Casualties of Modern Technology (10 of 12)- The Station Wagon

Given sky-rocketing gas prices and concerns that oil barons in Dubai are getting wealthy at American motorist's expense, one of the few areas where the right and left agree here in the United States, the station wagon is clearly a highway dinosaur, though I did spot one in a rural part of North Carolina several weeks ago.

The station wagon, according to Wikipedia, is an automobile that has a sedan/saloon with its roof extended. The vehicle also consists of of a three-box design or 'an auto with one or more rows of folding or removable seats behind the driver.'

The car was first developed in 1922, and the full-size station wagon, including the Ford Country Squire, hit the highways in 1967. But, the decline of the station wagon started in the 1970s as its gas-guzzling reputation made motorists opt for more economical imports, such as cars from Toyota.

But, the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, made especially for the Chevy Chase 'vehicle' (pardon the pun) "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983) helped keep some station wagons on the road until the end of the Reagan administration.

Station wagons were also quite popular at drive-ins, especially for features that were more family friendly such as "Old Heavenly Dog" (1979), which also starred Chase.

One drive-in theatre which has made a successful comeback is the Hull's Drive-In in Lexington, Va., the country's only non-profit drive-in. From Friday night until Sunday night, Hull's will screen a double-header consisting of "John Carter" and "Wrath of the Titans."

Other drive-ins which are active include the Highway 21 Drive-In in Beaufort, SC, one of the very last remaining drive-ins in South Carolina. It is screening "Battleship" and "Think Like a Man" on screen one; while "The Avengers" and "Dark Shadows" show on screen two.

Further down south, the Starlight Drive-In in Atlanta, one of the very few drive-ins with six screens, is showing several double-headers, including "Think Like a Man" and "21 Jump Street" on screen one.

While out west, 88 Drive-In in Commerce City, Colo., which is the Denver metro area's only drive-in venue will show "The Avengers" and "John Carter."

http://www.cinematreasures.org

http://www.hullsdrivein.com

http://www.hwy21drivein.com

http://www.88drivein.com

http://www.starlightdrivein.com

Virtual Postcard from Colorado- Graffiti Van in Denver

We have no idea which graffiti artist performed this radical makeover on this van, but we did learn from our visit to Colorado last week that Denver-area street artist Gamma Agosta has made quite a name for himself. Among his most famous works include one depicting a female Mexican bandit wearing a sombrero with machine guns in her hands and bullets covering her large breasts (hmmmm......I think we just got hit with an 'R' rating! But, we do try to keep it clean here).

Among the things to do in Denver when you're NOT dead (that's a reference to an independent American film for those of you in rural Uzbekistan), we highly suggest a visit to the Clyfford Still Museum, even though many of the great expressionist American painter's works are untitled (which drives us crazy).

But, speaking of people who have literally gone insane, earlier this year, Carmen Tisch, a Denver resident, punched one of Still's famous paintings, done in 1957 and worth $30 million, at the museum.

The dubious incident reminds one of an attack on Paul Gauguin's "Two Tahitian Women" painting at the National Gallery in Washington, DC, in April of last year. According to various media reports, Susan Burns of Alexandria, Va., the culprit in question in the Washington, DC-incident, said Gauguin's work was evil since it featured nudity and that it was 'bad for children.'

Burns later came back to the National Gallery and tried to assault Henri Matisse's painting "The Plumed Hat" in August of last year.

Lastly, we send out a special thanks to blog visitors from Armenia?!*, Belgium, Hungary and Jamaica** for visiting our blog today.

*-Hmmmm......I am a Turkish-American, how is it possible to be more popular in Yerevan than Ankara?!

**-It must have been a rainy day in Montego Bay! 

http://www.gammagallery.com

http://clyffordstillmuseum.org

Quote of the Week- Martin Scorsese

Wow! I just saw the stats for this blog, and assuredly if we were a cable reality tv show, we would have been cancelled three years ago. But, we do live in a world where more people watch "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" on Bravo than "Frontline" on PBS!

Today's quote of the day comes from Martin Scorsese. I guess one could argue about what is his best film: "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," "Goodfellas" or "Kundun," but we only get into politics when it involves Greeks, Armenians or Republicans (forgive the ethnic humor; I happen to be the only person of Turkish heritage here in Welch, West Virginia*).

Here is our quote from Scorsese:

"Cinema is a matter of what's in frame and what's out."

SIDEBAR: Well, we learned from their web site that The Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colo., which is going to be held from Sept. 29th to Oct. 1st is alas sold out!

But, should one be able to attend, there will be vendors from all parts of les etats unis**, including Boulder Beer from (of course!) Boulder, Colo., Fat Head's Brewery from Cleveland, and Cigar City Brewing from Tampa.

Closer to home, there is the third annual Brew Do, which is a beer festival in Blacksburg, Va., on Sept. 24. Hopefully, there will not be a home football game for Virginia Tech for those attending!

*- Not actually where I live, but it is a place that seems fairly similar to that.

**- The French word for The United States