SOME THOUGHT US DEAD: history

Showing posts with label history. Show all posts

Jun 11, 2009

Kowloon Walled City

Kowloon Walled City: The Modern Pirate Utopia
Extract from 'Gweilo, Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood'
Images and video collections
Higher-res images

Sep 24, 2008

Chinese Opera Masks

Chinese opera mask
The Meaning of Colors in Chinese Opera Masks

Sep 3, 2008

Lost in Space

As the brothers listened, the cosmonaut experimented with zero gravity. They lost the signal as the cosmonaut prepared for re-entry while whistling a communist hymn. It was only then that President John F Kennedy was awoken at 2am to be given the news that Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space.

Five weeks later, on 19 May 1961, the brothers picked up what is now their most infamous recording, which they claim is of a woman cosmonaut whose ship burned up on re-entry. Then, a few days after this, they picked up a tantalising few seconds of another transmission: “Conditions growing worse, why don’t you answer?”

Lost in Space

Jul 4, 2008

Flags and symbols of municipalities and prefectures of Japan

Prefecture Flags (click to zoom)
Municipal Flags
Municipal Symbols

Mon

Jun 17, 2008

Diving Suits

The future is there ... Trying to make sense of the fiction we will have become.

Computing without electricity
MechaniCalculator Gallery
www.vintagecalculators.com

Apr 8, 2008

Rossum's Universal Robots

Automatomania

Mar 28, 2008

Baka wa shinanakya naoranai

Haishaku, a critter found in the upper lungs, has a nose that opens directly into its chest. People infected with Haishaku hate pleasant smells and foul smells, but are fond of strong, fishy smells. Other symptoms include extreme sadness and a craving for spicy food.

Mythical 16th-century disease critters

Mar 12, 2008

I liked things better when I didn't understand them

[Nadia] set down lines as if she were swiftly tracing round an outline, moving here and there, until the figure emerged to the astonishment of the onlooker. Unlike all young artists, her production did not appear to be governed by the previously drawn lines but by a very strong image of the finished product.

20 Most Fascinating Prehistoric Paintings
Cave Art, Autism, and the Evolution of the Human Mind (pdf)

Feb 25, 2008

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. - St Augustine

For the members of Thuggee, murder was both a way of life and a religious duty. They believed their killings were a means of worshiping the Hindu goddess Kali, who was honored at each stage of the murder by a vast and complex system of rituals and superstitions. Thugs were guided to their victims by omens observed in nature, and once the deed was done, the graves and bodies were prepared according to strict ceremonies. A sacrificial rite would be conducted after the burial involving the consecration of sugar and of the sacred pickax, the tool the brotherhood believed was given to them by Kali to dig the graves of their prey.

The Thugs of India