![[EFC Blue Ribbon - Free Speech Online]](http://www.efc.ca/images/efcfreet.gif)
Via Bourgeois Nerd.
Posted by Amy as Fluffy Stuff at 1:08 AM EDT
Saturday 30 June 2007
How Much Is Your Dead Body Worth?
Friday 29 June 2007
Buddhist Art
The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art
Posted by Amy as Arts & Culture, Religion & Spirituality at 1:46 AM EDT
Thursday 28 June 2007
Site With Beautiful Photos
Kenneth Parker Photographs: some gorgeous photos here.
Posted by Amy as Photography at 1:52 AM EDT
Wednesday 27 June 2007
An Early World Map
This map, made by Mahmud Kashgari bin Husayn bin Muhammad, was included in his Divanu Lügat-it-Türk, a scientific work he published in 1072 (AD) for the benefit of the Caliph of Baghdad. It is the first world map of Turkish origin known in history, and is preserved at the General National Library (Millet Genel Kütüphanesi) in Istanbul. It is presented on a stamp issued in 1972, on the occasion of the map’s nine-hundredth birthday.
Via Plep.
Posted by Amy as Maps at 1:11 AM EDT
Tuesday 26 June 2007
Spell It With Flickr
Monday 25 June 2007
Hubble Shots and News
Hubble Site: news, images, video podcasts, and much more.
Posted by Amy as Science & Nature at 1:23 AM EDT
Sunday 24 June 2007
Historical Map of Europe
Saturday 23 June 2007
30 Ways To Tie Shoelaces
30 Different Ways You Can Tie Your Shoe Laces [In Pics]: lattice, checkerboard, zipper, and much more.
Posted by Amy as Clothing at 4:04 AM EDT
Friday 22 June 2007
Digital Model of Ancient Rome
Rome Reborn: a digital model of ancient Rome (320 A.C.E.).
Via houndcats’ books and blather.
Posted by Amy as History at 11:28 AM EDT
Thursday 21 June 2007
Free Old-Time Radio
Zoot Radio: Free Old-Time Radio Downloads (Fibber McGee and Molly, Al Jolson, Abbott and Costello, and much more).
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture at 1:50 AM EDT
Wednesday 20 June 2007
Captain Beefheart’s Guitar Tips
Practice In Front of a Bush: Captain Beefheart’s Rules for Guitarists: with such guidelines as “listen to the birds,” “walk with the devil,” and, of course, “practice in front of a bush”:
Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn’t shake, eat another piece of bread.
Via A Sweet, Familiar Dissonance.
Posted by Amy as Music at 2:43 AM EDT
Tuesday 19 June 2007
A History of Canada’s Nurses During World War I
The Call To Duty: Canada’s Nursing Sisters:
The incredible contribution of Canadian nursing sisters in the First World War can be best appreciated by examining their experiences during their service. Women left their families and homes to answer the call to duty and serve their country. Many worked in substandard conditions, with poor sanitation and limited supplies of water. They cared for soldiers with horrendous wounds caused by new advancements in weaponry. Canadian nurses adapted to a situation that was completely unlike their lives in Canada, and for which their work in Canadian hospitals could not possibly have prepared them. By drawing on their strengths and knowledge, they comforted and mended the soldiers in their care. Their dedication to their work, their country and, most importantly, to their patients, serves to measure their contribution to the Canadian war effort.This exhibition tells the story of six women who served as nursing sisters during the First World War.
Monday 18 June 2007
Some People Prefer Star Wars
Top Ten Reasons Why Star Wars Characters Are Better
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture, Television & Movies at 1:15 AM EDT
Sunday 17 June 2007
European Mediaeval Swords
European Mediaeval Swords: there is information here on swords from the Germanic Iron Age, The Viking Age, the Norman Period, and the High Middle Ages. The time span ranges from 400 A.C.E. to 1450 A.C.E.
