The Studio

At the turn of twentieth century, The Studio was a premier artist publication. Of course, the fact that it was Beardsley has endeared to my heart forever.
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Allowing each other to visit our studios isn't always easy. Many days we field tons of questions on what goes on behind the scenes.
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To that end, I have finally succumbed and joined the LiveJournal community. I encourage your participation in it and your friendship.
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You can find my journal here: http://catcara.livejournal.com

The Orphanage

One friend said this summer, "I've been sending prayers of thanks daily for the creator of the air conditioner. I don't know who that person is, but I am ever so grateful for his existence."
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That's the way I feel about Guillermo del Toro. All the time, when I watch his films, I say, "Thank god for del Toro. What would we be watching without him?"
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From the creator of our beloved Pan's Labyrinth, comes this ghost story.
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Reach for the wine and the popcorn and enjoy.

Glass Books of the Dream Eaters

One day, a friend said, "What are you reading?" And I told them. The response was, "You're reading WHAT??!" I said, "What's the problem?" They said, "The problem is that only you would find books like this."

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Okay. I like books like this. In fact, I loved this book.

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Lovers of steam punk may also very well love this book.

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It is set in a fictitious Victorian city, at an undisclosed period in time. It begins with a masked ball at a mansion. There are horses and heroines, heroes and books. Gowns galore. The books are genuinely made of indigo glass.

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It is a rollicking old fashioned Gothic adventure. At a whopping eight hundred or so pages in first edition hardcover, it is not for the physically weak.

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The book was serialized in the old fashioned Dickens sense. There is also a sequel that is currently out.

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Visit its site at: http://www.glassbooks.co.uk/launch.html?

Maple Grove

This car will be at the track at Maple Grove this weekend.
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Particularly if you're a Vet and you're in Pennsylvania, you might want to check it out. After all, theBrothers have dedicated its doors to you.
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One hundred percent of the donations given to theBrothers as they are fundraising and raising awareness for American Veterans is given to The Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project is a 501c(3) recognized charitable organization. TheBrothers also have requested that if know that you are planning to make a donation while at the racetrack, that if possible, you do so with a personal check made out to "The Wounded Warrior Project".
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TheBrothers run their race car solely with funds derived from their own incomes. TheBrothers paid for the doors, supporting the Project, with their own money.
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If you are an American Vet and you require assistance, please contact: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

For additional track meets where you can expect to see this high interest car, visit: www.neto-nostalgia.org . There's still time to join NETO for the year and attend their annual picnic and seasonal banquet. A "car" is not required for membership.

Spotlight on Orchid

Well, that's where the spotlight usually is.
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We attended a party this weekend, Orchid came with us. After the cries and murmurrs and exclamations of, "She's fabulous! Simply fabulous!!" died down and after folks were had exhausted themselves admiring Orchid's Val Zeitler originals, people looked around and said, "Wait a minute. Where's Alabaster? Wasn't he here last year?"
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Well, yes, last year he was. But she wasn't. Usually, she's too busy being fabulous.
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See them both together as they perform "The Frog Prince" this October at Harborfields. He gets another chance to propose and of course you don't want to miss it. For directions and other information visit: www.harborfieldslibrary.org .

Twilight

My favorite time of day is twilight.
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This weekend, while at a party, a friend said, "Have you read Twilight yet?" I said, "You know, I don't think so. Why?"
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She said, "Ohmygod. You know how I read nothing?" I said, "Yes." She said, "Well, I found out that the whole world is reading this series of books. And they love them. Simply everyone just loves these books. So, I bought the first one, which is called Twilight. Ohmygod. It was so good. I couldn't put it down. I read it in three days." I laughed.
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She said, "But you know why you have to read it? Other than of course it's about vampires and you would love it?" I said, "Why?" She said, "Because the main character is Alabaster." I said, "What??!?" She said, "I know. It sounds crazy, right? But, it's Alabaster. I can't give away the book, but the main character is exactly like him. That's why I liked the book. You know how I like Alabaster." She said, "His eyes change color and everything. He's got Alabaster's eyes. He looks like Alabaster. I'm telling you: the book is about Alabaster. You simply must read it."
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I ordered Twilight from the library. Our library has five copies. All of them were checked out.

Heart Felt Apologies

My heart felt apologies to anyone who might be disappointed that they will not be meeting Heart in Austin, Texas this September.
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I interrupted Heart's photo shoot with Richard Gardner, whisked her off so she could catch her plane, and as Val and I admired her one last time as we packed her up we both said, "Oh, no."
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The one of a kinds contain metal in them. Their armatures are an assortment of metal, including wire, and Heart in particular contains glass to stabilize her core. Val and I looked at each other and said, "Oh, no. What if they x-ray her and don't let her on the plane? Metal, wires, glass?? Oh, no."
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Therefore, I apologize in advance to western fans. I field complaints all the time that my work is only viewable on the eastern seaboard. I'm really very sorry, I want you to know that we tried. Val was in from North Carolina and we really had a great idea for the convention. You would have enjoyed the idea, I'm sorry that you won't get to see it this September.
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Here she is. The first picture of what you won't get to see. Taken by me.