Tinius the Cybernetic Turtle c1950 – An engineering student takes a robot through its paces, 1950. [RH-2013- Although looking like a turtle (tortoise) which suggests being a Grey Walter-inspired machines, With it two “eyes” appearing as though it is fixed to the steering, suggests more that it is just phototropic i.e. it is attracted to and will follow a light source as per Norbert Wiener’s Moth.]
[Found here.]
What if something happened and suddenly cell phones didn’t work, land lines went dead, all internet servers crashed, what’s left? HAM RADIO!
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is an organization for amateur radio enthusiasts (hams) that also rehearses for catastrophic events. Broadcast over shortwave bands, the ARRL’s been around since 1914 a as a way to communicate over long distances, relaying a message from station to station via morse code, and later with vocal transmissions, a bonafide precursor to the internest.
On 22 – 23 June they’re having a “Field Day” to practice for a real emergency:
Objective:
To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2.
These citizen volunteers are the last bastion, at least for electronic wireless communication, assuming they have a backup power supply to transmit and receive.
[Tip o’ the tarboosh to W.J.J. Hoge. Somewhat dated yet still related, James Burke explored a worst-case scenario in his “Connections” series.]
The Normandy Invasion: A Huge Gamble With A Huge Price.
God Bless Those Who Gave Their Lives For Freedom
and God Bless Those Who Finished The Job.
[via]
Ahmet & Dweezil Zappa with John Tesh and a lady in a box on Conan O’Brien‘s show. [Found here].
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band circa 1973. The SAHB was popular in the UK, but didn’t catch on in the US (with the exception of the Cleveland Ohio region).
On 4 February 1982, a day short of his 47th birthday, Harvey suffered a massive heart attack while waiting to take a ferry from Zeebrugge, Belgium back to England after performing a Belgian gig with his new band, the Electric Cowboys. He suffered a second fatal attack in an ambulance on the way to hospital [Wiki].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRWW-C17P1I
Getting Out Of Town – Awesome lineup from 1963:
Sonny Boy Williamson Vocal, Harmonica
Sunnyland Slim: Piano
Hubert Sumlin: Guitar
Willie Dixon: Bass
Clifton James: Drums
That should do it for today’s edition of The Saturday Matinee. Have a great weekend, folks.
One thing is for sure. Tony Clifton is larger than life, and his imposing image on the Las Vegas Strip deserves to be spilled into the right hand margin. If you don’t like him, you can leave this blog right now. He’s that big.
The late Andy Kaufman knew Tony Clifton personally. For those who only remember Kaufman as Latka Gravas from the TV series “Taxi,” you’re missing out, as Kaufman was an awesome, if eccentric, comedian. Prior to his stints on SNL, Kaufman was a stand up comic whose specialty was long set ups that often had no punch line, yet occasionally provided a responsive audience transportation to a local venue for milk and cookies. He was also a talented impersonator.
Kaufman impersonated Elvis, Tito Puente and Jerry Lawler, but his epitome [embodiment, exemplification, quintessence, essence, perfect example, exemplar, representative, type, typification, personification, incarnation, archetype, model, prototype, pattern, ultimate, last word; see also model] was Tony Clifton, and it was spot on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zpNIomYAkE
I’ve never seen a better impersonation of Tony Clifton, the greatest lounge singer/entertainer/comedian ever. Go figure.
R.I.P. “The Possum” George Jones (1931-2013).
Caravan Palace “Rock It For Me” [h/t to Bunkarina].
Acoustic Alchemy, led by Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale on guitars, Fred White/keyboard, Greg Grainger/drums and Gary Grainger/bass, Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA.
Looks like that’ll do for this edition of The Saturday Matinee. Have a great weekend.
[Found here.]
That image was in the “One Of These Days I’m Going To Post It” file. Might as well post it now since Jane Henson, muppeteer and wife of the late Jim Henson, passed away 2 April 2013.
[Image found here.]
Tacky Raccoons 