Posted by Amy as History at 7:50 AM EDT
Saturday 16 June 2007
All About the Dance of the Seven Veils
One of those frequently asked questions that pops up when I tell people I’m an Oriental dance artist (ie, belly dancer) is: “Do you do the dance of the seven veils?” Typically, whoever asks me this has just a bit of a leer and is clearly imagining a striptease.The first time I ever heard this question, it caught me by surprise and I think my articulate answer went along the lines of “Huh?????????” I’ve heard this question many more times since then, so obviously the story of Salomé has become deeply entangled in the U.S. perception of Middle Eastern dance. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised - the legend features a young woman who was beautiful, talented, and deadly. She could have been a villainess in a modern-day James Bond movie!
I eventually decided to arm myself with information about the Salomé story, so I did a little research. In this article, I’ll share what I learned.
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture, Arts & Culture, Travel at 1:26 AM EDT
Friday 15 June 2007
How Much Do You Need To Retire?
Thursday 14 June 2007
Jazz Sampler On TV
Jazz Improv TV: Jazz Icons, Jazzed Blues, Concert Hall, Jazz Anatomy, Gypsy Guitarre, and more.
Posted by Amy as Music at 1:42 AM EDT
Wednesday 13 June 2007
15 Things About Mr. Rogers
15 Reasons Mister Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever:
Back when I was in 7th grade I stood up in front of my English class and delivered a tongue-in-cheek, poorly researched presentation on why I thought Mister Rogers should be the next President. I ate up the first few minutes zipping up my cardigan, and putting on some sneakers, and then I proceeded to mock him roundly. It was a riotous success. Fourteen years later, I’m using this post to repent. The following are 15 things everyone should know about Fred Rogers
I’ve never seen any of Mr. Rogers’ shows, but now that I’ve read this, I certainly have respect for him.
Via A Sweet, Familiar Dissonance.
Posted by Amy as Television & Movies at 1:48 AM EDT
Tuesday 12 June 2007
An Historical Serial Killer
A Serial Killer From the 1700s:
In the year of the Lord 1786, the Austrian surgeon Franz Xaver Wegartshofner put an end to a most bizarre killing spree. For a long time, there had been rumours concerning the wealthy farmer Bartholomäus Rainer of Großlobming (Styria). He was now sixty-eight years of age, seemingly a rather odd man who never cut his fingernails, and people whispered he was a sorcerer dealing with occult powers. Yet he was never in want of a wife, which is to say that whenever a wife of his went to the churchyard for good, he had no problems in finding one to replace her.However, when his sixth wife died on July 4th of that year, rumours got so intense and minds so upset that the authorities could no longer ignore it.
Via Bourgeois Nerd.
Monday 11 June 2007
Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling
Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling:
The Gypsies, who call themselves Rom or Romany, are a nomadic culture which originated in India during the Middle Ages. They migrated widely, particularly to Europe, where they worked as farm laborers, metalworkers, scrapdealers, and horsetraders. They also made a living as entertainers, fortune tellers, and grifters. Persecuted by the Nazis, and discriminated against to this day, the Rom have a long tradition of magic and shamanism. As Leland points out, these practices have parallels with those of other traditional pagan cultures around the world.This book discusses spells, incantations and talismans used within Rom culture, as well as the more practical magic they use in their interaction with the Gorgios–the non-Gypsies. It is this latter topic which provides some of the most interesting and instructional reading. Leland gives some generalized methods of fortune-telling which any prospective psychic would do well to study; as well as the details of the ‘Great Secret’, a magic trick in which all of your money disappears…
Gypsy life has a romantic appeal, and Leland, who popularized Gypsy lore in this and other books played no small part in this image-making. However, Leland makes it abudantly clear that life on the road was hard. The Rom people are to be admired for their survival skills in a hostile world, and for the longevity and persistance of their culture.
Via Plep.
