Friday 27/1/2017 - This Week's Wristwatches.

I grew up in the 1970s on a semi-steady diet of TV comedy, which included The Carol Burnett Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. This may explain why I like a gal with a sense of humour, a quick wit, and a sharp tongue. Thanks, Ms Tyler Moore. 

I busted out the new drill last weekend. Wore my modified, circa 1993 Seiko 7002 'beater'. 

For those unfamiliar with the term, a 'beater watch' is what you wear when performing any tasks where there's a higher likelihood of your watch getting damaged. I don't know when watch collectors first coined this term, but it's stuck. If contemplating getting one yourself, I would suggest getting something that's battery-operated rather than mechanical. That way, you can just pick it up and put it on your wrist without having to re-set the time or wind it up to get it running.

Now, you might say; "Why not just not wear a watch, Teeritz?"

What are you, nuts!?

This Seiko has gotten paint-stained, covered in soil and sawdust, and picked up a few scratches along the way, but has always performed flawlessly. 

Once the work was done, I switched back to the Omega Planet Ocean;

However, later that afternoon, I thought I'd take a break from dive watches and swapped over to the Omega AquaTerra;

As nice as this watch is on a bracelet, I think I'll soon hunt around for a glossy black leather strap for it, just to dress it up a tad and make it more, uh, 'Winter-appropriate'. Although, it does look sharp on steel, I have to say. However, it's very close to the look of my Omega Railmaster, considering that both of these watches share the same case and bracelet designs, dimensions and virtually identical movements.

I've been thinking of giving this mid 1950s hand-wound Omega Seamaster a bit of a spruce-up. I got it off eBay about ten years ago for a steal ($127.ooAUD). Mind you, if I want to get it into decent running and cosmetic condition, I may have to sink some dough into it. I bought a set of hands for it five years ago, when these kinds of spare parts were easy to come by. Problem is, I didn't get a second hand for it. Now, I'm scouring the web trying to hunt one down. patience is key. The dial on this watch is pretty shot, but I read of a process that involves a mixture of distilled water and lemon juice which is meant to work wonders. I've seen before-and-after photos and, if I can convince my watchmaker to replace the hands, I'll take the dial home for a couple of days and try this cleansing treatment. 

Speaking of my watchmaker, he serviced my 1999 Omega Seamaster 300m last week and suggested I wear it a little, in order to help distribute the freshly-applied lubricants throughout the movement. Who was I to argue?

It was quite warm on Thursday when I put this watch on. I briefly thought about adding a half-link to the bracelet, but I couldn't be bothered. Too many other, more important things to deal with at the moment.

I'll wear it to work next week. I'll be interested to see what the timing machine at work says about the way this thing is running now. Hopefully, I won't let another seventeen years go by before its next service. 

It's held up rather well over the years. Although, despite wearing it solidly for the first six years that I had it, as my collection began to grow, this watch got relegated to the watch box more and more, as I found myself wearing other pieces a little more frequently than this one. Certainly, its design has dated since it was first produced in 1993, but it is still in production today, despite the various little tweaks that Omega have made to it over the years. Either way, this watch has become a modern classic for the Omega brand. 

Mind you, it got quite a bit of help from being the Pierce Brosnan Bond watch during his tenure as OO7. 

This morning, I switched over to the Oris Diver Sixty-Five. I had planned to go into town to catch up with a friend of mine, but I tried calling him and he didn't answer, so I figured it best not to go in, on the off-chance that he's busy with customers, etc. He buys and sells pre-owned wristwatches, and he credits (or blames) me with getting him hooked on wristwatches when he was a teenager. He's only twenty-three now, but he sure has come a long way. 

I'll catch up with him next week.

This Olympia SF is a great machine. I'd forgotten how nice it was to type on. 

Anyway, gang, that's all for now. Gonna try listing some things on eBay, in an effort to continue the de-clutter around here. I'm also gonna try finishing this epic post about our European trip a few months ago. That should keep me busy.

