April 4-6

Sale on all youth merchandise including ready-to-wear and customized gear. 

More info at the Reckon Shop.

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Flickr Youth Collection 

Reckon Shop Customize your order here. Ready to wear and Sale items are here.

In other news, the other other Reckon blog is finally seeing action.  I'll try to post daily there.  This doesn't mean the blog you're currently reading is going to disappear.  I'm a big Squarespace fan and don't plan on closing this one anytime soon.  I'd love to see the photo-to-feed relationship mended, however.   And maybe a few more designs.
 
I suppose this would be considered a link blog - I'm not sure and frankly don't care that much about the labels.  Actually, I care far more for lapels than labels.  

If you  like what you see here please subscribe in the upper right, and if you have time take a look at my Vox blog and personal site (also recently updated).  And of course there is the shop too. 

Thanks for reading!

Updates 12 January 2008.

• Gallery
• Press
• New Reckon site is live
• Shop Portal
• Made to Order SALE 25% off custom orders (coupon code is here)
• New hand-screened items added to Ready to Wear SALE page
• MTO goes on hiatus following the sale (f_yi) in favor of Ready to Wear items (+ time to read)
  
• T-Shirt Subscriptions have re-opened
• Have an interesting project in mind?  Contact me.
  
• Have a tremendous '08!  And thanks for reading.

* Made to Order Sale started today, fyi. Get info and your coupon code here.

 

The piece above, a collaboration between JR and BLU is part of "Planet Prozess", a massive urban art event now taking place in Berlin.

For the organizers:

"(...)The participating artists place a special emphasis on the conjunction of internal and external space. The exibition will be a dynamic process whereby the Artists develop their work over the three weeks. For one month the former Senatsreservenspeicher, situated at the Spree, will become the nerve center connecting all artistic processes. “Planet Prozess” invites the public to join the creation-process every day of the exhibition; to meet the artists and to discover the variety of urban creation and communication. Participating and observing, the public can experience the diversity of street writing, graffiti or other forms of urban expression.

After 21 days the creative process comes to an end. We are going to celebrate the results with a Block Party and a second Opening. The works will be on show for another ten days. The internationally renowned artists, from train-writer to fine artist, reflect their national and cultural context in their work."

40 Artists/12 Nations
4 Floors/1.200 Quadratmeter
1 City/1 Process
Opening: 20. JULI 2007 6 pm
Final & Blockparty: 11. AUGUST 2007 2 pm
Finissage: 19. AUGUST 2007 2 pm

SENATSRESERVENSPEICHER
Cuvrystr. 3-4
Berlin Kreuzberg
U-Bhf Schlesisches Tor (U1)

via Wooster Collective 

'I'm killing a vampire'

Saturday, June 30, 2007

By GLENN NYBACK

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

DECK: Disturbed man batters peacock outside restaurant

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A peacock had to be put down after being cruelly beaten and kicked outside a Tottenville fast-food restaurant Thursday morning, and its assailant is still on the loose.

Witnesses said a man in his late teens or early 20s grabbed the helpless bird by its neck, struck it repeatedly with a baseball bat and kicked it in a Burger King parking lot on Page Avenue.

He then jumped onto the hood of a car and threw the peacock to the ground before running off when he saw police.

"He said 'I'm killing a vampire,'" said Felicia Finnegan, 19, who works at the Burger King and had been feeding bread to the peacock in the parking lot just after 7:30 a.m.

Miss Finnegan had gone out to look at the bird, an uncommon sight on Staten Island.

Shortly after going back into the restaurant, she heard the man screaming and saw him rip off his shirt before stepping on and kicking the bird.

"He was really beating it. I just think it was sick and demented. He shouldn't be walking around on the street," said Miss Finnegan.

The peacock never had a chance.

"We brought it back to our care center on [Veterans Road] but the injuries were so extreme, we had to put the animal down for humane reasons," said Richard Gentles, a spokesman for Animal Care & Control of New York City. "He was beaten so severely that some of the feathers fell out at the scene and others fell out at the care center. It's a horrible, horrible situation."

Miss Finnegan's mother, Sandra, said her daughter was hysterical after the brutal incident.

"What if somebody is walking around with a baby ... and he thinks it's a vampire in a stroller?" she asked. "It's horrible. I'm just amazed that it went on."

The beauteous bird's presence in Tottenville was explained by George Burke of Prince's Bay, who has raised peacocks for several years and gave some to a Tottenville resident a few years ago. He was appalled when told what happened.

