The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope

"art"

Because the function of art is to hold a mirror up to nature there can be no art because the Universe is infinite which means there simply isn’t a mirror big enough.

a detail of George Gray Barnard's "The Burdern of Life: The Broken Law" depicting one of Two Brothers, facepalming

Cloud Dongs

George Grey Barnard's Pennsylvania Capitol sculpture groups

In August 2023, my cousin Tim and his fiancee Bonnie were getting married in Lancaster. As #7 and I made our travel plans, we realized that even though she has spent a large chunk of her adult life in Pennsylvania she had never visited many of its most famous historic sites. We decided to make […]

Categories: Arts & Culture, Feats of Building & Engineering, Series 14

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Dorothy Cadwell Taylor

The Realest Housewife of Beverly Hills

confidante of kings, movie stars, and mobsters

The Countess di Frasso was the most famous hostess in the world, who threw parties for kings; actors, athletes and aviators; Nazis and mobsters.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Biography, Eccentrics & Prophecies, Entertainment & Media, People & Places

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"Commander William B. Cushing with Ghost Image"

What Joy to the Troubled Heart!

the tale of William H. Mumler, spirit photographer

In 1862, William H. Mumler took the first known photograph of a ghost. Maybe. What unfolded next was an epic story of fraud and self-deception...

Categories: Biography, Footsteps into the Unknown, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, People & Places, Series 13

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detail from Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Valparaiso by James McNeill Whistler

Crepuscule in Blood and Guts

the most curious incident in the life of James McNeill Whistler

This one has it all: sibling rivalry, country club politics, adultery, duels, the Civil War, Spanish colonial policy, and three giant piles of bird poop.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Daring & Epic Journeys, Series 13

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