Lascaux

It's Visual Arts Day and we have a little info on the Lascaux Cave Paintings near Montignac in France, some of the earliest works of art known to man.

I should think every Visual Arts Day entry should have a Visual Art included ... the editors of the book evidently didn't think that way; there is not even a drawing of a bull or a horn or a spear or even a dot. So I will try to include a little extra on each of my VAD submissions.

Today I am sharing Bartleby. If I had been an artist 15,000 years ago, this is most likely who I'd have drawn on the walls of the caves. Bartleby is mine. I sketched him. Pride of ownership.

But most of us have Bartleby within us, looking out at the world bewildered by the hurtful ways of man, by the harsh forces of an unforgiving nature, by the almighty and unknowable God who gives and takes with a seemingly random hand.

I'm sure Bartleby will show up again. Unless he, you know, prefers not to.

As to the cave, what excitement there must have been upon its' discovery! Exploring each room, deciphering each drawing, admiring primitive man's artwork and perspective, the one thing on everybody's mind had to have been: so much money to be made!

Guided tours; books and art reproductions; T-shirts; Mel Brooks immediately began making plans for a movie. (Parent Advisory: Video is R Rated. And yes, I know, it's "North America" 2 million years ago ... I only even brought it up because, well, it's Mel Brooks!)

I'm not sure who exactly benefits financially directly from the cave; highly unlikely that it's the boys who actually found it. I'm sure it's a governmental thang ... the official website is run by the Ministry of Culture and Communication.

But there were some serious problems due to the popularity of the cave. The book didn't provide details so I did a little investigating.

With all of the heat, humidity and carbon dioxide emitted by the thousands of visitors every day, the cave became quite ill. There was damage caused by condensation.

Then the cave caught both “green leprosy”, a spreading algae carried in on tourists' shoes, and “white disease”, calcite crystals (from the carbon dioxide) that covered the drawings.

Sure would have hated to clean up after all of that. I can't even bear the messes that the kids make. And as I've gotten older, I've become a whole lot less tolerant. Maybe it's because they are older and my expectations have naturally evolved.

Fortunately for me, my kids are responsible and take care of themselves, so they don't (often) hear FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND RIGHT PICK UP YER OWN FISH-CLOTTED MESSES! I AM NOT THE FLIPPIN SLAVE!

I'm sure I'd have been peevish had I been keeper-of-the-cave. WIPE YER FUSTULOUS* FUZZY GREEN PAWS! PICK UP AFTER YERSELVES, YA REEKING FOOLBORN MEASLES! I SAID ONE AT A TIME, YA BEDEAFENED SHEEP SQUALLERS! AND STOP WITH YER VAPOURS!

They've restored the original cave which is now accessible to only a handful every week. Hard to keep those molds at bay though. I've just read that there's some more fungal activity that they're doing battle against this year ... reminiscent of a demented stalker-boyfriend that just will not leave you alone ...

They have created a duplicate cave - even copied the texture of the rocks - which is open to the public. Modern technology is amazing. Rock and ancient art reproduction.

The best technological feature of The Intellectual Devotional:
The attached ribbon bookmark. There is no picture of it on Amazon. There is no picture of it here, either, which really surprised me. But! It's so shiiiiiny and smoooooth and greeeeen and not even frayed.

And I've been wondering, is there a special name (aside from the obvious) for such an important, attractive and utilitarian object?

After a quick search, I came upon this.
***

Date: 9/12/2004
Subject: ribbon bookmark

Question
What is the word that names a ribbon bookmark that is sewn into the binding of a book?

According to Jane Greenfield, the authority on book nomenclature, a "bookmark" is a ribbon or cord or strip of leather which is attached to a book and is used to mark one's place. It is also called a marker, register, signet, or finding ribbon.
In common usage, it may simply be laid in the book, rather than attached to it.
Thanks for asking. I learned a bit, also.
Rupert

***

I like signet. It sounds ... oppulent. And it sounds like cygnet, which happen to be young oppulent birds.

Now I'm off – must learn more about Jane Greenfield.

Glory! She wrote a book with Nicholas Basbanes – well, he wrote the foreword. *swoon*

And she wrote a book called Headbands, How to Work Them with Jenny Hille that is about ... ready? ... the attached ribbon bookmark, which is called a Headband! Why was that not mentioned in the above response? * putting on my Bartleby face *

BONUSES:Shakespeare Insult Generator 1
Shakespeare Insult Generator 2
Shakespeare Insult Kit

* fustulous: [fuhs-chuh-luhs] adj. fistulous + pustulous
(A Libraritarian word. Other incidences you may find were typographical errors and purely accidental. I'm sure.)