Faux 3-D animation which has a feel and look of being way ahead of its time, detailing the particular way Chrysler cars were built in 1939 (film made for the 1939 New York World's Fair) -
On a somewhat related note, check out the short movie about the mischievous spring running loose - click here. "A Case of Spring Fever" (1940) - source. Sponsored by Chevrolet Motor Company, by the way.
Oh, and this is how auto-moto manufacturing is done in Italy - click here.
Today's pictures & links:
Build your house on a rock... or a globe.... or on the Moon.
A nice red cottage... on top of the 85 meter high Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. A daring installation by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg.
"His ultimate goal is to place a similar cottage on the Moon" (tentative date 2012) - more info.
------------
"Telharmonium" Gigantic Synthesizer, 1906
19-meter long musical synthesizer "Telharmonium" (weight around 200 tons) was the grand-daddy of all sound synthesizers, but unfortunately the sounds it produced were not particularly good... However, the sheer size and ambition of this thing are astounding. What you see on the first picture is only the keyboard! Photos below show the actual monster hidden in the cellar (more info)
Spraygraphic site has an interview with the artist Lacey Jane Roberts. She says, "Most of my work consists of large-scale site-specific knitted installations that are made primarily out of acrylic yarn that I knit on children’s toy knitting machines."
------------
Russian way of fixing a house
Why bother with expensive renovations? When government officials and other authorities visit Ekatirenburg, there is always a quick fix:
As a continuation of our article Anti-Riot Police Vehicles, here is a look at the newest SWAT "Riot Truck". The info and images were sent to us by a representative of the ISBI Company, which has a manufacturing plant in Bogota, Colombia. We include his text and pictures with little editing, to pause and reflect on the conflicted and often unstable life in Colombia:
Police and crowd brutality is a fact of life in Colombia. Multiple riots (including Farc Guerrillas, who attack riot vehicles with rifles) cause the Colombian government (and local SWAT teams) to order and often use the reinforced vehicles such as shown here.
The vehicles have to be able to move and shoot water at the same time. This is achieved by using an additional Cummins diesel engine (electronic). The water requirements are twice the international standards. They have to hold at least 11,500 liters of water. Maintenance of the pump can be made from inside the vehicle (thru two doors that access the engine room).
The range of the water cannon is 55 meters. They are operated from the inside through the "joystick" controls. The operator can turn the cannons (and monitors), and also to open and close the pneumatic valves (actuators). Four video color cameras are located on the roof, plus a reverse camera. All digitally recorded for future reference.
The paint has to resist countless stone attacks and should not burn from Molotov attacks.
The armor sometimes can go up to .50 caliber BMG (Browning Machine Gun) UL 752 lLevel 10 (80mm thick glass). The screens have to be made from steel. Wire is not accepted because it bends with large bricks. The screens have hinges so that the glass can be easily cleaned. The windshield screen itself is electric.
The plow is hydraulic. It has a 3 ton capacity. The tires can be protected with tyron bands, runflats, or filled with polyurethane. They have 3 gun ports to shoot tear gas canisters.
The vehicles have to work at high altitude such as that of Bogotá. The chasis can be Kenworth or International - 6X4 or 6X6.
Due to the human rights requirements we do not mix water with chemicals or dies. These vehicles do not produce electric shocks. But believe me, the water pressure alone will disperse an angry crowd. The price of one of these vehicles starts at around US$350,000.
Please help to identify and to find out what sort of vehicle is shown on that image. We can read "Television Detector", which implies some sort of wavelength scanner...
UPDATE: Thanks for all the great info! This is a 1960s Commer TV detector van used to find people who hadn't paid their TV Licence in the UK (to keep BBC programming ad free).
Bizarre titles, even stranger storylines, cheesy effects and dead-serious acting (I am not acting in a B-movie, what are you talking about? This is the defining point of my career!). All this adds to the esoteric charm, and even to the addiction that some people feel toward vintage movies and posters - here are some examples that might tickle you fancy:
These leeches are not a female kind, but no less vicious and hungry:
Why we did not hear about this beast before? This thing could eat King Kong for breakfast! -
Another kind of monster... is alive:
And this guy is alive as well! (I wonder if there would be a movie about them both battling each other in this "undead" condition?)
Some of the modern movie posters are worthy of mention, for an entirely different reason. Check out this movie poster.... Creepy! (for the whole collection of various September 11 "premonitions" in posters and art, click here) -
Thunderstruck at their own powers...
It seems that B-movie posters were often much better looking than a movie itself... just like paperback covers in the 1950s were often better executed than purple prose inside:
"Boiling tale of mad love that shocks even the UnEarthly..." Check that out -
"Posterman" Daniel Strebin has a huge number of great posters in his collection, which we encourage you to browse and perhaps choose some to buy.
Some radical science fiction (especially thrilling are Japanese posters, somehow they combine more monsters and dangers per square inch than seems even possible):
Classic stuff, no less creepy today -
The brain.... and the hand.... that would not die!!! -
This is by no means a definitive collection (for example, want the surreal movie posters from Poland? Check out this site!)... send us tips about other cool posters and movies and we may write a solid article about it all.
