Just call me baby driver! Astonishing pictures of the 1920s motor pram that made nanny’s job a doddle ©

The Dunkley Pramotor allowed mother’s and nannies to effortlessly take baby on a trip around town without getting warn out

Built by British motor firm, Dunkley, in Birmingham, the Dunkley Pramotor was the company’s fourth attempt at a useful automobile to meet unmet needs.

Launched in 1923, the one-wheeled power pack was designed to be a practical mother’s helper, but in reality the bizarre machine earned Dunkley immortality.

The mother, or more often the nanny, would stand astride the single wheel of the scooter having attached it to the back of the pram.

The early machines were kick started, meaning nanny had to jump on with zeal and hope for the best.

They were originally designed with one horsepower, horizontal, single-cylinder two-strokes.

Initially, there was only one gear and once kick started, the noisy machine’s hectic progress was controlled with twin handlebars bolted to the back of the pram, with a hand-controlled clutch.

From the ‘inventor’s notebook’ it appears they intended the device to enable mothers to seem as though they could effortlessly glide behind the pram

Throwing caution to the wind, Dunkley introduced in 1924 the two-speed series.

Had there been such considerations as health and safety at the time, perhaps speeding along the road, baby-first in a non-crumple proof, open top vehicle, without any kind of restraint, may not have been permitted.

But thanks to the early freedoms to innovate potentially dangerous contraptions at will, people paid anything between 40 to 135 guineas for the Dunkley Model 20 Pramotor and the Saloon Pramotor with 26 x 2 in Palmer Cord motor tyres, respectively.

One of Dunkley’s earlier models was a ‘Patent Self-charging Gas Motor Car’, pictured, which took its supply of gas from any ordinary gas pipe or street lamp post, as shown to the right

For sporting nannies there was the option of this space-age looking 21 horsepower engine – a 750 cc two-stroke single – which at 75 guineas promised performance far beyond the roadholding capabilities of the average perambulator

Via dailymail

Photography || JAMES DEAN: THE ACCIDENTAL ICON ©

ACTORS ’50s

So much has been written about James Dean, and his influence looms so large over movies and over popular cultural in general, that it’s always jarring to be reminded that at the time of his death, at the preposterously young age of 24, he had starred in only three films — one of which hadn’t even been released when he died in a car crash on September 30, 1955.

James Dean, New York City, 1955.

And yet, as iconic an actor and star as Dean has become, much of the public’s view of the brooding young man from Indiana was, in fact, formed not by his utterly singular onscreen presence in Giant, East of Eden or even Rebel Without a Cause, but by a series of remarkable pictures made in early ’55 by the great photographer Dennis Stock.

James Dean in his apartment on West 68th Street, New York City, 1955.

In his wonderful 2005 book James Dean: Fifty Years Ago, Stock writes of trying to get the rapidly rising actor, whom he barely knew, to agree to let the photographer chronicle Dean’s return to both New York and Indiana from his new home in Los Angeles.

James Dean in his apartment on West 68th Street, New York City, 1955.

“The story, as I explained it [to Jimmy],” Stock wrote, “was to reveal the environments that affected and shaped the unique character of James Byron Dean. We felt a trip to his hometown, Fairmount, Indiana, and to New York, the place of his professional beginnings, would best reveal those influences…. I would solicit an assignment guarantee to cover expenses. The obvious magazine to approach was LIFE…. It took only a week for LIFE to approve the assignment.”

James Dean, New York City, 1955.

The photographs that Stock produced during his time with Dean captured an introspective, intensely self-analyzing (and occasionally self-absorbed) artist — albeit one who could, at times, also be self-deprecating almost to the point of parody.

James Dean attending dance classes given by Katherine Dunham, New York City, 1955.

LIFE, meanwhile, ran a number of the pictures in its March 7, 1955, issue, under the headline, “Moody New Star.” East of Eden was about to open. Rebel had already made Dean a household name. Less than six months later, the phenomenally talented, category-defying actor would be dead — and would pass into legend.

