Collection of Grotesques, France;
photographer, Joseph Trompette, 19th c.
A.D. White Architectural Photographs,
Cornell University Library
20.3.12
16.3.12
~Unicorn
Take this bone, this ivory,
This slender pyramid, this spear,
This walking stick, this cornucopia,
This twisted Instrument of fear,
This mammoth tusk, this pearly horn,
This mythic spike, this maiden’s bier,
This denticle, this rib of time,
This alabaster harrow—here
We start the beast, we give it name,
That world will never be the same.
by Jane Yolen
art by Anne Stokes
14.3.12
8.3.12
~Icetunnel..
This up to 1000 years old snow has metamorphosed
into highly pressurized glacier ice that contains
almost no air bubbles.
Thus it absorbs the visible light despite the
scattered shortest blue fraction, giving it its distinct
deep blue waved appearance.
This cavity in the glacier ice formed as
a result of a glacial mill, or moulin.
Rain and meltwater on the glacier surface is
channelled into streams that enter the glacier
at crevices. The waterfall melts a hole into the
glacier while the ponded water drains towards lower
elevations by forming long ice caves with an
outlet at the terminus of the glacier.
The fine grained sediments in the water along
with wind blown sediments cause the frozen
meltwater stream to appear in a muddy colour
while the top of the cave exhibits the deep blue colour.
Due to the fast movement of the glacier of about 1 m
per day over uneven terrain this ice cave cracked up
at its end into a deep vertical crevice, called cerrac.
This causes the indirect daylight to enter the ice cave
from both ends resulting in homogeneous
lighting of the ice tunnel.
Source
7.3.12
6.3.12
~Mortsafe
This is a grave from the Victorian age
when a fear of zombies and vampires was prevalent.
The cage was intended to trap the undead
just in case the corpse reanimated.
How interesting!
These cages are called mortsafes,
which were to used to prevent body theft;
a significant worry in 19th century UK due to
the demand for bodies for anatomical studies
for medical students. The Anatomy Act was passed in 1832, allowing medical universities to use unclaimed
bodies as cadavers. After this the need (or desire)
for these cages diminished. While the truth may
not be as romantic as vampires breaking out
of their graves, mortsafes are still an intriguing
relic of a time long past.
Source
5.3.12
Newton Suites Singapure
(36 floors)
by WOHA Architects
The exterior of the tower uses sunshading elements,
patterned planes of textured panels and
protruding balconies to create a façade
that is functional yet expressive.
Source
3.3.12
2.3.12
~The Blossom
Merry, Merry Sparrow!
Under leaves so green
A happy Blossom
Sees you swift as arrow
Seek your cradle narrow
Near my Bosom.
Pretty, Pretty Robin!
Under leaves so green
A happy Blossom
Hears you sobbing, sobbing,
Pretty, Pretty Robin,
Near my Bosom.
by William Blake
1.3.12
27.2.12
~Lost city…
Lost for 1,600 years, the royal quarters
of Cleopatra were discovered off the
shores of Alexandria.
A team of marine archaeologists,
led by Frenchman, Franck Goddio,
began excavating the ancient city in 1998.
Historians believe the site was submerged
by earthquakes and tidal waves, yet, astonishingly,
several artifacts remained largely intact.
Amongst the discoveries were the foundations
of the palace, shipwrecks, red granite columns,
and statues of the goddess Isis and a sphinx.
The Egyptian Government plans to create an
underwater museum and hold tours of the site.
26.2.12
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