London Sounds
Back Home, Back Then
My slow chronological march through old scanned negatives got held up last year by my not being in the right frame of mind to write about them, meaning that there’s been a backlog for months of several galleries at Detail awaiting their announcement here. Time to break the impasse by tackling them out of chronological order, starting with some updates and additions to my galleries of 1990s Tasmania.
More Cheese
The billion-year-old connection between Tasmania and Arizona.
My transplanted heart and I will die soon.
Farewell, Dame Edna. The inevitable backlash has emerged since, but Humphries’ place in Australian comedy is undeniable; I’m glad to have seen one of Edna’s farewell performances a decade or so ago.
Pepperoni Hug Spot. AI-ieeee…
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure.
Has Homo floresiensis survived? What an incredible world that would be.
Bone Music
Incredible video of a rescue in deep snow (via Mefi) and an interview with both men. What an amazing video to have: the moment you saved a life, or were saved from certain death. I’m in awe of the rescuer’s presence of mind.
This list of the best debut albums ever (via Mefi) is a better read than most. I can forgive his omission of Please Please Me, because his criteria would otherwise have required him to omit Plastic Ono Band, which would have been worse. I was struck by this observation about Nick Drake:
It’s not just his first record that came and went upon release. The three studio albums he put out before taking his own life in 1974 sold a grand total of 4,000 copies during their initial run. Let me repeat: 4,000 copies combined of three masterful British folk records that have since enchanted millions of listeners. A rounding error for Harry Styles was Nick Drake’s whole career. If I feel super depressed pondering this, I can understand why it also took a toll on Nick.