 Janus Museum Webcams Bittersweet Cottage Circle Cam The Groveland Security Network At-a-Glance A Spotter's Guide to the Circle Cats The Janus Museum The Circle Cat Club Panabasis II Panabasis - Photo Please Buy a Copy Signed Copies are also available  New! A Cat Compendium DVD 
  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. 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. 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 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 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 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 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 ibiblio Making of America 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 July - Cat on a Hot Catwalk  I can't say why I thought it was a good idea to call for a catwalk, what with the temperature at 99 and still climbing - must have been sunstroke. There was Natasha stretched out on the stoop, but she gamely rallied for the walk in the Museum's Forest Preserve:  ... which I kept mercifully short. The woods were shady, but breathless hot. Natasha's now lying on the cool kitchen linoleum, and I intend to sit in front of the fan and suck down a cold dunkelhefeweisen. If I propose another catwalk before October, you may kick me. link 24 July - High Aviation/Historical Fashion  Our old friend and colleague Martha Norbeck-Wallingford has taken over the product development desk for the Janus Museum Museum Shop, and some fabulous new merch is beginning to come through the pipeline. Above, custom high top Keds, sporting World War I German aircraft lozenge camouflage (Buntfarbenaufdruck). They looked so totally awesome that I had to order a pair myself:  They arrived last week, and caused a huge sensation -  Even the Museum Cats were impressed -  Cat Leroy especially admired the shoes. The Camo Keds are available for purchase through Zazzle.com - they're actually made in China and airshipped directly to you, the Lozenge Camo Keds consumer - it took mine about two weeks to show up. Oh, yes - Zazzle has a twenty percent off sale going on through Sunday - enter "PRICEREVELIO" in the coupon box at checkout. Also available -  ... Lozenge Camo Low Tops. And also...  ... For the ladies, these elegant slip-on German Lozenge Camouflage Keds. And remember, your purchases assist the Janus Museum in all its unspecified but artistic/educational activities. Martha says there's more stuff coming... link 23 July - An Anecdote of the Trenches; Our Old Commander  Bob Lyon with mortar - Yorktown, 1981 Scanning the old 3D and stereoviews from the 1981 Yorktown reenactment reminded me of a moment while we were stationed in the trenches - Yorktown was a siege, you'll recall - I heard a whoosh and saw a smallish mushroom cloud rising from the trench to the right of our position, followed by a peal of manic laughter. Old friend Bob Lyon, he of the dramatic cinematic death scene, witnessed the incident and tells the story:  The Trenches, Yorktown As the leading reenactment unit at Yorktown, and throughout the Bicentennial, authenticity was the byword. Hence, none of us wore watches, modern glasses, and so on. This included a ban on cigarettes. Those who needed their nicotine smoked tobacco in clay pipes. At the conclusion of the Siege of Yorktown event, our esteemed commander, El Supremo Bill Brown (now, sadly, deceased) proclaimed the event over. Glasses went back on, cigarettes appeared. The fellow next to me in ranks, sighed with appreciation and said, "Thank heavens, now I can have a proper cigarette!" He produced one from his haversack and stuck it in his mouth. He had been smoking shredded cigarettes in his clay pipe all week. Since he wasn't very good with flint and steel, he'd been lighting his pipe surreptitiously with a lighter. The lighter was in his weskit pocket, where he'd been also keeping a couple of spare cartridges. Bringing out the lighter, he managed to scoop the end of it full of loose powder - as we surmised later. He brought the lighter to his cigarette, flicked the wheel, and Foom! A large cloud of smoke, a flash of light - fortunately, the lighter didn't explode - and, as the smoke cleared, his face emerged black with powder and his glasses smoked over, hair singed a bit. I asked him, "Are you ok?" He checked his eyes and so on and replied quaveringly, "I think so." I said, "in that case, HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Somebody on the other side of him did the Porky Pig ending: Bu,bee,bee, be, that's all folks! We all laughed immoderately, myself loud enough that Tibor, many ranks away, asked later what was so funny.  