1% er
Ratfink gone
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, godfather of hot rod culture, dies at 69
By Paul Chavez April 6, 2001 | LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, whose fantastic car creations and anti-hero Rat Fink character helped define the California hotrod culture of the 1950s and '60s, has died. He was 69. Roth died Wednesday at his studio in Manti, Utah, said Joe Bennett, a dispatcher with the Sanpete County Sheriff's Department. The cause of death wasn't immediately given. A generation of teen-age rebels across the country found a hero in Roth, whose chrome and fiberglass creations stirred awe at car shows. Many adopted his airbrushed anti-hero, the bug-eyed, menacing Rat Fink, who became a cultural counterpoint to Mickey Mouse. While Roth worked on custom cars in his garage-studio near Los Angeles, youngsters across the country broke out the airplane glue to work on intricate scale plastic models of his "Outlaw" roadster, bubble-topped "Beatnik Bandit," or futuristic "Mysterion." As a designer, Roth was considered a genius and visionary, not only for his radical designs, but also for his pioneering use of fiberglass in car bodies. He was described by author Tom Wolfe in his 1964 essay "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby" as the "most colorful, the most intellectual and the most capricious" of the car customizers. "He's the Salvador Dali of the movement -- a surrealist in his designs, a showman by temperament, a prankster," Wolfe wrote. Roth created Rat Fink and a host of wild characters to help finance his car design work. In 1974, he converted to the Mormon church and abandoned his rebel lifestyle, however he continued to work on car designs. "My fanaticism with cars has just destroyed my personal life," he told The Associated Press in a 1997 interview. "It's an obsession, an addiction. Every day I pray to God, `Release me from my calling!"' David Chodosh, a friend and business associate, said Roth was still working at the time of his death and was hoping to tour a new car in 2002. "The guy over the years has epitomized cool," Chodosh said. "Even now, in so many ways, he is still the Boss Fink."
Ratfink gone
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, godfather of hot rod culture, dies at 69
By Paul Chavez April 6, 2001 | LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, whose fantastic car creations and anti-hero Rat Fink character helped define the California hotrod culture of the 1950s and '60s, has died. He was 69. Roth died Wednesday at his studio in Manti, Utah, said Joe Bennett, a dispatcher with the Sanpete County Sheriff's Department. The cause of death wasn't immediately given. A generation of teen-age rebels across the country found a hero in Roth, whose chrome and fiberglass creations stirred awe at car shows. Many adopted his airbrushed anti-hero, the bug-eyed, menacing Rat Fink, who became a cultural counterpoint to Mickey Mouse. While Roth worked on custom cars in his garage-studio near Los Angeles, youngsters across the country broke out the airplane glue to work on intricate scale plastic models of his "Outlaw" roadster, bubble-topped "Beatnik Bandit," or futuristic "Mysterion." As a designer, Roth was considered a genius and visionary, not only for his radical designs, but also for his pioneering use of fiberglass in car bodies. He was described by author Tom Wolfe in his 1964 essay "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby" as the "most colorful, the most intellectual and the most capricious" of the car customizers. "He's the Salvador Dali of the movement -- a surrealist in his designs, a showman by temperament, a prankster," Wolfe wrote. Roth created Rat Fink and a host of wild characters to help finance his car design work. In 1974, he converted to the Mormon church and abandoned his rebel lifestyle, however he continued to work on car designs. "My fanaticism with cars has just destroyed my personal life," he told The Associated Press in a 1997 interview. "It's an obsession, an addiction. Every day I pray to God, `Release me from my calling!"' David Chodosh, a friend and business associate, said Roth was still working at the time of his death and was hoping to tour a new car in 2002. "The guy over the years has epitomized cool," Chodosh said. "Even now, in so many ways, he is still the Boss Fink."
Drunken Cowboys (detail)
Bill Schwarz
date uncertain
In this charming image, two hardy sons of the west are shown drinking together convivially. The photo is a rare example of the "emulsotype" process, used in primitive versions of the "instant photo booth," a popular attraction at Western carnivals and rodeos. This image is a detail from a larger contact sheet, which is approximately 8 inches in height and somewhat faded from its original dark sepia hue. Little is known about Mr. Schwarz, the photographer; researches into the better known emulsotype practitioners have yielded ambiguous information. The provenance is further complicated by a persistent rumor that Schwarz isn't the photographer at all, but an "appropriation artist" from the late 20th/early 21st Century. Appropriation, an artistic practice based on the theories of Marcel Duchamp and Karl Marx, flourished for several decades and greatly interrupted and confused the historical record with regard to fine photography. Be that as it may, this image survives, even if little is known about the milieu in which it was actually produced.
I'm thinking that one of these days it would be fun to take a train up to the Harvard museum to see the
glass flowers which are currently being refurbished.
In 1886 the museum's first director, Mycologist George Lincoln Goodale, commissioned Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, a father-and-son team of German artisians to create the glass models.
Is any one in the treehouse interested in going up there?
