My Mazamet

Life at № 42 by E.M. Coutinho

When you see the term Gender Ideology, alarm bells should ring in your head!

Here we go again. Gender ideology. Gender. Ideology. Do you think you know what it means? It’s currently in vogue in the Americas. Bolsonaro put it back in style in … Continue reading

March 30, 2023 · 155 Comments

Christianity and the Strong Arm of the Law: Do the religious not trust themselves?

This was from the former Pink Agendist Blog posted in January of 2014, but happens to unfortunately be relevant yet again. “Christianity has had, since its inception, an obsession with … Continue reading

May 6, 2022 · 162 Comments

​A marble bust of the Roman Emperor Commodus | Christie’s

  “… Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus (161-192 AD), or Commodus as he was more commonly known, was the last emperor of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire for … Continue reading

June 30, 2018 · 89 Comments

Yippee: a crucifixion, abortion, ducks and pretty things!!!

And it’s only Wednesday! – In case you missed the exceedingly popular last issue of Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, there’s a fascinating article on the second case of crucifixion ever found. … Continue reading

May 30, 2018 · 52 Comments

Cultural Oddities: Slave Jewellery

Isn’t that an extraordinary picture? All that jewellery you see, it’s gold. Solid gold. Salvador was the birthplace of slave jewellery. I think the concept doesn’t exist in any other … Continue reading

June 23, 2017 · 6 Comments

Notes on The Time Before

I want to continue talking about that period because it’s oddly relevant to what’s going on in  the world today… As a child with grandparents from three different countries and … Continue reading

March 7, 2017 · 26 Comments

In case you missed it: Matt Frei

“Meet The Trumps: From Immigrant To President Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States and commander in chief of America’s armed forces, the most powerful position in … Continue reading

February 2, 2017 · 11 Comments

When The New York Times Defended Putting a Black Man in the Bronx Zoo – TDB

Just as the late Stephen Jay Gould updated Charles Darwin by arguing that humans evolved through fits and starts—“punctuated equilibrium”—social progress also is less steady than we would like. Even … Continue reading

December 17, 2016 · 7 Comments

Books, Food & 10 Year Plans

We left Spain 2 years ago today. What you see above is my last bloody mary at the marina. I loved the marina in winter, barely a tourist in sight. … Continue reading

December 9, 2016 · 14 Comments

Photos of historical England ‘challenge Downton Abbey myth’ | Art and design | The Guardian

“Images of factories, schools, universities and civic buildings rising among old streetscapes – but also of rotting houses, barefoot children and faces pinched with poverty – have been unearthed from … Continue reading

November 28, 2016 · 21 Comments

The 1909 Strikes

The more I read the more interesting this place becomes. Above you can see the 1909 strike by the wool workers. A pivotal moment in history as it led to … Continue reading

October 27, 2016 · 19 Comments

which in turn was based on, which in turn was based on, which in turn was based on

In trying to see if I could find a replica of the Cormouls house in Canada I got distracted and ended up revisiting the career and history of Horace Trumbauer. … Continue reading

October 25, 2016 · 28 Comments

When Grand Meant Grand. Resurrecting a house.

As I’ve mentioned previously I was mystified when I heard the story of the property that used to neighbour number 42. A most impressive hôtel particulier (although here they prefer … Continue reading

October 23, 2016 · 29 Comments

Valuable masterpieces in UK galleries replaced with fakes | ArtsHub United Kingdom

Seven paintings were replaced with copies by Sky Arts for a new TV series called Fake! The Great Masterpiece Challenge. Only the museum curators, the production team from IWC Media, … Continue reading

July 1, 2016 · 10 Comments

Did the Devil Really Write This Bible?  Candida Moss on the Codex Gigas

“It’s not just the scale of the book that make it unusual, but also its contents. In addition to the Vulgate (the Latin version of the Bible), it contains a … Continue reading

May 29, 2016 · 8 Comments

The Myth of the Neronian Persecution – Cambridge Journals Online

Exceptionally well researched piece! The Myth of the Neronian Persecution Brent D. Shaw  Department of Classics, Princeton University ABSTRACT: A conventional certainty is that the first state-driven persecution of Christians happened … Continue reading

December 12, 2015 · 12 Comments

The distribution (for those interested in design)

When I talk about the house it’s probably confusing, so here’s a not quite to scale sketch of the distribution: The green salon, grey salon and dining room face the … Continue reading

July 4, 2015 · 20 Comments

Upstairs/downstairs; Examining staff quarters

For comparison’s sake I have to start with the grand staircase. That’s because I think it’s the most shocking example of inequality/aristocratic thinking. As incredible as it may seem to … Continue reading

July 2, 2015 · 23 Comments

Mazamet & the house: a bit of history

Although most people probably never heard of the place, it was once one of the wealthiest towns in the world. 80% of the planet’s wool was processed here. In the … Continue reading

April 28, 2015 · 24 Comments