James Dean with the great Geraldine Page in her dressing room, New York City, 1955.

Here, LIFE.com remembers the too-short life and brilliant, violently truncated career of a true Hollywood original, as seen through the lens of a brilliant photographer, and asks: What would it have felt like?

James Dean with a friend at Jerry’s Bar, in front of the Ziegfeld Theater on 54th Street, New York City, 1955.

What would it have felt like to receive one’s weekly issue of LIFE magazine in the mail in, say, a small town in New Mexico, or New Hampshire — or in Boston or Chicago or Miami, for that matter — what would it have felt like to open it up, and encounter in its pages that startling shot of a haunted-looking Dean, cigarette in his mouth, stalking through Times Square in the rain? There’s a kind of desolate romance in that picture — a bracing, bleak solitude that evokes the story of every young, driven, sensitive, creative person who has ever moved to a city to pursue a dream.

James Dean poses in a casket in a funeral parlor in Fairmount, Indiana, in 1955, seven months before he died.

What did it feel like to see that picture, for the very first time, long before the man in the raincoat with the inscrutable, lopsided grin had become something far larger than a mere movie star?

James Dean in the Fairmount, Indiana, cemetery in 1955, where he found the grave of one of his ancestors with the same same name of the character, Cal, he played in East of Eden.

It’s difficult — in fact, it’s close to impossible — to address any photographs of note that have been around for decades and see them, really see them, as if looking at them for the first time. But if we’re able to suspend for even a brief moment all we’ve come to know of James Dean, or all we think we know of James Dean, then these pictures offer more than just a diversion, or a reminder of what was lost when Dean was killed in that car wreck six decades ago. They offer us a chance to experience the jolt that must have raced through countless readers in the late winter of 1955, as they gazed at Stock’s portraits of this strange, beautiful, thrilling young star, all the while knowing, knowing, that he would be with them, starring in movies, for years and years to come.

James Dean, with his cousin Markie (on the right), who lived on a nearby farm in Fairmount, Indiana 1955.

 Source http://life.time.com

Brangelina wedding photos? Hollywood’s golden couple tie the knot in pictures the paparazzi can only dream of (courtesy of Alison Jackson)

Those pesky paparazzi get everywhere! And as these aerial pictures prove, no celebrity is safe from press intrusion.

Even if you happen to be one of the hottest power couples in the world. 

But wait, surely there’s something awry – not least because the wedding in question hasn’t actually happened yet.

Artist Alison Jackson has reimagined the impending nuptials of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie where the roles of the couple are played by actors

No, things are not quite as they appear.

What seems, at first glace, to be the ultimate paparazzi scoop, is actually an elaborate set-up by maverick artist Alison Jackson.

Jackson is known  for her reimaginings of iconic events in which actors play the leading roles.

Last minute preening and preparations away from prying eyes. Or so they think…

Her most notable coup to date was perhaps a 300-image spoof take on the wedding of Prince William and The Duchess of Cambridge.

And now the artist has turned her camera on the impending marriage of Hollywood couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  

The bride looks ravishing in ivory – ‘is it Armani Prive or is it vintage’ – we find ourselves wondering as Jackson’s lens follows her lookalikes from their hotel suite to the car to the outdoor ceremony itself. 

One thing is for sure though. As any magazine deal surrounding the real photographs is likely to be worth about $10 million, security to protect the actual proceedings will be rather tighter than it is in Jackson’s world…

Everything’s perfect and Brad and Angelina are all dressed and ready for the serious business of marriage

Hollywood’s royal couple emerge from behind the door of their hotel suite – but the sunglasses aren’t fooling anyon

A stolen moment captured in the car. What sweet nothings is Brad whispering in Angelina’s ear?

The couple emerge from their vehicle with serious expressions

As the official wedding photographer snaps away, the couple appear unaware that they are being watched from above

[dailymail.co.uk]

There’s certainly nothing evil about Charlize Theron’s sheer dress. Kristen’s, not so sure

Charlize Theron turns up to the London premiere of Snow White wearing a sexy see through dress

Charlize does a bit of bewitching with her eyes

She plays the evil queen in Snow White and the Huntsman and although she had a black dress on, like what we’d imagine evil queens wear, there was nothing nasty about Charlize tonight as she arrived at the premiere of her latest film.

Wearing a floor length number, Charlize swanned into London’s Leicester Square with her lovely long legs on display through the sheer material and almost showing a bit of boob too.

Sexy and evil – Charlize ticks all boxes

Sheer loveliness – it’s an old cliche – but most appropriate

She’s sexy and she knows it

Liberty Ross also went for a see through dress

We’ve studied these pictures quite hard and are pretty sure her modesty is being protected by some flesh coloured material under there – unfortunately.

Kristen Stewart also stars in the movie as Snow White and Charlize told Celebuzz she thinks she’s got a great future ahead of her: “I think that she is going to have an amazing career,” she said.

Sam Claflin and Laura Haddock are a pretty pair, aren’t they?

Yeah, we’re not so sure about Kristen attempt at the whole see through, sheer thing

It’s just a bit weird rather than sexy, no?

Kristen would like you to see the back too

And a smile – there’s a first

“I think, as an actor, she’s doing it, because she really loves her job and she is really good at it. My experience has been, if your reasons for doing this is authentic as that and you have the tenacity and guts that she has, then I think you have the right personality for this job. I think she has that.”

Nothing evil about her at all.

Lily Cole slinked up too

This all looks a little awkward

[mirror.co.uk]

Pinstagram Turns Instagram Into Pinterest

For some reason or another, Instagram has yet to release a web-based interface for its billion-dollar social network. No worries, though—a bunch of companies have already picked up the slack. One of our favorites isStatigram. There’s now a new one called Pinstagram that, as you can guess, takes the format everyone’s recent favorite photo-sharing site. You know how we feel about Pinterest, but we can’t front—this is a great way to view Instagram.

[via FWD]

[complex.com]

‘He brought forth some of the most searing images of the 20th century’: Death of the photographer whose pictures defined the Vietnam War

Horst Faas, a prize-winning combat photographer who set new standards for covering war with a camera, has died aged 79.

The German, who joined US-based news agency The Associated Press (AP) in 1956, photographed wars, revolutions and Olympic Games.

But he was best known for covering Vietnam, where he was severely wounded in 1967 and won four major photo awards including the first of his two Pulitzer Prizes.

Combat zone: US Army helicopters pour machine gun fire into a tree line to cover an advance by South Vietnamese troops in this March 1965 photo by Horst Faas

As chief of AP’s photo operations in Saigon for a decade starting in 1962, Faas covered the fighting while recruiting and training new talent from among foreign and Vietnamese freelancers.

The result was ‘Horst’s army’ of young photographers, who fanned out with Faas-supplied cameras and film and stern orders to ‘come back with good pictures’.

Faas and his editors chose the best and put together a steady flow of telling photos – South Vietnam’s soldiers fighting and its civilians struggling to survive amid the maelstrom.

Captivating: Women and children crouch in a muddy canal as they take cover from Vietcong fire at Bao Trai, 20 miles west of Saigon, Vietnam. The January 1, 1966 image is another captured by Horst Faas

Among his top proteges was Huynh Thanh My, an actor turned photographer who in 1965 became one of four AP staffers and one of two South Vietnamese among more than 70 journalists killed in the 15-year war.

My’s younger brother, Huynh Cong ‘Nick’ Ut, followed his brother at AP and under Faas’s tutelage won one of the news agency’s six Vietnam War Pulitzer Prizes, for his iconic 1972 picture of a badly burned Vietnamese girl fleeing an aerial napalm attack.

Faas, who dies in Munich yesterday, was a brilliant planner – able to score journalistic scoops by anticipating ‘not just what happens next but what happens after that’, as one colleague put it.

‘Legendary’: Horst Faas, pictured right in Vietnam in 1967

His reputation as a demanding taskmaster and perfectionist belied a humanistic streak he was loath to admit, while helping less fortunate ex-colleagues and other causes.

