Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen was a combative and wild actor whose off screen infamy, appetite for adventure, and Hollywood roles defined the Vietnam-Era anti-hero. As a child, Steve struggled with dyslexia (respect) and bounced around foster homes, eventually settling at the California Boys Republic in Chino California. Here McQueen found footing and sparked his interest in acting.

At the beginning of his acting career, McQueen subsidized his living expenses with winnings from weekend motorcycle races. In 1999, McQueen was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame to commemorate his life-long love and contributions to the sport.

Think of a Brad Pitt that shoots guns, smokes two packs a day, races motorcycles and Ferraris, gets in fights, has a slew of wives, does his own stunts, flies WWI biplanes, and is the highest paid man in the business.

In December of 1979, McQueen was diagnosed with mesothelioma, the topic of many of late night advertisement and holder of the coveted highest pay per click advertisement on Google AdWords. McQueen refused to take his death sentence for granted and went to Mexico to try a sketchy treatment involving coffee enemas. I couldn't make that up. His loosing battle with cancel eventually ended in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua on November 7th 1980. Steve McQueen was a man's man.

Here are some more links,
Steve McQueen (Wikipedia),
Steve McQueen (IMDB),
Bullitt (Netflix Watch Instantly),
Steve McQueen (Life Archive),
Steve McQueen (Motorcycle Hall of Fame),
Mesotholioma Wikipedia,

Raymond Carey and his 1963 John Deere 420

Meet Raymond Carey and his 1963 John Deere 420. I saw him plowing his driveway right off Highway 137 in Albion Maine. For Mainards, clearing snow with a large piece of machinery is as satisfying as popping the air pockets on protective wrap.

Raymond enthusiastically let me take photos of him doing his daily task and we chatted for some time. He was quick to say that he had recently turned 89 and he was wearing his fifteen-year-old Carhartt jacket .

Here are some more links,
My Picasa Raymond Carey Photo Album,
John Deere Crawler Forum,
A John Deere 420 for Sale (5000),
A 420 in Action (Youtube)

Short Cruising Boots

In the last couple of years there has been a lot of hoopla about rubber hunting boots such as the iconic Wellington. Although unpractical and clunky, Wellington boots typify the heritage movement that has captured the imaginations of fashionistas and bloggers the world over. Despite their symbolic heritage, I never felt like dropping 140 dollars on uncomfortable, knee-high boots to wear twice a year and avoided the silhouette altogether.

I stumbled across these short rubber boots at a sailing outfitters on the central Maine coast. I really like the Short Cruising Boots made by the nautical company Gill. Based in Nottingham England, Gill makes market leading technical sailing equipment based around the ethos, Respect the Elements. Although not as classic as the Viking by Harvik 10 inch , pictured bellow, the Short cruiser is a technical boot anchored in functionality and performance. It has removable soles and a quick dry polyester lining. They come in European sizes and are available here for $47.

Here is a photo of them in action on a warm February afternoon.

Sunset in Harpswell Maine

I took these photos around sunset in Harpswell Maine on Friday with my Canon and f2.8 17-55. The panorama above is a eight images stitched together using Hugin. I enjoyed the contrasting texture between the rough plastic and smooth fiberglass of a ship's hull on the photo below. The originals are avaliable on my Picasa page.