Her typographic work takes on a variety of forms, from calligraphic brushwork, illustration and digital type, to large-scale hand-painted murals. She splits her time between advertising commissions, gallery shows, speaking engagements, and hosting hand-lettering workshops around the world.

Her clients include Playboy Magazine, Nike, Volcom Stone, Kirin, Heineken, QANTAS, and Diet Coke. A number of her projects have received the Award of Typographic Excellence from the New York Type Directors Club, and in 2015 she was recognised as an ADC Young Gun.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
A ballerina!

What do you love?
The sun. It’s amazing, gives me Vitamin D, keeps my house plants alive and makes my iPhone photos look pretty good.

What is your process like?
The ideas phase is chaotic and manic and at times traumatic. And the drawing phase is therapeutic.

What is something you had to learn the hard way?
When you’re a creative freelancer you eventually have to pay that tax bill!

What are you grateful for?
Health, friends, family, getting paid to do something that I genuinely enjoy, and Google maps.

How do you define success?
Success is when your mum isn’t the only person who buys your art.

How would you describe your art to someone who cannot see?
The calligraphic brush work is like a familiar voice effortlessly stringing together a sentence, the commercial work is like a pop song you’re listening to on the radio and my large scale murals are like going to a gig of your favourite band.

More Gemma O’Brien:
instagram.com/mrseaves101
www.gemmaobrien.com

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“Arlo Finch is middle-grade fantasy fiction. That’s the broad category that includes Harry Potter, Stranger Things and Star Wars. If that’s not your speed, you may have a son or daughter or nephew who would dig it.” – John August

Some trails lead to magic. Some lead to danger.

As Arlo looked around, the walls of his room began to vanish, revealing a moonlit forest. Only his bed remained, and the frame of his window, through which he saw the girl. The world on her side of the glass was sparkling with silver and gold, like a palace made of autumn leaves.

She looked off to her right. Someone was coming. Her words came in an urgent whisper: “If I can see you, they can see you . . . Be careful, Arlo Finch.”

Arlo Finch thought becoming a Ranger meant learning wilderness skills, like camping and knots. But upon arriving in the tiny town of Pine Mountain, Colorado, Arlo soon learns there’s so much more. His new friends Indra and Wu teach him how to harness the wild magic seeping in from the mysterious Long Woods―a parallel realm of wonder and danger.

First he must master the basics, including snaplights, thunderclaps and identifying supernatural creatures. But Arlo Finch is no ordinary Ranger, and this is no ordinary time. A dark and ancient force is sending threats into the real world . . . our world.

Through perilous adventures and close calls, Arlo is awakened to his unique destiny―but the obstacles he faces will test the foundations of the Ranger’s Vow: loyalty, bravery, kindness, and truth.

Check it out on Amazon: Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire

Additional NOTES:

• How old does a kid need to be for Arlo? All kids are different, but eight seems a good general guideline. The audiobook might be a good option for younger sorts.
• Here are a few other things you can do to help out John August:
– Review it on Goodreads and Amazon.
– Recommend it to parents, teachers and librarians. They’re the ones who put books into kids’ hands.
– Post about on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
• If you’re in a bookstore in the next few weeks, find it on the shelf and take a peek inside. During John’s visit to the printing plant, he put special stickers in five books. He’s eager to learn where they turn up, so if you find one, let him know!
• If you’re not listening to the Launch podcast, the first four episodes are now up.

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Ryan and I met on my first day at Focus Features. I remember him being extremely nice and generous with his time, and he had a University of Arizona hat in his office. I liked him immediately — Bear Down!

Over the next year I discovered that Ryan really understands story and the intricacy of achieving the perfect narrative through story editing. This ability is such a rare one, and something that doesn’t come easily. Ryan has this in-depth understanding of narrative because he has spent more than three decades learning and refining his craft.

It’s perhaps this commitment and lifelong dedication that I admire most about Ryan.

Ryan Hunter is a writer, producer and Head of Production at VOKSEE.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I wanted to be a writer. In 6th grade all the kids had to work on a book, it was a collection of our essays and reports for the entire year. And at the end of that year we took these big folders of our work and had them professionally bound. Mine is gray hardback, it’s got gold lettering that says Ryan’s Rhetoric on it. I remembered that it was really hard to come up with an alliterative word for it. Admittedly I’m not great with titles. In that sphere those are my two biggest failings, bad titles and bad taste in music.

What do you love?
I love my family. My wife and son. I think they’re incredible and I’m very grateful they’re in my life. Without them I think I’d be living a very hermetic life. I love creativity, having a thought or an idea that I think holds the promise of becoming something unique and special. But I don’t really love much beyond that. I like and enjoy a lot of things but I don’t really love much. I don’t find the world to be very loveable, it’s the unfortunate side effect of being altruistic, the more you are concerned with others the more you discover that there is a lot to be concerned about. What is that, altruistic nihilism?

Where do you find inspiration?
It’s such a funny thing. Sometimes it just pops in my head and I have no explanation for why it’s there. Other times, it’s in putting two unlikely things together that produces a third thing that becomes inspired and profound. Inspiration for me is inevitable, because you find it just by being awake and alive.

Regarding your writing, what’s your creative process like?
My creative process is arduous. Really, it’s just sort of accepting that the script will eventually be completed but that there are many days and hours of work between the blank page and the finished product. You hear these stories about writers who are hit with a sudden inspiration and write some masterpiece over the course of a weekend or something and I just know that will never happen to me. That said, my favorite part of the process is the dictation stage. It’s where you have such a deep knowledge of your characters that each scene is just the process of dictating what they’re saying to you in your head. It takes a long time to get to that stage but when you do it’s incredibly gratifying.

What is something you had to learn the hard way?
I was married once before. It was a terrible marriage and ended predictably in divorce. But the one great piece of learning I took from it was acceptance, not some high minded bullshit like accepting my role or that I’m at peace with my ex, hell no. I accepted that there would be questions in life that you wanted answered more than anything, more than air, more than food, anything. And knowing two things, first, you will never have answers to those questions, second, even if you got answers they wouldn’t be satisfying. There’s some morbidly zen feeling about accepting that something you want to know will always and forever remain unknowable.

What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you?
I don’t find myself to be all that surprising. Which sounds really self deprecating which means in some roundabout sort of way I’m tacitly implying that I’m incredibly surprising but I just don’t want to cop to it. If you’re reading this that way, don’t. I had this conversation with my wife recently, I’ve discovered that I’m not really all that likable. I think if you’d met me you’d think I was nice, like I said above, I’m definitely a talker, but some people have that quality that makes you want to stay in touch with them, invite them out for coffee, get their email or whatever, and that’s something I, for whatever reason, just don’t have. I was kind of bummed about it for a while but since I’m capable of accepting things I’m not entirely satisfied with, I was okay in the end.  

How do you define success?
In NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, Llewelyn Moss has a suitcase filled with drug money. He’s in possession of something that will most certainly get him killed, but he already took the case so he’s aware that there’s an inevitability about what’s coming next. So when his wife asks where he’s going he replies that he’s ‘fixin to do something dumber than hell but I’m goin anyways.” This is a really long winded way of saying, I have a definition of success and I know it’s not what the modern interpretation of success should be but I’m sticking with it anyway. I’d like to be writing and producing full time, and I’d like to be rich, I’d like a kick ass house and lots of toys. That’s been what I’ve imagined since I was in 6th grade and I can’t shake it.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
This isn’t advice per se, but it created a way for me to learn something based on something somebody said, which is kind of how advice works. When I was first hired to be the production coordinator at Universal Pictures, my boss was a guy named Scott Abraham, when he hired me he said “if you’re in this job longer than 2 years I’ll fire you myself.” He understood that a coordinator job was a position that you needed to work your ass off at, learn a ton, then move on, you don’t make that a career destination. It made me very proactive about my career and my work. I’ve met so many people who still believe we live in a meritocracy, we don’t. Here’s the thing, in entertainment, if you’re really good at your job, your boss has zero incentive to promote you. Being amazing at your job just means you keep making somebody else look amazing, why in hell would they want that to stop happening? Fortunately, Scott didn’t have to fire me.

Top five favorite books:
Sandman Slim: The first time I read it, I was living 500 feet from where the book opens. That was nuts. And the story is incredibly unique.

Lost Illusions: I love this time period, and closed social circles, I guess it was because I never felt particularly cool or in the know, and seeing somebody penetrate that society seems amazing.

Revolution of the Mind: Andre Breton gets a little territorial about his place in the hierarchy of surrealism, but his book chronicles the movement spectacularly.

The Forever War: I’ve read this book about 10 times. I’m obsessed with exoskeletons, not building sized mechs, but something in the 8-12 foot range.

The Tain Bo Cuailnge/The Odyssey/The Enchiridion: These all occupy the same space for me. I read them all at a foundational time in life, that span between late college and early post college, haven’t picked them up since but I feel like they all served a purpose in my development.

Top five favorite movies:
Aliens (1986): It’s so crazy that this formula has been so difficult to duplicate because if there ever was a blueprint for making an amazing science fiction action film, this is it.
Empire Strikes Back – For me, Star Wars looks a little funky and dated, return of the jedi has ewoks, but Empire just nailed the sweet spot, it’s dark, it’s epic, it’s got imperial walkers, those just clinched it for me.

The Matrix: This, much like Aliens has the benefit of fully realized world creation. For a lot of other movies of the genre you feel like you’re watching fiction. The Matrix feels like a frightening future documentary. Also, Carrie-Anne Moss was just incredibly sexy and deadly. I watch that rooftop scene where Neo dodges the bullets for the first time, damn I still get chills.
Raiders of the Lost Ark – Much like the Matrix and Aliens, this is fully realized world creation.
 
Blade Runner (1982):  Ditto, I guess I like the same types of movies for the same reasons.

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Who are you?
I am an artist based in Redlands Ca. Mainly self-taught, I’ve always drawn or painted since my earliest memories as a kid. I was raised in Fontana, CA, for most of my childhood then moved to Redlands, CA, in my teenage years and have been in the area since. As a teenager and in my early twenties skateboarding was big in my life. It really helped shaped who I am today and got me into appreciating specific art from the designs and graphics that were used.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
Roller Coaster designer. I use to draw out all the tracks with the craziest loops and drops that in reality would never work. On the side of the page I designed the cars along with the name of the ride. And last draw the line for the ride, which usually consisted of some volcano or man-eating tiger.

What do you love? Why?
Peaceful quiet mornings that I am able to get up early enough for, those times are the best with a cup of coffee and get charged to start my day. I usually work best when that happens. Music, I need it for every aspect in life. Whether I’m feeling inspired, sad, or excited, there is always a soundtrack for just the right moment. Pizza, if it was a healthy diet I would eat it every meal. My girlfriend Jen, she’s someone who will be regarded and remembered as one of those totally amazing people.

How did you get to where you are today?
Since I was a child I’ve always done some sort of drawing or painting. It’s been a part of my daily life. About eight years ago, I started to show my work in town and branched out to other cities in coffee shops, skate shops pretty much wherever I could. Over time I never tried to make a style of art that compromised what I really wanted to create. I think if I tried to do paintings or drawings that were made for the sake of selling to a certain demographic I would never have been happy or satisfied with the art. Year after year I worked on series, they usually were about one idea or message. Back in 2015 I showed my latest series in San Francisco, which was titled “Land and Dark.” I feel like that is when I had a breakthrough in regards to executing the entire project in a well-rounded way. My good friend Jaime Valdovino helped me on that one, he gave me a lot of guidance in how to articulate what it meant and we shot a short film about the project, which really brought more life to it. Because of the video, people got to see a side of the art that never would have been shown. It helped it have more depth and my audience grew.

Also in the past few years local businesses in Redlands started commissioning me to use my art for logos, t-shirt designs, etc. One of them came from Ryan Berk who Founded Parliament Chocolate. Working with Ryan and other shops such as Augie’s Coffee Roasters was a great stepping-stone to branch out. Sometimes it just takes that one opportunity to help get the ball moving, but it’s up to me to keep it rolling.

I would really have to say that some of my closest friends and family helped me. Zack Pianko for sure too, he’s shot studio photos for me the past four years, which will continue on.

Where do you find inspiration?
In many ways, but also sometimes spontaneously. I never know when or what will inspire me. I could be driving down the highway and see a road sign or billboard with some super rad design or colors and it will spark an idea in my head. Usually roaming miles and miles alone in an area of wherever I’d like to base my work on. Once I know where I want to go for reference I’ll wander in that place and get inspired.

What’s your creative process like?
My process begins with some kind of challenge or outing, reflecting on where I am in life at the moment. That may consist of taking a trip out to the desert being in isolation and having a journey, finding where I want to go in the future or what is stirring inside me. Photographing and sketching the scenery that stood out or was inspirational, like, “How does that image correlate to the experience I am having?” Or other adventures when I’ve had the urge to challenge myself such as a bike tour up through California, which I did in October of 2015 from LA to SF. Along the way I captured landscape scenes like old barns, bridges and farm lands that I thought were intriguing. Then I used the photos for reference in my studio. Sometimes I use shapes as a metaphor to message what the series is about. I just returned from a 2,000+ mile road trip through Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas shooting 35mm film. After returning home, I spend time developing and seeing the outcome. From there I will look them over and over and be sparked with inspiration.

I mostly work on paper and use stains such as tea, coffee or soil. From my recent trip I brought home soil from the land where I shot photos. I try to use every aspect I can that has some sort of significance.

Once the surface is stained or the texture is created, I mainly work in inks and gouache. I love the washes and texture that ink creates as well the opaque quality gouache has.

What is something you had to learn the hard way?
Having healthy boundaries with people. There were some years I allowed toxic people to overtake a lot of time and interrupt my purpose. My art suffered as well. I got hurt a lot of ways and had to realize I needed to be honest with myself.

What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you?
I hate cheese in burritos, or on any Mexican dish. Order me a burrito and forget to say no cheese watch me have a mental breakdown.

How do you define success?
Pursuing what drives you the most and working at it each day. Being content where you are in life during that journey, whether it’s financially or the goals you are working on.
Try to use kindness everyday. Showing people they are valuable, showing others you are no better or more important than they. I have a few friends who I consider very successful, and they are the people that show kindness to everyone they meet.

Skateboarding taught me to never stop trying. Falling over and over again down a flight of stairs or bruising my shins on a ledge didn’t keep me from going back and trying to land a trick. That gave me the mindset to learn from mistakes and have confidence that what I am pursuing is obtainable.

What’s the best advice you have for aspiring artists?
Create work as much as you can and show it. If you are early on in being an artis,t try to use as many different mediums as possible then figure out your favorite. Don’t worry too much about sustaining a certain style at first. That will come with time. Once you find what makes you happy, pursue that. Do not compromise your art to please others. Never stop learning.

How would you describe your art to someone who couldn’t see?
Standing in a place taking in the moment of stillness and quietness. Stopping where you are and reflecting on the spot where you are standing, like a simple, quiet morning hum.

How do you think we can make the world a better place?
I think we need to encourage our youth and children to remember it’s ok to be creative. Seems like nowadays our education system is discouraging us from having imaginations. Because of this, more and more people are realizing they don’t know who they are. It’s almost like we are told what to enjoy and what goals we have to work towards.

Respect nature, too. How do we work with the world instead of drain it of its resources? I’m not a scientist or environmentalist, but it seems like large corporate companies are just starting to scratch the surface of how we can be more eco-friendly. Have more wisdom, more sentimentality and less ego.

More James McClung:
Website: jamesmcclungart.com
Instagram: @jmsmcclng

Photos courtesy of James McClung, featuring photographs by Zack Piánko

The post James McClung, Artist appeared first on duane fernandez.

Who are you?
Still trying to figure that one out myself…it’s way more of a transcendental search than I had anticipated a decade or so ago.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I always wanted to be a creative. But also a ninja. And maybe a scientific researcher and an Olympic swimmer.

What do you love?
Here is a small selection of things I love: Finding simple solutions to complicated things. The smell of coffee. Books. Boys with blue or green eyes. Large sweaters. Feeling sun on my skin. The color blue. Things that are hand made. Petrichor. This one beach in Greece. Waking up hungry. Forgetting time. Going to museums alone. The shape of hands.

Where do you find inspiration?
It usually finds me. That’s the whole thing with inspiration, it can’t be forced. It flows when it flows and sometimes it doesn’t. But exposing myself to creativity, and being part of a social environment that provides creative input obviously nurtures inspiration.

What’s your creative process like?
It varies from project to project. When I work on my own projects and art I try to be as close to myself as possible and minimize rational thought. When I work on a commercial project or a more graphic design based job I usually start in an intellectual place and do a ton of research. After I have absorbed enough information I throw it all out and start making stuff and see what happens. It’s usually quite interesting what comes out of subconscious memory.

What is something you had to learn the hard way?
Most things in our life are not within our control. I used to really make myself crazy over things I had no impact on whatsoever. Until I realized that I do have the power to change how I react to things that happen to me. Learning that has made me a lot more relaxed.

What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you?
My second major in art school was Physics (I was especially into Astro, Nuclear and Quantum Physics).

How do you define success?
Success for me is to be able to do what I love and feel entirely fulfilled and happy by that. Commercial success can be a desirable consequence of that but isn’t a necessity for me. Financial stability is a factor but only to cover my basic needs without having to stress out over it. Anything beyond that point is just one more cherry on top. That is not to say, that I don’t have high standards (I do!) but I will choose the life of a happy painter in the Provence over the one of a famous depressed artist any day of the week!

What’s the best advice you have for aspiring artists?
Accept and develop your style. Don’t try to change your natural hand, don’t paint like someone else but practice your very own individual style instead. Being inspired by other artists is obviously part of it but learn how to love your individual and intuitive creative expression. This has a lot to do with self-acceptance by the way. Possibly the hardest and most important lesson to learn.