"What's wrong with parents who let kids turn into [expletive] like that?" he asked. "I think the kid needs a little bit of psychological evaluation. Oh, what a shame."

Gentles urged anyone who witnessed the incident and has a description of the man to call ACC at 212-788-4000 or the ASPCA at 212-876-7700.

Glenn Nyback covers environmental news for the Advance. He may be reached at nyback@siadvance.com.

Source

BERGER: Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary:
shepherd [ˈʃepəd] noun — feminine shepherdess
a person who looks after sheep
Example: The shepherd and his dog gathered in the sheep.

Arabic: راعي الغَنَم Chinese (Simplified): 牧羊人 Chinese (Traditional): 牧羊人 Czech: ovčák Danish: hyrde Dutch: herder Estonian: lambakarjus Finnish: paimen French: berger, *-ère German: der, die Schäferin Greek: βοσκός, βοσκοπούλα Hungarian: pásztor Icelandic: smali, fjárhirðir Indonesian: penggembala Italian: pastore

Japanese: 羊飼い Latvian: aitu gans Lithuanian: piemuo Norwegian: sauegjeter, hyrde, gjetergutt; gjeterjente, hyrdinne Polish: pasterz Portuguese (Brazil): pastor Portuguese (Portugal): pastor Romanian: păstor Russian: пастух Slovak: pastier Slovenian: ovčar Spanish: pastor; pastora Swedish: herde

Burgher may refer to:

• a title; in the European Middle Ages, a burgher was any freeman of a burgh or borough; or any inhabitant of a borough, a person who lives in town (in Dutch the word for citizen is burger and the German cognate is Bürger). The term may also refer to a member of the middle class such as in bourgeois.

Early NBC television logos (pre-1954)

 

In 1943, four years after inaugurating television service, NBC television got its first official logo, a microphone surrounded by lightning bolts, a modification of an existing logo used by the NBC radio network. Lightning bolts were also part of corporate parent RCA's logo, as well as that of one-time sister company RKO Pictures. At the beginning of telecasts, another card was used, depicting an NBC cameraman with his camera.

 

Early NBC television logos (1954-1956)

In 1954, on New Year's Day, to coincide with the start of broadcasting in color, a stylized xylophone and mallet was introduced, accompanied by the three-tone "bing-bong-bing" NBC chimes, first heard on NBC radio in 1927. The tones are the notes "G," "E," and "C." There is some indication that the xylophone logo was used at 5:32 p.m. on December 17, 1953 to announce the FCC's approval of the new color standard, which would go into effect 30 days later. Special permission was apparently used on New Year's Day when the Tournament of Roses Parade was aired.

Original peacock logo (1956-1961)

 

John J. Graham's original NBC Peacock logo

In 1956, John J. Graham created an abstraction of an eleven-feathered peacock to indicate richness in color. This brightly hued peacock was adopted due to the increase in color programming. NBC's first color broadcasts showed only a still frame of the colorful peacock.

On September 7, 1957 on Your Hit Parade the peacock was animated, and thereafter appeared at the beginning of every NBC color broadcast until a revamped animation appeared in 1961. Its musical backing was a gong while the peacock began its formup, then an announcer saying "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC" while the music crescendoed, and after that a bombastic nine-note flourish while the peacock's feathers changed color and finally "filled out". According to Game Show Network executive David Schwartz, the first announcer who spoke those famous words behind the Peacock graphic logo was Ben Grauer, a familiar voice on NBC since 1930.

NBC snake Logo (1959-1975)

Beginning in 1959, an animated logo joined the Peacock, appearing at the end of broadcasts. Beginning with N, each letter would grow from the other, forming a stacked typographic logo ending with C, forming the base. This would be known as the "NBC snake." Several editions of this exist, the earliest being the snake formup in front of a multicolored background while a camera passed by to an orchestral version of the NBC chimes, and the second consisting of the snake forming on top of a color-changing background (going from blue to green to brown) on each note of the regular, automated NBC chimes.

 

INDIAN PEAFOWL 

---

HABITS AND HABITATS
Although peafowl are large, powerful birds, they are somewhat weak fliers and spend much of their time on the ground looking for food or perching. Peafowl feed on many different types of food including both plants and small animals. They seem to be especially fond of snakes, even poisonous ones! Peafowl will fly for short distances, especially to escape danger, and also to roost in treetops at night. They often warn each other when danger approaches by loud shrieking cries and honks. Peafowl also call during the mating season to attract members of the opposite sex. The peacock spreads its fan of tail feathers and then struts and displays himself to potential mates. Peahens lay from 3 to 5 whitish eggs usually in a shallow depression dug in the ground, hidden underneath brush or in some other concealed location. The female incubates the eggs for approximately 28 days. After hatching, the young chicks follow the mother about for protection, even though they are capable of foraging on their own. The Indian Peafowl is native to India. In the wild, these peafowl usually live in small family groups, preferring dense, hilly jungle near water. The closely related Green Peacock is found in southeast Asia.

