Fun Friday Resources

The Florentine Codex is a fascinating document, created by a Franciscan monk in 16th-c. Mexico, a richly illustrated encyclopedia of indigenous life at the time. It has been scanned and is now searchable.

For your free-classic-movies pleasure, check out WikiFlix. It has public domain films back to the silent era and across the globe. Haven’t seen Battleship Potemkin or Safety Last or Metropolis or the original Nosferatu? Now’s your chance!

Over on Public Domain Review, check out this article about one Clement Lindley Wragge, who gave lectures with magic lantern slides about some some pretty Woo-ish theosophical topics. What interests you here is the opportunity to STEAL FROM THE BEST: Look at those selected images at the bottom of the article. Are they not compelling? I was struck by the almost-grunge quality of the work. Why not print out this handy template for such a magic lantern slide and create your own to answer Wragge’s essential questions, “Who am I? Who are you?” (You can enlarge it if you like.)

Finally, check out this bizarrely adorable video on how to identify the sex of a rain frog: