Shorpy Historical Photo Archive
March 26, 2012
Coney Island, New York, circa 1905. “Whirl of the Whirl, Luna Park.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Birmingham AL
Boston
Buffalo NY
Charleston SC
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Coney Island
Detroit
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
New Orleans
New York City
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Richmond
San Francisco
Savannah
St. Louis
Syracuse
Toledo
Vicksburg
Washington, D.C.
This is leading
And photo galleries including
This is leading
4×5 Kodachromes
Animals
Aviation
Bathing Girls
Cars & Trucks
Civil War
Colorized Photos
Factories
Florida History
Kids
Kitchens
Mining
Pretty Girls
Railroads
Streetcars
Service Stations
Sports
WPA Posters
World War II
TED Talks: Rob Reid – The $8 Billion iPod
March 26, 2012
If you don’t already regularly take advantage of the free TED material available on the web, you should get into the habit. To convince you, here’s an example of their TALKS | In Less Than 6 Minutes series that will introduce you to the concept of “©opyright Math™” as explained by Rob Reid, founder of Rhapsody.
It’s funny because it’s true.
Facebook: You Are Not Its Customer, You Are Its Product
February 5, 2012
Now it’s not just about whether my dinner will be interrupted by a telemarketer. It’s about whether my dreams will be dashed by the collection of bits and bytes over which I have no control and for which companies are currently unaccountable. – Lori Andrews
Orwell’s Big Brother is here and instead of coercing you to reveal everything about yourself you do it willingly, eagerly. So you can share pictures and music and private thoughts and brand choices. And play FarmVille and Words with Friends. Good for Zynga and Mark Zuckerberg. But good for you? Didn’t we have ways to do all those things before Facebook, even before the Internet?
I am not on Facebook though I make my living with my software skills and use my Mac every day.
I know people who are afraid of online predators and concerned about online bullying that allow their adolescent children to have Facebook accounts (all their friends are on Facebook, they say). I know people who rail against big government and telemarketers who complain of Facebook “withdrawal” when they can’t access their accounts multiple times during the day.
One of the heaviest Facebook users I know explains that it’s easier to deal with her friends and family via Facebook, instead of say, actually visiting or interacting with them. (I’m sure that’s true). I have had people tell me that I don’t really “exist” because I don’t have a Facebook account “like everyone else.” These are folks who have never read Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay.
For some reasons to be concerned about Facebook (and social networks in general) I highly recommend this article in the New York Times, Facebook Is Using You by Lori Andrews, author of I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy.
Bobcat Goldthwait’s “God Bless America”
January 29, 2012
Let me begin by saying that I know killing people is wrong. And bad. I hardly ever do it. But no one who is human can claim to never having felt that dark impulse.
However, watching people being killed in films or in video games is good for you. Studies show that it promotes gum health and fights gingivitis. It makes you more productive at work. Food tastes better, too.
So if you want tastier meals and healthy guns, I suggest you watch this red band trailer for Bobcat Goldthwait’s new movie “God Bless America.” Please note that it is not suitable for children or the easily offended. Even though for some reason children under the age of 18 are allowed to act in movies that they could not attend.
Steve Jobs Died Because of “Magical Thinking” – Reality is Unforgiving
January 20, 2012
The brother of a close friend thinks I’m a jerk because I tried very hard to present evidence to him that acupuncture is simply magical thinking with no basis in science. I mean, of course, I am a jerk, but not for that reason.
In attempting this, I was going against the very good advice of W.C. Fields (“Never wise up a chump”). I also pissed off a veterinary orthopedic surgeon and some Labrador rescue folks over the same issue last year (as we struggle to deal with our dog, Huxley’s hip dysplasia).
Often when I tell people to 1.) Not take my word and 2.) Look at the evidence, I’m told in response, what’s the harm? If somebody wants to believe in Chinese energy healing from the ancient past, who is really hurt?
I just finished the excellent Walter Isaacson biography of Steve Jobs and it seems clear to me that Jobs died because he didn’t take his [Western] doctor’s advice. If he had promptly done what was medically recommended, he likely would’ve lived much longer and gone on to die of something else. All quotes are from Chapter 35.