He was widely read on Asian history and culture, and assembled an impressive collection of Chinese Ming porcelain, bronzes and other treasures.

In later years Faas turned his training skills into a series of international photojournalism symposiums.

Faas also helped to organise reunions of the wartime Saigon press corps, and was attending a combination of those events when he became ill in Hanoi on May 4 2005.

Lt Col George Eyster of Florida is placed on a stretcher after being shot by a Vietcong sniper at Trung Lap, South Vietnam on January 16, 1966

He was hospitalised first in Bangkok and then in Germany, where doctors traced his permanent paralysis from the waist down to a spinal haemorrhage caused by blood-thinning heart medication.

Although requiring a wheelchair, he continued to travel to photo exhibits and other professional events, mainly in Europe.

Faas also made two arduous trips to the United States, in 2006 and 2008.

His health deteriorated in late 2008. Hospitalised in February for treatment of skin problems, he also underwent gastric surgery.

Faas’ Vietnam coverage earned him the Overseas Press Club’s Robert Capa Award and his first Pulitzer in 1965.

Wounded in action: US soldiers are treated on a battlefield in Vietnam on April 2, 1967

Receiving the honours in New York, he said his mission was to ‘record the suffering, the emotions and the sacrifices of both Americans and Vietnamese in … this little bloodstained country so far away’.

Burly but agile, Faas spent much time in the field and on December 6, 1967, was wounded in the legs by a rocket-propelled grenade at Bu Dop, in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands.

He might have bled to death had not a young US Army medic managed to stem the flow.

He often teamed with Pulitzer Prize-winning AP reporter Peter Arnett to produce powerful and exclusive reports such as the 1969 story of Company A, an army unit that balked at orders to move against the enemy.

Read More >> 

[dailymail.co.uk]

The Liver Bird is back! Liverpool’s new kit nods to golden era

Anfield side unveil their first Warrior Sports strip

Golden boy: Steven Gerrard in the new Liverpool kit

Liverpool’s new kit has an old look – with a return for the Liver Bird club crest from their glory days.

Manufacturers Warrior Sports, who have paid the Anfield club an incredible £25m per season, have gone back to the classic badge and dumped the newer version, which featured an image of the Shankly Gates, the ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ motto and two Justice flames honouring the Hillsborough campaign.

Flying home: The gold Liver bird is back on Liverpool’s shirts

Sock it to ’em: The rest of the kit taks a classic approach

Photos credit to > Liverpool FC

The club’s publicity campaign for the new look claims: “It’s inspired by greatness. It’s modern tradition. It’s unapologetically Liverpool FC. It will make you feel 7ft tall.”

The kit is the first collaboration with Boston-based company Warrior Sports, a £25m-a-year partnership which broke British records when its was announced last year.

Old look: The badge has been replaced

They expect to sell over 900,000 new shirts – making Liverpool’s kit the fourth-biggest seller in world football behind Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The kit can be preordered on Liverpool’s website.

Dalglish stays: Liverpool boss won’t be axed… but his budget will

[mirror.co.uk]

Just the ticket for popping the question: The romantic ‘tunnel of love’ railway line that’s so beautiful it’s beyond be-leaf (just watch out for the train)

Strolling hand-in-hand with someone special, these young lovers must be in one of the world’s most romantic spots.

India may have the Taj Mahal, and Paris is the city of love, but the Ukraine has this incredible, ethereal Tunnel of Love.

There is one thing though, it’s also a train line. And when it’s choo-choo time, the tunnel does get rather noisy.

Anton Kozachuk, 18, and Nastya Guz, 16, walk through the Tunnel of Love in Klevan, Ukraine

Rather unromantically, the tunnel is actually a three kilometre section of private railway that serves a fibreboard factory near the town of Klevan, in the east of the country. It runs around three times a day delivering wood to the factory.

However, in spring the beautiful avenue of trees is witness to a very different journey – into love. For it is a favoured spot for young romantics to stroll with that special someone.

