If you think that humble fragrance of lavender is only loved by aromatherapists and older ladies with a penchant for scented drawer sachets – think again. Lavender was officially the scent of elicit medieval sex, according to History of Sex author Kate Lister!
Lavender: N. Comes from Latin lavare meaning ‘to wash’
Unlike exotic and expensive perfumes, lavender grows wild and plentifully all over southern Europe and has always been readily and cheaply available.
Lavender has always been widely used for washing clothes.
Washerwomen were known as ‘lavenders’ in medieval Europe.
The word ‘launder’ derives from lavender.
Medieval laundresses or lavenders were very poor and their daily work was epic drudgery. They often made ends meet by becoming ‘dollymops’, meaning they subsidised laundry work with sex work in the steamy lavender-scented corners of their shops.
Gabriël Metsu (1629–1667), Washerwoman (c 1650), oil on panel, 23.9 × 21 cm, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Warsaw, Poland. Wikimedia Commons.
Meretrice: A medieval name for a harlot or lavender in The Legend of a Good Woman by Chaucer, c. 1380.
Envye (I pray to god yeve hir mischaunce!)
Is lavender in the grete court I.
For she ne parteth, neither night ne day.
Chaucer here using the play on words for lavender meaning being at once dirty and clean. The Legend of a Good Woman by Chaucer, c. 1380.
Meretrice: A medieval name for a harlot or lavender in The Legend of a Good Woman by Chaucer, c. 1380.
Thou shalt be my lavender Laundress
To wash and keep clean all my gear,
Our two beds together shall be set
Without any let.
Walter Hemingburgh ‘Ship of Fools’, 16th Century.
For creating this post I owe a great deal to the magnificent sweeping epic of sexy things ‘The History of Sex’ by Kate Lister. Follow her: @WhoresofYore on Twitter.
Welcome to edition #110 of Interesting Things I Found on the Internet. This time I show you an Azerbaijani sweet treat, foxes dancing in the darkness, flotsam and jetsam and the shadow of #Bigfoot, it’s all in there like swimwear #ContentCatnip
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Welcome to edition #110 of Interesting Things I Found on the Internet. I’ll show you an #Azerbaijani sweet treat, #foxes dancing in the dark, flotsam and jetsam and the shadow of #Bigfoot, it’s all in there like swimwear #ContentCatnip
At the beginning the story seems to focus on the human protagonist but quickly shifts to other-than-human beings. This is deeply philosophical as it shows that despite humans’ tendency to place themselves at the centre of the world – they are really not and that life will hopefully go on being resilient in a post-human world. Beautiful.
As I get older and the more widely that information is disseminated about autism and autistic traits, the more that I feel that I can identify myself as being on the spectrum – particularly in the part of the Venn about autism and giftedness. Via Cool Guides on Reddit
I reviewed one of Robohands’ earlier albums here. I love this style of easy-going cruisy jazz music. I think his follow-up album is equally as good as Green. Here it is.
The arrangement like a mosaic against the black background reminds me of an old fashioned illustration of specimens of coral and shells found on a beach. Is this the grotesque and yet beautiful species we now find on the beach? I don’t know if I should feel sad or delighted or a bit of both.
The 56 mile stretch of Highway 93 that runs through the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana contains one of the highest densities of wildlife crossings in the world. Previously known as one of the most dangerous roads in Montana, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes came together to address the safety issues of the highway while preserving wildlife, through the construction of 42 highway animal crossings.
Kal is funny and engaging. I find some of the things she posts a bit silly and so I skip them over, however in this video she is incredibly talented with these accent impressions and lighting quick switches…
Seeing yourself in the clouds
Picture yourself on a high mountain peak, surrounded by a sea of clouds. Suddenly, you see a fascinating event called the Brocken Spectre. This is your own shadow, projected onto the clouds below, framed by a rainbow-like circle known as a glory. This isn’t a static image; it seems enormous and moves with the clouds or as you shift your stance. This captivating, rare phenomenon adds a touch of magic to the already awe-inspiring view from the mountaintop.
