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African History...
The General History of Africa a comprehensive look at states and societies across the continent's entire history.
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Rules, Rules Rules Because that's all they can do.
a year ago
TheCollector
What Was the Role of Judges in Ancient Israel Before It Became a Monarchy? The story of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, with Moses as its protagonist, is probably the most...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
The story of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, with Moses as its protagonist, is probably the most well-known of all stories in the Hebrew Bible. Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, epitomized by the siege of Jericho, is also retold often. Similarly, David’s slaying of Goliath, his flight...
Trying to Understand...
Quand ça s’arrêtera en Ukraine, qui éteindra les lumières? Another of my essays in French.
a month ago
Global Inequality...
James Burnham’s managerialism eighty years later Like everybody who has studied Marxism from a relatively young age I encountered many quotes of, or...
a year ago
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a year ago
Like everybody who has studied Marxism from a relatively young age I encountered many quotes of, or comments on, James Burnham's “The Managerial Revolution”. I was quite familiar with Burnham’s ideas but I have not read the book. I don't think that I would have read it, now in...
Hundred Rabbits
Summary of changes for March 2023 Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of...
over a year ago
9
over a year ago
Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of March. Summary Of Changes Donsol, added 100r logo to splash screen on the rom. 100r.co, added a new page: diy carbonation system. Updated Saving fuel, Engine rebuild and...
Overcoming Bias
Why Not Inquire Together More? My podcast cohost Agnes Callard has been thinking lately about why we don’t have more deep...
a week ago
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a week ago
My podcast cohost Agnes Callard has been thinking lately about why we don’t have more deep conversations wherein we try to figure out important things together.
Classical Wisdom
Confessions from a Classics Lover How to learn -or relearn- from the ancients
9 months ago
Classical Wisdom
A Few Spots Left Secure Seats for the In Search of Homer Trip
5 months ago
Overcoming Bias
Might Makes The Best Right Does “might make right”?
a week ago
TheCollector
10 Archeological Gems of South America (That Are Not Machu Picchu) South America, with its vibrant history and cultural diversity, is a paradise for history...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
South America, with its vibrant history and cultural diversity, is a paradise for history enthusiasts. While the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Machu Picchu often steals the spotlight, the sub-continent is home to numerous other archeological marvels that provide a fascinating...
Hundred Rabbits
captain what is this After 15 days on the water, we were to get into port. It was the 27th of June, and we'd left Opua on...
over a year ago
11
over a year ago
After 15 days on the water, we were to get into port. It was the 27th of June, and we'd left Opua on the 12th. We hove-to for the night, waiting for sunrise before entering Savusavu bay. 'Entering a strange harbor at night is for morons and fools,' people told us. We didn't...
Flashbak
Magnifying The Moment: Joni Sternbach’s Pictures of NYC Subway Passengers 1976–1981 “Part of the reason I was drawn to the Subway was that it was a perfect unchoreographed stage....
5 months ago
33
5 months ago
“Part of the reason I was drawn to the Subway was that it was a perfect unchoreographed stage. Chance brought me together with a crowd of unknowns. It was up to me to parse them out and magnify the moment.” – Joni Sternbach on her pictures of NYC Subway Passengers in the 1970s  ...
TheCollector
What Was the Influence of the Silk Road on the Spread of Religions? The Silk Road was a network of land and sea-based trade routes that connected parts of the African,...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The Silk Road was a network of land and sea-based trade routes that connected parts of the African, Asian, and European continents. The network enabled trade-items such as fabrics, spices, jewels, and in some instances, cultures and religions to spread across the region. The...
TheCollector
5 Women in Epistemology You Should Know Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge, belief, and the relationship...
a month ago
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a month ago
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge, belief, and the relationship between the two. Being one of the core philosophical disciplines from antiquity, epistemology has always been dominated by men. Nonetheless, in the last decades, almost all novelties...
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Plato, Aristotle, and Euripides
a month ago
Wrong Side of...
The Great Madman Theory of History vindicated Has Nigel Farage just ended his chance of victory?
a month ago
weird medieval guys
The Medieval Monks Who Lived on Top of Giant Pillars A history of the monastic high life
a year ago
Flashbak
Clubbers And Youth Tribes in Post-Punk London : 1978-1986 “As a photographer, I go as the casual observer and stand in the shadows. When I first went to those...
11 months ago
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11 months ago
“As a photographer, I go as the casual observer and stand in the shadows. When I first went to those Tuesday nights at Billy’s [1978] it was like walking into a Hieronymous Bosch painting – furtive but lively, very decadent reflecting what they were into, and yet with a sense of...
TheCollector
“To Be Is to Be Perceived”: The Concept of Berkeley’s Idealism Ever thought about whether the world is there only because you think it is? That’s what George...
2 weeks ago
9
2 weeks ago
Ever thought about whether the world is there only because you think it is? That’s what George Berkeley meant with his philosophy of idealism. The 18th-century philosopher came up with a pretty wild idea: “To be is to be perceived.” According to him, we don’t find objects, and...
The Scholar's Stage
Washington DC is Not a Popularity Contest IN 2009 PAUL GRAHAM WROTE A THOUGHTFUL ESSAY titled “Cities and Ambition.” There he proposes that a...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
IN 2009 PAUL GRAHAM WROTE A THOUGHTFUL ESSAY titled “Cities and Ambition.” There he proposes that a great city is defined by the sort of ambitions it kindles—or perhaps more accurately, the sort of ambitious it gathers. As Graham puts it:
TheCollector
7 of the Most Inhospitable Places on Earth If one thing can be said about the human species, it’s that we are incredibly resourceful. We can...
a month ago
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a month ago
If one thing can be said about the human species, it’s that we are incredibly resourceful. We can survive and put down roots virtually anywhere we choose, from the icy wastes of the Arctic to the searing heat of the Sahara.   Yet some places on the planet are so inhospitable that...
Classical Wisdom
Happy Holidays From Anya, Joel and Frida
a year ago
Flashbak
Watch TV-CBGB – A Punk Sitcom From 1981 In November 1982, Billboard reviewed a CBGB-produced cable access show to “include interviews,...
11 months ago
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11 months ago
In November 1982, Billboard reviewed a CBGB-produced cable access show to “include interviews, comedy skits, and live performances”. Stuart Newman, a member of the The Roustabouts, one of the groups featured on the show – along with Idiot Savant, The Hard, Jo Marshall, Shrapnel...
Trying to Understand...
War Is Complicated. And not just the fighting bit.
a year ago
TheCollector
What Do Methodists Believe? Born in England from a revival in the Anglican Church, Methodism soon jumped across the ocean to...
yesterday
1
yesterday
Born in England from a revival in the Anglican Church, Methodism soon jumped across the ocean to become a significant denomination among American churches. It originated with the brothers Wesley, John, and Charles, though the most notable name in Methodism was Francis Asbury....
Flashbak
Found Portraits from Steenbergen in The Netherlands – 1970s These found photographs are from Steenbergen in the south of The Netherlands. The find holds 220...
a week ago
7
a week ago
These found photographs are from Steenbergen in the south of The Netherlands. The find holds 220 negatives from different families from Steenbergen. The photos were taken by professional photographer Van Mechelen. We like them because of their bold colours and the subjects’...
Open Culture
99-Year-Old Dick Van Dyke Sings & Dances in a Touching New Coldplay Video, Directed by Spike Jonze There’s one thing right with our world, and it’s Dick Van Dyke. Appearing in a new Coldplay music...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
There’s one thing right with our world, and it’s Dick Van Dyke. Appearing in a new Coldplay music video, Mr. Van Dyke dances barefoot and sings knowingly a little off-key—before reflecting on a century of life on this planet. What is love? Is he afraid of dying? What does luck...
Wrong Side of...
The lone wolves of Germany Why weak states resort to collective punishment of citizens
2 months ago
Flashbak
The Art of Arranging Flowers: A 1960s Guide for Achieving Harmony Through Art and Nature The Art of Arranging Flowers (1965) by Shozo Sato is a comprehensive guide to the Japanese art of...
6 months ago
27
6 months ago
The Art of Arranging Flowers (1965) by Shozo Sato is a comprehensive guide to the Japanese art of ikebana. The practice, which roughly translates to “making flowers come alive”, “the way of flowers” or the less poetic “flowers kept alive” uses flora to create specific human...
Flashbak
El Lissitzky’s Soviet Pressa Exhibition in Cologne, 1928 At his peak, El Lissitzky (23 November 1890 – 30 December 1941) was arguably the most renowned...
7 months ago
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7 months ago
At his peak, El Lissitzky (23 November 1890 – 30 December 1941) was arguably the most renowned artist of the Soviet avant-garde, more so than his friend Kazimir Malevich, Vladimir Tatlin, and Alexander Rodchenko. A trained architect, El Lissitzsky was the artist the USSR’s...
Flashbak
Salford in 1977: People Of Langworthy, Ordsall and the Adelphi In 1977, Phil Portus photographed life on the streets of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. A...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
In 1977, Phil Portus photographed life on the streets of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. A member of the Reflex photography group, led by documentarian Diane Bush, a young American established documentary photographer, Portus wanted to show the everyday things people...
Overcoming Bias
Beware Value Dashboards Vehicles like cars, planes, and boats generally need a) an engine to push them forward, b) steering...
6 months ago
12
6 months ago
Vehicles like cars, planes, and boats generally need a) an engine to push them forward, b) steering to direct their motions, and c) a driver to manage both.
History Today Feed
Bismarck’s Britain Bismarck’s Britain JamesHoare Wed, 04/16/2025 - 08:56
4 days ago
Classical Wisdom
Early Christian Poetry A Forgotten Genre?
a year ago
Flashbak
A Painted Treatise on Cats From 19th Century Thailand This manuscript containing 12 paintings of different types of cats is in the format of a samut khoi,...
a year ago
40
a year ago
This manuscript containing 12 paintings of different types of cats is in the format of a samut khoi, a Thai folding book that opens from top to bottom. It was made in the 19th century in central Siam (now Thailand) by an unknown artist. Such folding books were typically made from...
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Part II: Romans, Assemble! This is the second of our planned five-part look (I) at the nature and structure of the Roman...
a year ago
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a year ago
This is the second of our planned five-part look (I) at the nature and structure of the Roman Republic, particularly the governing institutions of the Middle Republic, the period of the republic’s height from c. 287-100 BC. Last time we discussed the component parts and nature of...
