Sergio Pininfarina 1926-2012 RIP

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Sergio Pininfarina headed the Turin design studio that created the most beautiful sports cars in the world.   Alfa Romeos, Lancia, but especially Ferraris.   The elegance of Pininfarina’s designs reminds us that Italian design harkens back to the Renaissance, the timelessless of Michelangelo, Botticelli,  and Da Vinci.

True, there were other Italian designers:  Touring of Milan did graceful Aston Martins, Alfa Romeo’s and Maseratis.  Bertone did IMHO some ugly designs of the 1970s-1980s.  Scaglietti designed some bold and beautiful cars, like the 612 Ferrari and the 353 MM.   But Pininfarina was the biggest and the greatest of them all. Read More →

Our Rich Access to Knowledge

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The other night I read–well, actually just perused—Malinowski’s Kiriwina:  Fieldwork Photography 1915-1918–an amazing book about the Polish-born father of modern cultural anthropology’s stay in Papua and the Trobiand Islands.  He went to New Guinea and studied the inhabitants there with unprecedented rigor.  I also listened to an Argentine pianist named  Bruno Leonardo Gelber play Beethoven’s magnificent sonata #14, the Moonlight Sonata.  Then I turned to French photographer Robert Doisneau, looking at images he took of Les Halles, the famous French outdoor marketplace that dated back to the 14th century, only to be torn down in 1971 by President Pompidou to build the much-reviled Centre Pompidou / Beaubourg.  Some called it an oil refinery posing as a cultural center, and many Parisians lamented the loss of the famous market.   Read More →

Our History in 2′: By a Gifted High School Student

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I recently got this link to an amazing little video, put together by a high school student somewhere.  Who is this kid anyway?  The credits at the end don’t make this very clear.  Music is great too.

It was sent to me by Dick Lapalm, who happened to be Nat Cole’s manager and who is still active as a jazz promoter.

It is pretty phenomenal.  It’s only two minutes long.  The arresting images, however, capture eons of human history and time.  Be sure to watch full-screen.  To comment on this post, click Read More →