A playlist to feel like you’re inside a van Gogh painting
The swirling piano and emotional cadence of these pieces of classical music from Debussy, Chopin and others do make me think of Van Gogh, let me know if you get the same vibe!
Exploring an abandoned Debenham’s department store in Manchester
This department store of Debenhams has a lot of memories for me, it is really sad that state of the UK and how everything seems to have eroded due to their shitty and greedy leadership, but anyway that’s another rabbit hole I won’t dive into right now. This video was filled with nostalgia for me, a longing for a time when gorgeous department stores were still a thriving place, a place of wonder and enjoyment. It’s both melancholy and fascinating this exploration inside of this old department store. I have to admit that now I have well and truly pulled back the curtain in terms of how much I know about consumerism. This is complex to unpick, I feel deeply nostalgic for old school department stores, while also realising how damaging and wasteful excessive consumerism is. Yes…we do live in a deeply complicated world don’t we.
There is another way towards feeling good about yourself rather than continuing to try to be perfect or better than everyone else at something. That is through having the courage and determination to live by your own values and do your own thing, regardless of what everyone else says is important.
It may be tough to not conform if you feel a lot of external pressure to do what everyone else is doing. However, minor acts of non-conformity that do not violate the core standards of the group can attract attention rather than make you an outcast. As long as you remain helpful and useful to the group at times, you can rise in your status rather than being ostracised.
Raymond Booth’s exquisite and precise British wildlife art
Raymond Booth (1929-2015) was a renowned British artist, best known for his exquisitely detailed natural history illustrations. He had a remarkable understanding of botany and ornithology and his work was celebrated for its scientific accuracy. He is best known for his pieces “Study of Blackbirds,” “Fox in Winter,” and “Lilium Martagon: Turk’s Cap Lily,” each of which showcases his profound dedication to depicting nature with flair, integrity, passion and precision.
Squirrel in Autumn by Raymond Booth
Did you enjoy this collection? let me know what you think of it below. Thank you for reading
Dr Haare Williams MNZM has been Dean of Māori Education and Māori Advisor to the Chief Executive at Unitec. He was General Manager of Aotearoa Radio. He set up a joint venture with the South Seas Film and Television School to train Te Reo speakers as producers and operators in film and television. He has worked closely with iwi claimant communities and was responsible for waka construction and assembly at Waitangi for the 1990 commemorations. He has published poetry, exhibited painting and written for film and television. He was a cultural advisor for the Mayor of Auckland and is Amorangi at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
A word coined in 1965 by American Zoologist Wilbur W. Mayhew. Brumation denotes a state of torpor and sluggishness brought on by winter. Mayhew used the word to describe the cold-weather dormancy of reptiles.
Brumation is also a term commonly used in Biology to describe the dormant period for reptiles. As with hibernation in mammals, their bodies shut down and conserve energy for the coming year. During the period of brumation, a reptile may not eat, drink, defecate, or move for several weeks. It may bury itself completely underground or go to the darkest, coolest part of its enclosure.
An engaging and big novel that’s less about wolves, and more about instinct, wildness, independence and sexual connection coupled with big themes like Scottish political independence, class privilege and the UK’s national identity – 4 stars.
Rachel Caine is a 40 year old project manager of a wolf sanctuary in Idaho who is summoned by an earl in England’s Lake District to run a novel wolf sanctuary close to the Scottish Borders. This is close by to Rachel’s childhood home, where she was reared by her mother Binnie and half brother in a tumultuous miasma of her mother’s alcohol, parties and countless sexual partners.
The haunting threads of womanhood, sexuality, motherhood, independence, nature, wildness and instinct, domesticity, relationships and connection mingle in a compelling way in this novel. Along with broader political themes like Scottish political independence, Brexit, English aristocracy and the arrogance of the landed gentry and their outdated but frustratingly persistent power structure in England.
