Support those in need. Just think what a wonderful feeling it must be to have someone on our side. It’s worth being a decent person, even though it may not be popular at times. #bookquote #DwieSiostry #wisdom @googiemccabe
A beautiful compendium of universal wisdom that’s simple, wise, soulful and timeless. I fell in love with this book as soon as I saw it. The illustrations and words are by my wise and kind friend Googie McCabe who wrote this book for her two beloved daughters, as a way of healing and dealing with her depression, and also as a manifestation of her artistry, imagination and love for her two girls. It features advice on life, death, love of self, love of others, finding your calling, and how to deal with life’s dark times.
Designer and Code-Master Neal Agarwal has created and incredible range of interactive mini-sites.
One explains what your body has been up to since you were born. Another – and my personal favourite, is the Deep Sea. This is a scrolling deep-dive into ocean life and charts how deep each organism can go into Earth’s final frontier, the deep ocean. There are a lot of surprises and little-known facts about obscure ocean creatures you have never heard of. As well as tales of adventure from humans who dared to delve. Who knew a click-wheel on a mouse could feel so exploratory?!
Neal Agarwal is an immensely talented designer and computer engineer. He graduated from Virginia Tech and is interested in creating interactive websites that combine storytelling, education and technology – in other words all of the good stuff in life. He has been coding since he was ten years old.
Roll up, roll up to this multi-tent travelling circus of bizarro delights. I promise a hall of funny mirrors, weird alien creatures and music to get your hips thrusting, just be careful not to thrust openly on the train, but if you are in a car or in a bed with someone it may be OK.
Here’s the visual that explains why we become so preoccupied with flights of fancy into the past and the future. Via Simon Kuestenmacher on Twitter
Thee Sacred Souls “Will I See You Again?”
Smooth soul that sounds like it’s from Motown or is some old vintage, but this album actually came out in 2020. The YT goddesses blessed me once again with finding this for me…
What a handsome guy! Perhaps he wasn’t as much of a melancholy introvert as many make out. Via Twitter
Women of The Outer Hebrides – Waulking Song | AI Enhanced 1941 Film
A group of women are seen ‘waulking’ or tucking Harris tweed cloth, a technique to remove oil and dirt. Women on the Outer Hebrides used these occasions for singing and socialising. The process has since been replaced with industrial processing of the wool. The film is by Jack Cardiff who was also the cinematographer for the classic British films Black Narcissus (1947) and the Red Shoes (1948).
This gorgeous art is by the Japanese artist MonoKubo. He creates these cutesy oversized animal familiars along with tiny children who relish their girth and company.
The classic short film ‘Le Ballon Rouge’ by Albert Lamorisse in 1956 is paired with some uplifting folk sounds from Angelo De Augustine – If I Could Fly. The band reminds me of Junip/Jose Gonzalez, it’s really nice in my opinion and goes perfectly with the visuals.
The Cosmic Psychos are like the Australian version of the Stooges, long before Iggy Pop went mainstream and started to appear in Insurance commercials. I really like the Cosmic Psychos and hope to one day see them play, they are still going strong, although they’re all now getting on in age.
Even if you are not vegan and you yearn to add a fatty bloody muscle of something formerly alive into this, you will still be able to appreciate the quiet, meditative and serene quality of production in this video, it’s sort of like cooking meditation.
Queen Genepil (1905-1938) was the last queen of Mongolia. She was executed in May, 1938, shot as part of the systematic Stalinist destruction of Mongolian culture, in which many shamans, Buddhist lamas and local population were killed. You could say that all great artists steal, and so the legend and aesthetics of Star Wars was inspired by her vivid and unique beauty. Her life is shrouded in mystery. Her original name was Tseyenpil and changed to Genepil. She was killed when she was only 33 and sadly was five months pregnant when she died. Via Tsem Rinpoche
I hope you enjoyed this foray into the forest of weirdness, let me know what you think below…
Paperholm is a tale of the dedication and tenacity of one very talented determined Scotsman named Charles Young. It all began in 2014 with 200 gsm watercolour paper and PVA glue. Young set himself the challenge of building a tiny paper model of a building every day for a year. Then 365 paper models later and he now has a veritable SimCity of paper houses, bridges, high-rises in his paper town. He is now the proud god-like figure of a booming paper metropolis he calls Paperholm. To date he is 635 buildings and is still forging ahead. Some of these buildings have moving parts which gently undulate and move.
Whether he is insane, a genius, or a little bit of both, Young now has many islands and continents for Paperholm, the civilisation which arose out of the dust in much the same way as Thebes in ancient times or Dubai in recent decades.
The behemoth project is now funded and supported by Creative Scotland and Young tours his delicate structures around the UK and Europe. Follow Paperholm and Charles Young on Tumblr and if you wait around you may be able to nab yourself a paper building from his Etsy shop.
