Listphoria: images

Showing posts with label images. Show all posts

1/11/2017

10 Awesomely Ambiguous Pulp Magazine Covers

"WTF, guys?"
How I feel when people interrupt me when I'm trying to read.

"Hey, sweetie, I think he just stuck a knife through your hand! Here, let me get a light ...
OMG, has your hand been that deformed the whole time?"

"I'll give you a hand a second, darling - just as soon as I put this vase back where it belongs."

"This tie is constantly obstructing my aim! I hate this mobster dress code!"

"I SERIOUSLY need to reconsider posting my dating profile on MobThrob.com"

"Like any moderately competent female, you'll notice I've taken the time to
don high heels, do my hair, and color-coordinate my harness with my dress.
Honestly, I don't know why men always insist on making this look so hard."

"I could just go and get a bandaid for this little scratch on my head, but instead
I think I'll lie here and painstakingly spell out the name of my attacker in pearls."

"Apparently you missed my performance in the talent portion of the competition,
you asshole, because for me 'fighting crime' ain't just some words on a sash!"

"Okay, guys, I'm depending on you to hold off the anti-vax, flat earth, climate change denying wackos long enough for me to publish my validated scientific findings in a peer-reviewed journal!"

"That's it - I'm never working at a VA hospital again!"

12/08/2016

A Thousand Words - The Zen of Ice Skating

There's cool, and then there's "ice skating in a suit and fedora cool," which is a whole different order of magnitude of coolness.

9/08/2016

A Thousand Words - No Lovelier Church in the Vale

I can't tell whether God is pissed or just showing off in this photo.

7/08/2016

A Thousand Words - The Brighton Swimming Club, 1863

In honor of summer, I offer this photo of the Brighton Swimming Club, circa 1863. So many questions! For instance: What's keeping those swimsuits up - drawstrings? Why are these guys so pale - is there no sunlight at Brighton? Is that rocky expanse they're standing on supposed to be a beach? Are British gentlemen naturally born without chest hair, or do they shave it? What's up with the top hats - especially the stovetop that guy in the middle is sporting? What's up with the guy in the front, who appears to be assuming a "praying mantis" yoga pose? And finally, how can I go about arranging a date with that startlingly dashing fellow at the middle top?

5/08/2016

A Thousand Words - Embracing Diversity in the Post-WWII Era

Check out this government nutrition poster from the post WWII era, featuring African-American and Asian children! While I have to wonder if the artist had actually seen an African-American child (what's with that enormous upper lip? perhaps he was shooting for a young Louis Armstrong?), it bears remarking that our government was actively fostering diversity and linking it to the concept of a "Strong America." This message was also being echoed in government-sponsored radio advertising of the same era, which stressed the importance of embracing not just all races but also all religions, including Catholics and Jews. You wonder how it took 60 more years to get to where we are now.

4/08/2016

A Thousand Words - A Whole New Childhood

SOURCE: http://bailey505.tumblr.com/post/127045973365

Does anyone besides me worry that electronics, especially handheld electronics, may be changing the nature of childhood and that these changes, in turn, may potentially alter the character of our future generations?

Does anyone worry that it may be a bad thing that kids no longer spend their childhoods exploring, riding bikes, making up their own games, finding their own entertainment, patiently waiting for the things they want? I realize that not all of us had the same childhood, even back in the 60s - but a lot of us did.

What if a childhood spent exploring is what makes us curious?

What if a childhood spent running around the neighborhood and riding bikes is what teaches us to enjoy exercise and personal fitness?

What if a childhood spent making up our own games is what teaches us creativity and imagination? What if policing those games is what teaches us fairness, justice, and how to compromise?

What if a childhood spent having to find/make our own entertainment is the main thing driving us towards reflective pursuits such as reading or thinking?

What if patiently waiting for the things we wanted (remember, in the days before VCR tapes, waiting a year or more before your favorite movies finally debuted on television?) is how we learn patience and how to postpone gratification?

By way of disclosure, I am actually old enough to grumble about "kids these days" ... but I'm not going to do it. I don't think kids have changed. They're still born energetic, active, curious, imaginative, spontaneous. I do think the world in which they are growing in has changed, in ways almost too enormous to fully appreciate. Is it such a leap to wonder how this may result in generations of future adults who possess characteristics, biases, and priorities like none we've ever encountered before?

5/08/2015

A Thousand Words - The Peter's Projection Map

No - this isn't an image that's been squished out of shape by too much dragging and dropping. It's the Peter's Projection Map, a map that accurately portrays the relative sizes of the continent. It corrects for the huge distortions of continent size/shape necessitated by the Mercator Projection map, which is great for navigation but not so great for accurately portraying what the earth actually looks like.

