"The Nekyia is no aimless or destructive fall into the abyss, but a meaningful katabasis ... its object the restoration of the whole man. Carl Jung
Ancient word of the day: Nekyia
Ambient album review: Suzanne Ciani Buchla concerts 1975 @sevwave
Electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani never achieved the critical mass appeal of Brian Eno or Aphex Twin. Although once you listen to her album I'm sure you agree, she deserves to be up there with the greats of ambient music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vZGeHBfxU0 You never really hear much about female ambient music artists, it's always men really…
Continue reading ➞ Ambient album review: Suzanne Ciani Buchla concerts 1975 @sevwave
List of the week: Adult words I used as a teenager to make myself sound more intelligent
As a teenager I was incredibly precocious at times, spouting big words to make myself feel older and more worldly in high school. Later on, as my vocabulary developed at University, I dropped these intellectual bombs into conversations to make myself feel better in the company of people more middle class and posh than I was.
Travel: A curious history of Nara’s holy deer
Nara has had sacred significance long into the ancient mists of time in Japan. Long before Tokyo and Kyoto became the capital of Japan, Nara reigned as the most important city in Japan, its capital from 710-784 AD, before this mantle was passed on to Kyoto. By decree of the emperor of Japan in 724AD,…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: A curious history of Nara’s holy deer
Emerging Artist Profile: Cheryl Young/ CYSketch @cysketch
Hong Kong artist Cheryl Young's illustrated world of cosy, anime streetscapes feature an endless cascade of hamsters - because there can never be too many. Her art is so chilled out it deserves its own special genre of music. Content Catnip recently caught up with Cheryl for a chat about her charming and endearing art, anime and illustrations and the inspiration behind them.
Emerging Artist Profile: Eleonor Piteira @_eleonorp
Content Catnip recently interviewed established Portuguese artist Eleonor Piteira. She once wanted to be an astronaut as a child, but instead has allowed her imagination to wander all over the galaxy through her striking an beautiful art, impressing people like director Guillermo del Toro along the way...
The ancient and elusive fairisle of Hy Brasil
Hy Brasil is a mysterious phantom island that was thought to exist off the west coast of Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean for hundreds of years. The area being nautically challenging for seafarers, it was an elusive and mysterious place, hailed in pre-Christian times as being the Celtic Elysium or land of promise. During Christian…
Continue reading ➞ The ancient and elusive fairisle of Hy Brasil
Book Review – Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
* Contains no plot spoilers This has to be my favourite Murakami novel so far. Although I’m not even half way through his oeuvre. The plot is a compelling and slow unravelling of two separate strands. The first strand is the 15 year old Kafka Tamura, a teen runaway who takes refuge in a remote…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review – Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Emerging Artist Profile: No Man’s Dream @No_MansDream
Content Catnip recently interviewed highly talented 16 year old artist No Man's Dream about his cool Twitter channel @No_MansDream and what inspires him to keep making extraordinary pixel art that's vintage futuristic and video-game ready.
Ancient words of the day: Glamour and grammar
Glamour is an 18th Century corruption of the word grammar. Or the occult processes that were traditionally associated with learning during the middle ages. The words grammar and glamour are also associated with the word grimoire - a spell-book. Glamourie: witchcraft, magic, fascination or a spell Glaumerify: to cast a spell over or bewich Glamour-bead:…
Continue reading ➞ Ancient words of the day: Glamour and grammar
Travel: Oeshiki Festival of Light, Ikegami Tokyo
Oeskiki is an annual buddhist festival held on the 13th of October that commemorates the death of Nichiren in 1282. He was a revered buddhist teacher who lived during the Kamakura period, about 700 years ago. Although celebrated throughout Japan, the main Oeshiki festival is held at Ikegami Honmonji Temple located in the Ota ward…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: Oeshiki Festival of Light, Ikegami Tokyo
Ancient word of the day: Hedgehog
The ancient word for today is hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus. In the Middle Ages, writers didn't make reference to hedgehogs, but to urchins. A term still favoured in some English dialects. It's also associated with the sea urchin, which is literally a sea hedgehog. The word urchin came over to England with the Norman invasion and…
Rant: Looking for a place to rent is a little like selling your soul
You know how when you go for a job interview, you need to dress yourself up like a trussed up overpowering pineapple. An exaggeratedly normal version of yourself. The power self you wish you were, but deep down you simply love to wear track suit pants if at all possible? Well, when presenting yourself to…
Continue reading ➞ Rant: Looking for a place to rent is a little like selling your soul
Exotic Ads of the Past: Golden Eyes and Her Hero Bill Over There
During the World War I era, modern young women in America were seeking new roles of equality and opportunity in education and work. American illustrator and writer Nell Brinkley was iconic for her representations during the period. She redefined femininity, fashion and trends in many ways in era before mass media - when print was…
Continue reading ➞ Exotic Ads of the Past: Golden Eyes and Her Hero Bill Over There
Pagan Date: Imbolc
In the southern hemisphere, today in the Pagan calendar is Imbolc. It's a Sabbat to honour the Celtic goddess Brighid. It's a time to purify oneself, dedicate oneself to a task. The word imbolc comes from Irish Gaelic and means 'ewe's milk'. It's in reference to the time when ewe's begin suckling with their young…
Ancient word of the day: Augury
According to the Romans, every sound and motion the bird made had a different meaning according to different circumstances, times of the year and other factors.
Exotic Ads of the Past: Dr Spock banishes smoking into a black hole
Exotic Ads of the Past: Dr Spock banishes smoking into a black hole
Travel: Magnificent Ryoan-ji temple and gardens, Kyoto
Ryōan-ji (meaning the Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in Kyoto, Japan. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles arranged in immaculate linear patterns, designed to facilitate…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: Magnificent Ryoan-ji temple and gardens, Kyoto
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An indepth exploration of the aesthetics of cosiness
There’s a lovely subreddit I recently found called Cosy Places, which calls for people to submit their log cabins, hideaways and cosy loungerooms. This is a veritable treasure trove of different ideas for cosiness. Someone even parsed the photo content in the subreddit and came up with the recipe and criteria that make up a…
Continue reading ➞ An indepth exploration of the aesthetics of cosiness
So long, Marianne: Leonard Cohen and his muse Marianne Ihlen
In November 2016, the singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, renowned for his melancholic and romantic ballads, died a few months after the woman who inspired many of his famous songs - his Norwegian lover and muse, Marianne Ihlen. On the summery idyll of Hydra, Greece in 1960, there was a bohemian community of artists and musicians living…
Continue reading ➞ So long, Marianne: Leonard Cohen and his muse Marianne Ihlen