Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Literature Pick #71

Beyond the Door 
by Philip K. Dick
A short fantasy story from the January 1954 issue of Fantastic Universe by the legendary author of many famous science fiction works.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Filippo Lippi painting

Adoration of the Child
Filippo Lippi (1406–1469)
Circa 1455, Tempera on Wood, 53.9" x 52.8"
Florence born early renaissance painter

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Hendrick ter Brugghen painting

The Adoration of the Magi
by Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588–1629)
1619, oil on canvas, 52.2" x 63.2"
Dutch painter who was influenced by Caravaggio

Literature Pick #69

The Doors of Death
by Arthur B. Waltermire (1888-1938)
A macabre horror tale from the October 1936 issue of Weird Tales.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Hendrick van Cleve painting

Construction of the Tower of Babel
by Hendrick van Cleve (circa 1525–1589)
16th century, oil
Artist is from Antwerp

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Literature Pick #68

The Salesman
by Waldo T. Boyd
A short science fiction tale from the March 1953 issue of IF: Worlds of Science Fiction.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

George Morland painting

The Old Water Mill
by George Morland (1763-1804)
1790, oil on canvas, 39.49" x 49.13"
English artist who was born in London

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Jan Siberechts painting

A Pastoral Landscape
by Jan Siberechts (1627–1703)
1684, Oil on Canvas, 26" x 29"
Flemish Baroque landscape painter

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Literature Pick #67

Zehru of Xollar
by Hal K. Wells (1899-1979; birthplace: Little Hocking, Ohio)
An exciting action-packed science fiction short story from the February 1932 issue of Astounding Stories.
 

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Jean-Jacques Bachelier painting

Les Quatre parties du monde
(translation: Four Parts of the World)
Jean-Jacques Bachelier (1724–1806)
1760, oil on canvas, French artist

Monday, October 28, 2013

Literature Pick #66

Cold Ghost
by Chester S. Geier
From the November 1948 issue of Amazing Stories comes this excellent ghost story.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Salvator Rosa painting

Rocky Landscape with a Huntsman and Warriors
by Salvator Rosa (1615–1673)
circa 1670, oil on canvas, 55.9" x 75.6"
Baroque Artist from Italy

Literature Pick #65

The Mummy's Foot
by Théophile Gautier
A fantastical horror short story from 1840 and translated by Lafcadio Hearn in 1908.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Thomas Daniell painting

Temple, Fountain and Cave in Sezincote Park 
by Thomas Daniell (1749 - 1840)
1819, oil on canvas, 39.9" x 50"
English landscape painter

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Literature Pick #64

Doom of the House of Duryea
by Earl Peirce, Jr.
A macabre horror short story from the October 1936 issue of Weird Tales.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem painting

An Italianate Landscape.
by Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1620-1683)
1654, oil on canvas, 20.9" x 25.2"
Dutch Golden Age painter born in Haarlem, North Holland
 

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Tropical Landscape by Frederic Edwin Church

Tropical Landscape
by Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900)
circa 1855, oil on canvas, 11" × 16.3"
Hudson River School painter

Friday, September 20, 2013

Sebastian Vrancx painting

Orpheus and the Beasts
by Sebastian Vrancx (1573–1647)
Circa 1595, oil on panel, 21.7" x 27.2"
Flemish Baroque painter and etcher of the Antwerp school

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Literature Pick #63

A Journey to the Center of the Earth
by Jules Verne (1828-1905)
A science fiction classic from a legendary author, first published in 1864 with the first English translation coming in 1871.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Jakob Philipp Hackert painting

Villa of Maecenas and Waterfalls in Tivoli
by Jakob Philipp Hackert (1737-1807)
1783, Oil on Canvas, 47.8" x 66.5"
Landscape Painter from Prenzlau, Brandenburg

Monday, August 26, 2013

Pieter Neefs I painting

Interior of a Church
by Pieter Neefs I (circa 1578 – after 1656)
Oil on Copper
Flemish Baroque Painter

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Literature Pick #62

The Black Tide
by Arthur G. Stangland
A marvelous science fiction short story from the March 1953 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction.


Pierre Patel painting

Landscape with Ruins
by Pierre Patel (1605-1676)
oil on canvas, 23.2" x 33.7"
Landscape painter from Picardy, France

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Literature Pick #61

The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion
by Edgar Allan Poe
A masterful apocalyptic tale first published in 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Giovanni Bellini painting

St. Francis in Ecstasy
by Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516)
Between 1480-1485, oil on panel, 47.2" x 53.9"
Italian Renaissance painter from Venice

Monday, August 12, 2013

Literature Pick #60

The Fairy of the Lake
by M. Sadoveanu

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Philipp Peter Roos painting

Landscape with Grotto
by Philipp Peter Roos (1655-1706)
Late 17th century, Oil on Canvas, 38.2" x 31.9"
German Baroque painter born in Frankfurt

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Literature Pick #59

The Anglers of Arz
by Roger D. Aycock (using the pen name Roger Dee)
A marvelous science fiction short story from the January 1953 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Johann Christian Vollerdt painting

Ideal Italian Landscape
by Johann Christian Vollerdt (1708–1769)
German Artist
1760, Oil on Canvas, 24.6" x 30.5"

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Literature Pick #58

Reluctant Genius
by Henry Slesar (under the pen name O. H. Leslie)
A short science fiction story from the January 1957 issue of Amazing Stories.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Giuseppe Zais painting

Landscape with Ruins and Archway
by Giuseppe Zais (1709-1784)
Italian landscape painter born in Forno di Canale
1730, oil on canvas, 38.2" x 57.9"

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Literature Pick #57

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
by M. R. James
A classic collection of gothic horror short stories from a legendary author.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Ferdinand Kobell painting

River Landscape with Waterfall, Resting Hiker, Shepherd with Cows and Goats, as well as Three Travelers

by Ferdinand Kobell (1740-1799)

German painter and engraver who was born in Mannheim.

