life:

It was fifty years ago today that Bob Dylan had his first recording session at Columbia Records. Dylan was backup harmonica for folk singer Caroline Hester — It was shortly after that Dylan was offered his own deal with Columbia.

see more — Bob Dylan: The Early Days

life:

It was a war many did not want to fight. In the North, an estimated 120,000 men evaded the draft, while some 380,000 soldiers deserted from both armies. Those who fought did so at close range, armed with knives and swords, handguns and rifles, as well as new weapons such as the grenade and machine gun. In the end, some 620,000 soldiers lost their lives in the Civil War.

Here, the faces of some of the soldiers, some famous, others whose names have been lost to time: Civil War Soldiers: Haunted Faces

barrymanifold:

Popwar

Popbot, by Ashley Wood.

barrymanifold:

Popwar

Popbot, by Ashley Wood.

(via rumour-has-it-i-deactivated2013)

(via evolving-rhyme-deactivated20130)

life:

Ten years after September 11, 2011, images of the deadliest attacks ever launched on American soil have lost none of their power to stun, appall, enrage, and devastate. The United States had experienced nothing like it since Pearl Harbor, and even that assault did not share the profoundly sinister air of having been aimed — clearly, murderously — at civilians.

To mark and perhaps, in a small way, lend coherence to our remembrance, LIFE.com curated this collection of 911 photographs. And so here they are: images you remember; images forgotten, or never seen; moments great and small from New York, Washington, and cities around the world as the scale of the cataclysm grew unspeakably clear. This is 9/11 — 911 Photographs of 9/11

life:

The Pentagon — and, by extension, the U.S. military — has become such a prominent and obvious symbol of American might over the years that it’s easy to forget that the world’s largest office building and home of the Department of Defense is just that: a building.

Here, on both the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack in Washington that left 125 Pentagon employees dead and, eerily, the 70th anniversary of the Pentagon’s September 11, 1941, groundbreaking, LIFE.com presents rare and unpublished photographs of the iconic, colossal edifice under construction.

see more — RARE & UNSEEN: Building the Pentagon

Pictured: Building the new home of America’s War Department. (The name “Department of Defense” would not come into use until 1947.)

life:

Bill Owens may be America’s best-known photographer of suburban life. In his seminal 1972 book Suburbia, he documented the places where America lives, celebrating the ‘burbs and their residents with a patriotic delight … while maintaining an ironic distance that keeps his work relevant today.

“What I like about this is there’s nobody watching the parade. It’s just the people having a parade. Everybody participates so they just walked down the street and walk back, and in ten minutes it’s over.”

see more — Suburbia: A Portfolio by Bill Owens

life:

The Story of the Washington Monument — It appears to be as simple and elegant a monument as you could find, but hey, looks are deceiving… The record-breaking obelisk that dominates the Washington, D.C., skyline has a story that’s both complicated and even a little crude.

In solidarity with the Chilean students (August 2011)

abodyofthoughtandmedia:

Riot police clash with student activists.

life:

Time warp to ‘69 — Today (August 15th) would have been the first day of Woodstock! In celebration, we’re bringing you our best (or, grooviest?) photographs from the festival. Shots that evoke its spirit of peace, love, music, and mud.

see more — Woodstock: The Best Photographs

life:

A summer concert at an Indiana state fair ended in tragedy on Saturday when strong winds caused the stage to collapse. Moments before the country duo Sugarland were set to take the stage, winds estimated at 60 mph swept through the fairgrounds, toppling steel scaffolding on the stage. At least four people were killed and an estimated 40 were injured.

State Fair Horror Captured in Pictures: Sugarland’s Stage Collapses

benjamintrey:

[#HAPPYbirthday] —-> @BARACKOBAMA