In 1886 the museum's first director, Mycologist George Lincoln Goodale, commissioned Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, a father-and-son team of German artisians to create the glass models.
Is any one in the treehouse interested in going up there?
This letter was in my in box this morning. I've been a fan of Bibliofind for the past couple of years, not sure I'm happy about this merger.
Dear Bibliofind Customer,
As one of our valued customers, we'd like to thank you for making Bibliofind a leading destination for buying used, rare, and out-of-print books. We are proud of the integral role Bibliofind has played in developing rare and used bookselling on the Internet and appreciate the support of our community of dealers and customers. Today we are pleased to announce that as of May 7, 2001, Bibliofind will unite with Amazon.com through Amazon's Marketplace and zShops operations. This move will better serve Bibliofind customers by offering the unparalleled selection and ease-of-use for which Amazon.com is famous, while continuing to provide access to many of the Bibliofind dealers you already know and trust. As of May 7, 2001, customers will visit a new Bibliofind home page where they can search for millions of rare, used, and out-of-print books presented by a network of independent booksellers through Amazon Marketplace and zShops. Please note that although we are joining our service with Amazon.com's we will not transfer any personal information that you gave Bibliofind to Amazon.com or to any other party. Thank you again for your support of Bibliofind. Sincerely, Bibliofind.com
"continuing to provide access to many of the Bibliofind dealers you already know and trust." I guess this means not all of them. I thought Amazon was going out of business.
Dear Bibliofind Customer,
As one of our valued customers, we'd like to thank you for making Bibliofind a leading destination for buying used, rare, and out-of-print books. We are proud of the integral role Bibliofind has played in developing rare and used bookselling on the Internet and appreciate the support of our community of dealers and customers. Today we are pleased to announce that as of May 7, 2001, Bibliofind will unite with Amazon.com through Amazon's Marketplace and zShops operations. This move will better serve Bibliofind customers by offering the unparalleled selection and ease-of-use for which Amazon.com is famous, while continuing to provide access to many of the Bibliofind dealers you already know and trust. As of May 7, 2001, customers will visit a new Bibliofind home page where they can search for millions of rare, used, and out-of-print books presented by a network of independent booksellers through Amazon Marketplace and zShops. Please note that although we are joining our service with Amazon.com's we will not transfer any personal information that you gave Bibliofind to Amazon.com or to any other party. Thank you again for your support of Bibliofind. Sincerely, Bibliofind.com
"continuing to provide access to many of the Bibliofind dealers you already know and trust." I guess this means not all of them. I thought Amazon was going out of business.
hour left on these boys
Thursday at Rivington St.? Bereket; out by 12:00? Opinions, complaints, suggestions, modifications, updates, confirmations, alternatives, questions, lewd comments, propositions, squabbles, rants, or raves?
Someone had suggested we meet at the Top of the World. I like this idea, but I was hoping to invite a few new people along this week, and I fear that might make us a bit too big to be out on the town en mass. But if this, or any other week, turns into a light turnout maybe we should attempt this. What say you Bill, master of the WTC, is the view worth it?
Someone had suggested we meet at the Top of the World. I like this idea, but I was hoping to invite a few new people along this week, and I fear that might make us a bit too big to be out on the town en mass. But if this, or any other week, turns into a light turnout maybe we should attempt this. What say you Bill, master of the WTC, is the view worth it?
Dirty detritus for filthy lucre:
Antiques Roadshow is coming to town! (Does ebay tour?)
Slow as molasses. Yes I know. Made some changes this morning in an attempt at a stop gap solution to the speed problems we've been having. Didn't seem to help too much but your mileage may vary (I can always hope.) Anyway, we are close to a solution to this problem, so with the risk of sounding like a broken record, hang in there for just a little bit longer. I'm going to fix the problem with the only sure fire solution available to someone who's not that good at building faster software - I mean, of course, I'm going to throw more hardware at it. Soon. Soon.
On a related note, I'd appreciate some feedback on possible dates for a slightly larger than average gathering. This would be something like a launch party if this were a real site that did things like have launch parties. I'm thinking sometime after the second week of May. We should be running the new software on new (dedicated) hardware by then. I guess I'd like this to be a Friday or Saturday night. And of course I'd like as many of you as possible to be able to attend. Any late May scheduling conflicts that anyone is aware of at this point? Take your time. Thanks.
On a related note, I'd appreciate some feedback on possible dates for a slightly larger than average gathering. This would be something like a launch party if this were a real site that did things like have launch parties. I'm thinking sometime after the second week of May. We should be running the new software on new (dedicated) hardware by then. I guess I'd like this to be a Friday or Saturday night. And of course I'd like as many of you as possible to be able to attend. Any late May scheduling conflicts that anyone is aware of at this point? Take your time. Thanks.
Uh-oh, you're already missing the People's Poetry Gathering of lower Manhattan. Includes my dad's undertaker Thomas Lynch reading Poe at midnight in a graveyard.
Thought I had a hangover, but maybe it's that sunspot.
Found a Quicksilver page, but no mention of a violinist, as was suggested last night.
