collecto-mania

We haven't been up to Sydney for a while, but have oft admired the wares of 224 - Lucas Callaghan's store in Bondi - on the net.  By the looks, they have just had a major sellup via auction.

Amongst a clearly passionate collector's collection of classic 20th century collectibles were some amazing and quirky bits and pieces ... wish we'd been there with the means to bid.

Maybe it's for the best we missed it ... that would have to be the coolest phone ever, though.

readers digest ... social barometer

We have been collecting vintage Readers Digest mags for a few years now ... great and dated articles, and those invaluable opportunities to Enrich Your Wordpower being great motivators.  But the advertising is a major highlight ...

All of these are from the same issue - June '61 - but seriously, every month is just as good, even the '80's ones.

Seriously.

a special mention goes out to the marvelous Caterpillar corporation for telling it like it was - the headline says it all - "Today's bush - tomorrow's farm" - helping us tame this once overgrown land of ours.

As the saying goes ... read 'em and weep.

life in the box

Hmmmmm - big metal box ... so much potential.  We're planning to turn ours into a lock-up workshop, maybe put a deck on top for the views, but having seen a bit of architect/artist/designer Adam Kalkin's work on architectureandhygiene, maybe we're lacking a little ambition ....

How's this pop-out cafe designed for illy (from a few years back now) - unfurls in 90 seconds at the push of a button ... and, most importantly, sells coffee!

Modding beats building anyday.  Nice slideshow here, too, showing a self-contained residential application ... oh, and Kalkin's PushButtonHouse2 ... super-cool!

vans ...

Ever since getting my first kombi van back in '93, I wouldn't seriously consider driving any other type of vehicle ... nice high ride and great carrying capacity ... and road trips are way more fun in a van.

But can you beat those Californian vans for proper '70's cool?
Check out 'Vans and the places where they were.' for some really nice pics.

windmills of our minds ...

Cath's a big fan of those 'Southern Cross' windmill pumps that are scattered thru the dusty paddocks of rural Australia - most country drives we take involve a few 'out the window' blurry snaps of great, rusty bits of iron.  We had occasion to head up towards the NSW border a couple of weeks ago and spotted pretty much the biggest we've ever seen, just outside Shepparton.

Impressive as it is, it rides the 'tourist attraction' / 'functional machine' border - still super beautiful though.

It's next-door neighbour definitely falls into the category of 'nice spot to stop for a devonshire tea' ... not that we're judging.

Will collate a few of our pics of the 'proper' windmills and post them soon.

YAY!

It's been an up-an-down couple of years for all of us Poalroid fans ... but it appears 2010 brings glad tidings.  Looks like the comeback is well and truly on the rails.

It's called the PIC-1000, made by the reborn Polaroid company, and is set to be released later this year.

Compatible with the classic 600 film as well as Polaroid 100 film, and will be released in silver metallic finish, AND in the super-classy faux timber that we could never say no to.  We're really glad to have read the news on gizmodo (more product photos on electricpig), and are guessing that the best bit will be that access to 600 films will improve for those of us who have held on to our 70's and 80's instant cameras.

It's a golden age we're living in.

 

genius ... or too much free time?

WOW!

This is pretty nuts - a wooden ipod mini, fully functional, made without glue.

Pls check out Josh D's flickr set for more photos - including the matching dock and i-trip transmitter.

Will wait for the ipod touch version - though the risk of splinters may deter some ...

and so it begins ...

That's right ... in the Age newspaper just prior to Christmas ... the reporter seems to blame the young fellas who were injured ... hmmm ...

We ask - WHY MUST WE BLAME THE VICTIMS?!? Don't look now, but perhaps the machines are running the media? And don't trust the traffic lights either, friend.

rise of the machines

Say what you will about the growth of the freeway systems in Melbourne (we all have to work together to burn off whatever oil is left in this planet of ours), they have given us all an opportunity to drive through areas we may not have seen before.

We suspect that these guys have been secretly meeting behind their once-secluded warehouse for years, plotting the demise of we pesky humans ("they look like ants from up here!"). Thankfully Eastlink has exposed their lair. If you see a cherrypicker rolling down your street, or pretending to be helping with cable-installation, think sabotage - it's them or us!

Can't afford to be complacent - the machines are talking to each other.