On the whole, technology has been good to me.
In the mid-1990s, I was able to connect with a music magazine in Ireland--my first paying writing gig--via Hotmail. Over two decades later, I'm still writing for them. in 2009, Twitter connected me with folks who became good friends, online and face-to-face. Through them, I was able to shift out of a career that was slowly killing me with stress to begin a decade-long stretch of freelancing. Working remotely during that time, I found that I had a lust for travel, and as a consequence of one of my adventures, met my wife. Recently, I was able to land a full-time gig, still remotely, mind you, that has provided me with a steady income and a fabulous group of co-workers I'm happy to see on Slack every day.
That said, I'm also sure that a lot of the tech in my life is making me miserable.
Facebook is hot garbage, that tracks my movements across the Internet without permission. Twitter is full of thieves waiting to steal your joy and fill your days with dread. Instagram, owned by Facebook, often leaves me feeling expectant and desirous of accolades for my photos from people I've never met. Of late, outside of my work life, I've been taking strides to limit my interactions with tech and social media. I've donated all of the hardware I don't use on a routine basis to local charities, stepped back from owning multiple computers to just one and perhaps, best of all, have started relying on Flickr as a way to share what's going on in my life with the people I care about. Read the rest
Flickr exists, in part, because I needed a photo-sharing tool to help me woo my long-distance girlfriend, who later became my wife, and whom I've been with now for 15 years -- so I have watched the service's long decline and neglect at the hands of Yahoo, and then its sale to the loathsome telco Verizon, with sorrow.
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Verizon's using its purchase of Yahoo for more than undermining the fight for net neutrality: it's also using its new acquisitions to make anti-competitive moves against its telcoms rivals, deploying the users of Flickr and Tumblr as hostages. Read the rest
Do you like dials, knobs, levers, gauges, toggles, dip-switches, knife-switches, blinking peanut bulbs, faders, patch-panels, big red buttons, keyboards, breakers, fuses, stops, fascia, takeup reels, wheels, yokes, tachyometers, odometers, speedometers, emergency handsets, mics, valves, periscopes, oscilloscopes, brush-switches, paper tapes, manufacturer's instructions engraved in acrylic signs, and other control apparatus? I know you do! You will therefore love the Control Panel Flickr group. Read the rest
Some cute competition below, but Wendy Robbins gets my vote. Read the rest
Brechtbug's Halloween Costumes Vintage Photos collection is a triumph, and arguably what both infinite scroll and the Internet were invented for. Read the rest
The Zephlaprop is a new piece from found-object sculptor Tinkerbots, AKA Dan Jones of San Diego. Read the rest
For years, Flickr has been one of the most important repositories of Creative Commons imagery in the world; now, thanks to a new design, it's all but useless for serving and attributing the CC-licensed images it's been entrusted with by museums, galleries, national archives, libraries, and millions of individuals.
The British Library has uploaded one million public domain scans from 17th-19th century books to Flickr! They're embarking on an ambitious programme to crowdsource novel uses and navigation tools for the huge corpus. Already, the manifest of image descriptions is available through Github. This is a remarkable, public spirited, archival project, and the British Library is to be loudly applauded for it! Read the rest
Stephen sez, "Masterful gadget-maker Roger Wood poses alongside some of his whimsical clock creations at his Hamilton-based workshop and steampunk emporium, Klockwerks.
When he came out in his goggles and steampunk kit, I told him, 'You look so much like an inventor.'
He answered, 'I AM an inventor.'"
Roger was my neighbour for a decade, and his workshop was always a wonderland. I haven't been to his new place in Hamilton, but if this picture is any indication, it's every bit as wonderful.
Steampunk Thing-Maker Roger Wood and Assorted Klockwerks
(Thanks, Stephen!) Read the rest
Matthew sez, "I just finished making this bento box featuring laser cut nori and thought you might care for it. The bento box features a scene from Princess Jellyfish (Kuragehime) as well as some good old fashioned tempura shrimp, shu mai, grilled octopus, and tamagoyaki."
Princess Jellyfish Laser Bento, Kuragehime Laser Bento
(Thanks, Matthew!) Read the rest
Enokson on Flickr has collected a beautiful gallery of dozens of 1960s library posters, each more delightful than the last. Alas, they're only at a medium resolution.
Retro Library Posters (1960's)
(via Bookshelf) Read the rest
I'm very taken with James Charlick's photo, "The Grand Library," shot in an abandoned house during an urban exploration expedition.
The Grand Library Read the rest
MrBrickLabel has a Flickr set of absolutely gorgeous vintage Chinese firecracker labels.
I have been collecting firecracker and firework labels since I was 5 years old (1968). I appraise, buy, sell and trade firecracker labels. Everything you see here could possibly be for trade. I will try to post everything eventually. Hopefully more collectors can do the same and we can use this as a trading and sharing tool...
My Collection of Chinese Firecracker Labels
(via Neatorama) Read the rest
David Eger, a Canadian teacher, has a project on Flickr called "Cloned Photos" that uses "Clone Troopers and other Star Wars characters to recreate important and historical images" (it's a sequel to another project, 365 Days of Clones). He sells various products based on his illustrations at Redbubble and Society6. Many of these are inspired, including American (Galactic) Gothic, (Cloned) Guernica, Troopers atop a Skyscraper, Iwo Jima and The (Cloned) Kiss.
Eger posted many of these on the anniversaries of their source's original publications: "The original Cloned Photos from my 365 Days of Clones were created, taken and edited on the same date as the original photograph or on the birthday of the photographer or artist who created the image. There were; however, many images that I missed, didn't have the time to create or hadn't thought about that I have now begun to go back and create in my new series."
Cloned Photos
(Thanks, Fipi Lele!)
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