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The 13th Floor
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Puddles' incredibly atmospheric 2022 cover of Black Sabbath's iconic 1970 song [War Pigs](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f-e8-DUqt0I) manages to make the song his own while preserving its greatness. > > > If we're being completely honest, Black Sabbath's 1970 classic War Pigs isn't the cheeriest of Geezer Butler lyrics, what with all that talk of war machines and burning bodies and Satan spreading his wings and stuff. But if you ever wanted proof of man's ability to take a sad song and make it sadder, look no further than Mike Geier, a.k.a. giant unhappy clown Puddles Pity Party, who's just released a cover version of the song that plumbs almost unparalleled depths of despair. - Frazer Lewry at Louder Sound]([https://www.loudersound.com/news/watch-a-giant-sad-clown-bring-new-depths-of-emotion-to-black-sabbaths-war-pigs](https://www.loudersound.com/news/watch-a-giant-sad-clown-bring-new-depths-of-emotion-to-black-sabbaths-war-pigs)) > > Lyrics: > > > Generals gathered in their masses > Just like witches at black masses > Evil minds that plot destruction > Sorcerer of death's construction > In the fields, the bodies burnin' > As the war machine keeps turning > Death and hatred to mankind > Poisoning their brainwashed minds > > > > > Oh, Lord, yeah > > > > > Politicians hide themselves away > They only started the war > Why should they go out to fight? > They leave that role to the poor > Time will tell on their power minds > Making war just for fun > Treating people just like pawns in chess > Wait till their judgment day comes, yeah > > > > > Now, in darkness, world stops turning > Ashes where the bodies burning > No more war pigs have the power > Hand of God has struck the hour > Day of Judgment, God is calling > On their knees, the war pigs crawling > Begging mercy for their sins > Satan, laughing, spreads his wings > >
www.spoon-tamago.com
Today I discovered the work of Miyu Kojima, a Japanese artist who makes beautifully detailed miniature dioramas of rooms in which people have died lonely deaths, a phenomenon called *[kodokushi](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/06/kodokushi-in-aging-japan-thousands-die-alone-and-unnoticed-every-year-their-bodies-often-go-unnoticed-for-weeks.html).* The inspiration for her work has its origins in a cleaning company for which she worked: > > > The company was advertising its services at the trade show by displaying photos of the rooms they’d cleaned. “But the photos are gruesome to look at,” Kojima said. “I felt they lacked respect for the deceased and for their family to be exposed like that.” So she bought some glue, polystyrene board, knives and other craft materials, and got to work. - [Chris Michael and Keiko Tanaka in The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/10/dioramas-of-death-tokyo-cleaner-recreates-rooms-where-people-died-alone). > > Some of her images are now in [a book](https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%99%82%E3%81%8C%E6%AD%A2%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E9%83%A8%E5%B1%8B-%E9%81%BA%E5%93%81%E6%95%B4%E7%90%86%E4%BA%BA%E3%81%8C%E3%83%9F%E3%83%8B%E3%83%81%E3%83%A5%E3%82%A2%E3%81%A7%E4%BC%9D%E3%81%88%E3%82%8B%E5%AD%A4%E7%8B%AC%E6%AD%BB%E3%81%AE%E3%81%AF%E3%81%AA%E3%81%97-%E5%B0%8F%E5%B3%B6-%E7%BE%8E%E7%BE%BD/dp/4562056800).
ocula.com
Discussion of the work of Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere. I recently saw [Arcangelo 1](https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/explore-art-and-ideas/artwork/31515/arcangelo-i), which is made out of cast wax and animal hides.
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Can't help quoting the "hmmm!" from this piece today. This is a track off Gil Scott Heron's first album, *Small Talk at 125th and Lenox* (though, it was actually recorded in an Atlantic Records studio with a small live audience). **Whitey on the Moon** A rat done bit my sister Nell. (with Whitey on the moon) Her face and arms began to swell. (and Whitey's on the moon) I can't pay no doctor bill. (but Whitey's on the moon) Ten years from now I'll be payin' still. (while Whitey's on the moon) The man jus' upped my rent las' night. ('cause Whitey's on the moon) No hot water, no toilets, no lights. (but Whitey's on the moon) I wonder why he's uppi' me? ('cause Whitey's on the moon?) I was already payin' 'im fifty a week. (with Whitey on the moon) Taxes takin' my whole damn check, Junkies makin' me a nervous wreck, The price of food is goin' up, An' as if all that shit wasn't enough A rat done bit my sister Nell. (with Whitey on the moon) Her face an' arm began to swell. (but Whitey's on the moon) Was all that money I made las' year (for Whitey on the moon?) How come there ain't no money here? (Hm! Whitey's on the moon) Y'know I jus' 'bout had my fill (of Whitey on the moon) I think I'll sen' these doctor bills, Airmail special (to Whitey on the moon)
Glorious hallucinations that are reminiscent of Calvino's *Invisible Cities* but also of Borges. Here's an extract: > > > "Even and perfect, the city lies amid green lawns, sunny hills and wooded mountains; slim, tall sheets of continuous buildings intersect in a rigorous, square mesh, one league apart. The buildings, or rather the single, uninterrupted building consists of cubic cells 5 cubits each way; these cells are placed one on top of another in a single vertical stack, reaching a height of a third of a league above sea-level, so that the relative height of the building varies in relation to the level of the ground on which it rises. > > > > > Each cell has two external walls. Cell walls are of opaque material, porous to air, rigid, but light. The wall facing north (or if this is an external wall, the wall facing west) is capable of emitting 3D images, sounds and smells. Against the opposite wall is a seat capable of moulding perfectly to the human body, even of enclosing it completely. Incorporated in this seat is an apparatus for satisfying all physiological needs. When not in use, this membrane and all apparatus withdraw and the wall reforms. The floor is a simulator, and can evoke all sensations of living things. The ceiling is a brain-impulse-receiver. > > > > > In each cell is an individual whose brain impulses are continually transmitted to an electronic analyser set at the top of the building, beneath a continuous semi-cylindrical vault. The analyser selects, compares and interprets the desires of each individual, programming the life of the entire city moment by moment. All citizens are in a state of perfect equality... > >
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> > > One remarkable ancient artefact, a Babylonian world map from the Sixth Century BCE, marks the beginning of this obsession. The map, inscribed on a clay tablet, shows how ancient people imagined the quadrants of the earth: it describes lands of serpents, dragons, and scorpion-men, the far northern regions “where the sun is never seen”, and a great body of water they called “the bitter river”. > > > > > But the map also makes one other curious reference. It describes “ruined cities… watched over by… the ruined gods”. By that time, the ruins of great cities like Ur, Uruk and Nineveh already littered the landscape, destroyed and abandoned due to natural causes or cataclysmic wars. These ruined places were thought to be places of magic, terrible warnings to living humans and the haunts of ghosts and evil spirits... > >
