Wednesday, April 2, 2003

Well, Photoshop. Can you believe anything these days? Photographer Fired for Altering Picture. The Los Angeles Times said Wednesday it fired a photographer for altering a front page photo of a British soldier and a group of Iraqi civilians. See the photo before and after. via [linkfilter.net] 10:10:18 PM     |

More things Russian. I know, this is not the right time of the year. However, the exhibition of Early New Years and Christmas Picture Cards at the National Library of Russia is beautiful. "First Russian post-cards came out in 1871. Convenient and inexpensive type of mail has quickly become popular. It is no wonder that post-cards of congratulation including New Year's and Christmas ones were in requisition. Remained up to now, they bring us the inimitable sensation of festival and childish credulous expectations of present and the feeling of magic." 4:38:52 PM     |

The good Victorian. Charles Booth (1840-1916) about poverty in London at the Charles Booth Online Archive. Digitised pages of his notebooks and his map of London, showing the 'areas of poverty', can be found here. "Charles Booth was one of those remarkable English Victorians who can justly be described as one of the great and the good. Profoundly concerned by contemporary social problems, and not a pious nor even a religious man, he recognised the limitations of philanthropy and conditional charity in addressing the poverty which scarred British society. Without any commission other than his own he devised, organised, and funded one of the most comprehensive and scientific social surveys of London life that had then been undertaken. Booth also added his voice to the cause of state old age pensions as a practical instrument of social policy to alleviate destitution in old age, established as one of the commonest causes of pauperism. Simultaneously he was a successful businessman, running international interests in the leather industry and a steam shipping line." 4:18:44 PM     |

The great stink, [2]. More about London's Great Stink. I think I'll need a plumber right now. 3:55:41 PM     |

The great stink. A smelly history of the London sewers in 3 parts. 3:45:43 PM     |

Greasy Spoons. Nice website about Classic Cafes in London. "Often dismissed as 'greasy spoons', classic cafes are actually little gems of British vernacular high street design. Here we celebrate the best ones with over 100 vintage formica caffs and associated enclaves, reviewed, revealed and reappraised. A lo-fi fast track insight into the backwaters of Britannia Moribundia. A large-format book based on the site will be published in late spring 2003 by Black Dog Publishing." 3:32:34 PM     |