I hope you all have a safe and pleasant weekend, and thanks for reading!

 

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Friday 20/1/17 & Saturday 21/1/17 - Happy Birthday, Mr Grant, Reversing Wheels & This Week's Wristwatches.

FRIDAY EVENING
                                 Man, I'm tired tonight. Had a lousy night's sleep last night as it rained for hours. 

Meanwhile, at work today, I had about fifteen repairs to write quotes for. Between answering e-mails and phone calls, I managed to get three of them written by the time the whistle blew. 

No matter. I'm sure it'll all be waiting for me on Monday morning. 

I slipped the Omega Speedmaster Professional onto my wrist last weekend;

I couldn't find the name of the photographer who took the photos of A.A.Gill that I used in my post a few weeks ago. However, after I finished reading Gill's biography, Pour Me; A Life, I now knew that it was a fellow named Tom Craig.

So, let me give proper attribution to Mr Craig for the photos that I used in that post, along with this picture here, which I found in an article that I read a few weeks ago, but couldn't recall the title of;

VOGUE.co.uk | Tom Craig Remembers AA Gill in Pictures

It was a nice article. Gill had a penchant for wearing different hats when on assignment with Craig.  I can understand that. 

While fedoras have gone out of fashion in recent years, I still see guys wearing them occasionally. And of course, y'all know that I wear my ones whenever it looks like rain's a' gonna come. 

Except this morning. I didn't take my hat. And my head got drenched as I walked from my car to the train station, only to learn that the trains would be delayed due to overnight rains.

And, speaking of guys who look cool in hats, it was Cary Grant's birthday this week (18th). He and Bogart are my two favourite actors of the Old Hollywood era because they both epitomised the notion of what movie stars were all about back then. 

I've written about Grant before. Born in 1904, he had a smooth physical grace, honed from his early years traveling with an acrobatic troupe as Archie Leach from Bristol, before later heading over to the US and re-inventing himself as Cary Grant at the age of twenty-six. His film career in the late 1930s and early '40s produced a string of movies that were very successful and a great number of them are considered classics. 

(SATURDAY EVENING)

Grant retired from making movies in 1966, at the age of 62, after co-starring in Walk, Don't Run. His then-wife, actress Dyan Cannon, gave birth to their only child, a daughter that same year and he took great pleasure in being a doting father.
Hollywood continued to try to lure him out of retirement throughout the '60s and '70s, but he was content to remain out of the spotlight. He took up a position on the board of directors at Faberge and regularly attended meetings and traveled around the world on company business.
In his final years, he would travel the country, putting on a show called A Conversation with Cary Grant, where clips from his films would be screened and he would answer audience questions. I'd have killed to have sat in one of those audiences.
Cary Grant suffered a major stroke one afternoon in late 1986, while rehearsing for one of these Q & A evenings. He was rushed to hospital after slipping into a coma and died later that night. He was 82.
For my money, there has never been another actor like him. Not Pierce Brosnan in The Thomas Crown Affair, not Robert Redford in Indecent Proposal, and not George Clooney in the Ocean's Eleven trilogy.
Grant was smooth, sharp, funny and intelligent, but he never looked as though he was working it. And therein lay the difference.

I switched over to the Omega Planet Ocean on Tuesday;

Got home from work, threw my shirt into the wash, changed into more casual duds, then mixed up a slightly exotic gin & tonic;
- 90ml of Bombay Sapphire, over ice.
- a dash of lemon juice
- a dash (or three) of Angostura Bitters
-  three slices of cucumber
- topped up with Capi Tonic Water.

A couple of months ago, I took my Omega Seamaster Professional in to work. The watchmaker told me that he'd service it when he got the chance.
He popped it open not long ago and told me that the reversing wheel had worn out, similar to this part on the right (Picture courtesy of Archer Watches);

I purchased the Seamaster back in 1999 and have never had it serviced. Shame on me.
I, of all people, should practice what I preach. Any mechanical wristwatch ought to get serviced every three to five years. You can sometimes stretch this out to six or seven years, but generally, five year service intervals will ensure that you don't cause unnecessary wear to certain parts of the movement. At five years, you're having preventative surgery performed on your watch. Maintenance rather than repair. Of course, oils will dry out and some cogs will wear down and these require replacement in order to keep a watch running smoothly for another five or six years.

