THE BIGGEST NOPE: Herbal Tampons

So these were used in the middle ages and early renaissance to convince the womb to move up or down. In Germany they were called Mütterzapfchen. Good smelling things would move it down through attraction. I think we all know our womb isn't the animal described by Aristotle. Do don't put leaves in your cooch.

 See an article on this new fad HERE.

 Here is more on THE WANDERING WOMB.

from here

And as a bonus, THE WEIRD HISTORY OF TAMPONS.

The New York Times Says

To be Happier, Start Thinking More About Your Death

WOMAN MAKES SOAP OUT OF OWN FAT...

and sends it to her ex who dumped her for being fat...

Sarah Sitkin's Creepy Fleshy Art

more HERE

Video Art by Albert Omoss

form m09 - peer pressure from Albert Omoss on Vimeo.

Emoji Birth from Albert Omoss on Vimeo.

F5 2015 - Entangle from Albert Omoss on Vimeo.

form n11 - objectification from Albert Omoss on Vimeo.

The Art of Marwane Pallas

These are from a series called Doctrine of Signatures, which is an antiquated theory that things which look similar work together--i.e. walnuts are good for the brain because they look like it

more HERE

The Pornographic Writings of Robert Burns

Read this article on his poem "The Merry Muses," about a well-endowed ambassador.

And there's more where that came from.

Prostitution of the Past

Or, as one researcher/tweeter calls it, Whores of Yore.

Here are a few bits:

Go to the page and see more!

Victorian Exercise Machines

more HERE

Blood Lamp

See the video by Mike Thompson at Thought Collider:

John Dee Painting Hiding Skulls

Read about it at THE GUARDIAN

And some more John Dee craziness: http://hyperallergic.com/267999/reassembling-the-lost-library-of-a-16th-century-magician-who-spoke-to-angels/

Hex Sign Art

See and learn more HERE

Pop Culture and Death-Thinking

Death Stalks Michael C. Hall, taken from Thanatography

~AND~

To Be Happier, Start Thinking More About Your Death from the NY Times

Words to Die By

from HERE

The Sacral Ostrich

from HERE

Bowie and Art

Story 1

Story 2

WORDS TO KNOW

Difference between a coffin and a casket. 

Difference between a cemetery and a graveyard. 

Shameless Wikipedia Text Sharing

Wikipedia on the Least Weasel:

The Ancient Macedonians believed that to see a least weasel was a good omen. In some districts of Macedon, women who suffered from headaches after having washed their heads in water drawn overnight would assume that a weasel had previously used the water as a mirror, but they would refrain from mentioning the animal's name for fear that it would destroy their clothes. Similarly, a popular superstition in southern Greece had it that the least weasel had previously been a bride, who was transformed into a bitter animal which would destroy the wedding dresses of other brides out of jealousy.[38] According to Pliny the Elder, the least weasel is the only animal capable of killing the basilisk;

To this dreadful monster the effluvium of the weasel is fatal, a thing that has been tried with success, for kings have often desired to see its body when killed; so true is it that it has pleased Nature that there should be nothing without its antidote. The animal is thrown into the hole of the basilisk, which is easily known from the soil around it being infected. The weasel destroys the basilisk by its odour, but dies itself in this struggle of nature against its own self.[39]

The Chippewa believed that the least weasel could kill the dreaded wendigo giant by rushing up its anus.[40] In Inuit mythology, the least weasel is credited with both great wisdom and courage, and whenever a mythical Inuit hero wished to accomplish a valorous task, he would generally change himself into a least weasel.[41] According to Matthew Hopkins, a witch hunter general during the English Civil War, least weasels were the familiars of witches.[42]

Thanks RS!

David Bowie Tribute #2

Flight of the Conchords:

And more on Bowie's influence on COMIC BOOKS.

A Tribute to David Bowie #1

Today, like every other day, a life vanished. This life left a legacy both complex and contemplative, shared with viewers, listeners, readers, and dreamers.

Here are a few thoughts from Tilda Swinton:

The image of that gingery boney pinky whitey person on the cover with the liquid mercury collar bone was - for one particular young moonage daydreamer - the image of planetary kin, of a close imaginary cousin and companion of choice
...
We are -
And you brought us out of the wainscotting like so many
Freaky old bastards
Like so many fan boys and girls
Like so many loners and pretty things and dandies and dudes and dukes and duckies and testicular types
And pulled us together

Full speech HERE

And Bowie's answers to Proust's questionnaire:

Neil Gaiman's The Return of the Thin White Duke can be found HERE

And on his insistence that his Lucifer figure be based on Bowie HERE

And some lyrics:

But the key to the city

Is in the sun that pins

the branches to the sky

I'm sinking in the quicksand

of my thought

And I ain't got the power anymore

Don't believe in yourself 

Don't deceive with belief 

Knowledge comes

with death's release

"Eight Line Poem"

The tactful cactus by your window

Surveys the prairie of your room

The mobile spins to its collision

Clara puts her head between her paws

They've opened shops down West side

Will all the cacti find a home

But the key to the city

Is in the sun that pins

the branches to the sky

Slow Motion Gargling Uvula

Image from a 15th-century cosmography codex. More HERE

from HERE

Early Modern Iron Manikin

From HERE

Clock with bar scene and cemetery, Czech Republic

from HERE