The boys of winter

and that killer New Mexico late afternoon light. On the left: Reeve, circa November 2004, Vaughn, NM; On the right: Nick, January 2013, Santa Fe, NM.

Almost enough. . .

to make you believe in reincarnation. Or genes, anyway. Could these two cheery fellows be related? On the left: Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French poet, novelist, and dramatist. On the right: Chris Cooper (1951-) American film actor.

Fun site here with lots more of historical and contemporary pairings.

Meanwhile, 1,759 miles away

You can't tell me it doesn't look like we were made for each other.  On the left: Tim, in San Diego; On the right: me*, in Leland, Mississippi. Both photos circa December 1976, both (we think) were taken on or around our birthdays, December 14 and 26.

Happy birthday, Tim. . .

*Yes, I'm curling my hair in the living room. Not sure why, unless it's to catch the eye of that cute rich guy on the left. (Or, yeah, more realistically, somebody beat me to the bathroom.)

Old school ghosts

From Detroit, a city rapidly becoming famous for its gorgeously decaying old buildings: some haunting then-and-now images (apparently of an old school building) in which heyday snapshots have been digitally superimposed onto current photos.

Thanks to Nick Taylor for the tip!

The difference 700 years makes?

Mystery solved! The ever resourceful* Brian Williams weighed in on my "Lilies of mystery" post (right) last week, saying "I recognize these as the front and back artwork from Cocteau Twins' 1982 EP Lullabies (The Arum lily appears on the back.)" He also found the source, The Liliput Pocket Omnibus (pub. date uncertain), along with several scans of its pages, including the spread above.

Above, on the left: STONE. The Famous Angel in Rheims Cathedral, built over 700 years ago; Above, on the right: FLESH AND BLOOD. Centuries later, a striking resemblance is seen in Mlle. Louisette  Bouniol, also of Rheims.

*I know this for a fact. He was my Cub Scout co-den leader back in the day!

The difference a day makes

On the left: A leaf we came across on the UNC campus in Greeley, Colorado on an overcast day with freezing rain. On the right: The same leaf the next day, after an overnight freeze and snowfall.

Presidential parties

In keeping with this week's presidential election, here are a couple of paintings by "visual storyteller" Andy Thomas — delightful stuff. Top: Callin' the Red. Democratic presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, President Kennedy, Harry S. Truman, President Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Andrew Jackson. Bottom:  A Grand Ol' Gang. Republican presidents George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Dwight Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Abraham Lincoln.

See more of Andy's work here.