During a routine kidney check-up in 2003, doctors found a shadow on Job’s pancreas. Further investigation revealed it to be a tumor. His pancreatic cancer could have been excised when it was an islet cell. According to his doctor, “[it] could be removed before it had definitely spread.”
“To the horror of his friends and wife, Jobs decided not to have surgery to remove the tumor which was the only accepted medical approach.”
Instead, Jobs kept to his strict vegan diet, adding large quantities of fresh carrot and fruit juices.
“To that regimen he added acupuncture, a variety of herbal remedies, and occasionally a few other treatments he found on the Internet or by consulting people around the country, including a psychic. For a while he was under the sway of doctor that stressed the use of organic herbs, juice fasts, frequent bowel cleansings, hydro-therapy and the expression of all negative feelings.”
“His friends repeatedly urged him to have the surgery and chemotherapy. ‘Steve talked to me when he was trying to cure himself by eating horseshit and horseshit roots, and I told him he was crazy,” [Andy] Grove recalled. [Art] Levinson said that he ‘pleaded every day’ with Jobs and found it ‘enormously frustrating that I just couldn’t connect with him.’ The fights almost ruined their friendship. ‘That’s not how cancer works,’ Levinson insisted when Jobs discussed his diet treatments. ‘You cannot solve this without surgery and blasting it with toxic chemicals.’ Even the diet doctor Dean Ornish, a pioneer in alternative and nutritional methods of treating diseases, took a long walk with Jobs and insisted that sometimes traditional methods were the right option. ‘You really need surgery,’ Ornish told him.”
” ‘I think Steve has such a strong desire for the world to be a certain way that he wills it to be that way,’ Levinson speculated. ‘Sometimes it doesn’t work. Reality is unforgiving.’ ”
“In the past he had been rewarded for what his wife called his ‘magical thinking’ – his assumption that he would will things to be as he wanted. But cancer does not work that way. [Laurene] Powell [his wife] enlisted everyone close to him, including his sister Mona Simpson, to try and bring him around. in July 2004 a CAT scan showed that the tumor had grown and possibly spread. It forced him to face reality.”
Maillardet’s Automaton – A Real Life “Hugo”
January 13, 2012
If you’ve seen Hugo, the Martin Scorcese-directed adaptation of Brian Selznick’s marvelous children’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, you’re already familiar with the 18th century passion for automations: mechanical wonders that mimicked the behaviors of dancers, magicians, circus acrobats, fortune tellers and more. They were far more than children’s wind-up toys. These automatons were clockwork mechanisms made for royalty and the very rich that were capable of astonishing, if limited, performances.
The “Draughtsman-Writer” above was built by Henri Maillardet and is capable of reproducing four drawings (an example is below) and three poems. Click here to see videos of this amazing machine in action at the Franklin Institute.
Zombies: Infographic
January 12, 2012
In 2011, Mexico City held the world’s largest zombie walk with 9,860 registered marchers. The event was held, in part, to collect donations for a local food bank. This broke the previous record set in Asbury Park, NJ in 2010 where they gathered 4.093 zombies. I’ve written about Zombie Walks before. Now here’s an infographic about zombies and the walks held to celebrate them . . .click on image for larger size.
The WordPress Journey: Infographic
January 12, 2012
Obviously, I’m a fan of WordPress for content management and as a modular way of creating websites with advanced functionality. Here’s an infographic that gives on overview of WordPress’ development. . .click on image for larger size.
How Memory Works: Infographic
January 12, 2012
For many years I’ve been fascinated by workings (and failings) of human memory. If not for the continuous autobiographic stream of our memories, how would we know who we are? Can we always rely on our memories to be an accurate record of our past?
The best single volume reading on the topic has to be Daniel Schacter’s Searching for Memory: The Brain, the Mind, and the Past. I’d also highly recommend Eric R. Kandel’s book, In Search of Memory, which I’ve previously written about.
For a quick overview, here’s an excellent infographic from OnlineColleges.net on the subject. . .click on image for larger size.
America’s Pet Frenzy: Infographic
January 12, 2012
As a graphic designer I admit to a passion for infographics that may not be shared by others. But this is my bully pulpit, and here is the first of four posts featuring, well, you know. . .click on image for larger size