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The Psychedelic Furs recorded this strangely mesmerizing live version of Love My Way at Perkins Palace in Pasadena, US in 1983, for a tv music programme. It has a slower tempo than the [album version](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LGD9i718kBU) from *Forever Now* (1982), yet the timing is very even and Richard Butler is pitch perfect. Lyrics: There's an army on the dance floor it's a fashion with a gun my love in a room without a door a kiss is not enough in love my way, it's a new road I follow where my mind goes They'd put us on a railroad they'd dearly make us pay for laughing in their faces and making it our way there's emptiness behind their eyes there's dust in all their hearts they just want to steal us all and take us all apart but not in love my way, it's a new road I follow where my mind goes love my way, it's a new road I follow where my mind goes love my way, it's a new road I follow where my mind goes so swallow all your tears my love and put on your new face you can never win or lose if you don't run the race Yeah yeah yeah yeah awhoo awhoo awhoo awhoo Love my way, love my way love my way, love my.... way.
www.filmcomment.com
Really thoughtful piece by Dennis Lim on the relationship between ghosts and cinema. Excerpts: > > > Premised on illusion and promising endless reanimation, cinema is often called the ghostliest of mediums. Ghosts are themselves cinematic in essence, automatic disruptions in space and time. Movies and ghosts both afford the possibility of life after death. Our engagement with them inevitably raises the matter of belief. > > > > > What was the cinema’s first ghost? One very early instance can be found in The House of the Devil, a three-minute film from 1896 by Georges Méliès. The hauntings here, goofy more than spooky, are essentially a series of transformations achieved through simple in-camera edits: a skeleton becomes a bat and then the devil. Méliès would go on to develop some of the practical effects—multiple exposures, superimpositions—that are still central to cinema’s vocabulary of the supernatural. Even in his primitive, late-19th-century trickery, one senses a nascent delight in the spectacle of figures materializing and vanishing before our eyes. > > > > > One could argue that the ghosts were present even earlier—at the birth of the medium, in fact.... > >
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[@Arotrios](https://kbin.social/u/Arotrios) seems to be on a break, so for the time being, ["I am Torgo - I take care of the place while the Master is away"](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue3l3BR9SsQ). Widely regarded as a strong contender for the worst feature film of all time, *Manos: The Hands of Fate* is a film about a family who take a wrong turn and end up in the sinister domain of the Master, his harem of wives draped in bedsheets... and Torgo. > > > Manos: The Hands of Fate fails at nearly every aspect of filmmaking. This is undeniable. The use of blurred focus feels completely accidental, the performances are stilted and lack even a modicum of humanity, every line of dialogue is dubbed, and things just happen with little to no explanation. Watching the film is to view a disaster unfold. It is a product of incomparable incompetence. And yet, is this secretly part of the film’s genius? Because of the sheer ineptitude on display, the film transcends traditional notions of filmmaking and becomes something else entirely. Something avant-garde even.. - Anthony Bowmer, [Loud and Clear](https://loudandclearreviews.com/manos-the-hands-of-fate/) > > [\#cinemainsomnia](https://kbin.social/tag/cinemainsomnia)
> > > The world is full of museums that don’t exist fully in three dimensions – museums described in words or drawn on paper; museum catalogues; museums on the web. There are also many museums that are the creation of artists, novelists and poets, and so have a strong thread of imagination running through them. The latter cast an interesting light on ‘real’ museums and compel us to ask: What is it that the metaphor of a museum enables writers and artists to say? The question is doubly interesting because there is a long history of these 'imaginary’ museums created by artists. This paper suggests that there are five qualities of museums that writers and artists tune into: the power of objects to take us back in time; the apparent ‘alive-ness’ of objects; the power of collections (which is different to the power of individual objects); the ability of museums to shape the world and tell us stories about it; and the role of museums as powerful metaphors through which we can talk about loss, fear and yearnings for the past. So writers and artists find museums powerfully imaginative places; but then so do visitors. Visitor research shows that visitors come to museums ready to use their imaginations. So my question is: Do ‘real’ museums do enough to work with the visitors’ imaginations? Or, to put it another way, Do enough museums think that the visitors’ imagination – and indeed their own - is relevant to the museum experience? It should be. It is. > >
mangatoto.com
Gritty and heartbreaking, this 1970s collection from the master of gekiga, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, was published in English in 2006. > > > Tatsumi had that magic touch all great storytellers have, illuminating many corners with economical light, telling simple tales that unfolded to reveal many subtexts, implications and messages. He used and abused the manga tradition, repurposing the format to interrogate a national culture, with real human characters who were bored, horny, frustrated, and lonely. With gekiga, he developed a way to tell stories that passed across decades without losing any of the mundane affects of daily pressures or cultural subtext. - Jennifer Jane Allen in [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/23/yoshihiro-tatsumi-japanese-artist-manga-the-push-man-and-other-stories) > >
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The original appeared on the 1972 *The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars*. The 1990 tour was the last time Bowie performed this song, and it has a poignant energy. See also the [live performance in 1973](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lJQf-gcG-g4), where Bowie announced this was the last song they would ever do (retiring the Ziggy character). **Lyrics:** (from live version) Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth You pull on your finger, then another finger, then your cigarette The wall-to-wall is calling, it lingers, then you forget Oh oh ohoh, you're a rock 'n' roll suicide You're too young to choose it, too old to use it And the clocks waits so patiently on your song You walk past a cafe but you don't eat when you've lived too long Oh, no, no, no, you're a rock 'n' roll suciide Chev brakes are snarling as you stumble across the road But the day breaks instead so you hurry home Don't let the sun blast your shadow Don't let the milk float ride your mind You're so natural; religiously unkind Oh no love you're not alone You're watching yourself but you're too unfair You got your head all tangled up but if I could only make you care Oh no love! you're not alone No matter what or who you've been No matter when or where you've seen All the knives seem to lacerate your brain I've had my share, I'll help you with the pain You're not alone! So turn on with me cos you're not alone Turn on with me cos you're not alone Gimme your hands, cos you're not alone Gimme your hands! you're wonderful You're wonderful (wonderful) yes you're wonderful, you're wonderful (wonderful), you're wonderful So gimme your hands!
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*Alice (Neco z Alensky)* was Czech surrealist animator Jan Švankmajer's first full-length feature film, and combines stop-motion animation with live action. In some ways it's a very loose adaptation of Lewis Carroll's *Alice in Wonderland* but in another sense it's very faithful, as it allows us to experience anew the initial strangeness of that story. > > > Here the White Rabbit is a manic-looking taxidermy exhibit escaped from its own display case; Bill the Lizard is a sawdust-stuffed crocodile with a bird skull for a head; the Frog Footman swats flies with a pot-denting tongue the size of a cow's; the Mad Hatter is an antique wooden marionette; the March Hare is a wind-up plush toy with a habit of buttering fobwatches; the Dormouse is a slithering fox pelt; and, perhaps most memorably of all, the Caterpillar is a sock puppet with incongruous false teeth and eyes that have to be stitched shut for sleep. These and other defamiliarised figures, reconstructed from items in Alice's bedroom, are as inventively realised as they are genuinely nightmarish – not that Alice herself ever seems much fazed. - Anton Bitel, *[Eye For Film.](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/alice-film-review-by-anton-bitel)* > > [\#cinemainsomnia](https://kbin.social/tag/cinemainsomnia)
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November is coming, and you know what that means... [National Novel Generation Month](https://github.com/NaNoGenMo/2023)! The key word there is "Generation." The basic idea is: write a computer program whose output is a novel. It can be anything, as long as it's 50K+ words and you share the source code and one example output. It doesn't have to be sophisticated. You can just print out the same word 50,000 times, that's OK. You can print random words 50,000 times, that's OK. Naturally, most people try to do more than that though. Here are [last year's entries](https://github.com/NaNoGenMo/2022/issues?q=is%3Aopen+label%3Acompleted+sort%3Acreated-asc) to give you an idea. Last year's iteration ended just around the time that ChatGPT was launched, so this will be the first time since GPTs hit the mainstream. It should be crazy! But one of the main goals is to be a learning experience, so it doesn't have to be fancy. For example, one year I helped my kid cousin participate by writing a simple script, just to help them learn programming. Anyway, I thought it was a natural match for the people here. Take a look, and think about participating! - This year's [edition](https://github.com/NaNoGenMo/2023). - Last year's [output](https://github.com/NaNoGenMo/2022/issues?q=is%3Aopen+label%3Acompleted+sort%3Acreated-asc).
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A late version, in postwar Rome. Earlier versions with Quintette du Hot Club [here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BTH_Nn_TtDI) (includes vocal) and [here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1mIz7XXfRe4). > > > The start of World War II broke up the popular Quintette du Hot Club de France, then touring England, with Stephane Grappelli remaining in London for the duration of the conflict, while Django Reinhardt returned to France. Beginning in 1946, the two reunited periodically up until their last recordings in Italy in 1949. > > > > > As one hears on this track from those final sessions, their playing by then had taken on a new level of assuredness and virtuosity, no doubt indirectly influenced by the innovations of bebop. > >
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> > > From *A Lover's Discourse*, trans. Richard Howard (1978). Originally published as *Fragments d’un discours amoureux* (1977). > >
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I love swing... but for me it is always eternally leading up to that midsummer midnight moment in 1956 when Paul Gonsalves' tenor sax takes flight. > > > "It’s thrilling to hear Gonsalves’s confidence grow over the six minutes, as he finds new ways to vary the tune, with the occasional slip through sheer exhaustion only adding to the tension. Drummer Sam Woodyard keeps driving the band forward magnificently, and we hear Ellington and others shouting “dig in Paul, dig in!” and generally whooping with joy, not quite believing how in alignment everything suddenly is. Festival organiser George Wein was signalling for them to wrap up, increasingly concerned by the bacchanalian abandon of the audience, which now famously included a woman dancing on stage and concluded with a mini riot". - Matt Groom, writing for [PrestoMusic.](https://www.prestomusic.com/jazz/articles/2573--classic-recordings-ellington-at-newport-1956) > > No real footage of this legendary moment in jazz actually exists (and even the initial released recording was a partial reconstruction), but Ron Murvihill has certainly done an amazing job here trying to recreate it from other concerts.
