Sunday Links

Dancer-actress Gwen Verdon on NYC rooftop (c.1953) 

War to Couture: The Serious Fashion Spreads of D-Day Photographer Tony Vaccaro (photo above)

The myth of North America in one painting The creative, historical liberties that the painter Benjamin West took in “The Death of General Wolfe”

I love this Luxury Retirement Village in Japan

Facts About Coast Redwoods, the Tallest Trees in the World Thanks Bruce!

 Pornaments  Adult-themed tree dressing.

This week's house envy is a remodel of an old log cabin into a contemporary home. I love the large sun porch. There's very little of the old house left but they did a good job of integrating it.

What being beautiful means around the world It seems our ideas of what makes someone "beautiful" vary immensely. Via Memo Of The Air

An outrageous crusade against the country’s most beloved carbohydrate: When Italian Futurists Tried to Ban Pasta 

This Instagram account shows Mr Santa Claus spending downtime, before and after delivering presents, exploring London, his favourite city.

These cool and artful Jigsaw Puzzles would make excellent gifts.

“We woke up to a shiny blue sky spreading over Central Park,” Yoko Ono later recalled. “The day had an air of bright eyes and bushy tails.” More: Smithsonian Magazine 

Flokehyttene cabins in western Norway maximise sea views, with vast panoramic windows framing the rocky landscape and the waves beyond. I could see myself reading a book in one of these.

The Epicenter: As winter turned to spring, the coronavirus hit a corner of Queens harder than almost anywhere else in the United States.

The Man Who Walked Across Japan for Pizza Toast This is a great story. 

Fake news in the era of the printing press: How the Sun Discovered Life on the Moon A good yarn.

Looking for a cottage? This castle on Loch Lomond has a Rennie Mackintosh library and a herd of Highland Cattle. Stunning!

Homemade Irish Cream, because we could all use a bit of extra sweetness right now. This takes just 5 minutes to make and Smitten says it's even better than the real thing.

Marie Antoinette's silk slipper fetches US$50,000 at auction 

'Is anybody in there?': Jake Haendel spent months trapped in his body, silent and unmoving but fully conscious. (If you want to know more about locked-in syndrome Jean-Dominique Bauby's 1997 memoir is a fascinating read and the film based on the memoir is excellent.)

Cloches et clochers of Paris.

The forgotten Hawaiian islands in Canada Hundreds of Hawaiians were among the earliest settlers in British Columbia’s Gulf Islands.

Charles Crocker's 40 foot high spite fence Via Miss Cellania

This Japanese Shop Is 1,020 Years Old. It Knows a Bit About Surviving Crises. This mochi seller takes the long view. By putting tradition and stability over profit and growth, this family shop has weathered wars, plagues, natural disasters, and the rise and fall of empires. Its rice flour cakes have remained the same.

Distribution of days by name in Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick