Category: Books Revue

Inspired by Books from my personal Bookshelf they include a narrated video

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Speedway Annual #2 from Yesterday and Today a Video Revue by Duncan Fraser

My interest in Speedway has been inspired by the great Czechoslovakian Franta Juhan with whom I had the privilege of spending some with. He raced every motorcycle discipline and excelled in them all. Speedway was his thing and he loved it. My vlog on Franta Juhan has more.

My copy of the Speedway Annual No2 is the premise for this intro where I show a bit of yesterday and today starting out with some great footage from Wembley in 1933 in front of 55,000 fans and some Modern Speedway featuring recently retired World Champion Greg Hancock.

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In Europe they draw big crowds to these events. What I personally love about it is the feeder system to the national teams.

Speedway is a team sport Towns have that compete against each other. Each race is contested by four riders, and lasts for four laps. Competitions are conducted in a heats format. For each race, riders are awarded points based on their finish position, where 1st place finish carries 3 points, 2nd carries 2, and 3rd place finisher receives 1 point. The rider finishing in 4th place or who does not finish the race does not receive any points. The rider with the most points at the end of the competition is declared the winner.

Wiki says “Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only one gear and have no brakes. Racing takes place on a flat oval track usually consisting of dirt, loosely packed shale, or crushed rock (mostly used in Australia and New Zealand). Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways, powersliding or broadsiding into the bends. On the straight sections of the track, the motorcycles reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).

There are now both domestic and international competitions in a number of countries, including the Speedway World Cup, whilst the highest overall scoring individual in the Speedway Grand Prix events is pronounced the world champion. Speedway is popular in Central and Northern Europe and to a lesser extent in Australia and North America.

Now retired, one of the best is was Greg Hancock from the USA who was a California kid who dominated the sport for over 25 years and practically unknown in the United States but a hero in Europe,

A variant of track racing, speedway is administered internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Domestic speedway events are regulated by FIM-affiliated national motor sport federations”.

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The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life and why Culture is important

Corporate Cultures is a 1982 publication on The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life by Terrence E. Deal and Allan A. Kennedy.

Much of the subject matter is still relevant. You can be sucked into a whirlpool of ideologies by just using Google and Wikipedia under Corporate Culture. The Corporate Culture created by Steve Jobs at Apple is a great example of how a corporate culture can benefit everyone.

You often do not give culture much thought, but most successful companies will tell you it is worthy of serious consideration. Who and what are you and why should it matter is more than just a catchy byline. It is what binds you to your customers, employees and shareholders.

In a recent PWC report they said ” Now more than ever, senior leaders need to have both a clear and compelling vision and walk the talk. Canadians want to see their companies’ leaders follow through on their commitments to their people. They want to see their leaders setting a clear path towards building trust by giving their people a shared sense of purpose, while also making sure they feel valued, connected and visibly supported.” Countries have cultures that are in a constant state of flux.

In todays Canadian landscape addressing our culture in regards to women, our responsibilities to our aboriginal peoples, our disadvantaged citizens and minorities all need our attention. Being Canadian is an honour, and we can all be part of developing a culture to make us proud. (Duncan Fraser, January, 2023)

Duncan Frasers YouTube on Corporate Culture’s

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The Rubaityat of Ohmar Khayyam in Memory of Robert Gunn of 16th. Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery Vancouver, Canada

This introduction to Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is short reading in memory of the late Robert Gunn of the Royal Canadian Artillery who was the original owner of my copy of the book.

Mr. Gunn was a with the 16th. Battery of the Royal Canadian Artillery from Vancouver.

He passed away at the age of 32 in Sussex England while fighting for our freedom and the right to us to read books like this.

This book It is treasured my myself and has a place of reverence in my home.

With the exception of the Bible and Shakespeare’s collective works, the Rubaiyat must be the most printed book in the world but I had not read any of it until got this copy. I was going through what I call my metaphysical stage in the early sixties and its verses were deeply influential in the restructuring of this street youths mind.

I have referred to it may times since. I hope you do to! There is something for everyone in this wee book. Click on the link below and give me a thumbs up if you like it and subscribe if you care!

