The Lost Art of Hollywood’s Kaleidoscopic Fever Dreams

Gather ‘round, cinema enthusiasts, because it’s time to tip our top hats to one of vintage Hollywood’s most dazzling visionaries: Busby Berkeley. A man whose name conjures up images of synchronised swimmers, overhead shots of geometric dancers, and the kind of glitzy, glittery choreography that could put a magpie into cardiac arrest. Berkeley didn’t just…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 725)

1. Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, staged in a burnt out theatre in Peru, 1999 In 1999, architect Luis Longhi transformed the fire-damaged Teatro Municipal de Lima into a unique setting for “King Lear.” Utilizing the theater’s ruins, he installed a steel ramp traversing the roofless stage, integrating the stalls and boxes to create an immersive experience…

Curiosity du Jour: Microscopic Photo Jewellery

In an age where our phones hold thousands of photos and the concept of “keepsakes” feels increasingly digital, it’s easy to overlook how people once cherished tangible, tiny ways of keeping their memories close. But step back in time to the 1850s, and you’ll find a quirky, ingenious invention that combined science, art, and sentimentality:…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 723)

1. Japan’s Love Hotels Feature in François Prost Definitely need to stock this one at the Cabinet. 2. These paintings of Paris by a lesser known impressionist By Norwegian painter Frits Thaulow (1847-1906). 3. Camille Claudel sculpture discovered in abandoned Paris apartment Camille Claudel was the lover, co-worker and muse of sculptor Auguste Rodin. She was…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 722)

1. The Portable Pocket “iPad” of Typewriters The smallest typewriters ever made, first produced in 1907. Found here. 2. Royal Gorge Route in 1951 (still running) Denver and Rio Grande Western locomotive #5481 pulls train #1 through the Royal Gorge beside the Arkansas River in Fremont County, Colorado. Shows Hanging Bridge and the sheer walls of…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 721)

1. An abandoned theatre in Portugal for sale Theatre 1854 is the sixth oldest theatre still standing in Portugal. In Portugal’s Portalegre, it’s asking €400,000 and is classified as a building of municipal interest, meaning its future restoration, conversion, or adaptation would be subject to planning consent. More found on The Spaces. 2. Watched Gladiator II…

Let’s Talk About the Bidet, the Bathroom’s Best-Kept Secret

It’s one of those things everyone’s heard of, but few truly understand. It sits quietly in the corner of the bathroom (or as an attachment to the toilet itself), radiating mystery and a slight sense of intimidation. Ask someone about it, and you’ll usually get a shrug or a vague explanation that trails off into…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 720)

1. Art Excavation by Shan Hur I love the make-believe element of Shan Hur’s installations, offering the viewer an appreciation for the art itself, but also for the adventurous ways in which objets d’art can often be discovered. 2. This Roman glass work from 300 AD, survived intact At the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier an archaeological museum in…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 719)

1. A last look at an almost-forgotten Parisian apartment before it became a Museum Café at the Musée Bourdelle in Paris Antoine Bourdelle’s daughter Rhodia proved herself a dedicated guardian to her sculptor father’s artistic heritage, as the apartment she made of his studio above the Musée Bourdelle in Paris. In 1993, Word of Interiors…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 718)

1. Bezoar stones: undigested matter found in the gastrointestinal tract of deer, goats, porcupines and other animals, once prized as magical cure-all stones, worn by royalty Arabian doctors had been using bezoars since the 8th century, and brought them into western medicine in the 12th century as an antidote to arsenic, a favorite poison used to…