Bizarre – Tacky Raccoons

A Well Without Water – Poço Iniciàtico

Poço Iniciàtico (Initiatic Well)
Quinta da Regaleira, Rua Barbosa du Bocage, Sintra, Portugal
Designer: Italian Architect Luigi Pietro Manini
Constructed by António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro
Date of construction: 1904 – 1911
Depth: 88 feet (27 meters)

The Initiation Well at the Quinta da Regaleira was designed under the direction of Carvalho Monteiro, a wealthy Brazilian-Portuguese businessman and alleged Freemason, who purchased the property in 1892.

“The Quinta da Regaleira Initiation Well was allegedly constructed for clandestine ritualistic purposes and there are various theories regarding its use. Many believe it was used as the location of the Templar Knight initiation ceremonies. They would descend the spiral staircase, and emerge into a pitch-black labyrinth where they would literally and figuratively navigate their way up to the light. Some believe that there is a connection between Tarot mysticism and the distance between these landings and the number of stairs, and theorize that it could have been used for Tarot initiation rites. Other allusions refer to rites in Freemasonry or Rosicrucianism.“

[Photos, description (and more) found here, via here.]

Fetch

[Ceramic sculpture by Kathleen Sukiennik found here.]

Fish Heads

Tuna cutting in Sicily, 1956. Swiss photographer René Burri.

[Found here.]

Furciferous Hot Links

Stormy Weather, Reigning Sound (2019) Great garage punk cover of the classic torch song Stormy Weather, first recorded by Ethel Waters in 1933.

So sad.

TP in bw.

Manhunt.

Road trips.
Road maps.

Song of the Static.

The $1,800 lesson.

The anti-concession.

Nepetalactone + cats.

Isometric NYC [via Nav Tour].

MOBOT [via Thompson, blog].

Some people get all the credit.

Somewhere on Latrobe Street.

A lot of drama in a little suburb.

Veering left [via Memo Of The Air].

Huang Yung-Fu, the village painter.

A Daily Cloud [via Everlasting Blört.]

[Image at top: Cropped and modified image of cover art of the May 1939 issue of Fantastic Adventures, found in here.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago. 15 years ago.

The .Gif Friday Post No. 959 – Octo Puss, Pita No Like Mustard & Flippity Faces

[Found here, here and here.]

Gecko in a Photobooth

[Found here.]

Window People

Norman Lerner worked as a fashion and commercial photographer in New York City from the early 50’s to the 70’s. He states that, “my photography did not end when the model left the studio. The city and its people were a part of me and I was part of them. Everything about the city fascinated me so it seemed only natural for me as a photographer to record the people and places in which I lived. When I left the studio the camera was always with me and it became an extension of my being. It was as natural as breathing.”

[Found here.]

Man Child, Sam The Sham (1963)
Domingo Samudio, aka Sam The Sham, released his first 45rpm in 1962, a cover of Chick Willis’ Betty and Dupree; the B side was Man Child. Two years later, Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs’ hit Wooly Bully made No. 1 in Billboard’s Top 100 for 1965. Contrary to popular belief, Samudio wasn’t of Mexican ancestry; he was of Basque/Apache descent.