more excuses to say “the orient”

While we’re at it, we thought we’d link to this interweb “Museum” of Olde Asian Commercial Arte. The Old Orient Museum has all the things we hate about an internet Museum–a flash interface that prevents saving images and any other 3rd party archiving, embedded sound that starts automatically, you get the idea–but some of the images are neat in a kind of late 90s kitch kind of way, and we appreciate the efforts of the collector and restorer, regardless.

Also, with this soundtrack, we kind of feel like we’re in a lesser David Lynch project. Warning: do not go to the about page with the sound on. And that is all.

Library Murder on the Orient Express

Oh, they shut down the mighty Donnell library, where we used to research term papers in the eighth grade*, to make room for a boom-era hotel owned by Orient-Express Enterprises Incorporated LLC. Now the economy’s gone all bust and the hotel is high-tailin’ it back to the Orient Asia. So what now? The original plans called for a scaled-back mini-library, from 42,000 square feet of public space to 19,000.

What will become of the gutted building? Affordable housing? Archive-style lofts? Spiraling Skyscraper Farms?

Inside, a dust-up of historic pooh-portions, and the most adorable photo of an old doll you ever did see.

*100 note-card minimum, and oh, they had old copies of Playboy at periodicals circulation!