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Music from the Museum

The Fiddler, ambrotype c.1858

Janus Museum Radio

Listen in to our webmaster, Tibor Szégy-Légy, as he presents a wide-ranging program of some of his favorite music.

Program 3 in our new series - Outlaws and Bad Persons

Program 9 - Music from the Civil War for Decoration Day

Program 8 - Jazz, harp, and hurdy-gurdy.



We're pleased to feature tunes from The Janus Museum's extensive music library. Every week - or more often as the spirit moves, we'll feature a tune, song, or sound from the collection in streaming Real Audio format.

Our Current Selection

The Red Clay Ramblers sing
Jim Canaan's from their album It Ain't Right.



Previous Musical Selections



Here's an extremely rare treasure, a 78 rpm recording of The Rocket Ranger March from the 1953 TV series Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers These may be the the first internet performances of The Rocket Rangers March, performed by the Rocket Rangers Chorus, and also an instrumental version of the Rocket Ranger March, performed by the Rocket Ranger Philharmonic Orchestra of Zagreb.



For Armistice Day - The Bells of Hell, from a newly reissued DVD of Richard Attenborough's Oh! What a Lovely War.



And now, a Stephen Foster song especially for the Fourth of July, Plain Old Soldier, sung by Leslie Guin. From Songs of Stephen Foster.



Here's a sprightly archaic banjo tune - Pompey Ran Away (1782) from Carson Hudson Jr.'s I Come from Old Virginny! Early Virgina Banjo Music 1790-1860, another recent find in the old-time music bin.



Here's a thumping good tune, Chasing Old Satan, from the Double Decker Stringband's fine new album, The Rest is Yet to Come.



In honor of the splendid Hésperion XXI concert we recently attended, here's Jordi Savall performing Captain Tobias Hume's A Souldiers Resolution on the viola da gamba.



To commemorate the end of legal fox hunting across the pond, here are two songs from the rich tradition of hunt songs:

Nic Jones sings Reynard the Fox from Ballads and Songs.

Oak, Ash and Thorn perform Bold Reynard from Sowing Wild OATs & Out On A Limb.



Highly Recommended




Film Reviews

We occasionally mention of some of the classic films that are shown in The Janus Museum's Fellow's Lounge - here are links to the webmaster's capsule reviews:

Aaya Toofan

Aelita, Queen of Mars

Amar Akbar Anthony

Astérix & Obélix contre César

L'Atalante

Babes in Toyland (1934), AKA March of the Wooden Soldiers

Baiju Bawra

Bajrangbali

Balram Shri Krishna

The Beggar's Opera; additional

Berserk!

Body

Book and Sword

Boxer

The Brain That Wouldn't Die

Bride & Prejudice

British Intelligence

Byron

The Calamari Wrestler (Ika Resuraa)

The Call of Cthulhu

The Captain's Paradise

Catwoman

The Charge of the Light Brigade

China Gate

Chronicles of Narnia

The Clowns

Cold Comfort Farm (1995 version)

Cousin Bette

The Crawling Hand

A Dance to the Music of Time

Death in the Air (AKA Pilot X)

Drôle de Drame

Elena and Her Men, More on Elena

Enchanted

The Eye of Vichy

Fathom

Finnegans Wake (Passages from Finnegans Wake)

The Flame and the Arrow

French Cancan

Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs

A Good Woman

George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation

Giulio Cesare

Glen or Glenda

The Golden Coach

Gormenghast

H.M. Deserters (C.K. Dezerterzy)

Halaku

Har Har Mahadev

The Heart of the World

Henry V (1944 version)

Hot Fuzz

The Illusionist

L'Illusionniste

Les Indes Galantes

The Indian Tomb (Das Indische Grabmal; Fritz Lang's Indian Epic)
More on The Indian Tomb

Jai Santoshi Maa

Janosik: The Highland Robber
More on Janosik

Jungle ki Nagin

The Kaiser's Lackey (Der Untertan)

Lagaan

The Living Corpse

Lola Montes

The Lost Zeppelin

Luv Kush (TV serial)

The Maggie

Mahabali Hanuman (Dara Singh, 1980)

Mahabali Hanuman (Rakesh Pandey, 1981)

Mahabharat; And another entry

Maniac

March of the Wooden Soldiers

La Marseillaise

Master and Commander

The Mikado (1939 version)

Mister Vampire 3

Monster on the Campus

Münchhausen (1943)

Oh! What a Lovely War

Old Khottabych

Old School

Our Man in Havana

Les Paladins

Passport to Pimlico

The Phantom Empire

The Pirates of Penzance (1980)

The Pirates of Penzance (1983)

The Pirates of Penzance (1994)

The Pirates of Penzance (2007)

Porco Rosso

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Private Life of a Cat

Ramayan (TV serial)

Royal Flash

Rumba

The Saddest Music in the World

Sadko

Sampoorna Ramayana (children's theater version)