---

HISTORY
The Indian Peafowl is probably the oldest known ornamental bird. It was first introduced into the Mesopotamian cultures more than 4,000 years ago and then Into the Mediterranean area. Since that time, many different colors and breeds have been produced by man.

via: 

http://wildwnc.org/af/peafowl.html

Of interest: 

Nāder Shāh Afshār (Persian: نادر شاه افشار; also known as Nāder Qoli Beg - نادر قلی بیگ or Tahmāsp Qoli Khān - تهماسپ قلی خان) (October 22, 1688 - June 19, 1747) ruled as Shah of Iran (1736–47) and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia^[1] or the Second Alexander.^[2] He created a great Iranian Empire that encompassed Iran, northern India, and parts of Central Asia.^[3] Nader Shah won battles against the Afghans, Ottomans, and Mughals. Nader Shah's victories made him briefly the Middle East's most powerful sovereign, but his empire quickly disintegrated after he was assassinated in 1747. Nader Shah was the last great Asian military conqueror. Nader is considered to be Iran's most gifted military commander^[4] and is credited for restoring Iranian power as an eminence between the Ottomans and the Mughals.^[5]

In 1738, Nader Shah conquered Kandahar. In the same year he occupied Ghazni, Kabul and Lahore. He then advanced deeper into India crossing the river Indus before the end of year. He defeated the Mughal army of Mohammad Shah within the span of one month at the Battle of Karnal and Nader Shah triumphantly entered Delhi where he had the Khutba read in his name, February 24, 1739. After victory, Nader captured Mohammad Shah and entered with him into Delhi. In the rioting that followed, more than 30,000 civilians were killed by the Persian troops, forcing Muhammad Shah to beg for mercy. In response, Nader Shah agreed to withdraw, but Muhammad Shah paid the consequence - handing over the keys of his royal treasury; losing even the Peacock Throne to the Persian emperor. Although the number of civilian casualty was great, Indian historians agree that it was the only way to avoid the spread of riot and the loss of India to the Persians. The Peacock Throne thereafter served as a symbol of Persian imperial might. Among a trove of other fabulous jewels,Nader also gained the famous diamonds Koh-i-Noor and Darya-ye Noor (while Koh-i-Noor implies "Mountain of Light", Darya-ye Noor means "Sea of Light", in Persian). The Persian troops left Delhi at the beginning of May 1739. Nader's soldiers also took with them thousands of elephants, horses and camels, loaded with the booty they had collected. The plunder seized from India was so rich that Nader stopped taxation in Iran for a period of three years, following his triumphant return.

Etymology

Main article: Etymology of Iran

The term Iran (ایران) in modern Persian derives from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānām first attested in Zoroastrianism's Avesta tradition.^[10] As in Zoroaster's lifetime, differing dates for Avestan have been proposed; scholarly consensus floats around 1000 BCE (roughly contemporary to the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit). Ariya- and Airiia- are also attested as an ethnic designator in Achaemenid inscriptions. The term Ērān from Middle Persian Ērān, Pahlavi ʼyrʼn, is found at the inscription that accompanies the investiture relief of Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam.^[11] In this inscription, the king's appellation in Middle Persian contains the term ērān (Pahlavi: ʼryʼn), while in the Parthian language inscription that accompanies it, Iran is mentioned as aryān. In Ardashir's time ērān retained this meaning, denoting the people rather than the state.

Notwithstanding this inscriptional use of ērān to refer to the Iranian peoples, the use of ērān to refer to the empire is also attested by the early Sassanid period. An inscription of Shapur I, Ardashir's son and immediate successor, apparently "includes in Ērān regions such as Armenia and the Caucasus which were not inhabited predominantly by Iranians."^[12] In Kartir's inscriptions the high priest includes the same regions in his list of provinces of the antonymic Anērān.^[12] Both ērān and aryān comes from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānām, (Land) of the (Iranian) Aryas. The word and concept of Airyanem Vaejah is present in the name of the country Iran (Lit. Land of the Aryans) where Iran (Ērān), is modern-Persian of the word Aryānā.

