Res Obscura
Translating Latin demonology manuals with GPT-4 and Claude
At long last, a real-world use case for AI!
a year ago
At long last, a real-world use case for AI!
TheCollector
How Does Friedrich Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom Criticize Socialism?
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12 months ago
TheCollector
Gigantomachy in Greek Mythology: Olympian Gods vs Giants
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a year ago
TheCollector
What Was the Medieval Legend of Prester John?
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a year ago
TheCollector
What Were the Casta Paintings of 18th Century Mexico?
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4 months ago
TheCollector
7 Fascinating Facts About the Vestal Virgins
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3 months ago
TheCollector
What Is the Hierarchy of Angels in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism
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11 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Do You Need Children to Care About the Future?
Shady Trees or Empty Branches?
4 months ago
Shady Trees or Empty Branches?
TheCollector
The Year Without a Summer: The Eruption of Mt Tambora
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2 months ago
Flashbak
London By Tube, DLR and Overground in The Early 1990s
Today, I’m gonna take my bike ‘Cause once again the Tube’s on strike The greedy bastards want extra...
4 months ago
Today, I’m gonna take my bike ‘Cause once again the Tube’s on strike The greedy bastards want extra pay For sitting on their arse all day! – London Underground by The Amateur Transplants Peter Marshall shows us pictures of stations on the London Underground, Docklands light...
Trying to Understand...
In the Shallows Of The Deep State.
But is there anything there?
a week ago
But is there anything there?
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
The Story of Thebes
a year ago
TheCollector
Reclaiming Medusa: How Did She Become a Symbol of Female Empowerment?
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Edward Colston Statue to be Lastingly Installed in Bristol Museum
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10 months ago
History Today Feed
Kapo Trials: How Israel Judged the Jewish Collaborators
Kapo Trials: How Israel Judged the Jewish Collaborators
JamesHoare
Thu, 04/25/2024 - 08:00
8 months ago
Kapo Trials: How Israel Judged the Jewish Collaborators
JamesHoare
Thu, 04/25/2024 - 08:00
TheCollector
What Was the Council of Chalcedon?
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a month ago
TheCollector
Scottish Independence Movements Through the Ages
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11 months ago
TheCollector
The 21st Amendment: The Only Amendment That Repealed Another
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a month ago
TheCollector
10 Unique Pigments That You Have Never Heard Of
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8 months ago
TheCollector
Maelgwn Gwynedd: Historical King of the Arthurian Legends
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a year ago
Flashbak
A Tour of The Westwood Mall, Michigan, 1972 – 1984
We’re off to the Westwood Mall in Michigan in the 1970s and early 1980s. Most of the images here are...
a month ago
We’re off to the Westwood Mall in Michigan in the 1970s and early 1980s. Most of the images here are from the store’s opening on August 3 1972. We see shopper browsing for music in Recordland beneath a poster for the singer Cyndi Lauper, buying into the ‘grapefruit diet’, getting...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Battle of the Historians
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
The Early Years of Jesus
a year ago
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...
a year ago
First, I briefly summarize statistics on the fiscal impact of immigration in Denmark, taken from an official government report.
TheCollector
Bordeaux Wine in France: A Historical Primer
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5 months ago
TheCollector
Did Emperor Nero start the Great Fire of Rome?
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11 months ago
TheCollector
What Happened at the Battle of Kyiv in WWII?
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4 months ago
TheCollector
Is Right & Wrong a Matter of Perspective? Moral Relativism Explained
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11 months ago
TheCollector
Who Were the Landsknechts?
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8 months ago
TheCollector
Just How Christian Was the Kingdom of Kongo?
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9 months ago
TheCollector
4 Famous Explorers from the Age of Exploration
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11 months ago
TheCollector
The Roman Question: The Pope vs. the New Nation of Italy
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11 months ago
TheCollector
The Rembrandt Painting to Sell For $18.4 M. at Auction
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a year ago
Flashbak
Writing Templates From A Beautiful German Printing Book, c. 1880
Created by Peter Federmann, these writing templates were for painters, stonemasons, architects and...
2 months ago
Created by Peter Federmann, these writing templates were for painters, stonemasons, architects and drawing schools. They were printed and published by J. Veith of Karlsruhe, Germany around 1880 as ‘Schriften Vorlagen zum Praktischen Gebrauche für Maler, Steinhauer, Architecten...
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...
7 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
When Did Vincent van Gogh Start Painting?
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5 months ago
TheCollector
$35 Million Monet to Headline Auction at Christie’s New Asia HQ
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4 months ago
African History...
The African diaspora in Portuguese India: 1500-1800.
Sailors, Merchants and Priests.
a year ago
Sailors, Merchants and Priests.
TheCollector
10 Must-Visit Historic Towns in New York
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3 months ago
History Today Feed
US President or American Caesar?
US President or American Caesar?
JamesHoare
Thu, 09/26/2024 - 08:00
2 months ago
US President or American Caesar?
JamesHoare
Thu, 09/26/2024 - 08:00
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Early Christianity
12 months ago
Classical Wisdom
What makes a good friend?
'Birds of a feather’? Or 'the proverbial potters'?
a year ago
'Birds of a feather’? Or 'the proverbial potters'?
African History...
The pyramids of ancient Nubia and Meroe: death on the Nile and the mortuary architecture of Kush
a complete history of an African monument
a year ago
a complete history of an African monument
TheCollector
What Are the 5 Greatest Protest Songs of the 20th Century?
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4 months ago
TheCollector
Third-Party Candidates: The Outsiders in US Elections
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3 months ago
TheCollector
Where is the Tomb of Alexander the Great?
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11 months ago
History Today Feed
On the Spot: Gina Anne Tam
On the Spot: Gina Anne Tam
JamesHoare
Mon, 11/18/2024 - 10:08
a month ago
On the Spot: Gina Anne Tam
JamesHoare
Mon, 11/18/2024 - 10:08
TheCollector
Is Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman the Greatest Film of All Time?
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10 months ago
TheCollector
Sigyn: Get to Know Loki’s Mysterious and Dutiful Wife
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9 months ago
TheCollector
The Tragic Life of Kermit Roosevelt & the Burden of Legacy
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2 months ago
Flashbak
Photos of Iggy Pop And The Stooges Playing NYC Club Ungano’s in 1970
In August 1970, American photographer Bud Lee (1940-2016) took photographs of Iggy Pop and the...
6 months ago
In August 1970, American photographer Bud Lee (1940-2016) took photographs of Iggy Pop and the Stooges performing at brothers Nick and Arnie Ungano’s basement club on New York’s West 70th Street between Amsterdam and West End Avenues. The ban were celebrating the release of their...
TheCollector
Who Was the First President to Live in the White House?
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2 months ago
TheCollector
Was Mark Twain Really a Confederate?
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3 months ago
Flashbak
Y Viva Espana: The Great British Package Holiday In Photos
When in June 1987, Shirley Baker photographed passengers at England’s Manchester Airport, many of...
6 months ago
When in June 1987, Shirley Baker photographed passengers at England’s Manchester Airport, many of them would have been on their way to sunny Spain as part of their package holiday. Jake Clark first arrived there in the late 1960s when his parents moved to a fishing village in...
TheCollector
Northanger Abbey: Jane Austen’s Gothic Parody
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2 months ago
Flashbak
Great Photos: Le Mariage des Diables Blancs, May 22 1954
On May 22 1954, tightrope walkers Berthy Omankowsky and Roger Decugis married on a rope stretched...
6 months ago
On May 22 1954, tightrope walkers Berthy Omankowsky and Roger Decugis married on a rope stretched high above the Place du Capitole in Toulouse, France. The wedding of two members of the Franco-Czechoslovakian (Diables Blancs) White Devils Company was overseen by Father Robert...
Dreams of Space -...
Women's Day -August (1953) Part 1
Women's Day magazine also got involved in the spaceflight fad in the early 1950s. This 1953 (August)...
over a year ago
Women's Day magazine also got involved in the spaceflight fad in the early 1950s. This 1953 (August) issue had a number of space related articles including: Will Your Child Visit The Moon? The article makes the case to the mothers of America that travel into space and the Moon is...
History Today Feed
How the CCP is Closing China
How the CCP is Closing China
JamesHoare
Mon, 05/13/2024 - 10:47
7 months ago
How the CCP is Closing China
JamesHoare
Mon, 05/13/2024 - 10:47
TheCollector
Who Were the Axis Powers?
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12 months ago
TheCollector
Who are the Pioneers of the Beat Generation?
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6 months ago
TheCollector
What’s the Best Time to Visit Table Mountain?
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5 months ago
TheCollector
The Role of Women in 1950s America: Conformity or Change?
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3 months ago
TheCollector
7 Famous Artists Who Turned to Crime
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9 months ago
History Today Feed
Fighting the Home Front’s ‘Enemy Within’
Fighting the Home Front’s ‘Enemy Within’
JamesHoare
Fri, 11/22/2024 - 08:57
a month ago
Fighting the Home Front’s ‘Enemy Within’
JamesHoare
Fri, 11/22/2024 - 08:57
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
The Ancient Novel
a year ago
A Collection of...
Collections: On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon, the Great? Part II
This is the second and final part of our look at Alexander III of Macedon (Part I), who you almost...
7 months ago
This is the second and final part of our look at Alexander III of Macedon (Part I), who you almost certainly know as Alexander the Great. Last week, we looked at the sources for Alexander’s life, the historiography (that is, the history-of-the-history) of his modern reception and...
TheCollector
5 Important Stories About Thor the Norse God of Thunder
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8 months ago
Trying to Understand...
No End Of A Lesson.
If we can only learn it.
2 months ago
TheCollector
The Red Army Choir: A History of Russian Soft Power
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8 months ago
TheCollector
Whaleship Essex: The Terrifying Story That Inspired Moby Dick
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a year ago
TheCollector
10 Extraordinary Symbolist Artists: From Munch to Moreau
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a year ago
TheCollector
The Unification of England & the Death of the Kingdom of Mercia
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9 months ago
TheCollector
10 Interesting Facts About Haruki Murakami You Should Know
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7 months ago
TheCollector
10 Facts About the Temples of Angkor
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7 months ago
TheCollector
4 Celtic Hillforts and Oppida from the Iron Age
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a year ago
Overcoming Bias
Love And War And Status
“All is Fair in Love and War” - common saying
3 weeks ago
“All is Fair in Love and War” - common saying
TheCollector
Niko Pirosmani: Get to Know the Tragic Hero of Georgian Art
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9 months ago
Classical Wisdom
The Ancient Ozempic
Was Theriac a Miracle Drug?
2 months ago
Was Theriac a Miracle Drug?
History Today Feed
Life and Land in Anglo-Saxon England
Life and Land in Anglo-Saxon England
JamesHoare
Thu, 04/18/2024 - 17:32
8 months ago
Life and Land in Anglo-Saxon England
JamesHoare
Thu, 04/18/2024 - 17:32
History Today Feed
Why the Organ Split the Church
Why the Organ Split the Church
JamesHoare
Thu, 11/21/2024 - 09:05
a month ago
Why the Organ Split the Church
JamesHoare
Thu, 11/21/2024 - 09:05
Trying to Understand...
Papa To The Rescue.
And stop saying "it's not fair!"
3 months ago
And stop saying "it's not fair!"
African History...
A history of Grande Comore (Ngazidja) ca. 700-1900.
State and society on a cosmopolitan island
11 months ago
State and society on a cosmopolitan island
TheCollector
What Is the Twinkie Defense? (& Other Crazy Court Arguments)
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8 months ago
TheCollector
6 Incredible Roman Sites in Spain
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4 months ago
TheCollector
Albert Speer: Architect, Minister, and Hitler’s Closest Friend
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5 months ago
TheCollector
Posthumanism vs Transhumanism: What Is the Difference?
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3 months ago
Classical Wisdom
The Secret Life of Latin
Still A Living Language?
3 months ago
Dreams of Space -...
Looking Into Science (1965)
Here is a re-post, with new scans, of one of my most popular series of books. There was a 1965...
over a year ago
Here is a re-post, with new scans, of one of my most popular series of books. There was a 1965 textbook for children call Looking Into Science. They reused the contents in a series of booklets that I would like to share with you. There were a large number of these booklets...
African History...
a brief note on Ethnicity and the State in Africa
the evolution of the Tutsi/Hutu dichotomy in the precolonial Great Lakes.
7 months ago
the evolution of the Tutsi/Hutu dichotomy in the precolonial Great Lakes.
TheCollector
3 Dark Age Kings of Britain Confirmed by Archaeology
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9 months ago
TheCollector
The Fountainhead: Ayn Rand’s Ode to Individualism
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a year ago
TheCollector
Who is Ana Mendieta? An Icon of Environmental Art
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a year ago
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...
a month 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:
TheCollector
Explore Montmartre Through Van Gogh’s Eyes: Views of Paris
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3 months ago
Trying to Understand...
The Rise of Extractive Politics
It's about having small expectations.
a year ago
It's about having small expectations.
TheCollector
Choosing a Leader: The First US Presidential Elections (1789-1800)
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3 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Understanding What's Happening in France.
The kinetic phase may come next.
a year ago
The kinetic phase may come next.
TheCollector
Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum Restitutes Matisse Painting
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5 months ago
A Collection of...
Michael Taylor on The Development of the M1 Garand and its Implications
This week, Michael Taylor, Associate Professor of History at SUNY Albany, returns to offer an...
a year ago
This week, Michael Taylor, Associate Professor of History at SUNY Albany, returns to offer an interesting argument about the longterm impact of the M1 Garand, the US army’s extremely successful World War II and Korean era battle rifle, introduced in 1936. A fantastically...
TheCollector
Who Won the Battle of Fredericksburg?
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3 months ago
TheCollector
Is It Rational to Believe in God? 5 Objections to Pascal’s Wager
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8 months ago
Classical Wisdom
What is the Soul?
Putting the Psyche back in Psychology...
9 months ago
Putting the Psyche back in Psychology...
TheCollector
Louis Althusser on the Link Between Ideology and the State Apparatus
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a year ago
TheCollector
What Is Gnosticism?
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4 months ago
TheCollector
10 Terrifying Japanese Yōkai (Supernatural Creatures)
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a year ago
TheCollector
5 Illustrated Stories by Shaun Tan That You Should Know
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a year ago
TheCollector
What Are the Primary Sources of Information About Emperor Nero?
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9 months ago
TheCollector
Non-alignment: A Third Foreign Policy Option During the Cold War?
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7 months ago
TheCollector
The Inuit and the Canadian Arctic: A Brief History
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3 months ago
TheCollector
Why Do I Care What Others Think? A Philosophical View of Self-Esteem
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a month ago
TheCollector
Who Is the Egyptian God Thoth?
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a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Jews in the Roman Bathhouse
Is it time to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Greco-Roman society?
a year ago
Is it time to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Greco-Roman society?
TheCollector
3 Beautiful Places in the North of England Tourists Tend to Neglect
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6 months ago
TheCollector
Did Humans and Neanderthals Interbreed?
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a year ago
Flashbak
Shopping The Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen Flea Market in 1990
We’re browsing the stalls at Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen, the wold’s largest antiques and second-hand...
5 months ago
We’re browsing the stalls at Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen, the wold’s largest antiques and second-hand goods market, in Paris, France. Peter Marshall was staying in Noisy-le-Grand in the city’s eastern suburbs when he mooched to the market. Taken on walks around the area and...
