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"Song of Autumn", Charles Baudelaire (translated by William Aggeler)

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The Tsurusaki Odori (Dance) Festival is held for two days in August in the town of Tsurusaki in OitaCity, Oita Prefecture, Japan.

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tibetan fashion by 叶鱼在香格里拉

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How did people make windows translucent in eras without glass or when it was prohibitively expensive by Lu Lei 鲁磊

Seashell windows (especially using "sea moon shells海月贝") were not common in ancient China. They were mostly found in coastal areas like Fujian and Guangdong, where shells were abundant. Ordinary people used paper windows, while seashell windows -due to their complex craftsmanship and scarcity -were mostly used in palaces, temples, or wealthy homes. However, seashell windows had drawbacks: poorer transparency than paper windows; fragile and hard to maintain; could not be opened or closed easily, often fixed as decorative panels rather than functional windows.

Most ancient windows were made of sturdy paper (like mulberry bark or cotton paper), treated with tung oil or rice paste to resist wind and moisture. Multiple layers of paper improved insulation, reducing cold air from entering.

Though thin, paper windows allowed light in while wooden frames provided some insulation. Traditional buildings also used smart designs to stay warm: facing south to maximize sunlight; overhanging eaves to block summer heat but let in winter sun; double-layered windows (e.g., "lift-and-hang windows") -outer paper layer for windproofing, inner wooden shutters or curtains for extra insulation at night.

In northern China, people used heated brick beds (kang炕), underfloor heating (dilong地龙), or charcoal stoves to stay warm. In winter, they hung thick curtains, felt, or straw mats over windows for extra protection. The Tiangong Kaiwu天工开物 (Ming Dynasty) even mentions oil-coated paper windows for better waterproofing and wind resistance.

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Maximilian Liebenwein - The Legend of Saint George: The Rescue (1903)

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From waterfall, plants to humans, nothing was spared (crazy-strong winds have been blasting across all of China

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There's no normal life, Wyatt. There's just life. Now get on with it.

Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday TOMBSTONE 1993 — dir. George P. Cosmatos

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Santiago Licata (Argentine, b. 1986)

Untitled, 2019

Graphite grease on paper

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The thing that lives in the lake, Lachlan Turczan

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Abandoned House in Central Georgia

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LUCY LIU | V Magazine China photographed by Jack Bridgland (2024)

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black fallow deer seen in the Barycz Valley - Landscape Park in Poland

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Little Red Riding hood ______________________________________________________________

Winnie comes home from playing outside

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Abandoned House in Central Georgia

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Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. ~Khalil Gibran

Gate to Eternity Mac Baconai

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Sorrow, digital painting by Eugene Maslovski