Sampoorna Ramayan; Also a video segment

Seven Years Bad Luck

Shaolin Soccer

Sikander-e-Azam

Sita Sings the Blues

Sleepy Hollow

The Stranglers of Bombay

The Legend of Suriyothai

Tarzan (1985 Bollywood version)

Teenagers From Outer Space

They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail (Tora no o wo fumu Otokotachi)

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines

Titus

Two Comrades Were Serving (Sluzhili dva Tovarishcha)

V for Vendetta

Valiant

Wagner - The Complete Epic

Waterloo

War of the Worlds (2005)

The Wrong Arm of the Law

Yahudi

The Young Visiters

Zeppelin




News & Comment

City Journal

Thomas Friedman

History News Network

Jane's Information Group

New York Times

The New Yorker

Oliphant

Salon

Slate

Washington Post




Weblogs and Filters

Achenblog

Airminded

AirSpace

Animals Behaving Badly

ArtsJournal

Arts & Letters Daily

BibliOdyssey

Lilek's Bleat

Boing Boing

Brass Goggles

Chase me Ladies, I'm in the Cavalry

Combat Helmets of the 20th Century

Comics Curmudgeon

Cooked Books

Cool Tools

Cottage Renovations

Cronaca

Cul de Sac

Cute Overload

Daily Kos

DC Blogs

Defense Tech

Dr. Boli's Celebrated Magazine

Europe Endless

Fed by Birds

Fig Newtons and Scotch

Gizmodo

Good Name for a Dog

Hanuman

Hullabaloo

J-Walk

The Jury Box

Language Hat

The Law West of Ealing Broadway

Life on Two Acres

Lifehacker

Martin Klasch

Metafilter

Mirabilis

Mostly Forbidden Zone

The Online Photographer

Other Men's Flowers

Pharyngula

Pinky Diablo and His Singing Grubworm

Political Animal

Porkopolis

Repository for Bottled Monsters

The Rest is Noise

Retro Thing

The Salt Mine

Samizdata.net

seven years in the navey

Squid

Talking Points Memo

things magazine

Time Has Told Me

The Tsarina of Tsocks

Unliteral

Winds of Change


Janus Links

Another Janus Museum

Temple of Janus by Peter Paul Rubens

Temple of Janus by H.W.B., 1883

Some Thoughts on the God Janus

Janus in Myth

More Janus in Myth

The Mystery of Janus

Emblem 18 from Andrea Alciato's Book of Emblems (1531)

Engraving of Janus from Vincenzo Cartari's Le Imagini de gli Dei (1608)

Janus and Athena

Mars, Janus, and Minerva

Janus Galleries

The Art of Katherine Janus Kahn

Janus Great Danes

The Society of Janus (not connected with The Janus Museum)


Photography

The American Museum of Photography

Eugene Atget at George Eastman House

Atget at the International Center of Photography

Civil War Photographs from the Library of Congress

The Daguerreian Society

f295.org

The George Eastman House

Kathleen Ewing Gallery (represents the Janus Estate)

Helios - Photography at the National Museum of American Art

Klotz/Sirmon Gallery

Robin Schwartz

Star Camera Company


Music

Alan Lomax Archive

Archeophone Records

Archie Edward's Blues Heritage Foundation

Blues on Air

Classical Music Archives

Classical MIDI Connection

Concertzender Radio

Dr. Horsehair

Hackmann Hurdy-Gurdies

honkingduck.com

John Fahey

Magnatune

Joe Bussard's vintage 78s

Max Hunter Folk Song Collection

Music by Michael Starke

Old-Time Music Homepage

Phonozoic

Roots of Folk: Old English, Scots, and Irish Songs and Tunes (Bruce Olson's Web Site)

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Sugar in the Gourd

Time Has Told Me

Weenie Campbell


History & Reference

American Civil War Portal

American Memory - Library of Congress

CivilWar@Smithsonian

Common-Place

Cyber Times Navigator (New York Times)

Government Information Awareness

The Great War in a Different Light

Historical Picture Collections



Moving Image Archive

New York Public Library Digital Gallery

Online Books Page

Open Video Project

Proceedings of the Old Bailey 1674-1834

Repositories of Primary Sources

David Rumsey Map Collection

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System

Statistical Abstract of the United States

Studies in Intelligence

Voice of the Shuttle


Favorites

5ives

Amusing Seaches

The Apothecary's Drawer

Big Meadows (Virginia) Webcam

Bookworm Game

Cat of the Day

Coconino World

Coudal Partners

Ferd'nand

Framley Museum

Golden Age Comic Cover Gallery

Jesus of the Week

Lawsonomy

Mars Attacks

Macaroni and cheese recipes

Mutts - the Official Site

Mutts Online

Patrick O'Brian Web Resources

Pepys' Diary

Sodaplay

The Tsarina of Tsocks

Washington Grove Pacer Farm

webplayer

Recent photographs, commentary, and links from The Janus Museum's webmaster, Tibor Szégy-Légy



Every now and again you stumble on a weblog that seems to perfectly encapsulate a way of life, an environment, people, characters, whatever (although the Janus Museum is not all it seems, we think).

--- things magazine



24 March - More Adolphus

'The Old Soldier' by Adolphus Norbeck

Just back from the conservation lab, here is another superb canvas by the great Adolphus Norbeck - The Boring Old Soldier (Scene in a Washington Grove Tavern). Notice the use of cats. I just don't understand why the Metropolitan, or the Art Institute, or the Smithsonian American Art Museum aren't clamoring for the loan of our Norbeckiana for a landmark blockbuster exhibit. It just doesn't make sense.


Other Works by Adolphus Norbeck from the Janus Museum's Collection:

Ascent of Sugarloaf
Bald Eagle
A Forest Duel, Washington Grove
The Voyage of Life
Missouri Flatboatman Tragically in the Grip of St. Vitus Dance
Portrait of Commodore Nathaniel Wallingford
Portrait of Philip Wallingford, MFH
After the Battle of Derwood
A Trooper of the Maryland Cuirassiers
Wallingford Grove (wood engraving)

link


24 March - Memento Morion

Boy with Toy Grenade and Morion

Boy with Toy Grenade and Morion.

Yes, the Museum has acquired an extremely rare 16th century
comb morion. And yes, Gus the maintenance man refuses to be parted from it.

link


24 March - See What Kitty's Brought Home!

Kitten with Bomb, World War I



Not to put down Atget, or W. Eugene Smith, or Josef Sudek, or any of the other greats of the medium - but I contend that the picture pictured above is the finest photograph ever made. Photographer unknown; found it on
the Wehrmacht-Relics Tumblr. And don't forget - we've got a Tumblr, too - just like all the kids do, nowadays.

link


23 March - Glorious Opening of Cat/Daff Season

Copening of Cat/Daff Season '13

Well, I couldn't very well let
Cat/Daff Season pass without some documentation, could I?


Leroy is overwhelmed by Cat/Daff Season

Cat Leroy is overcome with excitement. Will attempt to keep posting cat/daffiana.

link


24 November - Imperskaya Aviatziya Koshki (Imperial Aviation Cat)

Cats of War - Russian Aviator with Cat

Yes, it's been an unconscionably long time since my last post - I can only plead the lack of spare time due to the press of duties here at the Museum, plus my court-mandated community service. It's been in my mind to call it quits, I confess, but can't quite pull the trigger. So it'll be the dreaded hiatus for Panabasis for now. But the good news is that our intern Zoe told me about Tumblr - all the kids have Tumblrs nowadays, she says. So I've
set up one here and I hope you'll follow it, as the kids say. And, of course, important Janus Museum updates will continue to be posted on our Facebook page. So it's not really good-bye - it's more like so long...

And above, another image from our Cats of War collection - a Russian aviator, c.1915, with his feline co-pilot. A nice companion piece to our portrait of Lothar von Wallingsfurt with cat.


Previous Cats of War

Lothar von Wallingsfurt's Cat
Christmas Truce 1914
Count Zeppelin's Cat
General Enoch Wallingford and Jemmy at the Battle of Darnestown, 1814
Franco-Prussian Cat Besieged
Maryland Artillery Cat
Bugler Cat
Secesh Cat at Gettysburg
Bashi-Bazouk with Cat
Cats of the Great War
Dragoon Cat, Lincoln's Cat, Christmas Truce Reenactment Cat



link


30 September - On Little Round Top

View From Little Round Top, Gettysburg

Yesterday being very nice, I motored up to Gettysburg and spent some time on the battlefield. Above, the view from Little Round Top; South Mountain can be seen in the distance. And beyond, barely visible: the Blue Ridge, the Appalachians, Allegheny Front, the Alleghenies, then a flat bit, then the Rockies, the Cascades, a wet bit, and finally China.


Gen. Warren, Little Round Top

Also on Little Round Top,
Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren and staff. Also available in stunning 3D (red/blue glasses req.).


Previous Gettysburg Views:

Confederate Prisoners with Cat
Gettysburg Veterans, 1913
Photograph of Federal Troops

link


23 September - Snake and Cats in the Grass

Black Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus) and Cats

I realize that the reporting of cat activity here during the summer past was pretty spotty, what with the very limited updates posted. Shockingly, this terrifying encounter between the Museum Cats (Felis Museo catus) and a black snake (Pantherophis obsoletus) took place back in August. The cats were jolly interested, though cautious; the snake - not so interested.


Black Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus)

The snake was big - about twelve feet long, I estimate.


Max and the Black Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus)

Max (right) and the snake discuss the current rodent situation. I got the protesting cats back into the Fellows' Common Room, and when I returned to the Circle, the serpent had wisely fled. Haven't seen him since.

link


3 September - Cats of the Artillery

Artillery Cat - Detail from a cartoon by Alban B. Butler, Jr.

