The Stig?

Ton Up

I was bitten by the bike bug a few years back, and man, it's an illness worse than the dengue.*

Unlike a true fever though, the only remedy for this sickness is more spark and horsepower. Fortunately, for obsessives like us there's a new tv show called Cafe Racer TV on HD Theater.

Go ahead and tune in to all the Brylcreem action. Blast the Eddie Cochran and inject yourself into the Brit-rock sub-culture.

*Disclaimer: Don't say I didn't warn you about the bugs...






Cafe Racer TV promo:



Eddie Cochran - Nervous Breakdown:



Eddie Cochran with Wolfman Jack intro - C'mon Everybody:

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.

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.

Retro Obsession: CHiPs

The overacting. The stud cop/dopey cop/buddy cop relationships. The hair. The "tough" yet paternal Sgt. Gatraer. The bow-chick-a-wah-wah music. The dream-like late 70s LA smog. The Seven Mary Three and Seven Mary Four callsigns. The ridiculous plotlines. The "accident". The rumbling Kawasakis. The melodrama. The LA Freeways. The cool toys. And, Ponch.

All of which fuel my retro obsession over the CHiPs tv show. The best motorcycle porn on the tube.

Just check out those closeups!







Wait a minute, who's that guy signing autographs!

The 'Mad Men' Look Contest: Final Results

Remember the Mad Men Look Contest that I entered?

*Spoiler alert* I lost.

I knew once that the heavy hitters started rolling in that I didn't have a shot in hell. There's no way that I can possibly compete with houses designed in the mid-century by award winning architects. Nope. Ain't happening folks. But I was contacted once by a Post employee so at least I felt like I was still in the running.

Just check out the winners already.

Live Aid: 25 Years On

Live Aid is all over the news again today as it was...uhhh...25 years ago. That's still a hard number for me to stomach.

The multi-venued concert was held July 13, 1985 at London's Wembley Stadium and in Philadelphia at JFK Stadium; featuring a powerhouse lineup of pop and rock stars joined together in the fight against poverty in Africa. Ethiopa in specific.

For weeks leading up to the event tv watchers in the US had been bombarded with images of poor starving families in war ravaged nations clinging desperately to each other for survival. In fact, there was such a large disconnect for so many people in the US "living the American dream" that the shockingly graphic images evoked disbelief; even laughter. Caught up in the swell of the moment I am guilty of having chuckled at the myriad of jokes circling playgrounds accross the country. Fear of the unknown. I was only 8.

Live Aid is largely credited as being a roaring success, with not a little bit of controversy thrown into the mix. It far exceeded the expectations of organizers. Not just for the cause, but for the artists and the networks. MTV in particular. The moon man practically busted down our doors, turned on our televisions (in "stereo sound"), and occupied prime couch real estate all damn day.

A reunited Led Zeppelin. Plant and Page.

Singers Valerie Simpson, Teddy Pendergrass (confined to a wheelchair) and Nicholas Ashford (both men in sunglasses) backstage after performing at the Live Aid benefit. Photo Credit: David Mcgough. Life. July 13, 1985.

Rock N' Roll Royalty. Hard to believe that Princess Di and Prince Charles had been married four years by this point and that she had already given birth to her two sons. Photo Credit: Nils Jorgensen.

No bats in sight. Rock star Ozzy Osbourne pouring water over his head after performance at the Live Aid concert. Photo Credit: David Mcgough. Life. July 13, 1985.

Who's That Girl? Madonna at Live Aid.

Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger performing at the Live Aid concert. Photo Credit: David Mcgough. Life. July 13, 1985.

Singers Tina Turner and Mick Jagger performing at LiveAid concert. Photo Credit: David Mcgough. Life. July 13, 1985.

Freddie Mercury of Queen sporting some ridiculously tight jeans.

Bono solidifys the international rep of U2 at Live Aid.

International Pop and Rock artists collaborating on stage at Wembley. Photo Credit: Jeremy Nicholl. The Times.

Crowd shot at Wembley Stadium.

The 'Mad Men' Look Contest: The Washington Post

Mad Men season 4 begins at the end of the month and I'm pretty damn excited about this. It's far and away the best show on television. Shame on you and get with the program if you're not already a fan. Feelin' guilty yet?

