Saturday, May 14, 2016

Collectible tattoos

For some days now I have been receiving suggestions about Dr. Masaichi Fukushi‘s tattoo collection, belonging to Tokyo University Pathology Department. I am willing to write about it, because the topic is more multifaceted than it looks.
Said collection is both well-known and somewhat obscure.
Born in 1878, Dr. Fukushi was studying the formation of nevi on the skin around 1907, when his research led him to examine the correlation between the movement of melanine through vascularized epidermis and the injection of pigments under the skin in tattoos. His interest was further fueled by a peculiar discovery: the presence of a tattoo seemed to prevent the signs of syphilis from appearing in that area of the body.
In 1920 Dr. Fukushi entered the Mitsui Memorial Hospital, a charity structure where treatment was offered to the most disadvantaged social classes. In this environment, he came in contact with many tattooed persons and, after a short period in Germany, he continued his research on the formation of congenital moles at Nippon Medical University. Here, often carrying out autopsies, he developed an original method of preserving tattooed epidermis he took from corpses; he therefore began collecting various samples, managing to stretch the skin so that it could be exhibited inside a glass frame.
http://bizzarrobazar.com/en/2016/02/29/tatuaggi-da-collezione/

Friday, January 15, 2016

David Bowie Sells Ice Cream, Sake, Coke & Water: Watch His TV Commercials from the 1960s Through 2013 http://www.openculture.com/2016/01/david-bowie-sells-ice-cream-sake-coke-water-watch-his-tv-commercials-from-the-1960s-through-2013.html

Sunday, September 29, 2013



Now it is revealed Tesco had an 'inflatable gay best friend' in its online store

Controversial: The 'inflatable gay best friend' has caused a Twitter storm
Controversial: The 'inflatable gay best friend' has caused a Twitter storm
THIS FISH DIED FOR YOUR SINS!
Jesus fish discovery a 'sign from God': Swede

Man finds 'Jesus fish' in Sweden: a sign from God

more here!

Friday, February 01, 2013

The Mystery of Curry

It turns out we’ve been eating the spiced dish for a lot longer than anyone ever imagined.

Indian chicken jalfrezi curry.

 

When Newspapers Were New, or, How Londoners Got Word of the Plague

More HERE!
Daniel Defoe's novel about London's 1665 plague can help us understand new media. No, really.
bringoutdead2.jpgThe plague was abroad.
Londoners knew not where it had come from, only that it was upon Holland. "It was brought, some said from Italy, others from the Levant, among some goods which were brought home by their Turkey fleet; others said it was brought from Candia; others from Cyprus," Daniel Defoe wrote in the opening of his historical novel, A Journal of the Plague Year.

Arrested for cross-dressing! Meet Fanny and Stella, the Victorian gentlemen charged with the 'unnatural offence' of being transvestites

  • Frederick Park, 22, and Ernest Boulton, 21, arrested on 28 April 1870
  • Apprehended as they were leaving Strand Theatre in London
  • Charged with homosexuality and 'conspiracy'
  • They were acquitted after the prosecution built a very weak case
  • New book by Neil McKenna, Fanny & Stella, tells their amazing story
By Martha De Lacey

Stella, left, and Fanny, right, the two Victorian men who were arrested and charged with having sex with each other and also of several acts of conspiracy
Stella, left, and Fanny, right, the two Victorian men who were arrested and charged with having sex with each other and also of several acts of conspiracy

Saturday, June 16, 2012

With video: Two female Michigan lawmakers silenced after vagina, abortion comments

State Reps. Lisa Brown, D-West Bloomfield, left, and Barb Byrum, D-Onondaga, were scolded over their remarks related to abortion.
State Reps. Lisa Brown, D-West Bloomfield, left, and Barb Byrum, D-Onondaga, were scolded over their remarks related to abortion. / File photos
 
Freedom of speech has it limits – at least in the state House of Representatives.
State Reps. Lisa Brown, D-West Bloomfield, and Barb Byrum, D-Onondaga, were told today that they wouldn’t be recognized to publicly speak on any matters before the House because of comments they made Wednesday during an emotional debate on a bill that puts new restrictions on abortion providers.MORE HERE!!
 

Two Hundred Years of Surgery

Surgery is a profession defined by its authority to cure by means of bodily invasion. The brutality and risks of opening a living person's body have long been apparent, the benefits only slowly and haltingly worked out. Nonetheless, over the past two centuries, surgery has become radically more effective, and its violence substantially reduced — changes that have proved central to the development of mankind's abilities to heal the sick. MORE HERE.

