the mehallo blog. beta.

‘the ‘Marina’ type, named after San Francisco’s Marina Boulevard store  . . .  The mosaic murals were created by John Garth. They depict food being transported from the four corners of the globe.’

Though abandoned by the company, this ‘googie-style’ seabird facade (above and below) was THE brand for the Safeway supermarket chain.

The Marina market even made an appearance in one of my favorite films, Bullitt (1968). It was part of the famous car chase thru San Francisco (clip below).

More on the ‘Marina’ style here.

Marina-style Safeway in Millbrae, 1963; click for larger image/jump

Millbrae Safeway interior, 1963

The chase from Bullitt; Safeway at 5:02 and (closeup) 4:45

Images found via Pleasant Family Shopping, Romleys, Grocetria

Tags: cool finds, culinary, design history by steve
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‘Storytime, an animated short made in 1968 by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python.’

Found via Laughing Squid

Tags: design history, education by steve
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Another Metropolis remix (above).

The complete, newly restored Metropolis (1927) will be showing locally at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, September 11 and 12, 2010.

Found via Alex R. Trujillo

Tags: cool finds, design history, music by steve
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Video for Treponem Pal‘s Dirty Dance, from the album Weird Machine. Directed by Olivier Lelong.

For more, drop by his website here.

Tags: music, photography by steve
1 comment  . . .   

‘It was Benjamin Franklin’s favorite typeface, and the first printings of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were set in Caslon.’

I am a history junkie.

And I loved the scene in HBO’s John Adams miniseries when Adams disputed the accuracy of the above painting (video, below). And how Ben Franklin’s approach to French diplomacy was more  . . .  ardent, than formal.

(I also loved how the miniseries used titled camera angles – like the United States was founded by villains from the old Batman tee vee series)

William Caslon’s fonts were the typefaces of the American Revolution.

Here’s some great reads on early American documents – as handy PDFs.

And here’s a link to John Adams on DVD.

Tags: art, cool finds, design history, education, fonts, typography by steve
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‘Nuit Blanche explores a fleeting moment between two strangers, revealing their brief connection’

A film by Arev Manoukian. Making of video here.

Tags: design, design history, photography, typography by steve
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‘The film’s title is an allusion to Tatlin’s Tower. This animated short by Theodore Ushev is like a whirlwind tour of Russian constructivist art and is filled with visual references to artists of the era, including Vertov, Stenberg, Rodchenko, Lissitsky and Popova.’

Brilliantly done! From 2006.

Tags: cool finds, design history, education, typography by steve
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A trailer (above) for a performance you’ll never see – because it’s already passed.

Some info here. And the trailer was released four months after the event.

So.

Just enjoy.

Tags: art, cool finds, design, music by steve
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Queen’s Radio Gaga. From 1984.

The video features public domain footage from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927).

Metropolis’ New Tower of Babel; click for larger version/jump

Also in 1984, producer Giorgio Moroder updated Metropolis with a rock score – controversial for some purists. Queen’s Freddy Mercury contributed Love Kills to the soundtrack (video below); though unrelated to the Gaga single.

So far, Moroder’s new wave-esque version (due to music licensing) hasn’t been officially released on DVD. But in comparison to the original (which got a complete restoration just this year), Moroder’s music, color tints and enhanced sound fx result in a totally different, very 1980s film experience.

Tags: design history, music by steve
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‘When I was a kid, there are two things I wanted badly and never got  . . .  A real dog and a Kenner AT-AT Walker.’

Short film by Patrick Boivin. Music by Blithe Field.

Found via Rachel Wells

Tags: cool finds by steve
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‘We picked 35 of our favorite movies and tried to simplify them as far as possible. The outcome is a 2 minute journey through the history of film.’

Pascal Monaco’s short film, 35mm.

Found via David Rosales

Tags: design, design history by steve
1 comment  . . .