[Update: Required reading.]
Saturday Matinee – Crater Face, Postmodern Jukebox, Gunhild Carling & The Best Moth Joke You’ve Ever Heard
“Crater Face” is an animated short about two lonely moon pimples and a deranged astronaut (by Skyler Page).
Awesome RickRoll by Postmodern Jukebox on the RMS Queen Mary in 2016, featuring Gunhild Carling on vocals, trumpet, recorder, trombone & bagpipes. Really.
BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!
I knew a guy who could play two saxes at the same time (with rubber bands holding down a couple of keys) and I can believe that someone might be able play two trumpets simultaneously, but three? Had there not been a video I’d have never believed it.
The song is “El Manisero“ (aka “The Peanut Vendor) and it dates to 1930s Cuba. Stan Kenton’s version is my favorite because of all the discordant stuff that he worked into it.
Classic Norm MacDonald delivery.
Have a great holiday weekend, folks. Enjoy the leftovers while you can, and don’t EVEN try to retell that moth joke because you’ll fail miserably.
The .Gif Friday Post No.461 – Playing with Echeveria
Yeah, I was bored.
Boy’s Life Magazine November 1927 – Happy Thanksgiving!
Excerpt from L.K. Smith’s short story:
In the early years of this country’s formation, Thanksgiving was celebrated intermittently as a time of a bountiful harvest, an insurance policy against winter starvation, and thanks were given to God. It wasn’t until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
Have a great Holiday, and I hope that the children and grandchildren still fight over the wishbone. –Bunk
Thailand Rodeo
Detroit’s Handicap-Accessible Sidewalks To Nowhere
Detroit’s in a financial mess but at least they’ve got curb ramps with truncated domes.
Consider the cost of this nonsense.
[(Demo + curb ramp + truncated domes) x 8 curb ramps per intersection x number of Non-Compliant intersections] x 1.2 for Union Wages = Some Serious Clams for a city with no money to be forced to provide handicap accessibility for ghosts.
In a city where poverty is high, schools are broken and crime is rampant, the federal government has forced Detroit to spend more than $50 million in the past decade for sidewalk ramps that often lead to nowhere.
Many of the nearly 35,000 ramps, which are for people with disabilities, are on inaccessible sidewalks or streets with no homes.
My guess is the construction cost per curb ramp is closer to $3500 apiece, not including striping, and it gave the Detroit Public Works employees something to do. On the other hand, it’s probably cheap insurance because the Americans with Disabilities Act is enforced via litigation and not local jurisdiction.
[Photo essay from here, via here. See Appendix D Page 43 for estimated costs.]
Monday Morning Puzzle
The photo was taken after an earthquake in the Tottori Prefecture on October 21st, in a hotel owned by the Kishida family.
Given:
Cabinet with glass panels, earthquake-shifted valuable bowls.
Task:
Extract the bowls intact without breaking any glass.
There are some great solutions offered, like this one:
Open the cabinet door just enough to allow the nozzle of an expandable insulation foam canister. Fill up the cabinet with expansive foam, wait for it to set. Open the door and chip off the insulation with a screwdriver.
I don’t know who posted that solution, but it’s brilliant.
[Found here.]
Roof On A Tin Cat Hot Links
- lima bean (n.)
- 1756, associated with Lima, Peru, from which region the plant (Phaseolus lunatus) was introduced to Europe c. 1500. Among the earliest New World crops to be known in the Old World, Simmonds’ “Dictionary of Trade” (1858) describes it as “esteemed,” but it has the consistency of a diseased dog kidney.
I grew up with a subscription to Mad Magazine. Check out what writer Dick DeBartolo is doing these days.
Interesting list of “hate crimes” that were hoaxes (with links).
Grifters. I’ve seen ’em everywhere I’ve ever lived. I remember growing up in Ohio and hearing the warning that “the Williamsons are in town.” Their gig was to offer to reseal your asphalt driveway with hot mop. The “hot mop” washed away with the next rain, and by that time they were out of town.
10 Best Leon Russell Songs (R.I.P. 1942-2016).
A turkey’s gender can be determined from its droppings–males produce spiral-shaped poop and females’ poop is shaped like the letter J. More fun turkey facts here.
[Top image from here.]
Saturday Matinee – Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Joe Cocker & Tom Jones, George Benson, and…
Gary Lewis & The Playboys‘ “She’s Just My Style” reached #3 on The Billboard Hot 100 in January 1966. The chicks dug it.
Joe Cocker‘s take on “Delta Lady” earned him a hit in 1969, and in 1970 he doubled down by performing it with Tom Jones. The chicks dug it.
George Benson‘s recording of “This Masquerade” was a soft jazz R&B hit in 1976, reaching No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Hot Soul Singles charts [Wiki]. The chicks dug it.
What do those songs have in common? They were all written by this guy:
Yeah, another great rock/soul/jazz/country icon passed away this week. R.I.P. Leon Russell (1942-2016).
Have no worries, these things happen all the time, and nobody lasts forever. Let’s have fun while we can. See you back here tomorrow.
Tacky Raccoons 