In 1945, Arts & Architecture magazine announces the following:
Because most opinion, both profound and light-headed, in terms of post war housing is nothing but speculation in the form of talk and reams of paper, it occurs to us that it might be a good idea to get down to cases and at least make a beginning in the gathering of that mass of material that must eventually result in what we know as house-post war.
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Your first reaction to Sochi, the pearl of the ‘Russian Riviera’ as this year's 2014's Winter Olympics host city, is bound to be one of surprise. For one it’s, well, big. It has traffic, high-rise buildings and an urban attitude that you’d hardly expect from a seaside retreat. And of course it's in Russia. Which is bound to bring along some heated discussion.
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As many good and bad things that happened in the last century, it all began in 1968. The Czechoslovakian people wanted more reform than was granted by the leading Communist Party and of course the Soviet leadership. The great reformer Alexandr Dubček did promise to intervene, but failed to take any apparent steps. Therefore, the diplomatic pressure was replaced by a military solution. On the eve of 21 August 1968, Czechoslovakia was occupied by the armies of five Warsaw Pact countries. An event we now know as the Prague Spring.
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I remember the first time I watched Alice in Wonderland, illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith (which I did not know at the time of course). Later I watched the Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland in the lead. And I remember me thinking why Alice came as a cartoon and the Wizard as a motion picture. Now, many years later I am starting to get a clue.
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Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeologists believe Stone Age people across Europe and Asia sewed fur and skin clothing using bone, antler or ivory needles and thread made of various animal body parts including catgut and veins. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts.
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