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.
Tag: inspiration
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
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…
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.
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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
Ancient word of the day: Cirrocumulus
Origin: 1650s. Cumulus " a heap, pile, mass, surplus " in Latin *keue "to swell" in Latin. Cirrocumulus are flocks of fleecy clouds that whisk past us on a glorious spring day. Often their appearance in the evening foretells of a stormy morning the following day. At least thats old shepherd’s wisdom. German Schäfchenwolken: Little…
The connection between curiosity and happiness
A lovely blogger friend on here Jonelle recently did an article on where to see the lotus blossoms in Tokyo. She had witnessed a little kid blowing soap bubbles through the stem of a gigantic lotus blossom and decided to do it herself. This is something I would love to do too. Many adults wouldnt…
Continue reading ➞ The connection between curiosity and happiness
How to banish the harsh inner critic – by Nick Cave
Nick Cave's incredible blog The Red Hand Files features Ask Me Anything question and answers. It's a beacon of pure creative joy for anyone in search of inspiration. Here's an unforgettable nugget of wisdom from Nick on how to forge on with big ideas and ignore the asshole inside of you, telling you to stop…
Continue reading ➞ How to banish the harsh inner critic – by Nick Cave
Travel: A roadtrip through the remote Eastern Cape, New Zealand
People seldom visit the Eastern Cape of the North Island because of its complete isolation from the rest of the country’s bustling travel routes. It’s quiet in terms of other cars – there are none, except for the occasional local farmer and logging truck ferrying wood from forests to the port in Gisborne. It’s an…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: A roadtrip through the remote Eastern Cape, New Zealand
Pagan date: Winter solistice
Today is winter solistice in the southern hemisphere. This is a time of rebirth and a triumph of life over death. It's a reflection and renewal. Winter solistice Incantations Tonight is the night of the Solstice,the longest night of the year.As the Wheel turns once more, I know thattomorrow, the Sun will begin its journey…
Behold the tui: seductive songstress of the shaky isles
Behold the tui. Songstress with the most gorgeous cadence and sonorous sonata, native latter day dinosaur of the shaky isles. Every throat gargle and warbling melodious titter could be experienced so much clear when viewed through the lens of our new camera. This little beauty was in our garden the other day crying out to…
Continue reading ➞ Behold the tui: seductive songstress of the shaky isles
Every Picture Tells A Story: Auckland by Night Part 2
Our new camera got a big work out on our night walks through the eastern suburbs. This looks towards the city centre and with a huge zoom on the camera we were able to capture the night-time hustle and bustle of the Ports of Auckland. A constant fixture of background activity is always going on…
Continue reading ➞ Every Picture Tells A Story: Auckland by Night Part 2
Every Picture Tells A Story: Auckland by Night 1
Every night I was going for a massive walk along Tamaki Drive in Auckland, a long stretch of beach-side road. It was very atmospheric at night and had a sense of eerie abandonment. This bridge in between Orakei and Mission Bay once was a ferry terminal until the 1960's but is now an old fishing…
Continue reading ➞ Every Picture Tells A Story: Auckland by Night 1
What Montaigne And Deep Sea Aliens Teach Us About Humanity
Philosopher Michel de Montaigne lived in a time (the 16th century) when nobody batted an eyelid at the ritual murder and wholesale destruction of people, natural environments and cultures – let alone animals. Yet he was shocked and disgusted at these horrors. He was undoubtedly a kind and gentle man. An anomaly for his time.…
Continue reading ➞ What Montaigne And Deep Sea Aliens Teach Us About Humanity
Gather up the night: An eerie hotel causes confusion on Melbourne’s Eastlink freeway
As an occasional driver along the Eastlink in Melbourne, I have had the odd experience of passing a hotel with no trace of human habitation around it. A hotel completely devoid of people and life and yet that lights up in a unique configuration of lights from fake windows each night. Located in Melbourne's south…
Abandoned Desert Buildings On Creepy Lunar Landscapes
These photos by Ed Freeman all elicit a deep sense of alienation and a weird sort of fascination. They underline questions that we want answered. What happened here? Who lived here? How did these places fall into disrepair? Through the atrophy of the material world we can get this uncomfortable sense that we're all destined for…
Continue reading ➞ Abandoned Desert Buildings On Creepy Lunar Landscapes
The Transformative Powers of Herbal Tea
Herbal tea has always been lauded as possessing many medicinal qualities that help with everything, from fighting off a virus to stopping nausea and vomiting. What to Look For In Herbal Tea Some fruit teas contain synthetic ingredients. These synthetic ingredients don't taste as good as the real thing, and they have no real therapeutic…
Wild Woman Quote: Don’t wait
Oh, my God. What if you wake up some day, and you're 65 or 75, and you never got your novel or memoir written; or you didn't go swimming in warm pools or oceans because your thighs were jiggly or you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on…