bookofjoe

'Margot' — Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

The artist was 16-17 years old when he painted this oil on canvas in 1881.

He died in 1901 at 36.

Today, at least in the U.S., most people know him as the artist who painted posters for the Moulin Rouge and other Parisian nightclubs.

He's far more than that.

In a 2005 auction at Christie's, La Blanchisseuse, his early (1886-87) painting of a young laundress, sold for $22.4 million and set a new record for the artist for a price at auction.

It remains the highest price ever paid for a work by Toulouse-Lautrec.

Below,

"Margot" (in a private collection) in its entirety.

Oldest businesses around the world

Why are the ESPN App & ESPN+ so difficult to use?

I thought it was just me being a TechnoDolt©® that was the root cause of my routine FAILs when it comes to trying to watch something on the ESPN app, for which I've been paying $6.99/month since forever.

But no: turns out it's a common problem.

The thing I hate most — even more than the chaotic disorganization of the zillions of games and replays and features — is how, when I'm all comfortable and cozy in my TV chair and ready to watch, up comes a screen that says I need to go to my computer or phone or tablet and enter the multi-letter/number code on my TV to watch.

Grrrrr....

 

'Foundation'

A 10-episode series on Apple TV+ based on Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series.

Set 12,000 years into the future, the cities and vehicles and technologies are wonderfully rendered, though the likelihood of them being anything like what real life will be like 12,000 years from now approaches zero.

"Real life," for that matter, may be what we would now call unreal.

Great cast, storylines that intertwine and go forward, backward, and sideways in time to the point I gave up trying to keep track and just enjoyed the spectacle.

bookofjoe's Favorite Thing: Tech 21 iPhone case

I got one right after I bought my iPhone XS Max in November of 2018 and both phone and case are still providing impeccable service.

I aim to get a fourth year out of both until November of next year, when Apple should finally shake things up big-time iPhone-wise after years of incremental change.

My phone has survived many drops from up to head height onto hard surfaces like Saltillo tile (the most frequent impact substance, here at home), concrete, wood floors, etc. with nary a problem.

In addition, the minimalist case exposes as much of the beautiful phone as is compatible with the device's safe preservation.

Made in England.

Highest possible recommendation.

Also, a great gift for someone who invariably has a cracked screen and is resigned to such.

Doesn't have to be that way.

The newest cases, for iPhone 13, start at $29.99; earlier model iPhone cases are knocked down as low as $8.99.

They're all here.

BehindTheMedspeak: Should you pee on a jellyfish sting?

[via Phys.Org]

A visit to Kroger pharmacy

Above, a screenshot from my recent RayBan Stories video (below).

As I was getting it ready for boj, I noticed the similarity to a cubist collage.

See the man?

Talk to his hand.

Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen hit 268 mph — in 1938

Two days in a row focusing on speed....

Tell you what, the design of this puppy puts McLaren's latest in the shade.

From Wikipedia:

Rudolf Caracciola's record of 268 mph on 28 January 28, 1938 remained the fastest ever officially timed speed on a public road until broken November 5, 2017 by Koenigsegg in an Agera RS driven by Niklas Lilja, achieving 276.9 mph on a closed highway in Nevada.

It also was the fastest speed ever recorded in Germany until Rico Anthes bested it with a Top Fuel Dragster on the Hockenheimring drag strip.

Caraciolla's record breaking run was made on the Reichs-Autobahn A5 between Frankfurt and Darmstadt, where onlookers were rattled by the brutal boom of the side-spewing exhaust stacks as the silver car hurtled past.

By nine that morning,Caracciola and team chief Alfred Neubauer were having a celebration breakfast at the Park Hotel in Frankfurt.

Popular driver Bernd Rosemeyer was killed later the same day when trying to beat that record for Auto Union.

This also put an end to the record attempts of Mercedes.

More photos here.

You can see the Rekordwagen in person at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

'Maid'

This 10-episode Netflix series is so good.

Margaret Qualley stars as a down-and-out young woman whose every decision turns out to make her life worse, such that every day is a succession of frustrations and unexpected failures on the part of everyone she has anything to do with.

Her mother IRL, Andie MacDowell, is sensational as her crazy hippie artist mom whose unreliability is a given.

If you're down-and-out, you'll enjoy this show for its recognizable, authentic depiction of life on the skids.

If you're not, you'll appreciate how great it is not to be there.

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen

Austin Kleon recently called it "a tool I can't live without."

From websites:

Portable, neat, and easy to use versus traditional paint and brushes: ideal for painting on location.

Permanent pigment ink is both fade- and water-resistant.

Durable premium bristles help create fine to broad lines in a single brush stroke.

Refill cartridges make for easy, no-mess ink replacement.

Pen + 2 refill cartridges: $14.02.

On the fence?

There's a 

video for that.

Water Shadow Curtain

Want.

From Spoon & Tamago:

The global pandemic has forced many of us to spend more time in our rooms than we ever expected.

For those living in dense cities that also means we've been using our curtains more.

Tokyo-based designer Oto Kawamata came up with an idea that would allow us to make that indoor time subtly more enjoyable, even with closed curtains.

Water Shadow Curtain is a lace-based curtain that filters light to create caustics, the randomly fluctuating patterns of bright lines at the bottom of the pool or aquarium.

These caustics are caused by reflection and refraction of sunlight that create illuminated lines which flow gently as the sun moves or the curtains flow.

Mimicking this underwater sensation by using curtains has the potential to bring joy and magic into a room, explained the designer, adding that he hopes the idea can help create a more relaxing environment and alleviate stress as we spend more time indoors.

The product is still in prototype phase, but the designer received so much positive feedback on Twitter that he's formed a design agency and is working to accelerate bringing the Water Shadow Curtain to market.

You can stay up-to-date by following the curtain's progress on Instagram.

Left and Right Arms of a Right-Handed Tennis Pro

What is it?

Answer here this time tomorrow.

Hint: bigger than a bread box.

Another: not part of the wreckage recovered in the 1947 Roswell incident.

Drive-Thru Service Speeds

"Fast food for $50" — wait a sec, this isn't "Jeopardy."

Besides which it's $4.99.

Let's take it from the graphic up top.

I'd rather have a classic Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich than anything from the other 9 contenders.

The reason it's slow is undoubtedly because they don't start cooking it until you order, as opposed to the other chains and their heat lamps that sometimes render your food more beef jerky-like than what you see on TV commercials.

Fast Food Sticky Notes

From the website:

Whether you're a hungry note taker or just plain hungry, Fast Food Sticky Notes can help you remember to prepare for that big meeting on Monday, or remind you that you haven't eaten in hours.

Scribble down your thoughts on fast food-themed paper and when you're done, you can tear it off and live out your childhood dream of sticking your food on the wall.

These tasty-looking notes come packaged just like the real thing, but once removed from their to-go containers they're ready to receive your recipes, errand lists, and gentle reminders, all the while making your office or cubicle look absolutely delicious.

Features and Details:

• 125 sheets

• 2 styles: Fries or Noodles

• Size (pad): 3.93" x 3.34" x 0.59"

$4.99.