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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

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

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

DEBKAfile

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

Cephalopodcast

Chase me Ladies, I'm in the Cavalry

Combat Helmets of the 20th Century

Command Post

Comics Curmudgeon

Cooked Books

Cool Tools

Cottage Renovations

Cronaca

Cul de Sac

Cute Overload

Daffodil Field

Daily Kos

DC Blogs

Defense Tech

Fed by Birds

Fig Newtons and Scotch

FuturePundit.com

Gizmodo

Good Name for a Dog

Grow-a-Brain

Hand Eye Paint

Hanuman

Hullabaloo

Intel Dump

Irish Elk

J-Walk

The Kitten Channel

Language Hat

The Law West of Ealing Broadway

Life on Two Acres

Martin Klasch

Metafilter

Ministry of Minor Perfidy

Mirabilis

The Nonist

The Nonist Annex

Notes from the Technology Underground

Octopia

The Online Photographer

Other Men's Flowers

Pharyngula

Pinky Diablo and His Singing Grubworm

Political Animal

Ramage

Ref Grunt

Repository for Bottled Monsters

The Rest is Noise

Retro Thing

The Rhine River

The Salt Mine

Samizdata.net

seven years in the navey

Squid

Squidblog

Talking Points Memo

things magazine

Time Has Told Me

The Tsarina of Tsocks

Your Daily Art

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




29 June - Benched



A quiet evening in the Circle, sitting on the bench with Cat Natasha, who is in a meditative mood - the bird song - the fireflies - the scent of mimosa in the air, wafted on a gentle breeze... carried away, a hand enters from stage left, and attempts to caress Cat Natasha. Unpet me, you brute! seems to be Natasha's reaction, and the hand exits, abashed, stage left. Left alone, Natasha meditates briefly, and then takes her leave... and - fade to black. For contractual reasons, Natasha uses her stage name in this production.

While Natasha appreciates an occasional pat on the head, or a scritch behind the ear, it is always at her command, and never in public. Natasha, of course, is the inventor of
the Zombie Game.

link     comment

The Yearly Flash

Flash in the Pan 1  Flash in the Pan 2

It's that time of year when the Museum's maintenance man, Gus Norbeck, refurbishes an old french flintlock musket from the collection preparatory to the civic celebration on July 4. He then tests the musket by firing a small charge in the pan, looking to achieve a flash in the pan. There's no charge of powder in the barrel, so there's no great boom 'til the Glorious Fourth. Though he's learned to his sorrow that a good test does not guarantee success on the big day. But today's test looked pretty promising:



Last year, Gus was joined in the patriotic salute by buddy William Van Camp. This year, the ranks may swell to three with a representative from the Leib Hornbostel Institute - it should be thrilling, or disastrous, or both.

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26 June - Hot Dogs and Nuptials

DC Snack Truck with Weddings

Apparently also available along with the hot dogs, ice cold drinks and Sponge Bob pops on this DC snack truck are weddings, though the price for weddings isn't posted. Heterosexual marriages only - Yes, we have no gay marriage / We have no gay marriage today... I just had the chili dog and a root beer.

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12 June - Soothing the Savage Cephalopod

Guitar vs. Octopus

If I had been a bit quicker on the uptake, I would actually have bought all of the octopus-related ex votos offered on eBay over the years. See, I was shocked to realize that this is the seventh cephalopodesque ex voto featured here - a fascinating genre. Tragically, the Museum has only purchased
one octopus ex voto; however, ours is unique - a very rare example of a helpful, heroic octopus; not the usual ravening fearsome homicidal beast.

This one is available through June 15; here's the translation of the inscription, as supplied by the seller:
We were on the beach when a gigantic octopus came out from the sea and it was going to hug Mariana with the tentacles but thanks to the Virgen de Guadalupe the music of my guitar seemed to distract it and to calm it and it was listening and we, little by little, were going away without stopping to play the music that had charmed to the octopus.
And so we learn that (along with sunscreen and beer) one should always take along a guitar when one goes to the beach, for to ward off the octopi.

Previous Octopus-Related Ex Votos:

The Threatening Tentacle
Swimming with Octopi
My Husband's Octopus
The Heroic Octopus
Graciela and the Octopus
An Octopus by Moonlight

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7 June - The Mystery of the Folding Bike

Gus holds the Mystery Bike
Gus holds the Mystery Bike

In
Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman, bicycles suddenly disappear in an odd, sinister way. We're having the opposite problem around here - I got a note from the local Post Office that a large parcel was being held for me. Went over, picked it, got back to the Museum and opened it up:


The Folding Bike

It was a folding bike, a Chinese knock-off of the Sinclair A-Bike:


A-Bike

... which was sort of odd, 'cos I hadn't bought a folding bike. I thanked my friends at the Janus Museum, but none of them had bought it for me - no surprise there, the cheapskates. Called my brother Granville - he, also, had not bought it for me, though my birthday is coming soon, actually. I sent a message to the eBay seller who shipped it - have not heard back from him, yet. I'm not going to do anything with it 'til the situation's clarified a bit - may have to ship it back to the seller, if he ponies up the shipping money. Damn thing looks like a suicide waiting to happen, anyway...

