What Would Jane Austen Do?

I was walking into Spec's (world's greatest liquor store) on Saturday afternoon and there was a band playing outside on the patio. I stopped and listened for a while...and they were fantastic . There is nothing quite like live music, is there? Even though jazz isn't my thing, I loved them. But it seemed like an odd place for a gig; there were 16 musicians, plus a director--most were horns, plus a percussionist, a standing bass, and an electric guitar. It must have taken a while to set up. The only clue I had about who they were and what they were doing at Spec's was the name on the speakers: Conrad Johnson. WELL. It turns out that Conrad Johnson was the band director at Kashmere High School for many years. His band (of teenagers!) played original music he wrote; they had a recording contract and were sought-after all over town for parties. The Conrad Johnson Orchestra is a group of his former students who play semi-professionally now.   Their appearance at Sp...

via Flubmaster Grand Flubby

I think I achieved Nirvana when I found Textbook , the fashion blog that dresses literary and historical celebrities. Ever wonder what Anne Boleyn would wear? Or Viola from Twelfth Night ? Or Eleanor of Aquitane ? BTW, I've been slacking recently on the ol' blog, but I've been busy on Pinterest. Follow me there , if you like.

Did you see them on The Colbert Report last week? While I was watching them I kept thinking about Emmeline Grangerford from Huck Finn -- the one who wrote poetry , kept a scrapbook of obituaries and painted "And I Shall Never Hear Thy Sweet Chirrup Again Alas." I forgot how much I loved that book. Don't you think Jack White should dye his hair white as he gets older and start dressing like Mark Twain? Anyway, The Black Belles: thumbs up, I guess. For a Halloween party.

The New Republic compares the Qaddafi family members to the Bluths . Keep track at home! via Kottke This review of America's Next Great Restaurant is hilarious . H/t to Big Daddy Drew

Before today I'd never heard of Dawn Meehan or her blog, Because I Said So . But I found her via some links today, and she's very funny. Best of all is the hilarious eBay post that started her writing career -- I am still wiping tears from my eyes. By the way, I didn't realize that I had passed 1,000 posts on this here blog. The 1,000th was " I Fucking Hate Facebook ." So suck on that, doctor friends; have you written 1,000 blog posts read by maybe 5 people total? NO YOU HAVE NOT.

The internet was all excited about some .gif with Natalie Portman's butt today.  [Least exciting butt EVER.]  Anyway, it's in the new Danny McBride movie!  This is going to be awesome.  And awesomely NSFW.

My friend Cayce just found this, and it is genius: an online sign-up sheet .  Click on that bad boy to see it in its full glory.  Never again have five versions of Taco Soup at your soup swap!  Never again chase down parents to paint faces at the fall festival!  And I think my favorite part is that you don't have to log-in or even register in order to use it.   Yo, it's a free service; nobody's getting paid to pimp it.

via Our buddy Mir tells us that all orders at Piperlime today earn a $25 gift certificate, in honor of Piperlime's anniversary.  Oh, and use the promo code TREAT4U for an extra 10% off.

See every outfit Mallory wore during the seven-year run of Family Ties .  1) The clothes are gorgeous, and 2) the comments are awesome.

Here's Chris Elliot as Skink the Bounty Hunter. (6:34) It's Tuesday.  Slow down with that "productivity" business already.

...(A)ll I have is an Eagles Palace plastic laundry bag with spare underwear, a toothbrush, and a bottle of Ambien. Well, if Dr. Thompson replaced psychotic paranoia with gingivitis.

These two guys match up Kanye West's tweets to New Yorke r cartoons. Thought you might need some inspiration this morning.

Good gravy. via Ancient Industries

Eloise at Conde Nast (McSweeney's) via Newsweek

[Yes, that one .] So what if my kids were half an hour late for school this morning? Thanks, notmartha .

Thanks, sharebros! [That word must officially be retired now.]

You have to watch this awesome promo from the BBC for their Olympic coverage. I found it at Warming Glow . As Matt says, it has " art that looks like a graphic novel, an operatic score, wolves chasing a guy on skis, and no fewer than five different winter sports, including a scene where a monster encased in ice is defeated by the explosive power of curling . "

This was the invitation: It´s "drawers open and bottoms up" at Rienzi . The Upside Down/Inside Out event highlights select pieces of furniture and other treasured objects from the Rienzi Collection that will be opened up or turned over, giving guests a rare chance to see the inner workings. Isn't that the best idea ever? Listen, Rienzi is worth a visit any time, if only to listen to the docents. It's worth the price of admission to hear a lady named (no lie) Sally Lunn tell you about the "armaleww" (ormolu) and the "aayperns" (epergnes). But yesterday we got to see the insides of cabinets , the machinery of an early English long case clock , the undersides of the silver serving pieces, and even an X-ray of a wooden torchiere . They had a first edition of Tom Jones out on display (they kept the Ben Jonson locked up, alas). We saw the stitching and structure of this footstool , created for Spencer House in London [it was evacuated during World ...

Check out this gallery of cool kindergartens at Junior Society.