Il Medico Della Peste (The Plague Doctor)

Been reading a lot about the Plague, Black Death, Bubonic Plague, call it what you will, and the desperate measures people went to, most fascinating of all, the Plague doctors and their sinister costumes!
There was even a popular poem about the Plague Doctor costume! circa 17th century:

As may be seen on picture here,

In Rome the doctors do appear,

When to their patients they are called,

In places by the plague appalled,

Their hats and cloaks, of fashion new,

Are made of oilcloth, dark of hue,

Their caps with glasses are designed,

Their bills with antidotes all lined,

That foulsome air may do no harm,

Nor cause the doctor man alarm,

The staff in hand must serve to show

Their noble trade where'er they go

History never ceases to amaze. The beaks of the costume were stuffed with herbs, lavender, strong smelling items, the cane/ stick was used to keep people away and point out sores on a victim. Plague killed between 75 to 200 million people.

Hedgehog in the Fog

Charming little film, made by Soyuzmultifilm, a goldmine of Russian animation. Folklore and traditional tales of each country are fun to watch and read. Remembering  reading the real Grimm's fairy tales for the first time it was lots of death, torture and pain, not happy clean endings as Disney would have us believe!

Hedgehog in the Fog can be viewed on Youtube, its quite delightful in its simple charms...

Death of Cleopatra in art

Cleopatra's death still not agreed on by all historians, lots of depictions in art. Here are some by Guido Reni, Jean-Andre Rixens and Reginald Arthur. 

Pink Floyd's The Wall

Whether a fan of their music or not, The Wall has some of the most incredible imagery and animation. It represents so many things to so many different people, which makes it even more accessible and wondrous..

the moomins

Days spent reading and watching The Moomins, are days spent well. The wistful winds of Moomin valley are far more wanted than grim reality some days...

time flies tomorrow

how it does. for now,

tare panda

I wish tare panda were real! then he could sit with me and do nothing all day and i would cook and we would lie on our backs digesting lunch, staring at clouds. He's a big hit in Japan, San-X characters always brighten my day! There's a stack of 4 plush tare pandas that i have my eye on at the moment on eBay! For someone my age, this seems a bit ridiculous, but one can never have enough toys! Totoro, Catbus, Soot sprites, Pochacco, Pucca, Moomin, all have happy places in my room!