M.J. Rose

During this time of year, many people are imagining and reveling in stories of Christ’s nativity. Many of the symbols in our modern day Christmas rituals are based on these stories. So, just imagine how Christians and Christmas celebrators would feel if the exact site of Christ’s birth with remnants of the manger itself had been found?

For Buddhists, this recent archaeological discovery is no doubt a deep one…

 The Earliest Archeology Of Buddha Found

(Science 2.0)

“Archaeologists working in Nepal have uncovered evidence of a structure at the birthplace of the Buddha dating to the sixth century B.C., the first archaeological material linking the life of the Buddha and the movement he founded to a specific century.

The Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini, Nepal, has long been considered the birthplace of the Buddha and now excavations have uncovered the remains of a previously unknown sixth-century B.C. timber structure under a series of brick temples. Laid out on the same design as those above it, the timber structure contains an open space in the center that links to the nativity story of the Buddha himself.

Previously, the earliest archaeological evidence of Buddhist structures at Lumbini dated no earlier than the third century B.C., the time of the patronage of the Emperor Asoka, who promoted the spread of Buddhism from present-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh…”

For the complete story, click here.

Mermaids have occupied the realm of myth for as long as myth has existed. I recall being surprised and intrigued when the infamous pseudo-documentary about mermaids came out, how many people were temporarily fooled by it. Is the mermaid so compelling a symbol of freedom and otherworldliness that humans refuse to give up on the possibility that they may in fact exist?

In the meantime, we continue to create fantasy mermaid worlds to entertain us and satisfy our longing…

Professional Mermaids Are Lost Treasure of Florida Park

By Jakob Schiller

“The mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs were one of Florida’s main attractions in the ’60s. Celebrities like Elvis would join nearly a million other visitors a year to take in their show. Drawing air from plastic hoses that flowed out of the bottom of their underwater theater in order to avoid fantasy-disrupting scuba gear, the mermaids could dazzle sold-out crowds with their acrobatics and performances for up to 30 minutes.

Today, while not as well-known as they used to be, the mermaids still perform.

“They are still local celebrities to many people,” says photographer Annie Collinge, whose recent photo project documents the performers…”

Seeing old photographs of these long lost theme nightclubs make us so very happy. Those were the days…

The awesomely insane Heaven and Hell nightclubs of 1890s Paris

(http://io9.com)

“In modern times, you can find a stray cabaret or goth club in most modern metropolitan areas. But back in the late 19th century, your options were limited, albeit merrily deranged.

Paris of the 1890s had several supernatural nightlife options, each of them with marvelously outlandish gimmicks. In the 1899 book Bohemian Paris of To-Day by William Chambers Morrow and Édouard Cucuel, the authors visit several of the City of Lights darker drinking destinations, such as the Cabaret du Néant (“The Cabaret of Nothingness”) in the neighborhood of Montmartre.

At this gothic nightspot, visitors pondered their own mortality as they drank on coffins and were served libations (named after diseases) by monks and funeral attendees. Recalls Morrow:

Large, heavy, wooden coffins, resting on biers, were ranged about the room in an order suggesting the recent happening of a frightful catastrophe. The walls were decorated with skulls and bones, skeletons in grotesque attitudes, battle-pictures, and guillotines in action. Death, carnage, assassination were the dominant note, set in black hangings and illuminated with mottoes on death […] Bishop said that he would be pleased with a lowly bock. Mr. Thompkins chose cherries a l’eau-de-vie, and I, une menthe…”

For the rest, and many wonderful photographs, click here.