BFI Films - http://www.youtube.com/user/BFIfilms - has some great vintage videos of British and Indian subcontinental life. Some of my favourites :


Kiddies and Rabbits (1901) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihmafhw-oQg


Santa Claus (1898) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3ei1tseeM


Panorama of Calcutta (1899) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4MaWb1BwBQ&feature=channel


A Day in the Hayfields (1904) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SvPiPcs-5o


Old London Street Scenes (1903) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDwXzy_EJok&feature=channel


Springtime in an English Village (1944) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QbHhm4620I&feature=channel_page


Tea Making Tips (1941) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnvYymrCn4g&feature=channel


Colour on the Thames (1935) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LGavykBbxM&feature=channel


Snow (1963) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl4pJwcE7JI&feature=channel


Scenes in Tibet (1940s) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WihR_g96F0E


A Punjab Village (1925) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aAdVenXVXs




World's First 1/2 Wave Powered Jacob's Ladder.

The modern day equivalent of Merlin did this.




R.Crumb.

‘Robert Crumb was born in Philadelphia in 1943. As a kid, he started drawing homemade comic books, together with his brother Charles, for the amusement of himself and his family. One of the characters he invented back then was Fred the Cat, named after the family's pet. Eventually, Fred became Fritz the Cat, one of Crumb's best-known characters…’

More Crumb: http://lambiek.net/crumb2.htm




Third Gender.

‘The terms third gender and third sex describe individuals who are considered to be neither women nor men, as well as the social category present in those societies who recognize three or more genders.’




Tart Cards.

‘Tart cards [NOT SAFE FOR WORK] are the means by which many London prostitutes advertise their services. Step into almost any central London phone box and you can contemplate up to 80 cards inviting you to be tied, teased, spanked or massaged.... [Wallpaper Magazine] asked designers – from students to superstars – to find the tart hiding in every typeface and create their own graphic numbers.... all 450 cards can be viewed here. [NOT SAFE FOR WORK]’



Querying the Hive Mind.


'What is the strangest, yet most delicious, cookie recipe you know?'


'How did you overcome a lifetime of chronic lateness? '


'I'm 25 and starting to cook - What? Where do I get it? Why?'


'Please help me find legal (in the US), mild, safe and non-addictive, yet exotic recreational drugs.'


'Do you know any good left wing propoganda for toddlers?'


'Dating on a budget. What are your fabulous, creative & romantic ideas for a 30-something couple to do that cost little or nothing?'


'What quotations / sayings have you found to be helpful to you in getting through daily life?'


'Help me make iced green tea that tastes like the stuff at Starbucks.'




Antipodean Fantasy.

'Australia's physical isolation and relative young age as a nation, as well as its modest population size has always engendered a certain lack of confidence in our competing - one way or another - in the wider world. It's strange to even think about it, let alone admit it in public, but it's absolutely true. We feel slightly intimidated, a little unsure of where we fit in and desirous of being told we are ok. Don't get me wrong, this national inferiority complex¶ has a lot of benefits too, particularly in the way our arts industry has evolved; it has inspired an amazingly unique film industry for one and possibly accounts for our industrial-strength obsession with sport. There are sociological Honors projects buried in that there image, I'm sure. Or maybe *I* am seeing too much.'




A Grotesque Alphabet.

'This late 16th century suite of ornamental letters by Giacomo Paolini is known as 'Grotesque Alphabet in Mythological Landscapes'. The only thing I discovered about Paolini is that he was an Italian artist.'




A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities.

'The images above come from Volume One of 'Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri' by Albertus Seba, 1734, newly available from the Missouri Botanical Garden's Botanicus website.'




Photos of Abandoned Railway Stations.




Best of Craigslist: Magic wand to solve life's problems.




The Forgotten Immortals of Times Square.

'Long before the building at 46th & 7th Ave was a TGI Friday’s, it was owned by Israel Miller, a Polish immigrant who came to the US in 1892 and became famous making shoes for theatrical productions. As his shoes grew in popularity, he soon found himself making shoes for Broadway stars to use in their personal lives. This building was once his showroom.'




The Philip K. Dick Book Cover Gallery.

Science fiction art.




The Thunder Bird: Tootooch Legends.

'This is a transcription of a pamphlet which was originally sold to the tourist trade in British Columbia. It describes a vocabulary of symbols which are incorporated into totem poles, including a representative myth for each animal. While not an academic work, it still makes interesting reading, particularly in historical context, and the illustrations are charming. '




Temptation and Salvation: The Psalms of King David.

Illuminated manuscripts.

'The Psalms and their illustrations played a central role in medieval Christianity. Originally composed in Hebrew and incorporated into both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the 150 "songs of praise" include laments as well as prayers of thanks and exaltation.'




Photographing the Muslim Ladies of Kurva.

'It is no easy task to photograph traditional Muslim women, many of whom can appear in front of other men only in a veil. I knew of a Muslim farmer who took care our ancestral fields (the land reform act of 1955 in India transferred all the fields to the farmers) to whom I expressed my desire to photograph Muslim women in their habitat. He agreed and took me to his home on an island in the Sharavati river (February 22, 1986) on his hand powered boat...'




Old Konkani Poems.

'This rare Konkani lithograph manuscript, dated 1904 was printed in Mangalore. It contains devotional songs in Konkani in the glory of popular Hindu deities. Many compositions of Purandaradasa are translated into Konkani. '



Astro Pics.


Sunrise over the Parthenon.


Stars Young and Old.


Crescent Moon and Venus.




'The Garden of Earthly Delights'.

By Hieronymus Bosch.




Daibutsu at Kamakura, Japan.




Photos of Old Korea.




Someone's Photos of Serbia.




Photos of Almshouses.