Turkey Day Facts, Parade Pics and Trivia.

Some Thanksgiving History for you:

•The first Thanksgiving was observed in Plymouth, Massachusettes in 1621



•Approx Ninety (90) Native Americans were at the festivities

•in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln first declared that Thanksgiving should be observed on the last thursday of November

•in 1939, However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it to the third thursday of November. Why? To boost Christmas shopping (this is true) .



•President Harry S. Truman began the tradition of pardoning a turkey. The turkey is most often sent to a petting zoo in Virginia (I wish they'd do that with the other turkey in the picture).



• The average American consumed 13.1 pounds of turkey in 2005



•In 2007, the us will produce 1.6 billion pounds of sweet potatoes

*The first Macy's Day Thanksgiving parade was in 1924



•1934 was the first year the Detroit Lions played the first Thanksgiving day game. they faced off againstthe Chicago Bears

source: us census bureau/macy's, inc /detroit lions

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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade got under way Thursday morning, mixing new attractions and longtime favorites, solemn tributes and lighthearted spectacle.



Carrying banners and flags, participants gathered on an unusually warm November morning for the parade. The lineup included three new balloons, 2,000 cheerleaders, 800 clowns, the Radio City Rockettes and 11 marching bands -- among them the Virginia Tech Regimental Band, playing in honor of the victims of last spring's campus shooting.The 81st annual parade began with a Michael Feinstein tune especially written for 600 kids from around the nation, whose opening number was choreographed by John Dietrich of the Rockettes.

Below are a few images from early this morning in New York::







and my favorite pic from today's parade:


Maurace Morris, 6, of Brooklyn mugs for the camera as the Shrek balloon is inflated in the background.

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

Visionaire 52: Private and Visionaire 53: Sound

Visionaire Publications is a company dedicated to creating beautiful artistic collaborations in limited editions. The latest two to be released are issues number 52 and 53. With three editions each year in limited numbers, they do sell out quickly.

Issue # 52: PRIVATE

Edited by Marc Jacobs. Photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Guest Art Director Marc Jacobs teamed up with photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott on the newest installment of the coveted fashion quarterly, Visionaire, which comes housed this time in a limited-edition Louis Vuitton case designed by Jacobs. Alas and Piggott photographed a series of intimate portraits of today's most inspiring contemporary icons, traveling to New York, London and Paris in search of their personal muses.

Subjects include actors Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson and Selma Blair; singers Jennifer Lopez and Lil' Kim; models Gisele Bündchen, Stephanie Seymour and Christy Turlington; New York City Ballet principle dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied; and fashion designers Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney, to name a few.

PUBLISHED BY: Visionaire Publishing, LLC
FORMAT: Clothbound, 11 x 14in/ 192 pgs/ 100 color
ISBN: 9781888645637 ISBN10: 1888645636
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/01/2007

Issue # 53:


Although not yet released, Sound is available for pre-order.
An interesting collection of five 12 inch vinyl picture discs in a dome case. Complete with MINI toy car that acts as the record player!

Issue 53 of Visionaire--produced this time around in collaboration with the British car manufacturer, MINI--is dedicated to the theme of Sound. Packaged inside a specially produced domed case, it consists of five 12-inch vinyl records, imprinted with images (picture discs), that together contain more than 100 minutes of sound content--from audio experiments to unreleased songs, samples and spoken word pieces. Also included is a MINI Clubman "Vinyl Killer" record player: a battery-operated toy car, containing speakers and a needle. As the little car moves along a record's groove, it plays each track, acting as a fully portable record player and sound system. Beyond all this, the issue also includes two CDs with all of the sound content gathered digitally, as well as a booklet of credits and instructions.



