Slow night. This oughter liven things up a bit. First is from the now infamous show The Cramps did at the Napa State Mental Institution. No shit. That really happend. I have to wonder who had the bright idea to let this occur, but it made for an interesting show. I can see the call now..."Hi my name is Lux Interior, my wife Poison Ivy and I head up a little rock combo we call "The Cramps". Ok if we play your place?"
"um....."
"well..."
"er....."
"what the hell."
The rest is history
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Some Cramps for a Tuesday night
Monday, January 15, 2007
Van of the Week: Tradewinds (and matching trailer)
I am going to begin a new feature here I call "Van of the Week". Each week I will showcase some of my favorite vans of today, years ago, survivors, and ones that are gone forever.
The first one is one of my most favorite vans ever, (two vans actually!) and it definitely fits into the category of 'survivor'. It is called "Tradewinds" and is owned by a vanner in the Netherlands, who I have not had the pleasure to meet, but have talked to online and is good person dedicated to keeping these works of art alive.
The coolest thing about this van (besides the incredible paint...which I will get into) is the fact that it was built with a matching trailer, and after all these years the two were not only shipped overseas, but remained intact! This is virtually unheard of, and in my opinion, makes it that much more of a treasure.
Tradewinds, a 1976 Dodge, was built in Pennsylvania at Bob's Van Shop. I was painted by one of the most famous and award winning muralists of the day, Harold Harnish. Harold, who painted many award winning vans, usually did his work outdoors in a dirt driveway, and believe it or not most of it was done with a brush! I had the pleasure of seeing another of his creations this summer, and as an artist I was blown away by the detail and love put into it.
Harolds murals typically were full wraparounds and often times extended up on to the roof. One of the unique things about this particular van/trailer combo is the mural continues from the end of the van onto the trailer, but on both pieces they also do a wrap.
The amount of detail put into the paint is amazing. The whale above is on the rear corner of the trailer, and the dolphins below are on the front driver side fender of the van.
The shipwreck is on the trailer in front of the wheel arch on the driver side.
The portrait on the back of the van is Bob, the former owner of Bob's Van Shop. I believe this van was originally built for him in his shop to use as a promotional tool at shows and truck-ins in the late 70's. A lot of the award winning vans came from his shop, thanks in part to the incredible talents of Harold Harnish and the crew at the shop who did the mods on the bodies, and finished off the interiors. The van itself has many modifications, some subtle, some not so much. They include custom taillights, solid rear end (no doors) tube bumpers, quad headlight setup, Charger side marker lights on the front, tube grille, full flare/spoiler kit w/ aluminum running boards, and a rear wing to name a few!
The trailer also has a few mods done to it including solid rear, custom tail lights, and a gullwing side door. Also one of my personal favorite touches, in the mural on the trailer, what appears to be clouds are actually maps of the different continents of the world. Nice touch!
To see more of Ronnie's incredible van, check out his cardomain site at http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2213932/1
later...
The first one is one of my most favorite vans ever, (two vans actually!) and it definitely fits into the category of 'survivor'. It is called "Tradewinds" and is owned by a vanner in the Netherlands, who I have not had the pleasure to meet, but have talked to online and is good person dedicated to keeping these works of art alive.
The coolest thing about this van (besides the incredible paint...which I will get into) is the fact that it was built with a matching trailer, and after all these years the two were not only shipped overseas, but remained intact! This is virtually unheard of, and in my opinion, makes it that much more of a treasure.
Tradewinds, a 1976 Dodge, was built in Pennsylvania at Bob's Van Shop. I was painted by one of the most famous and award winning muralists of the day, Harold Harnish. Harold, who painted many award winning vans, usually did his work outdoors in a dirt driveway, and believe it or not most of it was done with a brush! I had the pleasure of seeing another of his creations this summer, and as an artist I was blown away by the detail and love put into it.
Harolds murals typically were full wraparounds and often times extended up on to the roof. One of the unique things about this particular van/trailer combo is the mural continues from the end of the van onto the trailer, but on both pieces they also do a wrap.
The amount of detail put into the paint is amazing. The whale above is on the rear corner of the trailer, and the dolphins below are on the front driver side fender of the van.
The shipwreck is on the trailer in front of the wheel arch on the driver side.
The portrait on the back of the van is Bob, the former owner of Bob's Van Shop. I believe this van was originally built for him in his shop to use as a promotional tool at shows and truck-ins in the late 70's. A lot of the award winning vans came from his shop, thanks in part to the incredible talents of Harold Harnish and the crew at the shop who did the mods on the bodies, and finished off the interiors. The van itself has many modifications, some subtle, some not so much. They include custom taillights, solid rear end (no doors) tube bumpers, quad headlight setup, Charger side marker lights on the front, tube grille, full flare/spoiler kit w/ aluminum running boards, and a rear wing to name a few!
