c. 1911, by the fascinating Wyndham Lewis
src: University of London
Category Archives: vintage
view001
the past week through my eyes…
tools: Leica M8.1 and Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 (except for “doorway”, taken by a Leica D-Lux3)
Nude 1.
Tagged amazing, art, journal of a nobody, nude 1, nude painting, wyndham lewis
“Why The Leica M is so unique”
During my massive research spree prior to getting my M8, i spent several weeks reading forums, articles, and watching videos. One of the most entertaining discoveries I made was a series of videos on YouTube by a lad named Kai Wong for DigitalRev.com. Who would have thought that Jeremy Clarkson would have had a young bastard asian child!? That’s pretty much what Kai Wong is—while most of the other camera reviews and videos are about as exciting as lifting the toilet seat up, Kai does something unique. He instills his thrill and enthusiasm into cameras and photography in the same way that Jeremy Clarkson instills his enthusiasm into automobiles.
Since that time, I’ve found myself watching lots of DigitalRev videos hosted by Kai—not because I really want the cameras he is reviewing, but because I find the videos very entertaining. Good on ya, Kai! You may not be entirely original, but you’re doing a great job nonetheless. (BTW, Kai also uses an M8 as one of his primary tools)
This is one of my favourite videos—which played a role (along with people like Drew from MotoringConBrio) in convincing me of the magical powers of rangefinder cameras.
Honestly now…
Well this ad is a bit of a farce now, as there are plenty of people who dream about getting a Mitsubishi Evo. Nissan, not so much. If anything this ad is a reminder of how lackluster the 80s/early 90s were for affordable performance cars and how few options people had to finding one. These days, If one cannot afford a new Porsche 911—there are plenty of enjoyable automobiles one can buy to at least enjoy themselves—hell i’d have a Cayman R (as long as it’s PDK) or an Audi TT-RS (as long as it’s DSG) over a 911, so even Porsche realised they could do better.
src: blogAnubis
Vorticists.
This painting is by William Roberts and entitled “The Vorticists at The Restaurant De La Tour Eiffel”, from 1915—holding their copy of the Vorticist magazine “Blast” (issue #1).
src: Articles & Texticles
Fitzroy Chronograph.
I do love nice watches. These days I am less inclined to want things ‘vintage’ and more inclined to want something totally NEW—inspired by the idea of creating my own legacy and my own vintage rather than buying into somebody else’s. More about this in a later post as well…
I was in search for a truly modern, original, and unique chronograph watch. It had to be automatic, and it had to represent 2012, not 1972. It’s easy to find all sorts of ‘vintage chronographs’ on eBay and to buy into some other history—but I wanted to buy a watch that, in 30 years, someone could look at and appreciate for the time it was made in. This is a small company making low-production watches—with unique features like an ‘external’ watchband bar, chunky beautifully made case, unique dial accenting, and a simply gorgeous transparent rear housing.
Last year, I briefly remember seeing a blip about a London brand called Fitzroy launching a series of Automatic (their own, swiss made automatic movements—again, original) and a modern set of stylish watches which I found thoroughly beautiful and original. You won’t meet anyone else wearing one of these…and furthermore, it is a low-production, interesting, and creative timepiece. Fitzroy Automatic Chronographs start at $880. Their standard Automatic watches start at a touch over $500. They supposedly will have a selection of custom fit designed watchbands available for purchase—however as of yet I have not been able to procure any other bands.
I absolutely love this watch. Appreciation of the modern is the vintage of the future.
“The Crowd”
I am intrigued by Wyndham Lewis; the founder of the Vorticism movement of the early 1910s in the UK. It’s been less than 24 hours since I discovered the art and writings of this fine man, yet I am thoroughly fascinated. I have always been taken by the exhuberant Italian Futurism movement of those times, and Mr. Lewis’ adventures seem like the UK’s answer to those Futurist claims. In addition to being a superb artist, Lewis also wrote several books and literary pieces. More on Wyndham Lewis in a future IEDEI post.
this painting is entitled “The Crowd”:
the return of IEDEI.
IEDEI is returning.
However, there are some changes.
The automotive archive for the past 4 years will remain, however this site is evolving into a site about much more than just automobiles. My thoughts are evolving, and so IEDEI will also evolve. From the beginning, the site was never meant to turn into a site only about the automobile—however unfortunately that is what happened to the site. There will occasionally be articles about automobiles, however if one is expecting to find petrol being pumped through your monitor on every visit; this will not be the case. There is much to see, much to appreciate, and much to investigate. Onwards and onwards!
I hope you enjoy the new IEDEI. If you ever want to contribute or if you have something fascinating (remember, not just automobile related)—please email me at IEDEIblog@gmail.com
I also want to thank the many of you who took the time to e-mail you all the kind words and wishes in regards to the blog ending a couple of months ago. It was very nice to read your mails, and i’m still catching up on writing you all back. I felt it was time to ‘start a new idea’….however i felt this site was already so developed and had such a lovely title and image, that it would just be more interesting to start a ‘2nd phase’ of this.
