Seen on the corner of 22nd Street and 10th Avenue

From Jim Ryan, the man who gave us "The Lowlife Scum"

WFMU

I've selected my holiday card for 2009 from Inaluxe

Inaluxe is the etsy store/blog of Australian artist Kristina Sostarko. She's on a tear, painting, stitching and sketching madly after a brief hiatus. I don't see her work everywhere I turn and to me that's a good thing. Visit her and take a look.

Shopping in Essex: Paul Neily Antiques, Ellen Neily Antiques and Andrew Spindler Antiques

I had some things to tend to in the Ipswich/Essex area the other day and took the opportunity to visit Andrew Spindler Antiques to see his latest incarnation. As always it was inspirational and dramatically different from a few months ago...how does he do it?

While there I purchased these rustic beeswax candles and Mr. Spindler wrapped them with this op-art vintage paper - at $18, these would make the perfect holiday hostess gift, especially with that paper!

Being that it was a sunny day I thought I'd take a stroll around and see what else was cooking and stumbled upon Paul Neily's little back room in his mother's store, Ellen Neily Antiques. My pictures didn't come out as good as I would've liked them to, but just to give you an idea of what's there:


These little tables are custom painted by Paul Neily. He happened to be in the shop while I was there and we had a lengthy conversation on colors. He's a paint whisperer and all around good guy who has some wonderful little mid century pieces at very reasonable prices.


Below is a coffee table custom painted by Paul Neily.


The more traditional look below, also the work of Mr. Neily.


Ellen Neily, Paul's mother, is as pleasant as her son and her American antiques blend well with her son's mid century collection. I tend to gravitate toward the mid century, which is all well and good but the overall affect is beginning to get a bit too DWR-ish. Ellen Neily Antiques is an interesting place to visit and mix it up a bit.

Paddy Whacked: the world of the Irish gangster

There's an urban legend in Lawrence that claims Jimmy Cagney modeled some of his 1930s screen characters after Lawrence boxer, Andy Callahan. I haven't been able to verify that, but through the course of my research I discovered this excellent book by T.J. English called Paddy Whacked. Sometimes historical non-fiction reads like a novel: smooth, well-written, almost visual - all of which would describe Paddy Whacked. The book tells the story of link between politics and crime and how the Irish immigrant, shut out of decent society by the ruling gentry, exploited and developed that link like no other group.

While reading the book I came across reference to the Brando movie, On the Waterfront and had no idea that the movie was based on newspaper articles. I rented it yesterday and made the 14 yr olds watch it, I swear that generation doesn't have the ability to sit through older movies. No matter how cliche Brando's coulda-been-a-contender, it's still brilliant.


It must be Irish gangster week because the Globe had an article about the upcoming release of the 1973 Boston crime noir The Friends of Eddie Coyle. We rented it from Amazon and enjoyed this dark portrait of a grubby, thuggish city and the sad, two-bit criminals trying to get by. My husband came to Boston for college in 1974 and remembers the city looking much the same as the movie.






Which leads me to an overlooked novel and an overlooked genre, Lawrence-noir. Author and former local crime reporter Andrew Coburn wrote Goldilocks in 1989 about the Lawrence crime world. This book does for Lawrence what Eddie Coyle did for Boston. Here's a brief review from Publisher's Weekly:

Publishers Weekly

Corruption, betrayal, the Mafia and ties that go back to childhood provide the underpinnings of this gloomy but well-written entry from veteran Coburn ( Off Duty ; The Babysitter ). Louise Baker, child of the slums, has worked her way to the top of a Mafia loan operation, meanwhile having married the mentally unstable scion of an old New England family and established herself in a small, affluent town near her birthplace, Lawrence, Mass. She still keeps in touch with, and helps, friends from her youth, and she calls on one of them, lawyer Barney Cole, to find employment for a young man whom she had briefly taken as a lover but now wants to get rid of. He is Henry Witlo (the Goldilocks of the title), a psychotic Vietnam War veteran who now proceeds to terrorize a recently widowed client of Cole's. This subplot moves in tandem with the main plot, chronicling the downfall of Louise and the network of people who owe her favors. The feds are after her, and when they start putting pressure on her associatesCole, his lawyer mistress, the police captain who kills for herit all ends in death and betrayal, with only Cole standing firm to his principles. ( Jan. )

4 Mulhauser Chairs from Plycraft on ebay

4 of these available, unheard of!

here's the blurb from ebay:

ITEM DESCRIPTION

set of four matching original walnut veneer, bentwood desk chairs designed by george mulhauser for plycraft. these danish modern chairs date to around 1965. incredibly well-crafted and artistic use of walnut veneered bent wood for the backrest, which evolves seamlessly and beautifully into the spiral arms flanking the original black upholstered seat pad. the black enameled metal column base contains applied bent wood which splays into 4 legs. the 20th Century provided us with a great range of modern new furniture designs created by innovative and forward thinking designers like mulhauser, nelson, etc. the chairs were manufactured by plycraft inc., located in lawrence, ma. original manufacturer tag found on the bottom side of the chair. these chairs were removed from an old upper wisconsin roadside motel undergoing demolition. priced for the set of four. measure 27 x 22.5 x 24 inches. Inventory number: UR-2820-09

urbanremainschicago.com

Cherner Chair in Paul Rudd's movie Role Models

Role Models reviews and trailers don't do it justice, I just rented it this weekend and loved it. The world of LAIRE, Minotaur, Paul Rudd and these chairs made for a wonderful viewing experience.