African History...
The complete history of Brava (ca. 1000-1900): a Swahili enclave in southern Somalia Tucked along the southern coast of Somalia, the old city of Brava preserves the remains of a once...
a year ago
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a year ago
Tucked along the southern coast of Somalia, the old city of Brava preserves the remains of a once bustling cosmopolitan enclave whose influence features prominently in the history of the East African coast. Located more than 500 km north of the Swahili heartland, Brava retained a...
Flashbak
Trees are Sanctuaries: Wandering – Notes and Sketches by Hermann Hesse, 1920 “For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers” – Herman Hesse, Wandering: Notes and...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
“For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers” – Herman Hesse, Wandering: Notes and Sketches     Hermann Hesse (July 2, 1877–August 9, 1962) speaks of the search for truth and that sense of escaping into the natural world in this 1920 collection of his pros,...
TheCollector
What Is the Book of Jasher and Why Is It Not in the Bible? The Bible mentions the Book of Jasher twice. The Book of Jasher was lost sometime in antiquity, and...
a week ago
7
a week ago
The Bible mentions the Book of Jasher twice. The Book of Jasher was lost sometime in antiquity, and no mention of it appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls, early Jewish or Christian tradition, or early Rabbinic writings. During the Middle Ages, a time notorious for people passing off...
Classical Wisdom
How to Celebrate the Love of Learning Give a Graduate the Greatest Gift!
a year ago
Res Obscura
Historical maps probably helped cause World War I On cartography as historical argument
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Roman Empire Podcasts
a year ago
Hidden History
The Great Horse Flu Epidemic of 1872 An epidemic of “Horse Flu” in 1872 virtually shut down the US economy and paralyzed the entire...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
An epidemic of “Horse Flu” in 1872 virtually shut down the US economy and paralyzed the entire country. By the 1870s, the once-rural agrarian United States was beginning to emerge as an industrial power. The Civil War had spurred the rapid development of industry such as iron...
Open Culture
How Medieval Islamic Engineering Brought Water to the Alhambra Between 711 and 1492, much of the Iberian Peninsula, including modern-day Spain, was under Muslim...
4 months ago
66
4 months ago
Between 711 and 1492, much of the Iberian Peninsula, including modern-day Spain, was under Muslim rule. Not that it was easy to hold on to the place for that length of time: after the fall of Toledo in 1085, Al-Andalus, as the territory was called, continued to lose cities over...
Trying to Understand...
What Can You Do When You Don't Have A Culture? Not that much, actually.
8 months ago
TheCollector
Snorri Sturluson: Our Most Important Source for Norse Myth? Most of the surviving information we have about Norse mythology and legendary Viking history was...
3 weeks ago
10
3 weeks ago
Most of the surviving information we have about Norse mythology and legendary Viking history was written by Snorri Sturluson, a Christian historian and politician living in Iceland in the 13th century. Consequently, much of what we know about Norse mythology and Viking religion...
Global Inequality...
To all the newspapers I loved The decline and fall of the print media.
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
What to Expect When You're Dead *New Event* April 2nd, 2025
a month ago
Trying to Understand...
A Postcard From The Far Side of Despair. Or, a meditation on bloody-mindedness for Ash Wednesday.
a year ago
TheCollector
Skara Brae: The Mysterious Neolithic Village of Scotland Nestled in the Orkney Islands of Scotland, Skara Brae is a prehistoric village that has intrigued...
20 hours ago
1
20 hours ago
Nestled in the Orkney Islands of Scotland, Skara Brae is a prehistoric village that has intrigued archaeologists and historians for generations. Built over 5,000 years ago, it predates even the Egyptian pyramids. The village, perfectly preserved under layers of sand for...
Dreams of Space -...
Skyjets for Fliers of Tomorrow (1954) So this is one of the stranger books I have found over the years. It is about a future in which...
a year ago
7
a year ago
So this is one of the stranger books I have found over the years. It is about a future in which people will get individual jet-powered wings to fly. It is set a little like a fantasy and a little like a dream. It has "perfect" 1950s illustrations about how the future might...
TheCollector
5 Medieval & Renaissance Jokes That Made People Laugh While comedy might seem like a modern art form, the desire to joke, pun, or play pranks on others is...
a week ago
7
a week ago
While comedy might seem like a modern art form, the desire to joke, pun, or play pranks on others is a basic human trait, versions of which can be found during all periods of recorded history. A few examples of Renaissance and Medieval jokes stand out as especially significant,...
Classical Wisdom
Artemisia of Caria Commander, Queen, and Eva Green
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Essential Greeks Course Begins Tomorrow!
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
For the Love of the Classics Valentine's Gifts
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Three Cabins Left Emperors, Conquerors, and Saints
a year ago
Global Inequality...
The three German fears Historical origins of the malaise
a year ago
Global Inequality...
On general futility of political discussions with people Over the years I have had political and ideological discussions with at least three groups of people...
a year ago
12
a year ago
Over the years I have had political and ideological discussions with at least three groups of people and have concluded that these discussions are, almost entirely, futile in making people either see things differently, or acknowledge that others may see things differently, or...
Flashbak
At Home With Candy, Andy and the Bearandas, A Terrifying Children’s Comic From 1966 In 1966, Candy and Andy lived with their parents, Mr and Mrs Bearandas above a toy shop in a typical...
10 months ago
27
10 months ago
In 1966, Candy and Andy lived with their parents, Mr and Mrs Bearandas above a toy shop in a typical English village called Riverale, going about the place in their rainbow-striped Mini. For a year, their everyday lives were documented in 154 comic books ( ‘the comic full of fun...
Flashbak
President Johnson Orders Trousers from Joe Haggar – big enough for his ‘nuts’, ‘bunghole’ and knife On August 9 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973) ordered a...
5 months ago
31
5 months ago
On August 9 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973) ordered a pair of trousers from Joe Haggar of the Haggar Clothing Co. based in Dallas, Texas. Not a shy man, Johnson was known for conducting official business whilst sat on the toilet and...
TheCollector
Who (or What) Was Ma’at in Ancient Egypt? Ma’at was a fundamental concept in ancient Egyptian society. It can be understood as “the rightness...
a month ago
6
a month ago
Ma’at was a fundamental concept in ancient Egyptian society. It can be understood as “the rightness of things” and was a mixture of order, harmony, and justice. As with many important concepts in the Egyptian world, Ma’at was considered to be a divine force fundamental within...
Open Culture
Watch the Sci-Fi Short Film “I’m Not a Robot”: Winner of a 2025 Academy Award Victoria Warmerdam, the writer and director of the short film, “I’m Not a Robot,” summarizes the...
a month ago
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a month ago
Victoria Warmerdam, the writer and director of the short film, “I’m Not a Robot,” summarizes the plot of her 22-minute film as follows: The film “tells the story of Lara, a music producer who spirals into an existential crisis after repeatedly failing a CAPTCHA test—leading her...
African History...
**a Brief note on Africa's intellectual history plus; the Yoruba intellectual culture ca. 1000-1900.
a year ago
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, July 12, 2024 Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the start of the Imperator Teaching Paradox series ready for...
9 months ago
70
9 months ago
Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the start of the Imperator Teaching Paradox series ready for this week, but it has been a bit stubborn and I do not want to derail my book writing/revising schedule in order to push it out before it is ready. So that will almost certainly...
Hundred Rabbits
Summary of changes for August 2024 Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of...
7 months ago
14
7 months ago
Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of August. Summary Of Changes 100r.co, added new pages: Sointula, Johnstone Strait anchorages, and Central coast anchorages. Updated existing pages: added Yuculta and Dent rapids with...
Flashbak
Cars of Britain in the 1970s In the 1970s, David Rostance was photographing life in the UK. Inevitably, his pictures of...
5 months ago
31
5 months ago
In the 1970s, David Rostance was photographing life in the UK. Inevitably, his pictures of Birmingham, The Black Country, London and Wolverhampton included cars. He took the above picture of the Ford Cortina Mk.1 parked on the roadside on 5th February 1978. It could be seen a...
African History...
Reversing the Sail: a brief note on African travelers in the western Indian Ocean The Swahili in Arabia and the Persian gulf
a year ago
Overcoming Bias
Who You Are Vs. What You Control If people can't think clearly about anything that has become part of their identity, then all other...
6 months ago
10
6 months ago
If people can't think clearly about anything that has become part of their identity, then all other things being equal, the best plan is to let as few things into your identity as possible.
Open Culture
Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and 1,000 Musicians Protest AI with a New Silent Album The good news is that an album has just been released by Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn of...
a month ago
16
a month ago
The good news is that an album has just been released by Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn of Gorillaz, The Clash, Tori Amos, Hans Zimmer, Pet Shop Boys, Jamiroquai, and Yusuf (previously known as Cat Stevens), Billy Ocean, and many other musicians besides, most of them...
A Collection of...
Collections: Ancient Greek and Phoenician Colonization Davis senatum consuluit a.d. III Idus Octobris apud aedem Patreontis; de colonis Graecis et Punicis...
a year ago
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a year ago
Davis senatum consuluit a.d. III Idus Octobris apud aedem Patreontis; de colonis Graecis et Punicis verba fecit… This week we’re taking a brief look, by ACOUP Senate request, at Greek and Phoenician colonization in the ancient Mediterranean. In particular, the focus requested was...
Open Culture
The Ancient Greeks Who Converted to Buddhism It would hardly be notable to make the acquaintance of a Greek Buddhist today. Despite having...
a month ago
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a month ago
It would hardly be notable to make the acquaintance of a Greek Buddhist today. Despite having originated in Asia, that religion — or philosophy, or way of life, or whatever you prefer to call it — now has adherents all over the world. Modern-day Buddhists need not make an arduous...
Flashbak
Frank Stewart’s Portraits of The American Journey – A Story of Jazz And Justice “Just how somebody in photographs can treat black people with dignity. That I’d never seen before” –...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
“Just how somebody in photographs can treat black people with dignity. That I’d never seen before” – Frank Stewart   Frank Stewart (born 1949) was 14 when he took his trained his Kodak Brownie on the March on Washington for Jobs in Freedom, otherwise known as the Great March in...
Patterns in Humanity
When few do great harm Power laws in criminal behavior
a year ago
Overcoming Bias
Prioritizing Concrete Proposals I think often about the non-immediate future, and wonder how to best allocate effort to make that...
