HanknZoey

atlasobscura: Caves of Remouchamps - Ayailles -...

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:27:51 -0700

Caves of Remouchamps - Ayailles - Belgium

Hiding the longest subterranean river known in the world.

Located in Belgium, the Caves of Remouchamps has among its many wonders the longest subterranean river known in the world. Opened in 1912 and originally equipped with torches, the caves are explored in two parts. The first is a long walk to a grand “cathedral”, followed by an hour and a half boat ride down the caves’ quiet and entirely underground river, the Rubicon. Floating down the underground river gives the impression of an entering a lost underground fairy kingdom.

The history of the Caves of Remouchamps is also quite unique. Some 8,000 years ago, Paleolithic hunters sheltered themselves in the cave, and much later, the same area was used as a wine shelter, and a shelter during World War II.

Throughout the cave there are a handful of remarkable sites for visitors to see. Bat sightings are a treat for guests and while drifting on the Rubicon, look closely for the niphargus, a blind, translucent shrimp. Many stalactites and stalagmites decorate the interior of the passageways, one famously noted for its resemblance to the Virgin Mary.

Must go.

nevver: Larping League

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:26:28 -0700

nevver:

Larping League

Photo

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:48:13 -0700

A Son of Music Royalty, Shot in New Orleans on Mother's Day

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:14:47 -0700

defendneworleans:

The musician’s son knew how he was supposed to feel. Cheldon White has been to more second-line parades than he can remember. Hundreds, probably. So as the brass band started playing and the parade lurched forward in New Orleans last Sunday, White, who was standing amid the crowd, expected to find his feet dancing.

But for some reason, he wasn’t feeling it. He tried to do a little step — nothing. Then the Mother’s Day parade turned off a four-lane thoroughfare and onto a one-way residential street in the 7^th Ward, one of the city’s most troubled neighborhoods. The crowd of roughly 200 people filled space, like water rushing into a hole. And with nowhere to dance, even if he could find his groove, White threaded his way to the front.

Up ahead, according to police, Akein Scott, a teenager with a criminal past, was waiting with a gun in hand, preparing to open fire, perhaps to settle a beef. Within moments, 19 people, including two children, would be injured in a storm of bullets. And White, a 21-year-old photographer, was walking right into it — for one reason: “I wanted to dance,” he says. “I needed some space, so I could dance.”

Music is part of the cultural fabric in New Orleans, an ethereal idea that draws tourists from around the world. But for Cheldon White, it’s a matter of simple genetics. White’s parents met at a second line more than two decades ago. He was raised in the Treme, the son of a seamstress and a trombone player. And that trombonist isn’t just anyone; it’s Stafford Agee, one of the stars of the Grammy award-winning Rebirth Brass Band: musical royalty in New Orleans.

Read More

nevver: Fred Wilson

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:10:46 -0700

nevver:

Fred Wilson

The Origins of 9 Great British Insults

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:07:56 -0700

The Origins of 9 Great British Insults:

nevver:

WAZZOCK
Wazzock was a particularly prevalent—and particularly loutish—insult in the 1990s. At the time, “lad culture” ran throughout British music and television, and wazzock, a North-England accented contraction of the sarcastic wiseacre (a know-it-all) became a powerful tool to shoot people down in an argument.
LUMMOX
Though the etymology of lummox is heavily disputed, one thing is for certain: It came from East Anglia, the coastal outcrop of Britain above London. There, around 1825, someone threw out the word as an insult, and it stuck, becoming a typically British go-to term. Some linguists believe it comes from the verb lummock, which typified a lummox: it means a clumsy oaf.
SKIVER
Skivers and shirkers are one and the same. Someone who manages to duck under any responsibility and loaf around, doing very little, is a skiver. The origins of this particular insult are contested: some think it’s from an Old Norse word—skifa—meaning “slice,” whereby the worker slices off as much work as possible.
MINGER
Often hurled at the opposite sex, to call someone a minger is to say they are objectively unattractive. Though etymologists struggle to agree where the word came from, it seems likely that it stems from the Old Scots word meng, meaning “sh**.” We didn’t say it was pretty.
NINCOMPOOP
For such a colloquial word, nincompoop actually has a very learned past. Samuel Johnson, the compiler of England’s first proper dictionary, claims the word comes from the Latin phrase non compos mentis (“not of right mind”), and was originally a legal term.
PILLOCK
As words are used more regularly, the laziness of pronunciation can often warp them slightly. So it was with pillock. Originally pillicock (a Norwegian slang word for penis), the word has since been condensed to plain old pillock—though its meaning remains.
CLOD HOPPER
According to the brilliant Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, dating back to 1811 and compiled by Captain Francis Grose, a clod hopper refers to a country farmer or ploughman—with the implication nowadays that you’re slow witted and bumbling.
DUNAKER
Grose’s Dictionary of vulgarities is a rich seam of overlooked insults. In the 200 years since it was published, there have been several terms that have fallen out of favor. One of them is dunaker, a common thief of cows and calves.
GIT
By calling someone a git, you’re invoking the old Scots word get, which means “bastard.” When it came down south of the border, it lost its harsh vowel sound and became something softer, albeit with the required spikiness in.

atlasobscura: An uncoordinated team of powerful-pawed moles are...

