It"s Hard To Tear Your Eyes Away From This Vintage, Yet Futuristic, Art

There’s a lot more going on in the paintings of Modestas Malinauskas than initially meets the eye. His fantastical, richly-layered images show a world full of strange, massive vehicles that appear to be patched together from various materials, resulting in an object that’s both mysterious and whimsical.

Flight

Magic Ship

Flying

With their rusty-looking, bolted-together parts, these ships and aircraft could easily be a bit on the sinister side, but Malinauskas lightens the mood in each painting with bright, saturated colors and and a humorous shape to each vehicle. So instead of looming Franken-vehicles, they become quirky, endearing-looking ships ready to ferry us off to a magical land.

On the Coast

Back to Home

Ship

Dirigible

Seemingly cobbled together from salvaged parts, these ships of sea and air hint at another world, a fantasy world where things are a little…different. Malinauskas doesn’t elaborate on who made and operates these fantasy ships, or where they might be going, leaving it up to the viewer to fill in the story. For his part, Malinauskas says that his paintings are inspired by “dreams and play,” and that his images come from places of happiness and positivity.

The Last One

To a Date

Ship II

Ship

Besides these vessels, Malinauskas also paints images of still life, including some teapots that seem to inform the shape of his ships, and you can see those on his website and gallery site. While painting, Malinuskas can be found in his studio along with his wife, who is also an artist and known for her handmade dolls.

It"s Hard To Tear Your Eyes Away From This Vintage, Yet Futuristic, Art

Two Close Friends Went Exploring In An Old House. What They Found Is Chilling.

When two friends explored California’s famously abandoned Barton Mansion, they probably knew about the potential for something spooky to happen. After all, the mansion is one of the most haunted places in the entire state.

What the friends encountered inside the mansion is something straight out of a horror movie. Luckily, they caught it all on tape.

(via Reddit)

Terrified yet? That figure in the doorway is said to be the so-called Barton Demon who haunts the old mansion. The previous owner, Dr. Ben Barton, was said to have become deeply involved in Satanic worship after his daughters died in the house under mysterious circumstances.

Could it be a hoax? Maybe, but you can see the camera sweep past the doorway earlier in the video, and there was nothing there. Regardless, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping well tonight.

Two Close Friends Went Exploring In An Old House. What They Found Is Chilling.

This Beautiful Explosion Of Color Is One Of The Coolest Holidays You Never See

Are those people completely covered in brightly colored pigments? Is literally everything covered in brightly colored pigments? It just might be Holi!

Holi is a spring festival celebrated mainly in India, Nepal, and other areas with significant Hindu populations. The festival is a beautiful celebration of color, love, and springtime. It begins with the Holika bonfire the night before, which is celebrated with singing and dancing.

The legend of the bonfire involves an evil demon, named Holika, who tried to trick her nephew into burning alive on a pyre. Through some divine intervention, the nephew was saved, and Holika was burned. The story signifies the triumph of good over evil. Holi also involves the love story of Krishna, a god, an Radha, a beautiful girl. Krishna was worried that Radha wouldn’t love him for his dark blue skin color, so his mother suggested he turn Radha’s face to any color he wanted. He playfully turned her face different colors, and they became a couple.

Holi, in practice, is as fun a celebration as it is beautiful. People gather in public spaces and run around, chase each other, and dance while throwing handfuls of colored dry powder and dyed water at one another.

By the end of it, everyone is covered head to toe in rainbow hues.

After getting covered in colors all day, people then go home, clean up, and visit friends and family. Other practices and traditions will vary from region to region. Holi festivals usually include music and drumming, as well as special Holi treats. One of those treats is Bhang, a drink made with cannabis leaves.

Aside from being a lot of fun, Holi holds a lot of symbolism. It’s celebrated at the end of winter, on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalgun, which typically falls in March. Holi is mostly a celebration of spring, celebrating the fresh colors of the season. For many, it’s seen as the start of the new year. Like many new year celebrations, it’s also holiday about renewal, and sees many people working to repair relationships, resolve problems of the past year, and rid themselves of negative emotional baggage.

Holi is celebrated by people of the Indian diaspora in places like Europe and North America, as well as non-Indian and non-Hindu people in more secularized festivals. Some people are critical of the more secular adaptations of Holi, saying that they aren’t properly respectful to the religious and cultural aspects of the holiday. So if you’re thinking of participating, remember to do so respectfully.

Happy Holi!

This Beautiful Explosion Of Color Is One Of The Coolest Holidays You Never See

This Was Once A Cornerstone Of American Culture, But Now? A Mere Shadow.

In 1915, the Elks of New Castle, Pennsylvania, were a growing segment of the local population. Their members mostly came from a vaudeville or theater background. To accommodate their large numbers, the Elks built a new, more luxurious lodge in downtown New Castle.

As membership declined in the 1980s, the Elks moved to a smaller home and abandoned their old lodge. It sat vacant until 2011, when the town of New Castle made the decision to demolish the building.

However, before it was destroyed, Matthew Christopher visited the former lodge. The photographer behind the Abandoned America series and book rediscovered the beautiful, old building, full of decaying artifacts from a time long gone.

The beautiful old building from across the street.

According to a local historical website, the Elks didn’t pull any punches when they designed their new lodge. It had some pretty amazing amenities.

“The new building had a large basement and three full stories, with a large meeting/dancing hall on the top floor, a billiards parlor, social rooms, a two-lane bowling alley, a kitchen and dining area, locker rooms and shower facilities, and a reading and writing rooms,” according to Lawrence County Memoirs.

On the third floor of the building is a large theatrical oval room.

Christopher believes the room was designed this way because of the performing background of many Elks members.

According to Christopher, little effort was made by the town to save any of the lodge except for these chairs.

The doors are still on the old bathroom stalls.

Christopher made two trips to photograph the old lodge. Sadly, on his second trip, Christopher discovered that demolition was already underway.

Crews took a wrecking ball to the back of the building.

What a waste.

It’s always a shame to see such a beautiful old building destroyed instead of being rehabilitated. New buildings these days just don’t have the same character that they used to.

For more amazing pictures like these, visit Matthew Christopher over at Abandoned America. You can also buy his latest book on Amazon. Make sure to also follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

This Was Once A Cornerstone Of American Culture, But Now? A Mere Shadow.