Here's a detail from a superb cartoon showing a well-equipped Great War cat in a wittle
Brodie helmet and gas mask. It's taken from...


'Sir, My Orders Are...' Cartoon by Alban B. Butler, Jr.

... A cartoon by Captain Alban B. Butler, Jr., a staff officer in the First Division of the AEF. See, the cat's inspecting the duty gunner, who recites the standing orders to the cat. A shell rests on the gun's trail - when the infantry calls for artillery support, the duty gunner pops in into the breach and fires without delay. It's taken from a book of Butler's cartoons, Happy Days, published by the First Division Museum. Oh, the museum also makes it available as a PDF. Butler's Training for the Trenches is also available online.


Previous Artillery Cats:

Tillie of the Coast Artillery
Tower of London Cat
Cat of the Regiment
Cat of the 5th Maryland Artillery CSA


link


5 August - Balto Cop with Headache Stick

A Baltimore Police Officer with Nightstick

This superb image, the latest in our series of portraits of Baltimore police officers by an unknown photographer, shows a young copper already the master of the tools of his trade. It calls to mind Max Beerbohm's Kiplingesque "Police Station Ditty":
Then it’s collar ’im tight
In the name o’ the Lawd!
’Ustle ’im, shake ’im till ’e’s sick!
Wot, ’e would, would ’e? Well,
Then yer’ve got ter give ’im ’Ell,
An’ its trunch, trunch, truncheon does the trick!

Oh! I remember that I have posted
another cop with nightstick picture.

link


4 August - Bears Beat Olympics

Bears vs. Salmon on explore.org

It didn't have an over-the-top opening ceremony with
smokestacks and giant creepy babies, but the Brown Bear and Salmon Cam (on location on Alaska's Brooks River in Katmai National Park) still beats the Olympics all hollow. First, you've got bears. Also, leaping salmon. Then, you've got bears trying to catch the salmon. Sometimes, a bear catches a salmon and messily tears it apart while being watched hungrily by the other bears. And - there's no commentary. Also - no mawkish human (or bear or salmon) interest stories. Oh, and no ads. I plugged the laptop into the Fellows' Common Room widescreen TV, and have been enjoying the broadcast after work hours - a little slivovitz adds to the enjoyment, I find. Above, the bear on the left is the guy to watch - between 2 and 3 AM last night, he snagged three salmon. The bear to the right caught zip - he's either very lazy, highly incompetent, or just very full.

Also well worth watching - the Jellyfish Cam and the Beluga Whale Cam - very, very restful, if you know what I mean.

link


4 August - Another Baltimore Cop

Portrait of a Baltimore Police Officer

Here's another portrait from our collection of Baltimore cop photographs, shot by Anon. I wonder if this chap might be a security officer at a city building? He looks a bit - I don't know - down-trodden to be a cop.

link


Ex Voto of the Smiling Cat Among the Canaries

Ex Voto - Cat Among the Canaries

Here's a superb ex voto by the great
Selva Prieto Salazar currently on offer on eBay. Here's her translation of the inscription:
I forgot to close the cage's door and my canaries they flew out, I ran fearing that the cat ate up them or that they escaped by the window, but the cat just saw them and he smiled and they didn't fly very far away, they only flew around by the room and later they returned to their cage. Now I let open their door so that they can leave to give a flight time to time. I thanks to San Francisco for this amazing miracle.

Previous Cat-Related Ex Votos:

Ex Voto of the Cats on the Bed
Feline Aeronautics
The Cat in the Moon
Miracle of the Worried Hippie
Miracle of the World-Weary Elderly Cat
Cats Rescued From Giant Venus Fly Traps
Cat Bath Miracle
Cats vs. Red Demons
Merchandise-Hungry Cats
Unmupped Kittens - More Miraculous Trusting Cats
Miracle of the Trusting Cats
Big Blue Cat Miracle
Brave/Ugly Cats Miracles
Miracle of Feline Augmented Literacy
Pretty Hairy Kittens Miracle
Demonic Fear of Kitties
Cat Scratch Fever Miracle
Miracle of the Cat Husband
The Miracle of the Embarrassed Cats
Tragic Love
Canción de los Gatos
San Pascual's Cat
Aunt Honorata's Cats
The Perfect Cat Storm
Cat Pi Milagro
Greedy-guts Miracle Cat

link


31 July - The Balto Cop Project

A Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Patrolman

Here's what I was working on before the Museum was shut down by the Great Derecho: scanning a collection of negatives by an unknown Baltimore photographer, the great majority of said negs are portraits of police officers. Above, a wide-eyed Harbor Tunnel patrolman. Will post more.

link


31 July - Back Again, Sort of (Take 2)

Cats and Belladonna Lily (Amaryllis belladonna)

The local cats group themselves artistically near the Circle's sole
Belladonna Lily (Amaryllis belladonna). 3D version here (red/blue glasses req.).

