Five Bullets 12.9.22
This week: Bomber Mafia, Edward Hopper, Just Riffing & more
Hello and welcome back to Circles In Space for Five Bullet Friday, where each Friday I share some interesting stuff I collected during the week.
Happy Friday everyone! As I’m writing this, it’s a partly cloudy, mild 50 degree late fall day here in New York City. It’s been a busy week!
Earlier in the week I had the incredible opportunity to speak to Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for the NYC Department of Records Neighborhood Stories Project. If and when this interview becomes available I will certainly share, but for now it will live in the Municipal Archives. I learned a lot about Mr. Reynoso’s home neighborhood of South Williamsburg and I hope his oral history will be useful to future researchers, documentarians and countless generations of New Yorkers. For more on my involvement with this project, check out my blog.
On to this week’s topics:
“December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy” , began President Roosevelt as he addressed Congress in his declaration of war on Japan, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which thrust the United States into World War II. I’ve been working my way through Malcolm Gladwell’s audiobook Bomber Mafia which details the USAAF’s shift towards a more ‘moral’ type of war through the use of precision bombing in Germany and Japan, an approach which was ultimately abandoned towards the end of the war. Gladwell’s masterful storytelling and examination of the social, political and moral elements at play is brought to life through a hybrid audiobook/podcast, complete with archival audio, interview snippets, music and sound effects.
The New Yorker’s Arming Ukraine covers how Ukraine has repelled the Russian invasion and how the U.S. and it’s NATO allies have contributed to the Ukrainian effort. The article does an excellent job of breaking down the nuts and bolts of the conflict, describing how certain military technologies - Javelins, M777s, & HIMARs - have not only kept Ukraine in the fight but have helped Ukraine achieve success on the battlefield and regain it’s territory.
Some New York City stuff (quickly becoming a newsletter staple):
Short animated film The Originals recreates 1970s Carroll Gardens through stories from longtime residents.
We all know that NYC neighborhood boundaries are either completely obvious and set in stone OR ambiguous and thus hotly debated. Help The New York Times map your neighborhood by plotting out it’s boundaries.
As part of The Whitney exhibit Edward Hopper’s New York, explore city sites painted by Hopper with this map which displays Hopper’s paintings alongside present-day photos of the sites.
Some people and dates to remember this week:
Happy Birthday to Joan Didion who would have been 88 on Monday, December 5th.
RIP to John Lennon who was shot and killed on the night of December 8th, 1980 outside his home.
58 years ago today, on December 9th, 1964, John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme was recorded in one session at Van Gelder studio with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones.
Last but not least, my brother Eric Walpole has launched his newsletter Just Riffing which will cover guitar tips, tricks, and instructional videos for all you musicians out there. Eric is also available for guitar lessons. Expect to see some Circles In Space/Just Riffing collaboration in the future!
Got something to share? Leave me a comment! I’m always on the lookout for something new to dive into.
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That's all for this week! As always, thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
Until next time,
KW
Thanks for the mention! Listening to A Love Supreme now :)