DannyB

The Chronology of Art

Digital technologies push and pull. The technical infrastructure now exists to create a single world database of all the world’s art works (or at least pictures of them). This could be organised so that users could search by date, theme, artist, genre and much else. It would be possible to study the iconography of angelContinue reading “The Chronology of Art”

Dover Western Docks Revival

Let us for a moment set aside technological determinism and instead consider technology as a determinant. The earliest archeological evidence for the wheelbarrow is in Chengdu in 118AD. It took about 1,000 years for wheelbarrows to make their way to medieval Europe. References to artefacts which could be wheelbarrows starts to appear around 1170. AnyoneContinue reading “Dover Western Docks Revival”

Miracle Window – Jordan, son of Eisulf

Canterbury Cathedral is an enormously complex artifact in many different dimensions of time, space and thought. Guides and guidance are needed to understand it. But not all guidance is the same. Even the ‘facts’ are often disputed and there are multiple layers of analysis often at tension and contradiction with each other. This is oneContinue reading “Miracle Window – Jordan, son of Eisulf”

In search of the Premonstratensians

This was not particularly planned. At the last minute I decided to take the train to Walmer and then, should the day work along with me, I would try and find the remains of Langdon Abbey. It felt a great luxury to be able to do something that felt so spontaneous after months of lock-down.Continue reading “In search of the Premonstratensians”

Luxury apartments with sea view

Mermaid beach in Folkestone is the site of new luxury apartments with sea views. Solar Suzanne, oil/ chemical tanker sailing from Rotterdam to Houston. Steel railings with sea view. Sea view without railings. Sea view without luxury apartments The container ship on the left is the Wec Vermeer sailing from Antwerp to Lexixoes. The containerContinue reading “Luxury apartments with sea view”

The Crown Estate

“Since 1760, the net income of The Crown Estate has been surrendered to the Exchequer by the Monarch under successive Civil List Acts, passed at the beginning of each reign. The Crown Estate is though owned by the Monarch in right of the Crown. This means that the Queen owns it by virtue of holdingContinue reading “The Crown Estate”

Commuting

Agriculture, production, distribution, capital, capital accumulation, circulation of commodities, warehouses, railway systems, satellite communications, global internet technologies, TCP/IP, application layer, presentation layer, session layer, transport layer, network layer, data link layer, physical layer. High speed train journey, Ashford to London, Thursday 20 May 2021. The ships are Pauline (top two photographs), ro-ro cargo and theContinue reading “Commuting”

Military-Industrial Complex

The sea is full of bombs, submarines with nuclear missiles, warships, aircraft carriers. Bulk carriers transporting metal ores and chemicals which will be turned into machine guns and phosphorus grenades. Containers full of parts which can be assembled into mortars and guns for firing live ammunition at peaceful protests. Around $3 trillion was spent onContinue reading “Military-Industrial Complex”

The Internet of Things

The internet of things has already connected satellites, ships, containers, lorries and commodities. An live map of satellites is available here – http://www.stuffin.space/ The container ship Cosco Pisces en route from Wilhemshaven to Piraeus. General cargo ship Noordvliet arriving at Dover Western Docks from Istanbul.

Marx and Engels Arrive in Dover

A prelude to Revolution. ‘On November 27 [1847], Marx, Engels, Georg Weerth and Victor Tedesco met in Belgium’s North Sea port city of Ostend and caught a steamship for Dover the next day’. Love and Capital, Mary Gabriel – p111 Engels was in Paris in November 1847 and wrote to Marx in Brussels: ‘Saturday evening,Continue reading “Marx and Engels Arrive in Dover”