Month: July 2024

VW Lead Sled Beetle

Not exactly a rat rod, but still cool. [Found here via here.]

Steno-Disc Records Actual Business Letters

Artist unknown, produced by Jerrold B. Thorpe, Keane Records, Hollywood, CA.  (early to mid 1950s).

No. 507 – “Congressional Record”
SIDE A
Track 1: 9 min. at 150 WPM Shorthand Dictation Practice
Track 2: 9 min. at 160 WPM Shorthand Dictation Practice
SIDE B
Track 1: 9 min. at 170 WPM Shorthand Dictation Practice
Track 2: 9 min. at 189 WPM Shorthand Dictation Practice

Back cover is from Steno-Disc No. 513 – Business Letters for Students and Shorthand Brush-Up by Steno-Disc Records, Los Angeles CA.

Bet you want to hear a sample, ya? Steno-Disc No.506 is a good ‘un. On Track 4 a guy quits his job at the Globe Sales Co. and gets hired by a competitor. He doesn’t bother to give his name to his boss, Mr. Carl Fox, but I assume Carl figured it out when the guy didn’t show up for work on Monday.

There’s a three-car pile up on Track 10. Some guy who just quit his job went on a bender and ended up in court.

Some reasonably priced copies of several editions are available at Discogs.
The woman on the covers of the series? Carol Burnett.

The Museum of Lost Toys

On a dark and freezing morning during the winter of 2015, a plastic baby doll head left behind by the outgoing tide caught my eye. I pried it loose from the frozen sand and took it home. This began my slide down the flotsam rabbit hole. 

First, I only collected toys, but the collector in me inevitably took over and my toy collection grew to include shotgun shells, shoe heels, combs, old pipes, toothbrushes, balls of fishing line, and on and on and on. Soon, my yard was a plastic graveyard.

I’ve discovered that like things float together. Some days I might find 6 or 7 tennis balls, other days the wrack line is a trail of colorful bottle caps. Once, two Monopoly houses washed up on the same day about a half a mile apart. 

All these items individually don’t say much, but together, they tell the story of all of us; what we value, consume, discard, hold nostalgic. – Corinn Flaherty

Plum Island Museum of Lost Toys and Curiosities

[via Mme. jujujive.]

Rhonchisonant Hot Links

Theme to the Green Hornet, Al Hirt (1966) The melody, titled Полёт шмеля (Flight of the Bumblebee), was written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. It was jazzed up for The Green Hornet TV series theme by arranger and trumpeter Billy May.

Pipe jazz.

Tiny tools.

Bites Guide.

Eggs of film.

The perfect toy.

Glassy beasties.

A.I. ballet [h/t Pam M.]

Airpods Max headroom.

Norty Blues Episode 74.

Bád fada báite Cé Essex.

Rev. Peyton, Fishmancer.

Good dancer / bad dancer.

One second per day for a year.

Mama Colugo [via Bunkerville].

Kinetic mask [via Mme. Jujujive].

Reaperman [via Memo Of The Air].

Secret Service Girl [Full song here].

Major Taylor [h/t Queen Hepzibah].

Dark Horse, Dead Ringer and other phrase origins.

Free at no extra cost [via The View From Lady Lake].

Statue of Sir Winston Churchill, Parliament Square, 2024.

[Top image: Protest goon outside of the 2024 RNC National Convention.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago. 15 years ago.

Saturday Matinee – The Raveonettes, Fred & the Healers, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers

Award winning indie retro post-punk noise rock duo from Denmark channels Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. The Raveonettes are Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals. From the album Chain Gang of Love, the lineup includes Manoj Ramdas on guitar and Jakob Hoyer on drums.

Belgian blues band Fred & the Healers cover Junior Wells‘ classic from 1960. Current lineup is Frédéric Lani / guitar and vocals; Bertrand Lani / bass; Nicolas Sand / drums.

John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers performed at Mayall’s 70th Birthday Concert, Liverpool, England ,on 19 July 2003. Dubbed the Godfather of British Blues, Mayall passed away on 22 July 2024 at the age of 90.

Anyone watching the Olympics? If so, keep it to yourselves because I’m not interested. Tomorrow’s porch time shall commence promptly at whenever so see you then.

The Friday .Gif Post No. 864 – Flip ‘n Slide, Flashy Dude & Nostril Polishing

[Found here, here and the last was from Nevada, 2020, lost the link to the source video.]

Update: Flashy dude is Giorgio Moroder, aka the Father of Disco.

Gravity

[Found here.]

Stuff I Do When I’m Bored

False Advertising

[Found here.]

Land of the Cows

[Landscapes with cow backs found here. Click images to view them properly.]