing about the image changes, just your perception of it. A dude called Thomas Kuhn, knows a lot more about this subject than  I do 'Paradigm Shifts'.

But that is not the paradigm you are looking for.....(said in Obi-Wan Kenobi stylee)

So on I plod in search of this elusive Paradigm definition that would make sense to me and I try not to get ahead of myself with 'paradigm shifts', before I actually know what a Paradigm really is.

It seems that I have wandered into the world of, god forbid, buzzwords... You know those horrid things that sales and marketing people love to use, as they target us poor members of the public. People really don't like buzzwords and jargon, as seen here , but underneath all the bullshit, they are metaphors that can be applied to all sorts of life situations.

Heard of the term 'Thinking outside the box' ? Did you ever wonder what the box was, what was inside that box? Well it turns out the 'box' is in fact a bloody paradigm! Who would of thunk it, that bloody box holds a lot of information. In that box a lot of things lurk, dark nasty things, like:

• The World is flat
• Creation instead of Evolution
• Moon is made of cheese
• Other evil things 

Outside the box, lives Blue Skies and all sorts of lovely things, in fact, outside the box the possibilities are endless. It even holds the key to solving the Nine Dots Puzzle! woo hoo.

So it seems, that I am in fact leaving the science behind and in fact talking about labels that people stick on you, as you plod through life. Think of yourself sat in the box, what labels, or to be fancy, what paradigms have been stuck on you?

Nobody puts Claire in a box! ( Must be said in a Patrick Swayze style R.I.P Mr Swayze)

Actually I am pretty sure people have put me in a box, in fact I have put myself in a box many times over my life. The 'I am ugly' , ' I am worthless', 'I am stupid' and 'I am fat' box, to name but a few. I also know that other people get labelled with damaging things like 'You are mental' 'You are crazy' 'You are broken' 'You are damaged goods' and I am sure you can add a shit load to that list.

People eventually accepted that the earth was not flat, does this mean that eventually people will accept that the labels you are given in this life, are not stuck on with superglue and you can rip them off. I am sure ripping the labels off can be painful, but surely once the sting has gone, the scab really heals over the wounds left by those labels and you can flick it off? Was that a scab metaphor to far? 

I created the doodle during the weekend just gone and to decided to test my twitter followers doodle guessing skills,to see if they could guess what one word prompted the above doodle, without any other information than the actual doodle itself.

After quite a few guesses, one person got it right, so I am sending them the doodle for their hard work, lucky them?

Paradigm Doodle explained: It makes sense to me and that is what really matters......

Click image to make it BIG

Other interesting and far more sensible paradigm like articles are here and here, also a fascinating video featuring Ken Robinson here (really worth a watch).

I don't know what the point of this post was really, I just found the subject rather bloody interesting and would hate to be sat in a box all alone, never to be shifted.

Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad

Summertime is most definitely chicken salad season, and I don't mean the old chicken plus mayo plus celery version. Although there's definitely nothing wrong with that. But there are SO many chicken salads out there that are a perfect fusion of all that great summer produce that (yahoo!) springing up all around us. (Remind me that I just said that in about 6 weeks when I am complaining about being surrounded by my basil.) Mediterranean Chicken Salad, with fresh string beans and tomatoes. Tarragon Chicken Salad, with the delicious sweet taste of fresh tarragon. And one of my absolute faves, Chicken Salad with Corn, Fresh Thyme and Goat Cheese Dressing. Yum, yum and yum again.

The great thing about chicken salad -- one of the great things -- is that you can throw it together in practically no time if you remember to toss a few chicken breasts on the grill every time you fire it up this summer. Bathe them in a little Italian salad dressing, or even just some olive oil and vinegar with fresh pepper, and grill them until they are just cooked, about 4-5 minutes per side. Then store them in the fridge until you are ready to use them later in the week. When chicken salad time rolls around, tear the chicken with your fingers so you have some nice bite sized pieces, and then you are ready to roll.

This particular chicken salad is loosely based on a recipe from Cooks Illustrated, and features chopped cheddar cheese, chopped apple, dried cranberries, candied walnuts and romaine lettuce, tossed with a simple viniagrette. In this case, I had a bag of mixed candied nuts left over from something, and that's what I used. (Chicken salad is all about improvisation.) Toss it all together in pretty much whatever portions you like (I like LOTS of chicken) and summertime, super-easy dinner is served!

Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad, adapted from Cooks Illustrated

• 1 pound boneless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• 1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar, cut into small cubes
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into small chunks
• 1 cup candied or spiced walnuts (or any variety of nuts that you like)
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Dressing

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 shallot, peeled
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil

1. Process all dressing ingredients except oil in food processor until shallot and garlic are finely chopped. Add oil and continue to process until emulsified.

