10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #54

Haere mai and welcome to another action-packed edition of 10 Interesting Things, I hope you have packed warm and light because we’re about to mount a rescue mission for your mind, so that you can crack a smile once again. Get your crampons on your feet and get ready to bivouac with some langurs up in the tree-tops, they have been trained to bring us pawpaw and nectar from the tree of life, so it’s all good…

Monica Olivia’s calm place she went while she was giving birth, powerfully rendered in art

Sámi artist, mum, Buddhist and all-round cool person Monica Olivia talks about a personal painting of hers, which depicts the calm place that she went to inside while giving birth to her son…

‘This is the “place” I went to in my imagination before and during giving birth. It was cold and silent, and this is where I could go in my mind to gather strength and breathe fresh crisp air. I could also clearly see our son there the whole time, sitting close by, waiting to be born’

Monica Olivia

If you haven’t yet, you really should follow her fantastic blog about spirituality, art, mental health, motherhood and Sámi indigenous culture.

上賀茂社家町の散策 : Walking Around Kamigamo Shake-machi（Kyoto, Japan）

A moving meditation, roaming around the sacred temples of Kyoto with some sweeping orchestral music. A nice armchair travelling experience, for all of those people missing Japan.

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – All the Gold in California

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis create a gritty, bluesy and dark sound which lends itself well to crime dramas as well as gritty historical biopics as well. I have really enjoyed their film and TV soundtracks more than a lot of studio albums, if I am being honest! Here is one such song of their from the OST for True Detective.

Aliens among us: the unsettling anatomical art of Paul Pfurtscheller

Paul Pfurtscheller (1855-1927) was an Austrian zoologist and natural history artist who produced a series of stunning and slightly creepy zoological wall charts of unusual animals from 1902 onwards. Via Twitter

Carby spongey days working from home

You know how it is, it’s just easier to reach for a packet of crisps while at your laptop and still working in your PJs, fresh fruit stays in the bowl. From the always amazing miniature artist Tatsuya Tanaka via Twitter

Hangaia he kōauau // Making Māori flutes

Weird tree in Bulgaria

Via Reddit

Yasma’s Salad by Nadia Gilbert

An easy and healthy breakfast salad by Palestinian-American chef Nadia Gilbert.

Scripts and indigenous written languages from across West Africa

An interesting map showing traditional scripts across West Africa. “Few regions of the world rival West Africa for the sheer scale, diversity and dynamism of its indigenous writing traditions.” – Piers Kelly Via Twitter

Desert Breath by Danae Stratou

This spectacular land art is by Greek artist Danae Stratou. She created this hypnotic and epic piece named Desert Breath in 1997. This was a collaborative large-scale land art installation in Egypt that extended over 25 acres and involved exquisite circular pits and mounds that attracted rain water and evolved over the seasons. Via Twitter

80’s and 90’s Chanel fashion retrospective

I like the groovy, funky house music and the fashion which reminds me of a lot of fashion that I aspired to as a teenager.

Facing down your fears in the journey through life by Johnny L Brewer

There is an old Cherokee parable about the two wolves that live inside of every person. One wolf embodies everything life-giving and loving in the world, the other embodies everything that’s destructive in the world. The two are fighting to the death inside of you, and every other person. The wolf that survives is the one you feed. Here’s Johnny’s insightful reflections on facing down your fear:

Behind the evil wolf stands the good wolf. He’s hungry too. How do you go about feeding him? That evil wolf is always right there in front of the gate, ready to gobble up any food you toss in there. You must open the gate and confront him. See, the evil wolf is fear, so if you walk towards him, he will still show signs of aggression, but he’ll back up as far as possible because he is scared. There is the chance he’ll lash out, but only out of fear. You take that hit and keep moving forward, and he’ll keep backing up. Then place the food in front of the good wolf, who the evil wolf fears. Eventually, that evil wolf will begin to fear you and stay out of your way as you go into feed the good wolf. He’ll still try you. That’s what he does.

Johnny L Brewer

I have loved reading Johnny’s spiritual, wise, philosophical and insightful blog, I recommend you follow him.

Hope you have enjoyed the selections, let me know what you think below…