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> > > Bastet is the Egyptian goddess of the home, domesticity, women's secrets, cats, fertility, and childbirth. She protected the home from evil spirits and disease, especially diseases associated with women and children. As with many deities in Egyptian religion, she also played a role in the afterlife. > > > > She is sometimes depicted as a guide and helper to the dead although this was not one of her primary duties. She was the daughter of the sun god Ra and is associated with the concept of the Eye of Ra (the all-seeing eye) and the Distant Goddess (a female deity who leaves Ra and returns to bring transfromation). Bastet was one of the most popular deities of ancient Egypt as she was the protector of everyone's home and family. > > > > Meaning of Bastet's Name > > > > Her name was originally B'sst which became Ubaste, then Bast, then Bastet; the meaning of this name is not known or, at least, not universally agreed upon. Geraldine Pinch claims that "her name probably means She of the Ointment Jar" as she was associated with protection and protective ointments (115). The Greeks associated her closely with their goddess Artemis and believed that, as Artemis had a twin brother (Apollo) so should Bast. They associated Apollo with Horus, the son of Isis (Heru-sa-Aset) and so called the goddess known as Bast ba'Aset (Soul of Isis) which would be the literal translation of her name with the addition of the second 'T' to denote the feminine (Aset being among the Egyptian names for Isis). > > > > Bastet, however, was also sometimes linked with the god of perfume and sweet smells, Nefertum, who was thought to be her son and this further links the meaning of her name to the ointment jar. The most obvious understanding would be that, originally, the name meant something like She of the Ointment Jar (Ubaste) and the Greeks changed the meaning to Soul of Isis as they associated her with the most popular goddess in Egypt. Even so, scholars have come to no agreement on the meaning of her name. > > > > Associations > > > > Bastet was extremely popular throughout Egypt with both men and women from the Second Dynasty of Egypt (c. 2890 - c. 2670 BCE) onward with her cult centered at the city of Bubastis from at least the 5th century BCE. She was first represented as a woman with the head of a lioness and closely associated with the goddess Sekhmet but, as that deity's iconography depicted her as increasingly aggressive, Bastet's images softened over time to present more of a daily companion and helper than her earlier forms as savage avenger. Scholar Geraldine Pinch writes: > > > > From the Pyramid Texts onward, Bastet has a double aspect of nurturing mother and terrifying avenger. It is the demonic aspect that mainly features in the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead and in medical spells. The "slaughterers of Bastet" were said to inflict plague and other disasters on humanity. One spell advises pretending to be the 'son of Bastet' in order to avoid catching the plague. (115) > > > > Bastet is sometimes rendered in art with a litter of kittens at her feet but her most popular depiction is of a sitting cat gazing ahead. > > > > Although she was greatly venerated, she was equally feared as two of her titles demonstrate: The Lady of Dread and The Lady of Slaughter. She is associated with both Mau, the divine cat who is an aspect of Ra, and with Mafdet, goddess of justice and the first feline deity in Egyptian history. > > > > Both Bastet and Sekhmet took their early forms as feline defenders of the innocent, avengers of the wronged, from Mafdet. This association was carried on in depictions of Bastet's son Maahes, protector of the innocent, who is shown as a lion-headed man carrying a long knife or as a lion. > > > > In Bastet's association with Mau, she is sometimes seen destroying the enemy of Ra, Apophis, by slicing off his head with a knife in her paw; an image Mau is best known by. In time, as Bastet became more of a familial companion, she lost all trace of her lionine form and was regularly depicted as a house cat or a woman with the head of a cat often holding a sistrum. She is sometimes rendered in art with a litter of kittens at her feet but her most popular depiction is of a sitting cat gazing ahead. > > > > Role in Religion & Iconography > > > > Bastet appears early in the 3rd millennium BCE in her form as an avenging lioness in Lower Egypt. By the time of the Pyramid Texts (c. 2400-2300 BCE) she was associated with the king of Egypt as his nursemaid in youth and protector as he grew. In the later Coffin Texts (c. 2134-2040 BCE) she retains this role but is also seen as a protector of the dead. The scholar Richard H. Wilkinson comments on this: > > > > In her earliest known form, as depicted on stone vessels of the 2nd dynasty, Bastet was represented as a woman with the maneless head of a lioness. The iconography of the goddess changed, however, perhaps as her nature began to be viewed as milder than that of other lioness deities. (178) > > > > Her cult center at Bubastis in Lower Egypt became one of the richest and most luxuriant cities in Egypt as people from all over the country traveled there to pay their respects to the goddess and have the bodies of their dead cats interred in the city. In Egyptian art, her iconography borrowed from the earlier goddess Mafdet and also from Hathor, a goddess associated with Sekhmet who was also closely linked to Bastet. > > > > The appearance of the sistrum in Bastet's hand in some statues is a clear link to Hathor who is traditionally seen carrying the instrument. Hathor is another goddess who underwent a dramatic change from bloodthirsty destroyer to gentle friend of humanity as she was originally the lioness deity Sekhmet whom Ra sent to earth to destroy humans for their sins. In Bastet's case, although she became milder, she was no less dangerous to those who broke the law or abused others. > > > > The Tale of Setna & Taboubu > > > > The Tale of Setna and Taboubu (part of the work known as First Setna or Setna I) is the middle section of a work of Egyptian literature composed in Roman Egypt history and currently held by the Cairo Museum in Egypt. The main character of the Setna tales is Prince Setna Khaemwas who is based on the actual prince and High Priest of Ptah Khaemweset (l. c. 1281 - c. 1225 BCE), the son of Ramesses II (r. 1279-1213 BCE). Khaemweset, known as the "First Egyptologist", was famous for his restoration and preservation efforts of ancient Egyptian monuments and, by the time of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, was greatly revered as a sage and magician. Although the story may be interpreted in many different ways, Geraldine Pinch argues that this section of the tale can most clearly be understood as an illustration of how Bastet punishes transgressors. > > > > In this story young Prince Setna steals a book from a tomb, even after the inhabitants of the tomb beg him not to. Shortly afterwards he is in Memphis, near the Temple of Ptah, when he sees a beautiful woman accompanied by her servants and lusts after her. He asks about her and learns her name is Taboubu, daughter of a priest of Bastet. He has never seen any woman more beautiful in his life and sends her a note asking her to come to his bed for ten gold pieces but she returns a counter-offer telling him to meet her at the Temple of Bastet in Saqqara where she lives and he will then have all he desires. > > > > Setna travels to her villa where he is eager to get to the business at hand but Taboubu has some stipulations. First, she tells him, he must sign over all his property and possessions to her. He is so consumed with lust that he agrees to this and moves to embrace her. She holds him off, however, and tells him that his children must be sent for and must also sign the documents agreeing to this so that there will be no problems with the legal transference. Setna agrees to this also and sends for his children. While they are signing the papers Taboubu