Sunday, June 18, 2006

A Writer, with a Castle in the Background Scanned Images, Engravings and Pictures From Old Books. Scanned Images, Engravings and Pictures From Old Books. [via Matthew White's History Topic of the Week or Month or Something] Over a thousand images from old, public domain books, scanned by Liam Quin. Some favorites of mine are Discourse into the Night, The Catacombs of Naples, A Potter Thumping His Wet Clay, A Writer, with a Castle in the Background and Grotesque Head. [MetaFilter] 7:02:28 PM

Cinema Minima: Per Diem The real goal of French aperitif advertisements in the interwar period. Trust the TLS to come up with this stuff - how many book reviews review books not in English, as the TLS does regularly? It turns out that after absinthe had been banned in 1915, France's aperitif-makers used advertising campaigns to put distance between their products and the demon f/e verte of absinthe. All those beautiful ads for Dubonnet and other aperitifs were designed, not merely to sell, or even to gain market share against competitors, but to position the products against absinthe. [Cinema Minima: Per Diem] 11:16:02 AM

mathewgross.com & recommended audio slideshow The Ultimate Road Trip. Mark Sundeen's story of the trip Mel and I took with him to Iceland last year is in The New York Times today. (Yep-- that's Mel dressing as a viking during a visit to Eric the Red's homestead on the Snaefellsness Pennsinsula.) Also be sure to check out the Audio slideshow of our trip around the country. [Mathew Gross - Deride and Conquer] 9:31:21 AM