Saturday, March 28, 2009

Adolf, the Suffering Artist

The Daily Beast: "It's a Hitler"

Need some new artwork for the mantle? According to The New York Times, 13 paintings that may be by Adolf Hitler will be sold at auction in Britain in April.

“The artworks, which include a possible self-portrait, would have been made when he was a struggling artist in Vienna, vying unsuccessfully to gain entrance to its Academy of Arts before he fought in World War I.

The auction house Mullock’s, which is conducting the sale, said that the paintings are by Hitler and are likely to fetch roughly $580 to $1,448 dollars each.” (...) >>>

You can admire more 'Hitlers' at the Hitler Historical Museum ...

- Filed on Articles in "Join the Nazi Appreciation Movement" -

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Introducing Steven Crowder ...

... and ...



More from this young standup talent on:

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Maastricht Art Fair TEFAF: History Meets Form


TEFAF Official website - enjoy!

Friday, March 13, 2009

The New Middle Ages Are Upon Us: Men in Tights

This has been in the works for years, ever since as long ago as the new millennium, trend guru Lidewij Edelkoort predicted a Postmodern reversal to the Middle Ages.

Dutch magazine Elsevier this week has a view on the latest fashion accessory, after hoodies and kilts, meet the new man in tights!

The male as fashion victim makes an encouraging role reversal from a feminist point of view! Let them adorn the high street for a while as the living evidence of a distorted self image!

Read the Mail Online on the issue of leggings for men.

But the most important reversal to the dark ages is actually in the mind (no insult to the epoch intended). That has been on the cards for much longer. At least two centuries have lapsed since the onset of the reactionary Counter Enlightenment movement, the Nemesis of Spinozist free-thought!

French-Suisse philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau set in train a retro-active movement when he opined that the entire culture thing is actually a perversion of the man's natural state. Generally his ideal is assumed to be the primitive tribes person - an archetypal image known in psychology as "the noble savage".

German Romanticist thinkers, Messrs Kant and Hegel clinched the back to basics deal with their assertions about the unknowable universe and the extraordinary notion that reality entirely depends on how we look at it.

Men in tights are the cherry on the irrational cake that has been gathering pace - going from strength to strength - in the last couple of years.

As baseless, unscientific delusions get confused with profound insights into the universe and the soul of man, what used to be derided as 'old wives tales' passes today for the highest inner wisdom.

Facts are irrelevant ... reality is whatever we want it to be!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Light on Rembrandt's Militia

Dutch News: "Night Watch name mystery solved"
The puzzle of exactly who is who on Rembrandt’s famous Night Watch [ed: militia] painting of Amsterdam's civic guard has been solved after 367 years, reports the Volkskrant on Thursday.
The paper interviews historian Bas Dudok van Heel who is due to present his findings at the TEFAF art fair in Maastricht today [a visit to the TEFAF site is highly recommended for the true art lover! We'll be regularly dwelling on the event in the coming days].

Although the names of the 18 marksmen depicted in the masterpiece have been known since 1715 no one has matched them to specific individuals until now, the paper explains.
"I know their age, their profession, address, and can point them out", says Dudok van Heel, who also found out the name of the drummer on the painting - Jacob Jorisz - who has not been named before.
"He wouldn’t have paid the 100 guilders that each marksman paid [for their portrait]. He only earned 40 guilders a year so he couldn't", Dudock van Heel says.

The historian has also discovered that the famous painting formed a frieze together with portraits by other 17th artists. >>>

For more on this, click here - Do check out details of Rembrandt's famous master piece on the site of the Amsterdam Rijks Museum!

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Star Trek: Back to Basics

Remember this action hero, William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in the original series of Star Trek?

In the latest Star Trek movie Chris Pine has been cast to play James T. Kirk in the role of his younger self.

The latest story seems to be aiming at going back to the prehistory of the original, chronicling the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.



Can't wait till release day!

See Trailer #3 just released.

Become a Fan on FaceBook.

IMDb has an overview of the Star Trek productions so far.

Watch the new film's slide-show.

Friday, March 06, 2009

Photo Phresh!

On the hunt for photographic material to illustrate a great story by Michael Scalise, "Lincoln and the Civil War" I chanced upon the collection at the National Archives.

The extraordinary thing about these photos is, they might have been taken yesterday!

Don't miss it! Scroll down the page to get at the links.

Fabulous ...!

- Caption: Photo #23. Council of war near Massaponax Church, Va., May 21, 1864. General Grant is looking over General Meade's shoulder at a map Meade holds. Photographed by Timothy H. O'Sullivan. 200-CC-730. -

- Filed at Articles on "Americana" -