How To Drive a Model T
My grandfather (my mother’s father) was an antique car enthusiast, and though the cars he had in his garage when I was younger were far newer than the Model T, watching this video reminded me of him, and put a smile on my face. In it, Ed Hebb, a volunteer at the Henry Ford Estate, shows us how to prepare a Model T for a drive, then takes it for a spin.
What I love, in particular, is the moment where Ed describes what the third pedal in the Model T does. In that moment, as he describes how quickly a person could go from forward to reverse, thanks to this pedal, he talks about how no modern car could do the same. And it was in that moment that I was reminded fiercely of a memory I have of my grandfather. It’s from the August afternoon that my mother and I drove to see him in her then brand-new 1994 Dodge Intrepid. Grandpa looked under the hood and was flabbergasted by what he saw, by how complicated modern car manufacturers had made things. And I imagine that’s the kind of reaction that Ed here might have, too. It’s a reaction that I played up in the book that I’m raising money to finish right now.
Do you have any antique car memories of your own? Ever ride in a rumble seat?
Donald Soffritti Draws Retirement Home Superheroes
Too Much Free Time has posted a series of drawings by the Italian artist Donald Soffritti that depict the heroes and villains of the Marvel and DC universes as they might appear when they reach retirement age. Among his subjects are characters both popular and obscure, including both Wolverine and the Vulture. Check it out and let me know what your favorite is.
John Romita, Sr. Draws Variant Cover for AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #600
John Romita, Sr., one of the most important Amazing Spider-Man artists of all time, is returning to draw a variant cover for #600. Newsarama has the full version, and it’s definitely a sweet piece. A commenter over there was trying to poop on it, saying “this cover looks str8 out of the 1970’s,” obviously not understanding that that’s the fucking point, but I ain’t letting that get me down. Romita, Sr. still has it, in my opinion. What about you?
THE INVENTION OF LYING Just Might Be—No Lie!—The Greatest Movie Ever made
At the end of the trailer for his new film The Invention of Lying, Ricky Gervais tells us, “This is the greatest movie ever made. And, you know what, that might not be a lie. The film stars Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, and Jonah Hill among others, and the premise seems to be that Gervais’s character tells the first lie ever told in a world where people can only speak the truth. This is exactly the kind of speculative fiction I love the most, the kind that takes a really simple “What if?” premise and runs with it.
The Invention of Lying is due out this fall. Thanks to Amanda Dobbins at Buzzfeed for linking this up.
Geek Force FiveCast 184: Mid-90s Genius
In which ECC geeks out about a Mid-90s Genius Playlist that iTunes whipped up for him on a dreary Monday afternoon.
Nine Inch Nails Tour History Tracks Concerts Users Have Been To
PHOTO: Trent Reznor - NIN|JA Tour @ Mansfield, MA, 06-03-2009 on Flickr by acidpolly CC BY-NC-SA
I’ve written previously about Setlist.fm, “a wiki-like service to collect and share setlists.” Today, I discovered Nine Inch Nails Tour History, a similar site geared exclusively toward tracking Nine Inch Nails performances. This comes to us from the fine folks at The NIN Hotline, who are celebrating their tenth anniversary today, and it’s NIN geek’s dream come true.
Not only does NIN Tour History track the concerts I’ve been to. It also tracks the number of times I’ve heard certain songs live, and more. Check out my profile here.
Comic Comfort
I’ve been thinking, lately, about the unique way that geeks are set up to comfort themselves as a result of our tendency to collect things. It’s an idea, not surprisingly, born out of one of those difficult periods everyone goes through. Let me set the scene.
Cutest Mega Man Ever
Maybe this is just the Dad in me, but I think YouTube user craineum’s video of his son dressed up as Mega Man is pretty darned awesome. Thanks to Geekologie for linking this up. It pretty much turned my day around, at least for five minutes.
New Footage from HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE Keeps Turning Up
New footage from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince seems to be popping up every day now, and the HP-geek in me is about to die of overexposure to awesomeness, or of Awesome Sauce poisoning, or something. First, there was the clip of the first five minutes that has been up and down on YouTube all weekend. And now, there are new clips from Yahoo UK and from a French preview that’s found its way onto YouTube.
My favorite bit comes from the Yahoo UK footage.
McGonagall (to Harry, Ron, and Hermione): Why is it, when something happens, it’s always you three?
Ron: Believe me, professor, I’ve been asking myself the same question for six years.
As I mentioned in today’s FiveCast, Stephanie and I are listening to The Deathly Hallows audiobook right now during any and all long trips we take, and I’m listening to the entire audiobook sequence during my walks to and from work. What are you doing to psych yourself up for the arrival of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
Geek Force FiveCast 183: Harry Potter, Etc.
In which ECC geeks out about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and more on a dreary Monday morning.