2. Combine all salad ingredients and toss with 1/2 to 3/4 cup dressing. Divide salad among plates and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Lillian Alling: The Land Is Large

Lillian Alling is the story of a woman who walks from New York City to Vancouver and beyond, alone and driven by a motive shrouded in mystery. In John Estacio's original score for the work, we hear the chaos of Ellis Island, the jump and sway of New York City, and in a key piece of music we'll discuss today, the joy and wonder of the wide open land.

"With 'The Land Is Large', I wanted to convey Lillian's enjoyment of the countryside. Despite the fact that she is all alone on her journey and with the fear and trepidation that accompanies undertaking such a trek, she still marvels at her surroundings," says Estacio.



"Having composed a few operas already, I've learned that the scenic design in my mind always ends up costing ten times more than the budget allows," says Estacio. "So instead of imagining what the scene will look like on stage, I focus on the emotions and the motivations of the characters -- what is going on inside of these individuals while they're on stage as opposed to what the scenery looks like around them."

The land is large and smooth and green.
I hear many birds, I hear no war.
Such quiet I have not heard before…
A place of questions, not answers,
Of mistakes they do not call sins.
Here nothing,
Nothing is ending.
Everything,
Everything begins!

The sample attached to this post is from a recording made early in the composition process with just a piano. So how do we get from this simple piano and vocal version to the final product we'll hear at the world premiere?

"Once I've finished the piano/vocal score, I start at the beginning again and write all the orchestral music. It's probably not the most efficient way to write an opera, but it works for me," smiles Estacio. The additional material in the score are the orchestral 'sound effects' and new rhythmic figures that enhance the sense of Lillian's motion as she walks along her path.

"What you do hear in the sample already is a moment when Lillian refers to the telegraph wires that she is following on her journey," he points out, "At that point there is a quick little burst of telegraphic rhythms from the piano (2:45) -- a short foreshadowing to the music that occurs later in Act 1 when we meet the telegraph operators, including Scotty Macdonald."

We've just received the first act score from John with all the orchestration and we are thrilled and excited by what we see and can hear in our mind's ear as we gather around the table to read over it. We think you will be too. So please have a listen to this sneak sample of 'The Land Is Large' from our upcoming world premiere opera Lillian Alling, music by John Estacio and libretto by John Murrell.

Please join us in October to see how it all comes together.


~ Image Source

felt + sidewalk catwalk.

(photos courtesy of sidewalk catwalk.)

kelly and i were so excited when material connexion contacted filzfelt to be involved in the fashion center's sidewalk catwalk. the mannequins were unveiled last thursday and rachel roy and rebecca moses used our felt in their designs. you can see all the mannequins here. yay fashion and yay felt!

felt + sidewalk catwalk.

(photos courtesy of sidewalk catwalk.)

kelly and i were so excited when material connexion contacted filzfelt to be involved in the fashion center's sidewalk catwalk. the mannequins were unveiled last thursday and rachel roy and rebecca moses used our felt in their designs. you can see all the mannequins here. yay fashion and yay felt!

Hoverboard props from Back to the Future II on display...

Remember back in 1989 when the coolest thing was the 'hoverboard', flying skateboards, that Michael J. Fox uses as 'Marty McFly' in Back to the Future II?

If you do, you'll love these photos of two of the hoverboard props featured in the time-traveling sequel. Apparently it's what all the kids will be riding in 2015.

Original hoverboard props from Back to the Future II

The red and white 'Rising Sun' design was used in the movie by 'Whitey' played by Jason Scott Lee and the 'No Tech Knowhow' hoverboard belonged to 'Data' played by Ricky Dean Logan.

Back to the Future II movie poster

Also on display at Universal Studios Hollywood on June 21, 2010 was this other vision of the future, what designers thought a Mustang car may look like in 2015 back in the late eighties.

Mustang miniature model from Back to the Future II

Make sure you also check out more miniatures and cars from the Back to the Future movies here at Hollywood Movie Costumes and Props.

Buy the Back to the Future movies in the USA: Back to the Future - The Complete Trilogy [Blu-ray]

Back to the Future Part II

Back to the Future - The Complete Trilogy (Widescreen Edition)

spiro 5 circles hair-clip.

spiro 5 circles hair-clip by miette.

spiro 5 circles hair-clip.

spiro 5 circles hair-clip by miette.

Target Bedding

Last week I mentioned on Twitter that my mom picked up some bedding I had been eyeing at Target for me at 75% off. I was super excited, but when I got it home I remembered that I hadn't even used the Liberty of London for Target bedding I has just bought yet. . . and I realized that Emmett and Elsie's nightly battle on my bed had torn up my sheets. So there I was with two quilts and no sheets - what's a girl to do? Well this girl went back to Target and bought some deep purple organic sheets. . . so now I have two quilts, dark purple sheets, and light aqua walls. . .

It doesn't look to bad when you put them all together virtually, but I'm a bit worried about how it will come off in real life. . .

As for the two quilts, for now I think I'll just interchange them, and come winter I'll layer them both:

Lillian Alling: Trainspotting

In the opera Lillian Alling, Lillian finds herself somewhere in the great expanse of the midwest in the summertime, and encounters another traveller on her trip to "North of Dakota". Asking how she might get there and how far it might be, he replies that she might want to hop a freight train passing by to speed her journey.

How are we going to get a freight train on stage? Just you wait and see...

In the 1920's it would not have been unusual to find a person riding the rails by illegially and secretly jumping onto a passing train and hiding in or on the freight cars. It had been a common practice as far back as the Civil War and would rise dramatically with the onset of the Great Depression (1929-1939).

Our opera takes place before the Great Depression, but at a time when cross country travel was mostly via train, rather than automobile, bus or certainly air travel. At the time, rail travel would not have been cheap (comparatively) and it would be very unlikely that Lillian could have afforded it. However, it would not have been uncommon for a number of itinerant workers to "hop a freight" while trying to make it from one job to another, often following the harvest cycles. These travellers were often known as "hobos".

Hobos, tramps and bums - there's a difference!
There's actually a hierarchy of nomenclature for the itinerant worker of no fixed address. A Hobo is a travelling worker of no fixed address outside of a work camp associated with a job (usually agricultural). A Tramp is a travelling homeless person who will work if forced to gain food or shelter. A Bum is a person with neither home nor intention to work who will rely on handouts to get by. All three would commonlly ride the rails from place to place during the time period of the opera. It's estimated that at the time of our opera there would have been between 500,000 and 700,000 hobos on the rails, making Lillian's fictional encounter a very likely one in real life. Even today, it is believed that at least 20,000 people still live the hobo lifestyle, and in Britt, Iowa there is an annual National Hobo Convention to celebrate and assist those who have chosen to "decide your own life".


How to hop a freight
First of all -- don't. It's illegal and very dangerous. The days of slow moving, open sided covered box cars are long gone. Today's trains are faster, heavier, intermodal containers or lorries with open bottoms. Hopping a freight is illegal in all states (and presumably all provinces) and trespassing on rail property carries a heavy fine and/or jail time. Many a hobo lost life or limb falling under the wheels of a train car, getting smashed between cars or their couplings, or ending up dead from hypothermia or suffocation after getting trapped inside a car.

But if you simply must try it - check here for some tips

Hobo Lingo
Over the decades a colourful slang of its own developed amongst those riding the rails. Here's some fun ones you might want to learn (full list here):

Angellina - an inexperienced kid
Bull - a rail officer, to be avoided at all costs
Cannonball - a fast train
Flip - to board a moving train
Grease the Track - to be run over by a train
Reefer - a contraction of "refrigerated car"
Catch the Westbound - to die

"That Angellina tried to flip a cannonball to get away from that bull, but instead he greased the tracks under the reefer and caught the westbound."

"Trainspotting"
As a headline for this post, it makes a great word, especially since the film. However, strictly speaking, what Lillian does in the opera is "freight hopping" and not "trainspotting", which is the practice of documenting sightings of trains as a hobby.


Homework
Watch a fantastic film called Emperor of the North, starring Lee Marvin, Earnest Borgnine and a young Keith Carradine. In it, Lee Marvin tries to ride Earnest Borgnine's train all the way to Portland to win a bet, all the while trying to shake young Carradine, a wannabe hobo. It's got fightin' and cussin' and a good deal of silliness, plus a fantastic climactic fight at the very end. Directed by Robert Aldrich in 1973, it is a gem and well worth seeking out. (In Vancouver you can get it a Happy Bats Cinema)

~ all images from Emperor of the North, Lee Marvin, Lee Marvin (again), and a really scary looking Ernest Borgnine

i'm not mad.

i'm not mad by kotama bouabane.

i'm not mad.

i'm not mad by kotama bouabane.

Michelle Yeoh's costume from The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor...

In the third installment of The Mummy movie franchise from 2008, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Michelle Yeoh plays 'Zi Juan' an immortal enemy of the villainous 'Emperor Han'.

Original movie costume and prop display from

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

This colourful and wonderfully ornate original costume that the actress wears in the final battle scenes in the movie was photographed on display at Universal Studios Hollywood on June 21, 2010.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor movie poster

Sanja Milkovic Hays was responsible for costume design on this movie and was nominated for a Costume Designers Guild Award in 2009 for her work on The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Zi Juan costume worn by Michelle Yeoh in The Mummy 3

This Oracle Bones Book prop used by Michelle Yeoh in the movie was also displayed as part of the exhibit.

Be sure to check out all the other costumes and props from The Mummy movies here at Hollywood Movie Costumes and Props.

Oracle Bones Book movie prop from

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Buy the movie in the USA: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Deluxe Edition) [Blu-ray]

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Two Disc Deluxe Edition)