The 1st Maryland Regiment, Yorktown Bob made mention of Bill Brown - William L. Brown III, former commander of the 1st Maryland; very sad to report that Bill died on June 15th. Bill was an elegant and commanding figure at the head of his troops, and a charming and funny chap when off duty - I remember one morning in the freezing barracks of a West Virginia frontier fort when he kindly warmed my shirt at the fire for me. I thanked him, and he said it was no trouble at all to warm his privates. We called Bill the Fun King; he'll be missed. I'll try to pull some pictures of him and will post them here. Oh, maybe just one more Yorktown snap:  A nice shot of the lads letting loose with a volley - you can see the pan flashes on the muskets of the fellows on the left and in the center. And I recall I've posted a shot of myself at Yorktown, and also my brief dangerous cameo role in a movie about Yorktown. Brave days, they were. link 18 July - Mr. Bacon Wonders  Carte de Visite by R. Knecht, 1868, Janus Museum Collection. On April 5, 1868, a Mr. Bacon and his dog had their portrait made at the studio of R. Knecht of Easton, Pennsylvania. Mr. Bacon wrote a question under the image: "When shall we three meet again." A note on the back shows that the question is intended for a lady, Miss Hannah Knight. It's a great image, and the question still hangs in the air after 140 years - did Miss Knight and Mr. Bacon reunite? Or did she insist on a bit of a beard trim, first? link 18 July - The Old Regiment in Stereo  Red/cyan 3D glasses on? It's time for a few more scans of my old stereo slides. Above, gallants of the 1st Maryland Regiment at Yorktown, 1981. Or, if one prefers, the same scene as a stereocard:  Most exciting when viewed in stereo - the bayonets seem to be aimed directly at one's heart. The stereocard can be downloaded here and printed out for viewing on one's on stereoviewer - resize, if necessary, to 7 inches in width and print it out on cardstock. And here's...  ... Another grizzled 1st Maryland veteran; his name escapes, me, though.  ... And the optional stereocard, also available for download. We were at Yorktown for the bicentennial of the siege and the British surrender - a huge event. link 17 July - Earthquake  It was 5:06 AM. I was minding my own business, asleep, and then... it felt and sounded like a great thud! - it only lasted a second, and I assumed it was a tree coming down nearby; not an uncommon occurrence in these parts. It was, instead, the great 3.6 Germantown Earthquake. In the map above, the epicenter is the green dot at the upper left, and the red circle to the lower right, about four miles away, is us. We shut the Museum down for the day and looked for damage - nothing found, thank goodness, and the drains seem to be running a bit faster, even. One often hears of animals acting strangely before an earthquake, but the Museum Cats had been behaving normally before, and slept right through the tremors. However, our maintenance man Gus had been baying at the moon and running around in circles and roosting on fence posts the night before - nothing out of the ordinary for him, though. 14 July - Bastille Day  Happy Bastille Day, unless you're an aristo. Let's go to the video: No information on this superb performance, save that it was filmed in 1907. ... And let's have a tune, too - Le Carillon National, better known as Ça Ira. It's performed by the Ensemble Orchestral de Marseille, from a great CD published for the bicentennial of the French Revolution, Le Bal des Citoyens. ... Also, a little slideshow of some of my snaps from in and around Paris. link 10 July - My Sheep, My Friend  There have been goat-related ex votos posted here from time to time - the goat of evil ex voto, and the truck-riding goat ex voto, and even a dancing goat ex voto - but I believe this is the first ex voto with a sheep; it's currently for sale on eBay. Here's the translation of the inscription: I thanks to the Virgen of Guadalupe because when I feel sad or lonely I have my sheep, the one I breed since it was a baby, to talk with and it gives me company and friendship even if it's not very smart but very affectionate.Well, one doesn't shouldn't look for intellectual accomplishment in a sheep, after all. But they can make good pals - I recall that when my nephew Caleb Szégy-Légy was little and living on his father Granville's dairy farm, he had an intimate friend named Dennis who happened to be a sheep...  ... That's Dennis on the right. They were inseparable pals - Dennis would follow Caleb into the house (do I recall that there were improvised sheep diapers involved?) and Caleb for a time spoke mainly in baa's. Happy memories... eventually, Caleb became an architect and Dennis was eaten. link 10 July - More Vintage Chickens from the Collection  And now, coming hard on the heels of the Celebrated Broody Cat of Excelsior, Minnesota, is another superb chicken-related photograph from the Janus Museum collections - a lady gazes enigmatically at the camera while clutching a hen and rooster in this anonymous stereoview, circa 1870. Update - Thanks to old friend Rusty Norton, the Lady with Chickens has been identified - more later. Now that I come to think about it, multitudes of nineteenth century photographic prints are chicken-related, having been made with the albumen process - the paper is treated with egg white before sensitization. I wonder what came first in our stereoview - the chickens or the egg white? We must have the Chicken Reel, here played by the great Ed Haley from the album Forked Deer, which is tragically out of print. I think we've got another chicken stereoview somewhere in the files - will have to chase it down. Meanwhile, there's always a chicken being chased by a vampire, of course. link 10 July - Extended July 4th Coverage - The Mulligan Guard  Gus, the Museum's maintenance man, salutes Washington Grove mayor Darrell Anderson (on tractor) during the Fourth of July parade; Gus begged me to post a snap of him actually getting off a shot during the celebrations, since his delayed Patriotic Salute occurred after the camera stopped rolling.  Jeffrey Price of the Hornbostel Institute brandishes his pipe-wistle hand-gonne; and Gus, the Museum's flintlock, in this superb stereo pair shot by Lawrence Hare. Sure to be a collector's item, the stereocard is available as a free download here. Print it out on cardstock, if available; you may need to resize the file to 7 inches in width to make it the proper size for the standard stereoviewer.  And for readers with a pair of red/cyan 3D glasses handy, here's a shot by Lawrence of the Grove Militia in all their anaglyphic glory. Looking over the photographs of our motley horde reminded me of an image in the Museum's collection, another stereoview:  The caption reads No. 224. - Mulligan Guards - "Attention, Company." It was taken in July, 1874 at Camp Rathbone, Troy, New York by George W. Conkey. Here's a detail -  One sees a bizarre variety of uniforms and headgear and a fine relaxed slovenly air; not unlike the Washington Grove Militia, in fact. The troops, probably a New York militia company, are performing a tribute to a boffo vaudeville act of the day...  ... Ned Harrigan and Tony Hart's lampoon of New York City's beer-soaked neighborhood militia companies, The Mulligan Guards -  We shouldered arms Here it is, sung by Mick Moloney, from his album McNally's Row of Flats. Harrigan and Hart took the Mulligans to Broadway in 1878 with The Mulligan Guard Picnic and followed it up with The Mulligan Guard Ball in 1879, and Cordelia's Aspirations in 1883. Maybe we ought to rename our own company the Mulligan Grove Guards. link 6 July - Righteous Fists  Soldiers of the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists - the Boxers - are on the run from troops of the Eight-Nation Alliance (from the left, German, Japanese, and Russian) in this melodramatic German lantern slide of the Boxer Uprising from the Museum's collection. The Janus Museum used to present magic lantern shows back during the our less scholarly dime museum phase, around 1900. This slide and our Buster Brown slide are the only remnants that I've been able to locate in the files. link 6 July - Somewhat Delayed Glorious Fourth Coverage  The ranks of the Grove Militia swelled to four this year with the recruitment of Paul Ludwig, brother to neighbor and superb fiddle-maker David Rapkievian. In this photo, contributed by Friend of the Museum Lawrence Hare, Paul is second to the right. That's Museum maintenance man Gus Norbeck at the left - William Van Camp next to him - Paul - and the Hornbostel Institute's Jeffrey Price to the right.  