Go ahead and enjoy being freaked out as you realize just how small Europe is - and just how vast China is! Also, remember how big Iceland was on the map your teacher posted in the classroom? Just try finding it here ...!

SOURCE: http://education.ed.pacificu.edu/bailey/resources/courses/methods04/533home.html

Now, google "West Wing - Cartographers for Social Equality" for a clip of how the fictional characters of the TV show West Wing greeted the suggestion that the U.S. adopt this version of the world map.

4/08/2015

A Thousand Words - In Honor of Shakespeare's Birthday ...

SOURCE: http://www.lesvieuxjours.com/images/birthday%20bard.png

2/08/2015

A Thousand Words - How to Survive Various Animal Attacks

Love this list, which I did NOT create but stumbled across on the internet (see citation). But it seems to me that it omits some important information, so I respectfully offer the following appendix:

Komodo dragon - Very small knight
Polar bear - Global warming
Piranha - Chewing gum
Cobra - Wind instrument
Lion - Catchy Disney tune
Killer Whale - Gig at Sea World
Jellyfish - Peanut butter
Tokay gecko - Acting contract
Hippopotamus - Marbles
Vampire bat - Very tiny wooden stakes
Chicken hearts - Jello

12/08/2014

A Thousand Words - 31 Busy Days Hath December

Proof that women setting insane standards for themselves during the holiday seasons isn't a new thing, but has a long, established provenance.

10/08/2014

A Thousand Words - The Halloween Tree

The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury

Illustration by Joseph Mugnaini.

This simple woodcut picture gave me chills when I was a little girl. Still does.

11/08/2013

A Thousand Words - Pulp Fiction

Old pulp covers like this one fascinate me. I realize their sole purpose is to attract the attention of potential readers, but, really, what is this cover going for? Why did this woman decide not to get dressed before consulting a fortune teller? (Though she certainly appears to have remembered to apply her makeup!) Isn't she cold? Does she not see the big, gruesome skeleton leering over her, or does she just not care? Or maybe the skeleton is a ghost? Is the crystal ball going to warn her that there's a villain hiding behind the curtain ready to knife her? Are the skeleton and the villain are in cahoots? Most importantly, is she really going to die without ever having learned how to properly use an eyebrow pencil? So many unanswered questions!

10/08/2013

A Thousand Words - A Truly Awkward Monument

This is the Boy Scout Memorial located in Washington D.C. I wish I was joking, but I'm not. I'm sure the intent is noble, but there's so much wrong with this memorial, it's hard to know where to start. Actually, no, it's pretty obvious where we need to start - the big naked guy standing right behind the boy scout, holding the big phallic symbol in one hand. I realize times and mores change, but this was erected (no pun intended) in the 1960s, the era that brought us the sexual revolution, so someone really should have raised an eyebrow. Given BSAs current hand-wringing over its policy of discriminating against homosexuals, the irony here is so blatant it's almost physically painful. And then there's the lady flanking the scout on the other side, whose features resemble an old Pontiac hood ornament (could the bridge of her nose be any wider?) and whose outfit is reminiscent of Wonder Woman, except that - unlike the Linda Carter version - this one's nipples are clearly visible. I have to ask, who designed this? And how on Earth did it get approved? Monuments are supposed to inspire reverence, aren't they? All this one makes me want to do is warn that poor little boy scout in the lead that he's being stalked by a couple of perverts.

9/08/2013

A Thousand Words - McDreamy Shakespeare

This is the so-called "Cobbe portrait" of Shakespeare, unearthed in 2006 or so. If you're interested in a detailed discussion of its provenance, check out the wikipedia article. But just look at those dashing features, those intelligent eyes, that dapper facial hair - he's even managing to rock that lace collar practically garotting him, for goodness sake! As far as I'm concerned, the matter is settled: this is the type of man capable of writing Romeo & Juliet, not to mention reliably filling the ladies seats at the Rose Theater as an actor. Goodbye, Balding Bard; hello, McDreamy Shakespeare!

2/08/2013

A Thousand Words: Scientist Valentines

How to convince my kindergartener that these are so much cooler than the Sponge Bob Squarepants valentines he picked out at the drug store?

SOURCE: http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.208750493.jpg

12/09/2012

A Thousand Words - Christmas Wishes from Superman

8/08/2012

A Thousand Words - A Vision of the Year 2012, circa 1912

A delightful look at what the French thought the year 2012 would look like, including Projector phones, flying cars, submarines, and vacations to the moon!