I ran across the gif above on a book blog and was skeptical when it was described as a clip of Humphrey Bogart on the set of Howard Hawks’ 1946 film noir classic The Big Sleep. With just a little sleuthing, I found that it was actually pulled from the pre-release trailer for the film. Still, how very meta.
Historian and self-taught photographer John Margolies spent the last three decades of the 20th century wandering the back roads, small towns, and old highways of the U.S. capturing images of a disappearing culture. His saturated Kodachrome images of kitsch signage, architecture, folk art, and retail spaces document a nation before it was buried in an avalanche of cookie-cutter corporate blandness.
The U.S. Library of Congress has digitized nearly 12,000 of Margolies’ wonderful images and has made the collection available online. Before his death, the photographer graciously chose to place most of his work in the public domain.
Like many of my 20th century cohort, I miss the marvelously cheesy architecture of mini-golf courses, motels, service stations, drive-in restaurants, and roadside tourist attractions. I remember passing the top sign in the top photo when I lived in Florida in the 1980s.
Philly locals have been in on the Fishtown secret for years, but tourists are just discovering the up-and-coming riverfront district. With hot new restaurants, hip music venues, art spaces, brewpubs, fab coffeehouses, dozens of bars, and the world’s first pizza museum, Fishtown has something for every taste.
Recently, the local community group Visual Urban Renewal & Transformation (V.U.R.T) commissioned a mural to greet visitors to the neighborhood. The artwork was designed by painter/tattoo artist Evan Lovett in collaboration with local street artist Glossblack.
I have only been to Alaska once and I only spent two weeks in the enormous state, but it left a lasting impact. The stunning video below captured many of the extraordinary wilderness areas that I was lucky enough to visit. Wild Alaska was shot by Aliscia Young and Richard Sidey. If you’ve been to Alaska, it will make you nostalgic big time. Those of you who haven’t yet been to this great state will be checking Kayak for flights.
I recently received an email from KLM about their new “KLM Care Tag” project. The video below explains how it works, but it’s basically a cleverly designed location-aware luggage tag that provides voiced tips for tourists in Amsterdam. The speaker-equipped device contains a GPS module that functions completely offline without an internet connection. As visitors travel around the city, the tag automatically offers information based on location.
If you’re planning a first trip to Amsterdam, it might be fun to use the KLM Care Tag during the visit. You can try and order one at the dedicated website for the tag. I’m a big fan of KLM and Amsterdam, so I tried to get a tag just to check it out, but was told that none were currently available if I wasn’t ticketed on a KLM flight this month and to try back at the beginning of September.
I recently read Kim Stanley Robinson’s outstanding—but way too long—climate change, post-apocalyptic, science fiction novel “New York 2140.” Although much of the plot takes place in Manhattan’s Met Life Building, the characters frequently comment on the neighboring Flatiron Building. It got me thinking about this iconic New York City landmark and the fact that although I’ve literally passed by all of my life, I’ve never been inside and I knew next to nothing about the OG skyscrapper.
So here are a few things that I discovered about this gem. When it was built in 1902, the Flatiron Building was originally called The Fuller Building. It was named for Chicago architect George A. Fuller who has often been dubbed “the father of the skyscraper,” although the building was actually designed by fellow Chicago architects Daniel Burnham and Frederick Dinkelberg. The official name didn’t last long, as locals quickly began calling it the Flatiron.
Amazingly the landmark was built at a rate of one floor a week once the foundation was erected. Most people don’t realize that the top three floors were added years after the 1902 opening. In fact, to get to the upper floors, it’s necessary to change to a special elevator. And, the original elevator system was water-powered and frequently leaked.
Not long after its official launch, the Flatiron became the city’s most popular tourist attraction. They even began running bus tours of New York City from the building. The open-air tours cost just $1. These days, you can visit the building’s ground floor galleries for changing exhibitions.
In case you were wondering, Manhattan’s “cowcatcher” got its nickname early on from the prow-like front of the building. It’s a reference to the metal frame that was attached to most 19th century locomotives to keep livestock off of the rail road tracks.
When I was scrambling to learn a little Russian last year prior to a trip, I naively thought that shared letters between the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets would somehow make the task a little easier. Of course that proved to be untrue. Still, I love this simple Venn diagram of shared letters among the Greek, Cyrillic and Latin systems.
h/t Languages Ahoy
With the solar eclipse less than a week away, much of North America is looking to the skies.
For the first time in decades. folks in North America will have the opportunity to view a total solar eclipse on Monday August 21, 2017. Astronomer and artist Tyler Nordgren has created a series of colorful posters to celebrate the celestial event.
The “2017 Great American Eclipse” posters were inspired by 20th century travel advertising and 1930s WPA poster art. Most of the individual pieces in the series were commissioned by cities, counties, states, institutions, and national parks.
You can see the entire series and purchase your own prints at Nordgren’s website.
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