This week, I read an article about a legal dispute between a French art teacher and Facebook. The man posted an image of L’Origine du Monde (NSFW) on his page to promote an art-historical video. Facebook cried indecency and removed the image. If you’re not a student of art history, you might not be aware … Continue reading A Newcomer’s Guide to the Art-Historical Vagina
Month: January 2015
Codex Mendoza
I just learned of very exciting news via Hyperallergic: The Codex Mendoza, a sixteenth-century manuscript filled with valuable information about Aztec culture has been fully digitized in a collaboration between Mexico's National institute for Anthropology and History and the Bodleian Library at Oxford, King's College. The importance of the Codex Mendoza can hardly be overstated. … Continue reading Codex Mendoza
On King Tut and the “Botching” of His Mask
You no doubt heard the upsetting news about the famous mask of King Tutankhamun last week: In attempt to clean it, the beard was broken off and incorrectly glued back on, in what is roundly being dubbed a “botched” job. This is upsetting for many reasons, but mostly for the fact that such an important … Continue reading On King Tut and the “Botching” of His Mask
Sumerian Hymn
Today I stumbled upon a link to an article that discusses "the oldest song in the world," from Sumeria dating to around 1400 BCE. If you found last week's discussion of music from ancient Babylon interesting, you should definitely check this out. The music is embedded in the site. (By the way, the article is … Continue reading Sumerian Hymn
Resurrecting Babylon
Last week an interesting article popped up in one of my social media feeds: “What Did Ancient Babylonian Songs Sound Like?” I couldn’t resist. The article discusses the work of a composer who teamed up with an expert on ancient instruments. Using lyrics that have been preserved in cuneiform, they sought to recreate the music … Continue reading Resurrecting Babylon
A Winter Evening
And now for the first of my “musings.” This week has been cold and snowy (by mid-Atlantic standards), which I love. I love it even though it screws up traffic and makes me late. Even though it’s a hassle to bundle up my toddler for daycare, and even though my hands freeze when I need … Continue reading A Winter Evening
Charlie Hebdo. A Seven Year Old’s Reaction.
A child’s poignant reaction to yesterday’s sad events, posted on a blog I follow.
I didn’t get to switch the radio off in time this morning. She heard, and understood (it seems). This was her response.
