somewhereinmalta

[somewhereinmalta]

Reblog daily for health and prosperity

[somewhereinmalta]

The deleted scenes: James Wilby as Maurice Hall in film Maurice directed by James Ivory in 1987.

[somewhereinmalta]

So, I saw this image on Facebook, and it was supposedly showing what Queen Nefertiti would have looked like in real life:

Now, I thought this AI generated garbage was just truly terrible on a number of levels; first off, she looks wayyyyyy too modern - her makeup is very “Hollywood glamour”, she looks airbrushed and de-aged, and as far as I’m aware, Ancient Egyptians didn’t have mascara, glitter-based eyeshadows and lip gloss. Secondly, her features are exceptionally whitewashed in every sense - this is pretty standard for AI as racial bias is prevalent in feeding AI algorithms, but I genuinely thought a depiction of such a known individual would not exhibit such euro-centric features. Thirdly, the outfit was massively desaturated and didn’t take pigment loss into consideration, and while I *do* like the look of the neck attire, it's not at all accurate (plus, again, AI confusion on the detailing is evident).

So, this inspired me to alter the image on the left to be more accurate based off the sculpture’s features. I looked into Ancient Egyptian makeup and looked at references for kohl eyeliner and clay-based facial pigment (rouge was used on cheeks, charcoal-based powder/paste was used to darken and elongate eyebrows), and I looked at pre-existing images of Nefertiti, both her mummy and other reconstructions. While doing this, I found photos of a 3D scanned sculpture made by scientists at the University of Bristol and chose to collage the neck jewellery over the painting (and edited the lighting and shadows as best as I could).

Something I see a lot of in facial recreations of mummies is maintaining the elongated and skinny facial features as seen on preserved bodies - however, fat, muscle and cartilage shrink/disappear post mortem, regardless of preservation quality; Queen Nefertiti had art created of her in life, and these pieces are invaluable to developing an accurate portrayal of her, whether stylistic or realistic in nature.

And hey, while I don't think my adjustments are perfect (especially the neck area), I *do* believe it is a huge improvement to the original image I chose to work on top of.

I really liked working on this project for the last few days, and I think I may continue to work on it further to perfect it. But, until then, I hope you enjoy!

Remember, likes don't help artists but reblogs do!

[somewhereinmalta]

He had failed, and that wasn’t the saddest: he had seen Alec fail. In a way they were one person. Love had failed. Love was an emotion through which you occasionally enjoyed yourself. It could not do things.

Maurice, E. M. Forster

[somewhereinmalta]

Title: A Young Woman Holding a Distaff Before a Lit Candle Artist: Adam de Coster (Flemish, ca. 1586-1643) Date: unknown Genre: portraiture Period: Baroque Movement: Antwerp Caravaggisti; Tenebrism Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 134 cm (52.7 in) high x 94.9 cm (37.3 in) wide Location: private collection

[somewhereinmalta]

1926 c. Lanvin evening ensemble of a side-wrapped gold lame dress and matching cape with black taffeta lining and trapunto stitching. From the Darien Historic Dress Collection.

[somewhereinmalta]

1925 The door to a simple flower shop in Nice, France. From Art Deco, Avant Garde and Modernism, FB. I love this!

[somewhereinmalta]

James Wilby in film Maurice, 1987

[somewhereinmalta]

1920 Necklace of gold, silver, peridot, amethysts, tourmalines. sapphires and pearls. The maker was Frank Gardner Hale. From Art Deco, FB.

[somewhereinmalta]

Lavender field, Provence, France.

[somewhereinmalta]

US-backed Israeli quadcopters would arrive at the scene of airstrikes in Gaza to “pick off” and “shoot” injured civilians, including children.

Acclaimed British surgeon Nizam Mamode, who recently returned from a period of working at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, testified in front of the UK Parliament on the current state of healthcare in Gaza.

This was incredibly hard to listen to.

(source)

[somewhereinmalta]

This was posted tonight at the Curzon Mayfair in London last night at the launch of the Merchant Ivory doc film. James looking gorgeous in his scarf!! ❤️

This video clip is from @stephensoucy Instagram page.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Stephen Soucy (@stephensoucy)

[somewhereinmalta]

A review by a Jewish Pogrom scholar on why the violence in Amsterdam is not a Pogrom against Jewish folks and why it is dangerous and unhelpful to call it one.

[somewhereinmalta]

For those wondering what's happening in Amsterdam right now and hearing media bullshit about 'pogroms', let me break it down for ya:

Sunday, November 3rd: During the weekend, Israeli fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv arrive in Amsterdam in advance of the soccer match against Ajax to take place on Thurday. On the first night, a man wearing a kufiya is attacked and beaten up so bad that he is hospitalized. The incident is ignored by the media and the police.

Wednesday, November 6th: Maccabi fans remove Palestinian flags from buildings, burn the flags and intimidate the inhabitants. A taxi driver is attacked with metal chains. The police watch and do nothing. Fellow taxi drivers have to come to the victim's rescue. The incidents are ignored by the media.

Thursday afternoon, November 7th: Maccabi fans hold a pro-IDF rally, carrying IDF emblems and shouting 'destroy the arabs' and 'we will fuck the arabs'. Fans also return to further intimidate the inhabitants of buildings that they had targeted on Wednesday. The incident are ignored by the media and the police.

Thursday evening, November 7th: Maccabi fans are shouting the same slogans and intimidating people of color while moving through the Amsterdam metro, while other fans simultaneously disrupt a vigil for the victims of the floods in Spain. The incidents are ignored by the media and the police.

Thursday night, November 7th: Amsterdam youths successfully fight back against the Israeli's that have been terrorizing their city. Maccabi fans that had gathered for another night of violence are driven off in all directions. Some find shelter with the police.

Friday morning, November 8th: Ignoring everything that has happened before, the city council and the media go wild, declaring that a 'pogrom' has taken place against 'Jews' and that 'violent antisemitism' is making Amsterdam unsafe. Maccabi fans that were shouting 'death to arabs' a few hours ealier are giving teary-eyed interviews claiming they were afraid for their lives and were targetted for being Jewish. The city council bans all forms of protest for 3 days.

Saturday morning, November 9th: a group of Amsterdam antizionist Jews is forced to cancel their Kristallnacht/Novemberprogromme 1938 commemoration because of threats of violence from Maccabi fans. This is ignored by the media and the police.

[somewhereinmalta]

Hey, the ACLU is getting people to send letters to your Reps to have Congress pass the No Kings Act.

This act would make constitutional amendments to ensure that even sitting presidents are held liable for their actions. That NOBODY is above the law.

Their goal is 150k messages sent and at the time of writing this they're about 2.1k off from that goal!

ACLU gives you a prefilled message that you can edit to send to make the process easier, and will send it out for you.

This only takes a few minutes!

[somewhereinmalta]

my Maurice (1987) fanarts

[somewhereinmalta]

Cat. Ca. 1904 - 1908. Source.