Modern Kitchen: 1942
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Spring 1942
“New Bedford, Massachusetts. Family of Portuguese house painter who live in low-income government housing project”
Medium format negative by John Collier for the Resettlement Administration
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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
We may pay little attention to how we walk. Our gait, however, may eventually identify us as surely as a fingerprint... more
Unless, of course, you belong to the Ministry of Silly Walks! Embedding disabled but you should be able to access it on YouTube here
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Home sweet home
via Prospero by G.D.
Robert Dalziel, a London-based architect, has always considered contemporary housing in Britain to be deficient. After years spent researching urban housing around the world with Sheila Qureshi-Cortale, a fellow architect, the pair collected their findings in a book.
A House in the City evaluates the various examples, new and old, high-rise and low. Mr Dalziel was then inspired to design Rational House, a new concept for low-rise, high-density and sustainable city homes in Britain. According to Mr Dalziel, building low and compact but to a high standard is a feasible alternative to large-scale residential blocks and towers, which alienate inhabitants and integrate poorly into the surrounding urban environment. The first prototype was completed in West London last year; a sustainable, adaptable and fast solution; the shell of the house is prefabricated off-site from recycled materials and can be raised in two weeks.
Mr Dalziel spoke with The Economist about his research and what makes successful urban housing.
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My Top Ten Viking Stories
via An Awfully Big Blog Adventure by Tony Bradman
Just before Christmas I heard from my publisher that the Jorvik Viking Centre in York wants me to do an event (on 18 February) based on my novel Viking Boy. It was published back in September, so it’s nice to think that I’ll be giving it a bit of a boost in the dark days of winter. The news also made me think about a list I wrote for my website when the book was published - my Top 10 Viking Stories.
Here it is in all its Viking glory... I’d love to hear of any others I might have missed out!
- Horned Helmet by Henry Treece
- Blood Feud by Rosemary Sutcliff
- The Uhtred novels by Bernard Cornwell
- Bracelet of Bones and Scramasax by Kevin Crossley-Holland
- The Sea Road by Margaret Elphinstone
- Feasting the Wolf by Susan Price
- Noggin the Nog by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin
- Vinland by George Mackay Brown
- The Vikings (the film)
- Burnt Njal
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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Step aside, Stravinsky. Music in the 20th century belonged to urbane, symphonic jazz. More specifically, it belonged to Duke Ellington... more
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A conversation with Jonathan Miller
via Eurozine articles by Jonathan Miller, Laurie Taylor
“It’s hardly worth having a word to describe not believing in God. I don’t believe in witches, but I don’t call myself an ahexist”.
At a Rationalist Association event in London, Laurie Taylor gets up close and personal with Britain’s leading public intellectual.
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Jonathan Miller and Laurie Taylor were speaking at the Rationalist Association event on 19 October 2012 at the Bishopsgate Institute, London. You can listen to the full discussion via the RA podcast page.
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A disc of wooden cow
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
The Horniman museum in London [Forest Hill, south London] has this German wood-turned disc from which individual toy cows may be sliced in its Handling Collection [which means exactly what you think it does – these are museum pieces you can pick up and handle]. For some reason, I never imagined that this is where wooden animals came from, but it’s an awfully clever way to make them.
toy animal (via Neatorama)
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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Michael Dirda is giving up blogging. The furrows of the brain occasionally need to lie fallow. Besides, his book-buying budget calls for the big bucks now... more
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Eric Standley’s intricate laser-cut “stained glass” paper windows
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
Jane Kenoyer of Hi-Fructose [don’t even think of looking if you are pushed for time] says:
Eric Standley works with hundreds of layers of coloured paper creating intricate laser cut stain glass windows. These beautifully constructed works are made up of interlacing positive and negative spaces that seem to “float” in a fabricated suspension. He begins with a drawing, this helps him create the complex range of imagery needed to make a workable design, before cutting and assembling the paper pieces.
Eric Standley’s intricate laser-cut stained glass paper windows [and certainly don’t open this one].
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22 October 1895 : Train Wreck at Montparnasse
via Retronaut by Chris Wild
More images and a brief description of the incident are here.
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