Yow! Tempis fugit and all that. Many important items to cover so let's get right to it. First up, the latest issue of Garage Magazine has hit the newsstand, adorned with the gracefully aggressive presence of adult cinema star Aria Giovanni. If you can peel your eyes from the cover and browse the contents, you will see a couple of contributions by Yours Truly, including the saga of legendary mad speed scientist Gale Banks, the strange-but-true tale of Chicago indoor drag racing, and a history of the greaser crowd's favorite house of coutier, Dickies of Fort Worth. You will also find Coop's Hemingway-esque epic of racing in Mexico's Carrera Panamericana.
Conclusion: I pity the fool whose library lacks this fine periodical! Available wherever fine magazine are sold - including Borders, Barnes & Noble, Wal Mart, and 7-11. And speaking of Gale Banks, give the man a warm welcome as a new sponsor! Spank that ad on the right sidebar and browse his amazing selection of go-fast goodies for your car and/or truck. With the help of Gale and his friendly staff, you too can avoid the shame and embarrassment of Drivetrain Anemia.
The House Recommends
Several new and very overdue additions to the blogroll: ink-stained Beantown stalwart Jules Crittenden; the American Digest blog of West Coast Pajamas Media editor Gerard Van der Leun; ex-Maxim editor Greg Gutfeld, who has driven more HuffPo moonbats into babbling dementia than the brown acid, man; milblogger/combat artist Michael Fay of Fire and Ice; and, what is probably my most overdue link-add ever, The Jalopy Journal / HAMB from my ol' Austin pal Ryan Cochran. What he started as a proto-blog at the University of Oklahoma in the mid 90s has now mutated into a 20,000-headed hydra of hot rod cognoscenti, and the single most important automotive site on the internet. Ignore it at your peril.
Priceless Treasures From the Iowahawk Museum
Here's the latest acquisition of the Product Liability Nightmare Design Wing: a mint vintage 1968 Mattel "Creeple Peeple" factory, the generous Christmas gift of the museum's favorite smokin'-hot female patron. For those of you too young to remember these items, Creeple Peeple was part of Mattel's defunct "Thingmaker" toy line, the high concept of which was to put high temperature plastic injection-molding technology into the hands of 7-year olds. Plug your Thingmaker heating element into the wall socket, attach mold, squirt in a dose of magic PlastiGoop(TM), remove mold, and voila! Out emerges a cool kewpie doll that you can play with while recuperating at the pediatric burn unit.
Got a line on any other item from the Thingmaker series -- like Creepy Crawlers, Fright Factory, EEEKS! and (especially) Incredible Edibles? Drop me a line!
Hawkeye Hoosegow Honey of the Week
Spotlight on Jessica! This week's honoree from the mugshot files of Des Moines' Polk County Jail was brought to our attention by vigilant hoosegow-watcher Tom B. of Marshalltown, Iowa, who was understandably smitten by Lady J's intoxicating eyes, pouting lips, and impressive $113,500 bond for multiple charges of first degree robbery, endangerment, and alleged "on-going criminal activity."
Congratulations and good luck to both Tom and Jessica. And remember, as always: all Hoosegow Honeys are innocent until convicted in a court of law!
Heaps of the Week
Got a Hawaiian holiday email a few weeks back from Cole Foster and his lovely bride Susan detailing their fun under the palms of Waikiki, as well as completion pics of Cole's latest projects. Cole, the NorCal legend of metalwork and hair grooming featured here previously, had certainly earned the vacation after these jobs. First, a metaphysically flawless Westergard-style '36 Ford for Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett:
The Hammett coupe is slated to make its official debut at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona a few weeks hence. I plan to be on hand, and will fetch many more pics of this incredible taildragger. Cole also recently completed this supernasty '48 H-D Flathead bobber featured in the current issue of 'The Horse' magazine:
Much more of where that came from at Cole's official site, Salinas Boys.
Flash - Japan swamped by American car imports! Dan Collins (no, not the blogger, the Los Angeles tattoo artist / hotroddist / psychobilly) forwards this picture of his swank '38 Ford pickemup looking wistfully out over Yokohama harbor, flanked by a quartet of righteous all-American choppers (including builds from Indian Larry, Jeff Decker and the aforementioned Cole Foster). Some sort of experimental Godzilla-Mothra-Gamera defense system? Nope. Dan and machines were in the exotic Far East for the annual Mooneyes Hot Rod Custom Show.
Finally, Iowahawk reader "Pontiac Ed" Raden forwards this delicious find in an Iowa barn: a rare 1970 Torino Cobra 429 SCJ 4-speed drag pack with a 9" Detroit Locker. A scant 47k miles on the clock, it's been in hibernation since 1985. And for sale!
Sorry suckers, too late. This fine specimen of over-the-top 1970 factory muscle followed Ed back home to Chicagoland, where he is administering a careful restoration.
Lucky so-and-so.
Grumble.
The Coupe of Justice
"What happened to your stupid car?" writes B.T. of Syosset, NY.
Just so you know, sucka. Just so you know.
Countdown T-7 weeks.
