Comments

Interesting. Great picture, too.

Circa 1802, the Royal Navy used what would later be called "special-purpose machine tools" to manufacture the pulley blocks which were required in large quantities for sailing ships. More here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_Block_Mills

Posted by david foster at January 2, 2008 5:21 PM

Just a factual correction. Venice did not conquer and control Constantinople for centuries. Venetians, with the help of Franks, Lombards and others, conquered Constantinople in 1204, in the infamous Fourth Crusade. The Venetians hung on to Constantinople by their fingernails for 50 years. The city was re-captured by the Greeks in 1261. The defeat of the Eastern Roman Empire by the Crusaders so weakened the Empire that it eventually became an easy prey to the Turks. The Crusading movement, and in particular the fourth Crusade led by the Venetians, which was diverted to attack their fellow Christians, thus resulted, ultimately, in the victory of Islam.

Posted by Basil Stavropoulos at January 2, 2008 8:27 PM

Henry Ford also built his production methods on foundations laid by men such as Eli Whitney--product standards, interchangeable parts, etc. The idea of "mass production" ran its course by about the middle 1920s and was only kept alive by the spurious accounting methods of DuPont and Sloan. Mass production works only so long as there is no real competition or major market disruption like customers demanding top quality or the OPEC embargo of the early 1970s. Toyota put the lie to that scheme and we are all seeing the results today. Ford's genius was in developing the smooth flow of product from raw material to final customer, even if he had to become his own supply chain--much the same way the Venetian shipyards worked.

Posted by Red Island Rhodes at January 3, 2008 7:12 AM

Venice. See you there for the Biennale the first week in October - this year's 11th International Architecture exhibition will be revealing re: the upcoming directions in our cities. 2006's "Cities" exhibition was staggering in re: the growth & form of cities.

Much of the Biennale is staged inside the Arsenale, offering a walk through time and inside look at the place - actually being restored piece by piece. Inspiring.

The "factor system" (pre-industrial) is often overlooked, yet we are definitely strongly back in it today with "Brand You" and dispersed worksites linked by internet. Worth further study to help hone the "new" system of innovation & commerce.

Venice - we've found some great, unexpected restaurants and fabulous piazzas - I guess we could share............

All the best.

Posted by Randy at January 3, 2008 10:19 AM

When I visited Venice for the first time, it was during a break from college. The late Henry Lewis, conductor and former husband of mezzo-soprano, Marilyn Horne, was conducting the Teatro La Fenice Orchestra. As his guest, I attended all the rehearsals and listened to him brilliantly give instruction to the orchestra in flawless Italian. And he was ever so kind to me.

After reading the comments, a thought came to me. While historical accuracies are ever so important, it is the spirit of the letter that meant most to me. It is the beauty of greatness coming from something seemingly insignificant, a small place amid shifting waters. It is the ability to communicate a single idea to a diverse group of persons to bring about systemic global change. It is not relying on this change indefinetly but knowing that it comes from an ever shifting place. But yet there remains a solid place of intellectual stimuli, a place of community, a place of great fortitude and sustainability. This is life. The thinking feeling human spirit is forever arriving.

Having visited Venice and being from Detroit, I could see the beauty of Henry's yesterday, its glory; I could see the glories of an empire past. But I can also see the greatness of today, the need of shifting ideas, the need for forever becoming. Thank you, Tom.

Judith Ellis

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 5, 2008 11:58 AM