5 months ago
9
5 months ago
I think often about the non-immediate future, and wonder how to best allocate effort to make that future better. And the first steps in this process are often to identify interesting classes of scenarios, and then estimate their desirability, chances, and ease of influence.
Classical Wisdom
Do You Believe in Magic? Marcus Aurelius and Ephesia Grammata
12 months ago
TheCollector
6 Stunning Similarities Between Ancient Rome and the United States Some of the similarities between ancient Rome at its height and the United States are obvious — from...
a month ago
14
a month ago
Some of the similarities between ancient Rome at its height and the United States are obvious — from the sheer size of both countries to their forms of government, and the rise of their major historical figures. However, some are surprisingly subtle and require a closer look to...
TheCollector
The Battle of Red Cliffs: The Epic Clash That Defined The Three Kingdoms At the turn of the 3rd century CE, China descended into civil war as the court of the Han Dynasty...
3 weeks ago
4
3 weeks ago
At the turn of the 3rd century CE, China descended into civil war as the court of the Han Dynasty was torn apart by factionalism. As central authority melted away, ambitious warlords competed for power in the name of a puppet emperor. By the time the last Han Emperor was forced...
Trying to Understand...
Out Of Control. Fear the worst, hope for the best.
6 months ago
TheCollector
10 Historic Towns in Germany You Should Visit Germany’s past is written across its landscapes, from the Roman frontier to medieval fortresses and...
a month ago
11
a month ago
Germany’s past is written across its landscapes, from the Roman frontier to medieval fortresses and the echoes of empire. It was here that Charlemagne forged the foundations of the Holy Roman Empire in the 9th century, where Martin Luther ignited the Protestant Reformation in the...
Open Culture
How A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Its Beloved Soundtrack Album, Almost Never Happened A Charlie Brown Christmas uses a cast of amateur child voice actors, deals with the theme of...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
A Charlie Brown Christmas uses a cast of amateur child voice actors, deals with the theme of seasonal depression, and culminates in the recitation of a Bible verse, all to a jazz score. It was not, safe to say, the special that CBS had expected, to say nothing of its sponsor, the...
Hidden History
The 1968 Utah Sheep Kill In 1968, a malfunctioning nerve gas test at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah killed several...
2 months ago
41
2 months ago
In 1968, a malfunctioning nerve gas test at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah killed several thousand sheep and provoked an outcry. In March 1968, researchers at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah were scheduled to perform three experiments involving a lethal nerve gas known as...
TheCollector
5 Discoveries That Made Archaeologists Question the Origins of Art Discoveries in the archaeological record have sparked debate about how we should define art. Some...
4 days ago
2
4 days ago
Discoveries in the archaeological record have sparked debate about how we should define art. Some researchers argue that art must go beyond simple representations and instead convey symbolic ideas, beliefs, or concepts that transcend what was immediately visible to the artist....
African History...
A history of the Majeerteen Sultanate: 1700-1927. Maritime trade and diplomacy in the northern Horn of Africa.
a year ago
Flashbak
The Death of A New Jersey Shopping Mall There are about 1,000 malls in the US, and it’s estimated that one in four will close in the next...
10 months ago
46
10 months ago
There are about 1,000 malls in the US, and it’s estimated that one in four will close in the next few years as vacancy rates are increasing due to the pandemic, a slowed economy and increased online shopping. Photographer Phillip Buehler captured the death of the Wayne Hills mall...
TheCollector
Archaeologists Find World’s Oldest Known Bone Tools in Africa Early hominids were systematically producing bone tools at least one million years sooner than...
a month ago
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a month ago
Early hominids were systematically producing bone tools at least one million years sooner than archaeologists previously believed, according to a new study published in Nature. Researchers from the CSIC-Spanish National Research Council unearthed an ancient bone toolkit in...
Hundred Rabbits
Summary of changes for October Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects and apps during the...
over a year ago
11
over a year ago
Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects and apps during the month of October. We'll also be reporting in our on position in the world, and on our future plans. Continue Reading
TheCollector
The Authorship Debate: Who Is the Real Shakespeare? William Shakespeare is widely attributed as the author of 39 plays and 154 sonnets. They are lauded...
a month ago
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a month ago
William Shakespeare is widely attributed as the author of 39 plays and 154 sonnets. They are lauded as works of poetic and theatrical genius. Their all-encompassing nature demonstrates a thorough knowledge of classical texts, world travel and other languages. It is partly this...
TheCollector
Early Hellenistic Mosaics Unearthed in Ancient City of Teos Archaeologists uncovered a pair of mosaics that once decorated the city council building of Teos, an...
a month ago
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a month ago
Archaeologists uncovered a pair of mosaics that once decorated the city council building of Teos, an ancient Greek city whose ruins now rest on the western coast of Türkiye.   Teos: From Ancient Greece to Modern-Day Türkiye   Teos was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia,...
Res Obscura
Centuries of Childhood The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories about it?
TheCollector
“Unprecedented” Hoard of Iron Age Artifacts Found in England A lucky metal detectorist and a team of archaeologists unearthed one of the “largest and most...
3 weeks ago
8
3 weeks ago
A lucky metal detectorist and a team of archaeologists unearthed one of the “largest and most important” troves of Iron Age artifacts ever found in the United Kingdom. Dating back 2,000 years, the Melsonby Hoard was excavated in a field near Melsonby, North Yorkshire.   Metal...
Patterns in Humanity
The Assimilation Myth: America Persistence and the Not-So Melting Pot
a week ago
A Collection of...
Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part V: What Tactics? This is the final part of our five part (I, II, III, IV) series on the Siege of Eregion in Amazon’s...
a week ago
10
a week ago
This is the final part of our five part (I, II, III, IV) series on the Siege of Eregion in Amazon’s Rings of Power. Last time, we looked at the orc siege and marveled at both their lack of works and also their nonsensical siege engines, concluding that Adar had launched a siege...
TheCollector
10 Must-Visit Historic Towns in Mississippi From its early indigenous cultures to European settlement and its role in pivotal moments like the...
a month ago
16
a month ago
From its early indigenous cultures to European settlement and its role in pivotal moments like the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, the Magnolia State has been at the heart of American history. Known for its Delta blues, rich literary tradition, and Southern hospitality,...
Dreams of Space -...
Lift-off: The Story of Rocket Power (1963) A very nice 1963 book about rocket propulsion. It was written for the "little engineer" and has some...
a year ago
7
a year ago
A very nice 1963 book about rocket propulsion. It was written for the "little engineer" and has some very nice illustrations of the construction of rockets. Coombs, Charles. Illustrated by Foor, R. H. Lift-off: The Story of Rocket Power. New York: William Morrow and Co. (96 p.)...
Classical Wisdom
The Dark Side of Love Euripides' Epic Battle between Love and Law
a month ago
Flashbak
American Photographs: A Journey Down The Blue Highways, 1970s You see, I’ve been through The desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In...
5 months ago
30
5 months ago
You see, I’ve been through The desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name ‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain – America, A Horse With No Name     We don’t know where British … Continue reading "American...
Classical Wisdom
Caligula's Forgotten Legacy The Nemi Ships
a year ago
TheCollector
Who Is Jesus in Islam? According to a well-known hadith (a term for authoritative Islamic traditions about Muhammad),...
a month ago
8
a month ago
According to a well-known hadith (a term for authoritative Islamic traditions about Muhammad), Muhammad saw Jesus as the closest of all the prophets to himself, both in this life and hereafter. Jesus is also honored in Islam with several titles given to no other prophet—including...
Dr Alun Withey
Should I Stay or Should I go?: Encouraging travel in the early modern period. Travel today is often portrayed as a healthy activity, good for body, mind…and what’s left of the...
10 months ago
66
10 months ago
Travel today is often portrayed as a healthy activity, good for body, mind…and what’s left of the spirit!  A good holiday is generally viewed as a tonic, and holiday company advertisements extol the virtues of ‘getting away’, encountering new places, people and cultures and (if...
Overcoming Bias
Drift Poll Winner: Rational Culture Over the last day, I did two sets of polls comparing 16 cultural drift scenarios (detailed here) re...
5 months ago
15
5 months ago
Over the last day, I did two sets of polls comparing 16 cultural drift scenarios (detailed here) re their likelihood and desirability. (I later added influence.) Here are best fit priorities (relative to 100 max), sorted by priority sum:
Trying to Understand...
That's The Truth? In politics, well, it depends.
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Aeneas: Founder of Rome The Most Important Myth Ever Told?
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Can We Harness Anger? Understanding Thumos
a month ago
TheCollector
The Real-Life Inspirations Behind Japanese Yōkai Folklore For the Japanese, summer is when the border between the real world and the spirit world becomes...
2 weeks ago
5
2 weeks ago
For the Japanese, summer is when the border between the real world and the spirit world becomes weak, and the legendary yōkai can walk among the living. The yōkai are a complex amalgamation of legendary ghosts, goblins, and spirits that have played a role in Japanese culture for...
Flashbak
Good Morning: The US Humor Magazine May 1919 – October 2021 Good Morning was an American political humor magazine, first published in May 1919. It was founded...
5 months ago
34
5 months ago
Good Morning was an American political humor magazine, first published in May 1919. It was founded by Ellis O. Jones, a former associate editor of Life magazine and editor of Ladies’ Home Journal who once called for the US Army and Navy to be disbanded and went on to head the...
Trying to Understand...
NATO's Phantom Armies. And the ghost of Carl von Clausewitz.
11 months ago
Flashbak
Death Squared: No-One Got Out Alive in The Universe 25 Experiment, 1968-1972 “I shall largely speak of mice, but my thoughts are on man.” – John Calhoun, Universe 25     The...
a week ago
7
a week ago
“I shall largely speak of mice, but my thoughts are on man.” – John Calhoun, Universe 25     The Universe 25 experiment, carried out by American scientist John Calhoun between 1968 and 1972, produced an unexpected result. A once thriving community of 2,200 of mice had collapsed....
TheCollector
Leahy Law: Context, Overview, & History During the Cold War, the United States became a major exporter of weapons to countries fighting...
a month ago
10
a month ago
During the Cold War, the United States became a major exporter of weapons to countries fighting communism around the world. The issue of US arms sales to foreign militaries accused of human rights violations has been the subject of intense debate in the American political arena...
A Collection of...
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part II Last week, we started our nitpicking of Gladiator II (2024) by looking at the problems with the...
