drifting and dreaming

Huggy Bear- February 14

Here’s hoping you have a boo-tiful October. 

This poster, “October’s ‘Bright Blue Weather,’ A Good Time to Read “ is from the WPA Illinois Art Project, circa 1940. 

“There were not many people around, and scanning the horizon like that, with nothing interrupting my gaze, brought me full round to my own vantage point, to the heat and to this massive lean-to buttressing my body: this solid inclined mass of concrete, this worthless object, which up to then had managed to martial my interest only as a vestige of the Second World War, only as an illustration for a story, the story of total war.”

–-Paul Virilio. Bunker Archeology.

Tilting. From Paul Virilio’s Bunker Archeology, 1994. Via History of Our World

[…] “But perhaps the most poignant moment for the men of Battle Company occurred after “War” went to press. In April, the United States Army closed its bases in the Korangal Valley and sent the soldiers to other places. After five years of fighting and dying, American commanders decided the valley wasn’t worth the fight. War indeed.“ –Dexter Filkins

Historical Map: Pacific Electric Railway System in Southern California, c. 1926 by Jake Berman

I’m really enjoying this modern take on a map of the Pacific Electric’s sprawling electric streetcar network by Jake Berman. Obviously based on the period map shown (or an extremely similar one!), it retains a lot of the visual energy of the original – mainly because of the multiple angles used for both the route lines and labels. Normally, this might be something I’d find fault with, but I think it’s totally appropriate here when you consider the source material. 

However, Jake’s method of showing the number of in-service tracks along each section is easier to understand… varying line thickness certainly works better than the detailed ticked and pecked lines of the old map. Showing the three main railroad divisions is a nice bit of extra information as well – an advantage of a full-colour map. Lots to look at and enjoy here!

17th street canal and pumping station, New Orleans