Images from the Writing Room Floor (I)

Unusual, Entertaining and Unused [Sublime | Prosaic] Media Assets from 2024

In researching weird things on the internet, I often run across old links that are broken. This makes me paranoid about link erosion for my own writing. For images, I also tend to use screen grabs in putting together my pieces, rather than link to the original (out of fear the original will be gone in the near to midterm). How else can someone working on the world’s most useless doctorate degree thirty years from now reliably engage with my critical body of work? /s

My practice of using screenshots also means my desktop becomes littered with images when I'm doing a lot of writing (I have the screencaptures autosave there for ease of finding and dragging into the composition underway). After a while, there’s a funny little graveyard of unused or discarded images, which I am using here now that I’m sure I won’t be writing whatever I set it aside for originally. Please enjoy these images from my writing room floor, all set aside for something in 2024.

I. Father John Misty, as dressed by Gabriela Hearst.

II. The writing of part two to Alchemy of the Miliners (my history of the rise and fall of Western hats no one asked for) is still underway. We know Panama hats came from the New World to Europe and debuted at the 1855 Paris Expo. In trying to see how Panama hats arose in early America itself, I was drawn to illustrations from Maya and other mostly vanished peoples. It sure does seem to my know-nothing eye that these hats are the result of endless innovations on headdresses (with an emphasis placed on sun cover).

Citation lost at the moment, but I’m going to put this forward as depicting proto-Panama hats. I think I saw this as part of a Getty Villa exhibition on Mayan and Moche pottery (?).

III. People like this photo series online for President Obama losing it at a baby dressed as a Pope for Halloween. I like it for the perfect styling on 44. I tried to figure out who made these dark brown suede trainers, which were sourced/recommended by a stylist I’m sure, but they are great (and a mystery).

IV. I am likewise working on a part two to my series about the history of hot air ballooning (a piece beloved by me, but like my history of hats, one of my most unpopular ever). So this photo is the result of me trying to research a hot air balloon rally t-shirt I bought from eBay that is from 1988 (the balloon rally in question is one of the longest running the world put on by the Pacific Coast Aeronauts). The balloon/crew in question was called “Grace & Beauty.” I like this photo because it’s rare (and fun) to have Google shrug at you and say “I’ve got nothing” in this age of information superabundance.

V. I love this meme. Shows there’s nothing new under the sun. It’s someone in 1627 complaining about how le youth has lost sight of what truly matters (reading the Bible and engaging in equestrian blood sport for your lord). Instead they are drinking, gambling and whoooring [Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds pronunciation] around in their foppish macaroni heels. It’s meant to be a condemnation from the author, but ends up being a telling kind of self-own. “This is the future liberals want” from 400 years ago.

I like the pamphlet shown in its original context even better (a pamphlet for a sermon taking place in London by Samual Ward, Preacher of Ipswich—I’m sure he was super great).

WOE TO DRVNKARDS.

Thank you for your sales pitch, I will respectfully decline a membership in your organization at this time.

VII. From my article in the fall about big dumb glasses. Apple Music’s Zane Lowe demonstrating the principle while interviewing Charlie XCX.

Big. Dumb. Glasses. Also for men.

And then this one. I never started a piece about anything related to it, but if I could be anyone from the Ocean’s crew:

Ruben Tishkoff from Ocean’s 11 showing us how to do it (and fighting a good fight on the black tie front as well!).

VIII. Similar to the Google results coming up empty above, here’s one showing the ghost in the algorithm at work. I am not sure what I was buying on Amazon on this date (I checked and don’t see a corresponding purchase), but the recommended items related to that item are a greater mystery. Graph paper, a shoe leather encyclopedia and a book about raising goats. I want to meet the person this was recommended for (or based on).

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Internet Bycatch

Things accidentally caught from the world wide web in our web.

The West Indian Manatee, James Stewart, c. 1830s.

• Thinking about bromeliads as a solution for a few rooms that have low light.

  

• One of my favorite things is a purchase price of “Inquire.” It’s like “Market Price” on a restaurant menu, but for artisanal goods. For an example, here is a pool table from Italian tailoring house Rubinacci and Los Angeles-based furniture maker 11 Ravens. If you want one, there’s no button to purchase. Instead you can inquire with the maker (and maybe they can make one for you).

From the website, “[d]esigned as an homage to yachting culture along Italy's coast, this pool table and accompanying pieces capture the sophistication of the Rubinacci atelier’s Neapolitan roots, seamlessly blending form and function.”

And by contrast, here’s a hifi audio system/cabinet that sells for US$30,000. You could list this as ‘inquire for price,’ but instead you’re fine disclosing that it costs five figures instead.

The Modern Record Console from Symbol. American Black Walnut with a steel base.

• People of Pitti, January, 2025.

• The British Museum (a great Instagram follow if you’re into that), is struggling with the rest of the world demanding the return of their Moai.