August 2012
47 posts
Is Richard III buried under a parking lot? →
Grave-hunters will use radar technology to locate the remains of the controversial king, once thought to have been used, after his death, as a horse-cart.
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“If we must be enemies, let us be men and fight it out as we propose to do, and...”
– William T Sherman defends his complete destruction of Atlanta in 1864, which he began 148 years ago today.
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Not a fan of Obamacare? Heal yourself with magic!
As candidates of both parties debate health care issues, sure to be a key part of the 2012 election, it might occur to you to turn to the Medicine issue of LQ. But did you know we’ve got you covered (pre-existing conditions welcome!) in Magic Shows, too?
We’ve got:
Daniel Mason on magic surgery performed with bare hands
Colin Dickey on sympathetic magic that cures what ails you
...
11 Really Terrible 19th-Century Beauty Tips
Bathe once a week, never wash your face, find everlasting love—got it?
mentalflossr:
When Barkham Burroughs wrote his Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information in 1889, he devoted a full chapter to the “secrets of beauty,” and for good reason. To quote Burroughs, “If women are to govern, control, manage, influence and retain the adoration of husbands, fathers, brothers,...
Smell-o-vision
“People wake up in the morning, they brush their teeth, flush the toilet,” said Askew. “They think it goes to the center of the earth.”
If you happen to live within one particular 5,100-acre patch of the West Side of Manhattan, instead of going to the center of the earth, your waste flows to Askew’s extraordinary concrete cesspit: twenty-eight concrete acres suspended above more than two...
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“That Mind governs the body, not partially but wholly. I submitted my metaphysical system of treating disease to the broadest practical tests. Since then this system has gradually gained ground, and has proved itself, whenever scientifically employed, to be the most effective curative agent in medical practice.”
Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with the Key to the Scriptures
Lapham's Quarterly is looking for a fall intern
We are in need of an editorial intern for the fall, from September 17th to November 23rd. The internship is ideal for someone who has finished college in the spring and is looking to put that liberal arts degree to work. You will get a say in all of our editorial meetings, you will contribute to the magazine, you will write for the website, and you will be an essential member of the staff. The...
From the early summer of 1839, I was, till this autumn, a prisoner from illness. My recovery now, by means of mesmeric treatment alone, has given me the most thorough knowledge possible that mesmerism is true.
Yes, but which presidential candidate will run on the platform of free Mesmerism for all?
“I’ll pray a thousand prayers for thy death.”
– The Shakespeare Insult Generator. (via theparisreview)
Thou loggerheaded unwash’d bugbear!
“When I do a show, the whole show revolves around me, and if I don’t show up,...”
– Ethel Merman, c. 1955
“Thus, magic in every papyrus; magic in all the religious formulas; magic bottled up in hermetically closed vials, many thousands of years old; magic in elegantly bound, modern works; magic in the most popular novels; magic in social gatherings; magic worse than that, sorcery—in the very air one breathes in Europe, America, Australia: the more civilized and cultured a nation, the more...
“Were not this desire of fame very strong, the difficulty of obtaining it—and the...”
– Joseph Addison, from an article in The Spectator, 1711.
Roman ship carrying sealed jars full of food found... →
Scientists and historians believe the jars, most of which remain sealed and unbroken, contain pickled fish, grain, and olive oil.
Dinner party, anyone?
“I sometimes think of what future historians will say of us. A single sentence...”
– Albert Camus, 1957
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Radar LARB →
LARB recommends some great Monday-morning reads, including the fantastic Daniel Mason on healing spirits in the newest issue of LQ.
lareviewofbooks:
Gore Vidal, The Art of Fiction No. 50: INTERVIEWER: You once said the novel is dead. VIDAL: That was a joke.
“How I hacked my brain with Adderall: a cautionary tale”: “Up until my mid-twenties, I considered myself a learning maximalist: never...
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Lapham's Quarterly is looking for a Fall intern →
Think you’ve got what it takes to choose texts for Lapham’s Quarterly? Why not become one of our beloved interns? The LQ internship is full time in our Union Square office, and yes, it is unpaid. Click through to find out more.
We are looking for an editorial intern only at this time. Start date is August 27th.
“All I’ve done is run fast. I don’t see why people should make so much fuss about...”
– Fanny Blankers-Koen, 1948
(for more on Ms. Blankers-Koen, may we suggest The Awl’s “The Dreadful Woman”?)
The History of the Olympic Pictograms: How...
The wrestling one is the best. The kayaking (canoe slalom?) looks like it involves double Pino Grigio.
curiositycounts:
Of all the instances in which graphic communication is necessary to transcend language barriers, the Olympic Games are, if not the most important, probably the most visible. We take the little icons of swimmers and sprinters as a given aspect of Olympic design, but the...
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And the best Dickens novel is? →
Over at The Millions, six professors of English literature try to settle upon the best piece of fiction by prolific Lapham’s Quarterly contributor Charles Dickens.
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"Popular lore has attributed the creation of iced... →
Ice cream—delighting and terrifying citizens of the world for centuries.
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