How would you describe your art to someone who couldn’t see?
Well, that’s tricky because I would have to refrain from any visual reference. I would say that I paint and draw what I feel and that I want that feeling to transcend and translate into my work and from there to the viewer. I want it to be the equivalent to a really beautiful song or written passage. Something that evokes melancholy and longing in the most beautiful way possible.

How do you think we can make the world a better place?
By becoming more connected. To ourselves and to each other. We are in the midst of some kind of digital apocalypse, a rational and intellect-based crisis that demands an analogue counter movement. Not to go too esoteric on you here but we need to learn to put kindness first and not competition, to be compassionate and humanistic and recognize that separation is an illusion.

Blanda has worked with: OBEY, Kiehl’s, Volvo and DC Shoes, Elena Ghisellini, TopShop and Barbara Bui have commissioned Blanda for art-driven collaborations. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as Vogue, New York Magazine, Vice, WWD, Glamour Magazine, Elle and Rolling Stone have covered her work.

Find more Blanda:
Website: www.blandablanda.com
Instagram: @blahblahblanda

Featured photo by: Kaja_Eggenschwiler

The post Blanda, Artist appeared first on duane fernandez.

More to come.

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“Tim Hwang founded faux-law firm Robot Robot & Hwang in 2010 as ‘a legal startup’ having a single human partner. While the site is a joke, Hwang’s declared mission—opening new opportunities for experimentation in the practice of law—is sincere. Hwang, not an actual lawyer, is a former research associate at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and the founder of ROFLCon, a real-world gathering celebrating Internet memes and the creators of viral content, and the Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences, a (real) organization whose local chapters bundle small donations to award $1,000 grants to quirky, community-focused projects. Here, Hwang discusses the state of flux in the legal profession and his own young career.” – Featured in Fast Company

Tim Hwang lives in San Francisco, California. Currently, he is a Fellow at Data and Society.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
When I was a kid (and really, all the way up to college), I had my heart set on being a physicist or a scientist of some kind. But — I think mostly due to the good fortune of running into some amazingly talented teachers while in school, I ended up getting more interested in people and how they do what they do.

What do you love?
Lately, I’ve really really really been loving the recordings of Bessie Smith. She’s got a beautiful voice that is pretty much the best thing ever, and I’ve been fascinated listening to all of the interviews that exist with her about her life and the era she lived in.

What do you do?
I’m currently a fellow at Data and Society, a New York “think/do-tank” where I’m focused on researching the rise of intelligent systems and how we should design them better.

If you learned one thing in college, it would be…
Always have a side hustle going, no matter what your main hustle is. My senior year in college was focused on two things: writing a thesis, and ROFLCon — a weird idea I had with some friends to do a conference bringing together scholars and people who were famous in web culture to talk about community online. At the time, the thesis seemed like the way bigger deal (and, later — thankfully in retrospect — got totally trashed on by this professor), but ROFLCon ended up being the way bigger life-changer in terms of meeting people and opening doors to more things.

Three of your favorite books:
There are so many! But, I guess if you had to put a gun to my head:
1. The Power Broker, Robert Caro
2. Joy in the Morning, PG Wodehouse
3. Sam and Max Surfin’ The Highway, Steve Purcell

What are you afraid of?
Ghosts. No, really. They aren’t real — but they’re still spooky.

What’s something you had to learn the hard way?
The rarest quality in people is the ability to commit to doing something, and then actually doing it. I think it’s actually rarer than the other traits that society traditionally values: intelligence, good looks, or what have you. Realizing that, and getting a good sense of who possesses this, is something I think you only can learn the hard way.

What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you?
Recently, I’ve become a huge enthusiast for professional wrestling. Currently, that involves a project to watch all of the WWF “Wrestlemania” specials in historical sequence with some friends. Pro-wrestling is usually considered a kind of niche trash culture nowadays, but I think people forget how big of a deal it was in the US during the 1980s and how much it was a mirror of culture during that time. Absolutely worth checking out, in my humble opinion.

How do you define success?
I think most people will answer this with something along the lines of “finding your community.” I want to take that one step further — success is “finding your co-conspirators.” I think success isn’t just about finding people that you identify with or are happy hanging out with. The bigger success is finding people who you can collaborate with over a lifetime to make changes in the wider world.

Best advice you’ve ever been given?
My grandfather passed down a few simple words to my mother, who is always fond of reminding me and my brother about it all the time, which is (in Chinese): “Think for yourself.” That is pretty simple advice that we hear all the time, but like most pieces of good advice, it’s just a constant reminder of something that I think everyone forgets to do all the time, which is to reach their own conclusion on things, regardless of what others say.

When I say the word “Robots,” what comes to mind?
When you say “robots,” most people think about human-looking machines along the C3PO variety or self-driving car variety, that sort of thing. In other words, the kind of robot you can see. I’m more interested in the robots you can’t see: that includes bots on social media that look like people but aren’t, high frequency trading systems that move huge amounts of stocks in the marketplace, and the automated systems that drive international shipping. These robots are less sci-fi, but they’re the ones having the biggest impact in the world today.

How do you think we can make the world a better place?
We’re always living in a complicated time! There are two parts to that. I think making the world a better place involves (a) recognizing things are complicated and thorny and typically don’t have a clear cut, quick, silver-bullet solution, and (b) that sometimes what we think is new is either the result of a long history of things, or is something that people have faced before. I think if we thought with those two things in mind, we’d be better off dealing with the challenges we face, and the solutions that we propose.

More about Tim Hwang:
Previously he has worked with: The Barbarian Group, The Berkman Center,Creative Commons, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Electronic Frontier Foundation,Google, Highlands Forum, Imgur, Institute for the Future, Knight Foundation,Mozilla Foundation, National Defense University, Percolate, Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, and Tumblr.

Twitter: @timhwang
Site: timhwang.org

The post Tim Hwang, Fixer appeared first on duane fernandez.

I asked her childhood friend Nina Wesemann, a documentary filmmaker based out of Germany, to write a short introduction to give you a little more insight into Charlotte Taschen.

“I remember when we were about 16 years old, Charlotte told me how happy she was about the fact that someone couldn’t look into her head and see her thoughts. Being her best friend, I was a little freaked out and thought, ‘What is it she is not telling me?’ Later, I understood that being happy about the invisibility of your thoughts and ways of thinking in your own head doesn’t have so much to do with hiding things, but about being independent and free.

“Charlotte has been independent and free from an early age. She had to be both these things to create her strong individualism and not conform to convention. She built up her ambitions and learned how to concentrate on the things she cared about, and how to leave other things aside.

“Besides her intense focus, Charlotte has always been a very sensitive person who can be incredibly compassionate. I often watch her reading books while walking around in one spot or stretching her legs while being on a long bus ride. Maybe that is one of her important characteristics: never standing still for very long.”

Who are you?
I was born and raised in Germany and moved to L.A. about 4 years ago to pursue my dreams of acting, which remains my main focus. I just wrapped a great project in New York and now I have post-shooting depression. But luckily I’ll be onto the next one soon — a very exciting, unconventional role in a feature film here in LA.

I also work for my family business at TASCHEN Gallery. There, I’m involved in the organization and preparation of new exhibitions. I do sales, I help curate shows — pretty much anything and everything. I occasionally help my brother with his photo gallery HARDHITTA Gallery, particularly for art fairs. I love working with him! I also just started a small catering business with a friend… we’ll cook for you and dine with you.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I went from wanting to be a photographer to opening a hotel to being an architect. I think I was always keen on the idea of opening my own business, which is why I ended up studying economics. Acting was something I loved doing throughout my teenage years but I didn’t want to admit that to others or myself; I thought it was stupid to want to be an actress. My dream kept chasing me and now I’m the one chasing my dream.

What do you love?
I love what I do, which is pursuing acting and working in a gallery. I thrive on challenges as
they grow me as a person. I love learning new things. I love stretching my physical limits (I do Taekwondo), I love nature, the forest and the beach. I love connecting with people. I love
going to the sauna. I love my family and friends. I love living in L.A. — the city has so much to offer! I love being inspired because it makes me feel alive.

Where do you find inspiration?
I think people’s life stories inspire me the most. I have this 97-year-old friend for instance, who has experienced so many great misfortunes in her life, seemingly too many to handle for one person. But she doesn’t let that get in her way. It’s absolutely fascinating how she chooses to approach what life brings her way. That is probably why I love acting — I take on somebody else’s story and life and make it my own. How fun is that?

What is something you had to learn the hard way?
I have an artistic as well as a logical/pragmatic side to me. I used to envy people that are totally right-brained; I felt like those were the true artists and I wasn’t. What I realized in the last couple of years is that the business side of thing comes easily to me and is part of my nature, but without a creative outlet, I dry up — I get unsatisfied and sad. Acting is my creative expression and keeps me motivated and inspired.

What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you?
Hmm… maybe that I’m a black belt in Taekwondo?