Anyway, the watchmaker gave it a complete service and told me not to let it go so long before its next service.
This watch is perhaps the most significant one in my collection. Not because of its Bond connection, but because it's the watch I had on when both of my children were born. When my son took his first breath of air in December 2000, the nurse looked up at the clock on the wall and stated; "Time of birth, 10:55am."
I looked at the dial of this Omega Seamaster Professional 300m clipped around my wrist and thought to myself; "Ten fifty-SIX am."

Okay, time to call it a day. I'm still slowly writing the post about our trip to Europe last September. It's taking longer than I thought it would, but I'll get there.

Thanks for reading, gang, and have a good rest-of-the-weekend!

Friday 13/1/2017 - This Week's Wristwatch

I wore the Seiko 7002 last weekend for some handyman duties. 

Which took longer than I thought they would. Still not completed, either. Ahh, well. Tomorrow's another weekend. 

I'm liking the way this Tower Chieftain III writes. Very snappy.

Which is good because it means I can sell my Smith-Corona Skyriter. The one with the short carriage return lever.  That drives me nuts. 

I have a few typers that don't see much action, but I'm not sure if I want to move them along or not. 

Something to think about some other time. 

The Oris Diver Sixty-Five stayed on my wrist all week. Think I just might switch to something else for the weekend.

 

 Speaking of weekends, have yourselves a good one, and thanks for reading!

My Most-Worn Wristwatches of 2016

Time for my third annual review of which wristwatches I wore the most throughout last year.

Looking back, it would appear that dive watches got the most wear. I can't say I was as adventurous throughout 2016 as I have been in past years. Having returned to work back in February, after a long hiatus, I think I found myself changing watches less and less as I spent my time getting back into a work routine and learning the ropes at the new job. There were days when changing my wristwatch felt like an unnecessary chore.
As for the overseas holiday back in September/October, I just took one watch with me, figuring that I would have plenty else to see and do during the trip, and sitting there deciding on what watch to wear was a minor headache that I didn't need. 

The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously, as General George S. Patton once said. Having only one wristwatch meant only one option. 

Once I tallied up the numbers, I was a little surprised by the results. I think 2016 flew by. Starting a new job and taking a major trip were the obvious main highlights of the year and I think my watches took somewhat of a back-seat to everything else that went on during the year. 

Still, they all performed as they should.
Anyway, here they are, in order of most-worn to least-worn. Please excuse the quality of the photos. It was an overcast day and the sunlight kept disappearing behind clouds.

 1- Omega Seamaster 300 - Model No 165.0024 
Calibre 552 from circa 1967 (WatchCo Build Edition)

I wore this classic Seamaster throughout 21 weeks of last year. I 'changed the shoes' on this watch a few times, alternating it between a black NATO strap, brown leather, and two different stainless steel bracelets. 

In the end, it stayed on a recently acquired Omega Speedmaster 1498 bracelet. On a very warm day recently, I noticed the fit of this bracelet was far tighter than I prefer. Your wrist can tend to swell up slightly in warmer climates. The trick is to find that half-way point between too loose and too tight. If Goldilocks wore a dive watch, it would drive her nuts. 

A couple of days ago, I sat down with the tools and had a shot at adding a half-link from another Omega bracelet, in an effort to get a looser fit. Half an hour of trial and error and it now has a more comfortable fit on the wrist. 

 Here's how it looked on a ten Euro leather strap with minimal stitch. These types of straps have been very popular over the last few years. Plain leather, with waxed cotton threading on the spring-bar ends that attach to the watch. This strap has raw edges rather than burnished ones, which means that it will age beautifully as time rolls by. It suited this watch nicely, I must add. The Seamaster 300 is one of the very few designs (in my humble opinion) that can accommodate any kind of strap or bracelet and still look sharp. The same can be said of the Rolex Submariner and the Omega Speedmaster Chronograph. 