It comes between the bushes as if bidden. It comes forward, mercilessly towards her, paw lifting, fast, but not running. A word she will soon learn: lope. It is perfectly made, long legs, sheer chest, dressed for coldness in wraps of grey fur. It comes close to the wire and stands looking at her, eyes level, pure yellow gaze. Long nose, black tip twitching, short mane. A dog before dogs were invented. The god of all dogs. It is a creature so fine, she can hardly comprehend it. But it recognises her. it has seen and smelled animals like her for two million years. She is hanging in the air, suspended like a soft offering. Any minute it will be upon her.
These threads and themes are all intricately woven together in this potent and visceral novel that brings together the personal and political into a tightly woven rope. Contrary to what I expected, this is NOT a novel about wolves, the wolves are secondary – this is a book about the human and more-than-human worlds colliding together and the political and psychological complexities of relationships and animal yearnings and instincts in humans. Another enjoyable aspect of this book were the descriptions of nature, the seasons and the wolves- these are beautifully and potently rendered and dance in the memory long after.
All about her, the season is surprisingly lovely, unsettled and kinetic, then wildless, held. The air is moist and downy. There are flashes of tropical colour on the bare twigs. She does not remember Cumbria being so exotic.
In the hands of a less skilled writer, this book would falter, but writer Sarah Hall has crafted a collection of believable, compelling and interesting characters and especially the heroine of the book Rachel Caine whose personal journey through the book is deep and satisfying. The tension about the wolves and their uncertain future and the future of Britain itself in the era of Brexit is carefully baked into the narrative arc.
The story does slow down to a slow trickle about three quarters in, with Rachel giving birth and caring for her infant. Perhaps this slowing down in pace is deliberate and matches the pace of motherhood itself. Everything is fascinating metaphor in this book and mirrors the instinctual wildness of the wolves themselves – who are running and cavorting mostly in our imaginations and in the background of the novel, not front and centre as was expected.
The novel picks up the pace for a cracking, frenetic conclusion which is rather satisfying. I would rate this book 4 stars, simply because it seemed to get lost and become too stagnant towards the middle – then it picks up again. Other than this, it’s a finely crafted story, rich with psychological complexity and authentic characters and I would heartily recommend it.
A beautiful and ancient word that denotes the deep collective power of empathy and humanity.
Ubuntu is a Xhosa word that denotes sharing what you have. As in, my humanity is inextricably linked and bound up in yours. Ubuntu recognises that true healing is impossible without recognition of our common humanity and common destiny.
‘The Body Keeps the Score’ by Bessel Van Der Kolk.
‘Ubuntu’ is a Xhosa word that denotes sharing what you have. As in, my humanity is inextricably linked and bound up in yours. That true healing is only possible when we recognise our shared destiny as a species
This is occasionally translated to “I am because we are” (also “I am because you are”),[2or “humanity towards others” (in Zulu, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu).
In Xhosa, the latter term is used, but is often meant in a more philosophical sense to mean “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”.
The Lonely City by Olivia Laing is a mixture of reportage, biography and creative non-fiction. Weaving together strands of history, philosophy and art, Laing explores one of the last taboos of humanity which is loneliness. This is an alarming and at times uncomfortable book to read if you have been or are now lonely. Yet loneliness is common to all of us at some point in our lives. It’s what we seek at all costs to avoid and hide under the rug.
#BookReview: The Lonely City by Olivia Laing is a mixture of reportage, #biography and creative #nonfiction. Weaving together strands of #history, #philosophy and #art, Laing explores one of the last taboos of humanity: #loneliness.
Laing brings attention to this by way of personal narrative. She moved to New York City in her mid-thirties and found herself in a slump of loneliness and was fascinated by this most shameful of experiences.
She explores NYC and loneliness as it’s depicted in art. Edwards Hopper’s Nighthawks is explored in depth and is categorically – as it’s probably the ultimate in depicting loneliness and alienation within a metropolis.
