NANOOK OF THE NORTH

Nanook of the North is a documentary film. Maybe the first. In the film, the viewer follows the inuit Nanook on an adventure of hunting and survival in the far north. Robert Flaherty, explorer and filmmaker, captured these events on film. It was a considerable task in 1920. Luckily, Flaherty was able to utilize a new portable cameras designed by American Museum of Natural History taxidermist Carl Akeley. The curious juxtaposition of film and wildlife has prompted many writers to consider the cinema as taxidermy. The original Nanook film burned in a fire at Flaherty's home. Flaherty returned to the north to film an improved second picture. All told, the film took several years to complete. Now, we can enjoy the life of the warm Nanook, surviving happily, forever locked in the mythic north. Happy Holidays.

How I Filmed Nanook by R. Flaherty

ON A SNOW HUNT

Pieter Breugel, HUNTERS IN THE SNOW from the Kunst-Historische Museum, Vienna

Leaving the city and back in the snow. Some tend the fires at home and are absorbed in their occupation. They're unaware of a quest beyond. The hunters have their task. They have a destination. They have a dark purpose. Their place is the mountains. Breugel the Elder

Watch
Breugel Documentary

WINTER WALRUS

Albrecht Durer's illustration of a walrus from his "Tagebuch der Reise in die Niederlande" ("Diary of of a journey in the Netherlands") drawn from memory of a dead walrus in the Dutch sea.

GRUSS VOM KRAMPUS

Greetings from Krampus. St. Nicholas has always operated on his "naughty or nice" policy, right? You get presents if you're nice, but what do you get if you're naughty? Some coal? Pretty weak. Not a great deterrent for naughty kids.

But throughout Austria and the Alps, there is a reason to be nice. Some pagan traditions continue to thrive. One is the legend of Krampus. St. Nicholas would make his rounds to all the houses to deliver gifts to children. But he had with him a constant companion- Krampus. If you were naughty, spoiled, or bratty, the wooly, goat horned Krampus would chase you and beat you with a switch. In some cases, he would take you home, cook you, and eat you.

Krampus has his own special day, December 5th. But Krampus festivities now run into the following weekend. Gangs of fellows dressed in furs, wooden masks, and horns, ransack Austrian towns, frightening young and old alike. Rush on over to Monster Brains for an avalanche of Krampus images and lore.

YETI

The first snow of winter in NYC. I feel reborn, as if woken from a great sleep. Like the Yeti emerging from his cave after a long summer's hibernation. Our furry friend, the Yeti, is back. Check boing boing for the details. Never mind the haters who claim he doesn't exist. Not true. He's out in the snow, mountain climbing, chilling with his buddhist monk buddies, and scaring the occasional sherpa. Drinking hot toddies. Check this blog for all the yeti love and then some.

CHIROPTERA

Albrecht Durer's Bat

Chiroptera a.k.a. Bats- the only mammal blessed with flight. Bats constitute 1/5 of mammal species. There are over 1,000 types of bat, and they're found in every corner of the world. Five species even live in Alaska. They're not only prolific; they elimate insect pests, and they're important pollinators. Only a few bats drink blood, and it's more like sipping blood. The blood drinkers stick mostly to cattle, and reside in South America.

New York is home to some 9 or 10 species of bat. About 5 species take refuge in the city proper. It's a great environment. Lots of bugs to eat and dark, warm buildings in which to roost. Spotting bats in NYC.

Bats can be broken into two categories, Microchiroptera and Megachiroptera. Megachiroptera are generally larger, and feast on fruit. All bats in New York are Microchiroptera. They eat insects and use echolocation to navigate and forage. Echolocation begins with the animal emitting a sonic call. The call bounces off objects or prey, and the echo returns to the animal. This enables the bat to navigate in complete darkness. The strange bat faces below are carefully designed to aid in capturing echoes.


"Chiroptera" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904

SECRET SCIENCE

The secret is out. There is a sea change. Science is cool again. New Animals wants to unlock the secrets of the natural world. And New Animals loves a Jameson with ice. The Secret Science Club is the stone aimed squarely at these two birds. Here, young people gather to hear lectures and view demonstrations on sundry scientific topics. Union Hall, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, is a grand locale for these clandestine meetings. A big bar, books, and bocce. Que bella! Sign up early for the bocce courts. Secret meetings are in the basement. Where all secret meetings are held. New York Times Review of Secret Scientists

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA

That's the motto of Kansas, the state I grew up in. Ad Astra per Aspera. It means 'to the stars through difficulties.' It's applicable to the state and applicable to this band - Drakkar Sauna. Just saw these Kansas natives a few weeks ago, and I can't stop listening to them. Somehow, they summarize the midwest for me. Rusty but harmonious, dark and funny, secular but spiritual, and relatable without getting hit over the head with pathos. They're a kick to see live. Stomping tamborine shoes, Rollie Fingers mustaches, and stories of "traveling the country, and having a fine time doing it!" Order the vinyl version of their record, Jabraham Lincoln, and the CDR version is also inside. And here's some live versions of songs gratis.

LIFE AND DEATH AND DURER

Albrecht Durer was a German artist who lived during the Renaissance. 1471-1528. Not only did he have the steady hand to make the craziest line drawings ever, he used his skills to revolution printmaking. The great grandpappy of graphic design. A lot of heart and dedication and dementia went into his religious prints, like in the Knight, Death, and Devil above. But few could capture animal life like Durer. Well before the photograph, Durer made animals breath on the page. Galileo would later follow suit and attempt a museum of the natural world in paper. But for now, more Durer animals to follow. Durer Bio from Met Museum

DEER DURER

MOUNTAIN MUSIC

MOUNT EERIE thursday!
Lutheran Church of the Messiah
129 Russell St @ Nassau, Greenpoint, Brooklyn 8pm
Seven New Songs of Mount Eerie

TO FRANKENSTEIN

We didn't really lose you to the waves and the darkness, did we? This would be a great time to show up again and show us what you got. What we can learn from you! Not that I want to live forever, but you've got the secret to clean, renewable energy. And you can answer so many questions about the modern body and gender and being human and what it's like on the other side of life! No pressure or anything. We'd love to shake your hand.

SOCIAL TAXIDERMY

From the Bureau of Upcoming Nocturnal Events:
The Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest
Friday, November 2
at UNION HALL in beautiful Park Slope, Brooklyn
Here's the details:
Secret Science Club Taxidermy Night

"Dammit, where's my javelina?"

COUNTRY TIME

I can't be bothered with most CMJ shows in New York. You can't get in, there's too many people, and bands play for 15 minutes. But this Saturday, October 20th is something good. Bloodshot records showcase at Union Pool in Brooklyn. It's all afternoon, and there's BBQ to boot. Ha Ha Tonka should be real good. Come put a tear in your beer with me.

BLOODSHOT RECORDS NEWS

AMERICAN WEREWOLF

Pretty much one of my top 10 movies ever. And it's showing tomorrow in NY. And director Jon Landis is going to be there.

Remember Mickey Mouse in the transformation scene. Or the wolf at the bottom of the escalator for the tube. Or the SS monsters in David's dream. David's friend as the zombie. I love this movie.

It's playing Friday, October 12 at Two Boots

TAXIDERMY DISSECTED

Here's a great website/blog about Taxidermy, its origins and manifestations. RAVISHING BEASTS
The image is from the Smithsonian's collection of bird skins. So neatly organized, the victorians would have been pleased.

COMEDY!

Neil Hamburger is America's Funnyman!
Maybe even the World's Funnyman!
And he's performing his act this Saturday in NYC!
It's just so funny!

Buy tickets at the Knitting Factory

KNOW EVERYTHING

Anthanasius Kircher was the last man to know everything. The last Renaissance Man. It's cool that he proved that the tower of Babel wouldn't be possible. The tower would be so big it would tip the Earth and displace it from the center of the universe. Maybe you can catch up if you read the dude's blog:
THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANTHANASIUS KIRCHER SOCIETY
Lots of links to weird museums.

POLAR BEARS

Polar bears from Mark Dion to you. His book on ursus maritimus shows stuffed polar bears on display. How do you see our friend, the world's largest land carnivore?

NEW BOOK

Miranda July is way cute and way too good. Her movie was really good and then her book was really, really good. I always like economy in writing style. And weird sex scenes. Write another book please, Miranda!

MIRANDA JULY

NEW ART PART 2

Another good artist. Lucy Orta. Look at her neat website. I want to live on the dairy farm in france and make political art.

Studio Orta

NEW ART

Pretty much my favorite artist right now. Mark Dion.

LIGHTHOUSE

ICE PAINTING

Robert Peary and Matthew Henson at the North Pole.

ARCTIC EXPLORATION

In the summer, its nice to imagine exploring the arctic. Robert Peary was the first person to reach the north pole in 1909. He had lots of help and employed Inuit people as hunters and guides. He adopted Inuit techniques for arctic survival, such as igloo building and the wearing of furs. Peary had 8 toes amputated.



There's a great museum at Bowdoin College in Maine, Peary's alma mater. It's called the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum. It has loads of taxidermy arctic animals, polar bears, caribou, musk ox, and even a narwhal skull. There are displays of Peary's crew and his ship, the Roosevelt. There are large rotating exhibits mostly based on the Inuit people of the north. Enjoy exploring the arctic this summer!

Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum

THE BEST COMICS

Kochalka is the best. His site is updated every day with a new "diary" comic.

American Elf

CRYPTOZOOLOGY

You've been out in the woods for a long time. Do you think that its maybe time to say hello? I guess it might ruin your plans to "live off the grid." We could probably learn alot from you, though. You probably have your reasons. Maybe your magic would be gone if we met. Maybe its best that you're hiding. Good thinking.

ROCK MUSIC

Download Odyshape as .rar file.

MODERN PAINTERS

Pernot is a friend of mine in New York. We went to school together in Indiana. I really like his work. Check out his website.
PERNOT HUDSON .COM

RELATIONAL AESTHETICS

COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER

I have become really worried about what is happening to the bees. Bees are disappearing across the world- the US, the UK, Europe, Asia. "25-50 percent of US American beekeepers reported losses due to CCD. During the past six months, 50-90 percent of their bees had disappeared." (Gaigg 2007:1) The note thats being passed around is that without bees, our ecology would collapse in four years. Bees provide honey, but they also pollinate many crops and wild plants.

Mobile phones and their towers may or may not be the culprit for these mysterious bee disappearances. CCD has been reported in the US before, about 50 years ago. A fungus was attacking the bees' brains. Using your phone less might be a good idea in general. Just ask the bees.

German Bee Study

LA Times Fungus Attacking Bees

Big Bee Death PDF

NEW BLOG

Hi everyone. A new blog. Some interests of mine will be featured. History, art, animals, monsters, museums. We'll see what happens.