And here it is on a $25 no-name bracelet with straight end-links, to give the watch a vintage look. I wore it on this bracelet until the Omega one came along.

 2- Sinn 103 St Sa Chronograph 
Calibre Valjoux 7750, 2009 model

This next watch was worn throughout sixteen weeks of the year and it's what I brought to Europe for the holiday last September. I thought I'd wear something that was highly legible, robust and water-resistant. And slightly bad-ass. 

The Sinn 103 served me well. Easy to read, accurate, and with a little bit of heft on the wrist. Although in retrospect, I think I should have worn a simpler watch. Just something that told the time, since I didn't really have a need for a chronograph. Looking at wristwatches on the streets of Paris and Rome, I noticed a predominance of colored plastic Casio digital watches on the younger men. Quite a few of them also wore Daniel Wellington watches on colorful NATO straps. Not a fan of this brand. I find their designs rather uninspired, being lifted from other, more established brands. The older men tended to wear Rolex Submariners and DateJusts mainly. Always good to see. Every other guy who didn't wear a watch seemed to have an iPhone firmly clutched in his hand, ready to check the time at a moment's notice. Not cool.

3- Omega Speedmaster Professional - Model No. 3570.50.00 Calibre 1861, 2007 model

Fifteen weeks of the year saw me reach for this classic chronograph. The entire NASA/ moon landing/ astronaut association is so firmly and deeply woven into the history and mystique of this watch, but this has never been a draw-card for me. Nope, the Speedmaster Professional appeals to me simply because its just a beautiful example of mid-Sixties chronograph design. The kind that is no longer made.

TAG Heuer no longer makes the exquisite Carrera chronograph like this anymore. They have brought out a few re-editions in the last twenty years, and they were very close in look and dimensions to this 1960s Reference 2447 NT model here. Their current Carrera models, however, are Carreras in name only. This picture comes from the very well researched and beautifully photographed website; 

Vintage Heuer Carrera

Universal Geneve made some incredible chronos back in the day, the Tri-Compax models being one of their most famous;

While you can see certain design similarities between this watch and the Omega Speedmaster, this UG chrono more than holds its own, and there are plenty of watch collectors out there to prove it, making these watches highly sought-after in recent years. 

More info can be seen on this You Tube video;

Universal Geneve Tri-Compax Cal 281 YouTube video by nabe

Rolex began production of their legendary Cosmograph models in around 1960. This particular Cosmograph Daytona on the left dates back to 1975.

Picture courtesy of;

rolexpassionmarket.com/watches/Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6265 Big Red circa 1975

A couple of years ago, I was given a similar model on loan for about a week. It was just a tad loose on my wrist, and I was nervous as hell when I wore it, but there was no way that I was going to mess with bracelet adjustment on this watch. Not at the prices that these things go for these days. 

It did have a certain something about it, though, and I could easily understand the mania that these older models create among Rolex aficionados. 

Here I am, being very, very careful with the 1970 Reference 6265/0;

Of course, Rolex still manufactures the Daytona chronograph these days, but in my view, it is far removed from the models on which it's based. It is also the most widely sought-after new watch on the luxury Swiss watch market. Somebody posted on a wristwatch forum recently that they were on a five year waiting list for a current model. 

Madness. Absolute madness.

 4- Rolex Submariner - Model No. 5513/0 
Calibre 1520, 1982 model

   

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you may have read of my long, albeit passive, hunt for one of these watches;

The Rolex Submariner 5513 - A 40 Year Chase Comes To An End

The 1982 model 5513 was the last of the Submariners with plain white Tritium dots for the hour markers. Mine is very similar to the model that Roger Moore wore in his Bond debut, Live And Let Die in 1973.
Vintage Submariners will always be pricey, but this was perhaps the only watch that I've ever really wanted. It just took me four decades and numerous other watches (thus forming a collection) to get there. I only wore this watch throughout 11 weeks of the year, though. It is in dire need of servicing and I'm treating it with kid gloves until that happens.