disappears into another room and returns wearing a linen dress so sheer that he can see "every part of her body through it" and his desire for her grows almost uncontrollable. > > > > With the documents signed he again moves toward her but, no, she has a third demand: his children must be killed so that they will not try to renege on the agreement and embroil her in a long, drawn-out court battle. Setna instantly agrees to this; his children are murdered and their bodies thrown into the street. Setna then pulls off his clothes, takes Taboubu, and leads her quickly to the bedroom. As he is embracing her she suddenly screams and vanishes - as does the room and villa around them - and Setna is standing naked in the street with his penis thrust into a clay pot. > > > > The pharaoh comes by at this time and Prince Setna is completely humiliated. Pharaoh informs him that his children still live and that everything he has experienced has been an illusion. Setna then understands he has been punished for his transgression in the tomb and quickly returns the book. He further makes restitution to the inhabitants of the tomb by traveling to another city and retrieving mummies buried there who were part of the tomb inhabitant's family so they can all be reunited in one place. > > > > Although scholars disagree on who Taboubu represents, her close association with Bastet as the daughter of one of the goddesses' priests makes this deity a very likely candidate. The predatory nature of Taboubu, once she has Setna where she wants him, is reminiscent of the cat toying with the mouse. Geraldine Pinch concludes that Taboubu is a "manifestation of Bastet herself, playing her traditional role of punisher of humans who have offended the gods" (117). In this story, Bastet takes on the form of a beautiful woman to punish a wrong-doer who had violated a tomb but the story would also have been cautionary to men who viewed women only as sexual objects in that they could never know whether they were actually in the presence of a goddess and what might happen should they offend her. > > > > Worship of Bastet > > > > The goddess was worshipped primarily at Bubastis but held a tutelary position at Saqqara and elsewhere. Wilkinson writes: > > > > The goddess's popularity grew over time and in the Late Period and Graeco-Roman times she enjoyed great status. The main cult centre of this deity was the city of Bubastis - Tell Basta - in the eastern Delta, and although only the outlines of the temple of Bastet now remain, Herodotus visited the site in the 5th century BC and praised it for its magnificence. The festival of Bastet was also described by Herodotus who claimed it was the most elaborate of all the religious festivals of Egypt with large crowds participating in unrrestrained dancing, drinking, and revelry. (178) > > > > Herodotus is the primary source for information on the cult of Bastet and, unfortunately, does not go into great detail on the particulars of her worship. It seems both men and women served as her clergy and, as with the other Egyptian deities, her temple at Bubastis was the focal point of the city providing services ranging from medical attention to counseling to food distribution. Herodotus describes this temple: > > > > Save for the entrance, it stands on an island; two separate channels approach it from the Nile, and after coming up to the entry of the temple, they run round it on opposite sides; each of them a hundred feet wide, and overshadowed by trees. The temple is in the midst of the city, the whole circuit of which commands a view down into it; for the city's level has been raised, but that of the temple has been left as it was from the first, so that it can be seen into from without. A stone wall, carven with figures, runs round it; within is a grove of very tall trees growing round a great shrine, wherein is the image of the goddess; the temple is a square, each side measuring a furlong. A road, paved with stone, of about three furlongs' length leads to the entrance, running eastward through the market place, towards the temple of Hermes; this road is about 400 feet wide, and bordered by trees reaching to heaven. (Histories, II.138). > > > > The people of Egypt came annually to the great festival of Bastet at Bubastis which was one of the most lavish and popular events of the year. Geraldine Pinch, citing Herodotus, claims, "women were freed from all constraints during the annual festival at Bubastis. They celebrated the festival of the goddess by drinking, dancing, making music, and displaying their genitals" (116). This "raising of the skirts" by the women, described by Herodotus, had as much to do with freedom from social constraints as it did with the fertility associated with the goddess. As with many of the other festivals throughout Egypt, Bastet's celebration was a time to cast aside inhibitions much in the way modern revelers do in Europe during Carnivale or in the United States at Mardi Gras. Herodotus presents a vivid picture of the people traveling to Bubastis for the festival: > > > > When the people are on their way to Bubastis, they go by river, a great number in every boat, men and women together. Some of the women make a noise with rattles, others play flutes all the way, while the rest of the women, and the men, sing and clap their hands. As they travel by river to Bubastis, whenever they come near any other town they bring their boat near the bank; then some of the women do as I have said, while some shout mockery of the women of the town; others dance, and others stand up and lift their skirts. They do this whenever they come alongside any riverside town. But when they have reached Bubastis, they make a festival with great sacrifices, and more wine is drunk at this feast than in the whole year besides. It is customary for men and women (but not children) to assemble there to the number of seven hundred thousand, as the people of the place say. (Histories, Book II.60) > > > > Although Herodotus claims that this festival outstripped all others in magnificence and excess, in reality there were many festivals celebrating many gods which could claim the same. The popularity of this goddess, however, made her celebration of particular significance in Egyptian culture. In the passage above, Herodotus makes note of how the women in the boats mocked those on shore and this would have been done to encourage them to leave off their daily tasks and join the celebration of the great goddess. Bastet, in fact, was second only to Isis in popularity and, once she traveled through Greece to Rome, was equally popular among the Romans and the subjects of the later Roman Empire. > > > > Bastet's Enduring Popularity > > > > The popularity of Bastet grew from her role as protector of women and the household. As noted, she was as popular among men as women in that every man had a mother, sister, girlfriend, wife, or daughter who benefited from the care Bastet provided. Further, women in Egypt were held in high regard and had almost equal rights which almost guaranteed a goddess who protected women and presided over women's secrets an especially high standing. > > > > Cats were also greatly prized in Egypt as they kept homes free of vermin (and so controlled diseases), protected the crops from unwanted animals, and provided their owners with fairly maintenance-free company. One of the most important aspects of Bastet's festival was the delivery of mummified cats to her temple. When the temple was excavated in 1887 and 1889 CE over 300,000 mummified cats were found. Wilkinson, commenting on her universal popularity, writes: > > > > Amulets of cats and litters of kittens were popular New Year gifts, and the name of Bastet was often inscribed on small ceremonial 'New Year flasks', probably to evoke the goddess as a bestower of fertility and because Bastet, like other lioness goddesses, was viewed as a protective deity able to counter the darker forces associated with the 'Demon Days' at the end of the Egyptian year. (178) > > > > Bastet was so popular that, in 525 BCE, when Cambyses II of Persia invaded Egypt, he made use of the goddess to force the Egyptian's surrender. Knowing of their great love for animals, and cats especially, he had his soldiers paint the image of Bastet on their shields and then arranged all the animals that could be found and drove them before the army toward the pivotal city of Pelusium. The Egyptians refused to fight for fear of harming the animals and offending Bastet and so surrendered. > > > > The historian Polyaenus (2nd century CE) writes how, after his victory, Cambyses II hurled cats from a bag into the Egyptian's faces in scorn that they would surrender their city for animals. The Egyptians were undeterred in their veneration of the cat and their worship of Bastet, however. Her status as one of the most popular and potent deities continued throughout the remainder of Egypt's history and on into the era of the Roman Empire until, like the other gods, she was eclipsed by the rise of Christianity. > > [Article source](https://www.worldhistory.org/Bastet/)
