Entries by Philip Turner
An Ode to Bob Dylan and Alan Price
Watched and enjoyed D.A. Pennebaker’s classic documentary “Dont Look Back” (sic) chronicling Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour of the UK. I was delighted to be reminded of the key part that British rocker Alan Price, ex of The Animals, played in the film. In Price’s honor, today I’m listening to my treasured old LP of his […]
Manhatta, a Gift to the City
There is a special category of artifacts about New York City that express the near-boundless possibilities of the metropolis. One is E.B. White’s essay, Here is New York. Another is the short film Manhatta made by photographer Paul Strand and precisionist painter Charles Sheeler. The images are the artists’ while the words are borrowed from Walt Whitman. When you have 11 minutes give yourself a gift–watch this and listen to the modern score by the Cinematic Orchestra that was included in this version until it was taken off the Internet due to copyright issues. To me the film is all about the boundless possibility of Gotham, and living in a New World promised land, like Blake’s Jerusalem. It has great symbolic weight. The denizens of the city arrive on its shore and stride into the future. My heart soars every time I watch it. H/t to web site Music of Sound from New Zealand for bringing the Cinematic Orchestra’s score to my attention. The version on here now has no musical score.
On Human Hands and Technology
“A tool addresses human needs by amplifying human capabilities.” Bret Victor’s Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design grabbed me from that line. The illustrated essay is a timely reflection on the utility of our hands and how humans interact with tools and technology. If you’ve enjoyed reading such books as Henry Petroski’s The […]
From Ash Heap to Top of the World
Gotta love a story like this: Esi Edugyan’s Half-Blood Blues was mired at bankrupt publisher Key Porter, then rescued by Patrick Crean at Thomas Allen Publishers, and now has vaulted to win Canada’s Giller Prize. Picador will be bringing it out in the U.S. A foundling to a prize-winner! This is what I’ve always loved […]