Once again, we return from another long hiatus. This time, I'm blaming the Great Derecho of '12. Power was out in the Museum for two weeks, and it took a considerable effort to get back to something like normal after the juice was flowing - all the supplies of grub in the public cafeteria were lost, of course; predictably, they tried to make us consume it in the staff lunchroom, which caused a bit of food poisoning and unrest.


Washington Grove Militia in 3D

Our celebration of the Fourth of July was a bit muted this year. Above, Gus and Jeffrey (in 3D) were the only members of the Militia who came to the muster. Mercifully, there's no video of the black powder volley this year - Gus had a misfire - his flint melted in the heat, he said. Although...




... The pre-Fourth test-fire went off fairly decently (3D video). But one generally expects Gus to let the side down in the clinch.


Jim Fletcher and Friend

But the season has had its compensations. Neighbors Deb Tarasevitch and Jim and Kathi Fletcher threw a tremendous pig roast. Above - Jim (left) was the pig-master.

link


4 June - Gopher Tuna, Salsa Cookies, Piece of Lovely Cake



Some time ago,
I noted that my old cat Zagnut's favorite song was the opening song in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. It's a showy, noisy piece, and rather hard to make out the text - Zaggers thought the opening line was "Oh, for tuna..." The superb video posted above, the work of a genius named FamishedMammal, sets the record straight and performs a valuable public service.

link


2 June - Rare Encounter of a Coelacanth and a Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle Discovery and Coelacanth

I mentioned back in April that I was lucky enough to have been seconded to the National Air and Space Museum as a supplementary photographer when
the Discovery shuttle (OV-103) was flown in to Dulles Airport, and that I had snapped a couple of coelacanth/shuttle images. The sense of wonder in a young coelacanth's eyes is profoundly moving, isn't it?

It's hard to believe that we haven't featured a coelacanth snap since March.

link


31 May - Easing Back into the 3D Thing

Natasha and Leroy on the Porch in 3D

My recovery is now sufficiently advanced so that I may once again attempt a bit of 3D cat photography. Natasha and Leroy kindly consented to pose briefly for me.

link


31 May - Down by the Tracks, Again

CSX Trash Train Returns from Dickerson

Continuing my healthy hiking and Instagrammic photography: a stroll down to the tracks in time to view the return of
the trash train (CSX D765 Intermodal) from the incinerator out in Dickerson, Maryland. After such excitement, I had to come home and take a little nap.

link


30 May - Down by the Tracks

Railroad Tracks, Washington Grove

A brisk therapeutic walk down to the tracks. Soon I'll be well enough to cross the tracks and go to
Hershey's for some therapeutic fried chicken and a brewski, or maybe over to Pollo a la Vista for a dose of therapeutic fried yucca.

Yes, I am trying out Instagram. All the kids are using it, nowadays.

link


30 May - Back Again, Sort of

Leroy in Approaching Storm
Cat Leroy in Approaching Storm

Gad, has it been a month, already? Very sad to have missed the following important occasions during my absence:


Folk Song Day

Straw Hat Day

Fall of Constantinople Day

Decoration Day


Nice to be back, though.

link


29 April - Blog, Interrupted

Bust of Venus Contemplating Cat Natasha

And now, a sublime view of Venus contemplating Cat Natasha.

I'll be away from my desk at the Janus Museum for a bit, having a bit of an overhaul at the hospital; hope to be back soon.

link


22 April - More Shuttle Snaps

Shooting the Shuttle Arrival

Seconded to the joint Smithsonian/NASA photo pool for the arrival of Discovery, my particular brief was to do people shots. This chap got closer to the shuttle than the rest of us did.


Family Shuttle Arrival Picnic

Lots of people set up jolly nice picnics. It was one of the most cheerful mass assemblies I've joined in.


Shuttle Watchers


Beulah Bulldog waiting for Discovery

I extended my brief to include shuttle-watching dogs. Beulah Bulldog was having a delightful time.

link


21 April - Snapping the Shuttles

Shuttle Discovery Arrives, April 17

It's been one busy week - the Museum lent me to our sister institution, the National Air and Space Museum, to serve as one of the pool photographers for the arrival of
the Discovery shuttle (OV-103). It was damn interesting, let me tell you. Above; I got a lucky shot of Discovery and the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft N905NA directly over John Safer's sculpture Ascent. Oh, here are some more...


Discovery on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, Dulles Airport

On Wednesday, we visited Discovery, still on the 747, on Apron Whiskey at Dulles Airport.


Enterprise (foreground) and Discovery

On Thursday, Enterprise was rolled out of the hangar at Udvar-Hazy as Discovery was brought over from Dulles.