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7 June - Extremely Scraptastical

Scrapplemonger from Richard's Poor Almanac

Excellent
scrapple reference in yesterday's Richard's Poor Almanac by Friend of the Museum Richard Thompson; it's on recent restaurant closings hereabouts.

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31 May - Cats Behind Bars

Natasha at the Gazebo

Another
noir-ish moment down at the gazebo in Wallingford Park: Natasha plays "Maxine", a reckless brittle tough moll with an unexpectedly vulnerable side and a bit of a hairball problem, as she peers out at a brute uncaring world from behind the bars of the big house - "Laugh while you can, you dirty coppers! There ain't no gazebo in the world can hold me!" Great film, saw it on the Late Show, once - man, we were stoned... What's the title, again? Oh, yes - Farewell, My Tabby.


Previous Cat Noir Thrillers:

Dial Meow for Murder
Dial G for Gazebo
Strangers on a Bridge
The Eternal Triangle

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31 May - Pass in Review

Cat Column on the March

Always an impressive sight for Museum visitors, a column of cats comes into view for the ceremonial march past following the evening's catwalk. Leroy's on point, followed by Natasha, while Nutmeg acts as the Tail-End Tortie.

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30 May - A Brief History of Cat Parachutists

Parakitties from Cirque Mexicain

I love the splendid expression of bravery and quiet confidence on the face of this paracat from a Cirque Mexicain poster (via the wonderful
Circusmuseum.nl site, previously mentioned here. He's rather more confident looking than this poor involuntary Russian jumping cat:


Russian Paracat

Russian Paracat

Via English Russia.

Most wonderfully, though, there's an account of the world's first parachuting cat written by the cat himself. Part of a balloon ascension from Vauxhall Gardens, London and conducted by André-Jacques Garnerin (1769-1823), it took place on August 5th, 1802. The cat belonged to his wife, Jeanne-Geneviève Garnerin, who accompanied her husband on the ascent; Tom, the cat, insisted on coming too, as he reveals in his elegant account of the exploit:
Hearing of my mistress's intended ascension, and
having learnt, from my master's late experiment, the
turbulent nature of the English atmosphere, I who
had been a quiet spectator of her aerial flights in
more peaceful skies, determined on sharing the danger
of her new voyage...
Tom Cat was not content to be a mere passenger:
The very first moment I found myself buoyant, I felt disposed
not`to be an idle spectator, but to take an active part in
the boat. My mistress, however, near whom I was
seated, in a neat wicker basket, patting me gently
upon the head, and smiling irresistibly, said it would
be of dangerous consequence, and requested me to
sit still. Ever obedient to the call of beauty, I complied,
and instantly began to purr a little tune, to
prove at once the placidity of my temper, and the
total absence of all fear and apprehension...
He even skips the inflight meal to devote himself to science:
My companion thinking this a good opportunity to take
a snack, and feeling the effect which exposure to
the pure air generally produces upon my constitution,
I prepared to gratify my appetite with a leg of
cold chicken. Mr.Garnerin here interposing, assured
me that such gross food would infallibly obtund
my intellectual faculties, and requested me to reserve
my appetite for the milky way, which would
afford pure and safe nourishment. I readily acquiesced;
and while the rest were disposing of several
hams, and a dozen of chickens, I devoted myself
entirely to physical observations.
Tom gallantly volunteers to make the leap:
I had now attained the greatest elevation ever reached
by any of the feline race, and Mons. Garnerin proposed
that one of us should descend in the parachute;
we were exactly over Milbank, where the storm and
tempest of the late elections had not reached, and all
was calm, while the sky was rent and torn all over
Maidstone and Brentford. Madame Garnerin expressed
an inclination to make the experiment. I was
musing upon the use to which balloons might be
applied by cats in pursuit of the feathered race, when
my mistress's danger roused me from my reverie. I
instantly claimed the honour of this hazardous mission,
observing, that I had nine lives, and was ready to sacrifice
one of them for so much beauty. I was accordingly
placed in the basket of the parachute, and
gave a mew as the signal that I was ready. My companions
cut the rope which attached the parachute to
the balloon, and I began to descend...
Read the exciting complete account here. The Janus Museum Press once offered an elegant printed edition - maybe, if there's any interest, we'll reprint it after we get our tragic computer problems sorted out.

