Wunderkammen

I can never forget that this blog is public, it’s always just there in the back of my mind as I write an entry or bookmark links to drop here later; that’s part of the reason that I chose the name Wunderkammen because I knew that my interests noted here and there would be on display to anyone who cared to look. It seemed like the perfect fit because just like a wunderkammer in the 17th century there wouldn’t be any rhyme or reason to each entry sitting next to the other, just my own personal whim would be enough. Random thoughts captured in amber or a link to one site, maybe a picture. My collection.

I’ve always loved grotesques, natural specimen collections and reliquaries. It’s what led me down the road to my fascination with autopsies and old medical equipment. For the uninitiated a grotesque is usually a painting or model of a natural scene with taxidermied animals in action poses bringing a story, poem or fairy tale to life. One of the most famous was done by Walter Potter called Who Killed Cock Robin? You can see his work at one of my favorite sites a case of curiosities. Reliquaries are a different sort altogether; they’re part treasure box, part shrine. Small shadowboxes or other creative enclosures, they hold old memories or pieces of religious artifacts. They can be incredibly ornate or very simple. My favorite are the ornate kind and I would love these by Karen’s Whimsy.

There’s something eerie about collections of animal teeth or pinned butterflies sitting next to a bottle of perfume and a triptych. These personal museums, sometimes whole rooms in someone’s home ages ago told you everything about a person just by what they kept. I think that’s what blogs are now and definitely what I aspire to with this blog. I keep a list of my favorite sites like this in my blogroll and I spend a lot of time going back and forth between links. Feel free to follow suit.

Meanwhile my next entry will most likely be on perfume or art or whatever suits my fancy. Happy New Year!

Photo from Albertus Seba’s Cabinet of Natural Curiosities

Posted by Kisha at 02:13 PM ∗ Comments (0)

Sitting here thinking about my upcoming change in therapist and how much she helped me grow over the last some odd months admittedly has me a little sentimental. Still, this sweet story by miss lynster at metafilter about Scatman Crothers and his kindness toward the seven-year-old her on a plane ride made me especially warm.

It deserves to be collected like those elaborate, sugared panorama eggs I fell in love with as a child that I imagined came to life when no one was looking. Pocket worlds, just like in the book I didn’t read until much later, The Panorama Egg by A.E. Silas.

Posted by Kisha at 06:28 PM ∗ Comments (0)

My laundry days will never be the same again.

Japanese T-Shirt Folding - Google Video Link

Continue reading "How to Fold A Shirt" »

Posted by Kisha at 07:01 PM ∗ Comments (0)

I’ve had a really nasty cold for the last seven days. My voice has been gone most of that time but it’s getting better by the day and my spirits must be up because I was up and about early this morning even before I’d had my usual cup of coffee.

So, my addition to the wunderkammen today… a few virtual autopsy and anatomy links. Starting with Ajay Mark Verma’s Virtual Autopsy. It’s a site that’s been around since 2001 (and it shows, admittedly) but is still really interesting. I’ve been playing around with it all day. You can click on a case, read a brief synopsis and then click on the parts of the interactive cadaver to see pictures and more detail. Then you get to guess the cause of death. It’s not terribly gory but if you have a problem looking at isolated organs you might want to skip clicking the cadaver. I’m someone who wishes on a regular basis that I could visit the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore so I could spend some time with Frances Glessner Lee’s Nutshell Dioramas so it doesn’t bother me at all.

(Of course I would also visit my family — who not so incidentally run a funeral home — if I were in Baltimore. Of course.)

Then there’s the UK Channel 4’s Autopsy: Life and Death website which features transcripts of chats with Dr. Gunther von Hagen (who travels with his preserved anatomical specimens exhibit, Body Worlds around the world) and an Attempt an Autopsy page. Unfortunately, the torrent for the shows seems to be orphaned but it’s still a great page, especially the resources links.

Finally, an illustrated anatomy guide from MyHealthScore.com. It’s not a complete guide to the inner workings of the body, but it does more than cover the basics and it’s a good primer.

Posted by Kisha at 02:47 PM ∗ Comments (0)