Charlie Rose and Jay-Z

Saw Jay-Z last night at Madison Square Gardens.
Great Show.

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Big Red Machine

Johnny Bench was my favorite when I was a kid because I was a catcher too. That's all I needed. The notables...

Cesar Geronimo

Johnny Bench #5, Catcher

Pete Rose #14, 3B

Sparky Anderson, Manager

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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.

Mexico Dispatch #02 - Security

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.