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Ye olde vampire slaying kit: Victorian oak box complete with wooden stakes, garlic paste and vials of holy water up for auction

  • Casket contains set of rosary beads, three glass bottles containing holy water, holy earth and garlic, and a book of common prayer dated 1857
  • Macabre artefact expected to fetch up to £2,000 
By Tom Gardner
|

They say you can never be too prepared... but even for the most superstitious person this may be overkill.
A 19th century Vampire slaying kit, which includes a wooden mallet and four oak stakes, glass vials of holy water and garlic paste is expected to fetch up £2,000 when auctioned later this month.
The macabre artefact also has a percussion cap pistol - invented in the 1830 - and a steel bullet mold, all carefully crafted to offer the best protection against any creatures of the night.
The case contains a rosary and crucifix, two glass bottles containing garlic paste and holy water, alongside a pistol and bullet mold
Precautions: The case contains 1) a rosary 2) crucifix 3) a handwritten psalm (Luke 20:27) 4) a pistol 5) four oak stakes 6) a bottle of consecrated earth 7) a common prayer book 8) a wooden mallet 9) silver bullet mold 10) a cloth 11) two glass bottles containing garlic paste and holy water

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2155799/Vampire-slaying-kit-1890s-complete-wooden-stakes-garlic-paste-vials-holy-water-comes-auction.html#ixzz1xI6Iv8hO

Are you sure digging him up is a good idea? Archaeologists find Bulgarian 'vampires' from Middle Ages with iron rods staked through their chests

By Daniel Miller
|

If you thought vampires were simply the stuff of myth and legend - and perhaps the odd teen horror film - think again.
Archaeologists in Bulgaria have unearthed two skeletons from the Middle Ages pierced through the chest with iron rods to keep them from turning into the undead.
They are the latest in a succession of finds across western and central Europe which shed new light on just how seriously people took the threat of vampires and how those beliefs transformed into the modern myth. 

Scroll down for video

Archaeologists in the Black Sea town of Sozopol, Bulgaria have unearthed two skeletons from the Middle Ages pierced through the chest with iron rods to keep them from turning into vampires
Find: Two skeletons, believed to be those of suspected Medieval vampires, were discovered with iron poles plunged through their chests in the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Sozopol

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2154837/Vampire-skeletons-unearthed-Bulgaria-iron-stakes-plunged-chests.html#ixzz1xI5okIZ2

Old portraits of children with creepy 'ghostmothers' in the background show how far mums would go for a good photo

By Daily Mail Reporter
|

In the early days of photography, many well-off families jumped at the chance to have their precious children's likeness captured for eternity.
The one trick that they had to deal with next, after finding photographers willing to set up the bulky equipment and travelling to the portrait location, was getting the little babies to sit still for the entirety of the session.
As a result, many photographers enlisted the help of the children's mothers, with often creepy outcomes.
Tricks: Mothers used to cover themselves in black cloth and hold their children upright while getting portraits taken back in the 1800s, which resulted in odd figures in the photos as well
Tricks: Mothers used to cover themselves in black cloth and hold their children upright while getting portraits taken back in the 1800s, which resulted in odd figures in the photos as well
Tricks: Mothers covered themselves in black cloth and hold their children upright while getting portraits taken back in the 1800s, resulting in odd figures in the photos

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2155681/Old-portraits-children-creepy-ghostmothers-background-far-mums-good-photo.html#ixzz1xI59doFG

Tombstones from long ago surfacing on S.F. beach

Strong winds and shifting sands have uncovered an eerie reminder of San Francisco's past: discarded gravestones and broken tomb markers used decades ago to shore up the Ocean Beach seawall.
The tombstones became visible this week, including bits and pieces of marble and granite that once marked the final resting places of citizens long dead.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Stephen Colbert Interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson at Montclair Kimberley Academy - 2010-Jan-29

Arrested Development - One-Way Train to Gitmo

                       
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Arrested Development - One-Way Train to Gitmo
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook



                       

Arrested Development

                       
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Arrested Development
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook



                       

Friends say classmate killed self after bullying on sexuality

ASHLAND CITY, TN (WSMV) -

Students at a local school are grieving a classmate. Friends say the young man took his own life because he couldn't take any more bullying.

And they say school officials knew about the torment but didn't do enough to stop it.

MORE HERE!

It's A Wonderful Life (1946) - James Stewart - George Bailey's Speech to Potter & the Loan Board

Buck Tick Aikawarazu no Are no Katamari ga Nosabaru Hedo no Soko no Fukidamari

Jimmy Cliff - The harder they come, studio version

Tally ho chaps! First-ever British surfer caught on film taking to waves on home-made board... in 1929

  • Experts say the two-hour video footage is a 'national treasure'
  • Clip shows adventurer on homemade 8ft board carved from balsa wood
More HERE!

Some of the earliest ever video of surfing which shows Lewis Rosenberg on a surfboard at Holywell Bay in Newquay

Riding the waves: Some of the earliest ever video of surfing which shows Lewis Rosenberg on a surfboard at Holywell Bay in Newquay, Cornwall


Forever 21 Pulls Kurt Cobain Flipper Tee Copy From Market

Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain on stage in 1993
© Rob Robertson/Retna Ltd.

Shepherds who bit off lambs' testicles at special farming event hit by violent 'food poisoning' bug

By Gavin Allen

Last updated at 2:16 PM on 9th December 2011

Two shepherds who bit off lambs' testicles as part of a special farming event were hit by a violent food poisoning bug.

The stomach-churning case was documented by the Wyoming Department of Health after it investigated the mini-outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni enteritis.

The pair, who had taken part in an event in which 1,600 lambs were to be castrated over several days, ended up with punishing vomiting and diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever. One of the men was affected worse than the other and spent a night in hospital. MORE HERE!

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

Mouth method: A shepherd castrates a sheep with his teeth in the TV show Dirty Jobs - these are not the two men who fell ill

Mouth method: A shepherd castrates a sheep with his teeth in the TV show Dirty Jobs - these are not the two men who fell ill