The magic happens when the trees that line the rails burst into life and create a leafy enclosed arch over the track.

It is said that couples can come here to make a wish and if they are sincere in their love it will come true. Pictured here were Anton Kozachuk, 18, and Nastya Guz, 16.

A train runs through the Tunnel Of Love’s private railway line

The tunnel is actually a three kilometre section of private railway that serves a nearby fibreboard factory

The tunnel is a favourite spot for young romantics to stroll with that special someone

It is said that couples can come here to make a wish and if they are sincere in their love it will come true

[dailymail.co.uk]

That’s one way to make an entrance! The Dictator is towed into his own world premiere in an orange Lamborghini

He’s already shocked at the premieres for his previous controversial movies Borat and Bruno.

And thanks to his antics at the 2012 Oscars earlier this year, Sacha Baron Cohen was always bound to shock at the premiere for his new film The Dictator tonight.

There was no doubt the funnyman was going to ensure the event arrived with a bang – and that it did as the actor turned up in a bright orange Lamborghini that had to be towed by a truck.

Scroll down for trailer…

Making an entrance! Sacha Baron Cohen turned up to London’s Royal Festival Hall for the world premiere of his film The Dictator dressed in full costume

Golden boy: The actor had just one prop in the form of a gold gun

Dressed in costume complete with a full beard, Sacha even drew a gold pistol out on photographers as he remained in character as Admiral General Aladeen.

And in true style, he made a huge impact as he turned up on the red carpet at London’s Royal Festival Hall flanked by a number of scantily clad females.

The horde of girls all had their legs out as they wore military-style khaki costumes with dark red berets and skyhigh black stilettos.

Controversial: The funnyman ensured he made an impressive entrance as he showed up in an orange Lamborghini that was towed by a truck

Hands up! Sacha was surrounded by scantily clad ladies in military costume while he waved a gold gun around

In character: Cohen was all smiles as he wore his large beard and drove into the premiere grounds holding an umbrella to shield him from the drizzle

Sacha stood in the sports car as he held a white umbrella to shield him from the drizzly weather as he jokingly announced to fans that he’d like to grant political asylum to his ‘wrinkled old buddy’, media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

And while the funnyman actor went all out in his controversial costume, his wife Isla Fisher was on hand to support him.

She turned up looking stunning in a pair of red heels and a lace mini-dress, while her hair was worn in a messy plait to the side.

Star turn out: Mohamed Al Fayed showed up to pose for photos with Cohen at the Thursday night premiere

Support: Sacha’s wife Isla Fisher was on hand at the premiere, but she opted for a glamorous mini-skirt and red heels

Oops! But her demure look was slightly ruined as the front split rode up to reveal her underwear

Different looks: Jessica Wright wore a floor-length blue and yellow dress while Kristina Rihannoff (R) opted for a shorter style

 

Read More >>

[dailymail.co.uk]

Real-life mermaid swims with whales using very own fish tail – and holds breath for two minutes on deep sea dives

Hannah, 36, was inspired to make first tail after watching Daryl Hannah in mermaid film Splash

By DEBORAH ARTHURS

Underwater swimmer Hannah Fraser has been fascinated with mermaids since she was three years old. 

Hannah, 36, an Australian who now lives in LA, made her first mermaid tail at the age of nine, after seeing the film Splash with Daryl Hannah. 

Now she works as a model, actress and performer, swimming with whales, dolphins, stingrays and even sharks.

Scroll down for video

Stunning: Photographer Ted Grambeau captured beautiful photographs of 36-year-old Hannah Fraser swimming with whales in the wild to promote their conservation

Inspired: Hannah, an Australian who now lives in LA, made her first mermaid tail at the age of nine, after seeing the film Splash with Daryl Hannah

Hannah can hold her breath for up to two minutes and swim to depths of 45 feet, allowing her to move like a real mermaid, without the restraints of diving gear.

In these images she is seen swimming with humpback whales off Vava’u Island, Tonga, to promote marine conservation and oppose whale hunting.