4 months ago
74
4 months ago
Last week, we started our nitpicking of Gladiator II (2024) by looking at the problems with the films chronology and its portrayal of the Roman army of the early third century, both in its equipment and in its battle tactics. This week, we’re going to move forward to the main...
Dreams of Space -...
A Visit to the New York World's Fair with Peter and Wendy (1964) An apology to my long time followers. I had stopped posting months ago when I got too busy. I am...
7 months ago
7
7 months ago
An apology to my long time followers. I had stopped posting months ago when I got too busy. I am also having to work much harder to find /create new posts. So let me try every 2 weeks for a while and see how I do. A Visit to the New York World's Fair was the official World's Fair...
Classical Wisdom
Classics Friday Gifts for Wisdom Lovers
a year ago
Dreams of Space -...
Happy Journeys (1961) Here is wishing you Happy Journeys (1961) in 2024.  Happy Journeys was a 1961 children's book about...
a year ago
7
a year ago
Here is wishing you Happy Journeys (1961) in 2024.  Happy Journeys was a 1961 children's book about the future and ways someone might travel. The illustration were double page full color paintings of a exciting and strange future that might be around the corner. I see in this...
TheCollector
Who Was Black Hawk? (Life & War) Leading a band of rebels against the forces of the United States, Black Hawk was a prominent Native...
a week ago
6
a week ago
Leading a band of rebels against the forces of the United States, Black Hawk was a prominent Native American leader whose actions changed the lives of thousands of people. In his time, he was a controversial figure, both revered and reviled for his actions that took his people to...
CrimethInc.
Insurgent Survival : Reflections on the Fight Against Sweeps Targeting the Homeless in Austin, Texas In 2019, militants in Austin, Texas started an organization with the aim of defending homeless camps...
4 months ago
20
4 months ago
In 2019, militants in Austin, Texas started an organization with the aim of defending homeless camps against sweeps—forced removals disguised as “cleanups” carried out by cops and work crews. This organization, Stop the Sweeps, intervened in a cycle of struggles that included the...
Classical Wisdom
The Mysterious Death of Alexander The Great How Exactly did the Famed Conqueror Die?
a month ago
Flashbak
The Mercedes-Benz 190 SL Assembly Line, February 1958 In February 1958, production was underway on the Mercedes-Benz 190 SL open-topped sports car. Made...
5 days ago
4
5 days ago
In February 1958, production was underway on the Mercedes-Benz 190 SL open-topped sports car. Made between May 1955 and February 1963, and known by the company as W121, the 190 SL roadster made its debut at the 1954 New York Auto Show at Madison Square Garden (February 6 – 14,...
Classical Wisdom
Why Socrates Matters New Event: November 22
5 months ago
Open Culture
Dante’s Inferno: A Visitor’s Guide to Hell In most places across the world, speak the name of Dante, and your listeners will think of Inferno....
a week ago
9
a week ago
In most places across the world, speak the name of Dante, and your listeners will think of Inferno. Since its first publication more than 700 years ago, its depiction of Hell has become influential enough to shape the perceptions of even those who don’t believe that such a place...
Overcoming Bias
Betrayed By Culture Like most humans ever, I love my culture.
6 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Their Enemies The Russians But what about the rest of us?
over a year ago
Hundred Rabbits
Wood stove installation It was our dream to have a little wood stove aboard Pino. After researching stoves, we decided that...
over a year ago
10
over a year ago
It was our dream to have a little wood stove aboard Pino. After researching stoves, we decided that the best model was the cast iron Sardine from Navigator Stoveworks. Our Espar forced air diesel heater broke on our last passage, and we decided not to replace it. There are few...
TheCollector
How South Sudan Won Its Independence South Sudan, which split from Sudan in 2011, is one of the youngest countries in the world and the...
22 hours ago
1
22 hours ago
South Sudan, which split from Sudan in 2011, is one of the youngest countries in the world and the youngest in Africa.   It represents one of a handful of cases in which an independence movement has actually succeeded and generated a fully sovereign state recognized by the United...
Open Culture
Watch the Historic First Episode of Saturday Night Live with Host George Carlin (1975) 50 years of Saturday Night Live. It all started here with this first episode, aired on October 11,...
2 months ago
20
2 months ago
50 years of Saturday Night Live. It all started here with this first episode, aired on October 11, 1975. George Carlin hosted the show. Billy Preston and Janis Ian served up the music. Jim Henson staged an elaborate puppet show. And “the Not Ready for Prime Time Players”...
Global Inequality...
Freedom to be “wrong”: the only real advantage of democracy Why the liberal project will fail
a year ago
A Collection of...
Collections: The Strange Armor of Dragon Age: The Veilguard This week we’re going to have a bit of fun looking at some of the interesting armor choices for the...
2 months ago
43
2 months ago
This week we’re going to have a bit of fun looking at some of the interesting armor choices for the recent Dragon Age: The Veilguard. In a way, this is an extension of the post on “The Problem with Sci-Fi Body Armor,” because I think Veilguard provides a pretty exceptional...
Flashbak
Les Malheurs des immortels, 1922: Max Ernst and Paul Éluard’s Surreal Collaboration Misfortunes of the Immortals (Les Malheurs des immortels) is an early illustrated book by...
5 months ago
40
5 months ago
Misfortunes of the Immortals (Les Malheurs des immortels) is an early illustrated book by German-American-French artist and founder of the Dada movement Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976). The book, which marks the beginning of his close friendship with French poet Paul...
A Collection of...
Collections: On Bread and Circuses Coming off of some of the discussion of Gladiator II (I, II), this week I want to discuss the place...
4 months ago
68
4 months ago
Coming off of some of the discussion of Gladiator II (I, II), this week I want to discuss the place of ‘bread and circuses’ in the narrative of Roman decadence and decline. This is one of those phrases which long ago entered the standard lexicon, but which gets used and...
African History...
Empire building and Government in the Yorubaland: a history of Oyo (1600-1836) Why Africa's internal political processes explain African history better than external actors.
over a year ago
Overcoming Bias
Feels Gone Wrong The films A Complete Unknown, on Bob Dylan, and In Restless Dreams, on Paul Simon, make vivid to me...
3 months ago
57
3 months ago
The films A Complete Unknown, on Bob Dylan, and In Restless Dreams, on Paul Simon, make vivid to me the huge emotional appeal of becoming a musician like them.
TheCollector
Hallstatt Culture: What Do We Know About the Earliest Celtic Culture? The Hallstatt culture was the first culture of peoples that can truly be considered “Celtic.” This...
a month ago
7
a month ago
The Hallstatt culture was the first culture of peoples that can truly be considered “Celtic.” This period was preceded by the Central European Urnfield and Tumulus cultures of the late and middle European Bronze Age. Neither are commonly accepted as “Celtic” cultures, but rather,...
TheCollector
An Overview of the Xia, Shang, & Zhou Chinese Dynasties According to Chinese tradition, Chinese civilization is 5,000 years old, though the ancient China of...
3 weeks ago
12
3 weeks ago
According to Chinese tradition, Chinese civilization is 5,000 years old, though the ancient China of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties was far smaller than modern China and largely confined to the Yellow River basin. Over time, its peoples expanded further afield and...
Flashbak
The Mystical Drawings of William Thomas Horton (1864-1919) William Thomas Horton (1864–1919) was one of the Smithers People, a number of artists sponsored by...
a year ago
8
a year ago
William Thomas Horton (1864–1919) was one of the Smithers People, a number of artists sponsored by Leonard Smithers (1861–1907),a leading light of the Decadent movement and publisher of upscale pornography. Some starry names were in his orbit, including Max Beerbohm, Aleister...
Wrong Side of...
Educated rage American polarisation: part 2
5 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Sacred Flames and Divine Philosophers
a year ago
TheCollector
What Is the Holy Spirit in Christianity, and Its Significance? The doctrine of the Trinity identifies the Holy Spirit as the third person in the Godhead. This...
a week ago
7
a week ago
The doctrine of the Trinity identifies the Holy Spirit as the third person in the Godhead. This teaching was established at the First Council of Nicaea (325 CE) and defined the Godhead more clearly than ever. The books of the New Testament were foundational in developing the...
Res Obscura
The most interesting things I read in 2023 Most of them are not from 2023
a year ago
TheCollector
Ulrich Zwingli: A Forgotten Pillar of the Reformation When discussing the Reformation, names like Martin Luther and John Calvin are often at the...
a week ago
5
a week ago
When discussing the Reformation, names like Martin Luther and John Calvin are often at the forefront. However, Ulrich Zwingli, a Swiss reformer, also played a pivotal role in shaping Protestant theology and influencing religious history. Zwingli was instrumental in the Swiss...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Aristotle's Politics
7 months ago
Hidden History
The 1914 Christmas Truce [NOTE: I re-run this diary every year.] The Christmas Truce of 1914 was one of the most famous...
3 months ago
45
3 months ago
[NOTE: I re-run this diary every year.] The Christmas Truce of 1914 was one of the most famous events to come out of the First World War. Some have called it the last gasp of the chivalric age of professional militaries and gentlemen officers, to be followed by the full horrors...
Open Culture
Hear an AI Chatbot, Masquerading as a Clueless Grandmother, Waste the Time of an Internet Scam... And now for a good use of AI. The UK-based telecom company O2 has developed a chatbot (“named...
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
And now for a good use of AI. The UK-based telecom company O2 has developed a chatbot (“named Daisy”) that performs a noble task. Impersonating an elderly grandmother, the chatbot engages with internet fraudsters and then systematically frustrates them and wastes their time. As...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The Story of Thebes
a year ago
TheCollector
Who Was Jan Smuts & Why Is He Important to World History? Jan Smuts is well known in South Africa as a major historical figure. He helped establish South...
5 days ago
4
5 days ago
Jan Smuts is well known in South Africa as a major historical figure. He helped establish South African autonomy while still a subject of the British crown and was vital to the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910.   His influence, however, spread far beyond the...
CrimethInc.
Georgia: The Firework Protests : A Report and Video Footage from the Streets of Tbilisi Tuesday, December 3 marked the sixth consecutive night of clashes between police and anti-government...
4 months ago
23
4 months ago
Tuesday, December 3 marked the sixth consecutive night of clashes between police and anti-government protesters in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. We offer the following short report and video footage courtesy of Georgian anarchists. The demonstrators are responding to the...
African History...
What did they write about? : An intellectual history of Timbuktu ca. 1450-1900. No single body of primary sources in the literary heritage of West Africa has attracted as much...
a week ago
11
a week ago
No single body of primary sources in the literary heritage of West Africa has attracted as much attention and attained as much celebrity as the fabled manuscripts of Timbuktu.
Flashbak
At Large in Leyton – A Walk Around The East London Manor 1989-1994 On Monday November 28th, 1994, the police riot squad arrived to evacuate Claremont Road in the...
a year ago
31
a year ago
On Monday November 28th, 1994, the police riot squad arrived to evacuate Claremont Road in the so-called “autonomous republic” of “Wanstonia”. The protest against the demolition of housing to make way for the M11 Link Road was lost. Harry Cohen, MP for Leyton said “the Department...
TheCollector
10 Must-See Historic Sites in Siena, Italy Added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, the city center of Siena is distinctive for its...
a week ago
3
a week ago
Added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, the city center of Siena is distinctive for its winding streets and medieval and Renaissance buildings. Located in the Chianti Valley in Tuscany, a region renowned for its wine production, Siena is famous for its biannual horse race...
CrimethInc.
2024: Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire : The Year in Review It’s time to take stock of the year have just lived through and get oriented for the year ahead....
3 months ago
131
3 months ago
It’s time to take stock of the year have just lived through and get oriented for the year ahead. Here, we review the events of 2024 and our own contributions to the fight for a better world. A year that began amid genocide in Palestine and war in Ukraine and Sudan is concluding...
Flashbak
Breaking Through To The Other Side: The Flammarion Engraving, c.1888 The so-called ‘Flammarion engraving’ is a wood engraving by an unknown artist that first appeared in...
10 months ago
40
10 months ago
The so-called ‘Flammarion engraving’ is a wood engraving by an unknown artist that first appeared in French writer Camille Flammarion’s L’Atmosphère: Météorologie populaire (1888) in a chapter called ‘The Shape of the Sky’. The image is of a man crawling under the edge of the...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, April 4, 2025 Fireside this week! I am still a bit behind after attending the annual meeting of the Society for...
2 weeks ago
15
2 weeks ago
Fireside this week! I am still a bit behind after attending the annual meeting of the Society for Military History – conferences always leave me a bit tired and slow to get back to writing, even as they also stimulate my thinking – so the conclusion of our look at Rings of Power...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The Early Years of Jesus
a year ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part IIIb: This is the second half of the third and final part of our three-part (I, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at...
7 months ago
45
7 months ago
This is the second half of the third and final part of our three-part (I, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at Paradox Interactives ancient grand strategy game, Imperator: Rome, which covers (inter alia) the period of the collapse of the Roman Republic, which we generally call the Late...
Classical Wisdom
What is the Tall Poppy Syndrome? Is it good, bad or relative?
10 months ago
TheCollector
The Stono Rebellion: America’s Largest Slave Uprising By 1739, slavery in colonial America had been entrenched for over 100 years. The dependence on...
2 months ago
11
2 months ago
By 1739, slavery in colonial America had been entrenched for over 100 years. The dependence on enslaved people to grow American crops was only increasing, but freedom was in the air. One September night, South Carolina slaves rose up to fight for their liberty. Though the exact...
Flashbak
Big Hair & True Love in 1980s Kentucky For over a decade in the 1980s and 1990s Richard Bram photographed people at the Kentucky Derby...
6 months ago
48
6 months ago
For over a decade in the 1980s and 1990s Richard Bram photographed people at the Kentucky Derby Festival in Louisville, an annual two-week event preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby horse race. It was all about the gigantic hair. You can see his...
Classical Wisdom
Why are MYTHS Important? Podcast with Stephen Fry
10 months ago
Flashbak
Looking For Tibet And A Llama At England’s Pestalozzi Children’s Village – 1959 – 1965 We love to hear from our readers and earlier this year got a call from Len Clarke who told us about...
a year ago
21
a year ago
We love to hear from our readers and earlier this year got a call from Len Clarke who told us about his memories of the Pestalozzi Children’s Village in East Sussex, England, in the 1960s. Len had seen an image on Flashback of a group of Tibetan children playing ball at the...
Classical Wisdom
The Essential Greeks ***Now Enrolling: Starting July 1st, 2024
10 months ago
Open Culture
Francis Ford Coppola Picks His Favorite Criterion Movies & Gives Advice to Filmmakers Upon stepping into the hallowed Criterion Closet, stocked with hundreds of that cinephile video...
3 months ago
96
3 months ago
Upon stepping into the hallowed Criterion Closet, stocked with hundreds of that cinephile video label’s finest releases, Francis Ford Coppola speaks of a director who “believed in a film he wanted to make, and used his entire fortune, because the financing system of the time...
Open Culture
Horrifying 1906 Illustrations of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds: Discover the Art of Henrique Alvim... H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds has terrified and fascinated readers and writers for decades since its...
2 months ago
24
2 months ago
H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds has terrified and fascinated readers and writers for decades since its 1898 publication and has inspired numerous adaptations. The most notorious use of Wells’ book was by Orson Welles, whom the author called “my little namesake,” and whose 1938 War...
Flashbak
Why Jimi Hendrix Preferred Linda McCartney To 19 Naked Women Jimi Hendrix was a megastar. At his short-lived peak, he was the world’s highest earning musician....
a year ago
18
a year ago
Jimi Hendrix was a megastar. At his short-lived peak, he was the world’s highest earning musician. But record companies were uncertain how to sell the man behind the music who was banned by the BBC. For the album Are You Experienced, photographer Karl Ferris snapped the band with...
Flashbak
The Avicenna Canon Medicinae – An Illustrated Medical Book From 13th Century Paris First published in 13th Century Paris, the Avicenna, Canon Medicinae is an illustrated medical text...
12 months ago
34
12 months ago
First published in 13th Century Paris, the Avicenna, Canon Medicinae is an illustrated medical text book made from tempera and gold leaf on parchment. Shelf marked Besançon, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 0457, the work is a Latin translation of Avicenna’s Canon medicinae, one of...
TheCollector
Monet Landscape Could Fetch Over $30 Million at Auction Next month, Claude Monet’s 1891 landscape Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule will hit the...
4 days ago
3
4 days ago
Next month, Claude Monet’s 1891 landscape Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule will hit the auction block at Christie’s New York. The iconic Impressionist’s painting of a poplar tree-lined riverbank at sunset carries a pre-sale estimate of $30 million to $50 million.   Monet...
TheCollector
Was the Spanish Inquisition Really That Harsh? (Truths & Myths) When most people think of the Spanish Inquisition, they picture horrific scenes of torture and...
a month ago
13
a month ago
When most people think of the Spanish Inquisition, they picture horrific scenes of torture and cruelty, thousands of people burning at the stake, and a tyrannical religious regime with too much power. What led to these misconceptions and propaganda surrounding the Inquisition,...
Wrong Side of...
The Indian-American century On the Anglo-Indo-sphere
3 months ago
TheCollector
10 Locations from the Odyssey and Their Real-Life Counterparts Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film, “The Odyssey,” slated for release on July 17, 2026, is a...
a month ago
22
a month ago
Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film, “The Odyssey,” slated for release on July 17, 2026, is a cinematic adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem. The narrative follows Odysseus, portrayed by Matt Damon, on his arduous journey home following the Trojan War, encountering...
TheCollector
Key Issues in US Presidential Elections Throughout History What are the heavy, dramatic, hard-hitting issues that define US presidential elections? From...
3 weeks ago
8
3 weeks ago
What are the heavy, dramatic, hard-hitting issues that define US presidential elections? From states’ representation in the electoral college to taxation to national defense, what motivates voters to go to the polls? Sometimes, both major party nominees are almost in complete...
TheCollector
6 Fascinating Historical Sites in the Maritimes, Canada Canada is a popular destination for people who wish to enjoy some fresh air, open space, and...
a week ago
7
a week ago
Canada is a popular destination for people who wish to enjoy some fresh air, open space, and stunning natural scenery. Tourists flock to Vancouver, Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Montreal, but most fail to add the Maritimes to their itinerary. Tucked away in the east of Canada, the...
Flashbak
Got Live If You Want It: John Scott’s Concert Photographs of Alice Cooper, Bryan Ferry, John Lydon... Never let go of your dreams because nobody else is going to make them happen. When John Scott was a...
11 months ago
38
11 months ago
Never let go of your dreams because nobody else is going to make them happen. When John Scott was a child he harboured dreams of becoming a photographer. He roamed around his parents’ home and snapped pictures in his head. He had a talent for it which he thought of turning into a...
Open Culture
Do You Really Need to Take 10,000 Steps a Day? We are regularly urged to take 10,000 steps a day. However, it turns out 10,000 isn’t exactly a...
3 months ago
40
3 months ago
We are regularly urged to take 10,000 steps a day. However, it turns out 10,000 isn’t exactly a number anchored in science. Rather, it’s a product of marketing. According to a Harvard medical website, that figure goes back to “1965, when a Japanese company made a device named...
Dreams of Space -...
Caroline Sur La Lune (Caroline on the Moon) 1965 A nice treat today as Caroline goes to the Moon! This was a popular French fictional series but I...
2 weeks ago
13
2 weeks ago
A nice treat today as Caroline goes to the Moon! This was a popular French fictional series but I had not been able to find the one about the Moon trip until recently. The illustrations are beautiful and full color. Well worth examining each one for its details. Pierre Probst...
TheCollector
The Lady of the Lake: King Arthur’s Enigmatic Ally The Lady of the Lake is a character from the Arthurian legends most famous for her involvement in...
a month ago
5
a month ago
The Lady of the Lake is a character from the Arthurian legends most famous for her involvement in King Arthur receiving his sword, Excalibur. As per the famous story, Merlin took Arthur to a special lake, where a hand brandishing a sword emerged. This sword was Excalibur. The...
Classical Wisdom
Does Karma Exist? Does what goes around come around?
a year ago
TheCollector
Psychology of Color: Why Are We Attracted to Gold? Gold is among the most coveted colors in jewelry, fashion, decor, artifacts, and designs....
3 weeks ago
12
3 weeks ago
Gold is among the most coveted colors in jewelry, fashion, decor, artifacts, and designs. Historically, it has been cherished across all cultures and generations. What is the secret behind our timeless love of gold? Does it merely represent luxury and status for us, or does its...
Trying to Understand...