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A silent film that speaks volumes. So I'll let it speak for itself. [Zealous Creative's Website](https://www.zealouscreative.com/)
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A meditation from the myconoid master for minds motivated to mend the mess you've made of your planet. [Ganja White Night](https://ganjawhitenight.com/) [LSDream](https://www.lsdreammusic.com/)
Have fun storming the castle! [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_Bride_(film))
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So Fediverse, who do you love? Where do you love? How do you love? Which do you love? > > > The first side of the album consists entirely of a live performance of Bo Diddley's song, "Who Do You Love?". In a self-deprecating poke at the rendition's extended length, it is listed as the "Who Do You Love Suite", with individually titled "movements" which give writing credits to the soloist on each segment. The performance of Bo Diddley's composition breaks down into a guitar solo by Gary Duncan in a style somewhere between jazz and rock (described as "Bloomfield-like"[2]) with a walking bass line by Freiberg. It then mellows down into some apparently improvised guitar and bass plucking and sliding, with feedback, handclapping and audience participation 'almost like a "found object" out of Dada.'[2] Solos by Cipollina and then Freiberg follow. Then comes a slower, quieter reprise of one verse of the Bo Diddley song, leading to a pianissimo ensemble vocal, followed by a finale in which Elmore changes to a back-beat, while Duncan and Freiberg still play the Bo Diddley beat. Duncan's vocals and Cipollina's lead guitar use call-and-response, and the result is a polyrhythmic rock sound. > > [Wikipedia on Happy Trails](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Trails_(album)) [Wikipedia on Quicksilver Messenger Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicksilver_Messenger_Service)
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> > > I'm high, I'm from outer space. I got Milky Way for blood, evolution in my veins > I'm gone, I've been far away > I'ma lumineer now, makin' moves, startin' waves > I've been dreaming about flying for a long time > I had a vision from the grey's, they wanna co-sign > Artificially intelligent, new-AI > I'm your future, past and present, I'm the fine line > Yeah, I'm a missing link of this illusion > I am not really here, I'm an intrusion > I don't swim or sink, I just float > I don't need gravity, I just need growth > When I move, it's an earthquake rumble > I will never, ever fall, never stumble > And I don't need to be humble > Break down walls like Jericho, crumble > I can go higher > Past the stratosphere, I can catch fire > I can go hard, I don't even need to try, yeah > Starblood, I don't ever get tired > Predestined, written in stone > I feel it coming in, I feel it in my bones > Heavily protected, never alone > Tapped in, I'm connected to the unknown > When I move, it's an earthquake rumble > I will never, ever fall, never stumble > And I don't need to be humble > Break down walls like Jericho, crumble > When I move, it's an earthquake rumble > I will never, ever fall, never stumble > And I don't need to be humble > Break down walls like Jericho, crumble > Jericho, Jericho, walls come down > Jericho, Jericho, walls come down > Walls come down like Jericho > Walls come down like Jericho > Jericho, Jericho walls come down > Jericho, Jericho walls come down > Walls come down like Jericho > Walls come down like Jericho > > [https://www.inikoworld.com/](https://www.inikoworld.com/) [Iniko on Soundcloud](https://soundcloud.com/iniko-dixon)
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When I get high I get high on speed. Top fuel funny car's a drug for me My heart, my heart Kick start my heart Always got the cops coming after me Custom-built bike doing 103 My heart, my heart Kick start my heart Oh, are you ready girls? Oh, are you ready now? Whoa, yeah Kick start my heart, give it a start Whoa, yeah, baby Whoa, yeah Kick start my heart, hope it never stops Whoa, yeah, baby, yeah Skydive naked from an aeroplane Or a lady with a body from outer space My heart, my heart Kick start my heart Say I got trouble, trouble in my eyes I'm just looking for another good time My heart, my heart Kick start my heart Yeah, are you ready girls? Yeah, are you ready now, now, now? Whoa, yeah Kick start my heart, give it a start Whoa, yeah, baby, whoa, yeah Kick start my heart, hope it never stops Whoa, yeah, baby When we started this band All we needed, needed was a laugh Years gone by, I'd say we've kicked some ass When I'm enraged or hittin' the stage Adrenaline rushing through my veins And I'd say we're still kickin' ass I say, ooh ah, kick start my heart I hope it never stops And to think, we did all of this to rock Whoa, yeah Kick start my heart, give it a start Whoa, yeah, b-b-b-b-b-b-baby Whoa, yeah Kick start my heart, hope it never stops Whoa, yeah, baby Whoa, yeah Kick start my heart, hope it never stops Whoa, yeah, baby Whoa, yeah Kick start my heart, give it a start Whoa, yeah Okay boys, let's rock the house
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> > > Zoo time is she and you time > The mammals are your favourite type, and you want her tonight > Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat > You hear the thunder of stampeding rhinos, elephants and tacky tigers > This town ain't big enough for the both of us! > And it ain't me who's gonna leave! > Flying, domestic flying > And when the stewardess is near, do not show any fear > Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat > You are a khaki-coloured bombardier > It's Hiroshima that you're nearing > This town ain't big enough for both of us! > And it ain't me who's gonna leave! > Daily, except for Sunday > You dawdle in to the café where you meet her each day > Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat > As 20 cannibals have hold of you > They need their protein just like you do > This town ain't big enough for the both of us! > And it ain't me who's gonna leave! > Shower, another shower > You got to look your best for her, and be clean everywhere > Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat > The rain is pouring on the foreign > Town, the bullets cannot cut you down > This town ain't big enough for the both of us! > And it ain't me who's gonna leave! > Census, the latest census > There'll be more girls who live in town, though not enough to go round > Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat > You know that this town isn't big enough > Not big enough for both of us! > This town isn't big enough > Not big enough for both of us > And I ain't gonna leave! > > --- [@Flip](https://kglitch.social/u/Flip) enough with the electroswing spam already. Battles like these end up with the floor being filled with songs about Ping Pong. You wanna take me on - fine, but keep it in the thread, you damned green cigar goblin.