Under Discovery

Under Discovery. It was pulled up to Enterprise, accompanied by ranks of its former astronauts, with United Space Alliance crew marching behind - a fine sight. Will post more snaps later on. Yes, I did some 3D, and some coelacanth/shuttle encounters.

link


8 April - Sturm und Peep; The Easter Bomber

German WWI Easter Card

Sorry, we're tarnation busy gearing up for
the azalea harvest here. But here are a couple of festive Easter offerings. First, a couple of stern Prussian chicks in their chickelhaubes on a World War I era Easter card, first featured here last June.


A B-24 Liberator and its Easter Eggs

... And ground crew prepare festive 500-pound general demolition Easter eggs for delivery by a B-24 of the 726th Bomb Squadron, 451st Bomb Group, 15th Air Force in Southern Italy, 1944.

link


30 March - Miraculous Striped Faticidal Cephalopod Encounter

Saved from an Octopus Ex Voto

Here's a superb octopus-related ex voto - an expression of gratitude for a miraculous intervention -
currently available on eBay through April 3. Here's the translation of the inscription, as provided by the seller, Selvamaris:
When I was swiming a huge octopus caught me with his tentacles, I felt I'll die drowned and I ivoked the Virgen de Guadalupe and suddenly the octopus liberated me of his fatidical hug and I could swim up to the surface and breathe, I thanks to the Virgen.
Oh, my - we haven't featured an octopus ex voto here for quite a while:


Previous Octopus-Related Ex Votos:

Octopus vs. Radiant Light
Unconcerned Octopode Bystanders
Guitar vs. Octopus
The Threatening Tentacle
Swimming with Octopi
My Husband's Octopus
The Heroic Octopus
Graciela and the Octopus
An Octopus by Moonlight

link


24 March - Continuation of Coelacanth/Daff Season

Coelacanth Contemplates a Daffodil

The Museum's coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) has a
Bunthorne Moment amongst the Circle daffs. And later...


A Cat and Coelacanth Enjoy the Blooms

He contemplates the daffs with his new pal, Cat Leroy.

link


17 March - Miscellaneous Masterpieces from the Scanning Queue

Psyche of Capua - photographer inknown, c.1880

It's been a while since I've posted work from the Museum's scanning queue; yesterday's batch was a good example of the breadth of the our collection. Above, an albumen print, c.1880, of the Psyche of Capua from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples - photographer unknown; possibly the Alinari studio.


Yosemite Valley, albumen print

Next, a view of Yosemite Valley on a large cabinet card, by Anon. - too bad it's not Carleton Watkins...


Oddly Colored Full Plate Tintype

And now, an oddly sinister colored full plate tintype.


Autochrome of an Egyptian Princess

Finally, a wonderful Autochrome of a young suburban Egyptian princess doing her best vamp - one of my personal favorites.

And, for St. Patrick's Day, why not look back over a couple of old Flann O'Brien entries? Hints for Sots and Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Warmer?

link


11 March - Highly Fraught Cat/Daff Season Opener

Cat/Daff Season Parade of the Cats

The daffodils in Washington Grove's Sacred Circle having opened, Cat/Daff Season is now go. As always, we begin with the official Cat/Daff Day Parade of the Circle Cats - Natasha first, followed by Nutmeg, and then Leroy. Sure, it's a noble sight.
Extra noble 3D version here (red/blue glasses req.).


Leroy and Nutmeg at the Historic Marker

Then Leroy and Nutmeg get down to the business of contemplating the daffs at the historic marker. Contemplative 3D version here.


Leroy and Natasha Discuss the Daffs

Emotions tend to run high during Cat/Daff Season - Leroy and Natasha get a bit carried away in the daff contemplation line. Over-emotional 3D version here.


A Coelacanth Stalks Cat Natasha

Coelacanths (Latimeria chalumnae) are known to lurk in daffodil patches. Here, one prepares to leap at poor Natasha (terrifying 3D version here). A moment later, the great primitive fish launched itself at Natasha's throat and a titanic struggle ensued which I'm really sorry I didn't get any snaps of. Who knew Cat/Daff Season was so fraught with drama? I ought to alert Animal Planet - it'll beat Shark Week all hollow.

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5 March - Cat/Daff Pre-Season Opener

Natasha with Daffs in the Janus Museum Forest Preserve

The daffodils are beginning to bloom, but it's still too cold - snow flurries and all - for an official declaration of
Cat/Daff Season, but Natasha could still get in a bit of preseason training out in the Janus Museum Forest Preserve earlier today. Please get out your red/blue glasses for the exciting 3D version.

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4 March - Miracle of the Poultrygeists

Miracle of the Ghost Chickens

It was a bit unnerving to come across
this ex voto on eBay, what with me having just put a chicken in the oven - here's the translation of the caption, as provided vy the seller:
With a lot of frequency I prepared dishes with chicken for my family because they liked a lot and I knew that they were very nutritious. But one day that I was very tired and I was slept in the kitchen, I dreamt of all the ghosts of the chickens that had cooked and that they looked at me with sadness and in an accusing way. I thank to San Francisco because now that I only cook fished I no longer have nightmares with chicken ghosts.
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4 March - Carry On Coelacanth

Still from 'Monster on the Campus' - 1958

See, this is exactly the wrong way to pick up and carry a coelacanth. Because you could cut your hand on the coelacanth's teeth and the resulting infection could turn you into a werewolf, and that would be bad, especially for your pretty lab assistant, who you would kill horribly. That's what happens to Prof. Donald Blake (Arthur Franz) in
Monster on the Campus (1958). Oh - it's available in its entirety over on Youtube!

