Bunk Strutts

The .Gif Friday Post No. 688 – Bunnyshade, Nosestand & Groovin’ the Elephant

[Found here, here and here.]

This Pigeon.

Because gargoyles are way cool.

It’s some type of art.

James Cook of Finchingfield, Essex, England did this.
He’s on Instagram as @jamescookartwork. Timelapse vid at the link.

[Found here; related post here.]

Soviet Era KGB Telephones

At first I though it might be a gag/hoax/photoshop, then I found this:

[Top images found here.]

Independence Day

The Star Spangled Banner, The Diamond Four (ca. 1898) Berliner 4258, 7-inch 70 rpm record found here. Under the Berliner Gramophone trademark, German inventor and audio recording pioneer Emile Berliner began marketing 7-inch diameter disc records in the United States in 1894. The Diamond Four recorded several other songs for Berliner.

Stars And Stripes Forever, Kendle’s First Regiment Band (1901)Possibly the first recording of John Philip Sousa‘s “The Stars And Stripes Forever March.” Sousa wrote in his autobiography that he composed the march on Christmas Day, 1896, while crossing the Atlantic, after he learned of the death of his band’s manager. In 1987 an Act of Congress declared the song to be the Official National March of the United States of America.

Yankee Doodle Boy, Billy Murray (1906)The song was adapted and written ca. 1755 by Dr. Richard Shuckburgh(?); rewritten in 1776 by Edward Bangs(?); rewritten again in 1903 by George M. Cohen. [More history here and here.]

Also known as (I’m A) Yankee Doodle Dandy, the melody goes back to folk songs of Medieval Europe. The earliest words of Yankee Doodle came from a Middle Dutch harvest song of the same tune, possibly dating back as early as 15th-century Holland. It contained mostly nonsensical words in English and Dutch.

In 1978 Yankee Doodle was adopted as the Official Song of the State of Connecticut.

[Independence Day Archive here.]

Saturday Matinee – Otis Rush, Dale Watson and Fred Wesley & The New JBs

I went downstairs, made a cup of coffee, had a chat with the neighbor, took the clothes in, came back up to my laptop, and he was still holding the first “Well”.

Otis Rush (1934-2018) plays Willie Dixon‘s classic I Can’t Quit You Baby. Can’t confirm the date or show of this vid.

Dale Watson, keeper of the true country music flame and the Memphis sound (despite hailing from Austin) is right up there with Johnny, Willie & Waylon – and a lot of others.

Fred Wesley & The New JBs is comprised of:

Fred Wesley – trombone
Gary Winters – trumpet
Phillip Whack – saxophone
Bruce Cox – drums
Dwayne Dolphin – bass
Reggie Ward – guitar
Peter Madsen – keyboards

Happy Independence Day weekend to all. Don’t get too ‘splodey tomorrow – you’re gonna want to be whole come Monday.

The .Gif Friday Post No. 687 – Puzzled Pigeon, Bored Boa & Pizza Problem

[Found here, here and here. Snake courtesy of Nate L.]

Footballhead

The Colonel -1981 Eastern Kentucky University yearbook

In the 1920’s, Eastern students who wished to be known as something other than “The Maroons” voted for the Leopard as the school mascot. A plan to purchase a leopard from the Memphis, Tennessee zoo came to nothing and the students remained Maroons.

In 1963 President Robert Martin established the Colonel as the mascot, who continues in that capacity to the present day. The original Colonel design was by Louisville Courier-Journal editorial cartoonist Hugh Haynie.

[Top image found here, background story from here.]