5 Wikipedia Links - An Lushan Rebellion, Tang Dynasty, The Battle of Talas, Nanzhao & Man'yōgana

You know the feeling. There's mention of something you only have a dim idea of, which sends you to wikipedia. An hour or two later and you are 5 layers deep in a part of the world, history or ideas you'd never heard of. 

So it was for me today. Here are my 5 new wikipedia links:

1. An Lushan Rebellion An year long rebellion against the Tang that led to the largest proportional loss of life in history.
2. Tang Dynasty The dynasty most often considered to be the most cosmopolitan, rivaling the height of the Roman Empire in grandeur and influence.
3. The Battle of Talas A  between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate along with their ally the Tibetan Empire and the Chinese Tang Dynasty, then under Emperor Xuanzong, in July 751 C.E. Perhaps the origin of paper's move to the West.
4. Nanzhao A distinct people in what is now Southern China.
5. Man'yōgana The old Japanese use of Chinese characters to phonetically write their our language.

Tang Dynasty

Man'yogana

General An Lushan

Nanzho

5 Photo Series for Talking About Empathy With Your Kids - 5 things TV

It can be hard to talk to your kids about how much they have without falling into the trap of pitying others or a sense of superiority.

Children and Where They Sleep

Kids from Around the World with Their Most Prized Possessions

Where Children Study

Unstoppable Students in The Face of Danger

American Kids 1850-1930

La Tacopedia Por Favor

Yes! La Tacopedi Enciclopedia Del Taco is now available. ​

Get the book »​

​Y una canción!

via LA Weekly

African Masks from Africa and Haiti

Photographer Phyllis Galembo went Africa and Haiti to photograph the art of the masquerade. “It’s the creativity,” says Galembo. “It’s not just the mask. It’s about the entire ensemble and the uniqueness of ritual dress.” 

via National Geographic

2 - Kuduro

Kuduro is a music, dance and fashion culture emerging from an Angolan sub-culture. ​

Os Kuduristas is a global program launching in Paris, Amsterdam and Stockholm this September 2012 to promote and raise awareness of Kuduro.

via PSFK

5 things I learned July 23, 2012

1 - Awesome Slow Motion Aerial Footage of Motorcycles Flying Through the Air

2 - Mario snowland

3 - Football animated with only string

4 - The Kalesh, a distinctive aboriginal tribe of Pakistan's Hindu Kush

5 - Poemotion Interactive Book Object

4 - The Kalesh, a distinctive aboriginal tribe of Pakistan's Hindu Kush

The current cultural and ethnic distribution across Eurasia may give the appearance of inevitablity, but from the Tocharian​ mummies in western China (read more ) to the Central Asian Alans settling in western France, there is a much more complex and interesting story to discover.  

​The modern-day Kalesh are a stunning, human testemant to this complexity.

via Kuriositas