Many thanks to our old friend Keith West for alerting me to this thrilling cautionary tale.

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26 February - More Coelacanthiana

A Coelacanth at the Piano

They laughed when he sat down to play.


Coelacanth with Cat Leroy

Sometimes the lion lays down with the lamb, and sometimes the coelacanth chats with the cat.


A Coelacanth Evolves

And finally, a dramatic tableau in 3D - a coelacanth in the act of evolving.

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20 February - The Long-Lost Brother, Maybe

Florian von Wallingsfurt, maybe

No holiday here at the Janus Museum: I was working through a stack of misfiled documents and photographs, and came across the image shown above. Scrawled on the back, I can just make out, is the inscription "Florian, Antwerpen, 1916." Could it be a portrait of the third von Wallingsfurt brother, Florian - elder to Lothar and Theo? The hefty chap in the photo certainly has the family features and looks a bit older than the images we have of the younger brothers. And we do know that Florian von Wallingsfurt served as a cook (Feldkoch) in a field kitchen of a reserve battalion, operating
a Gulaschkanone - army cooks of all armies are usually pretty well padded. Also interesting that he's wearing a felt ersatz pickelhaube, a Filzhelme.


The von Wallingsfurt Collection

Lothar with Rumpler C.IV and Mascot
Lothar's Story
Lothar in a Hans Grade monoplane
Lothar's Taschepanzer
Lothar in Naval Uniform
Lothar on a Beer Stein
Theo in the Bicycle Infantry
Theo, Amphibious
Theo's Pickelhaube

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19 February - Your Annual First Crocus Sighting, Now in 3D

Crocus Sighting, with Coelacanth, in 3D

Very pleased to be able to offer the annual first crocus sighting in glorious 3D (red/blue glasses required) with bonus
coelacanth content. Last year's first sighting was also on the 19th.


Previous First Crocus Sightings:

2011 - February 19
2010 - March 5
2009 - February 22
2008 - February 24
2007 - March 3
2006 - February 5
2005 - February 12
2004 - February 29
2003 - March 14

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19 February - Cosmos Community Theater

'Twelfth Night'
Twelfth Night as performed by Earthlings

Had a curious dream last night - I was part of an alien exploratory mission sent to Earth as a peaceful goodwill mission. We were fairly humanoid in appearance; and, to put the human race at ease, we decided to mount a production of Twelfth Night by Earth playwright William Shakespeare to air live simultaneously on all Earth channels - also available on Netflix, Hulu and Boxee. Because of my skill in modulating the volume and pitch of my aural communications, I was cast as Feste, the Clown, who has several songs.

Production started out pretty well - we were psyched to put on a good show, of course. But we quickly started to run into problems. We were, of course, multi-dimensional entities, so the concept of "stage left" and "stage right" was confusing to us - we tended to make our entrances in dimensions that Earthlings could not conceive of, or else a thousand years too early. The gender-swapping element of the play didn't make any sense to us, either, since we aliens each had four different sexes. When Viola, appearing on stage as the page Cesario, naturally released pheromones to indicate her status as a level 2 male, we discovered that the pheromones were toxic to our test Earthling audience - most frustrating.

Also, the Supreme Commander of our expedition, sadly miscast as Sir Toby, just could not memorize his lines. And there were the inevitable problems with set, scenery, costumes, etc. As opening night approached, we were getting more and more nervous.

So we canceled the production, and destroyed Earth, instead. Maybe we should have done The Odd Couple.


Previously Reported Dreams:

On Safari with Teddy Roosevelt and Llamas
Bureau of Labor Statistics Dream
Magic Flute Nightmare
Another TR Dream
Franklin Pierce Dream
Ancient Greek Infantry Dream
18th Century Infantry Drill Dream
Navy B Type Airship Dream
Reenacting in Afghanistan/Utterly Butterly Dream

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12 February - On the Anaglyphic Riverside

Potomac and Vine

Just standing on the corner of Potomac and Vine; not much happening, except in 3D.


Previous Potomac Posts:

Cabin John Creek
Wallingford's Heron (Ardea wallingfordensis)on the Banks of the Potomac
Sublimity of Great Falls
History of Mather Gorge
Potomac Panoramas
Sycamores at Great Falls
Dog on the Shore
Wild Potomac Poodle
Fishing on Mason's Island, 1862
More Potomac Cartes de Visite
The Squire Attempts to Blow up the Potomac
Lucy as Siren
The Muddy Potomac
Captain John Smith on the Potomac
The Potomac Flotilla

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11 February - The Look of Wonder in a Young Coelacanth's Eyes

Coelacanth in the Snow

Coelacanth's first snowfall...


