Do you like to waste time?
Our "Great Links" are interesting web places we've found:
31 May
Totally silly ways to waste time:
29 May
 I've
been fortunate to have a robin build her nest under my bedroom window.
She built the nest on May 13th and laid the first egg on May 14. She laid
two more eggs, one on the 15th and one on the 16th. I've taken a picture
each day of the nest, the eggs, and sometimes the mama robin.
On May 28, the eggs hatched! There's three wonderful
little, helpless, awkward, baby robin chicks. I'll be continuing to take
photos each day. The photo series is at Flickr
and each day's narrative is at i-pets.com
blog.
27 May
Fine
Arts in Hungary
This site is dedicated to fine arts in Hungary from the beginnings in
the Romanesque period up to the mid 20th century.
Within the often changing borders of Hungary during
its history, fine arts developed in strong interaction with European art,
and although they always reflected European tendencies, they retained
a strong character of their own.
There's a lot to explore on this very expansive,
well organized site. (via)
26 May
Fingers in the news:
Medford
baby born with extra fingers, toes
Born May 13, Vincent Monarque has five fingers and a thumb on his left
hand, with the thumb and first finger joined by a web of flesh. There
are six fingers, but no thumb, on his right hand. Both feet have seven
toes, although two toes on the left foot are fully joined.
US
flips its lid over 'middle finger' tag
PepsiCo president Indra Nooyi, one of Fortune's most powerful businesswomen,
anointed America the "middle finger" of the world in a speech to Columbia
Business School's graduating students.
Protester
who chopped off finger tip selling guillotine on Internet
Gonzalez, who cut off the tip of his finger outside the state Capitol
in 1994 to protest efforts by the gun lobby to scuttle tougher firearms
laws, is selling the homemade guillotine and hammer used in the severance
on eBay. The bidding begins at $50,000.
Drunk
Russian Bites off Woman’s Finger in Railroad Rescue
After finding two drunk men sleeping on railway tracks two women in South
Russia’s Tambov region tried to drag them to safety. Their good deed did
not go without a reward — one of the drunks bit off the finger of one
of the women.
25 May
A
Most Curious Murder
Thursday, 9th July 1857 - The atmosphere outside the High Court in Edinburgh
was charged to fever pitch as the crowd awaited the verdict at the end
of the most sensational trial of the century. Hanging in the balance was
the life of Madeleine Smith, attractive 22 year old daughter of a prosperous
Glasgow architect.
Over the last few days, revelations of Madeleine's
secret romance had been making headlines in London, Paris and New York.
By the end of the trial, in spite of widespread belief in her guilt, sympathy
had swung towards Madeleine and the crowds cheered when news of the Not
Proven verdict reached the street. Madeleine was free to leave the court
but never was she free from suspicion.
140 years after the trial the true facts of the case
had been uncovered for the first time.
(via)
24 May
Art
and Architecture of Venice
For more than 1,000 years the Cornaro family commissioned the artists
and architects of Venice to create palaces, chapels and church art, villas,
paintings and theaters. Its male lines are extinct now in the Veneto,
but the family found immortality in the art with which it endowed posterity.
The art they commissioned and acquired opens a window
to the long history and rich artistic fabric of La Serenissima, the Most
Serene Republic.
To understand Venice, visit the legacy of the Cornaro.
(via)
23 May
Coco
Chanel
One of the most revered designers of the 20th century, Coco Chanel (1883–1971)
made an enduring impact on the fashion world. It is the authority and
mastery of her work, the resonance of her image of the modern woman as
articulated in her designs, and the autobiographical infusion of influences
in her collections that confirm her iconic stature. In this exhibition,
the spirit of the House of Chanel echoes vibrantly with an unprecedented
presentation of more than 50 designs and accessories from the Museum’s
Costume Institute collection, Chanel Archives, and other international
institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
21 May
Style
& Splendour
Queen Maud of Norway was one of the best-dressed women of her age. Granddaughter
of Queen Victoria, she was born a princess and became Queen of Norway
in 1905. Her wardrobe includes a range of stunning creations dating from
her wedding trousseau of 1896 to the latest Worth designs of the 1930s,
showing the incredible changes in women's lifestyles and fashions from
Edwardian bustles to informal sportswear. Style & Splendour showcases
some of the most spectacular garments, now in the collection of the National
Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, and sets them clearly
in the context of Queen Maud's life and times.
(via)
20 May
Visit the new i-pets.com
blog. You'll find interesting and unusual animal related stuff. News
stories, web finds, humor and photos of animals.
20 May
Within
These Walls ...
tells the stories of five families who lived in this house over 200 years
and made history in their kitchens and parlors, through everyday choices
and personal acts of courage and sacrifice.
