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In the United States, today is National Hang Over Day & New Year’s Day! Are you nursing a hang over this 1st day of 2016?

NOTE: In case you missed them on the Old Cars, Strong Hearts Facebook page, these 6 photos ushered in “Happy 2016” for all United States timezones via an hourly “OC,SH SPECIAL ALERT”.  4 of the pics spanned the states via my 2011 “Coast-to-Coast” road trip; the remaining 2 are from state-specific TV shows.

Eastern US timezone (11p US central, 12/31/2015)
I took this photo 06/26/2011 in far eastern Ohio along the famed Lincoln Highway:

Central US timezone (12a US central, 01/01/2016)
I took this photo 06/28/2011 in east-central Oklahoma along famed Route 66:

Mountain US timezone (1a US central, 01/01/2016)
I took this photo 07/09/2011 in north-east Wyoming along I-90:

Pacific US timezone (2a US central, 01/01/2016)
I took this photo 07/04/2011 in far eastern Nevada, near I-80’s Exit 410:

Alaska US timezone (3a US central, 01/01/2016)
Since this is 1 of 2 states to which I’ve not been, celebrating with a scene from TV’s “Northern Exposure”, set in Alaska:

Hawaii US timezone (4a US central, 01/01/2016)
Since this is 1 of 2 states to which I’ve not been, celebrating with a scene from TV’s original “Hawaii 5-O”:

Friday’s Leadoff Drive:
6th behind-the-scenes “set prep”

Scale Model Christmas Cards (set design by OC,SHer TOM G & photography by BILL R) were presented in this theme, 12/21-26/2015. Now in the midst of a few days of info-history of this series, the “keys” of the 6 cards will be revealed 01/04-09/2016. This image is a group of long-time friends: L-R, son Tony, father Leo & mother Armi T along with OC,SHer TOM G (far right). If you look closely at Armi’s right shoulder, you can see the flat black rod holding up Santa’s 1953 Lincoln Capri; the rod blended in with the actual shot’s background, rendering it invisible. Each fall, Tom misses the smell of the hot glue & fake snow in the studio, as well as the huge press at the printers that signaled the cards’ creation in the months before each issue. Tom (previously written for “Old Cars Weekly”) started building scale model scenes in the mid-late 1980s. In early 1990, he met photographer Bill, who encouraged Tom to combine realism, fantasy & a “painterly effect” to create even better scenes. The pair teamed to create the line of 6 Christmas Cards, using car models & Dept 56 Snow Village buildings on a set built in-studio & shot with a large format camera (Bill’s Mamiya RB-67) to capture depth of field. Prints were done on a huge 4-color Heidelberg press & then sold in magazines.