Previous Coelacanth Encounters

Coelacanth at Kitty Hawk
Coelacanth with Toy Grenade
Coelacanth's World
Migrant Coelacanth

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29 January - Fluff Update

Cat Leroy in Full Fluff

Back in September, I received a communication from a group of Cat Leroy's admirers, worrying that Leroy was looking ragged and thin and unwell. I explained that it was merely the shedding of his winter plumage, and that the return of cold weather would bring him back to his leonine magnificence. The recent snap posted above (and here, in extraleonine 3D) shows that the old boy is once again in full fluff...


Cat Leroy Pursued, in 3D

However, moments later, Leroy and his fluff showed a clean pair of heels (in 3D) as he exited stage right, pursued by Natasha, who thought he was putting on airs.

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22 January - On the Trail

Cat Natasha in the Museum's Forest Preserve

It's been getting tougher to get the cats interested in a walk in the woods nowadays, but Natasha and Nutmeg did agree to accompany me for a bit of a hike the other day. Above, Natasha in the fullness of her winter ruff -
3D version here.


Nutmeg on a Catwalk

Nutmeg - 3D version.

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16 January - Der Frontfliegerkatze

Lothar von Wallingsfurt with Mascot

I thought I knew the von Wallingsfurt collection pretty well, but I just found another photograph that had been mistakenly filed elsewhere - here is the great ace Lothar von Wallingsfurt himself, standing by his
Rumpler C.IV, mascot in the front seat.


The von Wallingsfurt Collection

Lothar's Story
Lothar in a Hans Grade monoplane
Lothar's Taschepanzer
Lothar in Naval Uniform
Lothar on a Beer Stein
Theo in the Bicycle Infantry
Theo, Amphibious
Theo's Pickelhaube


Cats of War

Christmas Truce 1914
Count Zeppelin's Cat
General Enoch Wallingford and Jemmy at the Battle of Darnestown, 1814
Franco-Prussian Cat Besieged
Maryland Artillery Cat
Bugler Cat
Secesh Cat at Gettysburg
Bashi-Bazouk with Cat
Cats of the Great War
Dragoon Cat, Lincoln's Cat, Christmas Truce Reenactment Cat

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14 January - Sugarloaf, Painted

'Ascent of Sugarloaf, Frederick County, Maryland' by Adolphus Norbeck
Ascent of Sugarloaf, Frederick County, Maryland by Adolphus Norbeck, 1887. Oil on canvas.

Should've recalled, when I posted previously on the 3D summiting of Sugarloaf Mountain, that the Janus Museum actually possesses a canvas by the great Adolphus Norbeck commemorating an expedition of a team of Washington Grove men in 1885, led by the noted soldier and explorer Captain Thaddeus Wallingford, who also appears in Norbeck's
After the Battle of Derwood, Maryland, 1864. Tragically, Wallingford later went missing during an attempt to find the source of Cabin John Creek.


Other Works by Adolphus Norbeck from the Janus Museum's Collection:

Bald Eagle
A Forest Duel, Washington Grove
The Voyage of Life
Missouri Flatboatman Tragically in the Grip of St. Vitus Dance
Portrait of Commodore Nathaniel Wallingford
Portrait of Philip Wallingford, MFH
After the Battle of Derwood
A Trooper of the Maryland Cuirassiers
Wallingford Grove (wood engraving)

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2 January - On the Summit

The View From Sugarloaf, in 3D

It's becoming a tradition, my skipping the traditional New Year's Day journey to beautiful
Sugarloaf Mountain, so instead I'll post images from a recent summiting of the mighty peak - in spectacular 3D (red/blue glasses req.), a first. We look out over scenic Frederick County, Maryland and on to less scenic Howard County. Further on to Anne Arundel County, Chesapeake Bay, the Eastern Shore, and on to the Canary Islands.


Sugarloaf Mountain, 3D Stitch Job

And also a 3D panorama, possibly the first 3D panorama of the view from Sugarloaf. And now...


Gus Norbeck in 3D

... A scene that I would be better off attempting to blot from my memory forever instead of posting to these pages - the Janus Museum's maintenance man, Gus Norbeck, in drink taken and in hideous 3D, letting loose with A Wand'ring Minstrel I at the Fellows' New Year's Eve party. I've warned them about liquoring him up...

New Year's day marked the ninth anniversary of this here blog. My thanks for your kind attention.


Previous Sugarloaf Posts:

New Year's 2011
New Year's 2010
The Hornbostel Institute Great Monadnock Expedition
New Year's 2009
New Year's 2006
From Old Hundred Road
From Mt. Ephraim Road
From Thurston Road
Summiting Sugarloaf, November 2007


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