I was swapping the bracelet over to a NATO strap on the watch one day when the crystal and bezel fell away from the case.
When I regained consciousness, I carefully put it all back together and put the watch back in my watch box. I've worn the watch gingerly at times, but only around the house. I would hate to wear this watch out and about and then glance at it only to find that the bezel or crystal have fallen off. I have already been to Rolex HQ to get a quote for a service. Obviously, the bezel insert and crystal will need to be replaced. The bezel itself is fine, but the aluminium insert - for the uninitiated, that's the black ring with the numbers on it- is an after-market part. Something that the seller didn't disclose to me prior to the sale. In fact, the photos that he sent me showed a genuine Rolex Submariner bezel on the watch. No matter. For what it's worth, I long ago sent him an e-mail outlining his underhandedness. I felt a little better afterwards. Besides, I'm too happy with the rest of the watch, anyway.

For me, the main criteria was that the hands and dial markers matched. Over time, the original white hue of the luminous Tritium compound on the hands and hour dot markers can fade to a shade of cream. If these are exposed to moisture, they take on a cheesy shade of pale yellow. 

Thankfully, the dial and hands on my watch have only faded to cream, and they match each other nicely. Previous owners of these watches would opt to have new hands fitted during servicing, in the interests of night-time legibility, but luckily, this one was kept original. As a result, it is in very nice, original condition. 
Once I get it serviced, I'll feel more confident in wearing it a little more often. 
Can't wait. 

5- Omega Railmaster Co-Axial - Model No. 2504.52.00 
Calibre 2403, 2009 model

 

I'm getting lazy here. This is a photo from back in June.
The 36.2mm Raily was worn through ten weeks of the year. This watch is a personal favourite of mine. Simple, clear layout, 150m water-resistance- which is more than most folks need- and a perfect size for my 6.5 inch wrist.
The first Railmaster model was introduced back in 1957. There are rumours (or hopes) that Omega will unveil a 60th anniversary model at this year's BaselWorld Watch Fair in March.
Personally, I hope not. I think they got it right when they made this model and something tells me that, if they produce a new version, they'll jazz it up too much. Whereas this mid-Noughties re-issue stuck fairly close to the look of the 1950s original...

The dial markers and numerals are coated with SuperLuminova compound. It's also used on the cut-out sections of the hands. In the dark, this thing glows nicely. 


...there is speculation that Omega will use a faux aged lume on a sandwich dial* (to give it a vintage look) and that they'll use applied steel numerals instead of luminous ones. Basically, it might look like the current Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial, minus the rotating dive bezel;

To be sure, this here is a nice watch. If I didn't already have a couple of Omega dive watches, I'd have seriously considered one of these.

<-----*Oh yeah, a sandwich dial-
            Just quickly, the hour markers are cut out of the metal disc used for the dial. Then, another disc, coated with faux-aged SuperLuminova, is placed underneath it, sandwich-style. It gives the entire dial a three dimensional look. The use of applied steel (or possibly white gold) numerals further adds to this look. It definitely makes for an intricately put-together watch dial, and no doubt drives up the price. As I said, a smart looking watch, but I don't want to see a new iteration of the Railmaster borrow too heavily from another design.
Anyway, no matter. I got my one and I'm very happy with it.

6- Omega Seamaster AquaTerra Co-Axial - Model No. 2504.50.00
Calibre 2500, 2005 model

Another recycled photo. Sorry, folks. 
I was surprised to find that this watch made it into this year's list. I suppose that it's such an understated design that even I forgot that I'd worn it so much. 
This is a smart watch. Like the Railmaster, this watch measures 36.2mm in diameter and has the same level of water-resistance. It could actually work extremely well if you're a one-watch-guy. Sadly, I'm not. However, whenever I wear this watch, I'm reminded of how sharp it looks. The hands only have a thin strip of Luminova in them, which can make it tricky to read in the dark, but the hands are faceted, which means they do tend to catch the light from virtually any angle. 