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Jawa Road Racers by Raymond Ainscoe and Peter Murray forward by Frankie Juhan

My friend Frankie Juhan was invited to write the inserts for Jawa Road Racers by Raymond Ainscoe and Peter Murray

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His dad Franta Juhan was a Speedway Champion for Jawa,

The Juhan family, Franta Juhan, Frankie Juhan, and Jaroslav Juhan have collectively won races world wide on two and four wheels.

Franta and Frankie Juhan are an integral part of motorcycling in Canada having supported the sport by assisting riders and events including Road Racing, Motocross, Cross Country, Trials, Flat Track and Ice Racing.

In Jaroslav’s biography written by Jan Kralik and published by Grada “Jaroslav Juhan, Life Without Brakes, the man who brought Porsche to Carrera” there is a great section on Franta Juhan which I have chronicles on my blog.

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Earth in Upheaval from a fossil in the Rockies to You

In 1972 while working for the Communications Department of the British Columbia Railway. I traveled extensively while installing microwave sites and railway crossing.

One of those trips took me to the Pine Pass in the Rocky Mountains. While on one of those installations I climbed a tunnel face in the Pine Pass and found my fossil. It is hard to imagine the shift the earth took to stick the ocean floor into that spot in the Rocky Mountains 2,900 feet above sea level and a fair distance from the Pacific Ocean

On my next trip to Fort Nelson in British Columbia I found a book that was causing quite a stir at the time by Immanual Velikovsky called Earth in Upheaval. It was an eye-opener!

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A Fossil from the Pine Pass, a British Columbia Railway Belt Buckle and Immanuael Velikovsky

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A Portrait my book of the Artist RC Gorman

The great painter RC Gorman was introduced to me in 1977 by a little frame shop Framagraphic Custom Picture Framing on Broadway in Vancouver. Since that introduction to his work I have a couple of books on him and his work.

I picked up the book RC Gorman A Portrait. The late RC was a Native American artist of the Navajo Nation. Referred to as “the Picasso of American Indian artists” by  The New York Times. His paintings are primarily of Native American women and characterized by fluid forms and vibrant colors, though he also worked in sculpture, ceramics, and stone lithography.

He was also an avid lover of cuisine, authoring four cookbooks, (with accompanying drawings) called Nudes and Food.

A great artist, a colorful character and a proud Navajo. I hope you take the time to look at his work and you see some of why I like it so much!

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When I look out the door from my den into my dining room I can see two pieces from RC Gorman on the wall. I think they give the wall a calm ambiance.

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The Porsche 550 and Jaroslav Juhan’s Story from his book Life Without Brakes.

The book on Jaroslav Juhan “Life Without Brakes, The man that brought Porsche to Carrera is written by Jan Králík in Czech and published by Grada Publishing

The translations (with help from Google), narration and video were done by myself. The views are my own and any the use of the book as a reference is with permission of Frankie Juhan. Frankie let me use his hard copy to augment the PDF Jaroslav sent me from Geneva before the book went to print.

The book is broken down into four videos inspired by sections of the book. please let me know what you think.

#1 : Franta Juhan, Czechoslovakian Speedway champion and Jaroslav’s older brother.

#2: The pre-war years Life was good!

#3: The war years and imprisonment by the Nazis

#4: Porsche 550 and Jaroslav Juhan The man who brought Porsche to the Carrera.

Life with Porsche, Lotus and Ferrari

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Jaroslav Juhan was a Czech racing driver who played a significant role in bringing Porsche to the forefront of motorsport. In the early 1950s, he raced a Porsche 550 Spyder in several endurance events, including the legendary Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico.

Juhan’s success in the Panamericana race in 1953, where he finished third overall and first in his class, Porsche’s management invited Juhan to join its works racing team, and he continued to compete in endurance races around the world, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mille Miglia. Juhan’s success on the track helped to establish Porsche as a formidable competitor in international motorsport.

His contributions to the development of the Porsche 550 Spyder also helped to shape the future of sports car racing, with the lightweight, mid-engined design becoming a template for future Porsche race cars.

Juhan’s achievements in motorsport were not limited to racing for Porsche. He also won several Czechoslovakian national championships and competed in Formula One, becoming the first Czech driver to do so.

Overall, Jaroslav Juhan’s career as a racing driver helped to shape the course of motorsport history, and his legacy continues to inspire fans and competitors alike. His brother was the famous Speedway star Franta Juhan so the family was influential on four and two wheels.

The process I used to do these included my writing notes as I read the book to give me a reference point. This wee clip was to show my best friend Frankie Juhan and Jaroslav’s nephew peek at my process.

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The Art of Motorcycle Racing by Mike Hailwood

The Art of Motorcycle Racing by the Legendary Mike Hailwood and commentator Murray Walker is book where Mike gives great advise for the aspiring racer. In my introduction to the book I try to share some of the excitement my copy has provided me.

I have mix a few relevant video clips like Mike Hailwood on the Honda six. I have another post on that great bike you here. All racers need to give some thought to what will they ride, where will the ride and how are they going to get there and back.

Mike gives some insight into all of these. When you are a world champion you gain insights from a rather lofty viewpoint, knowing the steps he took and the thing you need to consider on your path were helpful to me and is well worth the read!

My intro concludes with some great footage of Mike on World Championship Winning Honda 250cc RC166 six cylinder work of art. I hope you enjoy it!

Here is my introduction to the book: Please give me a thumbs up if you like it and subscribe if you care.

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Commodore Computers with Jim Butterfield and the Birth of Microcomputers and on being a nerd.

One of the books I cover in my vlog Duncan Fraser Reads is the First Book of Kim by Jim Butterfield who for thousands was their first introduction into the word of computers. The threads I pulled by opening this book took me on a personal journey which mirrored my working with Commodore in Canada, Computerland, Conti Computer Systems and travelling the world being a nerd.

I especially enjoyed my visits with the Amiga communities in England and Germany. The images were are pulled from the public domain and from my personal collection. When you are commenting on a book that is all about machine language( the language of Bits and Bytes) It was better to just pull the images. I wonder if they still teach would be software engineers how to write a “boot-start loader” Send me a comment if you know.

There is a great video in this with Andy Warhol at The Amiga Launch Party. Cool!

In the late 70s and early 80s, Apple and Commodore were two names at the top of every tech wish list. It was challenging to compare the Apple II and Commodore 64 at the time, but the Commodore 64 is the best-selling desktop PC of all time according to Guinness World Records. I owned, sold and serviced both, The 64 spawned the Amiga and The Apple IIE the Mac. The Mac VRS the Amiga is worth looking at.

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When I asked my AI Nancy what she thought of my post here is what she said,

“It’s fascinating to hear about your personal journey in the tech industry, and how your experiences intersect with the content of the book “First Book of Kim” by Jim Butterfield. It’s incredible to think that the Commodore 64 is still the best-selling desktop PC of all time, even after all these years.

As for whether or not boot-start loaders are still being taught to software engineers, it’s likely that they are still covered in some computer science curricula. While modern operating systems have become much more complex, low-level programming concepts like boot-start loaders are still important to understand for certain types of applications and system-level programming.

It’s also interesting to hear about your visits with the Amiga communities in England and Germany, as well as the Andy Warhol appearance at the Amiga launch party. It’s a testament to the impact that these early personal computers had on culture and society, and how they paved the way for the devices and technologies we use today.

Overall, it sounds like you have a rich and varied background in the tech industry, and I’m sure that your insights and experiences are valuable to those who are interested in the history and evolution of computing.”

Let me know what you think

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The Race for Leadership (Motorcycle Gran Prix 1961) Intro by Mike Hailwood for Duncan Fraser Reads

The Race For Leadership. The Introduction by Mike Hailwood. I have this great book on Honda that has seen better days. It has been stuffed in drawers, under beds, in carboard boxes and on numerous of my book shelves in the decades it has been in my possession.. The forward to the book is written by Mike Hailwood who to me is the greatest racer of all time, with Giacomo Agostini being right behind. This look at my book includes some great footage from the Isle of Man courtesy of the BBC. The process I undertake with these video’s that are based on books in my personal bookshelf is as follows: I pull a book from my Bookshelf, mostly at random, open the book to a random page, read a paragraph, make some notes, them pull digital threads I find. I digitize these and create a video. The narration and views are my own and no slight to anyone living or otherwise is intended. I sincerely hope you enjoy them and that I am able to transfer some of magic these books have provided me. My love for motorcycle racing, art and reading I hope is obvious. I have been involved in motorcycling in Canada since the early sixties and it is as glorious a sport today as it was when I was young.

My vlog on this is here. Please give me a thumbs up if you like it and subscribe if you care.