Hannah and her then husband Dave Rastovich, a surfer, were upset and frustrated after International Whaling Commission meetings where whaling nations were allowed to continue their slaughter under the guise of ‘scientific research’.

‘It was depressing and we wanted to go somewhere to connect with the w

hales and to raise awareness,’ said Hannah.

Fish out of water: Deep sea swimmer Hannah Fraser has been fascinated with mermaids since she was three years old and can swim to great depths using her homemade tail. Now Hannah works as a model, actress and performer, swimming with whales, dolphins, stingrays and sharks

Feisty fish: Hannah has been confronted by sharks while underwater, but says she scared them off with a frightening face

The couple flew to Tonga with photographer Ted Grambeau, who was able to capture beautiful images of humpbacks swimming with Hannah, in scenes documented by filmmaker Bali Strickland.

‘A baby humpback was curious and actually came up to me,’ said Hannah.

‘The whales were singing so loudly and the baby whale was squealing, which sounds even louder under the water. It was a very powerful experience.’

Many photographs for anti-whaling campaigns show brutal acts including harpooning and whales being winched onto ships, which can be too horrific for ordinary observers.

But Ted’s images appear in the children’s book, The Surfer and the Mermaid, and aim to inspire whale conservation. He added: ‘All the shots of Hannah are really poetic – really just surreal, beautiful shots.’

In 2007, Hannah swam in the sea in Taiji, Japan, with 30 surfers, celebrities and musicians, in an attempt to halt the ruthless slaughter of thousands of dolphins by local fishermen.

Hannah remembers: ‘Half of the dolphins had been caught and the others were roped off in the middle of the bay to be herded towards the fishermen.

Impressive: Underwater images show Hannah swimming with dolphins and whales, which she says gravitate towards her

Deep blue: Hannah is seen here swimming with humpback whales off Vava’u Island, Tonga, to raise awareness of marine life and oppose whale hunting

Spreading her message: Filmmaker Rob Benavides is currently shooting a documentary about Hannah, which will feature her work as a mermaid and sea-life campaigner

‘Instead of being frightened, the dolphins were trying to come closer to us in their net, as if they knew we wanted to help them. 

‘But at this point the fishermen were hitting us with sticks and moving their boat propellers towards us. We couldn’t get any closer and we couldn’t save the dolphins.

‘It was indescribable to see this happening and have to abandon them. I cried for hours afterwards. It was hard to be part of the human race at the point.’

Two years later, in 2009, Hannah swam in her tail with 14ft Great White Sharks off Guadalupe island, Mexico.

‘I thought if I was going to be a professional mermaid I’d have to face my fear of sharks,’ she admitted.

After trying out the shark-infested waters in scuba gear, Hannah was about to put on her mermaid tail, when one of the sharks became trapped in the diver’s cage.

 ‘Luckily the shark freed itself in time. But it made me realise it was safer not to use the cage,’ she said.

‘I got my tail on and got into the water. I was supposed to be surrounded by divers, but in the mermaid tail I swim much faster than anyone else. I realised I was on my own, but I stayed calm.’

She added: ‘Another time a shark turned round and came towards me, so I made a scary face and screamed at it in the water. Amazingly I scared it off. I felt invincible for months afterwards.’

Filmmaker Rob Benavides is currently shooting a documentary about Hannah’s life, which will feature her work as a model, diver, and sea-life campaigner.

‘One of the imperative messages in marine conservation right now is overfishing,’ she said. ‘We should be asking countries to better regulate their fishing industries.

‘We shouldn’t be eating any fish, but if any it should be only little ones. Large fish take years to grow and reach maturity. If we continue taking them from the ocean it will be a long time before stocks are replenished.’

Hannah Fraser is featured in a new children’s book Last Night I Swam With A Mermaid by Kimberley Muller.

Inspiration: Hannah says she made her first fish tail after seeing Daryl Hannah play a mermaid in the 1984 film Splash

[dailymail.co.uk]