If anything, it is perhaps hard to read sometimes if viewed front-on. This depends on the ambient lighting, of course, but I have found that the hands will sometimes disappear against the glossy black dial. It can be easier to read if tilted at an angle. Especially when I'm driving and I give the watch a quick glance for the time. 
Its glossy black dial contrasts wonderfully with the steel hands and markers. It does, though, bear enough design similarities (same case, crown, crystal and bracelet) to the Railmaster to almost make it redundant in my collection. I say almost because I took the bracelet off it not long ago and put a cheap calf leather strap on it which had a lizard-skin print embossed on it. This changed the entire look of the watch. 

Not a great photo, since it doesn't show the strap in its true light, but a glossy black strap does dress this watch up quite a bit. So, I think I'll hit eBay for a 19mm black lizard-skin strap at some point. 

7- Oris Diver Sixty-Five, Model No. 733 7707 4035
Calibre SW200-1, 2016 model

I am already formulating ideas for a proper review of this watch, so I'll keep it short here. The Oris Diver Sixty-Five was released at the BaselWorld Watch Fair in 2015 and it was one of the surprise sleeper hits of the year. Borrowing heavily from its archive, Oris created a modern version of one of its distinctive designs of the mid-1960s, beefing the size up to 40mm from what I assume would have been 36mm back in the day. This 2015 release had a glossy black dial which contrasted nicely with the sci-fi font of the numerals. The hands were a sober picket-fence style, and they placed a date window at the six o'clock edge of the dial. 

Later in 2015, Oris brought out another version with what they called a "Deauville Blue" dial (pic on left courtesy of Topper Jewellers). 
 It is of a lighter shade of blue than I am used to seeing on dive watches, with a soft, light grey disc at its centre. 



 Half-way through 2016 saw the release of another dial colour variation. This was done with not much fanfare from Oris. As soon as I saw this watch in the flesh (or 'in the metal', as watch collectors say), I was hooked. 

Glossy cyan blue outer edge, glossy black disc in the centre. Unlike any other dive watch I have. Forty millimetres in diameter (like my Submariner!), 100m of water-resistance, and a raised and curved sapphire crystal, which gives the watch even more of a vintage vibe. 
Truth be told, my tastes lean more towards vintage watches rather than modern. 
The bracelet design is borrowed/stolen from the riveted bracelet designs of 1950s Rolex models, and it perfectly suits this watch. I wore this Oris for seven straight weeks after I got it. Managed to prise it off my wrist on Christmas Day, to give some other watch a run. 
Oris is a tricky brand. Just when I think I've seen everything it has to offer, it surprises me with something like this watch.

And that's 2016's wristwatches. Others were worn to a lesser extent. My Seiko 7002 was my go-to watch whenever I picked up a screwdriver, paintbrush or mowed the lawns. 
The Longines Expeditions Polaires Francaises got a bit of wear too, once I swapped it over to a nicer strap. Again, this is a watch that would look great with lizard-skin. 
I sold off my Oris Miles Tonneau automatic to a very grateful buyer, so at least that will get some wear. I had originally intended to give it to my son when he's older, but he seems to prefer dive watches. Besides, there's no shortage of dress watches for him to choose from. 
This year will have more to do with maintenance of some pieces. My Seamaster 300m was purchased in 1999 and has never been serviced. That's well overdue.
Firstly, the Submariner. Once that one's done, I'll review what needs to be attended to next. Although, I can see that there may be one or two watches still to shift along, since they don't get worn much at all. 
I'm trying to distill the collection down a little wherever possible. 
Because, if they're not being worn, then they're just taking up space. 

Thanks for reading!


 

Friday 6/1/2017 - Oh, Summer, You Finally Got Here, Turning Fifty-One & This Week's Wristwatches.