(the photo above was published in a 1931 copy of The Country Gentleman was a prediction of how a farmer will control his crops in the year 2030. Nice flat screen TV design, huh?)
IEDEI bids farewell.
It is with a heavy heart that i’ve decided to discontinue updating IEDEI. I have thoroughly enjoyed posting over the last nearly 4 years and have enjoyed talking and meeting many of you. I am only one person, and simply do not have the capacity to go on posting. It is unfortunate at a time when the blog has been rapidly gaining popularity—-however I simply do not have the time, emotion, or capacity to research and update as I would like. Many posts I make are not simply uploading a photo or linking to outside places. To find that content takes time…..it takes passion….and it takes effort.
With all of this being said…it’s possible that in the future I may re-start this site, however at this time I am not thinking about it. I’ve loved cars since the age of 2…however I’ve also realised that over time—things change.
As a fitting final post….i would like to leave you with a simply wonderful video of 2 cars I love—-and one of which is the center of which everything on this blog was inspired by: the Alpine A110.
Please feel free to email me at IEDEIblog@gmail.com if you’d ever like to collaborate on any projects, or if you’d like me to write an article….or if you just want to talk. The IEDEI site will remain online for the time being, as an archive for people to find and enjoy.
Much love to the gear shifting brothas. This video is for you.
art of the day. Beetle sculpture.
I’ve seen these wire-based car sculptures before, but I love that this VW Beetle wire sculpture is in the middle of the road!
Driverless car and futuristic roads!
from 1957, a vision of the future! It’s like Leave It To Beaver.…except Wally is a girl. Google eat your heart out!
And here’s the kicker, an excerpt from the 1958 Disney show “Magic Highway”. Some fascinating ideas going on here! Here’s hoping that we have this kind of imagination still kicking around for the next 50 years.
src: Micah’s Two Cents
foto of the day. why am I behind the wheel of a Ferrari?
and which Ferrari? How could this happen?
Many of you know I’m not really a fan of Ferraris……never was as a kid, and am still not today. Without getting into the gory details of WHY I don’t like Ferraris much, I found it interesting sitting behind the wheel of this one —-as I actually quite liked the car. Either way……it is worthy of a foto-of-the-day and had a nice Saturday spent in it being driven around random little out-of-city roads with the engine purring behind my overheated head.
See what happens when IEDEI sits inside a Ferrari? The prancing horse logo starts to glow! ha.
ad of the day. Karma.
When I first saw the Fisker Karma, I wasn’t too keen on it. But as time as gone by, I think it is a truly stunning & beautiful car with tremendous attention to detail; interior and exterior. Henrik Fisker is a pretty interesting designer (he also designed 2 of my favourite modern designs; the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin AMV8), and I think he’s designed a pretty remarkable car. I’d have one in black with the full Alcantara interior….and when I mean “full”….i mean REALLY full Alcantara interior (dash, steering wheel, console, seats, etc). Wicked.
And it’s promoted with a pretty fantastic print ad!
1969 East African Safari rally.
An adventure and its documentation. An event which is still alive today as more of a nostalgic event!
http://www.eastafricansafarirally.com/
Processing of Leather.
I am quite fond of leather and suede—the feel, the chemically treated smell, the wearing patterns, and the differences in quality and texture. The other day I found myself searching for explanations of how leather is made, and I found a couple of interesting videos—-3 videos which could not be contrasted any better, but all three of them beautifully filmed in their own way. Most excellent.
ad of the day. become a real driver again.
buy an Alfa Romeo Alfetta! I don’t care that much for the car—–but it’s a hell-of-an ad!
src: productionCars
A310 V6 Prototype a.k.a “PseudoMerak”
I found a strange photo earlier in one of my Alpine books of an A310 prototype—-which made me start searching online for more prototype photos.
The A310 was introduced in 1971 as glorified successor to the Alpine throne, and by 1976 Alpine introduced the car with a 2.7L V6. The car pictured here is a A310 V6 prototype which has seemingly been preserved!
What’s most striking here though, is the Maserati Merak-aping rear end! Was this a disguise for testing purposes or was this really being planned at some point? Even as a die-hard Alpine fanatic, i would think this is outright plagiarism! Obviously the design never actually made it anywhere, as the A110 production continued to 1984 with the design virtually unchanged, aside from body kits, wheel designs, and small tweaks. Maybe this was just an ‘inside joke’ inside Dieppe!
a comparison of a Merak vs. this A310 V6 prototype. HA!
src: Far
foto of the day. A110 and GTV6
Lovely photo sent by reader Michael Duque of his very nice Alfa GTV6 (named “Bella”) parked next to a very early 1965 Alpine A110 (almost looks like an A108 without the signature A110 fog lights). Oh and there’s a Corvette lurking in the background….for atmosphere!
If you have an interesting photo you want to share, send it in!
IEDEI 