This is Mars

The Martian South Pole. More here! Thx to The Loom.

Walking Naked/ Quilt

Milk Music

Library of Congress: Worker at Carbon Black Plant

The kind of thing that I don't mind paying taxes for.



Happy Halloween.

National Archives: Man with Goat

THIS NATIVE OF RANDOLPH CENTER, VERMONT, QUIT A JOB AS AN AUTO MECHANIC TO RETURN TO THE FAMILY FARM IN HOPES OF KEEPING IT RUNNING. IN ADDITION TO JERSEY COW MILK, HE AND HIS MOTHER SELL GOAT'S MILK TO PRIVATE CUSTOMERS AND A LOCAL NURSING HOME, 05/1974

I use the National Archives as a resource for new designs, sometimes for inspiration, sometimes as actual elements. The online images are low res and very small, but I usually only use parts of them - shapes, textures, and colors. Many of the photos are wonderful on their own though, so I think I'll feature some of my favorites here on a regular basis. This one is a farmer and his goat. The caption is taken from the Archives site, and the all caps is theirs. They're shouting it at you.

I also love the Library of Congress flickr stream. It can be counted on.

The Lady's Preference: Calendars

I should maybe start off by introducing myself and letting you know what I plan on doing here. My name is Jennie and I'm the "Gentleman's" wife. I fill my days with lots of secretarial work and answering questions from college kids. Then, I come home and hang out with David and work on the stuff that makes me feel like I am alive and have some sort of artistic talent. I enjoy baking, crafting, looking at cool stuff on the internet, and procrastinating. My goal here on Gentleman's Choice is to provide a woman's touch and share interesting weekly posts. I hope you like me and don't decide to boo me off the stage.

So, I know it is still a long way off from the new year but calendars have been on my mind for a while now. We have gotten into the habit of making a family calendar for our family Christmas gifts every year. And when I say "gotten into the habit," I really mean our families threw a fit the year we didn't make one! So, David has started on some lovely design/illustration work (which I'm sure he'll share with you as it gets finished) and I have been surfing the internet. I'm kind of the slacker in this relationship. I have found some wonderfully designed calendar alternatives (if you don't feel up to designing your own) that you could easily give as Christmas/holiday gifts. For extra bonus points from grandma, mom, aunt, brother etc. add dates of family events (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.). It will make it so easy for your relatives to send you that birthday card (hopefully with some dolla billz in it!).

Here are my faves:


These tea towel calendars from Cicada Studio are a little on the pricier side of things at $42 a piece or $80 for the set. They do have the advantage of being a magnificent piece of art as well as a calendar though. With this style of calendar, you might have to add an extra cheat sheet for family events if you want to score those bonus points.



This calendar not only has a unique circular design it is also printed with soy-based inks on recycled cover stock. I love the fonts and patterns they've used! Check out Caitlin Keegan on etsy and pick up one of these calendars for just $20. A real deal!



Yee-Haw Industries have lots of designs to choose from when it comes to calendars. This one in particular is printed on recycled kraft card stock with a tear away calendar attached at the bottom for $35. I like the vintage feeling of this design. It reminds me of something I would find in my parent's weird antique collection.

Here are a few more links to calendars that I thought were pretty, interesting, and/or unique.

get this one here for $30

or this one here for $33

or print this one here for a steal of $6

Magnetic Movie!

I was so enchanted by the visuals that I had to watch it again to absorb the content. But I'm a bit of a dimwit!

Magnetic Movie from Semiconductor on Vimeo.

More videos by these folks at vimeo. Tip of the hat to Carl Zimmer's great science blog The Loom.