Hello gorgeous friends, thanks for joining me again for another weird and wonderful tip-toe through a surreal realm, here are 10 things that looked good to me this week. Stay cool, stay inspired, stay cosy…
Tiny and enchanting book necklaces from 19th century Ethiopia
Here’s some books on a necklace for you. Just in case you get bored while on the train. This is a 19th century Ethiopian amulet necklace composed of 39 tiny manuscripts each within its own leather pouch.
Some of the manuscripts are in miniature codex format, others are in scroll format, each encased in a leather pouch to fit. The pouches are stained in various shades of red and brown, including examples stamped or tooled with X-motifs or other geometric expressions.
Amuletic necklaces like this were worn by all classes of Ethiopian society – here is an example worn by Prince Alemayehu, the son the son of Emperor Tewodros II, as photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron on the Isle of Wight in 1868.
Originally tweeted by Incunabula (@incunabula) on December 24, 2021.
Paintings within 1000’s of other paintings by James Fenner
The detail captured in this moving masterpiece is just mind-blowing.
For a year James Fenner expanded this illustration weekly over on his Instagram. Here is the final result of this intricate and magnificent work.
Here is a version of this animation on Youtube as well…
Originally tweeted by James Fenner (@JMFenner91) on November 8, 2021.
Visit a tiny Scottish village steeped in atmosphere with Kim Grant
Inspiring photographer Kim Grant goes on an adventure in Pennan, a remote seaside village in the NE of Scotland.
Cooking hunk Akis Petretzikis makes pumpkin risotto
He could be describing grass growing for all I care, I would still watch it…
If you are vegan you could sub the blue cheese with a vegan cheese or nutritional yeast for a lovely savoury flavour.
Are you a good friend to yourself? by Dr Eric Perry
The next time you make a mistake, reflect on the internal dialogue that is activated. For some, the internal critique is on pointing out everything you are doing wrong; seeing fault where perhaps there is none. Ask yourself if you would say the things you are saying to yourself to a friend who was in need. Also, what if someone spoke to you in such a negative way? I guarantee that you would think twice about having that person in your life.
In order to silence the negative talk, it is essential to cultivate a loving relationship with yourself. It takes practice and self-awareness, as well as, the ability to look at yourself from the outside. For example, say you become overwhelmed in crowds and are at a family gathering with a large group. As hard as you try, you are not able to fight the urge to flee. After you leave you are disappointed in yourself and the negative self-talk takes over. If you stop and look at the situation from the point of view of a loving friend your thoughts would be kinder and more accepting. Your friend would point out that you tried your best and not to be so hard on yourself.
Via Dr Perry’s excellent blog about psychology.
Thomas Edison’s creepy talking doll – heard a century later
Thomas Edison created a talking doll in 1877. In 1890 the Edison Phonograph Toy Manufacturing Company introduced ‘Edison’s Phonograph Doll’. To get the doll to talk you cranked a handle to operate a remoavable phonograph containing a single nursery rhyme: ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’. It sounds crackly and creepy, you can hear the original recording on Youtube.
Here’s a super creepy recording of the dolls in the phonograph.
A stunning mushroom medley by photography, artist and mushroom appreciator Jill Bliss (love the name)
An epic playlist of obscure songs from the 1994 by William at A 1000 Mistakes
Get ready to discover some amazing songs from Australia and New Zealand and maybe revisit songs you haven’t heard in decades here. A lot of grunge and alternative music from that time.
William has expansive lists from other years as well, you can check out more on his amazing blog here.
A macabre tale of a mummified hand frozen forever by mesmerism (1913)
Via Dr Chelsea Nichols on Twitter
A creepy feel-good tale. In 1913, French physician Gaston Durville set out to prove that the human body pulses with invisible force fields and energies. He acquired the hand of a cadaver to prove his point.
He loved to frolick around naked, but that’s another story. His junk looks a bit like a Mattel figure here, but nevertheless.
Durville instructed his assistants to gently caress the air around the dismembered hand for 45 mins each day, never directly touching it.
He believed that this action would 'mesmerize' the hand, bathing it in the electric flow of the human body to stop it from decaying.
According to Durville, the experiment worked: the corpse hand became mummified instead of rotting away.
Originally tweeted by Dr Chelsea Nichols (@museumweirdo) on December 19, 2021.
Cleanse Aura & Space | Tibetan Healing Sounds | Erase Negative Energy Blocks
If you are wanting a terrific background mix of relaxing music where you can imagine yourself in a peaceful temple then this is it…
Become ungovernable and be a rebel like this cockatoo
The tenacity of this Australian iconic bird and his ‘don’t give a fuck’ attitude in how he is removing the anti-bird spikes from a building is worthy of a documentary series. Cockatoos are the true rebels of the animal kingdom!
Strange women of the occult (1968)
This club sounds more interesting than doing cross-stitch at home…
Strange Women Of The Occult, by Warren Smith. Popular Library 1968.
Originally tweeted by Pulp Librarian (@PulpLibrarian) on December 12, 2021.
I hope you enjoyed this foray into the strange and mystical worlds of history. Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t below and feel free to give thanks if you want on Ko-Fi. See you soon crazy cats
Content Catnip 
Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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Thanks Lani 🤗 I’m so glad you enjoyed this 😽
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Thank you Ned for sharing this and for your endless support 💚
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Magic mushrooms, mid-90s music, and mummified hands, oh my!
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Thank you dear friend I am glad you enjoyed this psychedelic trip 😆
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