TheCollector
Medical Practice in the Pre-Conquest Americas: From Coca to Brain Surgery
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3 months ago
History Today Feed
‘Hitler’s People’ by Richard Evans review
‘Hitler’s People’ by Richard Evans review
JamesHoare
Tue, 08/27/2024 - 09:31
3 months ago
‘Hitler’s People’ by Richard Evans review
JamesHoare
Tue, 08/27/2024 - 09:31
TheCollector
Death in the Bible: Two Contradictory Views
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7 months ago
Global Inequality...
The end and the beginning of history
Three ways of thinking about Lea Ypi’s Free
5 months ago
Three ways of thinking about Lea Ypi’s Free
Flashbak
One Last Look at the Hotel where ‘Trainspotting’, ‘The Big Man’, ‘Taggart’ and Other Shows Were...
You may have never heard of the George Hotel, which once sat at the top of Buchanan Street in...
8 months ago
You may have never heard of the George Hotel, which once sat at the top of Buchanan Street in Glasgow like a ‘great carbuncle’, but you have probably seen parts of its interiors from films like Trainspotting (the circular room used as a backdrop for the drug scene with Keith...
TheCollector
Huacas and Apus: Sacred Landscapes of the Inca
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4 months ago
TheCollector
6 Appalachian Folk Stories That Will Keep You Up at Night
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a year ago
TheCollector
Pre-Columbian Writing Systems (And How They Worked)
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3 months ago
Flashbak
François Brunery’s Portraits of Pontificating, Pissed and Pouting Priests – c. 1890-1926
These photographs of priests and cardinals were taken by Francesco Bruneri, known as François...
3 weeks ago
These photographs of priests and cardinals were taken by Francesco Bruneri, known as François Brunery (1849 – 1926), and used as the basis for his work as a painter of so-called “Cardinal Paintings”. His work depicting cardinals of the Catholic church in comical or embarrassing...
African History...
A complete history of Zeila (Zayla): ca. 800-1885 CE.
Journal of African cities: chapter 14
3 months ago
Journal of African cities: chapter 14
Classical Wisdom
Spartan Training
The Ultimate Regime
4 months ago
Dreams of Space -...
The Hero's Ride (1963)
This was a reprint of a 1961 Russian book translated into Estonian in 1963. It is mostly an...
2 months ago
This was a reprint of a 1961 Russian book translated into Estonian in 1963. It is mostly an anthology of stories for children but with space art on the cover and a couple of space illustrations within I needed to share it.
Jarunkova, Klara. Illustrated by Eesti Riiklik...
Classical Wisdom
Seneca's Tragic Plays
Stoic or Not?
8 months ago
TheCollector
Should You Believe in Something Just Because It’s Logical?
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3 months ago
Flashbak
Lower Manhattan in 1973
These Documerica photographs by Wil Blanche of lower Manhattan, New York City, were taken in May...
6 months ago
These Documerica photographs by Wil Blanche of lower Manhattan, New York City, were taken in May 1973 in as part of the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which partnered with professional photographers to take pictures of America. The project collected more...
TheCollector
Gehenna: A History of Hell on Earth
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a month ago
TheCollector
What Role Did Women Play in World War II?
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a year ago
History Today Feed
The Ballad of the Inquisition’s Greatest Witch Trial
The Ballad of the Inquisition’s Greatest Witch Trial
JamesHoare
Thu, 10/17/2024 - 08:56
2 months ago
The Ballad of the Inquisition’s Greatest Witch Trial
JamesHoare
Thu, 10/17/2024 - 08:56
Classical Wisdom
Why are MYTHS Important?
Podcast with Stephen Fry
6 months ago
TheCollector
4 Most Famous Alien Abduction Claims
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a year ago
TheCollector
What Was the Halley Comet Panic of 1910?
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4 months ago
TheCollector
Abkhazia’s National Art Gallery Works Destroyed by Fire
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11 months ago
TheCollector
What Are the Most Spoken Indigenous Languages in Mexico?
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a month ago
TheCollector
How the Vietnam War Divided the US
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a year ago
TheCollector
The 7 Best Historical Sites in Bangkok, Thailand
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4 months ago
TheCollector
5 Victorian Fashion Trends: From Flammable Skirts to Poisonous Fabrics
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4 days ago
TheCollector
Over 1,000 Artifacts Unearthed Beneath Notre Dame
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2 weeks ago
TheCollector
Claude Picasso Died at Age 76
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a year ago
History Today Feed
‘Churchill’s American Network’ and ‘Mirrors of Greatness’ review
‘Churchill’s American Network’ and ‘Mirrors of Greatness’ review
JamesHoare
Wed, 05/08/2024 - 11:16
7 months ago
‘Churchill’s American Network’ and ‘Mirrors of Greatness’ review
JamesHoare
Wed, 05/08/2024 - 11:16
Flashbak
Heavy Metal: West Midlands Industry In the Late 1970s
“The noise was deafening. The heat was intense. I’d never seen anything like it” – American...
2 months ago
“The noise was deafening. The heat was intense. I’d never seen anything like it” – American photographer Janine Wiedel on her first visit to the industrial West Midlands The Vulcan’s Forge photobook shows us faces of late 1970s industry in England’s West Midlands. Based on...
TheCollector
What Is an Antipope?
