pretty ladies in fluffy gowns riding white horses
“Clowns, elephants, pretty ladies in fluffy gowns riding white horses. That is the circus!”
—John Ringling, as quoted in The American Circus: An Illustrated History by John Culhane, 1990.
two elephants in pink tutus and cupcake hats dancing in a golden, star-studded spotlight
“When Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus opened at Madison Square Garden in the spring of 1942, the program listed as ‘Display No. 18: THE BALLET OF THE ELEPHANTS. Fifty Elephants and Fifty Beautiful Girls in an Original Choreographic Tour de Force. . . . Music by Igor Stravinsky. Elephants trained by Walter McClain. Costumes designed by Norman Bel Geddes.’. . .
There were 425 performances of this circus ballet. . . .
The poet Marianne Moore [saw] the ballet, and rhapsodized in Dance Index over the dancing elephants: ‘their deliberate way of kneeling, on slowsliding forelegs—like a cat’s yawning stretch or a ship’s slide into the water—is fine ballet.”
What remains today of that elephant ballet is the music, of course: Stravinsky’s “Circus Polka”; plus some motion picture film of the elephants in action; and a wonderful circus poster showing two elephants in pink tutus and cupcake hats dancing in a golden, star-studded spotlight. The “strong linear” poster with its frankly flat elephant shapes, “a radical departure in the history of poster art,” according to poster connoisseur Jack Rennert, was designed by E. McKnight Kauffer (1890–1954), who is known in Europe for his many London Transport posters.?”
—John Culhane, from The American Circus: An Illustrated History, 1990.
Marilyn Monroe . . . riding into Madison Square Garden on a pink elephant
“In 1955 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey actually presented Marilyn Monroe on opening night, riding into Madison Square Garden on a pink elephant.”
—John Culhane, from The American Circus: An Illustrated History, 1990.
this blue lawn
“He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, from The Great Gatsby.
“My Indian Red”
“In the mid-1950s . . . Danny Barker put out four sides of Mardi Gras Indian related material originally on King Zulu Records. Whether Barker was attempting to make a popular Mardi Gras hit from Indian sources is not known but may be the case. With these releases, the Indian prayer “Indian Red” was first recorded as “My Indian Red” with lyrics close to what is sung today.”
—Thomas L Morgan, from an essay on the web, Mardi Gras Indian Influence on the Music of New Orleans, 2002. I heard Dr. John’s version on the radio in New Orleans yesterday. It’s a roll call of indian chiefs, and must be heard to be believed. (This is at least partially because I can’t find the lyrics on this internet nohow!)
Waters So Deep And Distant
“One weekend Trout and Eel decided to paint their bedroom blue. The walls were the turquoise of the southern seas, the ceiling was cobalt, the floors indigo, the color of waters so deep and distant, no human had ever seen them before. Here in this room anyone could imagine the sound of waves breaking.”
—Alice Hoffman, from Indigo, 2002.
Wallace Wood’s Rules of Drawing
“1. Never draw what you can copy.
2. Never copy what you can trace.
3. Never trace what you can cut out and paste down.”
—Arthur Bloch, Wallace Wood’s Rules of Drawing, from Murphy’s Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong, 1980.
Photographer’s Laws
“1. The best shots happen immediately after the last frame is exposed.
2. The other best shots are generally attempted through the lens cap.
3. Any surviving best shots are ruined when someone inadvertently opens the darkroom door and all of the dark leaks out.”
—Arthur Bloch, the Photographer’s Laws, from Murphy’s Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong, 1980.
First Law of Laboratory Work
“Hot glass looks exactly the same as cold glass.”
—Arthur Bloch, the First Law of Laboratory Work, from Murphy’s Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong, 1980.
Handy Guide to Modern Science
“1. If it’s green or it wriggles, it’s biology.
2. If it stinks, it’s chemistry.
3. If it doesn’t work, it’s physics.”
—Arthur Bloch, Handy Guide to Modern Science, from Murphy’s Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong, 1980.