What are you grateful for?
I’m a very lucky person, in all regards really. My drive in life sparks from that. I feel like it’s my duty to live life to the fullest because life offers me so much.

I need to remind myself of this every day, but I get lost in the unimportant details in life a lot.

How do you define success?
I think success means to achieve something that matters to you. The goal is to create a position for yourself where you love what you do. We mostly try to resist change and don’t want to push past our comfort zone, but I think success has to do with personal growth and overcoming obstacles.

How do you think we can make the world a better place?
I really don’t have that figured out for myself yet. I think a good start is to care and watch out for the people around you. To be a good friend, partner, family member and co-worker. And to stay open with and for others.

Charlotte Taschen online:
Instagram: @germaninla
IMDB: www.imdb.com/Charlotte-Taschen
website: charlottetaschen.com

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Notes from Deus:
“Despite the sheer volume of incredible storied cars arriving at the gates from dawn we managed to roll a handful through our makeshift studio in the the cavernous glass walled factory hall of Modernica’s industrial campus to capture a cross section of the eclectic assembly in portraits in the amazing natural light of the glass walled hanger.”

“Unfortunately we didn’t have time to record the names of the subjects or details of their cars so if you know more about these subjects please mail details to twalk@deuscustoms.com and we will update the images with attribution.”

Full link: www.deuscustoms.com/the-faces-of-luftgekuhlt-3

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At its base it’s a four-stroke 125cc Mutt Motorcycle with a custom finish by the Buster + Punch crew both in paint and various metal bits. The bike, which has been limited to a 50 unit run is retailing for £4500 ($6,402 USD). Buster + Punch have a design ethos that pulls from the heart of London’s music and fashion subcultures, and I personally can’t fault anyone for wearing their influences on their sleeves. The LDN Born Motorcycle has certain air to it, one that reflects the country that gave us Punk and New Wave.

It features custom upholstered seats, Twinduro tires and a tinted yellow headlight with a grill, an homage to the classic cafe racers. Available in a limited run of only 50 bikes.

Founder of the Buster + Punch, Massimo Minale says, “For a long time we’ve wanted to build a custom motorcycle for the every man. This 125cc LDN Born Mutt Motorcycle lets you feel like a rock star, during your daily commute and all for only £4,500”

SPECIFICATION:
Weight (Dry) 105kg
Seat Height 780mm
Engine Single 4-stroke
Displacement 125cc
Max Power 12hp
Max torque 10Nm
Transmission 5 speed manual
Top Speed 70mph
Fuel tank 12L
Special Features:
18″ wheels
Twinduro Tyres
Cross Braced black bars
White grips
Custom upholstered seat
Modified rear frame

Delivery: Each bike is built to order and will take between 6-8 weeks to build. Shipping costs will be extra and arranged directly with Mutt motorcycles.

More info: www.busterandpunch.com

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Featured in the Guardian’s piece was Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing. Neil is a prolific writer, as most of you know, with a brilliant way of talking about story. If he comes anywhere near you, his talks are a must see. Here are his 8 Rules of Writing:

1. Write

2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.

3. Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.

4. Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.

5. Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

6. Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

7. Laugh at your own jokes.

8. The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it ­honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/16/arts/writers-writing-easy-adverbs-exclamation-points-especially-hooptedoodle.html

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one

Featured image source: www.latimes.com/books/neil-gaiman

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“When one of Federal’s own made the move South to Florida, the opportunity arose to build a custom beach tracker – which obviously got us very excited. Being in the South-Eastern US, this seemed like the perfect first build for Michael Muller as he kicked off Federal Moto Chicago (Previously Powder Monkees). Mike was the perfect fit for this: he’s fast, efficient, and has a deep respect for motorcycles and the detailed work that goes into customizing them.

We really wanted to create something small, simple and fun with this bike. With a fresh, light color palette, minimalist parts choices, and some wild tires, this thing is the perfect combination of downtown daily rider and weekend beach cruiser. A sunshine state of mind.”

More info: www.federalmoto.com/sunshine-state-of-mind
Photos by: Daniel Peter

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In the Porsche vernacular, Luftgekühlt represents all the air-cooled cars in the the manufacturer’s history, from the Pre-A 356 through the 993 model line, which ended in 1998. More specifically, Luftgekühlt is the brainchild of two-time Le Mans class winner Patrick Long and noted Southern California creative director Howie Idelson. A true Porsche happening.

Luftgekühlt is a brand founded initially as a series of automotive-themed events featuring a tightly-curated list of historically significant or interesting cars – both race and street. There’s no set formula for our events, but we’re excited by cool venues, fun people and creative expression, so you can bet those elements will always be in our recipe. We like coming up with wild ideas that celebrate the passion we have for all things air-cooled, and we love collaborating with likeminded people and brands.

LUFTGEKÜHLT III AT MODERNICA – APRIL 10TH 2016
A celebration of Zuffenhausen’s finest, Luftgekühlt is back for its third installment with some exciting new additions in store for 2016!

This time around the event will be held at MODERNICA at 2891 Saco Street in Vernon, CA. The renowned manufacturer and designer of Modern furniture have an incredible factory just south of downtown Los Angeles, and will be throwing open their doors for our congregation of the devoutly air-cooled.
DATE: April 10th, 2016
TIME: 9am
LOCATION: MODERNICA – 2891 Saco St. Vernon CA

THE CAR:
The Safari LUFTAUTO will be auctioned live by RM Sotheby’s on April 10th during the Luftgekühlt event at Modernica with all proceeds benefitting the Autumn Leaves Project, a charity dedicated to funding pancreatic cancer research. For those interested in bidding on the car, pre-registration is required, directly with Veronica Perry in RM Sotheby’s Los Angeles Office. She can be contacted at vperry@rmsothebys.com or +1 310-559-4575. More details on luftgekuhlt.net

The majority of the rally-inspired 911’s transformation has been handled at the E-Motion Engineering garage under the experienced hand and keen design sense of Joey Seely. Its also great to have Rod and the team at Emory Motorsports on board, notable in the industry for Outlaw 356s and decades of experience with safari cars, lift this project off the ground with their generations of knowledge and fabrication expertise. Deus Ex Machina’s co-founder and designer-in-chief, Carby Tuckwell, who has breathed Porsche from an early childhood (there are sketchbooks of doodles to prove it) is also in the team huddle drawing up new strategies for the Porsche playbook. Major partner and parts supplier Pelican Parts are providing a heap of performance parts for the build. And there’s a growing list of other special contributors including KW Suspensions, Braid USA wheels, Pirelli tires, Recaro seats, and handful of others that have stepped up to the plate.

The group project is a natural extension of Luftgekühlt co-founders Patrick Long and Howie Idelson’s vision of the event to be as much a social celebration emphasizing good-natured fun as it is about air-cooled Porsches.

PORSCHE LUFTAUTO SPECIFICATIONS
BASE CAR
• 1985 911 Carrera Coupe
• Production Completion Date: 11/12/1984
• Engine Number/Type: 64F00572 (M930/21)
• Transmission Number/Type: 74F00252 (G915/68)
• Exterior Paint Color/Code: Grand Prix White/P5
• Mileage 79,000

ENGINE/TRANSMISSION
• 3.2L numbers-matching motor
Recent major engine service as part of build, including all gaskets and seals, valve adjustment, all filters and fluid, new wires, plugs, cap and rotor, coil, starter motor, ignition switch, sensors and relays, cleaned and balanced injectors.
• Sachs clutch
• SSi headers and sport exhaust
• Stock transmission with Guard Transmission limited-slip differential
• WEVO engine and transmission mounts
• WEVO precision shift joint
• Rebuilt axles
• Rennline Engine Mount Cross Bar
• Rennline alternator strap
• Clewett ignition wires

SUSPENSION
• KW Suspension custom-designed and hand-built long-travel dampers
• ERP Suspension control arms, subframes, tie rods, spring plates and monoballs
• Tarrett Engineering suspension components

EXTERIOR
• Custom lights and grilles by Emory Motorsports
• Custom, powder coated front and rear bumpers, designed by Emory Motorsports and fabricated by Brian Coats Motorsports
• Custom front and rear skid plates by Emory Motorsports
• Auto Foreign Services roof rack
• Ducktail and mirrors by Getty Design

INTERIOR
• Custom roll bar, fabricated by Brian Coats Motorsports
• Recaro lightweight sport buckets
• RS door panels
• Schroth Rallye 4 belts
• Rennline floorboards
• WEVO shift lever, gate and coupler, powder-coated
• CNC-milled custom American Walnut / Hard Rock Maple shift knob, by Modernica
• CNC-milled custom Walnut veneer sub-floors, by Modernica
• OMP Rally steering wheel

WHEELS, TIRES, BRAKES AND FITMENTS
• BRAID Winrace competition monoblock wheels – 15”
• Pirelli P-Zero Rally 195/70-15
• PMB restored calipers with slotted rotors
• Porterfield brake pads
• Rennline strut tower brace
• Goodridge brake lines
• Custom-designed hydraulic handbrake by Emotion Engineering and Emory Motorsport

For those interested in bidding on the car, registration is required, directly with Veronica Perry in RM Sotheby’s Los Angeles Office. She can be contacted at vperry@rmsothebys.com or +1 310 559 4575. The suggested value of the car is $100,000 – $150,000; please note it is offered with reserve. 

