Blitz! - Margaret Gaskin

“The two worlds, the world of peace and the world of war, exist side by side, separated only by a few minutes of twilight.”

 

“Blitz!” tells the story of December 29, 1940 in London during the Blitzkreig when the city experienced one of the worst bombings of WWII. The book encompasses a wide variety of people from all walks of life with the one thread tying them together the fact that they’ve decided to stay in London despite the danger. We learn of the bravery of ordinary citizens and how important landmarks were to morale, including St. Pauls’ Cathedral, a symbol of London which is threatened during the firebombing.

We begin before the bombing with all of the volunteers who have chosen to stay behind, going about their everyday jobs. Most of these Londoners were civilians so it’s interesting to see how they adjusted to their new jobs, whether it was a member of the Home Guard, the ARP (Air Raid Precautions Service) or the Auxiliary Fire Service. I loved how the book chronologically progressed through December 29 with each chapter beginning with a radio program schedule for that portion of the day. Not only is this a refreshing way to inform the reader about which part of the day the events in the chapter unfold, it also creates a growing sense of apprehension as day turns to night because the reader knows what’s coming.

“The high wind which accompanies conflagrations is now stronger than ever, and the air is filled with a fierce driving rain of red-hot sparks and burning brands. The clouds overhead are a rose-pink from the reflected glow of the fires.”

The great descriptions and visual imagery create an atmosphere of danger and fear that puts you right in the midst of the chaos and heat. “It was as light as day, with huge fires all around, flames rising far above the houses, the place full of smoke and sparks and great blobs of burning stuff floating about and every now and then a bomb.” Throughout the night we follow a variety of people in different situations across the city. All of these great little stories interspersed throughout really showed how all-encompassing the threat was. It wasn’t unlikely for children to slip out of their bomb shelters during raids to help fire crews. I especially liked reading about the roof crew looking after St. Paul’s Cathedral. During the bombing it’s described as “some miraculous figure that appears before peace-hungry soldiers on a battlefield.” The best story though has to be about St. Lawrence Jewry. During the raid, an otherworldly shriek came from inside as a bomb had hit the synagogue, lighting the organ on fire. As the hot air from the fire blew through the organ pipes it made a sound like an alien in the throes of death. This was an awesome image and I could easily imagine what the pipes must have sounded like.

One paragraph that really made me think described the fire as ‘burning away time’ as it destroyed modern London. It was such an evocative image and really cemented the destructive power of these bombs and how it wasn’t just destroying the city it was destroying London’s past, obliterating all memory of what came before.

I loved reading this book, not only because I’m interested in WW2  but also because I didn’t know much about the London Blitz other than that it happened. If you’re interested in learning about what the London Blitz was like, this book will put you right in the middle of the action.

Timeless: Photos from Yesteryear 4

These photos are from Shorpy.com an amazing website full of old photos from every walk of life.

June 1942. Cable tower from which buckets carry materials used in the construction of Shasta Dam, California. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee.



This monstrosity looks like it belongs on some mineral rich alien planet.



German zeppelin LZ3 entering its shed on the Bodensee. 1908. George Grantham Bain Collection.

This picture was so strange when I first saw it. I never think of zeppelin's that close to the ground and who know they had sheds? I suppose they provided protection from the weather.

"See what Prince will do for me." Prince Albert, Ida Cuthbertson's "famous educated horse." Brown Studio, Riverside, circa 1909.

How very Mr. Ed - horses doing people things! This horse is a lot prettier though. I have a soft spot for greys.

Night view of the Washington Street produce market, New York City, 1952. Photograph by Walter Albertin for the World Telegram & Sun.

It interesting to think that before grocery stores there were outdoor markets and they closed up at night. You couldn't just wander into a store at 3am to pick up what you needed.
 

"New York City: Horse overcome by heat." Circa 1910. George Grantham Bain Collection. Hopefully the equine ambulance was on its way.

This brings back terrible memories of "Black Beauty". It's hard to believe that once upon a time New York's biggest polluter wasn't car exhaust but horse manure. This looks like a regular occurence as no one seems phased

Preparing for Circus Week at Madison Square Garden, New York. March 21, 1913. 5x7 glass plate negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

This looks like something out of a movie. I love the lighting and all of the ropes strewn about.

 

"A Winning Miss" in 1911. Art Photo Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.



And people say the Edwardians were prudish!

A model floating in the water at Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida. The image by fashion photographer Toni Frissell was published in Harper's Bazaar in December 1947.

This is my favourite photo of the group this week! It's ethereal and slightly creepy.

B-24 bomber assembly hall, location unspecified. April 1943.

The scale of assembly operations for the war is sometimes more than boggling. It's an endless line of planes. The only things that would have made this better was if they were Lancasters.

