Watches, Stories, and Gear: Isolated Living in the Redwoods, Tips for Your Video Calls, and General Patton’s WC57 Goes to Auction

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of some of our favorite watch content on Worn & Wound, great stories from around the web, and cool gear that we’ve got our eye on.

This installment of “Watches, Stories, and Gear” is brought to you by the Windup Watch Shop.

Worn & Wound
Affordable Vintage: King Seiko Ref. 5621-7020, and Some Things to Consider When Buying King Seiko 

On this week’s Worn & Wound podcast, we dove deep into the latest new releases from Seiko and Grand Seiko. But if you love Japanese and vintage is more your bag, we’ve got you covered. Check out this entry in the Affordable Vintage series from back in 2018, where contributor ZQ Chia takes us on a tour of his own King Seiko 5621-7020, and provides some useful tips on shopping for your own vintage Grand or King Seiko.

Read it here

The New York Times Magazine
The Weirdly Enduring Appeal of Weird Al Yankovic

If you came of age during the 80s or 90s, there’s an extremely high probability that your first exposure to certain major popular music hits wasn’t those hits themselves, but the incredibly popular parodies of those songs by Weird Al Yankovic. Over a career that has spanned four decades, Weird Al has ingrained himself into popular culture like few artists have. In this profile in the New York Times Magazine, we get an intimate look at Weird Al’s life, and it might surprise some just how normal he actually is. 

Read it here

Outside Online
This Man Lives Alone on a Dreamy Ranch with Redwoods

In this story from Outside Online, you’ll meet Charles Bello, an architect who for the last 52 years has lived a largely isolated life on a 400 acre ranch in Northern California. When he bought the land decades ago, he got it for what turned out to be a steal. But he hasn’t developed it to make huge sums of money. Rather, he’s actively protecting it, and has built some truly striking buildings on his vast property. At a time when we’re all thinking a lot about life in isolation, Bello’s story takes on an important new meaning that we might learn a thing or two from. 

Read it here

The Verge
How to Look Your Best on a Video Call 

These days, a lot of us are spending way more time taking meetings in front of a laptop or iPad than in a conference room. We’re all learning and creating new best practices for the new normal that’s setting in, and the Verge has some helpful tips on how to be sure that you’re looking your professional best on video calls from home. Keep those cameras at eye level, and don’t underestimate the power of good lighting. 

Read it here

Worldwide Auctioneers
General Patton’s Dodge WC57 Command Car

Most of us are probably not in the market for a WC57 Command Car, a purpose built military vehicle with a six cylinder Dodge engine made for the war effort between 1942 and 1945. But if you are, for whatever reason, looking to add to your fleet of old school military conveyances, you might be interested to learn that a car used by General Patton himself is soon coming up for sale. Indiana based Worldwide Auctioneers is selling this historic WC57 in an auction this summer. The vehicle features, among other things, a .30 caliber machine gun, armor plating, and “three-star general” pennants. It’s a fascinating piece of working military history, and it will be interesting to see how it sells when it goes to auction in June.

Read it here

The James Brand
James x Elyse Graham Ultimate TJB Box Set

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the work that the folks at The James Brand are doing in the world of knives and everyday carry gear, and they’ve just released a set that is too good not to share. This collaboration with artist and designer Elyse Graham features a coordinated valet tray that includes a ring dish and pen holder. The set also includes a Duval knife and a Stilwell compact pen, all matched with the proprietary resin TJB created with Graham for their original Duval collaboration. It’s truly striking as a series of design objects, and provides a ton of functionality as well.

Shop The James Brand here

Misc. Goods Co.
Playing Cards

At Worn & Wound we’re big fans of well made and carefully designed things. Watches, of course, but also everyday carry items like knives and wallets, apparel, footwear, and the list goes on. Take these playing cards, from Misc. Goods Co. Illustrations on the card front and back have been intricately redesigned just for this series (there are several decks available in different colors), and the cards are printed on high grade Bee coated paper, and made in the USA. Whether you’re a serious cardsharp or just play the occasional game with friends and family, these cards hold a ton of visual interest on their own, and at $15 they make for a great way to support a US business and genuinely good design.  

Shop Misc. Goods Co. here