Anyway, I was equally excited when I came across this recent article in the Washington Post:


Details about The Post's Mad Men Look contest
Saturday, June 26, 2010

Knotty pine. Wallpaper. Formica. Venetian blinds. Those lamps! They help form the distinctive look of homes portrayed on AMC's "Mad Men" television series, set in the 1960s.

As the series's new season draws near, we're looking for the Washington area home that most captures that look and feel. We invite you to pull back your pinch-pleat draperies and show off your home's late '50s-to-mid-'60s vibe.

Enter The Washington Post's Mad Men Look contest by submitting a photo of your place, whether it's a house, condo, apartment or even a single room. Entry deadline is midnight July 11. Entries must be for residences in the District, Maryland or Northern Virginia.

Entries must be of your own residence, whether owned or rented. Finalists must be available for photographs and an interview between July 14 and 18.

Finalists will be judged by a panel of Post editors and designers, along with Daniel Donnelly, owner of Daniel Donnelly Modern Design Studio in Alexandria.

Photographs of the winning entry will appear online and in The Post's Real Estate section July 24, the day before "Mad Men's" fourth season premieres.


I read this and thought, "why the hell not?" Sure I live in a small brick condo building built in the early 1980s, but have long been a fan of post-war modernism and mid-century modern style. Over the years I have cultivated furniture and various other odds-and-ends to match my particular tastes. I have an artistic eye and am pretty adept at scouting out oddball pieces from places such as thrift stores, flea markets, Ikea, Craigslist, eBay, etc.

I never win contests, other than a beauty pageant in Texas when I was 5 (true story), but I kind of really want to win this one. The contest is ramping up and the competition is fierce. Call me a Mad Man.

Click here to view all of the photos: http://washingtonpost.com/madmenlook.

The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau

"The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know about existence and to marvel at it."
- Jacques-Yves Cousteau

That little man in the funny red stocking hat up there was the greatest undersea adventurer of the modern age, and today (were he still alive) would mark his 100th birthday.

People of my generation may have only a passing knowledge of JYC's legacy on motion pictures and of his oceanographic research, and are far more aware of the current careers of his grandchildren; Alexandra and Philippe Jr. Also of the vast references to him in popular culture. I remember reruns of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau playing on the Disney Channel when I was a kid, and being fascinated by its scary other-worldness.

Many have marveled at the great mysteries he unraveled through a lifetime of oceanic exploration, yet still struggle to decipher the code to his private persona. For you see, not only was he an inventor/adventurer/environmentalist/philanthropist/businessman/, but he was also a very dark and haunted philanderer that physically and emotionally abandoned his own family members for years at a time. Perhaps his escape into the sea was the only way in which he could rectify the emptiness and isolation that he felt on land.

I grew up along the Gulf Coast of Texas, and to me, the sea is everything. That dark and enchanting magical mistress tempting you with its dangerous charms. That is why I am completely sickened by the catastrophic images I see daily as a result of British Petrol's little "mistake" down there. I can overlook Cousteau's 1950s offshore drilling contracts with B.P. if he could grant me one wish...

I would love to see the graceful little Calypso appear across the Gulf one last time, chugging along and bouncing across the waves with a red-topped Cousteau riding stoically at the helm. Accompanied by his merry band of adventurers they drop anchor, don their Aqua-lungs, and descend into the oily depths. He could plug this leak. I know he could.

The Aqua-lung is arguably the single greatest invention of Cousteau. Here he is as a young man sporting an early version.

The Calpyso. The Cousteau team's famed vessel.





Not familiar with the man? Read Jacques Cousteau: The Sea King. It is a fine place to start.

The Cousteau channel on YouTube has a load of historical footage.

I like this one:

Saarinen and Spock: A Most Logical Pairing

After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.
--Spock

Finnish-born Eero Saarinen was classically trained in both sculpture and architecture. His early collaborations with fellow designer, Charles Eames, lead to his first designs of an organic armchair.

Saarinen was commissioned by the Knoll furniture company in 1956 to create a chair to match an existing dining room table. The Tulip Chair (above) was born. Often considered a classic of industrial design, the Tulip Chair won a series of prestigious awards, including the Museum of Modern Art Award in 1969.

Due to its space age appearance and modernist use of materials the Tulip Chair was also used as design inspiration for set pieces on the original Star Trek. The chair provides a most logical vantage point for Mr. Spock to pacify the oft hot-headed Captain. Don't you think?

Mad, Sad, and Happy Men