Bolus

Babes Against Booze

Those sexy ladies of the Women's Christian Temperance Union

hat tip: Robin Rhyne from Robin's Custom Leaders and Flies.

Austin Chronicles Part 3

Saturday 4/5/08

Grabbed some pastries and headed off with the brood to South Lamar for a drop-in at Austin Vintage Guitars and Ray Henning's Heart of Texas Music (the shop where Stevie Ray Vaughn bought his signature "Number One" '63 Strat and immortalized by King of the Hill).  Hawkspawn and Hawkette (who occasionally dabble in musical performance) are like kids in a candy store. Hawkspawn noodles with a Telecaster and Hawkette an Alamo Fiesta, both updating their Christmas lists.

From there we do a short photo-op at the Broken Spoke, the venerable Austin cowboy honky tonk and home of the world's greatest chicken fried steak.

Then back to the Expo center to catch Day 2 of the Lonestar Round Up car show, and the joint is packed to the gills.  Plenty of good stuff right at the gate, including a display of vintage drag strip warriors from the Texas Timing Association, who indulge the crowd by occasionally firing up the old nitro cacklers. Nearby is a row of kickass customs including Mercury Charlie's Nadine and an array of Gary Howard customs, including the '54 Ford and '62 Coupe de Ville he built for Jimmy Vaughn.

Jimmy is there, along with Billy Gibbons who has brought along his Rudy Rodriguez built roadster. Here it is, facing off against Von Franco's "Lightning Bug" T-roadster.

After that, a blur of nice machinery. Plowboy's Atomic Punk and Lunar Lander:

A ('52?) Mercury M-1 pickup custom (yes, Ford sold trucks in Canada under the Mercury name from '46 to '68)

Panel-laced '55 Chevy custom painted at West Coast Choppers:

Satin crayon box:

Contrast in eras -- '60s, '30s, '50s.

Nice bass boat sparkle.

Jackalope!

The farmer in me dug this little One Shot decoration.

On the way out we run into our friend Reggie Hill and his family. A former UT football player turned tech industry exec, Reggie is a member of the Kontinentals Car Club who throw this little shindig. On the side he works on his incredible stable of traditional style Ford hot rods, and cooks the best homemade BBQ you'll ever taste. If that weren't cool enough, Reggie's sons Dax and Kerrington are nationally-ranked high school swimmers at Round Rock High and U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls. So now you know why they call this corner of Texas "Hill Country."

Front: Reggie's folks Mr. & Mrs. Don Hill of Taylor. Back: wife Marilyn, Reggie, Dax, Kerrington, and nephew Jamal.

Speaking of barbecue, on the way out of the show we buzz over to Donn's on Decker Lane for the brisket, as recommended by Bolus reader "Donnie Darko." Verdict: outstanding. Head back to the hotel to wash off the fairground dust, big doin's tonight.

Read All About It

En route to your local newsstand: Garage Magazine #17, adorned by the lovely personage of Dita Von Teese perched gracefully upon the ribbed fender of Jay Leno's Bugatti Atlantique. Inside you'll find a smorgasbord of automotive amusement, including a story that almost (literally) killed me: the bizarro lost Mexican treasure epic of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Orbitron. More on that below, after you have a few minutes to enjoy the cover.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the Orbitron story. Snag a copy and join me as I travel to Mexico to trace the Orbitron's 40-year lost journey from glory to ignominy to redemption; along the way find out how I escaped electrocution, evaded angry gun-toting sex shop clerks, got drunk at a drive-in whorehouse, broke my ancient family curse, and became El Sapo, the honorary Mexican outlaw biker toad. Also involved: Montezuma, Billy the Kid, Hells Angels, fightin' roosters, Pancho Villa, Black Jack Pershing, and intergalactic aliens. And all of it 99 and 44/100% true. A  wee snippet of video:

Anyhoo, it's a pip. I'll be in Austin this weekend with the Garage Mag crew celebrating the issue wrap, and the fact that I lived to see it.

Bump 'n' Grind

No doubt about it, I likes me some of that old school burlesque and naturally have a high regard for those intrepid gals who are keeping that venerable profession alive.  Foremost is the lovely Jo Weldon who practices her art in and around New York (including a chaired professorship at the New York School of Burlesque) and records her adventures at the very entertaining Burlesque Daily blog.  Highly recommended.

Also highly recommended, a trio of NYC burlesque gals who also hold blackbelts in vintage Sixties Go-Go: Angie, Helen, and Tara, the Fabulous Pontani Sisters. If you ever have the opportunity to see these winsome siblings perform (solo, or as go-go backups to bands like the mysterious masked surf rockers Los Straitjackets), don't miss it.

Ball of the Day

Day 3 of our 3 day Hot Lucy Special: Our gal in the March 23, 1945 issue of "Yank." (Insert punchline here.)

Thanks again to Captain Victory for the submissions.

Ball of the Day

Day 2 of our 3-day Hot Lucy Special

Ball of the Day

Guys weaned on TV are often surprised to learn that Lucille Ball was quite a dish in her day. To commemorate, we're running a 3-day Ball of the Day Hot Lucy Special, thanks to the diligent work of reader Captain Victory.

Day 1: smoke 'em if you've got 'em.

Ball of the Day

Submitted by Greg McCoy: All-American U-Control Fireball.

No, the PLANE, stupid.

Ball of the Day

Hooray for Hollywood! Volleyball accompanied by the lovely Miss Scarlett Johansson.

(Submitted by Larry G.)

Ball of the Day

Submitted by Larry G:  ball girl at the Spanish Open