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture at 1:15 AM EDT
Sunday 10 June 2007
Cat Cam
Sometimes I have some challenging ideas, or crazy like some other people would say. This time I thought about our cat who is the whole day out, returning sometimes hungry sometimes not, sometimes with traces of fights, sometimes he stay also the night out.When he finally returns, I wonder where he was and what he did during his day. This brought me to the idea to equip the cat with a camera. The plan was to put a little camera around his neck which takes every few minutes a picture. After he is returning, the camera would show his day. First I thought about transmitting live pictures from a remote RF camera, but the equipment is too expensive and battery consumption is too high.
So the idea was born and split into these parts:
• find small, lightweight, inexpensive digital camera
• develop a controller for the camera
• protect the camera from cat attack
• mount equipment to cat
Check out Mr. Lee’s First Trip.
Via Mental Floss.
Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:11 AM EDT
Saturday 9 June 2007
Knut Turns 6 (Months)
”Knut Celebrates Six Glorious Months”
Knut turns half on June 5 after six glorious months for Berlin Zoo which has hand-reared the celebrity polar bear from a guinea pig-sized baby into a powerful 28-kilo fighter. He’ll be spending the day munching fish and playfully biting his faithful keeper Thomas Dörflein. It’s a friendship that can last six more months at most.
Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:53 AM EDT
Friday 8 June 2007
Canada’s Seven Wonders
Niagara Falls, Halifax’s Pier 21 and the Rockies have always been considered significant Canadian landmarks, but they now can be counted as true Canadian “wonders.”After 20,000 nominations and more than one million votes cast via phone and internet, the three sites made the list for CBC’s Seven Wonders of Canada campaign, with the igloo, the canoe, old Quebec City and Prairie Skies rounding out the Top 7.
I agree whole-heartedly about the Rockies, the prairie skies, and old Quebec City. I’ve never seen Niagara Falls or Pier 21.
But the canoe? Humph.
Posted by Amy as Canada at 4:45 AM EDT
Thursday 7 June 2007
Steam Trek: The Moving Picture (A Star Trek Parody)
Steam Trek: The Moving Picture (A Star Trek Parody): very funny parody of Star Trek (The Original Series). It’s presented as a black and white silent film.
My two favourite characters in this one are the Mr. Scott character (Mr. Soot) and the red shirt.
Via Boing Boing.
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture, Television & Movies at 1:38 AM EDT
Wednesday 6 June 2007
The Daily Galaxy
The Daily Galaxy -News from Planet Earth & Beyond, is an eclectic text and video presentation of fascinating, often irreverent, news and insights on science, technology, and popular culture (music, film, events).
Posted by Amy as Science & Nature at 3:34 AM EDT
Tuesday 5 June 2007
The History of Poisoning
The History of Poisoning: Timeline: poisoning throughout the ages, some famous cases of poisoning (e.g. Thomas Overbury, Madeleine Smith, Georgi Markov), and poisons in common use (past and present).
Via Rebecca’s Pocket.
Monday 4 June 2007
500 Years of Female Portraits
500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art: a good overview, imaginatively presented.
Posted by Amy as Arts & Culture at 1:14 AM EDT
Sunday 3 June 2007
More Clever Cat Photos
Check out this link: some more cute cat photos and clever captions.
Via A Sweet, Familiar Dissonance.
Saturday 2 June 2007
Testing Your Knowledge of Paul McCartney
Test Your Knowledge of Paul McCartney
By 1964, Paul McCartney, songwriter-vocalist-bass player for the Beatles, was one of the biggest music stars on the planet. By 1970, the band had broken up. He was just 29, but had already helped to create one of the greatest musical legacies ever committed to vinyl. While his 37-year solo career hasn’t been quite so full of timeless classics, his creative energy remains undiminished. His latest album, Memory Almost Full¸ is the first release on the new Starbucks Hear Music label. It’s on North American shelves June 5.
I’ve always been a John Lennon fan, myself.
Posted by Amy as Music at 9:08 AM EDT