Five Bullets 7.4.25
The Phoenix, Darvaza, Velvet Sundown & more
Good Morning and Happy Friday Friends.
Happy Independence Day. I hope you’re enjoying the holiday weekend, taking a trip, heading to the beach, reading a book, and generally having lots of fun and relaxation. We can all use some fun and relaxation lately.
Here’s five bullets capturing my attention this week:
Looking for the perfect retro roadtrip vehicle this summer? Look no further than the Phoenix, a DIY campervan built on Volkswagon’s classic van chassis. Designed by Robert Q. Riley in the ‘80s the van features a fiberglass body, gull-wing doors, and can sleep four. The Phoenix’s space-age design looks like something you’d see in a 1980’s sci-fi movie (in fact it was featured in 1990 film Total Recall).
I finally watched 1956 film Moby-Dick directed by John Huston and starring Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab. Huston wrote the screenplay with Ray Bradbury, who said he “never was able to read the damn thing.” I wonder if Bradbury ever actually read the book though the film sticks pretty closely to Melville’s story. It’s not a perfect film nor a perfect adaptation but it’s an exciting voyage that captures the sense of epic adventure present in the novel.
There’s a new band everyone’s talking about but not for the reasons you might expect. Velvet Sundown might be the first AI rock band. I listened to their music and blogged about it.
Where’s the best spot to stand at a concert? It depends on the venue and but there’s a few tips to keep in mind. Frequencies and reverberance build up in certain spots so don’t stand near the stage, near walls, under a balcony, or dead-center. Try for the first or second third of the venue. Use your ears! You’re looking for clarity, where you can hear the music sounds best. My favorite spot is usually behind center and closer to the back third of the venue where the volume is more tolerable and the sound from the PA has time to blend well.
The Darvaza gas crater in Turkmenistan, known as the “gates of hell”, has been burning for over 50 years but might be getting smaller. No one knows exactly when or how the crater started burning but the story is that when a Soviet well-drilling team punched a hole through a natural gas pocket they ignited the methane rather than let the poison gas build up. It’s been burning ever since. If you’re wondering what else has been burning for years, there’s a coal seam fire in Australia that’s burned for 6,000 years!
That’s all for this week!
That Turkmenistan hole is lit