The Lost Gospel The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot by Herbert Krosney National Geographic, 2006 [ #5 Breaking Ground: A book about exploration or discovery, fiction or nonfiction. ] The lost Gospel of Judas is a piece of New Testament Gnosticism that was discovered in the 1970s but took a very roundabout route …
Tag: History
Worldbuilding Wednesday 1/29/25: Korean Clans
My fascination with Korea continues into this new year of 2025. Pictured above is the South Korean rugby team OK Man, or OK Man Financial Group. Rugby is a specialty sport imported from England that has gained an increasing following in South Korea, where teams are sponsored by companies, colleges, even the military forces. (In …
Worldbuilding Wednesday 10/2/24: Paintings by Velázquez
Diego Velázquez is regarded as one of the most prominent painters of the 17th century and a forerunner of realism. So said my art history professors. Los Meninas was considered by them to be the height of his innovation, as it depicts him, the artist, sitting and painting a portrait of the Spanish court life …
The Lady of the Green Kirtle:
Vert-de-Gris
Previous parts of this series: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V When it came to the color green, Medieval artists and crafters had a rough time. Unlike the warm colors – reds, oranges, yellows – long-lasting green pigments were not so easily available from nature. Mostly, these artists resorted to …
Passing Obsessions 7-24
Scandal strikes the SFF world again. Writer Neil Gaiman accused of, but denies, sexually assaulting two women, one of whom was the nanny of his child. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an animated film by Warner Brothers based on Tolkien’s work, releases some preview artwork. (It’s anime style.) In related …
All Aboard! Images from the Golden Age of Rail Travel [Review]
All Aboard! Images from the Golden Age of Rail Travel by Lynn Johnson & Michael O’Leary Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1999 If you were a graphic artist in the 1980s and 1990s Chronicle Books of San Francisco was your crack, publishing tons of art, art history, design and architecture books every. All were beautifully designed …
The Bees and the Beekeeper
… the spells began straight away, and at first there was nothing very important in them. They were cures for warts (by washing your hands in moonlight in a silver basin) and toothache and cramp, and a spell for taking a swarm of bees. The picture of the man with toothache was so lifelike that …
Worldbuilding Wednesday 3/27/24: Shades of Red
I used to be disgusted Now I try to be amused But since their wings have got rusted You know the angels wanna wear my red shoes — Elvis Costello, (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes Red is the most dominant and eye-catching color in the spectrum. To even say its name is to …







