I have shamelessly purloined some of this post from a comment thread at Sun Dried Sparrows. The man in the photo above, who looks like he could have been pictured yesterday, is Lewis Powell (or Payne). He was a Confederate soldier who attempted to assassinate William H. Seward and one of four people hanged for their part in the Lincoln assassination conspiracy. Powell, from Alabama, was photographed unwillingly in his cell while awaiting the noose and his stare through the camera is stunning, utterly contemporary and one of the reasons I find portrait photography from the mid 19th century through to circa the 1930s so interesting. The people look out at us, from another time, boxed off in history but still alive and human. There's more if you do an image search.
I've run out of bandwidth at Boxnet- you may have noticed. I did think about getting a second account with a different email but haven't got round to it. Luckily there's tons of stuff on the internet- like this roots reggae style Prince Fatty remix of Manu Chao's of Politik Kills. And politik kills or killed Lewis Powell.
Manu Chao grew up in France after his parents fled from Spain, his grandfather sentenced to death by Franco's regime. Busking led him eventually to Mano Negra, a French group inspired by The Clash. Their hybrid of French, Italian, Arabic and Spanish music along with punk, ska, and rai led to success across Europe (except here pretty much). After Mano Negra he spent several years touring central and south America in a train. Manu's music is punk in spirit and global street sounds in style. Almost any of his albums are worth checking out.
We are off to the Peoples' Republic of Sheffield for a couple of days and I've not set up any posts for while I'm away. Originally we planned to camp but the forecast has dissuaded us. See you in a couple of days.
