History of the camera and photography.

Noting that Kodak has announced that it will stop producing the common 35 mm cameras, and observing that digital cameras are pretty much replacing traditional film photography, the Guardian runs a special article on the history of cameras and photography, going back to its very beginnings. Lots of links there.


Curiously they don't mention the Polaroid Land camera, which was invented by Edwin Land, one of the most creative scientists and inventors of the 20th century. But the photography industry has always hated the Polaroid, since it eliminated the need for people to pay Kodak and other companies to develop their pictures. Originally refused to produce it at all, and forced Land to start up his own company to do so. But in the they managed to kill it, or at least stop any serious further development of it.

For those interested in both the history of photography and that of corporate efforts to stymie the development of products that threaten their bottom line it's a fascinating story. Here's a Google search on him with many links. Here's a Wikipedia article. Land also developed filters for polarizing light, and while at MIT pioneered the use of the long-range cameras used in satellite photography. An absolutely brilliant man no one hears about much.


That quote is from this article, a review of "Insisting on the Impossible: The Life of Edwin Land," an attempt at a biography of him by Victor K. McElheny. Apparently there's not much available on him because he never kept a journal and his personal papers were destroyed on his death. Too bad.






The Economist doesn't like the new EU constitution.

The Economist reviews the proposed constitution, and finds it rather wanting.


I kinda thought this would happen. For one thing, the people making up the constitution weren't democratically selected. Same as the US Constitution, for that matter, and a major reason it's got so many problems today. Second, the manner in which it was jammed through before the new 10 nations got on board is highly suspicious. Seems like they could have waited a few years until the changes were done, and then done it democratically, with input from everyone.

One of the good things about the US constitution, and the reason it's lasted so long, is that it's rather short and simple. Only a few pages actually. The EU one is over 200 pages, which is way too complex.






Account of first wave of the D-Day landing.

Stumbling around the Observer Magazine, I found this excellent account of how it felt to be part of the very first wave at Normandy, the so-called "Suicide Wave", in which very few survived. Tells the story of some Brits and some Americans from Virginia.


Quite a story. Can't imagine heading into virtually certain death like that.



Dutch abortion ship sails to Poland.

Andrew Osborn of the Guardian reports on the floating abortion clinic that is heading to Poland, where it is due to raise quite a fuss. Poland, home of Pope John Paul II, is solidly Catholic and does not allow abortion except for the certain, very limited cases.


The group behind this is called "Women on Waves", which is the brainchild of a Dutch doctor, Rebecca Gomperts.








History of the Bush family.

I was looking for somewhere to link the 'George Bush' in the quotations area above, and ended up making it google History of the Bush family. And then ended up at the George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography, written around 1990 about the first King George, which is a fascinating read.

Some of the history is a bit sloppy, and some of the accusations go a bit too far, but most of it is very well documented. A real eye opener. The book goes all the way back to Sam Bush, father of Prescott, father of George H. This is quite a family the Bush family. They show up at the center of virtually every sleazy operation during the twentieth century.






The spectacular collapse of England's train system.

The Independent has a nice article on the continuing and major problems with the train system in the UK, which is shaping up as the biggest failure of Blair's administration. Of course, the problems began with Thatcher's privatization of what was once a wonderful system, but after six years in office, the Labour party has to take responsibility.


It's an important story, relating to the increased amount of traffic in an affluent society, the conflict between automobiles and public transit, the role of privatization, and other related issues. Even to the very nature of government, since if it can't do something as basic as keep the trains running (and the hospitals and schools open), one has to wonder exactly what it does do. And it's not as if they've been ignoring the problem. On the contrary, there have been many changes made and tons of money thrown at it, but it continues to get worse. But trains are a basic part of a modern industrial nation and it's curious that they can't seem to fix it.

And it contrasts sharply with continental Europe, which, by all accounts, has a wonderful train system. The US, of course, hardly has a train system at all anymore, except for the high speed shuttle between New York and Washington, D.C., a luxury for lawyers, bankers and politicians, which the rest of the country is expected to subsidize, for reasons I've never figured out.

With privatization of other public utilities, especially water, being discussed so much, it's important to look at the problems that can happen when it goes wrong. (I'm not necessarily against privatization, just aware of the problems involved, and the fact that if something goes wrong, there's no one responsible.)






Historical child labor photographs.

Via the extraordinary Wood s Lot. Lewis Wickes Hine (1874-1940) was a photographer who left us countless photographs of the extensive use of child labor during that period, labor that generated enormous wealth for corporate concerns. Great archive of photos Let Children Be Children. Courtesy of the George Eastman House Still Photograph Archive.

Awesome photos. But I notice the site carries a 2001 copyright notice, and claims you don't have the right to reproduce them. I disagree. If they date from a hundred years ago or so, and they do, then they are in the public domain. You can't endlessly extend copyrights simply by putting a date on them like that.

And you can't copyright entire collections or archives, but only each individual work. Period. If they wish to claim copyright protection for them then each one needs to be labeled with the date it was created. That's the date that counts, not the date they were put on the web. If copyrights were automatically renewed every time they're reproduced in another medium then everything would be copyrighted forever.

I doubt very much that Mr. Hine got paid much for his work. He did it as a public service and as a concerned citizen, as a contribution to the public good. And I doubt very much if he would object to people spreading these photos around.

Check out how the media of the time distributed their products in this example and this one and this one.






Blair makes major changes in British legal system.

Guardian article. Prime Minister Tony Blair announced some radical changes to the British legal system, eliminating the post of Lord Chancellor, the 1,400 year old position that functioned as the head of the British judiciary, during a midterm shuffle of his cabinet. The extent of the changes seem to have taken everybody by surprise.


Curious that he would make such changes so suddenly, and at a time when he is under increasing fire regarding the war in Iraq. It amazes me that they could do something that drastic without consulting the Parliament. But I never have understood how their system works.

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