PicoBlog

Sister Ping is one of the first, and ultimately most successful, alien smugglers of all time. — U.S. Department of Justice (image via FBI) FBI agents reviled her as "the queen of the snakeheads." But in Chinatown, immigrants praised her as "Sister Ping." For years, Cheng Chui Ping ferried Chinese "customers" across the ocean to the United States. Trave… ncG1vNJzZmiipaG2oq%2FCmqmpnZ6psrN60q6ZrKyRmLhvr86mZqlnkWLEsLnAp2Stp12gu7DDjJyfnqaXYrCpwchmp6Kmlw%3D%3D

If her ghost did remain here, it is because she was so house-proud. — Carol Ward (image via National Portrait Gallery) Eliza was born in a brothel, but died in a mansion — one she allegedly haunts still. She escaped her childhood brothel (what else am I supposed to call it???) in the late 1790s, journeying to New York to find work as an actress.

During the Renaissance, in an era of arranged marriages that left no possibility of divorce, the only way out of an unhappy union was death.  — Genevieve Carlton (Aqua Tofana, image via Wikimedia Commons) Between 1631 and 1659, Palermo noblewoman Giulia Tofana built quite the customer base for her handmade cosmetics. But her most popular product — a suppo… ncG1vNJzZmiipaG2oq%2FCmqmpnZ6psrN60q6ZrKyRmLhvr86mZqlnkWLEsLnAp2Stp12gu7DDjKCgrqSZlnq1u8WapZo%3D

Dull is a word that should be torn to pieces to see what it is made of. — Joe Carstairs (image via Wikimedia Commons) In 1911, 11-year-old Marion Barbara Carstairs was driving her Standard Oil heiress mother mad. The tomboy insisted on wearing boys’ clothes, changing her name from “Marion” to “Joe” and chucking all “lady-like” expectations out her manor … ncG1vNJzZmiipaG2oq%2FCmqmpnZ6psrN60q6ZrKyRmLhvr86mZqlnkWLEsLnAp2Stp12gu7DDjKaYq6Gfo3qjrdGbmKuZXZ%2B8pg%3D%3D

Most of the blame attached itself to Olympias, on the grounds that she had encouraged the young man in his anger … — Plutarch (image via Wikimedia Commons) Olympias claimed that even while pregnant, she knew her son, Alexander (one day known as “Alexander the Great”) was destined for greatness. As Plutarch wrote: On the night before they were to be locked… ncG1vNJzZmiipaG2oq%2FCmqmpnZ6psrN60q6ZrKyRmLhvr86mZqlnkWLEsLnAp2Stp12gu7DDjKijsqWgnq60

Geist • (ga-e-st) • noun Definition: ghost, spirit, soul, culture, mind, intelligence, wit, psyche Origin: German The German word geist is a simple, yet profound word that speaks to the importance of philosophy, and how human life is shaped by the language we use to define the unknown. Geist has no direct English translation and the profundity of geist derives from its various meanings.  What is Geist? Geist means “ghost,” but that is not all that it means.

From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.” Here, A.J. Daulerio, author and publisher of The Small Bow recovery newsletter, responds. - Sari BottonA.J. Daulerio was an editor at Deadspin for 3 ½ years and was promoted to EIC of Gawker in 2012.

As I’m traveling and learning about the world’s cheesemaking practices, I am observing the loss of older livestock breeds, farming methods, and communal land usage. The diversity of cheeses are being lost alongside these at an alarming rate. The dairy foods that I find most fascinating are emblems of these well established relationships, that are often at odds with the modern capitalist definitions of efficiency. I think the Icelandic cow, and the remnants of an older system of farming, actually are efficient when seen through a different lens.

This article is dedicated to Aaron Bushnell, his family, and everybody struggling with the guilt and despair that helped stage Bushnell’s final act of protest. I’m still shaken. 24 hours after watching the video, the young man’s sullen face as he paced stay with me. The words he uttered while he stepped toward the site of his final protest echo loudly in my head. “I am an active duty member of the United Sates Air Force, and I will no longer be complicit in this genocide.