All proceeds of the auction is going towards Butch Walker’sAutumn Leaves Project, a charity for pancreatic cancer research Walker founded in honor of his father.

luftgekuhlt.net/luftauto

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Who are you?
It appears that I’m sort of a messenger and a witness.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
An artist.

What do you love?
Driving fast, Chicago blues, Brazilian drumming, solitude. Because those things restore me.

Where do you find inspiration?
It can come from anywhere. Usually it’s from a great film or the work of a painter or photographer whose work I had not seen before. So many talents.

What’s your creative process?
The core of my process is not so much a process as a practice. When I’m shooting ideally I’m able to create a space for myself to disappear into a zen-like state of hyper awareness. I am watching and waiting and if I’m doing it right I get into a zone and moments happen right in front of me. Boom. This starts with humility and being open to my subjects and recognizing that I know nothing really, past experience gets you so far but today can be very different. And every photo that means something to me costs something, maybe a conversation, respect for your subject, or maybe your life.

I approach every project or assignment first through research and reading, talking to everyone I can who has been there or knows the subject.

What is something you had to learn the hard way?
The power of saying no to things that you don’t want to do.

Favorite camera?
Leica M9

What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you?
That I’m pretty introverted. I’m an extroverted Introvert or something like that.

How do you define success?
Living your life with as much grace and kindness as possible while pursuing the thing that makes you the happiest to be doing. Pretty hard. If you find yourself in a state where your bills are paid and you are making images that you are proud of, then that’s pretty cool.

What’s the best advice you have for aspiring photographers?
Find out what really drives you — what got you interested in photography in the first place? Some call this finding your voice. This might take a lifetime, but start defining what you are passionate about and building a portfolio of the purest version of that. Then go and learn basic business and marketing skills, write a business plan with your mission statement defining your absolute perfect dream, capitalize the dream and go make it happen. Most young shooters start out taking any and all jobs to pay the bills and we all have to do that to some degree, but that’s a mindless panic driven approach. Recognize that early success doing something you actually hate is a deadly trap that will be hard to leave. And if you follow my advice you’ll probably fail. But if you want to be living the dream, you have to go through the process I’m advising at some point in your life, or marry well.

What makes a great photo?
No idea, but I know it when I see it. But if you go back and look at pictures that you remember, that are memorable, usually there are elements of powerful emotion, mystery, energy, unresolved conflict, some use of Aristotle’s golden mean…

We live in a pretty complicated time, politically, environmentally, socially…how do you think we can make the world a better place?
The hard thing is to develop a moral code, which is part of your character, and try to stick to that. Not easy at all to do. And you have to realize also that fanaticism in service of doing good often ends up as bad as it gets. Your good may not be my good. So as you go along with your own beliefs, be tolerant and compassionate as best you can. Also hard to do.

In general, you can look at your own actions and see if you are contributing something positive to the world, or not. I do believe in karma, so as much as I might fuck up from time to time, I do try to give back what I can to the world. I’ve been given a lot.

Doug Menuez Notes:
Menuez’ books include the bestseller, 15 Seconds: The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1989, coproduced with David Elliott Cohen, which generated more than five hundred thousand dollars in relief money for earthquake victims, Defying Gravity: The Making of Newton , Beyond Words Publishing, 1993, Heaven, Earth, Tequila: Un Viaje al Corazón de México , Waterside Press, 2005 and Transcendent Spirit: The Orphans of Uganda , from Beaufort Books, NY, 2008, with an introduction by Dame Elizabeth Taylor, and has raised over one hundred thousand dollars to date for Ugandan AIDS orphans. Stanford University Library acquired his extensive archive of over 1 million photographs for their collection. His next project, Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution 1985-2000 will be published in May 2014 by Simon & Schuster’s Atria imprint and is in production as a film, app, exhibit and non-profit education program. The first exhibition of Fearless Genius opened in Moscow at the Multimedia Arts Museum Photo biennale in March 2012 and continues to travel worldwide. Menuez is on the Advisory Board of Directors of the Woodstock Center for Photography and divides his time between New York City and the Hudson Valley.

Doug Menuez online:
instagram.com: @dmenuez
www.menuez.com
Fearless Genius: www.fearlessgenius.org

Featured photo by ©Claire Yaffa
Additional photos by ©Doug Menuez featured in his book Fearless Genius

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The new flagship Canon EOS-1D X Mark II features several firsts for EOS cameras including:
– Newly developed 20.2 megapixel 35mm Full Frame Canon CMOS sensor
– Continuous shooting speeds of up-to-14 frames per second (fps) with Auto Exposure (AE) and predictive AF for viewfinder shooting and up to 16 fps1 in Live View mode
– Dual DIGIC 6+ Image Processors that transfer image data at extremely high speed for extended bursts during continuous shooting – up-to-170 consecutive RAW images at 14 fps. When shooting JPEG images you’re only limited by memory card capacity
– Capable of shooting 4K 60P and Full HD 120P video with Dual Pixel CMOS AF
– Enhanced wireless functionality (with the optional accessory Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E8) that supports the new high-speed IEEE 802.11ac standard and the ability to easily transfer photos and videos to compatible smartphones using Canon’s Camera Connect app
– Digital Lens Optimizer to help correct aberrations in-camera (a feature that previously required post-processing on an external computer)
– Improved 61-point viewfinder AF with expanded coverage and all AF-points selectable and supported to a maximum aperture of f/8
– Improved AI Servo III+ predictive AF algorithm for better accuracy
– Continuous red illumination of all AF points within the camera’s Intelligent Viewfinder II.
– Compatibility with both CF and CFast memory cards for optimal performance and versatility.

Delivering Precise and Reliable Performance with Versatility for Any Photo or Video Professional

The Ultimate EOS Camera: Continuing a Legacy of High Speed and Performance
Building on the success of the Canon EOS-1D X professional digital camera, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II camera is designed to deliver high-performance, speed, and image quality, with improved comfort for professional photographers. In addition to the new 20.2 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and Dual DIGIC 6+ Image Processors, the new EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR camera includes an improved 61-point High-Density Reticular AF II system with all AF points selectable by the user (and up to 41 cross-type points depending on the lens in use). The improved AF system includes expanded coverage that supports AF at maximum apertures up to f/8 with all 61 points for high precision autofocus even when using EF super-telephoto lenses with an EF extender. The camera also boasts excellent dynamic range and reduced color noise compared to its predecessor throughout its standard ISO speed range of 100 – 51,200. Expansion ISO speeds of 50, 102,400, 204,800 and 409,600 are also available. A first for the Canon EOS-1D series, this camera also features a 360,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor with enhanced precision and performance compared to its predecessor, improving facial recognition and tracking, as well as nature scenes. Additionally, the advanced AE system can detect and compensate for flickering light sources such as sodium vapor lamps that are often used in gymnasiums and swimming pools. When enabled, this anti-flicker system automatically adjusts shutter release timing to help reduce disparities in exposure and color especially during continuous burst shooting.


For filmmakers and photographers looking to do more than still photography alone with a DSLR camera and EF lenses, the EOS-1D X Mark II camera offers high resolution DCI 4K video at frame rates up-to-60p, with smooth movie recording to an in-camera CFast 2.0 memory card. An additional card slot supports standard CF memory cards up to UDMA 7. The built-in headphone jack supports real-time audio monitoring. Two additional EOS ‘firsts’ include 4K Frame Grab and 120p Full HD recording. The camera’s 4K Frame Grab function allows users to isolate a frame from recorded 4K video and create an 8.8 megapixel still JPEG image in-camera. When combined with the EOS-1D X Mark II’s high-sensitivity full-frame CMOS sensor, the new camera’s ability to record Full HD video at frame rates up to 120p will allow videographers to produce high quality slow motion video even in extremely low light. To make video shooting even more intuitive, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II camera’s touch-screen LCD allows videographers to select the camera’s AF point before and during video recording with Dual Pixel CMOS AF, which provides responsive, accurate and quiet camcorder-like video autofocus to DSLRs.

“The innovations within Canon’s new EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR camera clearly set a new standard for professional cameras,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “In developing the EOS-1D X Mark II camera, we looked to incorporate user-requested performance enhancements to bring professional photographers the ultimate EOS camera, a camera that has matured and been developed to meet their evolving needs.”

“Having f/8 capability on all 61 AF points is a tremendous benefit to wildlife photographers,” noted nature photographer and Canon Explorer of Light Charles Glatzer. “In order to capture tight shots of animals without disturbing them, I frequently have to use very long lenses—sometimes with an extender attached, which further diminishes the aperture. The improved AF allows me to frame the shot exactly the way I envision it, without having to compromise.”

