



What is

Vulture Culture - Oddities - The Cult of Weird

- Curiosities & Wunderkammer





....it is all 'KURIOLOGY' to me!





Part of Kuriologist's own 'Cabinet of Curiosities' - Kuriology





Yesterday the sun shone, it was a beautiful autumn day & the computer was throwing a major hissy glitch fest of epic proportions. The wizards in the Microsoft towers were obviously casting spells again, I think.





In such circumstance the best thing to do is take Tik-ma-dog for a good long two hour plus walk. Refreshed by a 4 mile+ Cornish countryside bimble, a good proper cup of coffee at a favored watering hole garden centre. Then return home to do battle & continue one sided swearing session with computer. Google Chrome seemed to be the primary villain yesterday.





or at least accessible) was Tumblr. = What was working () was Tumblr. = https://kuriology.tumblr.com/





Tumblr is new to me, or more accurately I tried it once before but could not get on with it,





.... however, Now!





Part of Kuriologist's own 'Cabinet of Curiosities' - Kuriology

SO MUCH EASIER to use than Google+. Tumblr is seemingly on the surfaceto use than Google+.





Google+ seems to be based on witchcraft & ritual computer magic, as be damned if I can work it out & it is certainly not an intuitive social media platform for an old fossil like me to use.





So Tumblr it was, & whilst ferreting & furtling around on the site I learned a new term. 'Vulture Culture'. This follows hot on the heels of another recently term I've learned, 'Oddities' collections. Both seem to be primarily terms in use on the other side of the pond in USA & Canada.





Part of Kuriologist's own 'Cabinet of Curiosities' - Kuriology





Now 'Vulture Culture' is not to be confused with a 'Culture Vulture'...confused?





A Culture Vulture is a person (generally UK middle class) who is an avid follower of the Arts, as in music, art, theatre, ballet, etc. :





Where as 'Vulture Culture' is seemingly the practice of collecting, gathering of dead things, bones, skulls, taxidermy, natural history objects, Memento mori, even paleontology (fossils), conchology (shells), etc.





From what I have observed from a straw poll of profiles, seemingly this 'Vulture Culture' practice seems to primarily appeal to several demographics, ie. collecting of curious things has always appealed to the young between 6 - 13yrs of age group, but also inquiring minds, g oths, persons of any age but of an eccentric inclination, also almost anyone connected to museums, artists ( or creative people in general ). Interestingly, appealing equally ( by profiles viewed ) to those of such inclination in both male & female genders.





Part of Kuriologist's own 'Cabinet of Curiosities' - Kuriology







This 'Vulture Culture' practice links & leads to 'Oddities' collections, which in general tend to house aspects of the aforementioned dead things, but also may stray & bleed into such areas of including anatomical models, anatomy, macabre, medical & scientific objects, gothic, occult, witchcraft, folk art, tribal items, etc. etc.









...and this to my mind is what makes up such collections as 'Cabinets of Curiosities' (or as the French would say '' c abinets de curiosités' )





... or as the Germanic countries might say, Kunstkabinett, Kunstkammer or Wunderkammer





However, all these various terms for the culture of collecting the weird, unusual, macabre, strange,

bizarre , the abandoned, dead, stuffed, peculiar , obscure, enigmatic, odd, creepy, curious, freaky,

eccentric, unnatural, grotesque, mysterious, occult, wonderful, etc. are best summed up for

me by one term





'Kuriology'





Because as the act ress Maureen Lipman said, when playing a dotting Jewish Grandmother in a 1998 old former British Telecom advert - 'if you get an 'ology', your a scientist'





If you are foreign, don't remember or are too young,

the link to British Telecom - 'Ology' advert is below













Kuriology = Your a scientist!