artists and muses

Happy Prez Day Birthday to John Hughes & Molly Ringwald!! Is it not utterly BIZARRO that these 2 share a birthday? I think so. I imagine Hughes viewed it as an omen and it only cemented his obsession with her. I've always had the strong impression he was obsessed with Molly, but to really be fair, I must confess I don't know where I picked up that notion . I think it was from either an E! True Hollywood Story OR some retro rehash served up on VH1. Hey, perhaps it's mere coincidence that their big rift dates to the year 1986.. . .the very same year Mol turned 18. Also in 1986, Molly turned down the Amanda Jones role in Some Kind of Wonderful (not Hughes-directed but he did write it...awesome flick-I heartily recommend) and also apparently said some disparaging things about him to the press. And *officially* 'twas this double "dis" that caused Hughes to be disenchanted forevermore. Ringwald, supposedly, was trying to distance herself from Hughes roles because she felt she'd grown out of 'em, didn't want to be "pigeonholed", you know..that whole schpiel. But maybe...just maybe...she wanted to distance herself from Hughes himself once she was fair game, legally speaking. Perhaps she saw he was suppressing lecherous intentions and feared he would suppress 'em no longer. Or it could be both-- avoidance of typecasting and mauling. Or just the typecasting thing. Or neither. I merely speculate. As a 9 year old in 1986, I was spending so much of my time in Mrs Lane's 4th grade classroom that I didn't get to mingle with the Brat Pack as much as I'd have liked.



In the field of fine arts we've another cool Feb 18 birthday: Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933). How awesomely unusual a middle name is that anyways? It blends pretty well with his whole name, but I don't know that just anybody could bear that middle name without it sounding odd. Takes some of the focus off his prissy last name, I suppose. I thought it interesting that Tiffany's padre -- Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902)--was born on Feb 15. Even nuttier..the father died on his son's 54th birthday. Charles was famous for starting up the famous Tiffany & Co jewelry store in 1837. And probably L C could've just assimilated himself into the family biz and made quite a COMFORTable living for himself, but he would up making a name for himself in the art nouveau movement, particularly with his stained glass work (although he also painted and designed jewelry). Of course I shall make with the visual aides...the necklaces above were credited to him. Also, you'll see below some of his stained glass work that I particularly dug...