Famous Blue Raincoat

"It's four in the morning, the end of December
I'm writing you now just to see if you're better
New York is cold, but I like where I'm living
There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening

"I hear that you're building your house deep in the desert
Are you living for nothing now, hope you're keeping some kind of record."
(Famous Blue Raincoat by L. Cohen)

("Oh what can I tell you / What can I possibly say?")

Every once in a Blue Moon . . .

"Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own."
(words by Lorenz Hart, music by Richard Rodgers)

I had to chuckle recently (attending the Emigre "Look Back" opening at Gallery 16) at the presentation and talk of the so-called "legibility wars" in typography in the 1990s (with a name like 'Baskerville,' you were expecting . . . what?) and the upcoming (at the time) full blue moon for this December 31 - with a moniker like 'The Nocturnes,' you were expecting . . . what_2?

           
Anyway, included here is an announcement sent out (via US Postal Service!) to the 'usual suspects' (circa 1996, in the period between the orginal Nocturnes exhibit - 1991 - and the inaugural launch of The Nocturnes Web site) with proof that the 'legibilty wars' reached as far as the nocturnal lunar surface! (you can CLICK! on images for more 'legibility')

                         

See the third Blog entry below for more about Emigre, and read more about Blue Moons here.

From The [not so] Daily Nocturne

St. Stephen's Day Murders

This, from the Bells of Dublin, an album of Christmas songs and traditional carols by The Chieftans, with various guest artists:

"I knew of two sisters whose name it was Christmas,
And one was named Dawn of course, the other one was named Eve.
I wonder if they grew up hating the season,
The good will that lasts til the Feast of St. Stephen.

Holiday Dream Date by Tim Baskerville

"For that is the time to eat, drink, and be merry,
Til the beer is all spilled and the whiskey has flowed.
And the whole family tree you neglected to bury,
Are feeding their faces until they explode.

"There'll be laughter and tears over Tia Marias,
Mixed up with that drink made from girders.
’Cause it's all we've got left as they draw their last breath,
Ah, it's nice for the kids, as you finally get rid of them,
In the St. Stephen's Day Murders."
(Lyrics by Declan MacManus [EC, to his fans] and Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains)

From The [not so] Daily Nocturne

Triad

Three images from Suite: Dream Dates are included in Selections 2010 - ArtSpan's prestigious biennial juried exhibition - January 7 - 22, 2010 at California Modern Gallery, 1035 Market Street in San Francisco.

(Badwater, Study 1 / Dream Date #9 / Porter Brothers Store, Rhyolite)

The work of 20 San Francisco Open Studios artists were chosen for Selections 2010: Steven Allen, Tim Baskerville, Flora Davis, Monica Denevan, Jennifer Ewing, Mark Faigenbaum, Rebecca Fox, Art Hazelwood, Marvin Johnson, Sandra Kelch, Mike Kimball, David King, Brian McDonald, Erika Meriaux, Sarah Newton, Mirena Rhee, Thierry Rosset, Ron Moultrie Saunders, Schnetzler Photography [part of our own Studio Nocturne group!], and Gavin Worth.

Reception on January 14 from 6 - 9pm

(from The Nocturnes NightNews feed)

Emigre at 25

From the Press Release:
"The design work of Emigre will be on display at San Francisco's Gallery 16 from December 18, 2009 through January 30, 2010.

"The exhibit, which coincides with the recent publication of Emigre No.70: The Look Back Issue (Gingko Press), features a selection of work spanning the entire Emigre enterprise, including a collection of press sheets of Emigre magazine covers, promotional posters for Emigre Music and Emigre Fonts, as well as books [Ed. Note: see the highly recommended Trilogy of Palm Desert, Joshua Tree, and Cucamonga - all about Southern California and the desert], prints, photographs, and much more. A series of six specially designed large-sized digital prints to celebrate Emigre's longstanding relationship with Gallery 16 will also be on view.

December 18, 2009 - January 30, 2010
Gallery 16, 501 3rd Street, San Francisco, California.

Opening reception and book signing December 18th, 6-9 pm."

(from The Nocturnes NightNews feed)

Once in a Blue Moon . . .

"Pick up your hat, close up your flat,
Get out, get under the moon!"
(Larry Shay (m), William Jerome (l), Charles Tobias (l), 1928



Tonight is December's FIRST full moon, followed by a second (a "Blue Moon") on December 31, 2009 - enjoy it! The song is a performance by Helen Kane with Nat Shilkret & his Orchestra, July 16 1928, in New York.

From The [not so] Daily Nocturne