31–40 of 83 posts
. "[Photography] is a marvelous discovery, a science that has attracted the greatest intellects, an art that excites the most astute minds -- and one that can be practiced by any imbecile." I like this quote.
heh
A related video series showing many places around the world in the 1900s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-UhDuKZ2OQ There's a lot of really interesting things to see there besides the sites themselves. The obvious one worldwide is that this is before the mass commercialization of clothing + planned obsolescence of such, which seems to have a very negative outcome. But one thing not so visible that's really interest…
I really enjoy observing this and other changes in social tone visible through the ages in archaic videos .. One of my favourite idle pasttimes is to watch videos on Youtube of digitized film from a bygone era, especially of cities I've lived in, or visited and with which I am familiar.
For some reason it is just so interesting, for example, to visit the streets of Vienna from 100+ years ago, and see how folks were living back then. So many well-dressed Viennese, looking sternly at the camera, or merely walking in a steady plod along streets I, too, in the modern era, enjoy.
Vienna is particularly interesting because it has a long history with film, and some of them go back to before the widespread adoption of automobiles. It struck me just how easily we overlook the fact that Vienna was built for walking, originally, and all the crazy car life that the city suffers now was grafted on top of routes originally designed to be navigable by foot - or hoof.
Just take a look at Vienna, from 1896:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aPvmD6ktZs
.. to Vienna, 1926:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGbTkQX6R0Q
.. pre-war Vienna (30's):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA9dHEKD-vM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QITjWb29JZ8
.. Vienna, 1939:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w96umMf9r3E
.. post-war Vienna:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2VbXdrFXB8
.. to Vienna, 1964:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0WCigqJ_wU
.. and lastly, Vienna in the 80's:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WttS-PP-r4o
Its just so interesting to see how the city has evolved over the century, but also very interesting to see how it hasn't changed much at all, too!
These days I walk many of the streets depicted in these videos, and having binge-watched all the videos I can find on the subject, it has given me a much deeper appreciation of the trials this city has weathered.
(I've got another set of videos for Los Angeles, another city in which I've lived and loved, and it too is very intriguing to see the city evolve over time .. but I'm yet to find a film as old as 1896 for the region, strangely enough..)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I've begun to think that there might be something fundamentally groady about basing assumptions of intelligence on appearance I find this odd to hear. Not because I think we should base our opinions on someone's appearance but because I thought it was a common belief that we shouldn't. Or rather that you would be committing a faux pas by making such a statement publicly. That people at least wanted to paint the ima…
I think people are taught not to look down on others based on appearance, but not to avoid looking up at them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> how simultaneously stern everybody looks with no fake smiles or hidden gazes. People were willing to just stare at something or somebody odd FWIW, the fake smiles and hidden gazes, to me the least, were always a North American thing. In fact, in Switzerland we have its opposite, the infamous "Swiss stare" :-) https://www.newlyswissed.com/about-the-swiss-stare/
Super interesting. I recently learned that a lot of foreigners moving to Germany find that Germans are staring. It’s called the German stare. I wonder if staring is a Germanic thing. https://www.zeit.de/campus/zeit-germany/2023/01/culture-face...
For some reason I don't quite understand, my pinky and ring fingers don't operate well independently of one another. This is an issue when counting on my fingers (or attempting a boy scout salute), so I've started counting 1,2,3 from the thumb, 4 with the thumb down and all four fingers up, and 5, of course, with all digits extended.
(I could start counting at my pinky, but that just makes me look totally nuts)
Edit: If you read the article the comment I replied to posted, it includes thumb first counting as one of the cultural differences people experience when visiting Germany - in addition to the "Germanic Stare" they specifically mention in their comment. Consider actually reading before assuming I'm just typing nonsense - unless responding to titles and comments without reviewing the content they contain is a cultural difference I need a guide to get used to when visiting Hacker News.
If only there was a detailed first-hand account of the diplomatic mission to Europe which details this exact trip that's been widely translated to most European languages and is widely available.
Or maybe the author's perception is colored by what we know of this man.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Super interesting. I recently learned that a lot of foreigners moving to Germany find that Germans are staring. It’s called the German stare. I wonder if staring is a Germanic thing. https://www.zeit.de/campus/zeit-germany/2023/01/culture-face...
Pro tip for everyone else: start counting with your thumb. For some reason I don't quite understand, my pinky and ring fingers don't operate well independently of one another. This is an issue when counting on my fingers (or attempting a boy scout salute), so I've started counting 1,2,3 from the thumb, 4 with the thumb down and all four fingers up, and 5, of course, with all digits extended. (I could start counting a…
So when I count, I start with a closed fist, then open my thumb, followed by my index finger, then middle, then pinky, then ring finger.