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So, the crow thinks he can sing 'ey? Well you ain't felt silk until you've heard Cissie's voice. Bring it bird, gimme that swing... My, heart is giving you love Try, not to need you so much You were the one right from the start Your eyes were saying the same But now it seems I was easy to save I'm gonna shoot you down Oh, you've given your heart away I love you from the start Oh, you've given your heart away I love you from the start Say what you say or do what you do Why don't you be my lover I mean what I say I'll make you pay But you better run for cover You, gave me diamonds and gold A heart, that was easily sold Fell for your lies, dangerous charms Set myself up for a fall But now it seems I was easy to save I'm gonna shoot you down I, was only a stepping stone I loved you all the same Now, you've given your heart away and I will make you pay Say what you say or do what you do Why don't you be my lover I mean what I say and I'll make you pay But you better run for cover Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme that swing Gimme that swing Gimme that swing Now, I have seen through your lies I, have no reason to hide Now that I'm fine You better believe I won't wait around for your call Honey I see you're the reason to change I'm gonna shoot you down Oh, you've given your heart away I love you from the start Oh, you've given your heart away I love you from the start Say what you say or do what you do Why don't you be my lover I mean what I say I'll make you pay But you better run for cover
It can't rain all the time. [The Crow Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crow_(1994_film)) --- A salute to [Brandon Lee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Lee), who rode the role of a lifetime through the veil and beyond, into his own legend.
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> > > Oh, but I know you'll cause me grief. Close friends of mine are in disbelief. They can see what's underneath, fluttering lashes, red lips and pearly white teeth > I don't show it but I quiver whenever you come near > And I cannot decipher between the thrill and the fear > I wanna stop it but like it too much to let it stop here > It's wrong but I want you tonight > It's not my own volition but I fell in deep > By running the distance I've been advised to keep > I trot to the wolf as a doting sheep > It's wrong but I want you tonight > Fear and delight > All the way through the night > With a little derring-do > Oh, I'll fall in love with you > Fear and delight > All the way through the night > With a little derring-do > Oh, I'll fall in love with you > I'm a little boy that's gonna be getting his fingers burned > But I can see this lesson's gotta, gotta, gotta be learned > They say that boys have been destroyed but they weren't > It's wrong but I want you tonight > In any case, my friends, it's too late > Like a moth to light, like a beast to bate > And I know the black widow eats its mate > It's wrong but I want you tonight > Fear and delight > All the way through the night > With a little derring-do > Oh, I'll fall in love with you > Fear and delight > All the way through the night > With a little derring-do > Oh, I'll fall in love with you > I'm an innocent being seduced by your charms > I'm a young boy tickled to death in your arms > Your kisses taste like bitter almonds > It's wrong but I want you tonight > Addiction pulling me to a grave end > You're an enemy who I'm keen to defend > Down the black hole of my lust I descend > It's wrong but I want you tonight > Fear and delight > All the way through the night > With a little derring-do > Oh, I'll fall in love with you > Why is it that I'm keen to be devoured by you > When there's the option of a love affair that's pure and true? > I always choose the dungeon over the sea view > It's wrong but I want you tonight > When I'm out the other side I say never again > But when I'm out and about I wanna find the next vixen > Someone who'll be sure to drive me 'round the bend > It's wrong but I want you tonight > Fear and delight > All the way through the night > With a little derring-do > Oh, I'll fall in love with you > Fear and delight > All the way through the night > With a little derring-do > Oh, I'll fall in love with you > > This one's for [@Flip](https://kglitch.social/u/Flip)
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This dump needs more jazz. And to rectify the ruinous reputation of you rubes, I'm bringing home the swing. This fine hour and a half long mix is a product of the [Electro Swing Thing](https://electroswingthing.com/welcome-back-20s-mix-3/), an organization dedicated to the preservation of fine swing. There's a whole lotta swing there - [radio](https://electroswingthing.com/_music/radio/), free [downloads](https://electroswingthing.com/_music/free-downloads/), and the [top artists of electro swing](https://electroswingthing.com/_artists/top-artists/). Here's what they say about themselves: > > > Electro Swing Thing is your go-to platform for everything Electro Swing. As the world’s #1 platform for Electro Swing enthusiasts, we offer a highly acclaimed music blog, record label, mix series, dance, and YouTube channel. We take immense pride in fostering an active and vibrant community dedicated to the Electro Swing genre. In 2019, we broadened our scope by launching our record label and taking over electro-swing.com, the world’s pioneering Electro Swing website established in 2010. > > > > Our mission is to curate, collect, and disseminate the freshest and most innovative music spanning various sub-genres of Electro Swing, including Swing House, Neo Swing, Swing Hop, Swing & Bass, Future Swing, Classic Swing, Balkan Beats, and more. We offer a unique blend of special seasonal and themed mix series, host Spotify playlists, conduct artist interviews, provide insightful blog reviews, share the latest genre news, and publish dance videos that showcase the latest Electro Swing sound and content inspired by the roaring twenties. We are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received thus far and are committed to delivering even better content and music in the future. > >
