TokyoLand

I’m up in Hokkaido, so whilst I’m busy, here’s some new music to listen to, a new album ‘I’m New Here’ from Gil Scott-Heron (whose dad, Giles ‘Gil’ Heron, was the first black player to play for Celtic FC)….

from the BBC website, found via EPUK towers….

“Don McCullin, an internationally-regarded British photojournalist particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife, examined the underside of society - the unemployed, downtrodden and the impoverished - in this moving 1989 film for Newsnight.

Newsnight’s librarian Adam Gotch chose this film because it was one of the earliest examples of the programme using a famous person as the reporter. Don McCullin had approached Newsnight because he wanted to tackle the homeless problem and even though he had photographed many awful situations he was still deeply affected by what he found and his compassion is really tangible.

Originally broadcast on 24 October 1989.”

Watch it here, Don McCullin’s movie on UK homeless in 1989.

Whilst out runnng this morning, training for my April marathon, and listening to my iPod , I heard sandwiched between The White Stripes and Bob Dylan a podcast of my good friend Jason Eskenazi talking on the Studio360 radio show about his time working in the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a security guard, and how whilst it was mind numbingly boring a times, it proved to be also mind enlarging and eventually inspirational and educational for his own work and photography. It’s the second time I’ve heard it, and it really struck me this time about what a very well produced little segment it is, the music perfectly fits the conversation, the conversation is well edited from a longer chat it seems. Very enjoyable little pice to listen to, only takes a few minutes.

Jason’s ‘Wonderland’ book is reprinted and available for sale again, along with 100 USD 10″x8″ prints. A bargain.

And whilst your hand is in your wallet, I’m still looking for sponsorship money for my marathon run to help the Sightsavers International charity. It’d be great if anyone could spare a dollar, Euro, pound….many thanks.

As newspapers the world over struggle and close down, it’s refreshing to write of a new one starting up in Scotland- The Caledonian Mercury, named after The Mercurius Caledonius which was Scotland’s first print newspaper, founded in 1660 by Thomas Sydserf. We wish it well.

Sorry for the silence. But anyway, where were we…

There’s a very thought provoking, slightly sad, but very interesting Radio 4 programme worth listening to here on BBC iPlayer, produced by Miles Warde, and follows Miles as he, well in the BBC’s words “Miles Warde presents the story of a group of photojournalists who set out to witness world events. They went to Yugoslavia, Angola, Chechnya, Gaza and Iraq. Two of them were shot dead. A compelling portrait of youthful ambition and the power of photography to change the world.”

In it we hear Colin Jacobson (former picture editor of The Independent Magazine and the man who gave me many a job thankfully), my good friend from all over James Hill (Pulitzer Prize and WPP winner), Gary Calton of The Observer, Martin Beddall of The Guardian, and many others discuss the photography course they were on, and what happened afterwards, and the death of two of their colleagues (one of whom was Paul Jenks whom I never met, but I received an award in honour of many years back).

It’s 30 minutes long, take a listen. And seems to only be available on iPlayer for another 6 days. Listen here.

Firstly, Happy New Year.

Secondly, one of my Romanian roma photographs has appeared on the cover of a reprint of Isabel Fonseca’s acclaimed book ‘Bury Me Standing- The Gypsies and their Journey’.Now you have something to spend all your book tokens on that you got at Christmas.