About Neon Art and Loneliness http://wp.me/p41CQf-aUWalthamstow Neon Art Sculpture. About Neon Art and Loneliness http://wp.me/p41CQf-aUCover of Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky Edward Hopper ‘Nighthawks’ Otherworldly Abandoned Soviet Monuments: Kadinjača
She also delves into the work of Andy Warhol and in particular Time Capsules. This is the work of an expert craftsperson in historical narrative and philosophy and it pin-points all of the common frameworks and painpoints of what it means to be lonely. I have loads of personal experience of being lonely in new cities. That’s why at times reading this recalled difficult times in my own life where I felt completely adrift and disconnnected from communication with anyone. It was a comfort and a salve on those old wounds to think that this isn’t a condition unique to myself,but that’s universally shared by all of humanity. Loneliness as a social, economic and psychological condition and an unfortunate by-product of the industrial revolution is explored.
Throughout all of the personalised doom and gloom there are a lot of moving moments, and intellectually dazzling points. Laing offers a way to navigate through and heal one’s loneliness. She concludes by offering several ways to put a salve on the wound of loneliness so to speak, through celebrating this experience of being cast adrift from the larger continent of human experience. That it’s possible to embrace and celebrate loneliness for all of the insights it provides into the human condition.
Although some writers are caught in a dangerous quandary. The smarter and more sensitive of writers can lean towards depression brought on by such immense loneliness such as David Foster Wallace, or Virginia Woolf or Sylvia Plath – leading them to despatch themselves from the planet. Although other writers embraced being alone and built their career on it – like Thoreau.
Which is why, for me loneliness still remains one of the most challenging aspects of being human that we can all face, and why this book was so challenging to read. Although beautifully written and an incredible achievement of intellectual scholarship – it cut a little too close to the bone for me. Recalling weeks and months without work or friends in London and how I couldn’t wait to get out of that place.
Interesting and intellectual books like this shouldn’t necessarily comfort you or keep you in a lulled state of cozy happiness – they should challenge one’s darker places too.
One feels keenly the sense of interconnectedness of all living things: a sense of everything being in its right place. This is biology as teleology, rainforest as pocketwatch fallen open on the path- but instead of the hand of God crafting its workings, coevolution is the force by which the cogs of an ecosystem shape themselves to one another’s tines.
“What happens when humans foresake and ruin landscapes? They are never truly abandoned. Instead they are engulfed by the non-human world and they become teeming with many other foresaken wild lifeforms. The weeds, plants, insects, birds and large mammals move in and populate these places. Pushed to the brink of extinction elsewhere by the ever-expanding need for human progress – these ugly, abandoned fringes of our world are the places where these animals can finally breathe a sigh of relief.” ~ Cal Flynn
Islands of Abandonment is a book-length poem and an ode to the places humans have used, abused and then rejected due to pollution, war, or physical danger.
Edition #109 of Interesting Things I Found on the Internet is filled with fluffy duvets, #guineapig gentry, #animal parenting skills, #Slavic textiles, dark academia and much more to turbo-charge your brain…enjoy!
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Edition #109 of Interesting Things I Found on the Internet is filled with fluffy duvets, #guineapig gentry, #animal parenting skills, #Slavic textiles, dark academia and much more to turbo-charge your brain #ContentCatnip
There is a perception that Japanese “love hotels” were those designed for discreet meetings for lovers, the kind of places that you can hire by the hour, which give them a slightly unsavoury reputation. Although this ultra luxurious love hotel has managed to change my mind and I would actually want to stay in one of these! I love the private terrace looking out over the Zen garden, just stunning!
This is such a sweet and gentle channel I think you will enjoy watching this artist create this painting, a great likeness and I must say that I prefer the guinea pig version to the human face. The artist Danny Banner seems like a really lovely person.
Winnie Cheche has an incredible website packed full of information about animals, conservation and how to be an effective animal and environmental advocate, read more.
Parenting in social animals is a complex and intricate process that relies on effective communication, coordination, education, and social support. By sharing parenting responsibilities, engaging in cooperative behaviours, and promoting social bonding, social animals ensure the survival and success of their offspring.
