empathising-systemising

The always brilliant Nag on the Lake introduces us to the “genius of Earlswood Asylum,” James Henry Pullen, through an inaugural exhibition that explores the life and imaginative work of an autistic savant confined for nearly seven decades.
As was the standard practise for the patients to learn handicrafts (see some other examples of Outsider Art to come out of institutions here and here) to support themselves and the asylum, Pullen demonstrated master level skill in carpentry and technical drawing, making elaborate scale models of ships as well as furniture for the wards. The asylum superintendent, Doctor John Langdon Haydon Down—best remembered for his description of the genetic condition that bears his name and also first employed the term savant—treated Pullen rather humanely, allowing him to dine with the staff rather than the general population and encouraged Pullen in his projects, which eventually garnered the attention of Queen Victoria and the royal family.

i’m like a racing car passing by

Also to mark the occasion of Freddie Mercury’s birthday, the Awesomer brings us the musical stylings of Seb Skelly who delivers a one-man rendition of Queen’s 1978 uplifting song “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Arranged for a brass quintet all performed by Skelly, the sheet music as well as the original version is available at the link above.

that's why they call me mister fahrenheit

To celebrate what would have been the artist’s seventy-second birthday, we look through Dangerous Minds’ archives and find footage from Freddie Mercury’s legendary bash held at Old Missus Henderson’s club (closed in August 2008) in München in 1985. Invited guests were instructed to dress for the drag ball in black and white and parts of the party’s proceedings were incorporated into the music video for Mercury’s Living on My Own. At the time, Mercury lived on the nearby Hans-Sachs-Straße in the borough of Ludwigsvorstadt where Oktoberfest is held.

@sweden

Because social media for the most part is a cesspool that brings out the worst in people, Sweden will be shutting down its official Twitter project the “Curators of Sweden,” which turned the country’s media presence over to a different private citizen each week.
Sponsored by the Swedish board of tourism, they cite the lack of geographic reach for discontinuing the programme but the guest hosts were more and more frequently in recent years becoming the targets of hate and vitriol for their posts on Swedish language, destinations and customs. I suppose it’s rather a testimony to Swedish democracy and tolerance that it lasted as long as it did. We guess the handle will revert to the government and with elections up coming and outcomes no longer certain, let’s hope it’s one that continues to reflect those values.