Found a Quicksilver page, but no mention of a violinist, as was suggested last night.
off to Italy today will probably not report till back but we will visit the recently 2*'d Arnolfo in Colle di Val d'Elsa (Tuscany), the venerable 2 *'d Da Vittorio in beautiful Bergamo, along with the awesome one * Trattoria Della Posta in Montforte, and lots of non stared local yummy's--SUPER CHOW
when you get an tingle for some old Tempier at the current retail for ten year younger bottlings head up here we had 1989, 1988, 1990 La Tourtine and La Migoua and the very rare 1988 La Louffe--the food is very very good--cellar loaded with many other value (like 1982 Peyre Rose Clos Ciste @ $24) along with fair priced splurg wines (best Tempier is 88 La Tourtine by the group vote)
couldn't get you a link to this upi story, but here is a more technical paper from the authors, and here are some highlights:
“Spanish and American astrophysicists claim the universe we inhabit contains an infinite number of other universes like our own, called O-regions, that we will someday be able to contact. Jaume Garriga, of the University of Barcelona, and Alexander Vilenkin, of Tufts University, call the concept "many worlds in one."
…these universes are likely similar to our own -- share similar life forms, for instance – because they share a key feature with our world: a finite number of distinct histories. A history is the way something has evolved in time and will continue to evolve. Until now, physicists have never been able to make such an assertion.
Are these ideas far-fetched? Alan Guth (MIT) says no. "Do I think that the ideas are viable? Definitely yes. In fact, I very much admire the precision with which the ideas are expressed. I consider the work of Alex Vilenkin and his collaborators to be the leading work in this field."
”Whenever a thought crosses your mind that a terrible calamity might have happened," Vilenkin told UPI, "you can be assured that it has happened in some of the other O-regions." Furthermore, since some O-regions have histories identical or nearly identical to our own, "if you nearly escaped an accident here, then you were not so lucky in some of the O-regions with the same prior history," he said
Guth also believes the many-worlds hypothesis has profound philosophical implications. "We already know that our planet is merely a tiny speck in a vast cosmos, but now we are being told that we do not even hold a unique copyright on our own identities," Guth told UPI. "Instead, each of us is actually only a single copy of an infinite number of beings that are completely identical to ourselves."
“Spanish and American astrophysicists claim the universe we inhabit contains an infinite number of other universes like our own, called O-regions, that we will someday be able to contact. Jaume Garriga, of the University of Barcelona, and Alexander Vilenkin, of Tufts University, call the concept "many worlds in one."
…these universes are likely similar to our own -- share similar life forms, for instance – because they share a key feature with our world: a finite number of distinct histories. A history is the way something has evolved in time and will continue to evolve. Until now, physicists have never been able to make such an assertion.
Are these ideas far-fetched? Alan Guth (MIT) says no. "Do I think that the ideas are viable? Definitely yes. In fact, I very much admire the precision with which the ideas are expressed. I consider the work of Alex Vilenkin and his collaborators to be the leading work in this field."
”Whenever a thought crosses your mind that a terrible calamity might have happened," Vilenkin told UPI, "you can be assured that it has happened in some of the other O-regions." Furthermore, since some O-regions have histories identical or nearly identical to our own, "if you nearly escaped an accident here, then you were not so lucky in some of the O-regions with the same prior history," he said
Guth also believes the many-worlds hypothesis has profound philosophical implications. "We already know that our planet is merely a tiny speck in a vast cosmos, but now we are being told that we do not even hold a unique copyright on our own identities," Guth told UPI. "Instead, each of us is actually only a single copy of an infinite number of beings that are completely identical to ourselves."
More collectibles as entertainment.
I possess nothing of value, but Antiques Roadshow has become my excuse for never cleaning anything, just in case it might be worth a fortune.
I possess nothing of value, but Antiques Roadshow has become my excuse for never cleaning anything, just in case it might be worth a fortune.
Our friend Steve DiBenedetto has a show opening this Saturday, 3/31, 6 to 8, at Baumgartner Gallery. They’ve registered a domain name, but you’ll have to go to their artnet site for a selection of Steve’s ambiguously emphatic paintings. Good stuff.
Hello Monday. Any plans for the weekly IRL meeting? I think last week was a pretty big success. Bring your own Bereket seemed to work well. But there was some talk (I think maybe I started it) of going to Grand Szechun International (hereafter: GSI.) Anybody ready to think about this yet? I know it's only Monday, but you can't start planning for the weekend too soon (and yes, I realize that by counting Thursday as the weekend I might be pushing it.)
Mmmmmm... sea cucumber.
Mmmmmm... sea cucumber.
"Joey... do you like movies about gladiators?"
Peter Graves, Airplane
Peter Graves, Airplane
No maps for these territories is the new William Gibson documentary. Cool web site.
Creativity, Digitally Remastered : Kimmelman for NYT. (I haven't had to sign in to e nyt in a longtime) "Wanna Cookie ?" - Don Rickles
palladin calls 71 clinton a shack.