Six fifty-five pm on Friday evening and it's currently 35 degrees (95 F). I got home from work earlier, and peeled off my sweat-stained shirt. There's no air-con in my car, which makes the 20 minute drive from the train station particularly arduous. I had a ribbon of perspiration diagonally down the front of my shirt, where my seat-belt crossed. I hate that. 

Changed into t-shirt and shorts, then downed one Peroni longneck and am considering another. maybe I'll wait a little while. 

Summer has dragged its feet this year, but I think it's finally arrived. We've had some sweltering temperatures over the last week or two, even though there have been a few overnight thunderstorms thrown in, just to keep things interesting, I suppose.

                                                                                                                                                                                       

I started the week with the Omega Planet Ocean. Been quite some time since I wore this one. I've somehow managed to rack up a speeding and a parking fine in the past month. I paid the speeding fine a couple of days before it was due. I'm slipping. I normally pay them as soon as I get them, to get them out of the way. 

Anyway, The Planet Ocean is a great watch. Perhaps Omega's last best watch before the company's switch to in-house movements and the requisite hike in prices.

Not wanting to stray too far from the design aesthetic of the PO, I switched over to the Omega Seamaster 300 next day. I spent far too long messing with the bracelet on this thing. It has felt a tad too snug since the weather began warming up, so I added a half-link from another Omega bracelet to it and, surprisingly, it worked and I now have a slightly looser fit.

It was my birthday on Wednesday. They got me a cake at work. Some very rich and decadent thing with caramel sauce smothered over the top of it and multi-layered sponge filling. With a chocolate maccaroon delicately perched on top. 

Back on the home-front, my wife renewed my Movie Club Membership card for me. She also got me a couple of vintage envelopes from the 1980s because the addresses were typewritten and they were post-marked early '89, just before The Cold War started to thaw out and The Wall came down. I'll use them as bookmarks. Now there's a whole post subject right there. I NEVER dog-ear the pages of books when I read them. 

Thursday. Another hot day. Got home from work and reached for a beer. There was a small package waiting for me on the kitchen table. It contained a 50mm Nikkor F mount lens for the recently acquired Nikon FM2 that I got last month. I was using the lens from my Nikon F on this new camera and I didn't like the idea of sharing one lens between two cameras. This new lens' focus ring turns a little too freely, but this is no drama. The lens itself seems to be in pretty good condition. I loaded some film into the camera. We'll see what kind of results it yields.

Today, I switched to the Oris Diver Sixty-Five. Seen here with one of those envelopes my wife got me. 

It's now almost midnight. No, it didn't take me five hours to write this post. I took a break, had some dinner, then sat down to watch Django Unchained (Dir: Quentin Tarantino, 2012). With a running time of 160 minutes, I was a little worried that it would contain some long scenes, thus slowing down the pace of the film. I say this because I watched a little of Reservoir Dogs on TV recently and there was a long scene between Mr White (Harvey Keitel) and Mr Pink (Steve Buscemi) and I felt that some of the dialogue could have been snipped. I have the film on DVD, so I think I may have to sit down and watch it from start to finish. Haven't seen it since '92, after all. 

Must say I enjoyed Django Unchained. It moved at a good pace. A tad ultra-violent, but that's the point of this homage to spaghetti westerns of the '60's (with a dose of '70s blaxploitation films thrown in). Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx worked off each other nicely, and QT's writing has gotten sharper in the 20 years since Reservoir Dogs. 

Although, he's still excessive with the 'N' word and "MoFo". I ain't too PC, so it doesn't bug me, as long as it fits in the context of the story. But "MoFo" was bandied about a little too much. Besides, I'm not so sure this slang term even existed back in the 1860s in which the film is set. 

But hey, it's a Tarantino movie.

Okay, past midnight now. Still working on a couple of big posts. Might see if I can get a bit of them done over the weekend.

Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

P.S.- What's the bet I re-read this post tomorrow morning and find all manner of spelling and grammatical errors?
Been happening to me a lot lately.