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30 May - El Milagro de Dormir Perro

Happy Landing, Except for the Dog

It seems that there might be an entire class, or genus, of Mexican miracles that depends on strategically placed sleeping dogs, as evidenced by the ex voto illustrated above (and
currently available for purchase on eBay) and by this example, featured here back in October '07. Looks like it could be the same dog in both examples, unless the Mexicans have bred a unique breed of pneumatic narcoleptic dogs specifically to deal with their tragic Plummeting Child Syndrome situation.

In other blogs, there's a fascinating post in AirSpace, the National Air and Space Museum's new feature, on the heroic space monkeys Able and Baker - their historic mission took place fifty years ago this week.

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23 May - Out in the Prairie

The Elusive Prairie Cat

I mentioned a while back that our maintenance man Gus tends to leave patches of the Janus Museum's lawn unmowed out of brute uncaring sloth. Not so, he claims, it's his prairie restoration project, a very green and beautiful thing to do. However, when we discovered that the cats enjoy hiding in the prairie - some mysterious atavistic longing for the savannah, no doubt - we decided to keep one of the prairies. Above, the Prairie Tortie meditates in her lair.




Oh, here's a video of prairie cats being observed carefully by a careful prairie cat observer, Martha Norbeck-Wallingford.

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23 May - AirSpace

Aeromarine 75 flying boat 'Buckeye'
Aeromarine 75 flying boat Buckeye,
National Air and Space Museum SI 89-1182


Very pleased to pass on the news that the National Air and Space Museum has started a blog,
AirSpace. I especially liked a post on an obscure photographic genre to be found in the Museum's Archives Division, that of images of people standing or sitting on aircraft wings. The photograph shown above illustrates a sub-genre that might be designated "Babes on Wings". Very interesting and informative - could be a book in it, I reckon. There's another fascinating post on a haunting photograph of a B-24 tailgunner reflected in the glass of his own turret.

Of course it's very cool that Air and Space has started blogging, and I wish them luck. Of course, the Janus Museum's been at it for a while already... let's see... oh, it's been six years, now - just saying. Maybe in return for the blurb and link the Air and Spacers will put in a good word for us with their Hollywood buddies so we can hop on the gravy train with Night in the Museum 3: Ungodly Mess at the Janus Museum. I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. Zanuck...

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22 May - The Fresh Pizza You Can't Have


via
videosift.com

Here is an absolutely riveting video of the Let's Pizza, the magnificent vending machine that makes delicious fresh pizza from scratch before one's very eyes, mentioned here back in March. Tragically, the machine is not coming to the States, which is very sad. Watch the video, and weep.

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22 May - May Folksongs, Again

Woodcut by Joseph Crawhall II
Woodcut by Joseph Crawhall II (1821-1896)

Thinking still on the subject of
Folksong Day - May 14th - it suddenly came on me that the events of the tragic ballad Willie Moore took place on May 10th. Listening to the song (the fine version recorded by the Rhythm Rats), I realized that the balladeer, J.R.D., left himself a bit of wriggle room:
It was about the tenth of May,
The time I remember well;
That very same night, her body disappeared
In a way no tongue could tell...
So Sweet Annie died around May 10 - it could very well have happened on May 14, couldn't it? Well, maybe not; but the fact remains that early May is a hell of an auspicious season for folksong.

Normally, I'd post an example of the song as a streaming MP3, but our continuing server problems tragically prevent me. Luckily, Amazon has a good selection of performances - besides the aforementioned version by the Rhythm Rats, I can suggest the famous version recorded by Burnett and Rutherford. And I really like the performance by Hesperus and Bruce Hutton, but it doesn't look like there's an available MP3.

The charming woodcut above is by the great Newcastle artist and chapbook revivalist Joseph Crawhall II (1821-1896) and is from the Joseph Crawhall II Society web site. Oh, and have a look at the Crawhall exhibit on the Newcastle University Library Special Collections site.

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15 May - Hand Me Down My Boater and My Mask; Bang the Cod Slowly

Straw Hat Flu Day

Just because the Spanish Influenza was laying low huge great numbers of people in 1918 didn't mean a chap could't look sharp - all it took was a snappy boater and an edgy custom flu mask, as
this snap from the State Library of New South Wales clearly demonstrates. Which is a cheery way to remind everyone that today is Straw Hat Day.

And yesterday was Folk Song Day, too - the date on which at least three songs in the British tradition take place: The Bonny Black Hare, When I was on Horseback, and Cod-Banging. Normally, I'd post links to audio files of the songs, but tragically, our server problems continue yet. But next year, for sure, maybe.

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2 May - Azalea-Related Felony

Janus Museum Azalea Guard

This is just pathetic - no sooner had word leaked out about our excellent deal with a Korean distiller - we're selling our azalea blossoms for dugyeonju - azalea wine - than we were hit by azalea rustlers. Last night, a gang stripped a large section of the south azalea grove - we estimate a loss of a couple thou, for crying out loud.