Media - The establishing of the Median dynasty (728–550 BC) culminated in the first Iranian Empire. The Medes are credited with the foundation of Iran as a nation and empire, the largest of its day, until Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persians leading to the Achaemenid Empire (648–330 BC), and further unification between cultures. After Cyrus's death, his son Cambyses continued his father's work of conquest, making significant gains in Egypt. A power struggle followed Cambyses' death and, despite his tenuous connection to the royal line, Darius was declared king (ruled 522–486 BC). He was to be arguably the greatest of the ancient Persian rulers.

Under Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great, the Persian Empire eventually became the largest and most powerful empire in human history up until that point, ruling over most of the known world.^[18] Their greatest achievement was the empire itself. The Persian Empire represented the world's first global superpower

Source 

 

Image: Freeman 

 

via LadyC and Common Sense

My Eight-Year Affair With a Dead Man

I fell in love with Henry Miller after the first paragraph of the first book of his I read. I was eighteen and preparing for my first trip abroad with my Nana, who, after my Grandpa Lou's passing decided she would take each of her grandchildren on a fantastic voyage anywhere they/we wanted in the world.

I chose Europe, a place I had never been and pined for. We would start in Barcelona, journey then to Rome and take the Orient Express from Florence to Venice and then to Paris. I bought several books to prep for my trip, one of them being Tropic of Cancer, recommended to me by a friend who would years later become my boyfriend, then my fiancee, and finally, my friend again.

I opened the book and read the first few paragraphs: I read this:

"This then? This is not a book. This is libel, slander, defamation of character. This is not a book in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art, a kick in the pants to God, Man, Destiny, Time, Love, Beauty... what you will. I am going to sing for you, a little off key perhaps but I will sing. I will sing while you croak, I will dance over your dirty corpse...

To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion, or a guitar. The essential thing is to want to sing. This then is a song. I am singing..."

Those words changed my life. Maybe they don't sound like much but to me they meant everything. They meant freedom. They carved a hole in a future I felt ill-suited for. I decided, soon after to put off my collegiate aspirations, which I had forced upon myself. I wanted to sing.

"As long as I keep singing, I will find my song", I told myself

I went to Europe with Tropic of Cancer ringing in my ears and Tropic of Capricorn under my arm. I couldn't get enough of Miller's prose, his twisted vision possessed me with such a wealth of inspiration I filled three journals in a single month. I came home from Europe with songs in my head-- potential melodies and within a week, started writing my first book.

At the same time, I began collecting what rare editions I could afford. A first edition box set of the Rosy Crucifixion. Crazy Cock. Nothing But the Marvelous. I purchased an original Wynn Bullock photograph of Miller, smoking a cigarette and smiling out the corner of his mouth. It had been hand developed by the artist, a rare treasure. I purchased it from the Library in Big Sur after spending hours in the back room with Miller's old manuscripts and a gentleman named Magnus, keeper of the treasures.

I took the photograph home with me in a cardboard portfolio and framed it above my bed in an old gold frame.

Divine inspiration...

 

I would(will) never be the writer Miller was, of course. I would never have the guts to spill onto the page in such a way. I could only be myself and every night I pushed, sometimes until sunrise, until it was time to go to work. It became an obsession. Keep singing...

And through dry spells, when I was overwhelmed, unable to write, tapping my pencil erratically, I'd take a Saturday and drive up to Big Sur and fill up. I'd park my car outside Miller's old house in the Palisades, picket-fenced and trimmed with rose bushes, not even a mile away from the office I was working at at the time. I'd sit there in my car and I would write.

Find your voice... It's okay if it's off key, sometimes.

I kept singing.

Every writer needs a mentor. Mine just happened to have died before I was born.

If it wasn't for him, I might have gone to college. I might have graduated and gone to work at a studio. Or left the country. There were many books that would later change my life, books like Lawrence Durrell's Justine and Anais Nin's House of Incest and Marguerite Duras' The Malady of Death.

But it was Henry Miller who made me want to be a writer whatever the cost. Who pushed me and pulled me and overwhelmed me with the power of his words.

Power I hoped to someday possess, if only for a second. If only for a page or a couple of words.

And as I gut myself for the pages I write in the book that this time will see the light of day, I hold on to that hope, and surrounded by the worn old pages of my greatest hero, I keep writing, pushing through the fear toward the possibility that by opening my mouth as wide as I can, I can find my voice. I can sing my song.

I am singing.

GGC

Rebecca's original entry at  her Girl's Gone Child blog.

 

 

BookPeople

Display by Claire K. / Photos by Michael M.