The trailer also has a few mods done to it including solid rear, custom tail lights, and a gullwing side door. Also one of my personal favorite touches, in the mural on the trailer, what appears to be clouds are actually maps of the different continents of the world. Nice touch!To see more of Ronnie's incredible van, check out his cardomain site at http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2213932/1
later...
Film Noir Portraits
Check out this page by San Francisco photographer Jim Ferreira. He does these amazing film noir style portraits among other things. If I ever get out there, I'd love to have a set of these taken.
see more at http://www.lafterhall.com/filmnoir.html
see more at http://www.lafterhall.com/filmnoir.html
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Breakfast of the Gods
I happened upon this online comic a while back, and it is definitely worth sharing. Actually I think it's downright brilliant. I reminds me somewhat of Infinite Crisis only with breakfast cereal icons. Check it out!
Breakfast of the Gods
(warning: it's a little violent, and may not be for everyone, but if that doesn't bother you...well then... enjoy!)
Friday, January 12, 2007
Hey you guyyys!!!
I haven't seen The Electric Company since I was about 4 years old, but I remember I use to love it when I was a kid. (Especially the Spider Man sequences.) Check out some of the other clips on youtube. Funny to think this show had Morgan Freeman and Rita Moreno on it.
...later
There and back again, a Scurvy journey.
Hi! I'm glad to say I made it to NM and back in one piece. I had a great time, and since I am on the subject, I'd like to share a few pics. One day we took off and drove to Roswell, which was pretty much a 2 hour trip. We went with the intention of going to the UFO museum. I have to say it was definitely one of the most interesting museums I have been in. 
The streetlights there were pretty cool to start with. Even cooler than the 'Kisses' ones in Hershey Pa. in my opinion. The museum itself was really cool. It was built in an old movie theater which made it even cooler. It was the most detailed and extensive collection of the 1947 incident I have ever seen. There was some really amazing stuff there. One thing I really dug was the two models they had of the Nazi "Foo Fighter's" I really dug the model building aspect of them aside from the 'WTF' factor. 
However, the icing on the cake...the crux of the biscuit, was the alien autopsy. It was actually used as a set/prop in a film, but way too cool.
Also on another day, my uncle and I went 4 wheeling out in the desert on the atv's. THat is something I always enjoy, and the possibilites to ride out there are literally endless. The only bummer was the day we went was really cold and snowy! I did get a few decent pictures of snow in the desert though. I missed a picture of a Red Tailed Hawk that was about 20 feet away sitting in the top of a short pine. Bummer.
All in all, I had a great time, and look forward to going back again. For now I will try and keep us entertained with my ramblings and stuff.
bonus tune! I Don't Wanna Grow Up- Tom Waits
The streetlights there were pretty cool to start with. Even cooler than the 'Kisses' ones in Hershey Pa. in my opinion. The museum itself was really cool. It was built in an old movie theater which made it even cooler. It was the most detailed and extensive collection of the 1947 incident I have ever seen. There was some really amazing stuff there. One thing I really dug was the two models they had of the Nazi "Foo Fighter's" I really dug the model building aspect of them aside from the 'WTF' factor. 
However, the icing on the cake...the crux of the biscuit, was the alien autopsy. It was actually used as a set/prop in a film, but way too cool.
Also on another day, my uncle and I went 4 wheeling out in the desert on the atv's. THat is something I always enjoy, and the possibilites to ride out there are literally endless. The only bummer was the day we went was really cold and snowy! I did get a few decent pictures of snow in the desert though. I missed a picture of a Red Tailed Hawk that was about 20 feet away sitting in the top of a short pine. Bummer.
All in all, I had a great time, and look forward to going back again. For now I will try and keep us entertained with my ramblings and stuff.
bonus tune! I Don't Wanna Grow Up- Tom Waits
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Happy 2007!
Wow. 2007. I can't believe the last 7 years have gone by so quickly. It's really funny, and I have a feeling most people who lived before it feel this way, but thinking of the year 2000 still seems really futuristic and sci-fi like to me. Where are the underwater bubble cities and jet packs they promised us? I submit that so far the future sucks! That said, I am going to be gone for the next week so I will most likely not be posting for a while. Taking a little trip to New Mexico. I always love flying out there, cus whenever I land at El Paso, naturally the Marty Robbins song gets stuck in my head. Oh well. Have a good week.
Goin' Out West- Tom Waits
El Paso- Marty Robbins
...later
btw- the painting is ne I did in 2005 of Sierra Blanca, which is in the area of NM I will be.
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