Were the azaleas insured? Of course not.

So now, we've detailed our maintenance man Gus, armed with his scattergun, to serve as our azalea guard - no good can come of this, as the bottle of rum in the picture above portends. What we need is a highly trained orchard warden, like Enver/Egon of the nearby Leib Hornbostel Institute.

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1 May - Economic Uptick

Gus picking azalea blossoms for dugyeonju

Here's some good news, for a change - our business office has negotiated with a major Korean distiller, and has sold them the blossoms of the famous Janus Museum azaleas for
dugyeonju, the potent Korean azalea wine. As we see above, Gus has already been set to harvesting the blossoms - our intern Zoe is out looking for uncredentialed workers to do the serious work. It'll be hard on the azalea tourists who flock to the Museum every spring - maybe we can turn it into a sort of Tom Sawyer fence whitewashing sort of activity for them, and score some sweet free labor. Yes, things are looking up.

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1 May - Closing Time

Kathleen Ewing - photograph by Katherine Frey
Kathleen Ewing - Photograph by Katherine Frey, Washington Post

Very sad to report that The Kathleen Ewing Gallery, DC's essential photo gallery, is closing after thirty-three years. I can't even begin to imagine what life in Washington will be without it, and what photography in Washington will be like. Kathy has been at the center of Washington photography since she started the gallery in her Cleveland Park house, then to a scenic location on the grounds of a cement factory under the Whitehurst Freeway, and then on to Harry Lunn's former gallery on P street in Georgetown - much nicer than the cement factory. Kathleen even let me set up a wet-plate darkroom in the basement of the P Street gallery...


Kathleen Ewing, ambrotype
Kathleen Ewing - ambrotype.

Here's a portrait I made of Kathleen behind the P Street gallery, sometime in the early '80s, I think. By the way, The Kathleen Ewing Gallery has represented the Allan Janus estate for years and years.

After P Street, Kathleen moved on to a spacious location at Dupont Circle - 'twas there that she generously allowed me to hold
a book-signing for Animals Aloft. The last location was a cozy space again on P Street. Now Kathy will carry on back at her house in Cleveland Park - real Wheel of Life stuff, beautiful in its way. Wherever it was, Kathy's gallery was always a hang-out for DC's photographers, and the openings were always good opportunities to see exciting new work, catch up with your buddies, and have a good deal to drink. I especially recall the picnics out back behind the first P Street location - will have to dig up the ambrotypes I made of them...

Oh, well... The Washington Post has a nice article on Kathleen and the gallery today:
"All of us thrive on the rich photographic community we have built here," says Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of the Department of Photographs at the National Gallery. "Kathleen was one of the people who started the ball rolling, who decided at a very early point to stand up to the Washington art community, which had little or no interest in photography.

"It was a brave act."
The article even mentions Allan Janus, though it makes the all too common mistake of characterizing him as a contemporary photographer.

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26 April - The Futility of Non-Feline Endeavor

Leroy with blooms

Tragically, we continue to experience system disruptions - maybe it wasn't such a clever idea to place our IT department under Maintenance Services, which resulted in putting Gus, our maintenance man, in charge of the Museum's network. The result, of course, is total chaos - I'm writing this on my old Kaypro, leeching off a neighbor's unsecured wireless.

But the cats carry on unconcerned by the human anquish swirling about them; Leroy, above, has smoothly transitioned from posing among the daffs to these here blue blooms, whatever they are.

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12 April - Consider the Lilies of the Field, Or the Cats and Daffs of the Circle

Cat Natasha Amongst the Daffs

We're now in the second week of our tragic server disaster, but at least we still have Cat/Daff Season to serve as balm to our troubled spirits - I can feel my blood pressure decline as I contemplate the cats and the daffs. Above, Cat Natasha in the daffs.


Nutmeg and Daffs

And Nutmeg also takes a turn, her eyes half closed in deep tortie meditation in the daffs around the historic marker.


Cat, Gus and Daffs

One will not be surprised to learn that contemplating our maintenance man Gus in the daffs does not have the same tranquilizing effect. Blood pressure rising... rising...


Bayou and Nola

... But we were pleased to see Bayou and Nola pass through the Circle - very nice guys.

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5 April - Alles Gute zum Geburtstag

Ed McDevitt

Happy birthday to one of the Fellows of the Janus Museum, Ed McDevitt. Ed's particular areas of study are the Barbershop Quartet in Popular Culture, and critical beer studies. I will drink a
Schneider Aventinus later this evening, in his honor.

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4 April - Cat/Daff Season Continues Unabated

Leroy with Daff

Leroy poses gracefully behind a daff patch as Cat/Daff season continues. Meanwhile, the Museum server is knackered - posting may be intermittent until we're able to patch it up. It's very irritating - I may go sprawl in the daff patch 'til it's fixed.

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