19 May
Encyclopedia
of Chicago
thousands of Chicago resources, including paintings, photographs, and
entries that range from advice columns to Zenith Radio Corp. We particularly
enjoyed the labor unrest and Prairie Avenue "rich maps" enhanced
with "hot spots" that point to additional pictures and data.
With its split screens, gorgeous hands-on "year pages," and
video gallery (catch the silent news reel of a "human fly,"
or Teddy Roosevelt speaking in Chicago in 1917), the site bustles with
energy and moxie -- a true reflection of the Windy City it documents so
well.
17 May
The
Roman Gladiator, History & Origin
Like sporting events in many ancient cultures, Roman
gladiatorial combat originated as a religious event. The Romans claimed
that their tradition of gladiatorial games was adopted from the Etruscans,
but there is little evidence to support this. The Greeks, in Homer's Iliad,
held funeral games in honor of the fallen Patroklos. The games ended not
in the literal death of the participants, but in their symbolic death
as defeated athletes, unlike succeeding Roman gladiatorial combat.
16 May
Postcard from Provence
A painting a day posted direct from the Provençal
studio of British artist Julian Merrow-Smith.
15 May
Tallulah:
A Passionate Life
Outrageous, outspoken, and uninhibited are just a few adjectives that
described Tallulah Bankhead's personality. Most people who met her never
forgot her -and she made sure of that! At the age of fifteen, she stormed
out of her home state of Alabama like an April tornado, determined to
gain attention and recognition. She did achieve stardom working in virtually
every medium - stage, screen, radio and television - but her fame was
attributed more to her outrageous antics than for her work.
13 May
Julia
Margaret Cameron (June 11, 1815 - January 26, 1879)
British photographer. She wrote, "I longed to arrest all the beauty
that came before me and at length the longing has been satisfied."
Her portraits usually have a dreamlike Pre-Raphaelite quality. They are
thought to be among the most beautiful of early photographers combining
artistic merit with atmosphere. The bulk of her photographs fit into two
categories: celebrity portraits and illustrations for literary works.
The effects that Cameron achieved in her monumental
portraits were revolutionary for their time. Their forceful, direct design,
combined with a distinctive approach to focus and depth of field, was
new to her Victorian audience. To achieve these results, Cameron worked
in close proximity to her subjects, using dramatic, carefully controlled
lighting that animated and expanded their form.
This striking image of Angelo Colarossi is the only
surviving print from the negative. Colarossi was a leading member of the
thriving London colony of professional Italian models who posed for the
popular Italian subjects favored by Victorian painters.
Also see: Julia
Margaret Cameron
12 May
Dessert's
on us -- Wendy's to give away Frosties this weekend
This weekend at Wendy's nationwide, Frostys are on the house. From Friday,
May 13, through Sunday, May 15, consumers can pick up a free Junior Frosty
at their local Wendy's restaurant. No purchase is required for customers
to receive the free dessert.
11 May
Tut
Was Not Such a Handsome Golden Youth, After All
Artists and scientists drawing on a detailed examination of King Tut's
mummy have reconstructed the face of the young ruler as he might have
looked in life: an unusually elongated skull, a narrow face, pronounced
lips and possibly a receding chin.
Pictures of Tutankhamen's reconstructed face and head
were released yesterday by Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme
Council of Antiquities in Cairo. The new photos presented an apparently
more realistic depiction of Tut than the stylized image of him on his
golden burial mask.
11 May
Vintage
Pix: Images of women in the past
The photos in this collection range from the 1860s to 1930s. The postcards
primarily date to the first two decades of the 1900s. Look for character,
humor, and material culture (i.e., clothes, furniture, etc.). Some images
are related to women's history, but other interesting things are pictured
as well.
10 May
Watch
this great video:
Miss Kitty adopts a litter of abandoned puppies
(via a Welsh
View)
10 May
Chicago:
The Movable Bridge Capital of the World
Chicago has more movable bridges than any other city in the world, and
the city is recognized as an international innovator in the engineering
of bridges.
The first bridge built across the Chicago River was
completed in 1832 at Kinzie Street. It was a crude, wooden bridge that
only allowed foot-traffic. Two years later the first drawbridge designed
to accommodate vehicles was built at Dearborn Street.
Take a look at Chicago's downtown from the Chicago
River: Chicago
architecture river tour
9 May
Bizarre Chicago News:
Robbery
suspect arrested at restaurant - Man returned to scene, ordered sandwich
A man who was caught on tape robbing a South Side restaurant was arrested
on a return trip after ordering food. Robert Johnston, 22, is accused
of stealing from a donation jar meant to help those serving in Iraq.