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This modern music ain't so bad once you add a lil' old school class... [Trampsta on Soundcloud](https://soundcloud.com/trampsta) [Trampsta on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ujzo9NXMPAtGZjjxX0PEm)
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There is no better day than Saturday to shake a bagpipe. [The SIDH website](https://www.thesidh.it/) [The SIDH on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/3boYI1yAlZAm5NmtCitCFj?si=D8vX4LUVRPqSEl3K7KoT6Q&nd=1)
vimeo.com
> > > “In a thousand years, Gandahar will be destroyed. A thousand years ago, Gandahar will be saved and what can’t be avoided will be.” > > > > The riddle at the heart of legendary French animator René Laloux’s strangest movie is as confusing as the film itself. By the end of Gandahar, you may not understand either, but you’ll have experienced one of the most ambitious and beautiful time-travel stories ever told. > > [Inverse article on Gandahar](https://www.inverse.com/culture/gandahar-movie-anniversary) [Original in French](https://archive.org/details/gandahar_202112)
pdfhost.io
> > > **Opening Statement of Mr. Harold Schoff, attorney for Mr. Coyote:** My client, Mr. Wile E. Coyote, a resident of Arizona and contiguous states, does hereby bring suit for damages against the Acme Company, manufacturer and retail distributor of assorted merchandise, incorporated in Delaware and doing business in every state, district, and territory. Mr. Coyote seeks compensation for personal injuries, loss of business income, and mental suffering caused as a direct result of the actions and/or gross negligence of said company, under Title 15 of the United States Code, Chapter 47, section 2072, subsection (a), relating to product liability. > > > > Mr. Coyote states that on eighty-five separate occasions he has purchased of the Acme Company (hereinafter, “Defendant”), through that company’s mail order department, certain products which did cause him bodily injury due to defects in manufacture or improper cautionary labelling. Sales slips made out to Mr. Coyote as proof of purchase are at present in the possession of the Court, marked Exhibit A. Such injuries sustained by Mr. Coyote have temporarily restricted his ability to make a living in his profession of predator. Mr. Coyote is self-employed and thus not eligible for Workmen’s Compensation. > > > > *\-Coyote v. Acme* by Ian Fraizer > > --- This is one of my favorite editions of this anthology series. It's also one of the hardest to find - this PDF was the only copy available on Anna's. If anyone has alternative file formats available, offering a free boost and upvote if you link them in the comments.
www.mediafire.com
> > > It rains a lot, up here; there are winter days when it doesn’t really get light at all, only a bright, indeterminate gray. But then there are days when it’s like they whip aside a curtain to flash you three minutes of sunlit, suspended mountain, the trademark at the start of God’s own movie. It was like that the day her agents phoned, from deep in the heart of their mirrored pyramid on Beverly Boulevard, to tell me she’d merged with the net, crossed over for good, that Kings of Sleep was going triple-platinum. I’d edited most of Kings, done the brain-map work and gone over it all with the fast-wipe module, so I was in line for a share of royalties. > > > > No, I said, no. Then yes, yes, and hung up on them. Got my jacket and took the stairs three at a time, straight out to the nearest bar and an eight-hour blackout that ended on a concrete ledge two meters above midnight. False Creek water. City lights, that same gray bowl of sky smaller now, illuminated by neon and mercury-vapor arcs. And it was snowing, big flakes but not many, and when they touched black water, they were gone, no trace at all. I looked down at my feet and saw my toes clear of the edge of concrete, the water between them. I was wearing Japanese shoes, new and expensive, glove-leather Ginza monkey boots with rubber-capped toes. I stood there for a long time before I took that first step back. > > > > Because she was dead, and I’d let her go. Because, now, she was immortal, and I’d helped her get that way. And because I knew she’d phone me, in the morning. > > > > * William Gibson, The Winter Market > > [Alternative links and file formats available from Anna's pirate cantina](https://annas-archive.org/search?q=The%20Year%27s%20Best%20Science%20Fiction%3A%20Fourth%20Annual%20Collection)
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We'd like to ease your mind regarding the recent visitations (abduction is such a dirty word). They're not experiments... they're invitations. That is, if you've got the brass be bearable for extended space travel...
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> > > Oh, it's time I go. They'll never take my monkey bones. > One ticket to there > I'll take it from here > I feel it close > I feel it near > So I must go > It's killing me > Cause I must go home > Too bad at both > Too bad at both > Too bad at both > Well, too bad at both > Too bad at both > Well I'm sorting > I'm sorting out my spine > But it's running > It's running out my mind > It's running > It's running > It's running > Oh this time I go > Cause they'll never take > My monkey bones > They'll never > They'll never > Well, It's sorting > It's sorting out my spine > But it's running > It's running out my mind > It's running > It's running > It's running > I don't > Don't wanna think about nothing > I wanna feel alright > Cause you make > A monkey out of me lately > I just wanna feel right > So just go > Get out the sight of me, you're nothing > Get on the side of me I like > Cause you make > A monkey out of me lately > But we can feel alright > > [Luke Haney website](https://haney.zone/) [Luke Haney Bandcamp](https://lukehaney.bandcamp.com/)
Looks like the space cowboys are returning from the rim of the galaxy, bringing home the Interplanetary Good Zone: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPkjnRIdQXQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPkjnRIdQXQ) [@13thFloor](https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor)
Mom: "You're my changeling child." Me as a kid: "Cool! Maybe I'm magic!" Me as an adult after learning what people usually do with changelings: "Wtf Mom???" [\#13thFloor](https://kbin.social/tag/13thFloor)