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…

Hunting for Harold Lloyd’s Legendary Christmas Ornaments

Harold Lloyd probably isn’t a name that rings many bells in the 21st century, but spoiler – he’s one of the most influential film comedians of the silent era, making up the the first trio of the silver screen’s laugh-makers, alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. With his signature straw boater and round horn-rimmed glasses,…

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Vintage Pocket Guides to Syria & Beyond for the WW II American Soldier

As someone who writes a guide about the city of Paris and searches for off-beat travel, I can relate to the language of pocket guides. I guess you could say it’s kinda my thing. But what if I wasn’t writing for the leisurely wanderer? What if instead, I was writing for a young, newly-enlisted soldier headed off to war…

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13 Cheap, Last Minute and Actually Good DIY Gift Ideas

From D.I.Y. TO “I.O.U”, here is a round-up of the best and cheapest gift last-minute ideas out there. For just about anyone: A “Gift Bucket”… Stock it with personalised little surprises according to the person’s taste and personality. You can find the lanterns or buckets at most supermarkets/ gardening/ homeware stores for as little as…

Nothing Like These Hidden Temples Exists Outside of the Films of Indiana Jones

“Show us these temples or we will dynamite the entire hillside”, threatened Italy’s state prosecutor when police had failed to locate a rumoured network of mysterious chambers buried 30 metres in the foothills of the Alps. They had been dug by hand in complete secrecy in the 1970s under the direction of Oberto Airaudi, a philospher and artist who…

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:…

The Ritz Hotel Heir who Taught Hemingway How to Fish

Hemingway was an erratic character – one we associate with the greatest novels of course. His short, precise prose about his image of manhood are thick within the canon of American literature: women, hunting, liquor, and fishing. So you know that story about old Hem liberating the Ritz in 1944. The one where he famously rolled…

A Life Less Ordinary with a Real-Life Snow White

Deep inside one of the last remaining primeval forests in Europe, in-between Belarus and Poland, stands an old hunting lodge straight out of a fairytale. For over 30 years, ecologist Simona Kossack lived in this secluded glade without amenities nor electricity or running water and with an unusual band of forest friends. There was a…

The Factory Girl who Became an Art Deco Ceramics Sensation

When English ceramic artist Clarice Cliff first started designing pottery in the 1920s, her work was so out there, the styled garnered the name “Bizarre.” But the curious and colourful decorative pieces with abstract shapes and pastoral scenes soon gathered an impressive following. Ahead of her time, Cliff’s rise to fame during the mid 20th…

All You Need is the Opossum Lady (the Undisputed Queen of Youtube)

This picture may not need any explanation. It is arguably perfect as it is. But in these strange and uncertain times, I had an inkling that this might be exactly what we all need. So allow me to formally introduce you to Pearl de Wisdom, aka the Opossum lady. She has been making spiritual opossum…