my friend eric

Reblogging this from Caught by the River. You know those older-farmer-types in Hot Fuzz that speak in practicallly unintelligble country accents?? (saying that with love you un'erstand) Well that is nothing...

My Friend Eric is the story of centenarian Eric Wortley and the agrarian tradition of East Anglia (east coast of England) that he represents. The film explores the decline of Eric's world, the importance of memory, and how this world clings to the past.

My Friend Eric is a work in progress, and the filmmaker Justin Partyka is working through the approximately 100 hours of video he has recorded. Expected to be ready for release in Summer 2010; trailer below.

here's to you cold splinters

All kidding aside, this character Roy was a real person.

Roy Cleveland Sullivan was a U.S. park ranger in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Between 1942 and 1977, Sullivan was hit by lightning on seven different occasions and survived all of them. Sullivan is recognized by Guinness World Records as the person being struck by lightning more recorded times than any other human being.

Sullivan's wife was also struck once, when a storm suddenly arrived as she was out hanging clothes in their back yard. Her husband was helping her at the time, but escaped unharmed. -via Wiki.

For instructive, factual histories of Park Rangers, the National Parks and general hiking info with a twist -head to Cold Splinters.

the odd couple -more

"Born in the Bronx on July 4, 1927, Marvin Neil Simon grew up in Manhattan and for a short time attended NYU and the University of Denver. His most significant writing job came in the early 1950s when he joined the staff of YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS, a landmark live television comedy series. Sid Caesar’s hilariously cutting-edge program had some of the best comic minds in television working for it, including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart, and Carl Reiner. “I knew,” said Simon, “when I walked into YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS, that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together.” By the 1960s, Simon had begun to concentrate on writing plays for Broadway.

Simon’s brother, Danny, who also worked on YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS, played a major role in his writing. In fact, it was Danny who provided the inspiration for one of Simon’s most enduring hits. After his divorce, Danny moved in with another divorced man, and this situation became the set-up for “The Odd Couple”.



Though Danny [Simon] had begun writing the story himself, he reached a block and eventually handed it off to [Neil] Simon who soon made it a smash on Broadway. Starring Jack Lemon and Walter Mathau, the 1968 film version was equally successful and prompted a popular television series." -via PBS.

You can read most of the play via googlebooks.

the odd couple

The poster and associated artwork for The Odd Couple (1968) was done by Robert McGinnis. Usually associated with long-legged, strong-jawed women gracing savage romance pulp novels [sign me up -ed.] McGinnis also illustrated the posters for Barbarella, Breakfast at Tiffany's and famously a slew of 007 work as well. You know it when you see it. See a large Flickr collection here.




The theme music to The Odd Couple has entered the realm of nostalgia, for me anyway... used to eat up the tv show version (Klugman/Randall) as a kid. The citified sportswriter persona of Oscar Madison was a million miles away from the adults we would meet in rural VT.

When Frank Sinatra started his own label, Reprise Records, in 1961, he persuaded [Neal] Hefti not only to arrange for him but also to become his producer. Although not keen on the production role, he liked and admired Sinatra and they made two albums together, Sinatra-Basie and Frank Sinatra And Swinging Brass (both 1962).

After this, Hefti devoted himself to film and television work. In 1966 he gained a Grammy Award for his theme to the Batman television series. His most successful scores included How To Murder Your Wife and Sex And The Single Girl (both 1964), Barefoot In The Park (1967) and The Odd Couple (1968). -via TheTelegraph

I imagine some of the older urban types reading this also associate their hi/lo style with the Felix/Oscar Syndrome [recently invented -ed.], a full description of which will be posted next week...

yard sale -orvis

Visited the Orvis flagship store last w/e. Insanity. Laquered wood, stonework and wrought iron as far as the eye can see. Not me, but they have partnered with Vanson on a leather jacket. Like the Ike shape, just not my jam. They are however carrying a load of new items that might interest as below. I have finally found a source for my Mr. Magoo millinery needs. Now if they just carried some good jeans...





FDR Magoo Hat
Barbour Moto Jacket.
Hemp/Organic cotton Chambray L/S.
Buffalo Check L/S (lightweight cotton, large gingham).
Pembroke Canoe Moccassin. Handstitched in ME, natch'.
Alden Cordovan Loafers. You could drown in the color of these.

chandler four corners -whale

Took a turn around the "new" Orvis building in Manchester VT last weekend... look at the damn thing, practically a temple to flyfishing [it is. -ed.] It is a few years old now but I'd never been inside. Serious Orvis prawn.

Bunch of stuff there not on the site; also work from Chandler Four Corners, a hooked rug maker with connections to southern VT. Treading carefully (no pun intended) here as easy to overdo it with the moose/pinecone motif of their stuff -but the whale rug was about 8 feet long, $290, and perfect use of the runner shape. Or just get the small pillow for $39...