1777, Oil on Canvas, 29.3" x 37.9"

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Literature Pick #56

Egocentric Orbit
by John Cory
A science fictional short story from the May 1960 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Ferdinand Knab paintings

Lake Landscape with Temple Ruins (1898) Oil on Canvas (25.6" x 19.7")
The Castle Portal (1881) Oil on Canvas (13.4" x 10.0")
Ruins of Taormina (1870) Oil on Canvas (19.3" x 24.2")
Landscape of Ruins (1888) Oil on Canvas (25.2" x 20.5")
Palace on a Mountain Lake (1876) Oil on Canvas (40.9" x 53.1")

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Literature Pick #55

Fee of the Frontier 
by Horace Brown Fyfe
A wondrous science fiction short story from the August 1960 issue of Amazing Stories.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Andreas Achenbach painting

Landscape in Hesse
by Andreas Achenbach (1815-1910)
1868, oil on panel, 20.5" x 30.7"
German landscape painter

Sunday, June 16, 2013

First Picture of Earth by Marié Digby

A beautiful song by the talented singer-songwriter Marié Digby, with a wonderfully evocative video, this is music that touches the soul with its heart.


Literature Pick #54

Foundling on Venus
by John de Courcy and Dorothy de Courcy
A wonderful science fiction short story from the March 1954 issue of Fantastic Universe.

Friday, June 14, 2013

John Cleveley the Elder painting

The yawl of the 'Luxborough Galley' arriving in Newfoundland, 7 July 1727
by John Cleveley the Elder (c.1712–1777)
English marine artist from Southwark
circa 1727
19.5" × 25.6"

Monday, June 10, 2013

Literature Pick #53

The Skull
by Philip K. Dick
A time travel story from a legend of the science fiction genre, first published in the September 1952 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo painting

Peasants at Rest
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804)
from Venice
1757
Fresco

Monday, May 27, 2013

Literature Pick #52

The Death-Traps of FX-31
by Sewell Peaslee Wright
From the March 1933 issue of Astounding Stories, this is an exciting work of science fiction featuring Wright's recurring character Commander John Hanson - a character starring in ten stories from 1930 to 1933. 

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Cornelis van Dalem painting

Landscape with Farm
by Cornelis van Dalem
1564
Oil on Panel
40.6" x 50.3"
16th century Flemish painter born in Antwerp

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Literature Pick #51

The Seed of the Toc-Toc Birds
by George Henry Weiss (using his pen name Francis Flagg)
An exciting, action-packed science fiction short story from the January 1932 issue of Astounding Stories

Thomas Jones painting

An Imaginary Coast Scene, with the Temple of Venus at Baiae
by Thomas Jones (1742-1803)
British Landscape Artist
1773, oil on canvas (19.02" x 24.02")

Monday, May 6, 2013

Literature Pick #50

The Undersea Tube
by L. Taylor Hansen
An imaginative science fiction short story from the November 1929 issue of Amazing Stories.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Hendrik Voogd painting

Italian Landscape with Stone Pines
by Hendrik Voogd
1807
oil on canvas
40" × 54.5"
Dutch artist born in Amsterdam

Literature Pick #49

The Ultimate Experiment
by Thornton DeKy
A wondrous futuristic science fiction short story from the July 1941 issue of Comet.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Literature Pick #48

The Indian On The Trail
by Mary Hartwell Catherwood (1847-1902)
From "Mackinac And Lake Stories", 1899
A splendid, florid romantic short story set on Mackinac Island, Michigan. 


William Ashford painting

View of Kilarney
by William Ashford (1746-1824)
1778
oil on canvas
27.2" x 39"

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Literature Pick #47

The Street That Wasn't There
by Clifford D. Simak and Carl Richard Jacobi
A brilliant work of science fiction from the July 1941 issue of Comet.
 

Monday, April 15, 2013

Norbert Grund painting

Lady on a Swing - Gallant Scene in the Park I
by Norbert Grund (1717-1767)
1760
Prague born artist of the Rococo style

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Literature Pick #46

The Copper-Clad World
by Harl Vincent
An exciting action-packed science fiction (of the planetary romance subgenre) novella from the September 1931 issue of Astounding Stories.


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Literature Pick #45

The Mysterious Card
by Cleveland Moffett (1863-1926)
from the 1920 short story compilation Masterpieces of Mystery: Riddle Stories
An amazing mystery tale, the first part was originally published in 1895 and the second part in 1896, both in the magazine The Black Cat.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Crucifixion by Jacopo Tintoretto

Crucifixion by Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594)
The artist is a Renaissance painter from Venice.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Roelant Savery painting

The dapple-grey
by Roelant Savery (1576-1639)
The artist was born in Courtray in Flanders and grew up in Haarlem in Holland. He moved to Prague in 1604 and became court painter to Holy Roman Emperors Rudolf II and Matthias.
 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Literature Pick #44

Spies Die Hard!
by Arnold Marmor
A spy-themed science fiction short story from the May 1954 issue of Imagination.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Paintings of Francis Danby (1793-1861)

Children by a Brook

Landscape near Clifton

Hampstead Heath, Sunset

The Painter's Holiday

Shipwreck

The three sisters of Phaeton weeping over the tomb of their brother