Archive for November, 2015

Who Was The Daughter of the ‘Mad Monk’?

A peek into history…

 

Maria Rasputin as an animal trainer at a London circus in 1934. (Photo: Planet News Archive/Getty Images)

Maria Rasputin as an animal trainer at a London circus in 1934. (Photo: Planet News Archive/Getty Images)

 

The Many Lives of Maria Rasputin, Daughter of the ‘Mad Monk’

by Hadley Meares (Atlas Obscura)

 

“I was born in 1899 in the village of Pokrovskoe in the county of Tobolsk. My parents are peasants, simple people. Our family consists of: father, mother, grandfather (my father’s father), my brother, sister and myself. We all live happily together but sometimes I get cross with my brother and sister, but with my sister I get cross all the time. My father plays an important role because the Sovereign knows him and loves him.”

 

 

“Maria Grigorievna Rasputin wrote the simple words above as a young teenager in unpublished diaries. But from the beginning of her life in rural Siberia to its end in sunny Los Angeles, nothing about Maria’s life would ever be simple or easy.

 

Maria spent her early childhood in a relatively well-off family of peasants. Her mother was a practical, hardworking woman. Her father Grigori, was a Starets, an un-ordained holy man who traveled the country preaching and comforting those in need. From the start, Maria seems to have had a healthy sense of skepticism. She and her brother and sister dreaded the long hours of enforced prayer and fasting “for which everything, anniversaries or penitence’s, served as an excuse.”

 

In 1906, the family’s life was transformed when Grigori, who would become known to history simply as “Rasputin,” was introduced to the royal family in St. Petersburg. He was soon credited by the Empress Alexandra for saving the life of Alexi, the hemophiliac heir to the Russian throne. In 1910, Maria and her sister, Varvara, were sent to live with their father in St. Petersburg so that they could be transformed into “little ladies.”…

 

For the rest, click here.

 

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Could it be Queen Nefertiti?

The scans of King Tut’s tomb are to begin today!

 

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

 

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Hidden Chamber Theory to be Confirmed or Denied by Radar Scans beginning Thursday in Tutankhamun Tomb

 

(April Holloway/Ancient Origins)

 

 

“A three-day operation to scan behind the walls in the burial chamber of Tutankhamun is set to begin this Thursday with the results being announced by press conference on November 28. The official investigations are designed to test out the theory by archaeologist Nicholas Reeves that the tomb of Tutankhamun contains two hidden chambers and that one of them is the final resting place of Queen Nefertiti.

 

The Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt launched high-tech analyses within the boy king’s tomb on November 4 and initial infrared scans of the walls of Tutankhamun’s tomb detected an area of greater heat, which may indeed point to a hidden chamber. Excitement among historians is mounting that the long lost queen, and no doubt her wealth of treasures, may finally be found.

 

Ahram Online reports that the new operation “will involve the use of radar signals and infrared thermography to probe the north and west walls of the boy king’s burial chamber”. Antiquities Minister Mamduh al-Damati explained that these techniques will not cause any damage within the tomb, but are designed to reveal whether there are hidden chambers behind the walls or not…”

 

Read more here.

 

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En pointe. With Knives.

Suspenseful, stunning, and somehow extremely compelling to watch…

Pure emotion?

 

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Incredible Ballerina Performs En Pointe with Knife Shoes

(from My Modern Met)

 

“En Puntas is a video installation by artist Javier Pérez featuring ballerina Amélie Ségarra performing an incredible dance atop a grand piano, entirely en pointe, wearing a customized set of pointe shoes that extend beyond the toe box with a pair of sharp kitchen knives. As if dancing on the tips of your toes for an extended period of time isn’t enough, Ségarra has the added pressure of balancing on a thinner platform, from an even greater height.

 

The thought of someone even managing to stand on the potentially dangerous footwear is absolutely astounding. The fact that Ségarra maintains her balance and even leaves her mark as she purposely scrapes the sharp-edged blades across the piano is both exhilarating and frightening to watch. The intense performance is made all the more gripping as the elegant dancer tiptoes closer to the edge, making it difficult to avert one’s eyes….”

 

For the rest, click here. The film is below…

(The artist’s website is here.)

 

Javier Pérez – EN PUNTAS (extracts) from Javier Pérez on Vimeo.

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