Understanding What's Happening in France. The kinetic phase may come next.
over a year ago
Open Culture
Behold Harry Clarke’s Hallucinatory Illustrations for Edgar Allan Poe’s Story Collection, Tales of... As you’ve probably noticed if you’re a regular reader of this site, we’re big fans of book...
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
As you’ve probably noticed if you’re a regular reader of this site, we’re big fans of book illustration, particularly that from the form’s golden age—the late 18th and 19th century—before photography took over as the dominant visual medium. But while photographs largely...
Open Culture
The Architectural History of the Louvre: 800 Years in Three Minutes Setting aside just one day for the Louvre is a classic first-time Paris visitor’s mistake. The place...
a month ago
23
a month ago
Setting aside just one day for the Louvre is a classic first-time Paris visitor’s mistake. The place is simply too big to comprehend on one visit, or indeed on ten visits. To grow so vast has taken eight centuries, a process explained in under three minutes by the official video...
Wrong Side of...
Fellow believers or fellow citizens? Liberalism dies in darkness
5 months ago
Flashbak
The Spellbinding Corrupted Photos On An Artist’s Stolen Laptop Pasedena police called photographer Melanie Willhide to tell her the good news: they’d found her...
6 months ago
51
6 months ago
Pasedena police called photographer Melanie Willhide to tell her the good news: they’d found her laptop and backup drive. They’d pulled over a car being driven by Adrian Rodriguez and spotted Willhide’s stolen possession on the back seat.  “It’s kind of like winning the lottery;...
Res Obscura
Why did clothing become boring? An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like...
4 months ago
71
4 months ago
An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like when they didn't
Global Inequality...
Living through another great transformation… A review of Karl Polanyi's "Great transformation"
8 months ago
Open Culture
A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Saturday Night Live’s Iconic Studio To help celebrate SNL’s 50th anniversary, Architectural Digest has released a new video featuring...
a month ago
22
a month ago
To help celebrate SNL’s 50th anniversary, Architectural Digest has released a new video featuring Heidi Gardner, Chloe Fineman, and Ego Nwodim giving a tour of the Saturday Night Live set. The show has been broadcasting live from Studio 8H, located at 30 Rockefeller, since SNL...
Classical Wisdom
Four Common(ly misunderstood) Latin Proverbs Factoids From the Ancient World
5 months ago
Global Inequality...
Abundance, capitalism and climate change In classical Marxism, communism is defined as a society of material abundance. It is a society where...
11 months ago
26
11 months ago
In classical Marxism, communism is defined as a society of material abundance. It is a society where goods flow in abundance (“after the productive forces have…increased…all the springs of co-operative wealth flow more abundantly”, Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program
Classical Wisdom
From Caesar's Back to King Tut's Tomb From Caesar's Back to King Tut's Tomb
8 months ago
Open Culture
Hear the Evolution of Electronic Music: A Sonic Journey from 1929 to 2019 It’s easy to get the impression that enthusiasts of electronic music listen to nothing else. (Not...
4 months ago
40
4 months ago
It’s easy to get the impression that enthusiasts of electronic music listen to nothing else. (Not that it isn’t true for some of them, who tend to relegate themselves to smaller subgenres: consult Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music for a map of the sonic territory.) And it’s...
TheCollector
3 Hidden Gems in Occitanie, France: Off the Beaten Path In 2016, France created Occitanie from two smaller regions: Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées....
a week ago
5
a week ago
In 2016, France created Occitanie from two smaller regions: Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. Its name comes from Occitan, the historical language of southwestern France. Although this region is home to important cities like Narbonne (the first Roman colony in France) and...
Flashbak
Hanging Out With Rock And Pop Stars at The Zenith of Their Careers In The 1980s Jim Laspesa, musician and rock archivist has shared sharing some photos on his Facebook page that he...
a year ago
19
a year ago
Jim Laspesa, musician and rock archivist has shared sharing some photos on his Facebook page that he first spotted at a swap meet in Pasadena, California. We don’t know who took these photographs of David Bowie backstage, James Brown meeting and greeting the fans and many other...
Open Culture
Benedict Cumberbatch Reads Kurt Vonnegut’s Letter of Advice to People Living in the Year 2088 There was a time when a company like Volkswagen could commission various luminaries to write letters...
3 months ago
92
3 months ago
There was a time when a company like Volkswagen could commission various luminaries to write letters to the future, then publish them in Time magazine as part of an ad campaign. In fact, that time wasn’t so very long ago: it was the year 1988, to be precise, when no less an...
TheCollector
How Did the Minoan Octopus Vase Get Cracked? Valuable ancient artefacts provide a direct connection to human history by revealing details such as...
3 weeks ago
9
3 weeks ago
Valuable ancient artefacts provide a direct connection to human history by revealing details such as the old ways of life and the tools used at that time. They also provide valuable evolutionary insights that reveal how certain groups of people evolved from bygone eras. This is...
Flashbak
Why The BBC Wanted To Keep George Orwell Off The Radio “I am quite seriously worried about the situation and about the wisdom of our keeping Orwell...
a month ago
17
a month ago
“I am quite seriously worried about the situation and about the wisdom of our keeping Orwell personally on the air.” – the BBC controller outlines his reasons for keeping George Orwell off the air     In his his lifetime, George Orwell (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was thought...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The Mystery of the Mind
a year ago
The Universe of...
Baseball on the Moon We want to adapt baseball to be played on the moon. Is there any way to make it work? My first...
4 months ago
8
4 months ago
We want to adapt baseball to be played on the moon. Is there any way to make it work? My first impression is: no, for several reasons. The pitched ball will go a little faster (no air resistance) but breaking balls are impossible (ditto). So the batter will find it easier to...
Classical Wisdom
Should We Try to Control Nature? Thoughts from the edge of a hurricane
8 months ago
Flashbak
Roadside Relics of the USSR We’re back on the road though the former Soviet Union. This time our guide is French photographer...
6 months ago
35
6 months ago
We’re back on the road though the former Soviet Union. This time our guide is French photographer Jason Guilbeau whose pointing out objects along the roadside, like tractors stuck atop poles, a pavement that turns into a jet’s trail, a tank on a plinth and more reminders of...
African History...
A history of the Massina empire (1818-1862) the sucessor of Songhai
a year ago
TheCollector
What Bible Translations Existed Before and During the Protestant Reformation? For various reasons, up until well after the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church...
a month ago
17
a month ago
For various reasons, up until well after the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church generally resisted the translation of the Bible into vernacular, or common, languages. However, the Catholic Church was unable to stem the tide for various reasons, particularly in the...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The Ancient World’s Greatest War
6 months ago
Flashbak
Nudes With Attitude from Vienna’s Studio Manasse (NSFW) Actress Olga Solarics (1895-1969) and her husband, a former Austro-Hungarian army officer with an...
4 days ago
5
4 days ago
Actress Olga Solarics (1895-1969) and her husband, a former Austro-Hungarian army officer with an artistic background, Adorja’n von Wlassics (1893-1946) ran the Studio Manasse Foto-Salon in Vienna, Austria, from 1922 til 1938. The studio was big on nudes and left a fabulous...
Trying to Understand...
Ukraine and the end of "Europe." Nation-states were the problem: supranationality was not the answer.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Does FREE WILL Exist? And if not, what are the consequences?
4 months ago
Global Inequality...
Capitalism of finitude: pessimism and bellicosity Review of Arnaud Orain’s "Le Monde Confisqué"
a month ago
Classical Wisdom
What to do with Columbus? Should We Learn “Outdated” History?
6 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Who cares about Homer, anyway? What the legendary blind bard tells us about ourselves in the here and now
4 months ago
TheCollector
Tang Taizong: The Warrior Emperor Who United China The Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) is generally regarded as a golden age in imperial Chinese history. The...
a month ago
5
a month ago
The Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) is generally regarded as a golden age in imperial Chinese history. The dynasty’s greatness owes much to its second emperor, Taizong, who helped his father, Gaozu, consolidate the new dynasty and led new conquests to the north and west. A brilliant...
Classical Wisdom
Are Protests the Best Way to Say Nay? Can Mobs Make the Change They Want to See?
11 months ago
Flashbak
Daily Self-Portraits 1972–1973: Laying It Bare On The Lower East Side Melissa Shook (1932-2020) was living on New York’s Lower East Side in the early 1970s when she began...
7 months ago
25
7 months ago
Melissa Shook (1932-2020) was living on New York’s Lower East Side in the early 1970s when she began a project to record her daily existence. Much like Peggy Nolan’s pictures of her family home, life was a place of free expression. “My earliest memories are of being photographed...
African History...
a brief note on contacts between ancient African kingdoms and Rome. finding the lost city of Rhapta on the east African coast.
10 months ago
TheCollector
What Was the Women’s Land Army? During WWI and WWII, the Women’s Land Army contributed greatly to food production in Britain. These...
2 weeks ago
9
2 weeks ago
During WWI and WWII, the Women’s Land Army contributed greatly to food production in Britain. These women worked tirelessly on farms across the United Kingdom in an effort to support struggling farmers who had lost their mostly male workforce to the armed forces. They completed a...
Flashbak
Windows In Time: The New York City Years, 1975 – 1980 We are delighted to share reader Philip Flip Collier’s photographs of New York City in the late...
7 months ago
50
7 months ago
We are delighted to share reader Philip Flip Collier’s photographs of New York City in the late 1970s to 1980. Upon graduating from The New England School of Photography in Boston, Massachusetts in 1974, he immediately took to the streets. Here he tell us his story of living in...
Dr Alun Withey
Packing the Essentials!: Preparing to Travel in the 18th Century. Now that Covid restrictions have finally been lifted, and summer is at least theoretically here –...
over a year ago
60
over a year ago
Now that Covid restrictions have finally been lifted, and summer is at least theoretically here – it’s raining outside as I write! – many people are returning to travel and undertaking the holidays that have had to be postponed over the past couple of years. The pandemic aside,...
Classical Wisdom
Aristotle's Rhetoric The Power of Persuasion
8 months ago
Classical Wisdom
LIVE Event: What is Plagiarism? With Harvard Professor James Hankins and 'History of Philosophy without any gaps' Peter Adamson.
a year ago
Res Obscura
LLM-based educational games will be a big deal For the first time, digital games can make qualitative assessments of learning. Here's what that...
11 months ago
81
11 months ago
For the first time, digital games can make qualitative assessments of learning. Here's what that might look like.
African History...
