from russia with love -helicopter scene

Above, the Macmillan Company New York, Library edition, published in 1957.
From Russia With Love (film release 1963) was the second of the EON James Bond productions; this particular novel was possibly chosen for adaptation as it was a current favorite of John F. Kennedy. Further reading.

Could go on and on about red wine with fish, the chess match, catches horizontal, gypsy fights, etc. but just looking at the helicopter chase here. That scene and the ensuing boat chase were filmed in the west of Scotland, an area called Argyll and Bute, standing in for the plot location of Turkey. The helicopter chase had to have been influenced by the cropduster scene in Hitchcock's 1959 North By Northwest, though we do get a pilot's eye view here as well and some great scenery. Years ago we went on a hike in this area and found a burned out helicopter... same one?? Maybe crashing is common here...


Ian Fleming and Sean Connery on set. Hadn't seen this photo...
* * * * *

The chopper was eventually fully restored and sold. Further reading.
Just because a grenade dropping chopper is after you,
no excuse not to tuck your tie in...


Turnbull&Asser turnback (cocktail) cuffs in full effect.
The plunky AR-7 described by Q as a .25. Modified from usual .22?
"I'd say one of their aircraft is missing."

llbean pull (pop) over

Was not a huge fan of these shirts until now... saw this recently on ebay. Older LLBean wool pull-over (pop-over?) in a Forbes(?) plaid. A bunch of other materials and makers out there... activate search.

johnson woolen mills -1

One of my favorite Vermont fencepost brands (that I thought was a little unsung to tell the truth) is Johnson Woolen Mills. But dig beyond the US based website and you can find Beams collaborations and a million colorways of the Happy Vest... big in Japan as they say.

The renaissance of Johnson Woolen Mills — arguably the most iconic of all Vermont brands — began in 1998. Like many mills of its kind, the Johnson enterprise had a rich and storied history, but by the late '90s it was teetering. The mill had lost money for 12 straight years starting in 1986, and Stacy Manosh's father, Delmar, was looking to sell. There were few takers, of course, but Stacy decided she couldn't bear to see the company close, so she and her ex-husband, local entrepreneur Howard Manosh, bought it from Stacy's father. Stacy was ecstatic that the fate of her beloved family business — she is the fourth generation of the Barrows family to own and run the company — was finally in her hands. She decided to pour everything she had into making it a success again.

"This is a very hard business to survive in," Stacy says. "I feel like we're the last of the Mohicans. Of the hundreds of mills operating in the United States, there's only four left and we're the only one in New England. We, like Woolrich, and most other American companies, could have our products made overseas, but we don't want to. I want the heart and soul of northern Vermont to continue to be an essential ingredient in every piece of woolen wear we make.

On the other hand," she says with a smile, "you can sell Vermonters only so many sets of hunting clothes, so we had to do something new."
-via Vermont Life

* * * * *

"Longley-Wood [Rachel Longley-Wood, manager of the JWM factory store] says that about 35 people work in the factory, "but we're expanding. Japan is buying from us. It's the lively colors."

At a time when most American clothing is made overseas, more than 80 percent of the Johnson Woolen Mills' revenue comes from overseas sales, as the company had to find some way to expand beyond its traditional base. No one needs more than one hunting outfit, and Johnson woolens seem almost indestructible."
-via BostonGlobe

The real itch I want to scratch is learning more about the Malone (Adirondack) plaid that JWM uses. I had the muted grey plaid as a jacket years ago, and the woolen pants (sometimes called iceman or icecutter's pants) are seriously bulletproof (maybe not as easy a sell for everyone...) anyway that will be in part 2. Good old data mining below.

larry vs harry cargo bike

Larry vs. Harry Bullit Classic.

Aluminium frame, stainless steel nuts, bolts and discs.
7-gear SRAM i-Motion hub.
Hydraulic front brake.
Aluminium wheel rims, puncture-proof Schwalbe tires.
1800 euros I think.... gulp.

kona cargo bike

Kona Ute.
Long-wheel base utility bike with disc brakes front and rear.
Stock with fenders, bell, wooden deck.
Waterproof pannier, and center-mount kickstand.
Around $800?? Still ouch.

massive attack -heligoland

Slightly late on this... but new one from Massive Attack; Heligoland, features guest vocals from Damon Albarn, Hope Sandoval, Martina Topley-Bird, Guy Garvey and Tunde Adebimpe. Long time cohort Horace Andy makes a return alongside Massive Attack founding members Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall. Bit dark, like it used to be...

