Public Domain « deviantmonk

Public Domain

The Crazy Public Domain #4

For as long as human beings have been taking pictures, they have been taking pictures of cats.

And as long as humans have been taking pictures of cats, they have been captioning those pictures.

While lolcats may seem like a recent internet phenomenon, it has clearly been going on for much longer. Thus, lolcats are really much more of a retro thing.

So, kick it old-school and go caption some pictures of kittehs.

Attitude Adjustment

rezlife began a new month-long series last night, entitled ‘Attitude Adjustment.’ This series will take a more in-depth look at the Beatitudes as found in Matthew 5.

Even though ‘Beatitude’ in meaning has nothing to do with ‘attitude,’ (as beatitudines is Latin for ‘blessed’) the parallelism of the beatitudes themselves (blessed is this person/ because of this…) carries within it a movement that is almost paradoxical- states of being that seem undesirable are shown to be ultimately the state of blessedness because they are ways to be that God desires of humanity. Thus, there is an implicit ‘attitude’ adjustment within the poetical structure itself.

As I was thinking about the imagery for this series, I decided, as I usually do, to avoid what might amount to cliches. The obvious direction to go was to contrast something like a sad face with a happy face, or have expressions change. I wanted to go a different direction. Part of the foundation for this series is a song called Words to Build a Life On, which is about the Beatitudes. Thus, I wanted to focus on the idea of the Beatitudes being words that aren’t just something that you hear, but are something that you are to live or, as the video will state, to be. The Beatitudes are found at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus teaches us how God wants us to live. These words can be words that we simply hear, but they are meant to be more than heard- they are transformative. I was reminded of this passage from James:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:22-25 NIV)

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Public Domain — 2 Comments
29
Oct 10

The Crazy Public Domain #3

I think I actually put this gem up on Facebook about a year ago, but it’s just too good to not re-post a second time. This is actually part of a collection called “The Little Folks of Animal Land.” It is over 100 pages full of images such as this. Continue reading →

Public Domain — No Comments
26
Oct 10

The Crazy Public Domain #2

I don’t think this needs any comment. Except to say that people seem to have any easier time taming large cats that can kill you than taming house cats who at worst can leave surprises in your shoes.

Of course, that’s not to say the large cats wouldn’t try to leave surprises in your shoes. It’s simply that they might not fit, if you know what I mean.

Public Domain — No Comments
19
Oct 10

The Crazy Public Domain #1

The Public Domain archives on Wikimedia Commons are a fascinating place. You can find any number of items that will cause you to ponder “What were they thinking?” Of course, the more reflective among us will no doubt extrapolate centuries hence and wonder what sort of reaction future societies will have in regards to the cultural mores and artistic sensibilities we hold dear.

In the interests of facilitating an appreciation for the design, marketing and photography of the last century and a half, deviantmonk.com is proud to host a regular feature highlighting the absurdity and profundity of culture removed from the constraint of intellectual property.

Enjoy.