Lucky sadly left this planet in recent months. Here he is a year ago on his 18th birthday. I just love this look of absolute and unfettered delight at eating the ice-cream cake. He was a good boy. My parents got him when he was only a puppy from the animal shelter. He was sentencedContinue reading “Lucky’s 18th Birthday”
Tag Archives: History
Retro TV Channels from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are on the internet for all posterity
Want something a little bit different for your next party? Here’s a novel idea for entertaining guests. A modern browser version of vintage TV channels featuring soaps, ads, comedy, drama, music and even news from particular decades! Find it here The only requirement is that you use a PC for this app rather than a touchscreenContinue reading “Retro TV Channels from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are on the internet for all posterity”
All About Amazing Op Art
Op Art descended out of geometric art of the 50’s and the Bauhaus movement in Germany, which I have previously written about in the Origins of Flat Design. The 60’s was a period of discovery in science, psychology and new technology. This type of art reflects the experimental mood of that era. The pieces normallyContinue reading “All About Amazing Op Art”
Forgotten Pop Art Pioneer Dorothy Grebenak’s Rugs Are Awesome
Dorothy Grebenak was born in Nebraska in 1913 and was a self-taught rug maker who originally made rugs stocked in a Brooklyn museum. Although these weren’t rugs in the folk style, they are designed to be displayed on walls as art. These rugs were depictions of humble and everyday objects, which brought them into theContinue reading “Forgotten Pop Art Pioneer Dorothy Grebenak’s Rugs Are Awesome”
The Jigsaw Puzzle of Pangea: What It Tells Us About Our Fragile Human Lives
Around 200 million years ago the world’s landmass was contained in one giant supercontinent called Pangea surrounded by a mega ocean. I know that this isn’t news but I still find it startling and incredible nonetheless. In the graphic below you can see the composition of Pangea but with the modern countries boundaries superimposed onContinue reading “The Jigsaw Puzzle of Pangea: What It Tells Us About Our Fragile Human Lives”
Book Review: Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini
A surreal art book that redefines the meaning of imagination. Codex Seraphinianus has a lot in common with other bizarre books like the Voynich manuscript. This new edition by Italian publisher Rizzoli was republished in 2013. It has been redesigned by the author Luigi Serafini with includes new illustrations. The fascination and curiosity for CodexContinue reading “Book Review: Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini”
The Viking Imagination: Medieval Cartography of Scandinavia
Just because I love cartography, here’s a couple of remarkable Scandanavian medieval maps. Note the dominance of several kraken and sea monsters off the Norwegian coast and how each country is barely hanging on by a thread because of these menacing beasts. Here be magic, Vikings and mysterious beasts. Velleius Islandia by Abraham Ortellius (1603)Continue reading “The Viking Imagination: Medieval Cartography of Scandinavia”
Welcome to Big Biba: A Legendary Department Store in London’s Swinging 60’s
Big Biba was an outrageous cornucopia of weird fashion on the London high street in the 60’s. Before H&M, Topshop or Harvey Nichols there was Biba. Invented by IT girl of the time, Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki, Biba started out as a mail order store that sold one dress available in one size. Very rapidly itContinue reading “Welcome to Big Biba: A Legendary Department Store in London’s Swinging 60’s”
Vespers: Dark Night of the Soul
On a dark night, Kindled in love with yearnings–oh, happy chance!– I went forth without being observed, My house being now at rest. In darkness and secure, By the secret ladder, disguised–oh, happy chance!– In darkness and in concealment, My house being now at rest. In the happy night, In secret, when none saw me,Continue reading “Vespers: Dark Night of the Soul”
How Long Does It Take to Make a Woods?
“How long does it take to make the woods? As long as it takes to make the world. It is always finished, it is always being made, the act of its making forever greater than the act of its destruction.” (Wendell Berry, from A Timbered Choir, 1999)
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