Re: Chromophobia... Of Course These Chromophobes Idolized A Greek/Roman Past Full Of Cool White Marble....

It's on like Kong.

(more amazing underpants here)

The Last Bookstore in downtown L.A., California’s largest independent bookseller.

Another shot of Little M…

(built by French & Webb)

SAINT NICHOLAS WAS BLACK.

Various Artists

Saint Nicholas (Nikolaus, Bishop of Myra)

Nicholas, was probably born during the third century in the village of Patara, in what is now the southern coast of Turkey. He was born of very wealthy ethnic black Anatolians of the ancient Roman Empire.

Nicholas’ wealthy parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Being a devout Christian, he followed the words of Jesus to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor.”

Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He was made the Bishop of Myra while still a young man. The high office of Nicholas at such a young age speaks to dominant role played by  black Anatolians and Africans in creating the church as we know it today. Bishop Nicholas was known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned.

After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, where he worked with other early fathers of the church to establish the standardized christian doctrine of today. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave.

The remains of Saint Nicholas are interred in the crypt of the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari, Italy. These bones were temporarily removed when the crypt was repaired during the 1950s. At the Vatican’s request, anatomy professor Luigi Martino from the University of Bari, took thousands of minutely-detailed measurements and x-ray photographs (roentgenography) of the skull and other bones.

The current professor of forensic pathology at the University of Bari, Francesco Introna, knew advancements in diagnostic technique could yield much more from the data gathered in the 1950s. So he engaged an expert facial anthropologist, Caroline Wilkinson, at the University of Manchester in England, to construct a model of the saint’s head from the earlier measurements.

Using this data, the medical artist used state-of-the-art computer software to develop this model of St. Nicholas.

1. Saint Nicholas, c. 1760. Egg tempera on wood with metal riza (possibly silver), 10½” x 12½”. Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, MA. [x]

2. Sassetta, The Virgin with Four Saints (Saint Nicholas detail). c. 1435, Tempera on wood. Museo Diocesano, Cortona. [x]

3. Velikiy Novgorod, The Funeral of Saint Nicholas. c. 1200s. School of Novgorod. [x] [x]

4. Niklaus of Myra, Unknown Russian Icon painter, pre-1000s.

Reconstruction of Saint Nicholas [x]

[x] [x]

Too cool.

November is American Indian Heritage month. Did you know that there are at least 562 federally recognized tribal nations in the U.S.? 

Matika Wilbur is attempting to photograph every one. Wilbur, of the Swinomish and Tulalip in Washington State, sold everything she owns to travel the nation taking portraits of her people. She calls the series Project 562 and aims to debunk myths about American Indian culture. “I’m not a Halloween costume. I hope to encourage a new conversation of sharing and to help us move beyond the stereotypes.”

"We are still here," she says. "We remain."

via The Daily Kos and Project 562

Ruralbot! <3

Widebeard the Pirate and Ruralbot 

so many great tall ship photos, so few captions :(

Mending sail on the German four-masted steel barque Magdalene Vinnen.

In 1945, this ship was awarded to the Soviet Union as war compensation and renamed (dun dun dun...) SEDOV. It is now the largest operational tall ship in existence.

Photo by Samuel J. Hood, 1933 or maybe 1935.

RSS: I need it.

This post is not about the day to day operations of The Old Reader or anything of that nature. It’s about how our team came to get involved with RSS and how we see the future of this application and technology that we value so highly.

As a long time user of RSS and Google Reader, I’ve...

this game is bullshit, you have to go through a tutorial until level 18, and your stats start to go down after level 30 not to mention the romance mini-game is hard as fuck