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2 months ago
TheCollector
Where Is Alexander the Great Buried?
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7 months ago
Flashbak
1980s Birmingham – Portraits of A City Under Thee Cosh
“The City Centre is unrecognisable from the 1980s. Everything is glass. Birmingham doesn’t feel like...
8 months ago
“The City Centre is unrecognisable from the 1980s. Everything is glass. Birmingham doesn’t feel like home anymore.” – Richard Davis We’re back looking at 1980s Britain’s through Richard Davis’s photographs. This time we join him in Birmingham, the country’s ‘shabby not chic‘...
Tjaart’s Substack
The curious case of the missing period
When Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is not simple
10 months ago
When Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is not simple
TheCollector
More Banksy Animals Appear Across London
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4 months ago
History Today Feed
‘The Writers’ Castle’ by Uwe Nuehmahr review
‘The Writers’ Castle’ by Uwe Nuehmahr review
JamesHoare
Wed, 10/23/2024 - 09:34
2 months ago
‘The Writers’ Castle’ by Uwe Nuehmahr review
JamesHoare
Wed, 10/23/2024 - 09:34
Trying to Understand...
NATO's Phantom Armies.
And the ghost of Carl von Clausewitz.
7 months ago
And the ghost of Carl von Clausewitz.
Open Culture
The Story Behind the Making of the Iconic Surrealist Photograph, Dalí Atomicus (1948)
With his cane, his famous waxed mustache, and his habit of taking unusual animals for walks,...
2 days ago
With his cane, his famous waxed mustache, and his habit of taking unusual animals for walks, Salvador Dalí would appear to have cultivated his own photographability. But taking a picture of the man who stood as a living definition of popular surrealism wasn’t a task to be...
TheCollector
Who Was Osama bin Laden?
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2 weeks ago
TheCollector
History of the Ancient Greek Olympics: 30 Fascinating Facts About the Legendary Games
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4 months ago
TheCollector
New York’s Rubin Museum Makes Big Changes
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10 months ago
Classical Wisdom
What is the WORD? How can we understand Logos?
Do Words Matter?
a year ago
Dreams of Space -...
The Man Who Sold The Moon (1951 edition)
This is a 1951 paperback collection of 4 Robert Heinlein stories. Normally I would not blog about a...
a year ago
This is a 1951 paperback collection of 4 Robert Heinlein stories. Normally I would not blog about a science fiction collection but I found this charming. I imagined some older avid child finding this collection and devouring it. Both the title and cover have a lot of appeal and...
TheCollector
New York’s Jewish Museum Workers Ratified Their First Contract
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a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The Homeric Hymn to Demeter
NEW Event
4 months ago
TheCollector
Pandas and Politics: What Is Panda Diplomacy?
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2 months ago
TheCollector
The Future of US Elections: Potential Changes and Emerging Issues
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a month ago
Flashbak
Creating Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa – An Illustrated History
“At 110, everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who...
6 months ago
“At 110, everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokusai, but today I sign my … Continue reading "Creating...
TheCollector
Archaeologists Excavate Ancient City Destroyed by Romans
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3 months ago
TheCollector
Ancient Marble Zeus Head Unearthed in Türkiye
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4 months ago
TheCollector
What Was the Underground Railroad?
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a year ago
TheCollector
Yuruparí: Amazon’s Unique Myth of Creation & Ritual of Passage
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3 months ago
Wrong Side of...
American polarisation
The menace of bipartisanship has been defeated
a month ago
The menace of bipartisanship has been defeated
TheCollector
Shocking Scandals: 10 of the Most Controversial US Elections
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3 months ago
Classical Wisdom
For the Love of the Classics
Valentine's Gifts
10 months ago
Hundred Rabbits
an island to oneself
Traveling to New Zealand, after a year of unknown, was a great comfort to us. There are a few things...
over a year ago
Traveling to New Zealand, after a year of unknown, was a great comfort to us. There are a few things Devine and I were really looking forward to, like a good latte, craft beer, a fresh food market and a bulk food store. I found a city that checked all of the boxes.
Many of the...
Trying to Understand...
The Evils Of Professionalism
In politics, anyway.
6 months ago
TheCollector
Rudolf Otto and His Revolutionary “Idea of the Holy”
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6 months ago
TheCollector
What Is the History Behind Hanukkah?
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7 months ago
African History...
A history of Zanzibar before the Omanis (600-1873)
Journal of African cities chapter 7
a year ago
Journal of African cities chapter 7
TheCollector
12 Most Important Achievements in the Space Race
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a year ago
TheCollector
Exploring Soviet Brutalism Through 9 Iconic Buildings
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9 months ago
TheCollector
Who Were the Most Famous Models in Modern Painting?
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12 months ago
TheCollector
Spanish Museums To Distance Themselves From Colonial Framing
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11 months ago
TheCollector
Vincent and Theo Van Gogh: A Tale of Brotherly Love
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3 months ago
TheCollector
What Is the Difference Between Candomblé and Umbanda?
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8 months ago
TheCollector
What Was the Salon des Refusés?
