Miraculous and oft forgotten pieces of history that need one last shot at glory
The word alchemy is derived from the Arabic root “kimia”, from the Coptic “khem” (referring to the fertile black soil of the Nile delta). The word “alchemy” alludes to the dark mystery of the primordial or First Matter (the Khem). Alchemy in medieval times was a concoction of science, philosophy and mysticism. Far from operating within…
There are approximately 53 volcanoes in Auckland, which have over thousands of years produced an array of interesting lagoons, tuft rings and lava flows in Auckland city. The biggest, most active and most visible volcano - Rangitoto sits on an island of the same name in Auckland harbour. This has erupted repeatedly over the past…
Continue reading ➞ A Brief History of Auckland’s 53 Volatile Volcanoes
The beautiful burgh of Linlithgow charmed the pants off me when I went there a few years ago. The town sits astride the Forth and Clyde Canal (which I’ve written on extensively) which is around half way between Edinburgh and Glasgow. There’s a train link on Scotrail which goes between cities that takes you there, and…
In the beginning there was no sky, no sea no earth and no Gods. There was only darkness, only Te Kore, the Nothingness. From this nothingness, the primal parents of the Maori came, Papatuanuku, the Earth mother, and Ranginui, the Sky father. Papatuanuku and Ranginui came together,embracing in the darkness, and had 70 male children. These…
Continue reading ➞ Every Picture Tells A Story: Tane Mahuta’s Triumph by Jane Crisp
This collection of funny and witty animal fables was originally published in 1842 in French as Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux. The authors of these fables are a who's who of literature in the mid 19th-century including Honoré de Balzac, George Sand. Also The Private Lives of Animals boasts some fine,…
Found in the David Rumsey Map Collection online, this poster entitled Ínternet Road Map from the magazine PC Computing dates from the quaint year of internet history, 1996. Back when I was a teen and when 'surfing the web' was something only geeks and introverts did, and therefore which I did with fervour using some…
Continue reading ➞ Tech: A quaint visual voyage through the internet in 1996
Pania is the legendary Kaitiaki (guardian/protector) of the reef in local Maori legend and her wairua (spirit) is connected strongly to the moana (ocean) close by to the town of Napier. Legend has it that Pania was a shimmering and iridescently beautiful maiden who lives in the sea and following a human encounter and a broken…
Continue reading ➞ The Maori legend of Pania: Kaitiaki and taniwha of the reef, retold as street art
Spurred on by my recent missive about internet culture and the cult of cuteness, I moved very quickly down the rabbit hole into the depths of cat worship on the internet. Cats Galore is an art book with a difference. It’s what happens when internet culture gets mashed up and combined with the prominent art…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Cats Galore, prominent cats throughout history
The answer to why dogs and tiny horses can be used in therapy for PTSD and why cats rule the internet lays squarely in the pulling power of cuteness. But why do we find things cute and what are the commonly shared criteria for cuteness all over the world? According to psychologist Dr. Sandra Pimentel,…
Continue reading ➞ An exploration of the aesthetics of cuteness
If you thought that the Auckland or NYC property market was hot right now, spare a thought for the tiny and unpredictable housing market of the hermit crab. They have a complex and sometimes cooperative and sometimes aggressive strategies for occupying shells aka homes for their fragile little bodies. Some of these strategies involve hostile…
Continue reading ➞ Amazing Human-Crustacean Architectural Collaborations
Verner Panton (1926-1998) is remembered for his bold, daring furniture design and aesthetic which embodied the fun and turbulent times of the 60's and 70's. His most famous pieces are the S chair, which became the world´s first one-piece moulded plastic chair, the cone chair and the flowerpot lamps. Born in 1926 Panton initially began his…
Continue reading ➞ Verner Panton: The Daring Spirit of 60’s Design
The Wings of Desire (1987) (Der Himmel über Berlin, 1987) Is a Wim Wenders cult film that follows invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of the human inhabitants and comfort those who are in distress. Immensely moving it delves into the human condition and all of the pain, memory…
Continue reading ➞ The top 13 intense and powerful films that will linger with you forever
For a growing community of young LGBTQ Maori and Pacific Islanders in Auckland, the burgeoning Vogue scene is a place of creative expression. It's a sanctuary that naturally intersects with Maori and Pacific traditions of performance art and dance. Vice met with some of the breakout stars of the Vogue dance scene and found out…
Instead of restoring pottery shards and paintings(as the mudlarks of the Thames do), historians and archaeologists are increasingly turning towards technology and its immersive VR possibilities when explaining and educating people about the past. A new mode for immersive learning about the past is through sound. French musicologist Mylène Pardoen has set about bringing to…
Continue reading ➞ Mylène Pardoen: The Soundscape of 17th Century France
What happened to reels of photos from old Kodak cameras of the 80's and 90's? They very well may end up in an Internet K-Hole, I've written about that strange website before. It's a repository of old photos from people's personal and public collections that squashed together and left to coexist in a creepy digital…
Continue reading ➞ Thibaut Kinder’s exhumed photographs from abandoned SD cards
Salvador Dalí isn't generally remembered for his culinary prowess. Although he was a secret admirer of gastronomy for all of its transformative and monstrous properties. In his rare and 1973 cookbook Les Diners de Gala, just reissued by Taschen. the late iconic artist celebrates dream-like and surreal flavour combinations. Chapter titles include Prime Lilliputian malaises’ (meat)…
Instead of allowing your pesky pooch to malt all over your sofa, put your pet to work in a novel way. The most luxuriant of dog breeds can be put to practical use as producers of dog wool for your next knitting expedition. Some of the best breeds for yarn include the Collie, Old English…
Hedgehog in the Fog is the Russian equivalent of Winnie the Pooh, Paddington or Beatrix Potter stories. This delightful cartoon was made in 1975 by Yuriy Borisovich Norshteyn and introduced the world to a hedgehog that becomes bewitched by different shapes obscured by thick fog. Yuriy Borisovich Norshteyn is one of the most respected animators in…
Continue reading ➞ Classic Russian Animation: Hedgehog in the Fog
In Stuttgart in the 70's a group of young bohemian artists including the film-maker Wim Wenders (who went on to make the amazing film the Wings of Desire) hung out together. In this group of friends was also the enigmatic and completely mysterious singer Sibylle Baier, about whom we know very little except that she…
Continue reading ➞ Lost and Found: Sibylle Baier’s Colour Green
Here are some curated images from Reddit's Creepy Old Pics a subreddit that will give you the creeps for sure. Haloween is really about the Pagan ritual of Sammhuin, although some people claim that Haloween has Christian roots, there is no denying that the two Haloween and Sammhuin are culturally interrelated. The idea of a…
