Our friend, Matt Winter, stopped by the other day, bible in tow. After asking if I had accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, he laid down the law of the Lord. He gives a new meaning to using the bible as a weapon of faith, I suppose. Nothing like a 1908 bible and a 1940's PD issue .38 Special. Perfect match. Six shootin' peanut butter to the bible's strawberry jam. (...and no, he didn't really ask if I had, in fact, accepted Jesus Christ into my heart)
I don't know what "it" is about books that hide things, but let me tell ya, there is even more of "it" when it hides a .38. Second best would be a rock hammer... Anyone? Anyone?
- "Yeah, I get that it's not loaded and all, but does it have to sit on the table when we eat at the corner sandwich shop?"
- "Yes."
- "Okay."
April 7, 2009
WHY NOT: Mr. Winter's Bible
April 6, 2009
AMERICAN ICON: 1970 Chevy Suburban
1935-Present. Basically a station wagon pick-up, the car has stood the test of time. I don't think you can even call this an SUV because it's been around longer than the catch-phrase. Remember in THE GOONIES when the Chunk refers to the Jeep as an "ORV"? What happened to that acronym? Or is it not an acronym because it doesn't spell something... like scuba? Check the Miller Light can on the dash in the last photo. Fitting... and beautiful.
YOU TUBE FIND: Early 1900's Motorsports
The Hill Climb is one of the most absurd looking but awesome aspects of Motorcycle sporting. It just looks like too much fun. Not a whole lot of footage exists of the old Board Track days. This video is unreal. It really give you a feel for what is was all about. The sport basically... excuse the pun... died out due to the fact it was suffering from too many fatalities. If that's not tough, I don't know what is. Even if you don't enjoy the bikes, check out the great jerseys they sport. Indian, Harley, AJS... they're all there.
April 3, 2009
Vintage Oil Cans
I've had two conversations about motor oil in the last two days. Is that two too many or ten too few? One was with my friend, Matt, who was schooling me on the subtle differences in viscosities, and the other with Chad, who yelled at me for not carrying a spare bottle in my car at all times. I checked it at his shop and it was low. He let me borrow some from his old VW van. Thanks buddy, I owe you.
Via Automobilia Planet. It's one thing to find great photos, it's another to find great vintage oil cans, but great photos of great vintage oil cans?? Now you're talkin'.
April 2, 2009
Beau Ties Ltd.
I used to have a GP, Dr. Bowers, who wore a bow tie. Only saw him a couple times in his office, but nevertheless, be it plaid, striped or polka-dotted, he always had one on. I've never even worn one, unless you count the fake ones for weddings a couple times when I was younger. I guess because I never really understood them. Bill Nye, the old guy at my church when I was a kid that gave out candy and sported one with a yellow suit, and of course Colonel Sanders... these men donned the bow tie in one form or another, not me. Although respectable in their own right, I never aspired to emulate these men.
One night I was at the grocery store and saw Dr. Bowers MD shopping the counter for cheese. His bow tie was untied. Its limp, curvaceous arms lay flat against his chest, as if to comfort and praise the good Doctor for a day's hard work. I stared. AN EPIPHANY. He was Clark Kent. All of a sudden he ceased to be Dr. Bowers, and became... just a guy shopping for cheese. The bow tie, for him, was not just a splash of color, an accessory, it was a mood ring. A gone fishing sign that with a flick of the wrist could be proudly displayed to let the world know that the doctor, was in fact, NOT in. It was at that moment that I decided to let the bow tie in, embrace and respect it for more than a piece of fabric. I now know it is much more powerful.
You can't do that, modify one's state of being so effortlessly, with any other article of clothing or accessory. Maybe in years gone by, the untucked shirt, or loosened neck tie, but even these acts of defiance have eeked their way into modern day fashion. No, the bow tie stands alone with its innate ability to altar a man's persona with a simple tug of the thumb and index finger. I now respect and understand it as the cape and dark rimmed glasses for the everyday man.
And now... a company in Vermont, Beau Ties Ltd., that will custom make you one from any of their fabrics, or a yard of one you supply. Oh, an ascot or pocket square? Yes, they'll do those for you as well. More examples of their work after the cape and glasses below...
