Words for an Ancestor

A Eulogy for Aubrey Travis Johnson Jr.

Revisiting Pushing Daisies

I recently binged on Hannibal and decided to revisit another Bryan Fuller classic: Pushing Daisies. Pushing Daisies lasted two seasons before being cancelled due in part to the 2007-2008 Writers' Strike.

Like Hannibal, Pushing Daisies was visually stunning and had an amazing cast. One of the most important aspects of the show was how colorful everyone and everything was, except for Ned (Lee Pace), who always wore dark colors so that the viewer focused on him.

Found on Instagram: Retro Signs!

I love spotting retro road signs that have held up beautifully and happening upon Instagram accounts dedicated to it. One of my favorite accounts has to be @sign_of_the_time. Take a look at a few of the different signs the account has posted:

Exploring Villa Lewaro, the Home of Madame C.J. Walker

Villa Lewaro, designed by architect Vertner Tandy, was the home of Madame C.J. Walker and later her daughter, A'Leila Walker (formerly known as Leila Walker Robinson). The name Lewaro came from the first two letters of each word in Leila Walker Robinson's name and had been coined by famed Italian singer, Enrico Caruso.

Located in Irvington, NY, the 20,000 square foot mansion sits on 3 acres and features 34 rooms.

For the Love of Aesthetics: On Michel Gondry's Mood Indigo

A movie that pops into my head from time to time for its visual storytelling is the French film, L'écume des jours, also known as Mood Indigo. It's a grossly underrated romantic fantasy tragedy by director Michel Gondry, the man behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind, and The Science of Sleep. The film is adapted from Boris Vian's novel of the same name and tells the story of a newlywed couple struck by tragedy when the bride suddenly falls ill and can only be treated by being surrounded by flowers.

“If we screw up this moment, we try the next. And if we fail the next, we have our whole lives to get it right.”

Finding Mouseland

Today I happened upon one of my newest favorite things: Mouseland. Mouseland is an ongoing project by children's book author & illustrator Maggie Rudy. Rudy creates miniature worlds with her felt mice and other animals. See the making of Mouseland here and follow the mice and their friends' adventures here.