“This camera is a huge step forward,” remarked acclaimed photographer and Canon Explorer of Light Damian Strohmeyer. “Shooting sports in a gym at 8,000 ISO, it looked as good as 800 ISO from a generation or two ago. The images are tack-sharp, and the autofocus just doesn’t miss. I’ve been amazed by what I’ve seen so far.”

“The autofocus was awesome,” agreed Peter Read Miller, sports photographer and Canon Explorer of Light. “The higher frame rate coupled with the speed of the CFast card was a definite advantage. It just never buffered out, even shooting RAW.”

The new EOS-1D X Mark II camera also offers a built-in GPS** receiver with compass for precise geo-tagged information of latitude, longitude, elevation and direction. This is especially valuable to wildlife photographers and photojournalists who need to track their locations, as well as providing sports photographers the ability to sync a multiple-camera setup with extreme accuracy and precision. It is also possible to use the camera’s built-in GPS to automatically sync the camera’s time to the atomic clock, an invaluable feature to professionals. An improved grip also makes the camera easier for photographers to hold and maneuver while shooting. In response to feedback from professional EOS users, the AF points in the EOS-1D X Mark II camera’s Intelligent Viewfinder II can be illuminated in red for improved visibility, especially when shooting in dark locations. AF sensitivity in low light has been doubled from EV -2 to EV -3 at the center AF point when the camera is set to One-Shot AF, enabling the camera to autofocus in extremely dark shooting conditions such as a moonlit nightscape. Viewfinder AF coverage has also been increased for greater compositional flexibility.

As with all EOS-1D series cameras, the EOS-1D X Mark II’s rugged construction and magnesium alloy body is weather resistant. The camera also features improved controls and more in-camera image quality enhancements than ever before, including a Digital Lens Optimizer function offering high quality aberration correction which can now be achieved without an external computer. This feature makes it easier for professional photographers to deliver finished files to their clients, especially in situations when access to a personal computer is impractical or inconvenient.

The estimated retail price for the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II is $5999 (MSRP) for the body or $6299 for the Premium Kit which includes a 64 GB CFast memory card and card reader. The new camera is scheduled to begin shipping to authorized Canon USA dealers in April 2016***. For more information and the full list of product specifications, visit: usa.canon.com/EOS1DXMarkII

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This year Toyota and Millen of the famed Millen family of racing legends will take their rally racing all over the U.S., from California to New York to Michigan just to name a few stops along the action-packed race schedule.





Millen and Toyota will chase both the Atlantic Rally Cup and the Pacific Rally Cup in NASA’s Rally Sport series. The team will also be vying for the National Championship.

Just last month, Ryan netted a solid second place finish in Rally America’s Sno*Drift Rally, a great lead-up to the upcoming season. Speaking of Rally America (RA), the team will also compete in other select RA races for 2016.

Last year was an amazing opportunity for me with Toyota,” said Millen. “This year is truly like a dream come true, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show what the RAV4 and I are really made of.

Interestingly, Ryan’s navigator, Christine Fate, is also his fiancé. Trust is one of the most important things a driver can ask for in a navigator, so having Christine back this season should prove to be a real asset.

This year, Millen and Fate will campaign a RAV4 SE, new for the 2016 model year. The vehicle also receives revised livery highlighting new partners Toyota Certified Used Vehicles and JBL. Millen’s refreshed vehicle was unveiled today at the Chicago Auto Show.

Toyota has not made any powertrain modifications, as the rally car is powered by a stock RAV4 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that generates 176 horsepower and 172 pounds-feet of torque. The crossover was built to compete in the 2WD-Open Class so it is fitted with a six-speed automatic transmission that spins the front wheels only.

Most modifications are safety, communications, and convenience related. They include such items as a stout roll cage, driver/navigator comm. system, and air vents and helmet boxes.

Prior to driving the Rally RAV4 last year, Millen won his class in the 2014 Baja 1000 in a Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

“This year we are stepping up our racing as well as our marketing efforts to expose a whole new audience to rally racing and the RAV4,” explained Kibo Kitahama, national manager, vehicle marketing and communications. “It’s going to be a wild ride, but we’re thrilled to see our RAV4 SE take on all the twists, turns, and terrain that Ryan and life can throw at it.”

The team’s first NASA Rally Sport race of the season will take place on March 5 in Cheraw, South Carolina at the Sandblast Rally where over 60 cars and nearly 40 motorcycles are entered.

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To mark the occasion Land Rover invited more than 700 current and former Solihull employees involved in the production of Series Land Rover and Defender vehicles to see and drive some of the most important vehicles from its history, including the first pre-production ‘Huey’ Series I as well as the last vehicle off the production line, a Defender 90 Heritage Soft Top.

At the same time, Land Rover announced a new Heritage Restoration Program, which will be based on the site of the existing Solihull production line. A team of experts, including some long serving Defender employees, will oversee the restoration of a number of Series Land Rovers sourced from across the globe. The first vehicles will go on sale in July 2016.

a. Celebratory event for 700 current and former employees as they commemorate the last build of the current Defender
b. Legendary Series Land Rover and Defender has been built continuously in Solihull, UK, for 68 years
c. Land Rover announces new Heritage Restoration program to breathe new life into classic Series vehicles and Defenders
d. ‘Defender Journeys’ online hub also revealed to chart memorable journeys made by owners across the globe
e. Land Rover is now looking ahead to designing and engineering New Defender

Dr Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Today we celebrate what generations of men and women have done since the outline for the Land Rover was originally drawn in the sand. The Series Land Rover, now Defender, is the origin of our legendary capability, a vehicle that makes the world a better place, often in some of the most extreme circumstances. There will always be a special place in our hearts for Defender, among all our employees, but this is not the end. We have a glorious past to champion, and a wonderful future to look forward to.”

Nick Rogers, Group Engineering Director at Jaguar Land Rover, added: “This is a special day of fond celebration for Jaguar Land Rover. We all have personal memories of Defender. It’s a true motoring icon and is much loved around the world. The world has changed dramatically in the last 68 years, but this vehicle has remained a constant – something no other vehicle can claim. The last of the current Defender models embraces the vehicle’s simplicity, honesty and charm – it represents its Series Land Rover heritage. Creating the Defender of tomorrow, a dream for any engineer or designer, is the next exciting chapter and we are looking forward to taking on that challenge.”

The Defender Celebration in Solihull saw more than 25 unique vehicles from Land Rover’s history come together in a procession around the Solihull plant, featuring the final current Defender vehicle off the line. Land Rover associates were joined by a number of previous employees from the past 68 years to help celebrate this historic day. The last of the current Defender vehicles includes an original part that has been used on Soft Top specifications since 1948 – the hood cleat. The vehicle will be housed in the Jaguar Land Rover Collection.

Land Rover fans are invited to upload their most memorable journeys ever undertaken in Series Land Rover or Defender vehicles via an upcoming online ‘Defender Journeys‘ platform, announced today. Effectively a digital scrapbook, Land Rover aims to collate as many exciting adventures as possible into this online map, which users can view and share.

From 1948 to 2016 – Celebrating the Solihull Story

More than two million Series Land Rovers and Defenders have been built in Solihull, UK since 1948. What began as simply a line drawing in the sand has gone on to become one of the world’s most iconic 4x4s, earning the accolade of being the most versatile vehicle on the planet, capable of taking owners to the places other vehicles couldn’t reach. In 2015, a unique milestone Defender – the ‘Defender 2,000,000′ sold for a record £400,000 – a far cry from the original £450 the first Land Rover sold for at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show.

In 1948, the Series I went into full production at Solihull. Post-war Britain was struggling with a shortage of steel, though aluminum was in plentiful supply for the bodyshells and the country had vast manufacturing capacity. Inspiration came from Spencer and Maurice Wilks, two brothers who had helped return the Rover Company back into profitability during the 1930s. They had devised the Land Rover as a vehicle primarily for farming and agricultural use. They could not have predicted the global impact their vehicle would have.

Changes followed and in 1958 the Series II brought about a new design and engine updates, including an advanced diesel engine which remained in service until the mid-1980s. Sales had reached half a million by 1966, while annual production peaked in 1971 with 56,000 units. During the 1970s, the Series III continued to sell as well as its predecessor, a testament to its enduring appeal.

The vehicle earned a new name in 1990 – Defender. By this time, the Land Rover portfolio included the Range Rover and the newly-launched Discovery. A new name was fitting for a vehicle previously only referred to by its wheelbase length and Series number.

Part of the Land Rover’s appeal came from the endless variants that were created off the basic platform, including models as diverse as fire engines, lorry-like Forward Control vehicles, cherry pickers and even an amphibious car capable of floating on water. Over its 68 year history, it has been a vehicle driven by everyone from farmers and famous explorers, to royalty.

For many Defender owners the vehicle has become part of the family, just as on the Solihull production lines where that same family bond has been forged over the years by the workforce.

Tim Bickerton, aged 55, has 40 years’ service with Land Rover having started as an apprentice, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Charlie and father Peter, who clocked up 35 and 30 years respectively working on the same line, both progressing to foreman. Tim was followed by his daughter Jade, aged 25 who worked on logistics and materials for the Defender, before recently moving to another area within JLR. Then last year his 23 year old son Scott became the fifth member of the family to work on the Defender.

Tim, who worked on producing special limited edition Defender models, said: “I am hugely proud of our special family tradition working on this remarkable vehicle. The Defender has become part of our family. We’re like a stick of rock with Defender running through us. The Defender is the vehicle that everyone relates back to Land Rover; it may be seen as a workhorse but we think it has become a real thoroughbred.”

David Smith, aged 56, is another 37 year veteran of the current Defender production line who will be moving across to the Jaguar XE production area. A former butcher he joined Land Rover as a 20 year old because it doubled his wages to £80 a week and gave him a job with long term prospects. “The Defender is a special vehicle and very much hand built. You need to get a feel for it; we call it ‘the knack’ and it takes months to learn the knack. It’s about doing the job at speed, it’s an intense combination of skills. Working on the Defender is like being part of a big family,” he said.

Jaguar Land Rover Heritage Restoration

Land Rover’s Heritage Restoration program will see the Series Land Rover and Defender’s name continue at Solihull. A team of twelve experts, ten of whom will transfer over from the existing production line, will lead the project, which will initially begin with the restoration and sale of early Series Land Rovers. The team has 172 years of combined experience working on Defender or Land Rover production. One employee who will transfer onto the program, Tony Martin, has worked at Solihull all of his life, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather; in effect, he will be restoring some of the vehicles his grandfather helped to build.

Tim Hannig Jaguar Land Rover Heritage Director said: “Land Rover Heritage will be offering cars, services, parts and experiences for all owners and fans around the world. Our new restoration service and the sale of expertly restored Series I vehicles is just the start of making sure that classic Land Rovers are not only part of our past but part of our future.”

Defender Journeys – Digital Scrapbook

Land Rover has also announced the upcoming launch of its online ‘Defender Journeys’ platform, which will allow the legendary model to live-on in a digital environment. The innovative online hub will allow owners to upload details of their most memorable journeys in a Series Land Rover or Defender. The aim is to crowd source journeys from Land Rover drivers and plot them on a single online map, preserving the memories of amazing adventures that have taken place in the iconic 4×4 for future generations.
The closure of the Solihull production line will also bring an end to Land Rover’s Celebration Line exhibit, although this too will live on. The replica 1948 production line has attracted more than 10,000 visitors in the last 12 months and charts the life of the Land Rover Defender from its origins in 1948 to the present day.

Enthusiasts will now be able to undertake the full Defender production line tour via a new online 360 degree virtual tool, here.

Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true ‘breadth of capability’ across the model range. Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque each define the world’s 4×4 sectors, with 80% of this model range exported to over 170 countries.

For enquiries about Land Rover’s Heritage Restoration Program, contact heritage@jaguarlandrover.com

SOLIHULL AND THE SERIES LAND ROVER/DEFENDER FACTS

a. The original Series I Land Rover cost £450 in 1948. It was powered by a four cylinder 1.6 litre engine with just 50 hp.
b. Since 1948, 2,016,933 Series Land Rovers and Defenders have been built on the production line at Solihull.
c. It takes 56 man hours to build each Defender.
d. A new Defender rolls off the production line every four minutes.
Over 10,000 Land Rover owners and visitors from all over the world have visited the Defender Celebration Line, which recreates the original 1948 production line, in just 12 months since it opened.
Famous owners include the Queen, Sir Winston Churchill and actor Steve McQueen.
e. The world famous Land Rover Experience operation brought a new dimension and adventure to 4×4 ownership when it was formed in 1990, taking over from the Demonstration Team that had been set up by Roger Crathorne to show the exceptional talents of the vehicle around the world.
f. The Defender became a movie star when it featured heavily in the film Born Free (1966) about the story of Elsa the Lion. Defenders are still used today by the Born Free Foundation and its founder, Virginia McKenna OBE and her son, Will Travers OBE who both fitted parts to Defender 2,000,000.
g. Two original parts have been fitted to all Soft Top Series Land Rovers and Defenders since 1948 – the hood cleats and the underbody support strut.
h. With 7,000 parts – it takes 56 hours to hand build every Defender, compared to 48 hours to build a Land Rover Discovery Sport.
i. Associates have their own nick names for parts of the vehicle; the door hinges are known as ‘pigs ears’ and the dashboard is the ‘lamb’s chops’.
j. Jaguar Land Rover Solihull currently produces Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Discovery, Jaguar XE and Jaguar F-PACE models.

SHARE YOUR DEFENDER JOURNEY

Click here to find out more about Defender Journeys and submit your own journey www.landrover.com/defenderjourneys

The post The Last Land Rover Defender – Celebrating The Legend appeared first on duane fernandez.

Recently came across a site called Cool & Vintage, I really don’t know what it is, but I’m going to look into it. It appears to be a place where they may or may not be restoring vehicles and making films. I’ll reach out and update you all.

LAND ROVER Series III and Camping Trailer Specs:

Year of manufacture: 1982
Engine: 2500cc Tdi
Gearbox: 5 Speed
Drivetrain: 4wd
Fuel Type: Diesel
Condition (0-10): 9
Price: RESERVED

“ACCORDING TO LAND ROVER WEBSITE, ONE IN FOUR OF US IS HARD-WIRED TO EXPLORE AND DISCOVER”

It is said three out of every four ever built are still on the road, somewhere in the world. Which of course means there are something like 1.5million previously loved examples out there in various states of vintage and decay.

“It’s a little tricky to drive at first but you soon learn. All you really need to do is slow down – and since when has that been a bad idea. You see more, take in more and do more.

Philosophically a pure utility vehicle, it is an enabler, the original lifestyle vehicle. It won’t be the only car in your garage, but it will be the one through which you will experience the most. It will enrich your life, your friends or your family. And all this in one of the most perfect pieces of industrial design the world has yet seen.” – As Michael Harvey from the Telegraph well put it.

LAND ROVER Series III and Camping Trailer Notes:

Power steering
Tdi engine
4 Disc brakes
5 Speed gearbox
Heavy duty diff and wheels
BF Goodrich Mud Mk2

Camping Trailer Specs:
BF Goodrich Mud Mk2
Tent
Complete camping cooking set
Water can

Learn more: www.coolnvintage.com

The post 1982 LAND ROVER Series III with Camping Trailer appeared first on duane fernandez.

Here are the types of stories you will find:

THE BEAK FAMILY TRIP
By the Beak Family by Land Rover, 1953
Bath and North East Somerset, UK to ZIMBABWE – 12268 KM

“Garage owner Don Beak bought a second-hand Series I Land Rover and set off on a 7,000-mile trek to find ‘a better life’ with his wife and two children. From Bath in Somerset, UK, they drove through Europe, crossed to North Africa then down through the middle of the continent to Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia). Crossing desert, mountains, jungle and bush along the way. With a homemade 35-gallon water tank bolted to the roof, the Beak’s Land Rover performed faultlessly the entire way.”

SHARE YOUR DEFENDER JOURNEY
Click here to find out more about Defender Journeys and submit your own journey www.landrover.com/defenderjourneys

The post LAND ROVER – DEFENDER JOURNEYS appeared first on duane fernandez.

INDIVIDUAL SUSPENSION SETTING
Each EXC model has its own individual suspension settings, optimally tuned to weight and engine. At the rear, a PDS shock absorber from WP Suspension works with a direct linkage to the upper side of the swingarm. The wide range of setting options for rebound damping and high- and low-speed compression damping are standard on KTM bikes.

TELESCOPIC FORK
The KTM Six Days models are equipped with a 48 mm 4CS closed-cartridge fork from WP Suspension. The 4-chamber technology (4CS) patented by WP not only provides a key benefit in terms of responsiveness and consistent damping characteristics, it is also lighter and oil services prove to be far simpler than on the conventional closed-cartridge versions. Naturally, the setting can easily be adapted to track and rider in a matter of a few clicks at the top of the fork: compression damping on the left-hand shaft, rebound damping on the right – another advantage of the 4CS technology.

FRAME
The modern frame design of the 500 EXC Six Days, comprising lightweight, high strength, chrome-molybdenum steel section tubes, combines maximum longitudinal stiffness with optimum torsional stiffness. It guarantees easy handling and precise steering behavior, as well as excellent ride stability. So the new frame not only shines with the new color, it also clearly represents the benchmark in terms of weight and stability. The frame color shines in the same orange as the KTM factory racing team, making the styling even more attractive. Thanks to the frame design and in conjunction with the rear PDS damping system, impacts at the rear wheel are absorbed and dissipated optimally. For MY 2016 the frame is protected by a robust frame guard.

SWINGARM
The cast aluminum swingarm has been developed with state-of-the-art calculation and simulation software and constructed, in terms of design and wall thickness, for minimum weight with optimum stiffness and precisely defined flexibility.

