Being a tumblelog maintained by Brian JonesTumblr (3.0; @foamgarden)http://blue.foamgarden.com/<img src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kz1734UeQh1qzsb62o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>“Not only the Heavens, and other vast, and more excellent parts of Nature declare the glory of their Almighty Maker; but even the least and most despicable of his productions do also discover the work of his hands, and raise their minds who attentively consider them to a grateful admiration of the greatness of his power, and an humble acknowledgment of his Sovereignty: Out of a perswasion therefore that there are some who delightfully search into the secrets of Nature, and contemplate the wonders of God, who out of his inexhaustible treasures hath endued the most inconsiderable of his creatures with so many rich ornaments, occult qualities, and rare beauties, we shall bestow this Chapter on the considerations of certain Insects commonly seen in these Islands, all which have some peculiar properties, as so many beams of glory to raise them from their natural lowness into some esteem.”</p> <p>From Charles de Rochefort’s <em>The History of the Caribby-Islands</em> as translated by John Davies for publication in London in 1666.</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/437354198http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/437354198Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:18:40 -0600history of sciencenatural historynew worldmonsters“But Casual Victim Pile isn’t any sort of manifesto or template. To quote Cosloy again, it is a “snapshot of a particular time and place,” and it’s difficult to imagine a more compelling vision of what exactly this slab of Red River is all about. In that respect, Casual Victim Pile is not the last word on Austin’s music scene for 2010, but the first. How wonderful it would be if this labor of love inspired many more testaments, from the experimental havens of the Church of the Friendly Ghost to the bruised concrete of the Broken Neck to the congregations of our house shows to everything else. It’s a time to stop wringing hands about blues-rock’s dopey shadow or the over-glorified confines of one particular extinct venue - be it The Vulcan Gas Company or Liberty Lunch or even the Back Room. In spite of (or because of) Austin’s comfortable ties to the past, everything feels fresh and new and very, very exciting, with so much more to be uncovered in the year to come.”<br/><br/> - <em>I have to admit that I’m as guilty as anyone of lamenting the loss (and impending loss) of places like Armadillo World Headquarters, Liberty Lunch, and the Cactus Cafe, but at the same time this kind of enthusiasm for what’s going on now and how it lays foundations for Austin’s future excites me. There’s of course some cross-talk involved in highlighting how creating a historical snapshot for the sake of posterity demonstrates a focus on the future, but this kind of affection for our place and the cooperation it so frequently inspires expressed through an actual collaborative project, rather than some abstracted Chamber of Commerce initiative, can only be a good thing. (quotation from <a href="http://austinist.com/2010/02/05/casual_victim_pile_album_review_sho.php#more">Casual Victim Pile: Album Review, Show(s) Preview - Austinist</a>)</em>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/376308780http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/376308780Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:15:07 -0600austinmusiccommunity<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kt59t2cjzQ1qzsb62o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Colonel Granville Ryrie and a box kite, 1914 (via <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/australian-war-memorial">Australian War Memorial collection</a>)</p> <p>Given the Australian setting, this has to be the most exemplary image of what was horrible and is fascinating about the First World War.</p> <p><strong>As fast as a leopard…</strong></p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/244641742http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/244641742Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:46:14 -0600<img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kt59hlmIsm1qzsb62o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Marine Society cadets (via <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/nationalmaritimemuseum">National Maritime Museum</a>)</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/244637648http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/244637648Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:39:20 -0600<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="300" data="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7580419&server=vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF"><param name="quality" value="best" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="scale" value="showAll" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7580419&server=vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF" /><embed src="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7580419&server=www.vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br/><br/><p>My favorite musician from my teens covering my favorite record ever - hard to beat / Record Club: Skip Spence “Little Hands” on Vimeo (via <a href="http://vimeo.com/7580419#embed">Vimeo</a>)</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/244176687http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/244176687Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:02:32 -0600musicskip spencebeckvideo<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqw11wP5101qzsb62o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Charlie Brown’s pub showing curiosities brought back by sailors (via <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/nationalmaritimemuseum">National Maritime Museum</a>)</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/202551380http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/202551380Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:51:32 -0500maritimehistorybritaincuriosities<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kps4zcEO4T1qzsb62o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>French liqueur advertisements on cigarette paper books (via <a href="http://cigpapers.co.uk/images/listing_photos/294_pernod4.jpg">cigpapers.co.uk</a>)</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/184864826http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/184864826Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:52:22 -0500designmerchandisingalcoholtobacco<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kps4xkG75j1qzsb62o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>French rum advertisements on cigarette paper books (via <a href="http://cigpapers.co.uk">cigpapers.co.uk</a>)</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/184863960http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/184863960Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:51:19 -0500designmerchandisingalcoholtobacco<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kps4ujHqgz1qzsb62o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>French liqueur advertisements on cigarette paper books (via <a href="http://cigpapers.co.uk">cigpapers.co.uk</a>)</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/184862647http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/184862647Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:49:00 -0500designmerchandisingalcoholtobacco<img src="http://26.media.tumblr.com/20y37XunQq98oxbyDiHUpJCAo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><i>Ciarlatani</i> performing on the Piazza San Marco in Venice as portrayed by Giacomo Franco in his <i>Habiti d’huomini e donne</i> published in 1609. The source of the English word “charlatan,” the ciarlatani were street performers and sellers of secret remedies with a reputation, particularly among travelers, for being cheats and thieves.