Another image found on Agence Eureka’s blog. I have a feeling this won’t be the last of them either.

Physog is slang for Physiognomy which is the evaluation of a person’s character or nature based on their appearance, particularly the face. The notion that there is a strong correlation between someone’s outer expression and their actual character has a very ancient historic precedent, as well as making loads of sense. Of late, there has been a bit of resurgence of interest in this field of study. This 1930’s board game is a cartoonish example of the practice. I’m totally keen on the disembodied images, much more than if these were all assembled into full faces. These photos are from the absolutely astonishing collection assembled by Agence Eureka. Be forewarned: Set aside at least an hour, and up to a full day, to look through her trove of paper ephemera.

I’ve been following the European debt crisis with some bit of fascination, fear, horror and disgust. How the F*ck did we get here? Although their debt crisis is different from our own in some ways, it’s also borne out of the same greed, speculation, mismanagement, ideological differences, growing divisions of wealth and the list goes on…and on. I posited the question some time ago to someone way more expert than I in the field of economics as to whether they thought the euro was at risk. As often happens with so-called experts, they dismissed my query as ridiculous. And amateurish. Well, fast forward a few months. While the likelihood of the euro-zone being disbanded is unlikely, it’s still a possibility. A previously unthinkable one. Anyway, all this talk of euros made me feel incredibly nostalgic for the former currencies of Europe: Those individual bills printed with beautiful illustrations and likenesses of famous people. I have favorites (see the 10 Francs note with Voltaire’s face) for sure. This little collection comes courtesy of Jacob Lewis Bourjaily. He has a site where he documents all the currencies of Europe bearing depictions of either scientists or mathematicians. I like his parameters.

My husband just called at 11:11 a.m. on 11.11.11. He said he set an alarm so that he would remember. Eleven.

At a loss for words? Want to be fluent in Italian? Just pick up this gem of a book, practice the gestures, and before you know it you’ll be freely communicating the entire length of the boot. Speak Italian was first published in 1958 by artist, photographer, sculptor and all around genius, Bruno Munari. The photographs capture something from a time long since past. But the gestures themselves are still as current as can be. The book (a bilingual edition) was reissued a number of years ago by Chronicle Books, something for which I am very grateful.