I originally wrote this about eight years ago, since then Young has made a whole lot more paper houses and many other objects….I love this fruit and colourful toon town!
A thalassophile is a lover of the sea or someone who is powerfully drawn to and by the ocean. This ancient word comes from the Ancient Greek θάλασσα (thálassa, “sea”), and φίλος (phílos, “dear, beloved”).
I took this photo on Enoshima Island in Kanagawa prefecture, Japan back in early October 2018. As the sun set, I was overcome by the realisation that beyond the water there was no other large landmass until America or New Zealand. Enoshima Island was once ruled over by an ancient goddess of entertainment and good times, something that I could sense in the atmosphere of the place. It was the most laid-back part of Japan I visited. I definitely felt an attraction to the place and could live there!
More picks for Thalassophiles from the dusty cellar…
South Indian Brinjal Eggplant Curry by Nagi Roasted Eggplant: Curry: Curry Spices: Serving Instructions Roasted Eggplant: Curry: Recipe Notes: 1. Eggplant – smaller the better eg. 2 x 300g eggplants, they hold together better. Asian eggplants ok too. Alternative to roasting – pan fry in a little oil over medium high heat, rotating to brown all…
Step into the otherworldly realm of the deepest parts of the #ocean. Susan Casey promises and delivers on a journey so #alien and immersive that you emerge drenched in oceanic wonder. #BookReview #books #review #bookquote #quote
She Rises is an erotic, sea-faring adventure by debut novelist Kate Worsley. Under the tutelage of mentor and maven of the historical novel Sarah Waters, Kate Worsley has created a beautifully sculpted jewel of a novel set in an Essex fishing village in 1740.
“Difficult decisions are like crossing a river. You may jump into the torrent or walk along the stream and look for an easier crossing. Either way, do what you feel is right. You’re likely get wet anyway.” #DwieSiostry @googiemccabe
A beautiful compendium of universal wisdom that’s simple, wise, soulful and timeless. I fell in love with this book as soon as I saw it. The illustrations and words are by my wise and kind friend Googie McCabe who wrote this book for her two beloved daughters, as a way of healing and dealing with her depression, and also as a manifestation of her artistry, imagination and love for her two girls. It features advice on life, death, love of self, love of others, finding your calling, and how to deal with life’s dark times.
Take a magical mystery tour into the twilight zone with this week’s ten things which I carved out of a giant ancient stone from the red centre of Australia, I hope you like them!
Sublime and summery jazzy hip-hop beats by Lewis Parker
Even if it’s not summer where you are right now, this album is like being in a room saturated with warm light.
I just love Middle Eastern foods, they are really easy to make and healthy and it’s possible to make these and enjoy the flavours if you are vegan. I came across Nadia Gilbert the Palestinian-American chef on YT and I love her energy, charm and charisma, she is very cute.
“Eggs, as everyone knows, are fragile things – but at the same time, they’re also incredibly strong. Picture for a second an emperor penguin egg, which is robust enough, with the help of a selfless father, to house and protect the growing chick inside, even though it is subjected to the coldest conditions on the planet. Swans, meanwhile, lay eggs in riverside nests that may need to deal with multiple floods during their development, but, so long as they aren’t completely submerged, the cygnets within usually hatch without issue.
“So how can one design be able to adapt to virtually every habitat on Earth, to survive on each and every continent, to be both strong enough to withstand the brutality of nature yet fragile enough to allow baby birds to escape? The answer is in the perfection of its structure. From its size, shape and colour, all the way down to its molecular structure, an egg is superbly designed for its important purpose.” More on the wonderful nature blog – The Nature Nook.
Did you know that dolphins put half of their brain to sleep at at time, giraffes almost don’t sleep at all, cuttlefish change colour when they are in REM sleep and gorgeous sea otters hold hands while they are asleep? Via Reddit.
A fascinating real life story but the immensely talented author and podcaster the Garrulous Glaswegian. Here’s a snippet:
“I once knew a con girl called Sharon. When I met her we were both around the age of 20, and she was already a thief operating under two names. But I was so naive, non-judgemental and “open-minded” back then that I was the ultimate mark and believed every lie and excuse she sold me. People who are basically honest often don’t carefully evaluate people who aren’t.
“When she scurried out of my life, she stole from me some of my favourite clothes, costume jewellery, a small amount of cash and some irreplaceable dolls from my childhood. She may or may not have been abused as a child as she vaguely hinted at from time to time, it’s difficult to tell with a consummate liar. But she was certainly a plague and a pestilence who brought nothing but poison to my life.
