Not sure what model or year that is, but the photos were tagged “1Atrac” (which could be Agtrac). If we get more info we’ll update this post.
[Images found here and here. Nice photography at that site.]
USS Indianapolis Found After 72 Years
“That was the time I was most frightened, waitin’ for my turn. I’ll never put on a life jacket again.” –Shark hunter Quint [Robert Shaw] in the 1975 film “Jaws.”
Quint was referring to the tragedy of the USS Indianapolis, torpedoed in 1945:
Recently the USS Indianapolis, missing for 72 years, has been found in the Philippine Sea approximately three and a half miles below the surface. Story w/ pics here.
Woody James was 23 at the time of the attack and lived to tell about it. His story of horror is very understated:
“Sunday, the 29th of July was a quiet day. The sea was runnin five or six feet waves, just a beautiful day out. Didn’t do too much, read a book, did a little tinkerin as usual. Had the 8:00 to 12:00 watch and just got off at midnight. A guy relieved me about a quarter to twelve. I went down through the galley and had a cup of coffee. Then went to my compartment and got a blanket off my bed and went back up on deck. I slept under the overhang on the first turret. My battle station was inside it so in case general quarters sounded, I slept underneath it. Just got laid down good, using my shoes for a pillow as usual and the first torpedo hit. I was up and down between the deck and the overhang of the turret like Yankee Doodle Dandy. And, I wondered, ‘what in the hell is goin on?’
I got out of my blanket and started to roll out from underneath the turret and the other torpedo hit. Another Yankee Doodle deal, all over the place. I started to walk forward to see what I could see and what I seen was about sixty-foot of the bow chopped off, completely gone. Within a minute and a half, maybe two minutes at the most the bow is startin to do down. It filled up with water that fast. Everything was open below deck and the water just flooded in and we were still under way, just scoopin water. Complete chaos, total and complete chaos all over the whole ship. Screams like you couldn’t believe and nobody knew what was goin on. The word got passed down, “ABANDON SHIP”! It was maybe five minutes and we were really down in the water so we proceeded to abandon ship.”
–Woody James
Survivor Woody James described his ordeal here. It’s even scarier than Quint’s monologue.
Saturday Matinee – About Hurricane Harvey
In case you’re living in a closet, there’s some nasty weather going on down south with a killer hurricane underway.
Led Zeppelin unapologetically ripped off Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe for one of their greatest hits.
On the other hand, this blues jam was an original.
So what’s next? Maybe a Rainy Night In Georgia.
To my friends down in Texas and Louisiana, keep safe.
The .Gif Friday Post No. 499 – Pelican Pecker, Scanner Ants & Futurisma
Magical Jazzy Cat Belches Rainbows
This is Post No. 4,000 and it’s entirely awesome.
Two milestones for this blog in the same month.
Think about it. If you started from the beginning and viewed one post every second, it would take you 1 hour 6 minutes and 40 seconds to get through it all, but if you’re a stoner, you might be occupied for days. Be careful out there.
How To Draw Paint.
Gone Fishing
I’ll See You on the Dark Side of the Hot LInks
The Great American Solar Eclipse is tomorrow. Plug in your location here to find out what time you need to start banging your pots and pans to drive the dragon away. If anyone tells you it’s safe to look at with the nekkid eye, he/she is a fool.
Don’t do it.
Apparently The Ancients blamed dogs for the temporary darkness of a solar eclipse.
Every time I hear it, it seems she’s singing about her cat. On the other hand, it’s a good Solar Eclipse party song.
The Mystery of the U.S. Navy’s Ghost Blimp is still unsolved after 75 years.
84 year-old folk artist Denny Lunn tells some stories [via].
The last Blockbuster store is still open for business.
An honorary statue in New Orleans, depicting a famous military figure on a horse, was defaced with the words “Tear It Down” recently. The honored warrior was captured, tortured and killed by fire decades before Europeans even knew about this continent, and centuries prior to the founding of the United States of America. TRUE.
Walter E. Williams on Rewriting American History.
[Top image from here.]
Saturday Matinee – African Raccoons, Toni Tee and Liquid Wisdom & The Specials
Raccoons stirrin’ up sh*t.
Toni Tee & Liquid Wisdom on a bus. They play a cool variety of music (reggae, rock, funk, soul, hiphop, punkadelic) but it’s tough to find a vid with decent a/v on the Utoobage. [h/t Bunkessa – yeah she scored two hits this week; this one and the one above.]
Can’t fight corruption with con tricks;
They use the law to commit crime.
And I dread, dread to think what the future will bring,
When we’re living in gangster time.
The Specials performed their 1979 hit “Gangsters” (with Lily Allen) at the Glastonbury Festival 2007. (The music was lifted from Prince Buster‘s 1964 ska hit “Al Capone.” Have a listen.)
Have a great weekend, folks, and let’s see what happens tomorrow.
Tacky Raccoons 