Of all the heavy bombers that saw action during the Second World War, none earned as much admiration, gratitude, and affection from their crews as the B-17. It was durable, maneuverable, easy to fly. It was fast for its size and well-armed. It could bring you back alive even with its tail shot off, or with gaping holes blown in a wing, or with three of its four engines out and a fuselage ripped by hundreds of bullets. It could cruise six miles above the ground, beyond sight of the naked eye. It could dive at speeds of more than four hundred … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2018
Are Pictures Worth More Than Words?
They are at The New York Times, it seems. My tut-tutting staff has noticed they have been for some time. Yesterday the print edition provided the most recent example in which the ratio of photo to text, for a book feature no less, is ridiculous. The subject of the article, having written an evocative novel, happens to be strikingly beautiful. But two posed photos, too? … [Read more...]
Weapons of Choice: Mustill’s MESSKIT
"Mess kit" is defined as "a portable set of usually metal cooking and eating utensils, used especially by soldiers and campers." For Norman O. Mustill, America's "messkit" consisted of silent weapons, play money, dancing the two-step, and industry in art. During the Vietnam War, when MESSKIT was published, that meant flamethrowers, napalm, Agent Orange, billions of wasted dollars, disastrous military strategy, torture and executions. No different from today, actually -- just add cyberweapons and other upgrades. MESSKIT front and back … [Read more...]
#MeToo: ‘The No Holes Bard’
A bit of bawdy verse-and-drawing by Heathcote Williams. With thanks to Jay Jeff Jones, who sent it along. … [Read more...]
Documentary Spotlight at NY Film Fest
A newly restored print of William Wyler's World War II air-combat documentary The Memphis Belle and Erik Nelson's new documentary The Cold Blue (created from recently discovered raw footage shot during the filming of Memphis Belle) are to be featured in screenings at the 56th New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center, accompanied by interviews with Erik Nelson and Catherine Wyler, the producer of the 1986 American Masters documentary about her father Directed By William Wyler. Click the images to enlarge them. "In February of 1943, Major … [Read more...]
She Knows the Nuances of No
Hanne Lippard updates Molly Bloom. Audio kicks in at 1:23 on the video track. Wait for it. Some on the staff here call it a #MeToo moment before its time. Maybe. But whatever it is, prick up your ears. … [Read more...]
Remembering Bukowski
The animation, directed by John Hodgson, dates to 1999. A tip of the hat to IT: International Times, The Newspaper of Resistance, for reminding us of it. The poem is included in The Last Night of the Earth Poems, published by HarperCollins in a 2009 reprint. The first edition was published in 1992 by Black Sparrow Press. the man with the beautiful eyes when we were kids there was a strange house all the shades were always drawn and we never heard voices in there and the yard was full of bamboo and we liked to play in … [Read more...]
50 Ways to See the Middle Ages
Our tireless staff of thousands is often asked to review all sorts of books, and from time to time one or another seems worth noting. This one, for example, by Elina Gertsman and Barbara H. Rosenwein. Since the staff knows much too little about the Middle Ages -- and even less about the 50 objects that the authors have chosen to explore from the European, Byzantine, and Islamic worlds of the Middle Ages -- it makes no sense to even attempt a review. Instead, to acknowledge that their lavishly illustrated work caught our eye, here is a notice … [Read more...]