Category: History
90 Years of Spiritual Merchandising
If you’ve heard of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, a small white poetry book with a drawing of a man staring intensely out from the cover, you probably associate it with the 1960s. That’s when the so-called counterculture Bible began to be read at weddings (“Love one another, but make not a bond of love”),… More →
Posted on January 06, 2014 by Brook – 
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History | Tagged history, holidays, Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
Lobster Anxiety, Part Two
As soon as we got to Maine, we began planning one-percent-style outings. My mom had booked tickets to the rare public opening of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller’s private garden, which is open only on eight days a year, a magnificent manicured sanctuary in the middle of the Maine woods. We drank gin at The Claremont, a… More →
Posted on July 31, 2012 by Brook – Comments closed
History, Modern Mythographer, Politics | Tagged lobster, Maine, New Jersey
Wonders and Marvels!
Last week I contributed my first post to Wonders & Marvels, a fascinating forum for history writers and readers that I discovered via the work of Ellen F. Brown. The site, run by Vanderbilt University historian Holly Tucker, bills itself as “A Community for Curious Minds who love History, its Odd Stories, and Good Reads”… More →
Posted on October 17, 2011 by Brook – Comments closed
Taking the Whole Earth literally
As I mentioned here, I’m excited to be part of the launch of the Frequencies project, a “collaborative geneology of spirituality.” Yesterday my entrance into this fascinating fold, number 20/100, went up on their website. An ode to the Whole Earth Catalog, which, devoted readers will know, I have been obsessed with for some time.
Posted on September 29, 2011 by Brook – Comments closed
History | Tagged Frequencies, hippies, whole earth catalog
Is Valentine’s Day For Real?
I know, we all hate Valentine’s Day. If we’re single, there’s the pressure to find a date; if we’re in a relationship, there’s the pressure for extravagant dining and gifts. And for what? Single people are no more single on February 14th. Couples don’t really need an excuse for a date night, especially not one… More →
Posted on February 14, 2011 by Brook – Leave a comment
History, Religion | Tagged Jesus, Valentine's Day
Garden of Eden–Found! Again!
It’s not every day that serious archaeologists make the Yahoo! news. Usually they get scooped by flashier pretenders, like those who claim to have found Noah’s Ark. So I was excited to read that a legitimate British scientist named Jeffrey Rose had a headline-worthy theory: “Veiled beneath the Persian Gulf, a once-fertile landmass may have… More →
Posted on December 14, 2010 by Brook – 4 Comments
History, Religion | Tagged flood, Garden of Eden, Iraq, Noah's Ark
Post-Industrial Transcendentalism
Until I watched part of Ken Burns’ new documentary America’s Best Idea last night, I hadn’t given much thought to the “why” of national parks. Which is odd, because as many loyal MM readers know, I grew up in and around Acadia National Park in Maine, then the 2nd-most-visited park in the country. But I… More →
Posted on October 16, 2009 by Brook – 1 Comment
History | Tagged John Muir, Ken Burns, New Jersey
Aftermath
The brilliant, devastating moments in “Aftermath”, the new play by Erik Jensen and Jessica Blank just opened at the New York Theatre Workshop, don’t strike you all at once. Rather, the details from the daily lives of Iraqi civilian-refugees since the beginning of the war that ravaged their country accumulate slowly and deftly, in words… More →
Posted on September 15, 2009 by Brook – 1 Comment
History, Politics | Tagged Aftermath, Erik Jensen, Iraq, Jessica Blank, New York Theatre Workshop
What is it about the skull?
Recently the Mythographer received a tip about a more-than-usually-interesting letter to NPR’s All Things Considered. It was a response to ATC’s story about Jude Law’s insistence on using a real human skull for the famous “Yorick” soliloquy, in his current Royal Shakespeare Company production of “Hamlet,” for the sake of verisimilitude. As it turned out,… More →
Posted on June 19, 2009 by Brook – 3 Comments
History | Tagged Descartes, John Wilkes Booth, Lucy
Debunking debunking
To debunk, from the Oxford English Dictionary, transitive verb: To remove the ‘nonsense’ or false sentiment from; to expose false claims or pretensions; hence, to remove a person from his ‘pedestal’ or ‘pinnacle’. Also absolute. Hence debunker, one who debunks; or debunking. As one W. E. Woodward apparently said in 1923, “De-bunking means simply taking… More →
Posted on June 14, 2009 by Brook – Leave a comment
