The Black Isle

Wishing good eating, good loving, fame, fortune, etc. etc., to all except evildoers and my enemies — you know who you are — who I curse with doubt, pox, pain, terror and of course, artistic failure.

Mad kitty, killer lampshade, psychedelic gals and much more. An action-packed clip from Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Hausu (House) from 1977:

And here — Obayashi’s equally madcap avant-garde film Emotion, a supposed “tribute to Roger Vadim”:

MERCATOR ASIA MAP - “Asia ex magna orbis terre descriptionie Gerardi Mercatori Desumpta studio et industria G.M. Iumioiris”. A beautiful, hand-colored map first published in 1595, based on Gerhard Mercator’s world map of 1569. The copy for auction appears to have come from one of the Mercator/Hondius atlases (Latin edition), prior to 1633.

My Youtube find of last evening:

Some EXQUISITE movie posters at Galerie Cine-Images, the legendary poster shop in Paris. Or, Why I’d like to be a zillionaire, please:

18 Folgate St, Spitalfields. The Dennis Severs House.

A totally unique London experience in Sounds, Smells and Sight: a 18th century Spitalfields townhouse stuffed to the gills with objets, foods, canaries and life being lived — the conceit is that you’ve stumbled into the home of a family of Huguenot weavers who have just stepped out for the nonce. As you walk up and down its five storeys of dimly-lit, fraying rooms, you hear piped-in sounds of tea cups clinking, babies crying. You smell coal fire, and a whole variety of sourness: unmade beds, unemptied piss-pots, vinegary oyster shells, old cat and old canaries. It tops even the John Soane House, which until last week was my favorite visiting spot.

The Dennis Severs House is only open for a couple of hours on two Sundays and two Mondays a month, and is located on a quiet East London street with no special markings. Here’s the info.

As Dennis Severs’ himself said: “You either see it or you don’t.”

Sign on the door of the Dennis Severs House that’s only up during “visiting hours”: 12 - 2 pm on the third Monday of the month.

Sighted off Brick Lane.

Sign in Spitalfields art shop window next to The Ten Bells, the corner pub where Jack the Ripper’s lady victims used to visit.

Story about the forest at the foot of Mt. Fuji which is the #2 spot for suicides, after the Golden Gate Bridge:

Also, I just discovered the Studio 360 blog about their Japan excursion, and it’s really great!

>