PD Image: World War I U.S. Navy propaganda poster (1917 or 1918) by American artist and illustrator James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960). The message on the U.S. Navy Recruiting Station poster is "The Navy Needs You! Don't READ American History, MAKE IT!" The poster features a US Navy sailor who addresses a civilian reading about the war in a newspaper, in the sky above them Columbia holds a sword and flag, and a battle ship is far beyond, in the distance.
PD Image: ‘Columbia teaching John Bull his new lesson’ (Philadelphia, 1813) cartoon by artists Samuel Kennedy and William Charles, print on wove paper: etching with watercolor, published in American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly, Boston: G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1813-3, Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
The caricature ‘Columbia Teaching John Bull his New Lesson’ (1813) on the American view of the War of 1812 depicts Columbia (the personification of the United States, holding a pole with a liberty cap on it, and with a Stars-and-Stripes shield behind her), Napoleon and John Bull (personification of Britain), and the words spoken by them are as follows:
Columbia (on the left): "I tell you Johnny, you must learn to read Respect -- Free Trade -- Seaman's Rights &c. -- As for you, Mounseer Beau Napperty, when John gets his lesson by heart, I'll teach you Respect, Retribution, &c &c."
Napoleon Bonaparte (in the middle): "Ha Ha -- Begar, me be glad to see Madam Columbia angry with dat dere John Bull -- But me no learn respect -- me no learn retribution -- Me be de grand Emperor."
John Bull (on the right, a national personification of Great Britain in general and England in particular, holding a book with the words "Power Constitutes Right"): "I don't like that lesson, I'll read this pretty lesson".
PD Image: Bruin becomes mediator or negotiation for peace (1813), cartoon by William Charles (1776–1820) depicting John Bull, the Russian Bear and Columbia (the female personification of America before Uncle Sam became popular as the personification of America). The cartoon refers to the War of 1812 between America and Great Britain and the Russian efforts to mediate between them.
PD Photo: Participants in carnival costumes in the West Indian Carnival in Leeds
The Leeds West Indian Carnival (or Chapeltown Carnival), the longest running West Indian carnival in Europe since 1967, is annually held in the Chapeltown and Harehills areas Leeds every August in the bank holiday weekend. The three-day event, culminating in a grand carnival procession, starts and finishes in Potternewton Park in Chapeltown. A wide range of stages and shopping stalls provide entertainment events, refreshments and novelties for the carnival-goers. About 150,000 people were estimated to have attended the 2009 Chapeltown Carnival.
PD Photos: 1 - Vintage papier-mâché Halloween candy container of circa 1920-1950. 2 - A vintage Halloween greeting card that depicts a witch riding a broom flying through the night sky with the moon and stars, and the message on the card is ‘A Happy Halloween’.
PD Photos: Deepavali at Little India, Singapore, photos taken in Oct 2006 by Sengkang.
Generally, one month before Deepavali (or Diwali), The Festival of Lights, the Little India Heritage District are decorated and illuminated with lights, colorfully and creatively, as you see in the sample photos above. Streets are festooned with ornamental lights, often depicting Indian motifs, such as elephants, peacocks and oil lamps.
Deepavali Bazaars are held in different parts of the district, mainly at Little India Arcade, and opposite the Mustafa Centre. These busy markets have stalls selling Deepavali Greeting Cards, traditional foods and drinks, India-themed decoration items for homes, traditional Indian costumes and modern clothing, Indian music and video discs, sparklers and toys, oil lamps, incense, idols of Hindu deities, etc. Both Hindus and non-Hindus residents and tourists visit the area for shopping and enjoying the festive atmosphere.
Little India neighborhood in Singapore is well-known for its Tamil cultural elements. Little India is located to east of the Singapore River - across from Chinatown, located west of the river - and north of Kampong Glam.
Little India has several Hindu temples, the Central Sikh Gurdwara, Mosques, the Buddhist Sakyamuni Buddha Gaya Temple, Foochow Methodist Church, Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, Angullia Mosque, Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple, Jalan Mosque, and the Leong San See Temple dedicated to Guanyin, the Chinese Boddhisattva of Mercy.
Some of the major Hindu festivals celebrated every year in Little India include Deepavali, Thaipusam, Pongal/ Tamil New Year, the Fire Walking festival, Holi and various Hindu Chariot processions.
Pattaya Floating Market located to the south of Pattaya, Thailand
Thailand’s Pattaya Floating Market, located to the south of Pattaya on Sukhumvit Road, developed on the site of the Lake View Restaurant, is claimed to be the largest floating market in the Eastern Region. Covering an area of over 100,000 squire meters, the constructions are made of fine teak wood.
In fact, the name 'Floating Market' is a misnomer, because most of the shopping malls are found on platforms constructed on stilts over the lake, though there are floating boats selling delicacies. Still, a visit to the floating market is worth your time and money, if you are visiting Pattaya, and if you miss it, you may regret it when you hear about the market later from others.
The Floating Market aims at capturing the old ways of authentic Thai life. All Thai food delicacies and other Thai art and craft items from all regions of Thailand are sold in the market. Its area is divided into four sections representing the four regions of Thailand: North, Central, North Eastern and Southern.
Apart from shopping for rare Thai souvenirs and relishing authentic Thai food to your hearts content, there are other entertaining activities, such as boating, dance shows and other interesting aspects of Thailand’s culture.
PD Photo: Uncropped picture of all of the figures in the famous "bikini girls" mosaic found by archeological excavation of the ancient Roman villa del Casale near Piazza Armerina in Sicily. This shows women exercising, running, or receiving the palm of victory and wreath for winning an athletic competition.
The mosaic also shows (at the lower left) a non-bikini figure, perhaps a games official, rushing in with a wreath and palm-leaf to crown the winner. Also note that these bikinis are not swimwear or swimsuits, but sportswear. But, the styling and fashion are also remarkably similar to some of the modern day swimwear and bikinis.
PD Images above: Indian-born British painter, illustrator, designer and teacher Byam Shaw’s illustrations for The Garden of Kama, collection of poems by Adela Florence Nicolson (Laurence Hope).
John Shaw (1872-1919) is famous for his juicy illustrations for ‘The Garden of Kama’ by Adela Florence Nicolson, who used to write under a pseudonym, Laurence Hope. The book, published in 1914 by William Heinemann, London, is a collection of love poems which were not translated from Indian literature as commonly thought, but they were originals written by Nicolson in times when it was difficult for a female writer to publish such texts, hence her pseudonym.
The themes were inspired by The Kama Sutra (or Kamasutram or Kamasutra), an ancient Indian Hindu text written by written by Mallanaga Vatsyayana in the second century CE, widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior. Traditionally, the first transmission of Kama Shastra (science of sex) or ‘Discipline of Kama’ (Kama means sensual or sexual pleasure) is attributed to the sacred bull Nandi, Lord Shiva's doorkeeper, who was moved to sacred utterance by overhearing the lovemaking of the god and his wife Parvati and later recorded for the benefit of mankind.
PD Photo: Former US President George W. Bush shares a moment with a ‘Halloween King’ during a Halloween night stop on Tuesday, October 31, 2006, at a housing development on base at Robins Air Force Base, Ga - White House photo by Paul Morse.
