Two professional colorists have combined their skills with photographs and fascination with the American Civil War to create a remarkable series of color photographs from the era. British colorist Jordan Lloyd, 27, met fellow colorist Mads Madsen, 19, from Denmark when he started posting on Madsen's subreddit 'Colorized History'. Initially it was Madsen who was colorizing images from the Civil War era, but Lloyd eventually got interested and now the two work together restoring the images, improving their technique by giving each other critiques.
Of course jobs become obsolete. But the only reason that new jobs were created was because there was a social contract in which a more pleasant, less boring job was still considered a job that you could be paid for. That’s the only reason it worked. If we decided that driving was such an easy thing [compared to] dealing with horses that no one should be paid for it, then there wouldn’t be all of those people being paid to be Teamsters or to drive cabs. It was a decision that it was OK to have jobs that weren’t terrible
Right... That's why there was no social upheaval when the economy started shifting from around 90% of workers being in agriculture to factory work. There was no late 19th/early 20th century populist movement, laborers in the new factories were just as happy as could be, and driving the same screw into the same steel plate on an assembly line for 12 hours a day was pleasant. Sure.
Can someone buy this guy a history book? He should start with something simple, probably with small words.....
I remember my wife calling me up to the bedroom - I was downstairs getting breakfast - the news was showing the first tower smoking, when bam - the second plane hit. The news anchor thought it was a small plane, but I fly a lot - I knew it was no small plane right off. The rest of the day was spent watching the news coverage, and getting my (then very young) daughter from school. Not that I thought she was in any danger, it's just that every other kid was being picked up, and the school wasn't telling the kids anything. My wife and I called the school, and ended up getting her simply so that she wouldn't keep wondering what the heck was going on. A lot has changed since then, but it's worth remembering where you were and what you were doing when all that went down.
I remember the morning of 9/11 pretty clearly - I was downstairs, puttering in my email when my wife called me to the TV - something had happened in New York. While I was watching the smoke pour into the sky, the second plane hit - and as the announcer speculated as to what kind of plane it was, I immediately realized that it wasn't a small plane.
One thing that has bothered me over the last decade is the timidity of the media in showing images of that day. Yes, it was horrible. No, the public does not need to be "protected". No rational discussion can proceed from a point of obscurity, so: remember this:
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have recovered the sound from an 1888 recording made by Edison - probably one of the first recordings ever made. You can get the story on how it was found and recovered, and then listen to the audio here.
To put the time in context - in 1888, the Civil War generation ran the country, and Grover Cleveland was in his first term of office as President.
It turns out that you don't need to visit Italy or Greece to see the fading remnants of former imperial glory - you can go to the Balkans and see a much more modern set of such relics - rotting Soviet era monuments - while the monuments are in what used to be Yugoslavia, and they were put up by Tito, they definitely have that "Soviet architecture" look/feel to them. Looking at the photos makes me wonder - in 100 years, how many people who live in that area will have any idea what these monuments meant to the people who put them up?
Frank Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of the First World War, has died just weeks after his 110th birthday. Born 1 February 1901, Buckles had lied about his age to join the Ambulance Corps, where he served on the Western Front. He was one of nearly 5 million Americans who would serve in that war, a war in which 118,000 US servicemen would be killed in action in a little over seven months of combat.
The recent trend of uprisings across North Africa makes me think of history - 1848, specifically. I read a book on that subject awhile ago (1848: Year of Revolution). The upshot for me is that I'm cautiously pessimistic about the way things may play out. In 1848, there were revolutions across Europe - largely led by the rising young generation. However, the forces of counter-revolution prevailed nearly everywhere. The only "win" for the revolutionaries was in France, and the reason for the quotes is that the "win" led directly to the reign of Emperor Napolean III - hardly a victory for those who desired a second republic.
Carrying that back to North Africa and the Middle East, here's why I'm skeptical: there's no history of consensual government in those areas. The forces of moderation there - like those in Europe in 1848 - are, as I see it, likely to be swallowed up by forces promising stability. Who that will end up being is anyone's guess - it could be a return to power by the forces who mostly wield power now, or - as in France with Napolean III - it could be some "popular choice" that institutes a new status quo. In any event, I'd bet against the rise of liberal democracies...
Everyone has seen the official black and white footage of the Japanese surrender ceremony aboard the USS MIssouri - but who knew that one of the navy crew - Commander Kosco - took color footage? Or that said color footage has been restored and posted to YouTube? Here it is:
). As Lincoln said, the silent artillery of time has done its work.
). The upshot for me is that I'm cautiously pessimistic about the way things may play out. In 1848, there were revolutions across Europe - largely led by the rising young generation. However, the forces of counter-revolution prevailed nearly everywhere. The only "win" for the revolutionaries was in France, and the reason for the quotes is that the "win" led directly to the reign of Emperor Napolean III - hardly a victory for those who desired a second republic.
