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Does life have meaning? Brought into the vast and guideless world with a brain bent on understanding, we struggle with randomness and even despise it. Yet the meaninglessness appears repeatedly in art—a desperate attempt to understand, perhaps? In this whirlwind of unpredictability, we like to believe that at least our behavior is something we […]
Herodian’s History of the Roman Empire starts with the observation that “in a period of 60 years, the Roman imperial power was held by more emperors than would seem possible in so short a time…” This is a preface to his history of Rome, from the death of the last “good emperor,” Marcus Aurelius, […]
Yesterday, after a six-month hiatus, Banksy’s official Instagram account unveiled a new public mural: a small lighthouse on a beige building facade. The mystery of the mural’s location has since been solved. Its intended meaning, however, is still up for debate. Banksy Unveils Latest Mural in Marseille When Banksy posted images of […]
Like most Victorian-era circuses, the Ciniselli Circus represented a space where rich and poor could enjoy a good show. In Imperial Russia, aristocrats gazed from balconies while the working class crowded the stalls below. While historic circuses remain problematic due to race, ableism, and animal rights issues, they offered a melting pot where society […]
While traveling the Greek world in the 2nd century CE, the geographer Pausanias visited the statue of Zeus at Olympia. The ancient geographer noted a curious detail about the statue’s pedestal. At the end of the carved relief depicting various deities was a goddess driving a single horse. Identifying her as Selene, the goddess […]
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In 1907, the Wiener Werkstätte art movement produced a set of 12 prints featuring different Variety acts. These Varieténummer – Vaudeville performances – were both madly daring and fanciful. Mac Bull from Philadelphia (Act 11) would drive his car around a rainbow. A. Lucci the Famous Hunger Artist (Act 3) had gone 132 days without … Continue reading "12 Variety Acts by the Wiener Werkstätte, 1907" The post 12 Variety Acts by the Wiener Werkstätte, 1907 appeared first on Flashbak.
September 11, 1961 So I came across another "stash" of old Weekly Readers that I am going to share for the next few weeks. I have written before how these tiny newspaper appeared in our classrooms every week during the school year (and the summer too). I really love how our progress in the space race was filtered down to school aged children.
Does life have meaning? Brought into the vast and guideless world with a brain bent on understanding, we struggle with randomness and even despise it. Yet the meaninglessness appears repeatedly in art—a desperate attempt to understand, perhaps? In this whirlwind of unpredictability, we like to believe that at least our behavior is something we […]
Hey all, we’re doing a Fireside this week! For this week’s musing, I thought it might be worthwhile – this being a frequent space for military history – to offer a brief outline of professional military education (PME) in the United States, which is to say the various stages by which US officers are academically … Continue reading Fireside Friday, May 30, 2025 (On Professional Military Education) →
Yesterday, after a six-month hiatus, Banksy’s official Instagram account unveiled a new public mural: a small lighthouse on a beige building facade. The mystery of the mural’s location has since been solved. Its intended meaning, however, is still up for debate. Banksy Unveils Latest Mural in Marseille When Banksy posted images of […]
