Luke

"Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand."
-Luke

Newman. Hopper. These names are synonymous with the 1967 Oscar-nominated film classic, Cool Hand Luke.

But these screen grabs are taken from a lesser known movie. A short 8mm film shot simultaneously by an avant-garde artist/director by the name of Bruce Conner. His version is known simply as Luke. Conner was a buddy of Dennis Hopper's that was allowed to pal around on set during the making of the picture.

It is a 22 minute behind-the-scenes glimpse of one of those iconic moments from the film. Convicts shoveling dirt along the blazing hot tarmac. Cameras setting up. Positions shifting. Empty director chairs. And through it all an affable Paul Newman.

The release of this flick is closely guarded by the Conner family and is generally viewable only during artist gallery openings.

I saw a boot-legged copy of it many years ago during a party. It's a real cool hand.

VJ Day, Honolulu Hawaii, August 14, 1945

Too cool. I had to repost. Found here.

Just Because

And Just Because...

Ice Pilots

"Ice Pilots NWT is a 13-episode real-life docu-series about an unorthodox airline in the Canadian North. Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways flies WWII-era propeller planes – big old aircraft built by "Rosie the Riveter" that have remained virtually unchanged over the years. Rookie pilots defy bone-chilling temperatures to fly cargo and passengers through blizzards, breakdowns and transatlantic journeys. It's an impossible job in a merciless place."

I've always wanted to visit the Great White North.

Buffalo Airways is the only commercial airline in the world that still ferries passengers in the Douglas DC-3; THE plane that revolutionized air travel.

The US version of the History Channel has some great television programming, but man, I'd trade Canada Ice Road Truckers and Deadliest Catch for Ice Pilots any day.

The Goat

The car in the above photo is a snapshot of my dad's highly revered '67 GTO. If asked about the one car he wishes he would have never sold it would be this silver beauty. Now forever lost in the annals of time.

So for his recent birthday I assembled an old AMT model kit that I had lying around and presented it to him as a gift. The car is still sexy as hell, even in 1:25 size.

1967 Pontiac GTO: The Great One

The first GTO appeared as an option in the Pontiac Tempest line. It was a way to get around a General Motors Corp. ban on muscle cars at the time. Pontiac borrowed the GTO designation, which stands for Gran Turismo Omologato, from Ferrari. The 1967 model is part of the second generation of GTOs. The straight geometric lines of the 1964 Tempest GTO gave way to subtle curves, such as the upswept rear fenders in the 1966 model year, and GTO became a separate Tempest model line. Unchanged for the car was the GTO power. The 1967 model had a 400-cubic-inch V8 engine that offerec three levels of horsepower ranging from 255 to 360. Equipped with the 360-horsepower engine, the GTO could travel from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 130 miles per hour. In its advertisements for the 1967 GTO, Pontiac GTO stood for The Great One.

Pontiac may be dead but the workmanship and design of the original "Goats" are timeless.

Specifications
Wheelbase, inches: 115.0
Weight, lbs: 3,425
Number built: 81,722
Base price: $2,871

Top Available Engine
Type: ohv V-8
Displacement, cid: 400
Fuel system: 1 x 4 bbl.
Compression ratio: 10.75:1
Horsepower @ rpm: 360 @ 5400
Torque @ rpm: 438 @ 3800

Representative Performance
0-60 mph, sec: 6.6
1/4 mile, sec @ mph: 14.66 @ 99

Spec. Info Via

1967 Pontiac Ad

Retro Obsession: Jeep Renegade

Why? Because it is 2010 and I still want one.

And that's all the reason I need.










Via Flickr

Brawn With Flair.



The head of the free world scooting around in his Scrambler.


Daisy Duke in her...uhhh...Daisy Dukes.