Thursday, February 25, 2010

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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Mexico Dispatch #03 - La Carrera Panamericana

La Carrera Panamericana ran from 1950-1955 in Mexico and is considered one of the most dangerous races in the world. Created by the Mexican government to highlight their newly constructed highway system, the nine-stage, five-day race ran from Southern Mexico, north to the border with Texas. After increasing accidents, the race was cancelled after 1955, conventional wisdom dictating that the ever increasing speeds, static safety standards of the time, and hyper-competitive nature of the drivers was creating a deadly combination. Over 27 people died in those 5 years, giving it the highest mortality rate per race of any in motorsport.

Luckily the race was revive by Duardo Leon Camargo in 1988. Nice.

Another interesting fact: Designed by famous American industrial designer Raymond Loewy, the 1953 Studebaker Champion Regal Starliner (below), due to it's exceptional aerodynamics, it is one of the most popular car entry shapes. This model alone has (Post-1988 races to 2007) giving it 13 out of 20 first-place Panamericana wins.



Some history...









Legacy Trailer - La Carrera Panamericana from Steffan Schulz on Vimeo.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Mexico Dispatch #02 - Security




Monday, February 15, 2010

Mexico Dispatch #01

After months and months of trudging through Ernest Hemmingway's "For Whom The Bell Tolls", the time and space of a much needed vacation has allowed me to finally finish this great read. My only regret is starting this adventure on my short-attention span NYC commute… Hurry-up, STOP! Hurry-Up, STOP! Not affording the time and concentration to fully appreciate such a rich novel, not to mention Hemmingway's descriptive prose.








ALSO Orwell's memoir on his time in Spain during the war. A fantastic read that not only covers his experiences there, but offers an full-scale overview of the entangled relationships between the Spanish Government, International Brigades, the P.O.U.M, the anarchists, the P.S.U.C. and the various other parties that made up the resistance to the fascist. A great read, and an interesting vignette into, I think, one of the most complex, romanticized and foreboding conflicts of the 20th century.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

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(via Sociological Images)

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Lester Beall (1903-1969) American Graphic Design Pioneer


One of my favorite designers when attending design school was Lester Beall. I was drawn to him as a native counterpart to the more luminous designer, Piet Zwart. Piet’s work is from a different time and place, directly born of De Stijl and Russian Constructivism with a modern Dutch twist. A little earlier in the century than Beall. And it seamed to me unapproachable and foreign, the same way Bauhaus felt to me. It was beautiful, clean, and mean and I loved it, but I didn’t want it on my wall to stare at all day. It was good math, but math nonetheless.

Lester Beall on the other hand, felt familiar. A younger American translation of the aforementioned styles, he added, I believe, a populist warmth to his work. He was an avid fan of typography and photography and influenced by the same European design movements, if not Piet himself. His most notable work was for The Chicago Tribune, Time, Colliers Magazine, the Rural Electrification Administration and the identity system for International Paper. The logo of which was on the lid of my coffee cup this morning, inspiring this post.

You can read more about him here.







The Rural Electrification Administration poster series. The REA was created in 1935 by executive order to provide rural areas inexpensive electric lighting and power.




Monday, February 08, 2010

New Orleans Saints win Super Bowl XLIV 31-17

Congrats Saints! Who-Dat!

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Awesome Color

I've always liked these guys. Kill it.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

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The Holy Mountain

Alejandro Jodorowsky. 1973. Epic.






Monday, February 01, 2010

Polish up, Brotha!

Just ran across these restored straight razors at Madaspen Home. Beautiful pieces in the end and I admire the care to retain the original blade engravings. Makes me want to shave my entire face. Kinda.

Before.

After.
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