</p> <p>William Eamon uses them as an example of one of the vectors by which “secrets” were diffused to the mainstream public in the early modern period in his <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691026025?ie=UTF8&tag=brijon0f-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0691026025"><i>Science and the Secrets of Nature: Books of secrets in Medieval and Early Modern Culture</i></a> which, in short, explores the role books of secrets and recipes played in the early modern Scientific Revolution.</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/147614576http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/147614576Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:25:00 -0500historyhistory of scienceitaly“Be not ashamed to study the astronomy and terrestrial philosophy of the peasantry. Purchase coal, build furnaces, watch and operate the fire. In this way and no other you will arrive at a knowledge of things and their properties.”<br/><br/> - <em>Peter Severinus, 16th c. Danish Paracelsian physician</em>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/147563677http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/147563677Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:54:18 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/20y37XunQlo2361yh2By30XLo1_r1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.concretehermit.com/shop/anthony-burrill-work-hard.html">Anthony Burrill - Work Hard…</a></p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/91082706http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/91082706Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:58:00 -0500designpostertypography<img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/20y37XunQlfioy32Ci6P6jFjo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2009/03/renaissance-kitchen.html">BibliOdyssey: The Renaissance Kitchen</a></p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/89234090http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/89234090Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:33:38 -0500cookingrenaissanceillustrationhistory<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/20y37XunQlfgt9ee9DKUliQQo1_400.jpg"/><br/><br/><blockquote> These structure were so effective that their use in rivers was actually banned in the Magna Carta. Traps like this were only allowed along the coasts where stock was less likely to be depleted. </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/2252">The History Blog » Aerial pictures reveals Norman fish trap</a></p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/89219829http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/89219829Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:41:00 -0500historyfishing<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/20y37XunQlfgl387L9Rm3Akvo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Men with captured alligator: Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida (via <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/floridamemory">State Archives of Florida</a>)</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/89218217http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/89218217Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:34:39 -0500alligatorshuntingflorida<embed src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:mtvmusic.com:164560" width="400" height="338" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="dist=http://www.mtvmusic.com" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="never"></embed><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.mtvmusic.com/pavement/videos/164560/gold_soundz.jhtml">Pavement - Gold Soundz</a></p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/89097004http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/89097004Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:29:22 -0500<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/20y37XunQldwpjmbq9HM8Zkzo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Rounding Cape Horn on the Parma (via <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/nationalmaritimemuseum">National Maritime Museum</a>)</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/88869516http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/88869516Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:30:28 -0500shipsphotography“The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.”<br/><br/> - <em>Horace Walpole (via <a href="http://quote-book.tumblr.com/">quote-book</a>) (via <a href="http://afternoontea.tumblr.com/">afternoontea</a>)</em>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/85277657http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/85277657Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:37:19 -0500<img src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/20y37XunQktnkfpsIqRvWb1qo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Jan Mostaert’s “West Indies Landscape” (c. 1545) depicts the artist’s imagination of the New World having never been there before. The image is a fascinating combination of European tropes of both domesticity (the standard complement of European farm animals in the lower right corner) and exoticism (the monkey in the foreground, the strange rock formations). The dress of the human subjects, though difficult to read in this regrettably small reproduction, also provides a similarly intriguing combination of cultural references, from vaguely Mongol helmets to medieval European horns.</p> <p>Benjamin Schmidt uses this painting to brilliant effect in framing his opening chapter of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Innocence-Abroad-Dutch-Imagination-1570-1670/dp/0521024552/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236539905&sr=8-2"><i>Innocence Abroad: The Dutch Imagination in the New World, 1570-1670</i></a> in which he argues for the primacy of domestic, rather than colonial, concerns in shaping Dutch representations of the New World.</p> <p>(via <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/West_indies.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/84659060http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/84659060Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:19:10 -0500paintinghistorydutchnew world<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/20y37XunQkshgjttMqYeoEHlo1_400.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>These folks are making absolutely kickass handmade clothes in the style of workclothes from the Edwardian era. Of particular interest to me are the maritime workclothes, but everything they’re doing is great looking.</p> <p><a href="http://www.old-town.co.uk/products/vauxhalls.htm">Old Town Clothing - classic British workwear - Holt, Norfolk, England</a></p>http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/84461791http://blue.foamgarden.com/post/84461791Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:40:24 -0600clothingstylebritish