“But this is not the story of Sharon, who was your basic lying thief. This is the story of how I joined a church and then escaped a cult without even realising it, all thanks to a healthy sex drive.”
His paintings feature a lot of fires and shadowy figures on the banks or rivers, burnished lights coming out of the shadows. He studied painting at Yaba College of technology in Lagos. His work is a visual tributes to Nigerian life as it is evolving; contemporary culture. Via Federico Italiano on Twitter
The treasures of an ancient Siberian warrior and his warrior princess were buried in the modern-day Tuva region of Siberia in the 5th century BC. The king’s ancient kaftan was adorned with thousands of ornate tiny golden panthers, each around 2-3cm in length. The two lovers were locked together in an embrace for all eternity.
Thread: Beautiful Scythian Iron short swords, daggers (Akinakes) with gold inlay decorations, dated to the mid 7th century BC… pic.twitter.com/9dB9tPllWV
Whelm originates from Old English and it means to overturn or capsize a hollow vessel (a boat, a heart); to bury by wave, flood, storm, avalanche. The etymology is from the Old English hwelfan, to ‘upheave’. This explains the modern use of “overwhelmed” and “underwhelmed”.
“I’m interested in everything that might be flawed and messy about empathy, how imagining other lives can constitute a kind of tyranny, or artificially absolve ourselves from guilt or responsibility. How feeling empathy can make use feel we’ve done something good when we actually haven’t.
“We start to like the feeling of feeling bad for others, it can make us feel good about ourselves. So there’s a lot of danger attached to empathy, it might be self-serving or self-absorbed, it might lead our moral reasoning astray, or supplant moral reasoning entirely. But do I want to defend it, despite ackowledgin this mess? More like, I want to defend it by acknowledging this mess”
One messy thing about empathy is that we can’t be sure whether our connection to another’s experience might just be our own projection, desire, aspiration or delusion – or whether it’s kind of real.
From: Standing At the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet by Joan Halifax
Roshi Joan Halifax PhD is a Buddhist teacher, Zen Monk and Anthropologist who explores the edges of human experience and writes incredibly compelling books about the intersection of spirituality, psychology and human consciousness.
A beautiful compendium of universal wisdom that’s simple, wise, soulful and timeless. I fell in love with this book as soon as I saw it. The illustrations and words are by my wise and kind friend Googie McCabe who wrote this book for her two beloved daughters, as a way of healing and dealing with her depression, and also as a manifestation of her artistry, imagination and love for her two girls. It features advice on life, death, love of self, love of others, finding your calling, and how to deal with life’s dark times.
Two Sisters/Dwie Siostry is a masterpiece of wisdom and beauty. As it’s written for her children, the book is written in an accessible style. Each page is like listening to a kind and treasured friend quietly whispering reminders about how to be and live in this confusing and sometimes disappointing world.
The words in this book are destined for Googie’s two daughters yes, but equally so these words are soul wisdom that we all get to hear when we stay still long enough to listen to our own hearts.
Fly into the unknown and don’t be afraid.
Life is a journey – you will learn more by living instead of imagining.
Mistakes happen to us all – we get to know ourselves thanks to them.
Googie mccabe
“Fly into the unknown and don’t be afraid. Life is a journey – you will learn more by living instead of imagining. Mistakes happen to us all – we get to know ourselves thanks to them” #DwieSiostry @googiemccabe
Each page is illustrated with beautiful watercolour paintings by Googie that filled me with calm, as though nestled between the pages was a quieter and gentler world.
Two Sisters is written in both English and Polish to reflect the author’s life as a Polish-British artist-writer and her children, who also belong to these two cultures.
Read the review of ‘Two Sisters: Unsolicited Advice to my Daughters by Małgorzata ‘Googie’ McCabe a book of timeless wisdom and beautiful illustrations #philosophy #wisdom #bookreview @googiemccabe
You will find timeless wisdom here to counter the chaos and never-ending treadmill of your personal and professional responsibilities. In this way, this book makes a superb gift for mothers, daughters or friends. Yet it’s timeless and universal enough to be a treasure for anyone to enjoy (man or woman, young or old). It’s a book everyone should own. In the coming weeks I’ll be sharing some wisdom and art from this book for you to enjoy.
Previously I have interviewed Googie about her art, books, inspiration and life, you can read that here. I have also reviewed her other book The Pregnancy Diaries on this website.
Talented Polish/British artist Googie McCabe creates lush vintage inspired illustrations steeped in Polish folklore. Her art is brimming with timeless wisdom and she harnesses the pleasures and pains of being a mum to create…
Infused with the vast and never-ending love of a mum for her unborn daughter, The Pregnancy Diaries Volume 1 is an absolutely hilarious, witty and enjoyable romp through pregnancy from conception to birth. Any…
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