Last year, Jeffrey was armed with a matchlock carbine; this year, he sported a 14th century "Pipe-Wistle" hand-gonne. Above, he practices the firing process - clapping the business end of a smoldering slow-match to the touch-hole of the gonne. Oh, we have a video of Jeffrey test firing his priming: What everyone wants to know: did Gus actually get off a shot, or did he fail in the clutch, as he had for so many 4th of Julys? After the success of the last couple of years, he was quietly confident - a fairly unsettling sight - and his test-fire from the previous day had been very fine.  So, of course, he flunked it - his flint failed to spark. The other chaps did very well - it wasn't what you might call a disciplined volley, but more of a feu de joie, a running fire, very fine in it's own way. William got off a blast with his Hawkens first, then Paul's Brown Bess, and finally, Jeffrey's Pipe-Wistle. Here's the video - first, the Muskrat Band marches on the field, then the Anthem is played as the Militia goes to a sort of present arms, then the volley - Gus did re-prime and got off a decent blast - after the camera was turned off, naturally. Here's more coverage, courtesy of Lawrence Hare. And here's the Museum's Video Unit's footage of the Grand Parade:  ... And later, a nice picnic on the porch of the Historic Cottage. link After the Glorious Fourth  Will post a full account of yesterday's festivities as soon as possible. Meanwhile, please enjoy this magnificent stereoview from our collection - 6913. 'Tis the Land of Liberty, flowing with milk and Honey. Published by B. W. Kilburn, Littleton, New Hampshire, 1891. link 3 July - Patriotic Musketry  Our maintenance man Gus achieves a jolly nice volley with the Museum's musket while wearing the Museum's pickelhaube, in rehearsal for tomorrow's patriotic salute. Let's go to the video: Very impressive; will report tomorrow on how the feu du joie comes off. link 27 June - The Celebrated Broody Cat of Excelsior, Minnesota  Here's another treasure from the Museum's scanning queue - a carte de visite by H. A. Ball, c.1870, of a cat mothering a brood of poor orphan chicks. The text as printed on the reverse of the carte:
Truly a Cornelia among cats! There's a very fine turn of phrase and word choice in the text that should shame the average Twitterer - ...followed them about with a watchfulness that was wonderful, and guarded them from the dangers incident to young chickenhood... - ...she has displayed the fierceness of the feline nature, but to all who belong there she is as gentle as a kitten need be. It's too bad that the cat's name wasn't recorded, but being a farm cat, she probably didn't have one. And yet she's conferred a sort of immortality to Wm. Simpson and H. A. Ball of Excelsior, Minnesota. Previously Featured Vintage Cats from the Collection: Cat in a Carte de Visite Cabinet Card Cat Sleeping Cat Stereoview link 27 June - Off to the Cleaners, or Lunacy and Lunars  Portrait of Sir Charles Wallingford. Oil on canvas, 1630, by Pieter van der Norbeeck. If you're planning a visit to the Janus Museum to view our renowned portrait of Sir Charles Wallingford, you'd better pick another leading cultural institution instead - Sir Chas. is off to the conservators for a thorough cleaning. It seems that things got out of hand during last night's Young Benefactors Evening, and the gallant cavalier now sports a couple of unsightly Jägermeister and Mojito stains. The Young Benefactors program is another brilliant scheme of our Development staff - get a bunch of youngish lawyers, lobbyists and Beltway Bandits, dripping with cash, seduced by Culture (as represented by the Janus Museum) and they'll open up their bank accounts to us. Gus and I were even drafted to serve as waiters, for god's sake. Well, the proceeds from last evening's bacchanal may pay for half of the cost of cleaning off poor Sir Charles. Thank god, though, we coshed the Jäger-spitter before he got to Captain John Wallingford. I do find that an otherwise elegant Museum fundraiser is marred slightly when one is forced to concuss the guests, don't you? But after the cops and the ambulance left, I was able to get a little observing time in -  ... And got a few more shots of the Strawberry Moon. Also assisting was...  ... Leroy, who was, as usual, very helpful. link 26 June - The Moon and Cats and I  The Moon being full and rising late last night, I took the Museum's Galileoscope and a tripod out into the Circle for a bit of observation, accompanied by Cats Leroy and Natasha. Not having an adapter tube as suggested in these instructions for Galileoscope photography, I merely held my camera up to the eyepiece and snapped away. The cats enjoyed the nocturnal activity and ran about, though neither of them pestered me for a peek through the scope. It was all very pleasant, and it made me wonder if Galileo took his cats along when he observed the heavens - would make a good children's book, I bet - like Captain Kidd's Cat. The name of June's full Moon, by the way, is the Strawberry Moon. There's no lack of Moon songs, of course; let's hear the Moon part of The Sun Whose Rays from The Mikado: ...Observe his flame,... Sung by, I think, Valerie Masterson. Oh, and let's watch - ... The wonderful Shirley Henderson as Leonora Braham, who originated the role of Yum-Yum, from Topsy-Turvy - fabulous movie. link 25 June - Somewhere a Steer, Sometime  The steer was on the move and so was I, trying to get to the car before the storm reached us. It's somewhere along the Blue Ridge, I think. Probably taken... oh, around 1980, maybe. I should've kept track of these things better, I know, me being an archivist. But really, in a couple of hundred years, what difference will it make? However, I'm fairly certain it is a steer - Hereford, I think. With the threatening clouds and all, the shot reminds me of the Museum's wonderful painting, White Poodle Frightened by a Storm by Ianthe A. Gergel. link 25 June - Sleeping Lizards  No. 335. Crocodile on a Sand Bank in the Nile. Albumen Stereoview by Francis Frith, c.1860. Janus Museum Collection. Myself, I try to stick to photographing cats and dogs, or, if I'm feeling particularly brave, rabbits. But Francis Frith (1822-1898) was obviously made of sterner stuff - here's his shot of a crocodile - just look at the teeth on that boy - taken on one of his three trips to Egypt between 1856 and 1860. This particular view was even noticed by the Press - here's a review from the Times of London: You look through your stereoscope, and straightway you stand beside the fabled Nile, watching the crocodile asleep upon its sandy shore, with the superb ruins of Philae in the distance. The scene changes, and you are in the Desert…... Quoted by Here's Travelblog. If I ever have the opportunity to photograph a crocodile, even a sleeping crocodile, I'll use a powerful telephoto lens while sitting in an armored car, or, better yet, a tank. While wearing armor. link 20 June - Father's Day Song  That's my Pa, Milton Szégy-Légy, grimacing on the left, during a visit to the House of David, c.1920. And here's a Father's Day song, especially for Father's Day - It's Father's Day, composed by Harry Ruby and sung by Zero Mostel from his album Songs my Mother Never Sang. link 19 June - Boaters Boating and an Amazing Coincidence  Here's a superb image from the Museum's Haberdashery in Photographs collection - two straw boaters messing about in a boat, c.1920, presumably after Straw Hat Day. If there had been a third hat in the picture, it would have made an excellent book cover for a new edition of Three Men in a Boat. Curiously, I know of a song concerning rivers and straw hats - it's River Blues, also known as Ready for the River: ... Performed here by Bruce Hutton of the Double Decker Stringband and Hesperus, from his solo album Roll Back the Carpet, now tragically out of print, though another recording, Old Time Music - It's All Around is available through Smithsonian Folkways. Here's an odd coincidence - I was strolling through the town of Bethany Beach, Delaware one morning in the summer of 1978 and chanced to witness Bruce, who I didn't know at the time, being photographed at an "old-timey" photo saloon - that portrait is the one used on the cover of Old Time Music - It's All Around:  Truly, an amazing occurrence, and one that bears retelling, which I will. link 18 June - The Passing of the Old Stump  There was a mellow old tree stump, the remnant of an ancient oak, located a bit east of the North Wallow in the historic Circle, Washington Grove - it was a favorite with Cat Leroy, who would hop up and seek a bit of attention; thus, it was known locally as the Old Petting Stump. One could just sit on it and meditate on important matters...  ... Or use it as a stage for a striking tableau...  ... As in this dramatic presentation, Cat with Toy Hand Grenade, after Diane Arbus. Also used for our brief examination of the lolcat phenomenon. And it was a fine location...  ... For a little shut-eye on an autumn day. So it was a hell of a shock for us the other day when, on hearing a racket out in the Circle, we stepped out on the Historic Cottage porch and saw...  ... A crew armed with a stump grinder, grinding up the old stump, totally without warning. Shouldn't there have been a public hearing? I would have tied myself to the stump, but couldn't find any rope.  Natasha sadly views the pile of mulch, all that remains of the Old Petting Stump. Poor old Leroy was too distraught to pose. link 14 June - Gems from the Scanning Queue  Today in the Janus Museum's scanning queue - a superb view of a double platen planer, photog. unknown, c.1920. Note the disembodied hand in the lower left corner, turning a wheel. Next...  ... A 9th-plate tintype of a gallant gunner with his 6-pounder, Fort Washington, Maryland. And now...  ... A somewhat foggy but extremely rare ambrotype view of the old Castle of the Smithsonian Institution - previously unpublished. Here's another view of the Castle from the Collection. Previous Scanning Queue Treasures: Carmen Miranda and the Assassin link 14 June - Cephalopodiana  Too beautiful to even think about eating: a Pelagic Octopus (though not a Tuberculate Pelagic Octopus). Photograph by Chris Newbert. Many thanks to our cephalpod correspondent Grahame for sending the snap, via Pharyngula, via National Geographic. link 13 June - Alejandro Gatito  Please say hello to young Alejandro, who showed up scared and hungry in neighbors Margot and Ned's garden last week. He was given a couple of square meals and was soon captured by Friend of the Museum Rebecca. She took him to the vet, who pronounced him about eight weeks old and healthy - not even a flea on him. Neighbor Mimi dubbed him Alejandro, and so far the name suits him pretty well. He's now very friendly and affectionate - and over-the-top cute.  Peake (left) checks out the new boy as Nutmeg purses her lips in disapproval. So Alejandro is now looking for a permanent home. Tragically, the Curator has ruled that the Museum does not require a new museum cat, but we have hopes that he'll be adopted in town, near the Circle.  The prototype of the new kitten-sized pickelhaube arrived most opportunely - Alejandro was very good and submitted to posing in it. By the way, Mr. Pradeep informs me that the first consignment of cat-size pickelhaubes has been finished and is on the dock, ready for shipping. link 11 June - Surprise Shipment of Charcuterie  Came home the other afternoon to find a package from Brother Granville at the door - inside was a styrofoam cooler which held the goods temptingly arrayed in the photo above. From the lower left and going clockwise, we find German style salami, bratwurst, natural casing frankfurters, shinken speck, pork sausage links, and Polish sausage - truly a coronary in a cooler. It's a superb assortment of goodies from Koenemann's Sausage of Volo, Illinois. I've had to store it all in a freezer in an undisclosed location to preeserve it from those ravening hounds, Gus and the Museum Fellows. Previous Sausage-Related Postings: Ceci n'est pas une Saucisson Polonais Alarming Russian Sausage Choucroute Recipe Wild Magyar Sausage Advert Socialist Weiner Poster Visit to the Kielbasa Factory Ex Voto Chorizo The Self-Serving Hotdog link 5 June - The Merchandise-Hungry Cats  The latest eBay cat-related ex voto - a token giving thanks for a miraculous intervention - tragically casts the kitties in an unfavorable light. Here's the translation of the inscription: Anastacio Sanchez writes: I was selling my birds one day when I suddenly realized I had a line of cats following me and hungry for my merchandise so I ran and asked the Virgen de Zapopan for help and in that instant a large dog came out and chased them away for which I now give thanks.So hurtful - I'm certain that the cats just wanted to look at the birds. Previous Cat-Related Ex Votos: 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 1 June - Tom, Jerry, and Franz Joseph I  His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty Franz Joseph (1830-1916), King-Emperor of Austria-Hungary*, may have appeared in lots of cartoons, but the only one I'm familiar with is Tom and Jerry's Johann Mouse - it's your basic Cat on Mouse scenario, but set in Vienna and complete with waltzes - His Imperial and Royal Majesty appears at the 5 minute, 27 second mark. *The Emperor's Official Grand Title (according to Wikipedia) was: His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty,And after 1867: His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty,link Archives 2010 January February March April May June July
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