Studio Ghibli are masterful and effortless in how they make animations appear ultra realistic. In this video you will learn how they do this…
Every time that Keith Brymer Jones cried because of beautiful art on The Great Pottery Throwdown
I could go on and on and on about this show…it is incredibly special. I am not one to really watch TV at all nor reality TV shows. However, this is a show with pure heart, wholesomeness, authencity and connection at its core and it stays with you. Keith (and the equally endearing Rich) is the host of the show and when he sees the beauty and struggle of the potters and their creations he sometimes spontaneously bursts into tears, these are beautiful and authentic and real moments – in contrast to 99% of TV which is staged and fake. If you’ve never watched the Great Pottery Throwdown well you have five seasons of pure delight to look forward to.
And here is Brad Pitt gushing about how much he loves Keith crying and the Throwdown!
The purpose of monumental works of art is to diminish the viewer, to make the her feel small, to induce her to bow down, to worship, and to obey a power or powers greater and higher than herself.
In contrast, the small scale of the art of Old Europe does not diminish anyone or anything. Its purpose is not to make anyone one want to bow down. Instead small works of art make the viewer feel comfortable, welcomed, and part of the beauty of life that is depicted.
Every straight girl’s fantasy witch companion sashays around her work room in a green velvet robe looking very hot and very cool all at the same time.
Gypsy in my mind (Disco Rave Edit)
An intoxicating mix of 90’s house, with two famed songs of that era mixed together: Ella Eyre – Deep Down (feat. Never Dull) and Gypsy Woman (La Dee Da) by Crystal Waters. I like the created video clip in a loop too, that kid looks like he’s having the time of his life!
Is “cottagecore” a counterculture, or is it actually amodernized term for the classic American Dream?
The term “cottagecore” is fairly new, yet captures the meaning of something that has been around since the birth of the USA.
I used to think that I was different for being attracted to cottagecore. But recently, I’ve discovered, that this is a concept that has ingrained in American culture since the beginning of time.
Vancouver Island in the US is a sacred wilderness for sea wolves, eagles, bears, sea otters and many other animals. This documentary allows you to get up close to these families as they struggle against extreme temperatures brought on by climate change and other seasonal challenges. This was an uplifting, gorgeous and satisfying documentary series to watch, I would highly recommend this Netflix series!
29 year old Francisco Fonseca is multifaceted artist who studied fine arts at the University of Porto, exploring a broad range of artistic disciplines such as painting, sculpture, contemporary art, classic art, performance, video, animation, audio, 3D animation, and drawing. He further honed his skills and expertise by pursuing a master’s degree in Drawing at the same university. During his master’s studies, he began focusing on illustration, sparking a deep-rooted project centered around the Legends and Myths of his home country. Fonseca prefers pencil as his medium, cherishing the freedom and spontaneity it offers. His sketchbook, a constant companion, is a testament to his creative process, a space where thoughts effortlessly transform into visual narratives. Via Francisco Fonseca on Twitter.
I don’t know how I ended up in this Youtube rabbit hole but it’s delightful and I can tell you that tonight I’ve managed to find an incredible gem for you! The first I have heard of Karl Schoenberg but it won’t be the last time. I love this atmospheric and deep and moody ambient music, perfect for a cosy evening in reading on a comfy sofa!
Real love allows for failure and suffering. All of us have made mistakes, and some of those mistakes were consequential, but you can find a way to relate to them with kindness. No matter what troubles have befallen you or what difficulties you have caused yourself or others, with love for yourself you can change, grow, make amends and learn. Real love is not about letting yourself off the hook. Real love does not encourage you to ignore your problems or deny your mistakes and imperfections, You see them clearly and you still opt for love.
Written in short chapters that culminate in in-depth guided meditations, this is a book that spans vast tracts of interdisciplinary knowledge from the areas of Buddhism, Christianity, Psychology, Sociology and brings together these fields in a compelling, thought-provoking and deeply nourishing way. This is a book for the soul and spirit yes – but tempered with scientific knowledge and grounded practical advice for how to improve one’s ability to give and receive love in its variety of different forms.
Book Review: Real Love – The Art of Mindful Connection by Sharon Salzberg
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