vikings – Content Catnip

Book Review: The Book of I by David Greig

A joyful, cheeky and big-hearted book set in the year 825 AD that is immediately relevant to now. Highly recommend this unconventional novel about the lives of Vikings and Irish settlers on a remote Scottish island.

10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #140

Kelly O'Dell's mesmerising and intricate glass shell sculptures

This week on #InterestingThings: Psychedelic cocktails in Ancient #Egypt, #jazz euphoria, ancient #Italian stairs, how to match #colours in your outfits, why #Vikings never left #Scotland, mesmerising #seashell art and much more #ContentCatnip

A history of the world’s languages as a gnarly willow tree

The world’s mother tongues have blended and intermingled since humans first stood upright and emerged out of the primeval forests. Here’s a really awesome family tree beautifully illustrated by Minna Sundberg. Minna is an immensely talented illustrator who has been creating a wonderful tales set in northern Europe for her online web comic Stand Still,Continue reading “A history of the world’s languages as a gnarly willow tree”

Here be the Viking Hoard: The Mystery of the Lewis Chessmen

The Lewis Chessmen are a treasure of Viking and Scottish history and have elicited awe and wonder since they were first discovered. They were likely to have been made in Trondheim in Norway from walrus ivory. This kind of bone was hard to come across at the time (1150-1200 A.D). The craftsmanship of these tinyContinue reading “Here be the Viking Hoard: The Mystery of the Lewis Chessmen”

10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #63

Technology for the Youth, issue 2, 1959, illustration by B. Dashkov for the article 'What Would a Space Station on the Moon Look Like?'. Picture credit: The Moscow Design Museum (page 173). c/o Phaidon

In the 63rd edition of 10 Interesting things, we peer into a Russian spaceship, bear witness to interspecies tenderness, mysterious creatures, the sad closing of a Sydney shop with a whimper, and enjoy a surreal rendition of the Chinese zodiac in one epic painting. Hope you will stick around, with a click-bait intro like that,Continue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #63”

Moondog: The enigmatic jazz wizard of post-war NYC

I came across Moon dog on one of those long and meandering trips through obscure music on YouTube. He was a true innovator and an avante-garde enigma. For one he looked like Gandalf or Hagrid. Aside from this, he also invented several new musical instruments including a small triangular instrument he called the Ooo andContinue reading “Moondog: The enigmatic jazz wizard of post-war NYC”

The art of Kulning: Night-scented stock are called in for the long summer evening

Kulning is an ancient, sweet and sorrowful form of Scandinavian music used to herd cows and goats back down from their high mountain pastures in parts of Norway and in certain provinces of Sweden, Jämtland and Härjedalen. In practical use since medieval times, the mysterious tones were also thought to be a deterrent to potential predators like wolvesContinue reading “The art of Kulning: Night-scented stock are called in for the long summer evening”

Ancient Word of the Day: Thule

Thule as Tile on the Carta Marina of 1539 by Olaus Magnus, where it is shown located to the northwest of the Orkney islands, with a "monster, seen in 1537", a whale ("balena"), and an orca nearby.

Thule or Tile is a legendary island in the North Europe, which was first written about by Ancient Greek Explorer Pytheas of Massalia during his travels between 330-20 BC. Later, a Roman citizen named Strabo wrote about Thule in his treatise named Geographica c. 30 AD. Thule – is the great unknown. The land ofContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Thule”

10 Cool Things I Found on the Internet this week #26

The macabre story of The Sorceress by Jan van de Velde II (1626)

Sometimes you just need a happiness infusion straight into your veins, so here is a little shot of endorphins I hope you enjoy it… A Day in the Life of my favourite artist family The lovely and soulful Bartons in their cosy den of creativity The macabre story of The Sorceress by Jan van deContinue reading “10 Cool Things I Found on the Internet this week #26”

Ancient word of the day: Kraken

A Kraken is a mythical behemoth. A man-eating and fearsome gigantic cephalopod that drove fear into the hearts of sea-going Scandanavians. The word kraken comes from the Swedish word “krake”, which means twisted. Seen traditionally as a beast to be feared and respected, it also embodied a sense of deep oceanic magic and mystery. KrakenContinue reading “Ancient word of the day: Kraken”