Before today’s films, a quick thought about today’s pen. I had a look at this record, and I’m slightly startled to see that the pen in my pocket is starting on its third month in rotation. It’s getting close to half-way empty. That’s a lot of ink.
Today’s films pursue my interest in olden-timey ship stuff (a purely academic interest– I like to think about it, but I know it would be pure misery to engage in).
I’d had a vague idea of all of the above previously, but… well, I had not pictured the complexity of the tiller rope. Fascinating!
Today’s film is a little more ad-riddled than I could wish, but it’s worth the pain. We, by which I mean the Common North American Lummox (of which vast herds roam wild across the whole continent, wherever there’s life-sustaining air conditioners), don’t often get to consider an early cultural contact from the non-European side of the fence.
Speaking of learning how to deal with a new culture, notice that there is now a link to a whole new Inks page. I, a mighty bull Lummox, have successfully negotiated with my newly-arrived computer to process scans to a point where they more or less match previous output. I may get the slightly more daunting prospect of photograph manipulation sorted out this weekend!
A quick film today, and probably uninteresting to nineteen of every twenty of you who look in here, but I’ve never been able to grip the flow of this event in the various fictional accounts I’ve read, so I found this both diverting and useful.
I suspect it doesn’t apply so well to the version of the event in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but that’s OK. Also, I realize the anniversary of the event was yesterday, and for the American element of my audience today has a significance all its own; I didn’t feel qualified to dabble in the latter, and I am in a mood to contemplate the overthrow of a tyrant.
I made the briefest possible acknowledgement of D-Day yesterday, and I’m not very pleased with myself. It was, after all, the 75th anniversary of the landing, and I have made more of it in the past.
Today’s film takes a look at the event from an unusual perspective, and I think posting it a day after the fact is actually appropriate to the content. Lines of communication were unreliable, after all…
Notice that this is the work of a German fellow. I am tooting my horn as a supporter of EU unity in this, distant well-wisher though I may be. A fragmentary Europe has been, historically, a source of unhappiness for those within and those around.
The Atlantic ocean, that is. I found myself watching this earlier in the week, and for once Youtube algorithms were not completely out to lunch, because I found it jolly interesting. I hope you will too (even though he does a little bit of advertising in the middle for his sponsor).
None for me, thanks. I’ll take my trans-Atlantic flying pressurized.
A little while back, I offered a hair-raising trip through a pedestrian-filled San Francisco of yesteryear. Let’s have a look at the other coast now.
That some pretty good foley work. For some reason, I was particularly startled by the horse-drawn vehicles coming off the ferry– Reason says “Well, of course,” but Expectation was completely dumbfounded.
It’s quite worth it to see what a bustling North American metropolis looked like around the previous turn of the century. The person who brought it to my attention noted that it was an era of getting dressed completely; no tossing on t-shirt and sweats for those folks! What struck me particularly is the fearless attitude of pedestrians in a setting where transport is largely horses or trolleys. Watch if you will the fellow who disembarks from a cable-car carrying a baby– that’s a guy who is confident in the strength of the pedestrian right-of-way.
The following film has nothing to do with the elections underway in France. It’s just a little look at history which will likely get up the noses of French people of most political stripes, offered by a guy I find amusing, because I was amused.
I promise I’ll lay off political stuff for a while after this. Heck, this is hardly political at all. It’s just a quick look at a major city with a space of nine years between the glimpses.
Earlier this week, I mentioned T.A. Edison and his Electric Vendetta– the man really had something up is nose on the subject of alternating current. The cause of wacky summer fun suggests pursuing this notion by presenting a catastrophically drunk person speaking about the rivalry between notable deaf fellow and Nikola Tesla. Due to an inexplicable decision of the content’s creator, you’ll have to click the following link and watch it on Youtube itself rather than have it conveniently embedded right here. This may be to give you a moment to consider if you’re in a place where watching a catastrophically drunk person hold forth on any topic is appropriate. If the boss is looking over your shoulder, you may be embarrassed.
What's up at Ravens March. 