Schooled | Chevrolet’s Around the Corner (1937)
Aspiring motorheads and learned gearheads, listen up. Every man should know what the hell a car’s differential is. Up for your enjoyment is a short produced by the folks at Chevrolet back in good ole’ 1937 and serves as the best explanation for the way a differential works that I have ever heard. One up your fellow man if you haven’t already and feast your eyes on the American automotive industry’s standard for production value in its Golden age, you will be glad you did.
A Gentleman’s Primer: BBC’S The Perfect Suit
Kickin’ off your day is BBC’s ever informative primer on the perfect suit. Alistair Sooke takes you down the streets of London, and down Savile Row to have a conversation with Patrick Grant of E. Tautz. While you may feel like dismissing the following as a beginners discussion of suiting and formalware, you are guaranteed to learn a thing or two a gentleman may not have learned in the trenches of menswear.
Approved for bespoke junkies and off-the-peg addicts. Set aside reservations, hunker down, and learn a thing or two. Runtime: 60 Min.
The Morning Tune | Can’t Hardly Wait
Jump starting your day with a needed zap in the derriere, is The Replacements timeless riff and vocal gruff off of Can’t Hardly Wait. We know music is a bit out of character for TGT, but we all can do with a listen. Like starting your day with an unforeseen third shot of espresso, this is the musical equivalent.
The Man Behind The Camera | The Sartorialist
For those of you who don’t know who Scott Schuman is, he is the chap behind the camera and popular internet publication known as the Sartorialist. Frequently inking a column for GQ, Mr. Schuman uses a discerning eye to highlight individuals with the gate and flare afforded by personal style. His subjects range from the disheveled bohemian to the tired road worker catching a break on a shady Neapolitan curb; they span the globe. All and all, the following is a piece on a fascinating photographer and observing life through the lens; people watching.
Most interestingly though, is his philosophy on starting something with limited knowledge. I’m fairly confident that every one of ourselves, can say the same about at least one important thing in our lives. Cheers.
Fret Buzz | The Pedal That Rocked The World
The Sound of Clapton, Hendrix and Zappa. Brought to my attention from a close guitar aficionado friend of mine, is the new release of the short on the pedal that made rock history. The iconic Cry Baby, or the wah-wah pedal as it is also commonly known as, was the revolutionary sound behind the guitar of the 60s. Hendrix rocked his foot on it in London and made history in ’66. Many others followed. It was then that funk on the guitar was decidedly here to stay. Crank it up to 11, and enjoy the feedback.
Within is the video release in HD, complete with a video of Hendrix’s rendition of Voo Doo Child, for a textbook sample of the pedal and guitar’s eponymous voice.
The Color and The Shape | How Ink Is Made
The folks at the Printing Ink Company have put together a beautifully composed video short on the making of ink. Wildly under appreciated, ink is the mode with which shape and color takes place; and to those with a discerning eye, or should I say tact, we can find texture. In today’s world of speedy production, a humdrum knack for efficiency and progress, we observe that texture in printing is a quality that has slowly become irrelevant, especially in books. As a consequence of our own lifestyles we forget that not only can the written word touch our lives, but we can also touch it. For those who need reminding, an old book that belonged to your great grandfather will be reassure of its presence. For now, we watch the art and immensely personal experience that is the creation of shape and color.
Watch it here, as UMG will not allow embedding.
Doing It Right | The Fifties – Lunchroom Manners
For all of those spending your Saturday morning in a unproductive fashion, brush up on your manners with this entertaining PSA on childrens lunchroom manners (1959). Check out the Draper-esque look these kids sport. Lessons learned: Woo the lunch lady, use way too much soap and eat half a chocolate cake. Maintain perfect head of hair.
NYC Idling | Undercity
Find out about the city you tread over. Filmmaker Andrew Wonder and Steve Duncan take you to the underworld of Manhattan, wandering the long forgotten subway stops and breathes new life into them. His mini documentary is making quite the buzz, be sure to check it out after the jump.
Here we have yet another exemplary product of the possibilities afforded by todays DSLRs. Enjoy.
Made to Order – LBJ’s Pants
From the folks at Put This On, treat yourself to one of the funniest presidential sound-bytes I have ever heard.
The Greasy Garage – The Restoration of a BMW R50
It was Richard Costello’s wish to have his son rebuild his once lustrous BMW R50. Born in 1958, it rolled out of the factory confines of the Bayerische Motoren Werke plant in Munich and would have a history that spanned 53 years. His son Bill Costello put together this video of its restoration and perfectly sums up this great machines life and its impact on the family which treasured it.
Well done Mr. Costello, Ride on.
The Gentleman's Topcoat 