Asian Historical Architecture.

'Welcome to www.orientalarchitecture.com, a photographic survey of Asia's architectural heritage. Here you can view over 14,600 photos of 743 sites in twenty countries, with background information and virtual tours. This website is a collection of photos from many different contributors.'




Intimate Paris at a Glance.




The William Blake Archive.

"what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language".

More : http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/blake/ - "I do not behold the outward creation... it is a hindrance and not action."



An Artist's Guide to Human Types.

"If I needed to draw someone from [a] specific part of the world, what would I need to know about his or her physical characteristics?"

A Lebanese artist's drawings of different peoples.

Asian : http://www.cedarseed.com/fire/humantypes1.html

Caucasian : http://www.cedarseed.com/fire/humantypes2.html

African/Pacific : http://www.cedarseed.com/fire/humantypes3.html




Best Wardrobe of All Time?

'My nomination is American dancer Ruth St Denis, whose fantastic costumes feature in page after page of pictures at NYPL.'




The Visual Front: Posters of the Spanish Civil War.

'Propaganda posters constitute one of the most poignant documents that remain from the Spanish Civil War. As the remarks of numerous eyewitnesses demonstrate, the posters provided an essential part of the visual landscape in which individuals living the tragedy of the war went about their daily business of survival. '

The complete collection:
http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/visfront/vizindex.html




Classic Covers of Penguin Science Fiction Books.




Lush Life.

'Though written in the 1930s, it was not until Nat "King" Cole recorded it in 1949 that it became well known: Lush Life is Billy Strayhorn's signature song (well, one of his signature songs). A haunting ballad with surprisingly dark lyrics, its definitive treatment is probably the famous 1963 recording by Johnny Hartman & John Coltrane (Hartman sang it again for TV in 1983), but it has been done countless times by many artists: by pianists Phineas Newborn, Jr. and Oscar Peterson; by saxophonists Joe Henderson and Stan Getz; even by Linda Ronstadt and Queen Latifah. '

Links to YouTube versions.




Martini Advertising Posters.




Irish Railway Posters.




Fukuoka Simplicity.

'These are Edo period woodblock illustrations (from the late 1700s to early 1800s). Of that much I am certain. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.'




Durer's 'Rhinoceros'.



Astro Pics.


Jupiter Eclipsing Ganymede.


Starry Night in Brazil.


Castle and Full Moon.



Querying the Hive Mind.


'Is it possible for something to live inside a coconut? This one I have has started making chirps, clicks and almost bird-like chirps!'


'Best way to learn Spanish (and other languages) online, for free?'


'I'm having a really hard time dealing with news of humans' brutality to other humans. When I read the news (esp. that coming out of the African continent) , my immediate response is that, as a species, we simply don't deserve to exist. I need some recommendations for literature, films, poetry, that addresses these issues and comes out optimistic. No Cormac McCarthy thanks.'


'Please introduce me to your field of study (or work) in a way that one can experience'.


'How much tap-temperature water (say 15 C) would you need to add to 1 litre of (boiling) water to make a mass of water 80 C?'




Surrealist Art.




The Barren Lands.

'This site documents two exploratory surveys of the Barren Lands region west of Hudson Bay, in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan and the area now known as Nunavut. Drawing on materials from the J.B. Tyrrell, James Tyrrell and related collections at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto, it includes over 5,000 images from original field notebooks, correspondence, photographs, maps and published reports.'