April 1, 2009
Falcon Motorcycles
I might as well have been wearing a 1922 White Sox uniform emerging shoeless from a corn field yesterday when I walked into a nondescript metal building in downtown Los Angeles. Because when I entered, a bewildered general look of 'awe' fell upon my face and I asked the man standing before me, "is this heaven?" In which he replied, "no... it's FALCON".
The man, who looked nothing like Kevin Costner, was Ian Barry, the owner, builder, mad scientist, and wizard behind the curtain of FALCON MOTORCYCLES. He graciously stepped aside and invited me and my friend in, wiping our chins with a blue shop rag to prevent the drool from dripping on his work boots.
I went along with my buddy just to check the place out, and maybe sneak a few photos. I had no idea that within 30 seconds I was going to be hanging on to his boot like a 4 year old, begging Ian for a chance to come back and do a proper piece on him... he agreed... I sneaked photos anyway. See them after the picture...
Have you ever watched a movie that was so well done, or gazed upon a work of art that was so moving you actually made the conscious decision to blink less, just to take in more of the brilliance? I don't make a habit of it, but let me tell you, I have a bottle of Visine on my desk as I type this. Walking into the shop, I felt like a character in a slasher film. One where the drugged victim wakes up in a strange environment and behind every corner, and lurking in a every shadow is something of terror. As if these frightening things had been placed there knowing the path the victim would stumble down. It was like that, but instead of things that go bump in the night, they were relics of cool, pieces of a history we all wish were present, and beautiful things made out of metal that probably produce a lot of horsepower.
I stumbled... "AHHHHH" -- a mint Ford Mustang Fastback!! "AHHHHH" -- a collection of vintage metal flake gas tanks!! "AHHHHH" -- amazing one off hand built motorcycles!!
I stumbled for about an hour, and still didn't look in every shadow. My eyes were dry.
I feel like I can't even get into the actual structure in which Ian set up shop. I've read Dwell, I've watched HGTV and still have never seen a home quite like this. The place felt like I had visited the Oracle of Architecture, offered my sacrifice, and in turn was presented with the physical manifestation of my every desire. The photos don't do it justice. I mean, Ian should throw some rails down and charge people to ride through his house like the People Mover at Disneyland. I'd buy a season pass.
I didn't get to speak with Ian in depth about anything other than my admiration for his life, but the QUOTE OF THE DAY would have to be, "I'm building an English Wheel". Who builds an English Wheel? It's only by luck and a few episodes of Monster Garage that I even know what an English Wheel is, but Ian, without one, doesn't search eBay, he builds one. And where's my hat? Oh yeah, IT'S OFF.
English Wheel-less or not, FALCON builds some of the nicest bikes I've seen in a while, and by "while", I mean, my whole life. The attention to detail is unparalleled, and the execution leaves the attention to detail left wanting.
QUOTE OF THE DAY RUNNERS UP: "I made the mount out of one solid piece of brass". "That bolt is hand-made on a lathe". When I need a bolt, I fumble the drawers at Home Depot, and I've never touched a lathe.
SCORE:
FALCON - 2
ATtoG - 0.
I kept tally the rest of the visit, and let's just say the ref would've called it long before the clock wound down.
Okay, I'm done trying to put into words how cool this guy's shop/house is, and why I feel inadequate as a man because I can't hand build motorcycles much less lathe bolts. I'm now going to step aside, and like a Circus Announcer, stand atop my box, eyes wide, wave my hand -- palm out -- towards the photos below, grinning, speaking in a slow, over exaggerated voice... "Weeeeelcome... to Faaaaaalcon".
Not my photo, stole it off Google images. iPhone camera is great and all, but not so ideal for wide angle in a confined space. Oh, and this bike, which happens to be the same one that was in the shop yesterday, was hand built for Jason Lee.
FALCON is working on a new site for the company. Keep checking back. Other than that, Google them, but keep a roll of shop rags by your side.
Thanks to Ian and his wife for not only letting me lurk around the shop and their home taking pictures with my phone, but putting up with me for the hour we were doing it.
