bright phoebus

We could certainly not fault Mister Metzger for resorting to catch-penny, clickbait headline in order to persuade visitors it was a worthwhile dalliance to spare a moment to enjoy listening to the somewhat experimental album from the British folk group The Watersons, hailing from Hull and reliant on harmonisation rather than much in the way of accompaniment to make their music with “Bright Phoebus.”
While this recording is certainly not for everyone just as it was a commercial non-starter of a departure from the idylls that the group’s fans were accustomed to, sometimes songs need champions and cheerleaders to evangelise on their behalf. Do give it a listen (more tracks at the link above—and maybe don’t let your judgment settle on the first time around, which is I suppose a tremendous ask) and let us know what you think.  Discover more songs from the album and the rest of The Watersons’ discography at Dangerous Minds at the link above.

capcom 1

Coincidentally also on this day in 1968, the crew of Apollo 7 mission—the first manned one of the project, broadcast the first live television transmission from an American aircraft in orbit. The eleven day mission was to test and re-engineer equipment that would put Apollo 8 in lunar orbit—and despite “mutinous” grumblings by the crew being confined to such a small space for an unprecedented length of time and not to mention having cameras trained on them the whole time, the mission was technical success.

roundhay garden scene

On this day in 1888, artist and inventor Louis Le Prince (previously) captured a two-second moving tableau with his camera at the estate of Joseph and Sarah Whitley in Leeds, the subjects being Prince’s in-laws plus a friend of the family taking a stroll through the garden. This silent moment, some twenty frames, of footage is developed on paper film is believed to be the oldest surviving recorded motion picture.  Learn more at the link above.

world, hold on

Released in 2006 by French DJ and producer Bob Sinclar (“Love Generation” and the Rock this Party re-mix of “Everybody Dance Now”) and house music performer Steve Edwards, the music video for “World, Hold On (Children of the Sky)” of a young boy who endeavors to save the planet from an impending cosmic catastrophe with the help of his dog, a science textbook and a rocket ship built in his bedroom.

dilute to taste

Via the always captivating Present /&/ Correct, we are thoroughly enjoying browsing this expansive vintage archive of food packaging from British grocer Sainsbury’s.  Perhaps especially cringe-worthy now and fitting with this tall drink of orange but in efforts to recover from a long, marked decline after the departure of long-time CEO Baron Sainsbury in 1992 and increased competition, the company launched a recovery plan in 2004 touted as “Making Sainsbury’s Great Again.” While the restructuring was in the beginning viewed favourably by industry partners, moves taken eventually led to the end of independence for the brand with it being acquired by Walmart and subsequently merged with the Asda chain.

demarchy

By way of a rather violent plan to protest the US electoral system—which was thwarted, TYWKIWDBI reacquaints us with the form of governance called sortation or rule by allotment. There would be no campaigning or focus on re-election and holding on to power (though I guess there’s ever the chance for collusion and cronyism) since representatives and parliamentarians would be chosen at random (by lots) out of a pool of willing and competent citizens who all have the equal chance to govern for a term.  What do you think?
Since there’s no money to be made from this style of selecting our officials and by contrast too much circulating in partisan politics, I doubt it would gain traction anywhere today—though the ancient Athenians considered these chance appointments to be a hallmark of democracy and in many jurisdictions jurors are chosen by such means and asked to discharge their civic duty. Voting, as it’s the only voice we have politically at the moment (I am glad that the protester above failed to blow himself up to call attention to this alternative but I am also pained to think about his bleak prospects in an American gulag), is of course vital and important and not voting counts twice for the opposite party, but I am not seeing the ballot presently as the consent of the governed—a popular mandate to justify the perpetuation of polarising pander and empty promise.

gashapon

Colossal shares a select gallery of some of the over twenty-five hundred miniature dioramas and landscapes that artist Tatsuya Tanaka has been furnishing on a daily basis for the past seven years.
His cast of tiny figurines and a keen eye for texture, decontext-ualized from everyday objects and office supplies has attracted millions of followers and fans and periodically compiles his best work into books and calendars, which we take a leaf from here. The title refers to the vending machine capsule toys (ガチャポン) where the little model people might have come from—the term being an onomatopoeic one for the cranking sound of turning the wheel and the sound of the capsule landing in the collection tray.