Five Bullets 12.1.23
Benjamin Franklin, Napoleon, Led Zeppelin & more
Good morning and happy Friday everyone!
Welcome back to Circles in Space.
Last week I tried something new and published Five Bullets on NYC’s Forgotten Barren Island and Reading sci-fi novel Roadside Picnic. I’m planning to post more longer, in-depth pieces like these soon. I haven’t yet figured out a great way to publish these without spamming your inbox! Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Today’s Bullets:
Books: I’m reading Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin biography this week. I’ve just reached October 1729 when Franklin began publishing the Pennyslvania Gazette. Given Franklin’s knack for printing and publishing, I wonder what he could do with Substack. What ingenious (or inflammatory) schemes would he have invented on here?
Movies: I particularly enjoyed the battles scenes in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. Here’s how Scott recreated the Battle of Austerlitz. I’ll be picking up a copy of Andrew Robert’s Napoleon to learn more of the actual history.
NYC: In 1947 New York City bus driver William Cimillo, after driving buses for 20 years, decided one day that he’d try something new and drove his bus from the Bronx to Florida! Upon returning to the city, all charges of grand larceny were dropped and Cimillo continued bus driving for another 16 years. (Thanks to a friend for sending me this one!)
Photography: Lucky Find at Auction Identifies Man on Cover of ‘Led Zeppelin IV’. Ever wonder about that image on the cover of Led Zeppelin IV of the man carrying the sticks on his back? Page and Plant originally found a copy of the photo in an antique shop. Another copy that was recently discovered shed some light on the original. The photo by Ernest Howard Farmer depicts an English thatched-roof maker.
Podcast: Writers Ryan Holiday and Timothy Denevi discuss Hunter S. Thompson, Joan Didion, Sacramento, politics, the Stoics, and more.