The ancient city of Meroe: the capital of Kush (ca. 950 BC-350 CE) Journal of African cities: chapter 15
6 months ago
Classical Wisdom
The World's First Computer The Antikythera Mechanism
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Modern World Is Boring. Where are the heroes and the adventures now?
10 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Ancient Atomists The Origins of Oppenheimer?
a year ago
Overcoming Bias
Conquest and Liberation of Academia During my graduate studies (’93-97), I looked at the history of prizes in science.
4 months ago
TheCollector
Exploring Anselm Kiefer’s Playground: La Ribaute, Barjac, France Anselm Kiefer acquired La Ribaute—an old silk factory in Barjac, France—in 1992. The almost 100-acre...
a month ago
4
a month ago
Anselm Kiefer acquired La Ribaute—an old silk factory in Barjac, France—in 1992. The almost 100-acre estate comprises buildings, outdoor art installations, subterranean chambers, tunnels, and a five-level concrete amphitheater. The artist lived at the site until 2007, when he...
Flashbak
The Making of The Conversation – An Interview with Francis Ford Coppola, 1974 In 1966, Francis Ford Coppola was working as a scriptwriter when he talked with fellow American...
a month ago
20
a month ago
In 1966, Francis Ford Coppola was working as a scriptwriter when he talked with fellow American director Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner (April 29, 1923 – November 27, 2010)) about spy movies. The time was ripe with espionage plots. The James Bond films were hugely popular...
Classical Wisdom
Philosophy and Children Event: THIS Saturday
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The End of the World?
a year ago
TheCollector
The Ugliest (& Most Interesting) Buildings in Beijing When you imagine Beijing, China’s characteristic architecture likely comes to mind — red walls,...
2 days ago
2
2 days ago
When you imagine Beijing, China’s characteristic architecture likely comes to mind — red walls, tiled roofs, and quaint courtyard dwellings. What visitors might not expect is to see skyscrapers and fantastical modern architecture that wouldn’t look out of place in Singapore or...
African History...
A General History of Iron Technology in Africa ca. 2000BC-1900AD. The smelting and working of iron is arguably the best known among the pre-colonial technologies of...
8 months ago
62
8 months ago
The smelting and working of iron is arguably the best known among the pre-colonial technologies of Africa, and the continent is home to some of the world's oldest sites of ironworking.
Classical Wisdom
Plato On Knowledge What is True?
a year ago
TheCollector
What Is the Story of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle? The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is one of the most important artifacts of English history. As a text, it...
a month ago
18
a month ago
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is one of the most important artifacts of English history. As a text, it is a remarkable record of events that helps shine a light onto the so-called “Dark Ages.” However, the Chronicle is more than just a record. In many ways, it is more than a mere...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Homer, Heracles, and Virgil
4 months ago
Patterns in Humanity
Sweden's immigration taboo Immigration data kept behind closed doors
8 months ago
CrimethInc.
Survival : A Story about Anarchists Enduring Mass Raids A work of speculative fiction. In November 1919, United States President Woodrow Wilson launched...
a month ago
17
a month ago
A work of speculative fiction. In November 1919, United States President Woodrow Wilson launched mass raids against the entire anarchist movement in the United States. Police simultaneously arrested thousands of anarchists in many different parts of the country, shutting down...
Flashbak
Saul Leiter In Colour And Before – Photographs from A Centenary Special Photographer Saul Leiter (1923 –  2013) is remembered in Saul Leiter: The Centennial Retrospective,...
10 months ago
28
10 months ago
Photographer Saul Leiter (1923 –  2013) is remembered in Saul Leiter: The Centennial Retrospective, a monograph from Thames and Hudson. The books features many of Leiter’s most gorgeous pictures, not least of all the street photograph above of a woman sat at a cafe in Paris in...
Res Obscura
Res Obscura Newsletter: December, 2019 Note: this was exported from Mailchimp. That's a 1909 painting called "Altar." It's by someone I...
over a year ago
13
over a year ago
Note: this was exported from Mailchimp. That's a 1909 painting called "Altar." It's by someone I learned about just this month: the Lithuanian composer and artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911). His paintings and music evoke a mysterious feeling that has stuck with...
African History...
When Africa discovered Europe *my article for New Lines Magazine
over a year ago
African History...
The Swazi kingdom and its neighbours in the 19th century: from the rise of Zulu to the British an island in the maelstrom
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The American Cincinnatus Washington's Great Inspiration
2 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Who Were the "Pre-Socratics"? Classical Wisdom Litterae
a month ago
Dreams of Space -...
Rocket Divers (1962) So a minor piece of juvenile "space fiction" today. This little juvenile story is about scuba divers...
a year ago
7
a year ago
So a minor piece of juvenile "space fiction" today. This little juvenile story is about scuba divers adventures and in this book they help out the divers who retrieve re-entry capsules. It has bad guys and secret submarines and space monkeys and plenty of adventure. Unfortunately...
Classical Wisdom
[Last Chance] The Essential Greeks Starting TOMORROW - January 15th, 2025
3 months ago
Classical Wisdom
The Madness of Messalina What Sort of Woman Makes History?
2 weeks ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IIIb: Pyrrhus This is the second part of the third part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at the...
a year ago
35
a year ago
This is the second part of the third part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at the performance of the Roman army and its legions in the third and second century BC against the Hellenistic armies of the heirs of Alexander. Last time, we sought to assess some of...
Classical Wisdom
Centaurs and Snake-Kings A Halloween event for the Mythologically inclined...
6 months ago
Flashbak
Strangely Familiar: Peter Mitchell Paints The Everyday In Colour Film “I had always believed a photograph could be as powerful as a painting.” – Peter Mitchell     Peter...
a month ago
17
a month ago
“I had always believed a photograph could be as powerful as a painting.” – Peter Mitchell     Peter Mitchell allows us to imagine the stories between his  colour photographer of 1970s and 80s England, particularly the northern city of Leeds he calls home. A self-described “man of...
Flashbak
Cute and Sickly Sweet – 24 Vintage Snapshots That Invite a Reaction The girl presenting her pet lizard toad at the Children’s Pets show held on Venice Beach,...
a year ago
26
a year ago
The girl presenting her pet lizard toad at the Children’s Pets show held on Venice Beach, California, in the mid 1930s makes for a cute photograph. Walter Chandoha’s 1955 picture of his daughter Paula with a kitten in 1955 is also cute. Angie Cook’s school photo from 1978 when...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Maths, Art, and the Moon
a year ago
weird medieval guys
The coolest medieval woman you've never heard of Christine de Pizan on Circe, Medusa, and other virtuous ladies
over a year ago
Flashbak
Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Was A Trekkie Who Convinced Nichelle Nichols To Stay On The Show Actress Nichelle Nichols (December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) once recalled how Dr. Martin Luther...
a year ago
12
a year ago
Actress Nichelle Nichols (December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) once recalled how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) convinced her to remain on Star Trek after she had decided to leave the series for a starring role on Broadway. In 1966, Star Trek creator...
Classical Wisdom
[Ebook] The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Meditations (or Things to One’s Self) of Marcus Aurelius...
a year ago
49
a year ago
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Meditations (or Things to One’s Self) of Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) gives you a prescribed way in which you can actually reduce genuine suffering in your life because Rome’s great “philosopher king” lays out a very compelling, very...
Classical Wisdom
Io Saturnalia! Celebrate the “Best of Days”
a year ago
TheCollector
What Is the Trinity in Christianity? The term “the Trinity” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. The concept of the Trinity is also not...
3 weeks ago
5
3 weeks ago
The term “the Trinity” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. The concept of the Trinity is also not explicitly taught in the Bible. To this day, some Christians reject this doctrine which is part of the fundamental beliefs of most Christian churches today. So, what is the...
Flashbak
New York City In Color – Garry Winogrand’s Street Shots “I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed” – Gary Winogrand   In Garry...
a year ago
19
a year ago
“I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed” – Gary Winogrand   In Garry Winogrand: Winogrand Color we look at some of the New York-born photographer’s 45,000 early colour street photographs in 1950s and 1960s America.   In 1970 and Winogrand visited the...
Open Culture
Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Who Was the Greatest Scientific Mind in History Neil deGrasse Tyson has spent his career talking up not just science itself, but also its...
2 months ago
31
2 months ago
Neil deGrasse Tyson has spent his career talking up not just science itself, but also its practitioners. If asked to name the greatest scientist of all time, one might expect him to need a minute to think about it — or even to find himself unable to choose. But that’s hardly...
Trying to Understand...
The Long Run. The future belongs to them.
3 months ago
TheCollector
The Curious Case of the Roman God Janus: Origins, Epithets, History Ancient Rome unfairly has a reputation for having stolen or copied their mythology and religious...
4 weeks ago
7
4 weeks ago
Ancient Rome unfairly has a reputation for having stolen or copied their mythology and religious traditions from the Greeks and given them Latin names to claim as their own. This is easily disproved by looking at Roman traditions in a broad sense but more specifically, it is...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Beneath the Waves...
a year ago
Dr Alun Withey
Beard Fashions and Class Over the past few centuries, fashions in facial hair have changed substantially. In the mid...
over a year ago
58
over a year ago
Over the past few centuries, fashions in facial hair have changed substantially. In the mid seventeenth century many men wore the ‘Van Dyke’ style of a small, pointy beard and moustaches. By the end of the 1600s, beards were in decline, leaving many men with just moustaches. The...
African History...
Taming and domesticating the wild: the War-Elephants of ancient Aksum and Kush In his 1668 description of the West African kingdom of Benin, the Dutch writer Olfert Dapper...
4 months ago
44
4 months ago
In his 1668 description of the West African kingdom of Benin, the Dutch writer Olfert Dapper reported that “The king shows himself only once a year to his people, going out of his court on horseback, accompanied by three or four hundred noblemen on horseback.”
Open Culture
How to Enter a ‘Flow State’ on Command: Peak Performance Mind Hack Explained in 7 Minutes You can be forgiven for thinking the concept of “flow” was cooked up and popularized by yoga...
3 days ago
4
3 days ago
You can be forgiven for thinking the concept of “flow” was cooked up and popularized by yoga teachers. That word gets a lot of play when one is moving from Downward-Facing Dog on through Warrior One and Two. Actually, flow — the state of  “effortless effort” — was coined by...
TheCollector
London in WWII: The Horror of the London Blitz “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields...
a month ago
10
a month ago
“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender,” famously declared British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on June 4, 1940. At...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Free Will: A Fairy Tale?
