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Thursday |
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Technology comes and goes. It won't be long before this looks quaint. Head-up displays, implants, and finally energy manipulation that rewires our very conception of what's now known as reality. Perhaps the hologram is already complete? After digging a hole on Vashon to fix some Ancient Roman era technology (plumbing), I rode the Sally Fox, a sleek diesel catamaran that dances across Elliott Bay, then hurtled underground on electric rails so I could get to the Asian Art Museum in time to hear Robert Millis's talk on another revolutionary (literally) technology that after 130 years has yet to be rendered obsolete--the 78 rpm gramophone disc. His focus was India, a country that was a source of shellac, the material 78s were made of until the transition to vinyl after WW2. The talk was engaging, witty, and informative, just like the man himself. If you're interested in this kind of thing, be sure to buy his remarkable book: Indian Talking Machine. |