Are you Popular? (circa 1947)

This is an example of post-World War social guidance films and golly jee whizz, is it a hoot! It can only be a positive thing that no one would ever make these instructional videos today. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqpe7Y_6rmQ&] Favorite moments: “Or if you’d rather go with the gang on a skating party and weenie roast. We’d…

The Great Paris Train Wreck

The Gare Montparnasse became famous for the derailment on 22 October 1895 of the Granville–Paris Express, which overran the buffer stop. The engine careered across almost 30 metres (100 ft) of the station concourse, crashed through a 60-centimetre (2 ft) thick wall, shot across a terrace and smashed out of the station, plummeting onto the Place de…

The Apocalypse came early for the Salton Riviera

There is a place where beaches are made not of sand, but of the skeletons of millions of fish. Luxury yacht clubs are now frequented only by pigeons, vacation homes lay open to the elements and RV camp grounds look more like burial grounds. (c) above Jeremy Engleman & JBennett Fitts below Not 60 miles from the…

Paris is not all wine & cheese: VICE meets France’s Toughest Rappers

No Wine and Cheese here. Another gem from my (very unofficial) partner (so unofficial, they don’t even know it yet) VICE magazine, the lovely and bi-lingual Cleo Le-Tan bravely goes where most Parisians have never gone before and ventures into the suburban ghettos of Paris. Gaining an audience with underground rappers in the dark alleyways…

The Sensationally Sarcastic Art of Marc Johns

I‘ve been curiously following the work of Marc Johns for quite a long time and have recently noticed he’s sort of everywhere now– on Tumblrs, tattoos, iPhone cases etc. His humor is as dry as it comes and his drawings are wonderfully whimsical. “I like to create absurd situations by combining things together that don’t…

Paris Fashion Week for Dummies (VIDEO)

You didn’t expect Paris fashion week to go by without MessyNessy getting in on the action, did ya? Nessy and her pal Kath went down to the Jardin des Tuileries for the Viktor & Rolf show to get a better understanding of the street style and ‘fashionista’ culture that has become such an integral part…

McDonalds Pineapple Big Mac Ad, 1984 (Yes, this really happened)

I‘ve tried Hawaiian pizzas but this is just going too far, McDonalds. Going-too-far. Also, I may very well have have nightmares about giant pineapples tonight. Thanks Ronald. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm_r_DUaJu8&]

10 Places to Dine à la Belle Epoque in Paris

Forget the Michelin-starred restaurants, Paris is all about time-traveling! 1. L’Ecurie: Drinking with Hemingway 58, rue de la Montagne Ste-Geneviève, 5eme This is my favorite place to get drunk tipsy on red wine with a good paté de campagne and Steak Frites. I imagine Hemingway would have loved it too. In fact, he only lived…

The Ever-Optimistic World of Vintage Comics for Newlyweds

On my internet travels today, I came across an old American comic genre for young newlyweds. Young Brides and the Secrets of Young Brides, provide an eye-opening peak into popular culture before the sexual revolution. What strikes me the most about these cover pages is how laughably pessimistic the story lines are for a publication…

1970s Fashion: London Reacts to the Platform Shoe

More evidence of the fashion apocalypse that was the 1970s! “I don’t know what they do to your feet but the manufacturers and the fashion editors say, ‘Not to worry, they look great‘”. (This must be how the brainwashing started). A vintage documentary from the archives of British Pathé, rounded up some Londoners for a…