WcP.Art's blog

May all World War II veterans and victims rest in peace.

(June 20, 2010) Edith Shain, the nurse in Alfred Eisenstead's famous Victory over Japan Day In Times Square photo, died in Los Angeles. She was 91.

Photos courtesy of Alfred Eisenstaedt / Getty

Original Source: hollywoodmemoir.com

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A little-reported ceremony took place a few days ago outside a nondescript apartment block in the Paris suburb of Bobigny. An old man unveiled a plaque to mark the birthplace of one of France's greatest cultural heroes: Asterix.

On 29 October 1959, the first adventure of the diminutive warrior Asterix appeared in the comic magazine Pilote. It was the work of the Italian-born artist Albert Uderzo and his script-writer friend René Goscinny.

According to one of their creators, the small, wily Gaul Asterix and his oversized, clumsy friend Obelix were born under the influence of friendship, desperation and a great deal of alcohol. They met at Uderzo's apartment in the Paris suburb of Pantin to dream up a story and some characters for a comic strip to be published in the first edition of the weekly magazine Pilote. At the time, aside from the Belgian strips Tintin and Spirou, French newspapers carried primarily American comics. The founder of Pilote wanted French children to be able to read stories in which their own culture dominated. 'The Gauls,' they thought, 'liked to have a good laugh, to talk big and were bon vivants. I think we've got something there.'  read more »

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A day in the life of Abbey Road, an ordinary-looking street in north London.

"A policeman held up the traffic, the band walked back and forth a few times and that was that" - Brian Southall

On the 8 August 1969 that the Fab Four walked out of No 3 Abbey Road, having finished basic work on what would be their penultimate album. The photographer who took the famous cover shot was the late Iain Macmillan, a close friend of Brian Southall's, who knew the Beatles through working with Yoko Ono. "He was given about 15 minutes," says Mr Southall. "He stood up a stepladder while a policeman held up the traffic, the band walked back and forth a few times and that was that."

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Photos courtesy of Sang Tan/ Associated Press and BBC News

Original Source: BBC

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"Earth Song" - written & composed by Michael Jackson, released on November 27, 1995. It centered around the destruction and rebirth of Earth and went on to receive a Grammy nomination in 1997. The song was a top five hit in most European countries. In the UK, it remains Jackson's best-selling single. "Earth Song" was not released as a single in the United States.

Lyric excerpts:

What about sunrise
What about rain
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain...
What about killing fields
Is there a time
What about all the things
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we've shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
The crying Earth the weeping shores?
Aaaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaaah

What have we done to the world
Look what we've done
What about all the peace
That you pledge your only son...
What about flowering fields
Is there a time
What about all the dreams
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war
Did you ever stop to notice
The crying Earth the weeping shores? …Aaaaaaaaaah…
I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far…Aaaaaaaaaah…

Hey, what about yesterday (What about us)
What about the seas (What about us)
The heavens are falling down (What about us)
I can't even breathe (What about us)
What about the bleeding Earth (What about us)
Can't we feel its wounds (What about us)
What about nature's worth (ooo,ooo)
It's our planet's womb (What about us)
What about animals (What about it)
We've turned kingdoms to dust (What about us)
What about elephants (What about us)
Have we lost their trust (What about us)
What about crying whales (What about us)
We're ravaging the seas (What about us)  read more »

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A photographer is reflected in micro seaweeds in a basin at the Seche environmental plant in Le Vigeant, southern France. Seche Environnement, which specializes in the treatment and storage for all types of non-radioactive waste, produces green fuel from seaweeds.

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Photos courtesy of Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images

Original Source: Times Online

The Telegraph’s weekly Big Picture contest winner: this shot of a tea plantation in Munnar, Kerala, taken by Lynden Clarke from Bristol.

Original Source: Telegraph

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Federico Veronesi, Kenya: African Elephants are dwarfed by acacias in Amboseli, Kenya.

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Photos courtesy of Federico Veronesi/Sony World Photography Awards

Original Source: Times Online