Contributors include: musicians David Byrne, Courtney Love, Michael Stipe, Adam Horowitz (Beastie Boys), Antony & the Johnsons, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran), Karl Bartos (Kraftwerk), Andrew WK, Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Danger Mouse, Malcolm McLaren, Ruyuichi Sakamoto; artists Robert Wilson, Yoko Ono, Christian Marclay, Doug Aitken, Gary Hill, Sylvie Fleury; DJs Miss Kittin, Trevor Jackson, Towa Tei, Michel Gaubert; fashion designers Alexander McQueen, Helmut Lang; bands Littl'Ans, Fischerspooner, Unkle, Animal Collective, SunnO) and many more.


PUBLISHED BY: Visionaire Publishing, LLC
FORMAT: Dome Case,13.25 x 3.5/5 12-in. records/2 audio CDs/vinyl killer record player
ISBN: 9781888645682 ISBN10: 1888645687
PUBLICATION DATE: 12/01/2007
AVAILABILITY: Not yet published in the U.S. Retailers may backorder through D.A.P.

Buy Visionaire Books here.

Addendum To Yesterday's Post: Grace Gunning

A little note:

Yesterday I wrote a post on Grace Gunning and her unique, mysterious and personal handmade copper reliquary boxes.
Ironically, that was the one day, her own personal site was down. In all fairness to this artist (and to my readers), now that her site is functioning, please be sure to take a look. Her boxes make wonderful personal and unique gifts.



I was also remiss in not explaining how some of her pieces are 'interactive' games, under her site heading "Come Play With Me" (you know, where you roll the ball around until it sits in a little depression?) and I didn't point out her fabulous Changeling boxes which, when moved, images appear and disappear.



Her work ranges from kitschy (little plastic babies and googly eyes) to spiritual (angels, madonna) to retro (robots and toys).
Now that her site is up and running, be sure to visit by clicking here.

Modern Weathervanes From Italy by Dimensione Disegno.

I always felt that weathervanes, belonged atop a lovely country farmhouse- where, from the looks of most of the present designs, they belong.


above left: Traditional Rooster Weathervane, above right: Modern Rooster Weathervane

However, these modern interpretations designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa of Dimensione Disegno are so much fun, they'd complement even the most modern of homes or yards.

Made of powder coated steel and available with various mounts for either in ground or rooftop, these five colorful wind vanes are all available for purchase.






Each painted aluminium weather vane (Or wind vane as called by some) comes with a telescopic pole and stainless steel counterweight.


Above are the available bases: pole for ground, free standing and mount for fireplace.
350.42000/A pole for ground
350.42000/B free standing
350.42000/C mount for fireplace (only 1 pole H. 120 cm.)
Telescopic tube (max lenght ca. 260 cm.

About The Designers:

above: Afra and Tobia Scarpa

Afra Bianchin was born in Montebelluna in 1937 and Tobia Scarpa in Venice in 1935. They graduated at the Istituto Universitario d’Architettura in Venice and formed one of the most successful and known professional associations. In 1958 they began working in the glass field with Venini in Murano. In 1960 they started working with Gavina; the "Bastiano" sofa and the "Vanessa" metal bed – now in the Knoll International collection – being their most successful pieces.

With Cassina, where they designed furniture exclusively for the house, success came with "Soriana" armchair, which won the Compasso d’Oro award in 1970, and the "925" armchair, which is on permanent display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1960 they joined Flos and worked as designers with the Castiglioni. Their best known piece for B&B ITALIA are the "Coronado" and the "Erasmo". For Maxalto they designed a whole collection of very fine furniture. They did the "Torcello" system, which is still on the market today, for Stildomus.

For Molteni they did the "Morna" bed, while for Unifor the "Master" series of manager’s furniture. They were also responsible for the Benetton image in Europe and in America. In architecture they designed the Benetton woolens mill and offices in Ponzano, the Scarpa house and the Lorenzin house in Abano Terme, they restored the Villa Minelli and the Fragiacomo house in Trieste.

Their designs are on show in the principal museums of the world and have been chosen for all major international shows.

Buy any one of these great modern weather vanes here.