J I L L C O R R A L . C O M | B L O G

talent imitates, genius steals

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:50:18 +0000

Somebody remind me again why I’m sitting at a desk on the ‘puter instead of dancing all day, every day? Oh yeah, because this is the best toy ever made (and pays the bills). Anyhoo… recently came across this dance scene below, which sent me down a path of Cyd Charisse, Fred Astaire, Bob Fosse, Michael Jackson and all the outrageous artistry and interconnectedness of it all. Cyd’s ferocity absolutely slays me in this — there’s actually a lot of flamenco footwork, arms, duende in there, which resonates deeply with me. If I had the time I’d lay a rapid-fire Spanish guitar and cajón track over it:

It’s no accident that Michael’s Smooth Criminal looks quite a lot like this. (There’s a cool scene-based comparison here: Michael Jackson & Fred Astaire: The Master & His Teacher.) Or that Beyoncé’s “Naughty” dance scene with Usher takes a page from it too.

And from the amazing, liquid Fosse in the 1974 movie The Little Prince, playing the snake. Set to “Billie Jean”, well, because, evidently it was the main inspiration for it:

Alright alright! One more. This is a great montage / homage — I found it (ahem) thrilling …

I could watch this stuff forever. If you need me I’ll be over here watching West Side Story…

sitting in the sun

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:31:57 +0000

Yesterday I sat in the sun for hours doing nothing. Literally. Nothing. Not reading, writing, photo-ing, thinking. Just sitting. It was a huge change of pace for me, some time for meditation, some time to recharge. I then ran around Cottage Grove capturing some of the little details that make it such a sweet place.

More here by Sarah Jurado. Love her eye.

@sarahjurado

Sutro Baths Ruins, the movie

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:56:13 +0000

This just made my day. I’ve spent countless hours there and this made me see it with new eyes. Posted to the Sutro Baths fan page on Facebook (by Barton Bischoff).

Sutro Baths Ruins • San Francisco from barton bishoff on Vimeo.

chevron

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:46:22 +0000

“Gareth Pugh’s emblematic chevron is also one of the symbols of Art Deco, and the glamour of the Deco years in Hollywood was one of the sub-currents in the designer’s latest collection.”

thou shalt not

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:38:18 +0000

In 1934 the MPAA voluntarily passed the Motion Picture Production Code, more generally known as the Hays Code, largely to avoid governmental regulation. The code prohibited certain plotlines and imagery from films and in publicity materials produced by the MPAA. Among others, there was to be no cleavage, no lace underthings, no drugs or drinking, no corpses, and no one shown getting away with a crime.

A.L. Shafer, the head of photography at Columbia, took a photo that intentionally incorporated all of the 10 banned items into one image.

The photograph was clandestinely passed around among photographers and publicists in Hollywood as a method of symbolic protest to the Hays Code.

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rose-colored glasses

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:13:38 +0000

marcio

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:43:39 +0000

Breakdance in slo-mo and real-time…. beautiful…

B-boy Marcio from France’s Legiteam Obstruxion

that blue

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:35:37 +0000

Cong Sheng Temple, Dali, China.

OPP

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:31:45 +0000

Sometimes I come across other people’s photos of Sutro Baths that just stop me in my tracks. It’s like finding a stack of photos of your lover taken by someone else. That you like. :)

An SF photog named Julie Canudo posted some today to the Sutro fan page I admin on Facebook, and I am just swooning. Below is the single best photo I think I’ve ever seen of one of the two main structures:

[View the whole set.]

when I’m 64

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:48:00 +0000

This graph traces the increase in Crayola options from 1903 to 2010:

More here.

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