4 months ago
TheCollector
What Were the Sociocultural Effects of the Iran-Iraq War? After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the start of the Iran Hostage Crisis, Iran fought its...
2 weeks ago
9
2 weeks ago
After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the start of the Iran Hostage Crisis, Iran fought its neighbor Iraq for eight years. This war—the largest industrialized war since World War II—demonstrated the tenacity and radicalism of Iran’s Islamist regime. In battle, it used...
Patterns in Humanity
The Effects of Immigration in Denmark First, I briefly summarize statistics on the fiscal impact of immigration in Denmark, taken from an...
over a year ago
16
over a year ago
First, I briefly summarize statistics on the fiscal impact of immigration in Denmark, taken from an official government report.
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic, Part IV: The Senate This is the the fourth part of our our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc) on the...
a year ago
23
a year ago
This is the the fourth part of our our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries, the ‘Middle’ Republic.’ Over the last few posts we looked at the role of Roman magistrates who carried out a...
CrimethInc.
Festivals of Resistance : A Call for Gatherings the Weekend Before Trump Takes Office Along with others around the country, we invite you to join us in organizing festivals of resistance...
4 months ago
23
4 months ago
Along with others around the country, we invite you to join us in organizing festivals of resistance on the weekend of January 18, immediately before Donald Trump takes office. This is a crucial opportunity to engage in outreach, education, and action ahead of what it is sure to...
Classical Wisdom
How Should We Treat Our Enemies? And how does it reflect on us?
a year ago
African History...
Kingdoms at the forest's edge: a history of Mangbetu (ca. 1750-1895) The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has...
11 months ago
73
11 months ago
The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has a long and complex history shaped by its internal cultural developments and its unique ecology between the savannah and the forest. Among the most remarkable states that emerged in...
Wrong Side of...
The Worst Year Ever The Year of the Plague #1
3 months ago
African History...
A complete history of Madagascar and the island kingdom of Merina. State and society on Africa's largest island.
a year ago
Open Culture
In 1894, A French Writer Predicted the End of Books & the Rise of Portable Audiobooks and Podcasts The end of the nineteenth century is still widely referred to as the fin de siècle, a French term...
3 months ago
39
3 months ago
The end of the nineteenth century is still widely referred to as the fin de siècle, a French term that evokes great, looming cultural, social, and technological changes. According to at least one French mind active at the time, among those changes would be a fin des livres as...
Trying to Understand...
The Curse Of Zhou Bai Den. Or, masochism for fun and profit.
2 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Marcus Aurelius' Stoic Paradoxes Contradictions that Rewire Us
2 months ago
weird medieval guys
No, the King doesn't own all the swans in Britain So who does?
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Plutarch and Pleasure
a year ago
Overcoming Bias
Toward More Direct Signals As I’ve attributed a large fraction of human behaviors to signaling incentives, I feel I should...
3 months ago
45
3 months ago
As I’ve attributed a large fraction of human behaviors to signaling incentives, I feel I should address a key signaling question, about which I was recently reminded.
Flashbak
Mazes and Labyrinths: An Illustrated History (1922) “There is no route out of the maze. The maze shifts as you move through it, because it is alive.” –...
3 months ago
43
3 months ago
“There is no route out of the maze. The maze shifts as you move through it, because it is alive.” – Philip K. Dick, VALIS     William H. Matthews leads us through his 1922 book Mazes and Labyrinths from his home in Ruislip in the English county of Middlesex. Compiled shortly...
Open Culture
How Do You Use AI in Your Daily Life? Share the Applications That Have Made a Big Difference Image by Jernej Furman, via Wikimedia Commons It would be difficult to imagine the last couple of...
a month ago
22
a month ago
Image by Jernej Furman, via Wikimedia Commons It would be difficult to imagine the last couple of years without artificial intelligence, even if you don’t use it. Can you recall the last day without some AI-related news item or social-media post — or indeed, a time when the hype...
Classical Wisdom
Where to Stay While in Search of Homer? ***Only 15 Seats Left
5 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The Ancient Novel
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The World of Homer Classical Wisdom Litterae
5 days ago
African History...
The intellectual history of Ethiopia and Eritrea: Ge'ez manuscripts and scholars (ca. 200-1900CE) The unique manuscript collections of Ethiopia and Eritrea written in the Ge'ez script are arguably...
4 months ago
73
4 months ago
The unique manuscript collections of Ethiopia and Eritrea written in the Ge'ez script are arguably the best-known works of literature produced in pre-colonial Africa.
Dr Alun Withey
Creams, Clothes and Cases: The material culture of pre-modern travel. I am currently on study leave, getting on with research for my new project on the history of travel...
a year ago
63
a year ago
I am currently on study leave, getting on with research for my new project on the history of travel preparations. One thing that I’m particularly interested in is the material culture of travel, and what sorts of things were available for travellers as they got ready for their...
TheCollector
5 Special Forces Groups of World War II World War II spawned innovations in all aspects of warfare. From jets to rudimentary guided rockets...
a month ago
13
a month ago
World War II spawned innovations in all aspects of warfare. From jets to rudimentary guided rockets and missiles, this conflict forever changed the face of war. The rise of special forces units within the militaries of the participants was also a significant development within...
Classical Wisdom
The Essential Greeks ***Now Enrolling: Starting January 15th, 2025
3 months ago
Overcoming Bias
Fear Change Evolution in animals selects not only for static features, like claws, but also for behaviors that...
3 months ago
35
3 months ago
Evolution in animals selects not only for static features, like claws, but also for behaviors that change with context.
Trying to Understand...
Externalising Our Hatreds. It's Ukraine and Gaza. Again.
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
A Clash Of Symbols They are quite serious, actually.
a year ago
Wrong Side of...
Do I have Trump Derangement Syndrome? The US president is going to give us a thousand years of woke
a week ago
Trying to Understand...
Another Of My Essays in French Le choc des symboles; ils sont vraiment sérieux.
a year ago
TheCollector
A Journey Through Dante’s Inferno: A Brief Guide Over the centuries, Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy has often been declared the pinnacle of the...
3 weeks ago
6
3 weeks ago
Over the centuries, Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy has often been declared the pinnacle of the medieval literary mind. Other critics, looking ahead, have called it a brilliant artistic harbinger of the coming European Renaissance. The renowned Anglo-American poet T.S. Eliot...
Res Obscura
Res Obscura is now on Substack Three years late, but historians are always late
over a year ago
TheCollector
10 Must-See Ancient Monuments Around the World Ancient times refer to the period spanning from the early development of human civilizations to the...
a month ago
18
a month ago
Ancient times refer to the period spanning from the early development of human civilizations to the end of classical antiquity, roughly 3000 BCE to 500 CE. This era saw the rise of powerful empires, complex societies, and remarkable advancements in art, architecture, and...
Open Culture
The Only Illustrated Manuscript of Homer’s Iliad from Antiquity Despite its status as one of the most widely known and studied epic poems of all time, Homer’s Iliad...
2 weeks ago
13
2 weeks ago
Despite its status as one of the most widely known and studied epic poems of all time, Homer’s Iliad has proven surprisingly resistant to adaptation. However much inspiration it has provided to modern-day novelists working in a variety of different traditions, it’s translated...
Flashbak
British Artist Finds An Incredible Album Of Found Photos Seeking vintage photographs as a source of inspiration for her work, British artist Emily Loveridge...
5 months ago
32
5 months ago
Seeking vintage photographs as a source of inspiration for her work, British artist Emily Loveridge came upon this album of pictures. “I find images that resonate with me and then with that I try to bring their characters to life in my work,” she tells us. “I bought the slides on...
Classical Wisdom
How Extra Virgin Olive Oil Got its Name The Ancient History in Your Kitchen
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
Long-Lost City Ruins Likely Tied to Alexander the Great Once believed to be an ancient military outpost, an archaeological site in North Macedonia may...
4 days ago
3
4 days ago
Once believed to be an ancient military outpost, an archaeological site in North Macedonia may actually be the remains of Lyncus, the lost capital city of the Kingdom of Lyncestis. Settled in the 7th century BCE, Lyncus was once an important hub for the Upper Macedonian Kingdom....
Flashbak
Mystery, God And The Wonder of Death: Cristoforo de Predis’ Illuminated Visions “He commanded and they were created.” – Psalm 33     Cristoforo de Predis (1440-1486) painted his...
a month ago
17
a month ago
“He commanded and they were created.” – Psalm 33     Cristoforo de Predis (1440-1486) painted his visions of the final judgement in the late 15th Century. We see fish above the sea, the sun and moon dying, blood dripping from trees and winged demons dropping naked, fragile...
Flashbak
A Look at London in 1975 with English Eccentrics and Mr Whippy It’s 1975 on Flashbak. We’re in and around London in the company of David Rostance. Let’s begin by...
11 months ago
41
11 months ago
It’s 1975 on Flashbak. We’re in and around London in the company of David Rostance. Let’s begin by shopping for a Mr Whippy ice cream on Gypsy Hill, south of the River Thames. Or maybe a cider or Brandy Alexander lolly is more to your taste? You can see the full range of British...
TheCollector
The Dolomites: The Mountains That Rose From the Sea Italy’s pale and towering Dolomite Mountains are an offshoot of the more extensive Alps, and are...
a month ago
6
a month ago
Italy’s pale and towering Dolomite Mountains are an offshoot of the more extensive Alps, and are famous for their snowy colored exterior, bounty of fossils, and rich history. These mountains used to be under the sea, and after rising up, were the backdrop to several World War I...
Flashbak
Bullshit Jobs: The Emptiness of Life In A Corporate Office “If one wanted to crush and destroy a man entirely, to mete out to him the most terrible punishment,...
3 months ago
28
3 months ago
“If one wanted to crush and destroy a man entirely, to mete out to him the most terrible punishment, all one would have to do would be to make him do work that was completely and utterly devoid of usefulness and meaning.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The House of the Dead   From faces...
Res Obscura
The familiar loneliness of the Kinetoscope One other way that the 2020s resemble the 1890s
2 months ago
TheCollector
What Is the Difference Between Sunni and Shia Islam? According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad’s prophetic status was well-established among his followers...
a month ago
11
a month ago
According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad’s prophetic status was well-established among his followers before his death. However, a disagreement emerged soon afterward about the prophet’s death regarding his intent for the leadership structure of the fledgling Muslim community. The...