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5 months ago
TheCollector
Magritte Sets $121 Million Auction Record
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a month ago
TheCollector
Why Bother Being Good? A Philosophical Exploration of Morality
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a month ago
History Today Feed
Edward VII’s Forgotten Colonial Conflicts
Edward VII’s Forgotten Colonial Conflicts
JamesHoare
Wed, 08/21/2024 - 09:17
4 months ago
Edward VII’s Forgotten Colonial Conflicts
JamesHoare
Wed, 08/21/2024 - 09:17
Trying to Understand...
One Way Or Another ....
We're going to get you.
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,...
8 months 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...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
The End of the World?
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
No Cheers for Authoritarianism
Remind me what it was, exactly ....
a year ago
Remind me what it was, exactly ....
TheCollector
Antonio Gramsci on Cultural Hegemony: What Is It and How Does It Work?
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a year ago
TheCollector
Silvio Berlusconi’s Worthless Art Collection
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a year ago
TheCollector
What Were George Orwell’s Political Beliefs?
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3 months ago
TheCollector
Dick Wolf Gives More Than Two Hundred Pieces to the Met
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12 months ago
TheCollector
What Was the Importance of the Dragon in Early Medieval England?
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7 months ago
TheCollector
6 Lesser-Known Strange Ancient Olympic Sports
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a year ago
TheCollector
Plato’s Phaedo: Is The Soul Immortal?
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a year ago
Flashbak
Maurice Sendak Illustrates William Blake’s Songs of Innocence
In 1967, Maurice Sendak (June 10, 1928–May 8, 2012) created eight illustrations for William Blake’s...
8 months ago
In 1967, Maurice Sendak (June 10, 1928–May 8, 2012) created eight illustrations for William Blake’s Songs of Innocence (1789). The booklet’s 275 copies were given to friends of the publisher, The Bodley Head, as Christmas gifts to mark the company’s 80th anniversary. The idea...
TheCollector
First Nations of the Canadian Atlantic Provinces: A Brief History
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4 months ago
TheCollector
Black Panther Party Founder: Who Was Huey Newton?
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a week ago
Wrong Side of...
Welcoming the stranger
Caldwell's 'Reflections on the Revolution in Europe', Part Two
6 days ago
Caldwell's 'Reflections on the Revolution in Europe', Part Two
Wrong Side of...
Progressive realism and Perfidious Albion
Britain's foreign policy is woefully naive and self-defeating
a month ago
Britain's foreign policy is woefully naive and self-defeating
TheCollector
Fordlandia: Henry Ford’s Grand Experiment Gone Wrong
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
10 Historic Small Towns in Arizona You Must Visit
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2 months ago
TheCollector
What Was the Atheism Dispute?
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6 months ago
TheCollector
5 Forgotten Female Artists You Should Know
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a year ago
TheCollector
6 Key Battles of the Wars of the Roses
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a year ago
TheCollector
7 Famous Works by Henri Rousseau
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10 months ago
TheCollector
What Was the Lend-Lease Program?
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10 months ago
TheCollector
Who Was Vercingetorix?
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9 months ago
Trying to Understand...
My Substack in Other Languages.
Starting with Spanish.
a year ago
TheCollector
Jock of the Bushveld: An Enduring Tale of Friendship
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11 months ago
Res Obscura
The (history of) spice must flow
Why the spice trade is even more important for world history than you might have thought
10 months ago
Why the spice trade is even more important for world history than you might have thought
African History...
A history of the west African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem before 1900
The legacy of west African travel to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
a year ago
The legacy of west African travel to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
TheCollector
The Dallas Museum of Art Laid Off Eight Percent of Its Staff
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a year ago
TheCollector
7 Times the Parthenon Was Transformed and Destroyed
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a year ago
TheCollector
KAWS: 11 Things You Should Know
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5 months ago
African History...
A social history of the Lamu city-state (1370-1885)
Journal of African cities chapter 5
a year ago
Journal of African cities chapter 5
TheCollector
The 5 Most Influential Modern Political Philosophers
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a year ago
History Today Feed
Keeping Blinded Veterans in View
Keeping Blinded Veterans in View
JamesHoare
Thu, 03/07/2024 - 09:19
9 months ago
Keeping Blinded Veterans in View
JamesHoare
Thu, 03/07/2024 - 09:19
TheCollector
1920s Flappers: An Overview of the Ladies of the Jazz Age
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a year ago
Dreams of Space -...
The Jolly Jump-ups Journey Through Space (1952)
Sorry for the delays in posting, I have been on a short vacation. So today is one of my favorite...
10 months ago
Sorry for the delays in posting, I have been on a short vacation. So today is one of my favorite (and obscure) fictional pop-up books about space. A really beautifully illustrated 1952 book with some amazing text to accompany it, The Jolly Jump-ups Journey Through Space!
Clyne,...
Flashbak
1980s NYC and the Intuition of Richard Sandler
“Street photography is very difficult. The number of really good pictures that you get is very small...
9 months ago
“Street photography is very difficult. The number of really good pictures that you get is very small in comparison to the number of pictures taken. You’re better off, I think, letting your intuition completely run wild…” – Richard Sandler on his photographs of NYC Richard...
TheCollector
Drunk by Edward Slingerland: 5 Reasons Why People Get Intoxicated
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a year ago
TheCollector
$18-Million Monet Heads to Auction
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8 months ago
TheCollector
What Makes a Conflict a World War?
