a dictionary of spectral curiosities
Posts about vintage memorabilia from my ever-growing collection.
What is something not-so-secret and somewhat strange that you do that gives you purpose? For me, it's bringing flowers to old graves that no one seems to visit anymore. It's not as random as it might seem. Wherever I live, I seem to get attached to old cemeteries, and in particular churchyards. They bring a …
Continue reading "Bringing flowers to a forgotten grave: Celia Holloway (1799-1831)"
Yes, somebody actually put this on their bio. Does this count as copyright infringement, or fair use under the copyright law? After many, many, many - possibly way too many - years stuck in monogamous relationships that weren't good for me, I'm finally experiencing what some might call "freedom." For some months I did the …
Today's prompt encouraged us to write a poem about an animal, which was an excellent excuse for me to to write about a cockroach for the first time! I dedicate this one to my patient hissers, Kafka and Rilke. The Cockroach He burrows, searching for the trail left him by his ancestors, alive with the warning …
Today, I wrote a poem about fairies, elves, mermaids, and nature, inspired by the amazing town I'm currently staying in. The View from the Nehaj Fortress One could almost believe that the elves went to war with the fairies here. The hills, bathing their feet in the sea are true testimony; there have been no …
Found these two lovely photo-postcards at a flea market in Italy. Judging from the clothing style and  the automobile, I'd date them to the early 20th century, possibly the 1920s, but please do correct me if I'm wrong. They were displayed together with other photo-postcards in which various people from the group photo also …
I haven't updated this blog in such a long time, but I guess life and work have a habit of getting in the way. Well, this weekend I've finally done something properly new that broke the monotony of habit, and now I'm itching to write about it. I went to a taxidermy workshop. That's right, taxidermy, where you …
Ah, here it comes then, finally, a proper blog post. Many of you will probably recognise that title quotation as lifted whole out of one of the most famous books in the world, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. That's when Alice, frustrated and confused by so many (rather brusque) changes in height, and puzzled by the anthropomorphic White …
Continue reading "“But if I’m not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I?”"
Just about time I shared my new haul of vintage photographs with the world, isn't it? I bought these in Bucharest, at a Christmas/ winter holidays fair, after some negotiations with the vendor. To be fair, though, he didn't seem to mind my haggling. Actually, he looked quite happy to finally find someone who was …
Continue reading "Added more ghosts to my ever-expanding collection…"
This will be more of a memento than a regular blog post, I suppose. Last week I got a chance to see the art collection at the Nottingham Castle Museum. It was only a brief visit, yet I made a point of jotting down the titles of all the paintings that caught my fancy for …
I was unlucky in my quest for vintage photographs for a while - the local market has been yielding nothing but black and white photographs of cats and dogs and some tacky birthday cards. But my luck turned just as soon as I paid a visit to Camden Market, London. Have I ever mentioned how …
Continue reading "From Camden Town to Istanbul in a Single Stride: Vintage Memorabilia"
Encyclopaedia Vanitatum 