Today is…a bit random.

Via Flaskbak: Pop stars posing with their younger selves! Most are fantastic, some are bittersweet.

Via Paleofuture: Why not have a drive-thru grocery store? People have been trying since the 1920s, but it never works very well.

Via Public Domain Review: The Cleveland Museum of Arts has released over 30,000 images into the public domain! Huzzah!

Via a few different sources: The Victoria and Albert Museum led to Curtis Moffat’s work, which then led to more on Curtis Moffat (some photos nsfw in an artistic sort of way?) to Nancy Cunard, to more on Nancy Cunard and this photo, in particular, which reminds me of nothing so much as Siouxsie Sioux. Websurfing, old school style!

Hello! Just one link on this semi-holiday. It's about animal consciousness and Jainism. And crows.

Friday once more!

From Cassandra: What’s in a love potion? Well, possibly poison… 

Via Digg: See what your (United States) city’s climate will be like in 2080. (New Englanders, it’s time to get air conditioners.)

In hopefully unrelated news, a popup restaurant offers glow-in-the-dark ramen for a meal!

AI Weirdness is back with more bizarre tales from neural nets. The recipes are, as always, amazing. 

Have a safe and spiffy weekend, everyone. See you next week.

Happy Valentine’s Day! You can observe it demurely through Victorian acquaintance cards, or wildly through the 2019 March Mammal Madness Valentine set (featuring some contenders in the 2019 competition, no less)! Or you can wait until tomorrow and celebrate Lupercalia, which just might be a good tradition to revive. 

Via my cousin Jeff: There’s a combination bookstore and wine bar in his town, and I didn’t know about it until this morning. What madness is this?

I fell down a rabbit hole yesterday of Ben’s state-by-state reviews of sites on the National Register of Historical Places. Hilarious and educational, especially if you're interested in architecture! But beware if you are a fan of round barns and/or covered bridges (he isn’t. A fan, that is, not a barn or bridge).

Carnival season is upon us! You can get an early start in Quebec or in Venice, depending on what side of the Atlantic you find yourself.

If you need some costuming inspiration (whether for Carnival, conventions, or other occasions), check out these fantastic Cthulhu creations.

Princeton’s exhibit on life and death masks is extensive and amazing. Highly recommended!

Strange Maps always has great posts. Here’s one about a possible border change in Kosovo, and what this might mean militarily and diplomatically.

This may be the only time I link to the Daily Mail: For the 40th anniversary of “The Warriors” film, here are scenes of NYC from then and now.

It’s been raining for days here and everyone is slightly gloomy. So let’s have some links about ruins and mausoleums!

After World War I, postcards showing ruins were…well, not popular, exactly, but often-purchased souvenirs of what had happened.

A mausoleum design from the 1800s inspired Britain’s iconic telephone box! (No word on whether it had any influence on the TARDIS.)

Stelios Faitakis is an artist using Greek Byzantine imagery in very modern ways. The Instagram account has some absolutely incredible work.

Here we are again, facing another Monday…

What would the Empire State Building look like if it was a Brutalist building? Or Art Nouveau? Wonder no longer, here are nine alternate versions to see! 

Rome Reborn is a VR project which looks very cool. Check it out, especially if you have access to an Oculus Rift.

I have found some excellent news, courtesy of Zap Actionsdower’s website on former chain restaurants: There are new GD Ritzy restaurants opening up! I’ve been telling people about their peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for years. Huzzah! (The whole website is great, particularly if you grew up in the Midwest. Burger Chef, Roy Rogers, Rax…they’re all here.)