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11 months ago
TheCollector
Was He Really “The Great Emancipator”? A Look at Lincoln’s Presidency
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3 months ago
Overcoming Bias
Our Authoritarian Default
Many intellectuals, and intellectual wannabes, would, if pressed accept that UFOs seem sufficiently...
2 months ago
Many intellectuals, and intellectual wannabes, would, if pressed accept that UFOs seem sufficiently puzzling to justify more careful study.
TheCollector
What is Deus Ex Machina in Film?
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8 months ago
TheCollector
How Did Religion Influence Law in the Ottoman Empire?
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10 months ago
TheCollector
What Are Emblemata in Art and Literature?
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11 months ago
TheCollector
The Problem of Evil: If God Exists, Why Aren’t We All in Heaven?
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10 months ago
TheCollector
Vandal Smashes Ai Weiwei Sculpture at Exhibition Opening
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3 months ago
TheCollector
Bronze Age Town Found in Saudi Arabian Desert
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a month ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IVc: Perseus
This is the third part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa,...
8 months ago
This is the third part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb) look at the how the Roman military system and its manipular legion were able to defeat the Hellenistic military system and its Macedonian sarisa phalanx in the third and...
TheCollector
What Is the Gospel of Truth?
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a month ago
TheCollector
Clement Attlee: Britain’s Greatest Prime Minister?
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2 months ago
TheCollector
10 Famous Saints Associated With Christmas
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2 days ago
History Today Feed
The Violent Life of the Medieval Monks
The Violent Life of the Medieval Monks
JamesHoare
Tue, 10/22/2024 - 09:07
2 months ago
The Violent Life of the Medieval Monks
JamesHoare
Tue, 10/22/2024 - 09:07
TheCollector
The Rise and Death of a ‘Mad Monk’: Who Was Grigori Rasputin?
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5 months ago
TheCollector
A History of the United States Supreme Court
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a year ago
Patterns in Humanity
Race, economics and homicide in the United States: a summary
Why economic factors cannot explain homicide disparities in the United States
2 months ago
Why economic factors cannot explain homicide disparities in the United States
TheCollector
Hungary in WWII: A Lesser Axis Power
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9 months ago
TheCollector
What’s the Meaning of Life for Confucianism?
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3 weeks ago
Classical Wisdom
[Coming Soon] The Essential Greeks
Begins in Two Weeks
a year ago
TheCollector
Ancient Pathways: What Are Ley Lines?
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7 months ago
History Today Feed
Highwaymen: The Road to Infamy
Highwaymen: The Road to Infamy
JamesHoare
Wed, 06/19/2024 - 09:50
6 months ago
Highwaymen: The Road to Infamy
JamesHoare
Wed, 06/19/2024 - 09:50
TheCollector
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Closes Due to Protests
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a year ago
Global Inequality...
The world according to Garegnani
I have not thought of this until I had lunch with Anwar Shaikh today. I have personally known Anwar...
7 months ago
I have not thought of this until I had lunch with Anwar Shaikh today. I have personally known Anwar for at least ten years. But only today it struck me that I was meeting a hero of my early intellectual life, although the difference in age between Anwar and me is not that great....
TheCollector
Eastern Enchantment: The Impact of the Arabian Nights on the West
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7 months ago
TheCollector
Caspar David Friedrich Sketchbook to Remain in Germany?
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a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Euripides
The Greatest Writer of Greek Tragedy?
a year ago
The Greatest Writer of Greek Tragedy?
TheCollector
The Getty Museum Returns a Bronze Head to Turkey
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7 months ago
TheCollector
6 Famous Artists Who Loved Cats
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4 months ago
Global Inequality...
Is “neo-imperialism” the only path to development?
On Bill Warren's "Imperialism: Pioneer of Capitalism"
a year ago
On Bill Warren's "Imperialism: Pioneer of Capitalism"
TheCollector
Chicago’s Field Museum Alters Native Displays Due to Regulations
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11 months ago
TheCollector
Hinduism in Bali: Things You Need to Know
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5 months ago
TheCollector
How Does Mona Hatoum Turn Ordinary Objects into Artworks?
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a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Another Of My Essays In French
And some associated reflections.
a month ago
And some associated reflections.
African History...
Self-representation in African art: the wall paintings of medieval Nubia. (ca. 700-1400)
an African portrait of an African society
a year ago
an African portrait of an African society
TheCollector
Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra: The Hero’s Second Labor
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2 weeks ago
History Today Feed
André Rigaud: Napoleon’s Man in Haiti
André Rigaud: Napoleon’s Man in Haiti
JamesHoare
Thu, 02/22/2024 - 00:00
10 months ago
André Rigaud: Napoleon’s Man in Haiti
JamesHoare
Thu, 02/22/2024 - 00:00
TheCollector
When Henry VIII Met Francis I: The Field of the Cloth of Gold
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6 months ago
TheCollector
What Is the History of Mother’s Day in the United States?
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7 months ago
TheCollector
Who Won the Battle of Fort Sumter?
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11 months ago
TheCollector
The Bay of Pigs Invasion: The US Fails to Overthrow Communist Cuba
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6 months ago
Classical Wisdom
How to Give a Speech
Secrets from Cicero
4 months ago
TheCollector
10 Historic Towns in Texas Perfect for Retirement
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2 months ago
TheCollector
7 Largest Cities in the Ancient World
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a year ago
TheCollector
How Did Hokusai & Hiroshige Become so Famous?
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a year ago
Flashbak
A Civil War Vateran Created The Esoteric Fraternity and the Cult of Solar Biology in 1890s ...
Some forty miles northeast of Sacramento, north California, off I-80 near the village of Applegate,...
10 months ago
Some forty miles northeast of Sacramento, north California, off I-80 near the village of Applegate, is the remains of one of the States’s religious cults: the Esoteric Fraternity. Founded in 1887, the Fraternity was a pioneer in modern astrology, readied its followers to run a...
TheCollector
Was Henry VIII Really a Protestant?
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8 months ago
History Today Feed
The ‘Experts’ from Afghanistan
The ‘Experts’ from Afghanistan
JamesHoare
Fri, 07/19/2024 - 08:00
5 months ago
The ‘Experts’ from Afghanistan
JamesHoare
Fri, 07/19/2024 - 08:00
TheCollector
Battle of Okinawa: The Most Intense Battle of WWII’s Pacific Theater
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6 months ago
Classical Wisdom
5 Surprisingly Ancient Inventions from Greece and Rome
Ode to the Giants
7 months ago
History Today Feed
The True Knights Templar
The True Knights Templar
j.hoare
Wed, 01/10/2024 - 09:54
11 months ago
The True Knights Templar
j.hoare
Wed, 01/10/2024 - 09:54
Classical Wisdom
On the Nature of the Gods: Cicero
Do the gods exist? If so, what is their nature? And how do they interact with the world of human...
a year ago
Do the gods exist? If so, what is their nature? And how do they interact with the world of human beings, if they care about them at all?
TheCollector
The Mennour Institute Launched at Paris’s Mennour Gallery
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a year ago
TheCollector
Aristotle’s Rhetoric: A Brief Overview
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a year ago
TheCollector
Who Is the Father of Pentecostalism?
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3 months ago
TheCollector
Notre Dame Unveils Plans for Contemporary Stained Glass
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2 days ago
Classical Wisdom
Chariot Racing in the Ancient World
...and History's Highest Paid Sports Star!
a year ago
...and History's Highest Paid Sports Star!
TheCollector
Ancient Egypt Under the Achaemenid Persian Empire: A Brief Overview
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12 months ago
TheCollector
King Sennacherib: The Warrior King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
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a year ago
TheCollector
History of Tanks: From Renaissance Sketches to the Modern Battlefield
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11 months ago
TheCollector
10 Banned Literary Classics You Might Not Know
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6 months ago
TheCollector
Art for Change: A Brief History of Protest Art
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6 months ago
TheCollector
10 Interesting Propaganda Posters from Russia’s Civil War
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5 months ago
TheCollector
Who Were the Most Important Women of the Bible?
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a year ago
Flashbak
Bernhard Leitner’s Soundcube, 1969 – The Art of Seeing Sound And Hearing With Your Whole Body
In 1969 Bernhard Leitner (born 1938) created his Soundcube, an experiment into how sound moves in a...
9 months ago
In 1969 Bernhard Leitner (born 1938) created his Soundcube, an experiment into how sound moves in a defined space and its effects on the human body. The Soundcube, a “sound-space object”, is a room of 64 loudspeakers in which the sound becomes a form of architecture. For Leitner,...
TheCollector
The Philosophy of the Oxford Group: Vegetarianism & Animal Rights
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11 months ago
Open Culture
Watch the Sex Pistols’ Christmas Party for Kids–Which Happened to Be Their Final Gig in the UK...
I’m not sure the Sex Pistols had “available for children’s parties” on their press release, but on a...
4 days ago
I’m not sure the Sex Pistols had “available for children’s parties” on their press release, but on a cold and grim Christmas in 1977, that’s exactly what happened. While many Britons were settling in for a warm yuletide, the Pistols decided to host a party/benefit for the...
Trying to Understand...
Only Connect ....
We are lost in a haunted wood.
2 months ago
We are lost in a haunted wood.
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, January 12, 2024
Fireside this week! The semester has started up in earnest and I am pushing hard to try to finish a...
11 months ago
Fireside this week! The semester has started up in earnest and I am pushing hard to try to finish a draft of something I have promised by the end of the month (so this may not be the only Fireside this month). That said, it seemed like a good time to discuss trade, the sea and...
Trying to Understand...
Too Much of Not A Lot
Winning the day and losing the war.
a year ago
Winning the day and losing the war.
Trying to Understand...
The Newer World Order.
But can they get their heads round it?
10 months ago
But can they get their heads round it?
TheCollector
Andy Warhol’s Mother: Who Was Julia Warhola?
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7 months ago
TheCollector
10 Historical Facts About London You Might Not Know
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a month ago
TheCollector
Plato’s Philebus: What Is False Pleasure?
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
6 Aspects of the Egyptian God Thoth
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11 months ago
Global Inequality...
There is no exit for dictators
In an interesting paper he tweeted yesterday, Kaushik Basu discusses, using a mathematical model, an...
a year ago
In an interesting paper he tweeted yesterday, Kaushik Basu discusses, using a mathematical model, an old problem: how rulers once they are in power cannot leave it even if they wish to do so, because their road to power, and in power, is littered with corpses that will all...
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