Links, Curiositites & Mixed Wonders – 22

∼ PANDEMIC SPECIAL! ∼

Are you forced to stay home because of the virus?

Scroll further down for loads of links!

↓ ↓

↓ ↓

↓ ↓

↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

 

Sorry, no links this time.

In this period of self-reclusion, I am sure that you will have no problem exploiting your forced retreat in an inspired or culturally relevant way. Because on the internet everyone — EVERYONE — is recommending endless lists of books and films and TV series and myriads of other ways of employing the empty hours.

Personally, compared to other “content creators” (awful definition), I have been a little hesitant these days in proposing reading/viewing/listening suggestions. I keep posting some curious finds on social networks, as I always do, but no lists or tips to get distracted.
Maybe it’s because I would not feel comfortable riding the wave of such a dramatic event (even make-up tutorials now contain the coronavirus hashtag), perhaps lowering myself to the point of advertising my books once again; or maybe it’s because I have the feeling that we are destroying the possibility of enjoying a bit of boredom and existential ennui, as incapable as we are of detoxifying ourselves from constant hyperstimulation. Ours might end up being a frantic isolation, more dense and crowded with things to do than usual.

But the real reason is that we live in unusual times.
Times traversed by widespread and meandering anxieties, by the sensation an imminent redefinition, as if we were all — I would say: as a living species — on the brink of an uncertain future, very different from the reassuring and predictable one that awaited our grandparents or great grandparents when they were young.
Sometimes we feel that the tip of our feet has reached this invisible border, this limen beyond which we cannot foresee what lies ahead. However, a step forward must be taken. And it becomes increasingly evident that we must all take that step together. That’s the “solidarity” we so often confuse with charity, but which etymologically means to be “solid”, compact — I would say: as a living species.

What awaits us is unknown, and the unknown is fearful, exciting, unsettling. This is the dimension that for many years I have tried to indicate as the true meaning of wonder, the original thauma which is a mixture of amazement, enchantment and terror.
Such a feeling is not easy, nor comforting. But it is fertile: new thoughts arise, new perspectives, even new philosophies. It is an opportunity to improve.

We live in an unusual time.
That’s why I do not intend to propose anything to “kill” it: because, if you are reading these lines, there is a good chance that you are yourself unusual individuals. People who seek wonder, who better than others know how to balance the attractions and deceptions of Awe.
So this is your time, your moment. Tune in, enjoy it, make it count.
As good old Hunter S. Thompson said:

Arriva la Piccola Libreria Lunare!

Books-copy-2

Da oggi apre i battenti la nostra Piccola Libreria Lunare!

L’idea nasce dalle sempre più numerose richieste, fra i commenti e nelle mail private, di indicazioni e suggerimenti bibliografici relativi ai temi trattati; quindi, perché non creare uno spazio virtuale per tutti gli amanti delle letture bizzarre?

Nella Piccola Libreria Lunare troverete un buon numero di testi, suddivisi secondo le diverse categorie del blog – Animali & Natura, Mondo Macabro, Meraviglie Umane, ecc. In alcuni casi si tratta di libri già segnalati nella rubrica La biblioteca delle meraviglie, ma per la maggior parte non ne abbiamo mai discusso direttamente qui.

Ci teniamo a chiarire subito che Bizzarro Bazar aderisce al programma di affiliazione di Amazon. Questo significa che se uno dei libri segnalati vi piace, e lo acquistate attraverso il link fornito (che contiene anche un codice identificativo univoco), una piccola percentuale del prezzo di copertina verrà riconosciuta a Bizzarro Bazar. Voi vi potrete godere il vostro libro e, allo stesso tempo, senza sovrapprezzi di alcun tipo, avrete aiutato il blog a tenersi in piedi e a continuare le ricerche.

Detto questo, la nostra speranza è che la Piccola Libreria non resti una pagina a senso unico (del tipo “Bizzarro Bazar consiglia”), ma possa diventare nel tempo, grazie ai vostri interventi nella sezione dei commenti, un vero e proprio punto di discussione, di scambio di informazioni e di confronto su strane letture, favolosi libercoli e letteratura non convenzionale.

Non vi resta che cominciare a esplorare la Piccola Biblioteca Lunare. Trovate il pulsante proprio sotto l’intestazione del blog (oppure cliccate qui). Questa nuova pagina sarà in continuo aggiornamento anche grazie ai vostri suggerimenti.

Buona lettura!