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embassy row

On learning that Ankara has announced its intentions to rename the street on which the new US embassy compound is being constructed Malcolm X Avenue (with the support of the civil rights activist’s family who President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with last month) after the figure whose reputation remains divisive—particularly I would suppose for those occupying the White House presently, I was reminded how back in February, the street address for the current US diplomatic mission to Turkey had been reflagged as “Olive Branch” after the code-name for one of its military forays into Syria to signal displeasure for what is seen as American meddling. There’s quiet a long history behind casting ambassadorial side-eye (starting at the link above) by forcing one’s ideological foils to accept deliveries at insulting or compromising addresses though the most unabashed proposals have yet to materialise. The new building is scheduled to open in 2020

all would be well if, if, if—say the green bells of cardiff

By touching coincidence, we are acquainted through the help of the always brilliant Nag on the Lake to the haunting lyrics of the American folksinger and political activist Pete Seeger’s ballad “The Bells of Rhymney,” sourced to Welsh miner turned poet Idris Davies on the same day that the worse mining accident in the history of the UK occurred one hundred and five years prior, the Senghenydd colliery disaster (1913).
Following the structure of the English nursery rhyme “Oranges and Lemons (Say the bells of Saint Clement’s),” Davies and Seeger count off the communities visited by hardship and loss throughout resource-rich but exploited land. In Glamorgan, Wales, the coal mines referenced above near Caerphilly have their own stanza in the original verse:

They will plunder willy-nilly,
Say the bells of Caerphilly.

After Seeger’s introduction of the sad lament, several other artists produced cover versions of the song—most famously The Byrds but also John Denver, Bob Dylan, Murray Head, The Band, Robyn Hitchcock and Sonny and Cher in 1965.

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.