Song below is Paradise Circus; fan made video (created with excerpts from The Fall) as the official video is interesting yes but vaguely nsfw.



This track and Girl I Love You hitting all the Massive notes for me. I'm betting OMIL has bought the triple vinyl gatefold edition already... oink.

quotable -down by law

Try and watch the end of Down By Law and not get back into cardigans... fantastic. Tough choice, do you want to stay and live at the Tintop or head up to where two roads diverge in a wood... Either way, you have a closet full of Uncle Luigi's old clothes to get you ready. If you saw this film around its release or in the cinema you will be nicely surprised by the cleaned up dvd versions out there now. Crisp B&W from cinematographer Robert Muller (who had a lock as DP on classic 80's American cinema; Mystery Train, Barfly, Down by Law, To Live and Die in L.A., Paris Texas, Repo Man...) Jack (Lurie): So is this how you dressed on the outside.. sort of 'garbage man on parade'? 

Zack (Waits): ... Jack, you thinking of doing some squirrel hunting? Recommended: The Road Not Taken -Short Lecture

in the eye of the whale

Kate Miller directed this short film about Marine Mammal Conservation Through the Arts founder and photographer Bryant Austin's efforts to compose and produce high resolution, life-size photographs of whales. From the east coast, it is too easy to poo-poo the cali-speak and connections etc... (sorry CA) but must be pretty intense to see these guys so close.

bookmark -denim debate

Ryan Pletty and Joe Gannon have quarterbacked a project called Denim Debate to test a bunch of selvage jeans from various manufacturers. I was lucky enough to get the nod, and am currently enjoying a pair from NYC'S Jean Shop. The site will be updated with notes, photos, factory tours etc. My first thoughts here.

"The debate is targeted at everyone from the denim snob, to the person who doesn’t understand why we delay washing our jeans." -via DenimDebate

get lost

Just found these Get Lost prints; letterpressed by Doug Wilson directly onto old maps of the USA. They are for sale through KeepCalmGallery and it looks like you can request the location etc. Can't imagine why you wouldn't. Signed by the artist, 14 inches square, 30squid. #like.

harder than it looks

Harder to take these than I thought. Hats off to Foster for making it look easy. 'Shoes are Snocraft (no longer around, but were made in Norway, Maine... that sounds cold).

susan abbott

Found artist Susan Abbott's blog Let Me Show You Vermont a while back and she has agreed to share some of her images. Fantastic pen sketches of Vermont vernacular architecture that look like they are in permanent winter [party at my house, it is the one with the white clapboards, etc. -ed.]. There is a wider range of subject matter and styles at her artist site SusanAbbott.

have the papers arrived yet fawlty?

Fridays are tie days... for many British regiments including the Royal Artillery, in which Major Gowen (resident at Fawlty Towers) served. This particular tie is often called the Gunner Tie, and might work for those that are averse to regimental stripes (i.e. me). Long/short, it is still a regimental tie, but the lightning pattern really takes it into geometric land.

"The inspiration for the character of The Major in Fawlty Towers was said to be one Captain Lancaster — John Cleese's Latin teacher as a young lad... Major Gowen, played by Ballard Berkeley was a bumbling, quintessential stiff upper lipped English gentleman. And proud of it! Well known for his distrust of foreigners in general he could always be found wandering about Fawlty Towers enquiring if the newspapers had arrived yet. The only thing more important to Major Gowen than the arrival of the newspapers to keep himself abreast of the cricket scores was the opening of the bar."
-via FawltySite.

Sidenote: repp ties are so-called for the weave; nothing to do with reputation or clubs or schools. A repp tie was made from silk that's woven in such a way as to produce tight diagonal ribs. Often, striped ties for schools, clubs, and regiments are rep ties, but not all rep ties are school/regiment etc..

Most silk neckwear is produced in only a few weaves: rep (with longitudinal ribs), ottoman (with crosswise ribs), crepe (with a broad range of grained surface effects) and faille (with conspicuous crosswise ribs).
-G. Bruce Boyer