BRAKES
High-tech Brembo brakes have always been standard equipment on KTM offroad bikes, and combined with the lightweight Wave discs, they are the ultimate solution in braking technology. Being the class-leading brakes in Enduro, they are unchanged for MY 2016.

BRAKES
High-tech Brembo brakes have always been standard equipment on KTM offroad bikes, and combined with the lightweight Wave discs, they are the ultimate solution in braking technology. Being the class-leading brakes in Enduro, they are unchanged for MY 2016.

TRIPLE CLAMP
The high-end CNC machined triple clamps have been specifically designed for enduro use and ensure precise handling thanks to their supporting of the fork flex. The rider receives precise feedback from the front wheel, even in the toughest terrain, thereby increasing riding safety and speed.

TRANSMISSION
The proven 6-speed gearbox is distinguished by easy and precise shifting.

STARTER
The 500 EXC is equipped with kick-starters as well as electric starter as standard. The electric starter is well protected behind the cylinder.

PISTON
The lightweight, forged bridged box-type piston shares its high performance piston rings with the 450 SX-F.

DDS CLUTCH
The single-piece basket of the DDS clutch (damped diaphragm steel) is machined from solid high-tensile steel in one piece together with the primary drive gear. This process guarantees unbeatable reliability and, together with the thin steel linings, contributes to the narrow engine width due to its compact rivet-less design. The diaphragm spring makes it possible to implement an additional rubber damping system inside the clutch hub, ensuring reliability for the transmission and good traction. Finally, the hydraulic clutch mechanism by Brembo in conjunction with the diaphragm spring provides a very light operation and good controllable modulation of the clutch.

ENGINE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The Engine Management System by Keihin with electronic fuel injection and a 42mm throttle body ensures a spontaneous response and maximum engine performance. An oil-cooled 196 W AC alternator provides sufficient energy for the fuel injection, lighting and other electrical loads. With an optional map-select switch from the Power Parts program, the EMS can allow the rider to select different engine characteristics. In addition, the optional User-Setting-Tool provides the facility to readout engine data with a laptop and change the ignition and injection mappings with a few mouse clicks.

ENGINE
Developed for tough Enduro duty, the SOHC engine wtih 510.4cc is distinguished by an extremely compact design, easy maintenance and excellent durability at a minimal weight. Together with the Keihin EFI system, this provides unrivalled Enduro specific performance and rideability.

COUNTER BALANCER
In order to balance the mass-forces, the engine uses a counter balance shaft, which doubles as a water pump drive.

CRANKSHAFT
The crankshafts with strokes of 72.0mm and ultra-lightweight conrods are made by Pankl from special high-tensile strength steel. The crankshaft employs a plain big end bearing. Two force-fitted bearing shells run directly on the crank pin. The necessary oil feed for this bearing is ensured by the engine’s pressure lubrication. This design increases the engine’s long-term durability, and lengthens crankshaft service intervals, which is a customer benefit in terms of time, effort and cost.

CYLINDER HEAD
The cylinder head is equipped with a single overhead camshaft. It activates two titanium intake valves and two steel exhaust valves. The weight optimized valve train leads to low friction for improved performance as well as low engine braking action.

WITH EXCLUSIVE OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT:
• 4CS closed-cartridge fork from WP Suspension for optimum damping and high reserves against bottoming out
• Camel seat for improved long-distance comfort
• Skid plate for effective frame and engine protection
•Machined orange anodized triple clamps for extremely precise fork clamping and optimum fork function
• Orange frame
• Supersprox Stealth 2-component rear sprocket with an aluminum inner ring and steel outer ring for maximum durability
• Solid rear brake disc (no slots/holes) for improved heat resistance and reduced brake pad wear
• Floating front brake disc for consistent braking performance in extreme conditions
• Front brake disc guard for optimum protection from stone impact
• Light and sturdy racing mirror
• Metzeler tyres developed in cooperation with KTM for outstanding grip and traction
• Radiator guard for effective radiator protection
• Radiator fan for all 4-stroke models to optimise temperature management in extreme conditions
• Carbon pipe guard on all 2-stroke models for effective expansion chamber protection
• Six Days silencer, anthracite anodized and with Six Days logo (except 125 EXC)
• Front axle puller for simple front wheel removal
• Orange radiator grille
• Orange chain guide
• Exclusive Six Days graphics, with a striking design

MORE KTM:
www.ktm.com

The post 2016 KTM 500 EXC Six Days Enduro appeared first on duane fernandez.

From her student years to the present, Chang has immersed herself in a variety of creative fields from printmaking, graphic design, web design, illustration, marketing, event hosting, art curation and more. Sophia as the poised business beast that she truly is beyond hype.

As of last year she has founded her own creative agency titled, ESYMAI. Some of her most notable clients include the NBA, Samsung, Anthony Bourdain, Urban Outfitters, Nike, Red Bull, Proenza Schouler and Puma.

On her spare time she enjoys frolicking through the park with her dog Jonah and giving him unconditional love.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I’ve always wanted to be involved in the artistic field and I originally wanted to be a fashion designer, but when I got to school and saw everyone in school I realized I hated everyone.

What do you LOVE?
Sleep. Food. My dog.

What is something you had to learn the hard way?
Everything professional in my career. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I continue to do so. That’s how you live and learn.

What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you?
On my free time I foster rescue dogs and I work with an organization to financially raise a child in Rwanda.

How did you get to where you are?
I was drawing ever since I was little — whether in a little notebook or on a random piece of paper. With that passion in mind, I attended Parsons where I initially entered with a focus on Fashion Design and soon switched to illustration. I was following my dreams. Most individuals are scared to take that leap, but you have to do it. To get to where I am, I put in a lot of hard work. Whatever opportunity I saw, I took. It is integral to take those chances and to capitalize on it. Also, if you are not taking full advantage of your own capabilities, there is little room for growth. If you are struggling to make the switch over, remember, at the end of the day, it is about doing what you love. No amount of money can take away the sense of gratification. Just do it.

What are you grateful for?
I am grateful for good health, this great city for my gifts and talents, and the opportunities that have been given to me so that I can do what I want.

How do you define success?
I don’t know because I haven’t achieved it yet.

What’s the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to you?
I was watching tv on my couch once checking my email and a stranger sent an email with an attachment and the attachment was an image of a tattoo he had gotten. It was an illustration of mine.

What advice do you have for emerging designers?
My biggest piece of advice is, like any other profession, to submerge yourself into what you do. Have a goal in mind because after that what it comes down to is hard work. Get an internship, freelance, work a part time job, do whatever it is that you can to get you to where you want to be. Remember that nothing is handed to you; you have to work for it.

How do you think we can make the world a better place?
We have to teach the next generation what we know to help foster a better future. In order to make the world a better place it starts with us. It’s all about paying it forward.

More Sophia Chang, ESYMAI

Instagram: @esymai
Website: www.esymai.com

Featured photograph by: Ja Tecson www.jatecson.com

The post Sophia Chang, ESYMAI – Interview appeared first on duane fernandez.

Although this is an american version of the FJ40, this vehicle enjoyed single-family ownership in Colombia, where it was used in the city and for occasional trips to rural farms. As is common with similar versions, it was delivered from the factory with options such as front and rear heater, and a defogger system for the front-side windows.

After arriving at The FJ Company in mid-2015, it was put through a concours-quality restoration which was fully documented and photographed. The frame was powder-coated, and two coats of urethane sealed the chassis and floors. Two coats of anti-corrosive primer preceded multiple coats of the Toyota’s original Sky Blue paint, with the top of the factory hardtop finished in Cygnus White. Inside, the roll bar was repainted, the door panels, dash pads, and headliner were replaced, and the seats were re-upholstered in the correct grey material. New windows were installed and new seals throughout were used.

Simply put, one of the best FJ restorations yet.

The matching numbers 4.2-liter six-cylinder engine, four-speed transmission, and four-wheel-drive system were systematically rebuilt, using Toyota OEM parts wherever possible, and a new Old Man Emu suspension was fitted. The wiring harness was replaced, along with all fuse blocks and relays, and the gauges were refinished. The original heater was overhauled, a new Toyota OEM A/C installed, and all fixtures, nuts and bolts were zinc-plated.

One demanding collector or enthusiast will have access to this pristine FJ40 at the RM Sotheby’s auction in Scottsdale, Arizona in January 2016. Until then, this vehicle is available for inspections in our Miami showroom by appointment only.

To participate in this auction, please sign up with RM Sotheby’s.

FJ40 Highlights:

– Matching Numbers
– US model
– Front and rear heaters
– Side windshield defoggers
– Original hardtop
– Original roll cage
– Front disk brakes
– Power steering
– 4-speed transmission
– TOYOTA Period Correct Fog Lights

FJ40 Base Price includes:

– Frame off nut and bolt restoration by The FJ Company
– Vintage digital Stereo
– Old Man Emu suspension
– Toyota OEM A/C system
– Tool kit and reproduction manual
– High resolution photo-book

Learn more about FJ Company and their future projects: www.fj.co
I highly recommend following them on instagram: @FJcompany

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