"Margaret Ciampa, 14 years old, finishing flowers at Boston Floral Supply Co., 347-357 Cambridge Street. Said to be the only flower factory in Massachusetts." January 29, 1917. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.

I remember my mom doing something similar for decorating. It's strange to thing that almost 100 years ago someone was doing the same thing.

Timeless: Photos from Yesteryear 3

These photos are are from Shorpy.com a great resource for old photos and one of my guilty pleasures.



Three views of Lewis Payne (a.k.a. Lewis Powell) in April 1865, three months before his execution by hanging, wearing the same sweater. Hanged as one of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. The photograph probably taken aboard the ironclad USS Montauk or Saugus.Photographs (wet collodion, glass plate) by Alexander Gardner.

 

He looks so relaxed. It's difficult to believe he was facing death and seemed so nonchalant in these photos.


1910 Irving Underhill photo of the 22-story Flatiron (Fuller) Building at 175 Fifth Avenue, one of the earliest (1902) buildings in New York to attain such heights.   An iconic building but I had no idea it was one of the earliest to be so tall.


  "Washington Monument as it stood for 25 years," 1860. Glass-plate (wet collodion) photograph by Mathew Brady.   It's not so impressive in this state. And to think it was like this for a quarter century, surrounded by shacks and fields.


 

Celebration on Wall Street upon the news of Germany's surrender in World War I. November 1918. Photograph by W.L. Drummond.

  What a celebration. If you look closely, in the top right by the flags, there's a man standing outside the window on the building.


July 1863. Dead Confederate sharpshooter at the foot of Round Top. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Photograph by Alexander Gardner.   Creepy and sad. Dead but preserved in this photo, possibly for all time.


"'Safety first' is the motto of Miss Mary Jayne of Keith's circuit. Mary Jayne, seated in rocking chair with pistol strapped to her knee, claiming exemption from concealed weapon regulation by saying her thirty-two isn't a concealed weapon in these days of knee-length skirts." National Photo Company Collection, February 14, 1922. The Keith Circuit was a chain of vaudeville theaters that eventually transitioned to motion pictures.   This is one awesome photo. I wonder if she ever used the gun.


  "The Burning of the Call." The San Francisco Call newspaper building in flames after the April 18, 1906 earthquake. Pillsbury Picture Co.   What a photo!


View of ruined buildings through porch of the Circular Church at 150 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina. April 1865. Wet collodion glass plate, half of stereograph pair. Photographer unknown. While much of the damage shown here is from shelling by the Federal Navy, the Circular Church itself was heavily damaged by fire in 1861.   If there had been no place or date attached I would have guessed this was shot during WWII. I can't imagine such destruction could have been wrought by civil war cannons.

15-year-old sweeper in the spinning and spooling room of Berkshire Cotton Mills. Adams, Massachusetts. July 10, 1916. Photo by Lewis Hine.   This is my favourite of this group. Look at his bare feet! Many children worked from a young age in cotton mills before the advent of child labour laws.


P-51 Mustangs of the 332nd Fighter Group (Tuskegee Airmen). Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945. Photograph by Toni Frissell.   I love that this was shot from the ground looking up at the plane's bellies.

How to Make a Sandwich in Space - Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield

I don't know if you're aware but one our own, Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield has become an awesome ambassador not just for Canada but for NASA. Not only is he a pretty cool guy but he's hooked into social media like no other astronaut before. He's tweeted pictures of the earth, held an AMA on Reddit, even helped compose and perform the first song in space. Here he's going to show you how to make a sandwich in space and explain why they use the ingredients they do. Enjoy!

Heart - Erick Oh

 This is an amazing, crazy short film and I think you should watch it.

Gettysburg (1993)

”In the morning, there's to be a great battle. Tomorrow or the next day will determine the war.”

The Confederate army had crossed into Pennsylvania from Virginia, pushing into Union territory to force the North to concede defeat. The two armies converged on Gettysburg, a town of little note until July 1 1863. Over the next few days it would serve as a battleground for some of the bloodiest fighting of the American Civil War. The battle didn’t spell the end of the war but it was most likely the turning point for both armies. This seemingly inconsequential battle outside a small town in Pennsylvania was a heavy blow against the Confederate army thanks to poor tactics, incompetent officers and a bullheaded commander unwilling to listen. It all could have gone very differently if not for a few key reasons and one can only imagine what the United States would look like today if the South had won. The movie itself presents a small window into the war, only several days during which the Battle of Gettysburg took place but it provides us with a glimpse of a different time when a country was torn apart.

I’ve wanted to watch this movie ever since reading Killer Angels by Michael Shaara as the film is based on the book. It closely follows the story, leading us chronologically through each day of battle culminating in the triumph of the Union over Johnny Reb. I really appreciated that several aspects of the book were carried over into the movie such as both sides of the conflict being shown and given equal screen time. The viewer sees that the Union and Confederate soldiers are formal, polite and well-spoken, allowing us to see the dynamics of conversation and everyday life, including the variety of music and song that permeated the camps before and during the battle which I found pleasantly surprising. It brought to mind the idea that these were ordinary men, mostly volunteers and not career soldiers, who had left homes and families with little understanding of what they would be facing.

