Oh, gosh, what have I been up to? All of this heat makes the days melt together.

• Taking the dog on long walks in the August heat to get zucchini tacos at El Chilito.
• Listening to John Waters read his new book “Role Models” on my iPod everywhere: on the bus, on long walks, and passing endless hours at the DMV. In this, Waters recounts nearly everything, from his friendship with Leslie Van Houten and her life in jail to the brand and color of the pencil that he uses to draw on his signature pencil thin moustache. In honor of John Waters, I created a sundae this week called “Pink Flamingo,” which includes two tiny toy flamingos, pink sprinkles, and a Fingerstache temporary tattoo. So far only girls under 8 years of age have ordered it, which I think is kind of funny.
• I hope I’m like Vivienne Westwood when I grow up. Tangerine hair included.
• This is important: You must know about the Harlem James Gang! Snappy dressers, magic acts, catchy songs, and THE most handsome men I’ve ever seen! I hope they plan to come to Texas sometime in the future… but for now I’ll be jealous of all y’all who get to Huff with them.
• Speaking of other male performers that I’m smitten by, I hope everyone was cheering for Prince Poppycock’s performance on America’s Got Talent yesterday.
• In other reincarnation/timetravel news, I recently found out (via Darla Teagarden’s facebook feed) that my MOST favorite song from when I was a kid was not originally by Trout Fishing in America, as I had previously thought, but written in the 1930s and sung by a British radio and variety entertainers, Sovell and Wheldon. Warning! It’s a tongue-twister song that will be stuck in your head for days. Proceed with glee:

“Proper Cup Of Coffee” sung by Scovell & Wheldon 1934

Favorite filmstill I snapped this week: Marlene Dietrich, 1935 with teacup and upside-down heart kiss curls.

Prince Poppycock’s Striptease at Dances of Vice – be sure to watch until the end! Yow!

1. Alfred Cheney Johnson, Woman with Face Obscured by Fan 2. Dia De Los Muertos 3. Alfred Cheney Johnson Woman with White Mask
4. Prince Poppycock 5. Prince Poppycock 6. Roxanne Carter
7. Heart Lips 8. Glitter Lips 9. Cupid’s Bow Lips

I have a general rule where I don’t watch movies that were filmed after Man walked on the Moon, therefore, I seldom watch new-release movies in the theatre. I’m so fortunate to have the Alamo Draft House and Paramount theatres here in Austin that play old favorites of mine, that if I do seek out the theatre experience, it’s to see old classics on the big screen.

I was lured to a performance of Inception last week at the IMAX, and my mind was totally blown. I found it to be a riveting film, and I felt a mixture of stress/excitement when I thought back on it for days after seeing it (I did love the styling of the men! Very polished!). To cleanse my CGI palette this week, I’ve been doing heavy research into automatonic machines and other mechanical curios. I find that no matter how splendid the CGI in a contemporary movie, my heart is still aflutter after visiting places like Musee Mecanique or watching the player piano at Museum of Natural and Artifical Ephemerata here in Austin.

Here I am last March in front of my favorite arcade game at the Musee Mecanique in San Francisco. It’s called “French Execution” and a little bishop waves a crucifix while a curtain opens and the mini guillotine chops off the prisoner’s head.

Mommy Fortuna tells my fortune, while little dancers in the Theatre Automatique spin and twirl.

Video (not mine!) of various arcade games from Musee Mecanique in San Francisco. Be sure to watch at 6:40 when the mechanical horse goes on!

Video of American-made Orchestrion playing “Maple Leaf Rag.” This is a recently refurbished/rebuilt instrument, so the playing is very tight and on the robotic side. Still, it’s so neat to see the little hammers and mallets tick and hit in time.

Video of Orchestrion of “J’ai Deux Amours (Mon Pays et Paris).” I love how jagged and aged this instrument feels. It’s a bit cattywampus in the beginning but when the melody enters the music feels more focused.

Hand cranked Organette:

This generation best knows the Porter Music Box from the Bjork album Vespertine, where it was used on several of the tracks, including “Pagen Poetry.” Here she is on Letterman, hand cranking her Porter.

Porter Music Box playing “Fur Elise,” and the owner describes how it works.

The Cail-o-Scope or Mutoscope is a large flip reel (like a flip book) which tells a story. It’s a very early form of motion pictures.

Here’s another Mutoscope starring Charlie Chaplin. I was surprised at the amount of “tame” ones I found on youtube, the mutoscopes I’ve seen in person always promise to be naughty!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little rudimentary taste of mechanical machines! Any suggestions for me to check out?

If you don’t already know her, I’m very pleased to acquaint you with one of my favorite singers!
Annette Hanshaw (1901- 1985) needs little more than a piano accompaniment, ukulele strum and cymbal punctuation to offset her dreamy, buttery voice. Her songs are filled with breathy pauses and hums as she pleads “Love me Tonight” or flippantly suggests, “What do I Care?” Through her extensive recordings, manages to effortlessly combines flapper ingenue with sweetheart pop songs. One quick glance through her catalogue and you’ll surely recognize standards like “Ain’t She Sweet?” and “Button Up Your Overcoat.” She’s instantly likeable and her songs will stick with you throughout the day!
I like to listen to Annette Hanshaw while I’m cooking a lengthy breakfast of baking powder biscuits, tofu scramble and strong Brazilian coffee. Her rhythms deliciously accompany any activity that involves wearing an apron, rolling dough, and singing to oneself in the kitchen. In fact, she even has a song called “Cooking Breakfast for the One I Love!” And, a girl after my own heart, she likes dogs, perfume and cooking, but dislikes diets, mathematics and bugs. Isn’t it silly that magazines today aren’t any better when profiling celebrities?

And who’s got plenty of that thing they call “it”?
And who can pet and love like Babe Ruth can hit?
Who?
Who takes the sheikin’ prize?
Who plays like Lindbergh flies?
Who-oo? You-oo, that’s who!

“Who-Oo? You-Oo, That’s Who” is one of my favorite songs because it references slang and celebrities of the age in lines like “Who loves like Lindburg flies?” and sheikin’ prize (what ever that may be!!). Her version of “Button Up Your Overcoat” mentions keeping away from bootleg hooch and Peroxide blondes!

Possibly my favorite part of her songs is that she always finishes the recording with a demure, “That’s all!”

Tiptoe through the Tulips

We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye – Footage of her singing