crooked house

What Would You Take With You If Your House Were On Fire?

The Burning House features photographs of the things people would take with them if their houses were on fire, accompanied by short explanations. The photo above is of the stuff massage therapist and blogger Lauren Spisak would take with her. Click through to find out what it all is and why she's chosen it.

You are invited to submit your own photographs. Foster Huntington, who recently started the site, explains "It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question."

I think I'll try to put together a submission soon. But man, it's going to be hard, what with the kids and all their Very Important Paraphernalia. Via swissmiss.

Penguin Classics: Threads Cover Designs by Jillian Tamaki

According to the Caustic Cover Critic, these are going to be the covers of some of the new Threads series of Penguin Classics. They were designed by Jillian Tamaki. The Secret Garden is my favourite -- love the keyhole in the lower lefthand corner. I can't seem to find more information about this series -- did Tamaki actually stitch the originals or do they just look as if they're stitched? And what other books will be in the Threads series?

Update: She did embroider them -- she's just posted more photos and they are gorgeous. She even did embroidery on the back of the jackets.

Only A Brain Injury Could Make Martin Amis Write for Children

Only a brain injury could make Martin Amis write for children. Yes, that's what he said. Children's book author and illustrator and cartoonist Patricia Storms had some fun imagining Amis as various characters from classic children's literature. You can read about his comment and see the rest of the cartoons here.

Golden Rule Poster

All the elements in this poster featuring the golden rule were drawn or printed by six-year-old Koen with a Sharpie and then arranged digitally by his father. It is absolutely gorgeous. Move over ubiquitous Keep Calm and Carry On poster. I think you've got a little competition.

The Christmas Books by Dickens (White's Books Edition)

It seems to me that if you're going to spring for an actual book instead of an electronic edition, you might as well buy the most beautifully designed one you can find. (Perhaps that's the silver lining in this publishing revolution -- actual, physical books are going to have to get even more beautiful in order to survive.) Here's a gorgeous version of  Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol and Other Stories by Dickens. This has cloth covers with gold foiling in the little windows. You can view the entire piece of artwork, which covers front, spine, and back at the very end of this blogpost by the Caustic Cover Critic -- that site is worth exploring -- or at the website of the artist, Joe McLaren.

Keep Calm and Merry On

I have one of those now ubiquitous Keep Calm and Carry On posters on the wall in my living room -- here's a fun Christmas twist on it:

You can get the full-size printable version from Jessica at Craftily Ever After.

 

Pop-Up Holiday Cards

Paper village pop up holiday cards.

Sweet shop pop up holiday cards.

They also have pop up Christmas trees, snowmen, skaters, stained glass ornaments, doves and more, most of them by paper artist Robert Sabuda, who incidentally offers instructions for making a variety of pop up cards on his site. The Christmas tree is supposed to be good for beginners.

Remembrance Day

Yesterday morning on the way to school Luke, dressed in red at the school's behest for Remembrance Day activities, announced "Today is going to be a lot of fun!" in a tone of great excitement. I considered explaining how the day wasn't meant to be fun, really, but I hadn't yet taken in enough caffeine to face the complicated explanation of what the day was actually meant to be about.

Luke was less enthusiastic when I picked him up. "I thought we were going to see real soldiers," he said.

"Weren't there any there?" I asked, kind of surprised. We used to have vets from WWII at our ceremonies -- and surely and sadly today there are plenty of younger vets available from all the recent skirmishes.

"Nope," he said. "At least I don't think so. There were some in the video, though."

He coloured a poppy wreath at school -- pictured in the center of his display. And then spent last evening drawing scenes of warfare to hang around it. "Red is a good colour to use to draw soldiers," he said. "It is the colour of blood." He informed me that the picture to the left of the wreath shows a soldier, a "good guy" mind  you, shooting a bird while he waits for the bad guys to show up. The picture below that one (bottom left) shows an extremely large good guy shooting a bad guy (with a perfect bad guy expression). The picture next to that one and directly below the wreath shows a bad guy riding on the back of an elephant, a somewhat unusual form of transportation in modern warfare. The one next to that shows the bad guy and the elephant, now deceased. Death came so suddenly that the elephant didn't even have time to wipe the smile from its face. The picture above that one and to the right of the wreath, done in purple, shows a soldier fighting an alien with many eyes. Perhaps aliens have purple blood.

 

The Accidents of Youth: Consisting of Short Histories, Calculated to Improve the Moral Conduct of Children, and Warm them of the Many Dangers to which they are Exposed

While searching through vintage images, I found this children's book, published in 1819, that Luke would love. I am afraid to show it to him, though, as he's already so morbid. I will show you, however, as long as you promise not to take it too seriously: The Accidents of Youth: Consisting of Short Histories, Calculated to Improve the Moral Conduct of Children, and Warm them of the Many Dangers to which they are Exposed. Isn't that the best title ever?

Here is your tip of the day: don't climb any trees.

More Paper Towns: Popville

Book trailers work particularly well when the book is a pop-up like Popville. I've mentioned the book, which follows the development of a city from a lone church in a field, before but I couldn't resist posting the video version.