The Weird, The Wonderful

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Tue, 07 May 2013 01:20:40 +0100

venusianpaintings: Serge Marshennikov

Tue, 07 May 2013 01:19:51 +0100

venusianpaintings:

Serge Marshennikov

oecologia: Gemsbok Herd (Namibia, Africa) by Michael Poliza.

Tue, 07 May 2013 01:19:31 +0100

oecologia:

Gemsbok Herd (Namibia, Africa) by Michael Poliza.

supruntu: Ferdinando Scianna

Mon, 06 May 2013 02:22:21 +0100

supruntu:

Ferdinando Scianna

"Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the right way to..."

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:08:38 +0100

“Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the right way to philosophy are directly and of their own accord preparing themselves for dying and death. If this is true, and they have actually been looking forward to death all their lives, it would of course be absurd to be troubled when the thing comes for which they have so long been preparing and looking forward.”

- Socrates, the Phaedo

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:40:09 +0100

other-wordly: pronunciation |...

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:38:48 +0100

other-wordly:

pronunciation | tsUn-dO-kU (tsoon-doh-koo)
submitted by | chrysalismm
submit words | here
Japanese script | 積ん読 kanji, つんどく hiragana

thepeacefulterrorist: Al-Kahina: The Berber Boudica Far from...

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:38:05 +0100

thepeacefulterrorist:

Al-Kahina: The Berber Boudica

Far from being natives of North Africa, Arab armies only entered Egypt in 639. Just 71 years later they crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to begin their invasion of Europe. These remarkable conquests were greater and swifter than any achieved by Greece or Rome. Even so, it was not a story of unbroken victories.

Some uprisings persisted for decades, prompting one Arab governor to declare, “The conquest of Ifriqiya is impossible; scarcely has one Berber tribe been exterminated than another takes its place.” The Roman term of opprobrium for any non-Roman – barbarian – became a proper name, creating a Berber identity uniting a people. Unfortunately for the Berbers, this common identity did not equal united resistance.

The most serious Berber resistance was the campaign led by the Berber tribal elder al-Kahina, or “the prophetess.” Variously claimed as a Jewess and a Christian by co-religionists, and described as a witch or a sorceress by her detractors, al-Kahina’s bravery and desire to remain free of foreign domination inspired others to mount numerous, ultimately doomed, revolts.

Described as a beauty with the gift of prophecy, she put this last skill to good use, sending her sons to her Arab enemies. The Arabs, recognising the skills inherent in the boys’ mother, raised them to become successful commanders of Arab armies. In this way, the Berbers were able to claim some glory from a story that is otherwise characterised by defeat and subjugation.

Al-Kahina herself died fighting the Arabs in around 702. Since then, al-Kahina has inspired Berber nationalists, Maghrebi feminists and, in the 19th and 20th centuries, French colonialists! Even today, while virtually unknown in the West, al-Kahina’s name is legendary across North Africa, but perhaps she foresaw that too.

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:35:13 +0100

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:33:30 +0100

"Ressaisis-toi, bonhomme. Il n’y a qu’un seul Dieu sur terre et c’est toi. Si le monde ne te convient..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:31:17 +0100

“Ressaisis-toi, bonhomme. Il n’y a qu’un seul Dieu sur terre et c’est toi. Si le monde ne te convient pas, réinventes-en toi un autre, et ne laisse aucun chagrin te faire descendre de ton nuage.”

- Ce que le jour doit à la nuit, Yasmina Khadra

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:28:43 +0100

ancientart: Many Korean buddhist temples have pairs of tall...

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:26:40 +0100

ancientart:

Many Korean buddhist temples have pairs of tall tone plinths placed close to each other near the entrance of a temple. This bronze statue is a model of what would have once been a flagpole which would have been placed in between those plinths. This statue is a South Korean national treasure because it preserves, as a bronze model, what ancient temple flag poles must have looked like. Dated to the Koryo dynasty.

Courtesy & currently located at the Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea. Photo taken by Eric Drake

I laughed so hard at "Baroque Obama", just thank you for reblogging that.

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:25:40 +0100

It is rather brilliant. Perhaps he should grow his hair out like that…

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:20:55 +0100

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:20:18 +0100

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:19:35 +0100

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:19:24 +0100

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:19:07 +0100

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Sat, 04 May 2013 00:18:31 +0100