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[John Saxby]

On these guns --

Just finished reading, en route to the Gold Coast, Wade Davis' extraordinary book Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest.  Early in the book, interspersed with his story of the first efforts by Europeans to travel to Everest (late in the 19th & early in the 20th century), and the imagining/mythologizing of the mountain which followed, are terrifying accounts of the "Great War", and especially of the destructive force of these guns. The book is as much social history as a tale of mountaineering, and Davis' account of the industrialized slaughter of that war is sobering in the extreme, as we approach the centenary of the start of the war.  Not a quick read, but a brilliant piece of work.

The book has some fine period photographs (from the British expeditions of 1921, 1922, and 1924), but I'd have liked to have seen more.  You may find it interesting to do a comparison at some point in your project, Dan.

J.

[Danneaux]

You may find it interesting to do a comparison at some point in your project, Dan.

Very much so, John; thanks for the reference!

Despite my general distaste for war, I seem to have read quite a lot about it! A recent, lengthy, and very good read was Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War (Rhodes/Hammond translation). The latter brought the whole of events to life for me and showed all the causal factors, intrigue, and drama that are unfortunately timeless and universal parts of any war in any time. The disputes and actors and time may change, but the human factors remain.

When I was a child, a granduncle (actually husband to my mother's cousin, but "Uncle Louie" to me) had fought in WWI and had been mustard-gassed. He told tales of trench warfare, the development of early tanks, use of rail-mounted guns, and the increasing efficiency of war. This last was among the things that haunted him most; the very industrialized slaughter of war to which you refer.

I'll follow up on the Davis book, John!

Best,

Dan. (...who always enjoys a good read)

[John Saxby]

Thanks, Dan.  Aye, we have to make sure we know about all this stuff.  My dad's people come from the village of Battle, on the Sussex coast just west of Hastings.  Battle was the site of The Famous Unpleasantness of 1066. So, it appears that there have been soldiers in my family for at least a thousand years.  For the most part, they seem to have been the poor sods who swung the axes and pulled the bows, rather than men on horseback. 

Davis is an altogether brilliant guy.  He currently heads up the cultural survival project (not sure of the exact title) of The Smithsonian.  His photography is well worth a look, and any of his writing.  The Wayfinders, a celebration of indigenous knowledge, is a good introduction to his work.

J.

[Andre Jute]

On these guns --

Just finished reading, en route to the Gold Coast, Wade Davis' extraordinary book Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest.  Early in the book, interspersed with his story of the first efforts by Europeans to travel to Everest (late in the 19th & early in the 20th century), and the imagining/mythologizing of the mountain which followed, are terrifying accounts of the "Great War", and especially of the destructive force of these guns. The book is as much social history as a tale of mountaineering, and Davis' account of the industrialized slaughter of that war is sobering in the extreme, as we approach the centenary of the start of the war.  Not a quick read, but a brilliant piece of work.

The book has some fine period photographs (from the British expeditions of 1921, 1922, and 1924), but I'd have liked to have seen more.  You may find it interesting to do a comparison at some point in your project, Dan.

J.

John, I'm always looking for high quality snippets (and larger pieces) of esoteric knowledge for my blog. May I post this, only slightly edited, and with the bit about Davis in your other post added. The text will remain your copyright, and I'll give the forum a plug too. Enjoy your holiday. -- Andre Jute

[rualexander]

Another video now online at Vimeo
Part two of my inflatable kayak trip across Scotland.
Some superb scenery of the central highlands around Loch Treig and Loch Ossian, during a period of fine settled weather at the end of May 2009.
Part three still to come.

[John Saxby]

on Wade Davis' stuff -- thanks, Andre, by all means please do so.  (I expect WD would be pleased to know of your interest.) I've heard Davis speak, and seen his photography.  He's a compelling storyteller in both media.  He grew up in a small town in the interior of BC -- still has a place there, in the Stikine Valley.

His account of Everest pays tribute to the men--it's a guys' story--who tried to climb it, showing them to be heroic even though their attitudes to much of the world & its people were often ungenerous, even racist.  Helluva story, and not once did it make me want to climb that mountain, even though I love the high places of the world that I've been privileged to visit.

J.

[John Saxby]

Great vid, Ru!  Fabulous countryside, calm waters, sunshine yet again and no-one else around!  No bugs either, in May, I'd guess.

I knew a guy, years back, who had an inflatable kayak (a Folbot, was it?) and he trucked all around the world with it, paddling to & in all sorts of improbable places.

The inflatables look as if they'd be badly blown around in a high wind--a kayak's great advantage over a canoe is its low profile on a windy day--but you seem to have avoided that, as well as ensuring your usual sunshine.

The lochs must be quite cold in May, no?--wouldn't want to pitch in mid-loch in mid-May.  Er, in the interests of seeing more of your videos, this viewer wd be more comfortable knowing you're paddling a wee bit closer to shore...

Looking forward to #3,

J.

[Andre Jute]

Thanks, John. http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/archives/3632

[JimK]

egads the projects I distract myself with when the work really piles up:

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12917894

[jags]

Recently started putting some videos onto Vimeo.
Upload limits are restricting me to one upload per week but will get them all on eventually.

https://vimeo.com/user9481487/videos

rual just shared your video on facebook  hope you dont mind.

[Andre Jute]

An appropriate card for a cyclist. Note the sun shining from the card onto my halo. reflecting back onto the card across the cockpit of the bike. I wonder if motorists are blinded by my halo. The photo on the card is by "silverjohn", one word, no caps.

[Danneaux]

Andre,

I believe silverjohn is really Iryna/Ievgen Sosnytska/Sosnytskyi, a Polish purveyor of royalty-free stock photos through Getty Images' iStock Photo, StockFreeImages, and other similar sites. These are royalty-free for evaluation and comping, attribution and image link-back and are nearly all watermarked. Watermark-free and high-resolution editions are available for purchase and commercial use under various specific license agreements that vary with the distributing agent.

Silverjohn images are always high in quality, sometimes exquisite, and often appear in online ads or on greeting and promotional cards.

For portfolio examples, see: http://www.stockfreeimages.com/r1/Silverjohn.html ...and... http://www.fotolia.com/p/200451866

This image is very close to the one on the card you shared, and one of several very similar ones in the silverjohn portfolio: http://www.fotolia.com/id/60194546

Lovely shot and card and terrific bicycle content, Andre.

All the best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Thanks for the excellent and useful information, Dan; copied to Mick. I thought it might be something like that, which is why I shot the card not square on but at angle from which it would be impossible for thieves to get a useful composition... First class photos in your links.