On "Giraffes on Horseback Salad: The Strangest Movie Never Made!": A Book Review

Title: Giraffes on Horseback Salad
Authors: Salvador Dalí adapted by Josh Frank with Tim Heidecker
Illustrator: Manuella Pertega
Genre: Graphic Novel, Film History, Fiction, and Non-Fiction (bits and pieces of each)

About the Book...
In the 1930's, Surrealist Salvador Dalí and actor Harpo Marx met in Paris striking up a friendship that would ultimately inspire Dalí to write a Surrealist script staring Harpo and including his brothers. In 1937, this script was presented to Louis B. Mayer of MGM Pictures by Dalí and Harpo, but was not well revived and was left to history.  

It was this script that Josh Frank set out to track down and present in the form of a graphic novel, presenting several "Shorts" and a "Newsreel"  that trace its history, the "Feature Presentation" which is a love story between a man named Jimmy and the Woman Surreal, and an "Exhibition" that follows showing pages from Dalí's notebooks and concept art for the creation of this book. 

What I Think...
I don't generally read graphic novels, so I can't really compare this to anything and considering its basis I'm not sure I would be able to anyway because the story is so unique.  
I really loved the breakdown of the book and that the table of contents was referred to a Program with each section being, as described above, a part of a moviegoer's experience in the 1930's.  

As expected, the story is all over the place encompassing classic Marx Brothers' humor, mostly from Groucho and Chico, and then having dreamlike and sometimes near nightmarish quality as far as the rest of the story is concerned. Interestingly, Harpo who is "cast" as Jimmy has dialogue throughout the "film," which I was having a hard time imagining, since the automatic thing that comes to mind with him lack of talking and a lot of honking. 

The artwork is incredibly surreal and in some cases is overwhelming, but it really captures the nature of the story. Parts of it are in monotone, whereas other portions, usually those involving the Woman Surreal, are brightly colored adding to the zany nature of what's occurring.

To Sum it All Up...
A truly bizarre and absurd book, as expected in that Dali's script is the source for it and that it was written with the Marx Brothers in mind, that is not for everyone, but that is well worth the read if you're interested in surrealism, Dali, or the Marx Brothers. ♥️ 

On Some Newspaper Clippings from the 70's: A Photo Post

I was going through a box of old papers today that included quite a few newspaper clippings with mention of family members and found myself equally delighted by the backs of them. 

This outdoor art show included "artists in action" and the exciting "Sculpey," which think is referring to polymer clay. 

Buy some cutlery, stainless cookware, or a rocker recliner for the holidays.

Longhorn cheese anyone or sliced fresh beef liver, anyone?  

And from what can only possibly be a school newspaper (this one is dated 1978), some teen advice and requests for magazine replacements.

 

Apparently Hot Rod, Car Craft, Seventeen, and Consumer Reports were popular enough not to return to the library. 

 ♥️ ♥️ ♥️

On "Everything Alice": A Book Review

Title: Everything Alice
Authors: Hannah Read-Baldrey and Christine Leech
Genre: Arts and Crafts

About the Book...
An instructional book that presents 50 crafts inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

What I Think...
This is a fun book that really covers a lot of ground when it comes to the variety of crafts included and the various skill sets crafters might have. Some of the things are very simple like paper doll pages to copy and then paste on cardboard and tips for egg decorating (you know, just in case you feel like making Humpty Dumpty), but it also includes things like recipes so you can have your own tea party, decorations you can make, and sewing patterns for things like  character inspired aprons, an Alice envelop pillows, a March Hare teapot cozy, and lavender dormice (the ones I made are below, though I skipped the lavender). 

In the case of each project, supplies are fully listed at the beginning including amount needed, which is helpful in comparison to just being presented with what supply you need (a major pet peeve of mine), and the instructions are presented in an easy to understand manner and when necessary lovely photos accompany them. The only thing I wish was different was that instead of being bulleted that the steps were numbered.  

The book itself is a pleasure to flip through with appealing images gracing just about every page. Most of the crafts are accompanied by the original illustrations and quotes from the Alice books that relate to the items being made or baked. There are also fun little write ups such as how to play croquet Wonderland style, a Tweedles' newspaper page, and other "ads".

To Sum it All Up...
A fun book for those who are fans of Carroll's Alice books and who love to craft! ♥️

On 'The Romance of Musical Bon Bons: Concert in Vienna': An Album Cover Story

Introducing a new series of posts to the blog that I'm referring to as "Album Cover Stories," in which I will write a brief and probably silly story inspired by record album covers in my collection! 

Jean and George were frightfully fond of going to the amusement park in Vienna. Every Saturday they would shellac and starch their hair in preparation for the gusty winds they would face on the ferris wheel and set out with joy in their hearts knowing that nary a hair would move as they rode through the sky. 

Following their ride--and with still perfect hair--they would make their way to a little cafe around the corner. Those who saw them there always commented on how in love they must be. However, little did they know that as Jean and George stared into one another's eyes they were each wishing the other would leave so there would be more room at the tiny table the waitress had deemed large enough to leave an entire tea service and dessert platter on.

♥ ♥ ♥