'The more I see of people, the better I like my dog.' -- Frederick the Great.




The Staffordshire Anglo-Saxon Hoard on Flickr.




An Anthropology of Happiness: The Sisterhood of Filipina Maids in Hong Kong.

'ONCE a week, on Sundays, Hong Kong becomes a different city. Thousands of Filipina women throng into the central business district, around Statue Square, to picnic, dance, sing, gossip and laugh. They snuggle in the shade under the HSBC building, a Hong Kong landmark, and spill out into the parks and streets. They hug. They chatter. They smile. Humanity could stage no greater display of happiness...'

'... “Nowadays, bayanihan really means togetherness,” says Mr de Leon, and “togetherness is happiness”. It might sound too obvious, almost banal, to point out—had not so many people across the world forgotten it.'




Vintage Lawnmower Cards.

'The lawn mowers advertised by the 20 trade cards shown below were manufactured by American companies, probably from 1880 to 1900. Most of these cards show the mower being pushed by a child or woman. This is typical of lawn mower trade cards, emphasizing how easily the mower can be operated.'




Designs by Bold: Broomsticks and Other Stories.

'These "designs by Bold" (as the illustrations are credited on the title page) can be found in Walter de la Mare's Broomsticks & Other Stories (Constable, 1925), a collection of supernatural stories for children.'




Cook's Voyage to the Pacific.

'The National Library of Australia have 87 engraving plates on display from Captain James Cook's Voyage to the Pacific Ocean of 1784. Multiple resolution and pan/zoom options. Cook was speared and stoned to death in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) in February 1779. '




Googie Central.

'Welcome to Googie Central, home to some of most space-age, "astro", bold, and yes, Googie architecture and sign in all the land. Back in the 50's and 60's, America was enthusiastically anticipating the future. Space travel was in and many wondered what it would be like to trade in their old automobile for a space ship, just like... The Jetsons.
Architects envisioned what "future world" was to look like and began designing buildings with huge "caddy-like" tail-fins, pronounced shapes, and boomerang angles, just to name a few. Not to mention some that just designed the building like a flying saucer.'




The Temple of the Tooth, Sri Lanka.

Houses a tooth relic of the Buddha.

From
a Buddhist Pilgrim's Guide to Sri Lanka : http://www.buddhanet.net/sacred-island/introduction.html




The Tree of Jesse.

In cathedrals' and churches' stained glass windows and medieval Christian art.
'Pictorial representations of the Jesse Tree show a symbolic tree or vine with spreading branches to represent the genealogy in accordance with Isaiah's prophecy. The 12th century monk Hervaeus expressed the medieval understanding of the image, based on the Vulgate text: "The patriarch Jesse belonged to the royal family, that is why the root of Jesse signifies the lineage of kings. As to the rod, it symbolises Mary as the flower symbolises Jesus Christ."'




The Persian Zodiac.

'These images come form an egyptian manuscript from the 14th/15th centuries. It reproduces a persian astrological treatise from ~9th century - 'Kitâb al-Mawalid' - by Abû Ma'shar, said to have been the most influential document in the development of western astrology. [I believe it is otherwise known as 'The Book of Nativities' or 'The Book of Revolution of the Birth Years'.]'




The only woman in the French Foreign Legion.




Kings (and Queens) Of Their Own Domains.

'Ursula Graham-Bower, an English archeology student who ventured to India in 1939 "to putter about with a few cameras and do a bit of medical work, maybe write a book" and ended up in the jungle on the Burmese border as "Queen of the Nagas", leading headhunting tribes against the advancing Japanese Army.'




20 Classic Beauties: 1950s-1980s.




Cosmos Remixed - Sagan and Hawking.

'A still more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise
A morning filled with 400 billion suns
The rising of the milky way '




Truck Farm, 1938.

"Farm woman beside her barn door. Tulare County, California. No more horseshoes!"




On the Road, 1938.

'June 1938. Outskirts of El Paso, Texas. '




C Girls, 1910.

'Washington, D.C., circa 1910. "Girls' basketball." The C might stand for Central High.'




Weegee's World: Life, Death and the Human Drama.

"He will take his camera and ride off in search of new evidence that his city, even in her most drunken and disorderly and pathetic moments, is beautiful."

Also known as Arthur (Usher) Fellig. Early 20th century NYC photojournalist, known as 'Weegee' from 'Ouija' - he had an uncanny ability to turn up at crime scenes.




Literary Map of San Francisco.



Querying the Hive Mind.


'Tell me some scary and/or mysterious things that are local to your area, but not necessarily well-known to the rest of the world.'


'What cultural or spiritual practice involves an alter or offering incorporating a dead chicken and money?'


'Looking to learn more about Haitian voodoo in America.'


'would you consider this a miracle? or what??' 'To make a long story short - my entire family (that's my mom, bro's and sis and spouses) were watching the Lakers play the Celtics on Xmas day. It's sort of been our tradition during the holidays. During the middle of the game, the telecast was interrupted with a picture of Jesus Christ! '


'I am thinking of making some quirky, amateur porn that straddles the borderline between porn and art....'


' What is a good comeback for an introvert, attending a social occasion, who gets told, for the umpteenth time, "Hey you're really quiet aren't you?" '


' "Well, bless your heart!" and "How nice for you!" are two of my favorite barely-veiled criticisms. Can you provide me with some more?'


'What are the canonical signs that someone doesn't know much about your field, or only picked up enough to make cocktail-party conversation? (categorized science and nature, but other disciplines welcome!)'


'What is the coolest and quirkiest event you've ever attended or heard of?'


'What are the world's most acclaimed short stories?'


'Please help me really grok chemistry.'


Found Fantastic Buddhist Quote, Looking For Its Origin - 'What is the origin of this quote - "We're as dead now as we'll ever be."? '




Clarence Larkin's (1850-1924) Biblical Wallcharts.

Pastor from Pennsylvania - classic wallcharts of Biblical timelines.




Rokuro Taniuchi.

'I discovered the incredible Japanese illustrator Rokuro Taniuchi (1921 - 1981) while searching for Tadanori Yokoo books. On the Amazon listing for this profusely-illustrated book -- Taniuchi Rokuro Gensouki (Shinshindo, 1981) -- Yokoo is listed as the editor. The book seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth, and I feel incredibly lucky to have found it...'

More : http://ajourneyroundmyskull.blogspot.com/search/label/rokuro




Crater Lake, Oregon.




Japanese Traditional Town.




Sichuan - Tibet - Yunnan.




Human India.