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Friday, May 18, 2018

Saturn V, 80s Redux, Modern Gothic and Model Building With Brass


It’s difficult to believe that the United States landed a man on the Moon almost 50 years ago.

Without the mighty Saturn V rocket such a trip would have never been impossible.

Speaking as someone who witnessed the birth and development of the United States space program I can testify that it was a long, arduous and dangerous road to complete the Saturn V rocket.

Lives and equipment were lost on the way to the historic flight that propelled the Apollo astronauts to the Moon.

Author Eugen Reichl and Schiffer Books present the complete chronicle of the development and launch of the historic rocket in Saturn V America’s Rocket To The Moon.

The book is brimming with archival photos, charts and graphs accompanied by gripping text that delves into the history behind the rocket and its development.

The Saturn V took man to the Moon but it did far more than that, including launching Skylab into orbit around the Earth.

Have you ever wondered whatever happened to the musicians and performers who transformed music in the 1980s?  Are they still producing music?  Exactly what are they doing and where are they?

All those questions are answered in photographer Mike Hipple’s 80s Redux.

Mike has compiled a photo gallery of 40+ musicians from over 40 years ago as they appear today.

Included with each photo study includes individual biographical text telling the history of each performer and what they have been doing since their heyday.

Musician fans are sure to want this fascinating book that proves once again that musicians never die, they simply fade away.

When I first started teaching nearly 15 years ago the big fashion craze of the time was Gothic.

Students strode around dressed in all black with white face makeup, darkened eyes and black lips.

Boys tended to wear long black trench coats and girls often wore lace enhanced black skirts, blouses and slacks complete with black platform shoes and equally kinky and decorative purses, bags, etc.

A lot has chnged in the world of Gothic.

Modern Gothic by Jamie Mahon provides a photographic art gallery of the here and now of Gothic fashion and lifestyle.

Gothic has come along way as it pertains to fashion, makeup and overall appearance.

Black is still basic but the dowdy look is passé as women dare to dress provocatively and seductively.

This ain’t your Granma’s Gothic!

If you’re familiar with my website then you’re probably aware that I also review model kits-plastic model kits.

But, what if models were made of brass and required a sophisticated skill set few people can master?

Model Building With Brass, by Ken Foran, demonstrates how model making has reached a whole new zenith with a beautiful selection photos of models skillfully constructed out of brass.

Airplanes, cars, ships-all are shown along with complete photographic instructions as to how to build them

Learn what tools are required, how to weld, form parts and there’s even a section on how to correct your mistakes when you mess up.

It is truly amazing conglomeration of photos and text that demonstrate the incredible amount of skill, patience and creativity it takes to build sophisticated models out of brass.