Author: Ms. R.

One of the challenges facing tattoo historians today is that many owners of historically significant material—from actual pieces of preserved human flesh to suggested patterns, some of them a little grotesque—don’t come forward to share their finds, out of fear that scholars and the public would dismiss the subject as superficial or repulsive. Undeterred, every year these historians are probing ever deeper into inking traditions worldwide. They are documenting rare tools and designs and uncovering provenance trails of tattooed……

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To most, a pioneer mother in a bonnet, holding a pie with her daughter clutching her dress sounds cute and comforting; but when visitors first lay eyes on the 15-foot statue outside Granny’s Motel in Frackville, Pennsylvania this roadside sculpture is anything but comforting. The Pioneer Mom statue was created for the Pot-O-Gold Diner in Hamburg but was installed at its current location when the diner closed its doors. Originally green and white, the figures were repainted a “happier”……

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John Carlyle was born in 1720 in England, the second son of an apothecary surgeon. He emigrated to Virginia in 1741 as an agent of merchant William Hicks. He built his own career as a merchant in Belhaven, a settlement that would later become Alexandria, Virginia in 1749. Carlyle was one of the founders of the burgeoning city. That year, Carlyle purchased two, half-acre lots strategically located between the Potomac River and Market Square. He began construction of his……

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Urgnano Castle was constructed in 1354 as a military outpost, but the existence of something akin to a fortress on the same location was attested by a document dating back to 1016. Several families owned the castle, but it was the Albani family in the 1400s that turned it into the stately mansion that can be seen today. The castle is currently in the hands of the Urgnano municipality.  Urgano Castle ticks all the boxes of a fantasy castle,……

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In Lincolnshire, England, Roz Edwards is known as the “Mannequin Lady.” Over the past fifteen years, Edwards has built an impressive a collection of some 15,000 human-like forms. She regularly rents them to shows like “X Factor” and “Top Gear,” but she has amassed so many that the majority now form a mountain. The 20-foot-tall mound that stretches for 150 feet was originally christened Dollywood, but is now called Mannakin Hall—to sound more posh, Edwards jokes. Photography, film and……

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Part movie theater, part live performance venue, and part art gallery, the ever-evolving Lyric’s look is curated by an eclectic owner and an in-house Art Czar.  Featuring the best outdoor patio views of the mountains in town, the whimsical artwork of the Lyric spills out onto the lawn and becomes a playground for kids and adults. Hosting a variety of events ranging from live music, DJs, stand-up comedy, local food dinners, costume dance parties, and circus performers, the Lyric……

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