The opening credits were both entertaining and informative. Photos of the participants are overlaid with the actors portraying them and some of the resemblances are uncanny. I also appreciated both the performances of Jeff Daniels, who I’m consistently surprised by, and Richard Jordan. Both gave performances that made me feel for the character. Daniels as Chamberlain had this quiet, concerned quality and Jordan as Lew Armistead choked me up when he spoke about not wanting to meet his friend in battle who happened to be fighting for the other side. Everyone else left me rather cold, including Martin Sheen as General Lee which I did not expect.

It was interesting to watch a 20 year old film and see how much cinematics have changed in such a short time. I expected a regular amount of quick cuts throughout but instead found a film composed of long takes. At times this was frustrating, partly because I felt it slowed the action down as quick cuts could have been used to great effect during the battle. Long takes can be effective when used properly, they can amp up the tension but I don’t feel it was used to full effect here. The battle scenes could have been shot more dynamically and occasionally it felt as if they were being shot at angles that didn't take full advantage of the scope of the battle. I did however get a chill during the various shots of lined cannons firing in succession. This, combined with the technology available at the time, made the film seem more like a History Channel documentary. I did appreciate the lack of gratuitous violence as the film could easily have tipped into a gorefest. Instead, the portrayal of death and destruction felt authentic. It did however, feel as if there was a lot of untapped potential in this film.

One of the issues I had with the movie was the viewer didn’t get the great internal dialogue present in the book. In Shaara’s work, the reader could see into the hearts and minds of the major players and empathize with their situation, how they would be forced to fight friends and fellow countrymen. This made it easier to care about and worry for men on both sides of the conflict. The connection with the movie characters isn’t as well established as the story rests entirely upon the visuals, omitting an important aspect of the book. As a result, there wasn’t as much tension built around character survival as I didn’t care about about everyone living through the battle.

Running close to four hours though, this movie feels overlong. Some of the dialogue feels stale, stretching out scenes to an interminable length. And then, when we finally reach the battle scenes, they are less than eletric. The movie just doesn't measure up to the book. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie though. If you’re looking for a visual representation of what the Battle of Gettysburg looked like, filmed where it took place 130 years later, watch this movie. I also cannot recommend enough the soundtrack composed by Randy Edelman. It is spectacular.

Timeless: Photos from Yesteryear 2

These photos are from Shorpy, a gorgeous website that contains photos from the Library of Congress archives. Here are some examples of what you can find on the site. The captions under the photos are pulled from the website.

Southside Easter 1941

April 1941. "Negro boys on Easter morning, Southside Chicago." Acetate negative by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration.

New York-Cincinatti Flyer 1910

Train wreck near Middletown, Ohio. July 4, 1910

Bridge of Sighs 1907

November 8, 1907. "Bridge of Sighs," connecting the 1902 Tombs prison at left with the 1894 Manhattan Criminal Courts building at right. 8x10 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

Grand Central Station 1908

Crowd outside Grand Central Station, returning from summer vacations. Sept. 8, 1908.

Black Sea Bass 1900

A world's record 384-pound black sea bass caught by Franklin Schenck of Brooklyn with rod and reel off Catalina Island, California, on August 17, 1900.

Carina Nebula 5500 BCE

Just in from NASA, a spectacular image assembled from 48 frames taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Carina Nebula 7500 light-years away, which means we are seeing these stars as they were in 5500 BC — making this the oldest picture on Shorpy so far. The bright star at left is Eta Carinae, which can be seen throwing off two enormous lobes of gas prior to exploding — possibly in the next few thousand years, maybe tomorrow — as a titanic supernova. We're offering this as a JG fine art print, made using NASA's 480mb master file.

Ghost Child 1936

Child living in Oklahoma City shacktown. August 1936.

A Friendly Game of Horse

Farm Security Administer Basketball at Durland's Riding Academy, New York. 1908. George Grantham Bain Collection. Since 1949, the Durland's building at Central Park West has been home to ABC, at 7 West 66th Street. Until 1999, the sets for "20/20" and "Good Morning America" were in the main riding ring. Photograph by Dorothea Lange.

Spooky Toy Show 1908

Toy show at Madison Square Garden, 1908. View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection. In the foreground: Junior Aero Club display. Several shadowy blurs can be seen in this time exposure moving about what at first glance appears to be a deserted exhibit space. The car merry-go-round is slowly revolving.

Wheel of Fire 1943

Re-tiring a locomotive driver wheel in the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe railway shops at Shopton, near Fort Madison, Iowa. March 1943. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano.