Month: April 2011

Saturday Matinee – The Beatnix, Zappa, Carl Douglas, The Black Keys & the Streamline Rockers

One of my favorites of The PreFab Four (posted previously).

What the heck. Here’s Zappa’s version.

Here’s to the Royal Disco Wedding for our friends across the pond: “There was funky Chinamen from funky Chinatown.”  Great lyrics from Carl Douglas.  Reminds me of National Lampoon’s classic “Have a Kung-Fu Christmas.”

Heh. The Black Keys are my current favorites in the land of  retrorock, and they fit right in with the Soul Train motif. [Tip o’ the tarboosh to Bunkessa]

And as long as we’re going retro, here’s some rockabilly from the UK: The Streamline Rockers.

That makes five for this episode of the  Saturday Matinee, and with that I’m out. Have a great weekend folks, and see you back here tomorrow for more fun.

The .Gif Friday Post No.173 – SnowCat, JuJitsu Rabbit, 1968 Rubberkids

[Found here, here and here.]

Watercolors

Somebody finally invented a way to make drinking beer more fun than it already is. Unfortunately, the inventor didn’t think it through.

I can only imagine the disgusting mayhem that would ensue in the men’s room of Rosie’s Roadside Tavern around 11pm on a Saturday night. Forget writing your name in the snow in the parking lot. Every guy in the place would quickly discover his inner artistic talent, and then there would be a competition.

As for the women’s room artistry, I suppose we’re getting into the realm of “Jackson Pollock,” and we’ll leave it at that.

[Image found here.]

Copycat

Okay, before you think you’re clever and rename it as a you-know-what, there’s more to this picture than you think. We’re talking Zen convergence.

The modern copy machine owes it’s existence to cat fur and Chester Carlson. Never heard of him? I’ll make it easy for you.  Click here.

[Image found here.]

25 April – ANZAC DAY


Here’s to all the diggers.

Using letters, diaries and photographs, The Sunday Age recounts events through the eyes of the diggers who battled on amid despair and death. Jonathan King reports.

APRIL – THE LANDING

The great challenge for the Anzacs on April 25 was to land at Anzac Cove against formidable opposition from the Turks and then dig in. We are now within a mile of the shore and the din has increased… the whole side of the mountains seems to be sending forth tongues of flame and the bullets fairly rain upon us… the water is churned up from rifle fire, machine-guns, Maxims, shrapnel and common shells… seven of the boys in our boat are killed and God knows how many in the others.

Continue reading “25 April – ANZAC DAY”

One Easter Egg

A Kosovo Serb peels an Easter egg during an Orthodox Easter service in a fire-gutted Serbian church, burned in 2004 by ethnic Albanians, in Mitrovica, 40 kilometres (30 miles) north of the Kosovo capital Pristina, April 5, 2010.

[More great images, including this one, from here. The history of the Easter Egg may be found here.]

Saturday Matinee – Zappa, The Ink Spots, Iron Butterfly, Rare Earth & Satchmo

Earth Day has come and gone, and dang, I missed it. To make up for it, let’s run with the theme.

It would be different if I didn’t care, but I don’t want to set the world on fire.

Yep. In the Garden of Eden. On drugs.

That’s a rare Rare Earth vid. Now, to find one more video to round out the set… okay. I got it.

One of the prettiest songs ever written. Happy Easter and have a great weekend, folks. Be back here tomorrow for more fun.

The .Gif Friday Post No.172 – Kraken 1, Kraken 2 & Dual-Exhaust Ungulate With After Burners

[Found here, here and here.]

Steam Powered Flying Breasts

This makes perfect sense on some level that I’m not aware of. Here’s a bit of trivia: The name manatee is an English corruption of “manatí”  from the language of the Taíno, a pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean.

“Manatí” means “breast” in Taíno, hence the titillating title.

[Found here.]