10 Cool Things I found on the Internet #23

Does your brain need to be plunged into icy-cold water? Consider this weeks picks to be a refreshing and brief dunk into a frozen arctic pool…when you know that a sauna will be waiting for you afterwards.

Where the river begins

A look at how linguistics, word origins and paleo-climatology are linked.

“If you pause to look at the time scale of the climatology when these semantic shifts would have happened, and you realize you’re standing face to face with a human artifact that has fossilized within it a specific experience from about 5,000 B.C. On rare occasions these words laid one after the other along the centuries align in just the right tilt and you can glimpse far down that well and catch light from something unimaginably ancient but recognizably human; the cognate of the paint-print hand on the cave wall, or a breath of meadow-air from the spring after the Ice Age.”

Read more

The things that are yours to keep by Monica Olivia

Sámi artist, yoga practitioner and spiritual seeker Monica Olivia explores the sacred things that are yours to keep and that nobody can take from you. Read more on Monica’s amazing blog Ask the Mountains.

Your spiritual practice

Your ethnicity and ancestry

Your creativity

Your struggles

Your love

~ Monica Olivia, Ask The Mountains.

It’s OK to not be OK, but not OK to remain that way

Inspiring Kenyan Environmental activist Chechie Winnie shoulders a lot of responsibility in her life, looking after the natural wilderness and its magnificent animals in Kenya. Here she talks about how to handle ‘activism anxiety’ and the fatigue that comes from trying to save the world.

“I remember mourning the clearing of trees along Mombasa road, despite all efforts put in place. The action still went ahead. Then one sad afternoon, after participating in a strike (#AfricaisNotADumpster) on my way home I was shattered. Waiyaki way too had fallen victim to the clearing of trees.

“We almost got tear-gassed for striking, and the sadness in me had yet found a solution. Here we were with other problems/defeat laughing at us.

It was heartbreaking and all kinds of thoughts flooded my brain. I was numb for a moment, and couldn’t hold myself from crying. For a minute I wondered if it was worth it, whatever I was doing as an activist.

“For a few days, I was lost. I didn’t really understand or even have slight hopes that for the sure the environment will be given a front seat in our country. You have to understand that they may take a while, they may mock you, they may frustrate you, or even kill your hopes. But you need to remain strong. If you need a time out, go for a trip and forget all these problems for a minute. Avoid places that remind you of the problems, and for a minute. Allow yourself to heal and forget everything going on. Just because they continue ignoring you, they will eventually accept facts.

Climate change is no longer a future problem or a given part of the world. It’s everywhere and people are feeling it.

It will be an honor one day to enjoy milestones made from your activism. We need you to continue fighting and taking good care of your selves, both mentally and physically.“

~ Chechie Winnie

Tiny Ancient Egyptian dioramas

Fascinating blogger Generalist Academy explores the miniature world of Egyptian dioramas. While most of the expensive treasure was looted, these tiny treasures often remained in tombs. These finds come from the tomb of chief steward and official Meketre, and are about 4,000 years old. Read more on Generalist Academy

A bustling bakery and brewery…

COVID angry-face cake from Turanga-nui-a-Kiwi in New Zealand

New Zealand has (for now at least) broken the back of COVID because of its geographical isolation and strong leadership. Which means there are plenty of cakes like this floating around New Zealand. This one was baked and has long since been eaten at Tairāwhiti Museum in Turanga Nui a Kiwa.

‘Cultivating the cosmic tree’ by Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)

German mystic, Benedictine abbess, polymath, artist, writer, composer, philosopher who spun webs of ornate creativity that reach out to us from almost 900 years after her death. She was an extraordinarily talented woman.

Voices of Angels – Voices of Ascension by Hildegard von Bingen

Moriz Jung’s Animal ABCs

Moriz Jung (1885-1915) was born in Mikulov, Czech Republic. He was a talented artist and illustrator who worked in woodcuts, linocuts, lithographs and book images and became a member of the Wiener Werkstätte. During his studies he published a book of coloured woodcuts called, Freunden geschnitten und gedruckt von Moriz Jung (Leipzig and Vienna, 1906), an alphabetical primer in the form of animal pictures. Read more

D is for Dachs (the German word for badger)

I is for Igel (the German word for hedgehog)

Thierry Mulger Spring/Summer collection from 1991

Even if you’re not really into fashion, I challenge you to not enjoy this. It’s a channel that features a treasure-trove of kitsch, attitude and female badassery. The fashion is innovative, the music is a funky blend of acid house, early hiphop, techno and 60’s vintage pop. Models include Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Helen Christensen, Aman, Deborah Hutton and many others in their prime. It’s nothing like the rigid and boring fashion of today. Instead it’s beautiful women who let their joie de vivre shine through and who perform with huge personalities to sell the clothes with true flair and artistry. You can see why they were considered ‘supermodels’ in their day. It’s really quite mesmerising to watch and there’s a whole channel of it…

A highlight for me was around 12 min in, with a weird sculptural acrobatics performance followed by a Vogue-esque, Madonna style peformance to acid house music and then some other things that are hard to define.

John Townsend’s simple Apple Pie

American history revivalist and historian John Townsend demonstrates a super simple apple pie recipe that’s light on the ingredients, but heavy on the taste.

Smooth grooves and alpine beats from Del Monte

I hope you enjoyed this week’s picks, do you have anything you have found that was amazing this week? share below and also what you thought of these picks.