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:07:13 -0700

atlasobscura:

An uncoordinated team of powerful-pawed moles are delving into history unreachable by humans. Epiacum, also known as Whitley Castle, is a Roman fort in England dating back to the 2nd century, and the details of its long history are being revealed by the wandering tunnels of moles that bring up shards of artifacts with the disturbed earth.

Epiacum annually has molehill surveys, the Journal reports, and this most recent examination of the gateways to the subterranean mole world resulted in around 200 items believed to be Roman. Paul Frodsham with the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which organized the molehill volunteers, told the Journal: “We even found a ladies’ glass bead in the men’s barracks block, and wondered what it might have been doing there!”

Mole Archaeologists Excavate the Unreachable Underworld of a Roman Fort

I want a pet mole.

defendneworleans: I Love You Louisiana posters now online....

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:05:05 -0700

defendneworleans:

I Love You Louisiana posters now online. Handprinted by Hannah Jegart.

nevver: Wasn’t his time

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:03:33 -0700

nevver:

Wasn’t his time

Walt Disney’s The Flying Mouse (1934) - Silly Symphonies

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:29:18 -0700

Walt Disney’s The Flying Mouse (1934) - Silly Symphonies

nevver: Tim stays up late

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:28:24 -0700

nevver:

Tim stays up late

thedailywhat: Entertainment Gossip of the Day: The Jay Leno...

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:35:12 -0700

thedailywhat:

Entertainment Gossip of the Day: The Jay Leno Pumpcast Karaoke Segment was Likely Staged

Say it ain’t so! The uplifting Californian couple that performed what was thought to be a spontaneous karaoke duet as part of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show ”Pumpcast News” segment may have actually been hired actors, according to The Smoking Gun. According to the hoax killers, Will Sims and his wife Monifa have been pursuing careers in show business for sometime with Mrs. Sims having appeared on the same “Pumpcast News” segment before more than two years ago. Monifa has since responded to the allegations, claiming it was just a coincidence that she ended up on the show for a second time. What do you think?

Watch. Laugh. Then find someone to compliment you just as these two do.

atlasobscura: The linked headstones of two lovers who refused...

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:34:33 -0700

atlasobscura:

The linked headstones of two lovers who refused to let go, even in Death

Until 40 years ago, Catholic and protestant establishments in the Netherlands were separate from one another as a result of Pillarisation, a widespread politico-denominational segregation. Churches, supermarkets, and other public places were segregated by religious and political beliefs.

All of this sets the scene to the story of Protestant Colonel J.C.P.H of Aeffderson and Catholic noblewoman J.W.C Van Gorkum. Their marriage would’ve caused a storm of scandal back in the 19th century. Not only was it religiously mixed, but they were from two very different social classes. However, despite all of the taboo in 19th century society, the couple’s marriage lasted for 40 years, only ending with the colonel’s death.

Eight years later, when his wife passed away, her wishes dictated that she wanted to be buried next to her husband. Pillarisation was still in effect at the time, and according to the law, this was impossible. However, with a little creative stonework, both Husband and wife were linked eternally together in a different way.

More info here !

nevver: Mother’s Day in the real world

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:29:36 -0700

nevver:

Mother’s Day in the real world

Ruined by Internet

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:55:52 -0700

nevver:

French new wave
Circles on images
Squares on images
Words on canvas
Words in neon
Smoke/explosions
Bob Dylan circa 1965
Hair in face
Models
Whiteness
Visual puns involving pubic hair

— Magnificent Ruin

Teeth always freak me out.

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:47:02 -0700

Teeth always freak me out.

Word.

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:46:43 -0700

Word.

dogshaming: I pooped on the laptop!Slim is jealous of the...

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:44:55 -0700

dogshaming:

I pooped on the laptop!
Slim is jealous of the attention we give the laptop. When no one was looking he pooped right on…
View Post

npr: Watch the trailer for the new season of “Arrested...

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:41:24 -0700

npr:

Watch the trailer for the new season of “Arrested Development.” Are you ready?! — tanya b.

So. Fucking. Excited. #dontbothermeonmay26

nevver: Word on the Street

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:38:17 -0700

nevver:

Word on the Street