Wrong
body is buried in mix-up
In a morose mix-up that has left two funeral homes perplexed and two families
upset, the identities of two deceased local women were mistakenly swapped
by the Cook County medical examiner's office and a separate contractor.
(BugMeNot if password is needed)
Hundreds
Flock to Chicago Underpass Where Some See Image of Virgin Mary in Salt
Stain
A steady stream of the faithful and the curious, many carrying flowers
and candles, have flocked to an expressway underpass for a view of a yellow
and white stain on a concrete wall that some believe is an image of the
Virgin Mary.
and then ...
Man
arrested for allegedly defacing Virgin Mary image
Chicago police say authorities have painted over the image some say looked
like the Virgin Mary on a Kennedy Expressway underpass in Chicago after
the image was defaced.
Chicago Police spokesman David Banks says police received calls last night
around eleven-30 from people who said they saw a man on a bicycle write
with black shoe leather polish the words "Big Lie" on the image.
9 May
Ambigram
Matchbox Gallery
Inspired by the miniaturist magic of matchbox label art created by unknown
artists all over the world, these cards can be viewed upside down or right
side up (or is it the other way around?)--either way, a face appears.
(via Mirabilis)
7 May
WW2
Nose Art
Aircraft Pinups and Decorations
Aircrews in World War II decorated their planes with pictures of pinups
and pretty girls, typically modelled after the "cheesecake"
art of Gil Elvgren, Alberto Vargo, and George Petty.
6 May
221b
Baker Street
Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and his colleague John H. Watson, M.D., spent many
years at 221b Baker Street. Characters of every type have frequented the
rooms of this place, calling on Mr. Holmes for help and assistance on
mysteries only the finest criminal detective could unravel.
The Canon refers to the set of 60 original stories
Sherlock Holmes stories by Conan Doyle. . In the United States, 48 of
the stories, those published before 1919, are out of copyright. They are
presented on this site in text or pdf format.
6 May
Friday cat picture, found at Bluejake
Also see: kitten
war
Also see: what
your pets do while you're at work
5 May
The
Karl Bodmer Aquatint Collection
During the years 1832 to 1834, the German naturalist Prince Maximilian
zu Wied led an expedition to the Upper Missouri region of North America.
The description of this journey, Travels in the Interior of North America
(in italic), published after his return to Europe, provided one of the
most significant collections of ethnological information available concerning
the nineteenth-century American Plains Indian.
4 May
Some "animal themed" news:
 Man
tries to smuggle turtle onto plane
A Chinese man pretended to be a hunchback to smuggle his pet turtle on
to a plane.
Bill
would outlaw sale of copied cats
For $32,000, anyone can have a favorite feline cloned, but foes say it's
unethical. A proposed law would bar the sale of such pets in California.
Frogs
are saved from becoming cocktail ingredients
Peruvian officials saved some 4,000 endangered frogs from being whizzed
into popular drinks after they were found hidden in an abattoir.
Four
Afghans killed over argument about a goat
Four members of an Afghan family were killed and five wounded when a dispute
over a goat straying into a neighbour's field boiled over into bloodshed.
Cows,
buffalo, monkeys, camels and stray dogs terrorize India
About 35,000 cows and buffaloes roam free in Delhi in the heart of north
India's Hindu "cow belt", sharing roads with hordes of monkeys,
camels and stray dogs and killing scores of people every year in gorings
and traffic accidents.
Argentina's
great beaver plague
"All those trees you see," says Bismark, our tour guide, as
he points towards a dammed river that is now a lake, "they're all
dead. And this is because of the beaver."
Doctors
remove maggots from woman's nose
Thai doctors recently removed 34 maggots from a woman's nasal cavity after
she came to hospital complaining of a swollen cheek, media reports said
on Tuesday.
3 May
Old
photographs
The Roger Vaughan Picture Library contains a huge selection of Victorian
and Edwardian photographs. It's a fascinating look into the lifestyle
of people in the past.
A handy resource at this site are Victorian
photograph album pages which can be used to make a DIY photo album,
school project, to be used in a photo frame or even to repair a badly
damaged album.
2 May
 The
Ancient Indus:
The Indus Valley civilization flourished around 2,500 B.C. in the western
part of South Asia, in what today is Pakistan and western India. The Indus
Valley was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations
of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China. It was not discovered until the
1920's. Most of its ruins, including major cities, remain to be excavated.
Its script has not been deciphered. Basic questions about the people who
created this highly complex culture are unanswered.
1 May
Some excellent photography:
Some great artwork:
30 April
Totally silly ways to waste time:
Want more?
Want more? ... You'll have to wait until May 31!
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