Category: reviews

The Americans

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Cover of The Americans and inside view.
Cover of The Americans and inside view.
I ordered a copy of The Americans by Robert Frank a few days ago. It arrived Monday afternoon. The Girl and I needed to evacuate the room so that housekeeping could do their thing, so we drove over to the Denny’s at 50th and Slide for a break.

It was a good break from working on my report. I needed a bite, some coffee, and some time away from the hotel. She napped under my table, while I drank my coffee and made my first pass through Robert Frank’s The Americans.

The Americans is classic street photography. Many of the images are grainy, meaning they were probably shot on Kodak Tri-X, underexposed, and/or push-processed to enhance the film speed. Many of them have a raw quality that comes from either the subject being unaware of the photographer or just not caring that they are being photographed. The captures are all interesting and remind me of my favorite form of photography — wandering around and watching for the image to jump out at me. Once I spot something interesting, then I set up the shot and make the capture.

I can recommend The Americans without reservation if you have an interest in photography in general, street photography in specific, or what normal life looked like in the mid-1950s. You will not be disappointed by these classic images.

Porlex Coffee Grinder

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Coffee GrinderAnother of my favorite simple tools is the Porlex Mini Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder. I bought it a year ago to go with the Bodum Personal French Press that I reviewed a few days ago. I’ve used it enough now to have figured out how to use the tool.

The design is clean and simple. It’s a bean bowl (top) below which is housed the grinder (ceramic burrs) and a catch bucket at the bottom. The catch slides off the body of the grinder so you can dump freshly ground coffee into the brewer. (I use a French press for now.) A stainless steel handle connects to the mechanism via a pentalobed nut. Once beans are loaded into the hopper, the “wrench” is slipped over the nut and then grind away. It takes me a couple of minutes to grind a serving of coffee while the pot is on to boil. The handle is long enough to provide sufficient leverage for easy grinding.

Setting the grind is a bit “fiddly.” (I love that British colloquialism!) Once set, the grind has been consistent for me (so far). I have no idea how long the unit might last in daily use, but I’m going to find out.

There is a strong “rubber band” with a slot to hold the handle when not in use. The unit fits easily into my travel kit. I much prefer to buy beans and grind my coffee on demand. The burr-type grinders produce a better grind than the “chopping” machines. (I had one of those and gave it away.) Ceramic burrs last longer than steel (so I’m told).

I like this unit. The design is simple, clean, and there aren’t many moving parts. It’s small, compact with the removable handle, and there is enough leverage to easily grind coffee. As I said, I like this unit.