
[Found here.]

[Found here.]

‘The Fife cantilever’, c 1880s.
Photograph of the construction of the Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland. Undoubtedly Britain’s most famous railway landmark, The Forth Bridge was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in March 1890 following eight years of building, and completed the east coast railway route between London and Aberdeen. It spans the Firth of Forth, joining the city of Edinburgh and Fife in Scotland. The bridge was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, and built by engineer Sir William Arrol. It contains almost 54,000 tons of steel and when completed, the 1.5 mile long bridge was the biggest in the world. It is the world’s oldest cantilever railway bridge and remains in use to this day.
[Image from Feral Irishman‘s awesome rotating banner. Description from here.]

All Shook Up, Ry Cooder (1987) Album: Get Rhythm, Warner RecordsCooder took the 1957 Elvis classic and made it all sweaty ‘n’ swampy.
Two full minutes of St. Bernards.
Janet Nguyen’s story. (Here’s her home page.)
Dental training robot creeps me right out [via].
“The people who are their own spiritual directors have fools for disciples.” Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 -1153 AD)
Just in time for Halloween: Candy corn (and candy carrots & candy green beans) that taste like the real thing.
[Top image from here. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins put a spell on you.]
From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.
Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express live at Winterland 29 November 1975, San Francisco, CA. Early jazz fusion at its best. Lineup:
Brian Auger – organ, vocals;
Jack Mills – lead guitar;
Alex Ligertwood – vocals, guitar, percussion;
Clive Chaman – bass;
Lennox Langton – congas;
Dave Dowle – drums.
Robert Gordon‘s 1977 cover of Billy Lee Riley‘s 1957 cover of Billy ‘The Kid’ Emerson‘s 1955 recording of Red Hot got a lot of radio play. Now about that legendary guitar ripper…
Link Wray‘s recording career spanned decades, 1958 to 2000, and it’s hard to pinpoint when he was really at his prime. Wray was ranked No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time bu Rolling Stone, and is considered the “Father of the Power Chord.” Other fun facts: his parents were Shawnee and Cherokee; he was a Korean War veteran; he lost a lung due to tuberculosis in 1956.
Carlos Santana‘s 1999 album Supernatural is one of my favorites. Can’t believe it came out over two decades ago.
That kinda wraps things up until tomorrow. See you then.
[More images at the source.]

Hapa Haole Hula Girl (My Honolulu Hula Girl), Alfred Apaka with Danny Stewart’s Hawaiians (1951) Decca Records“Alfred Aloha Apaka (1919–1960) was one of the influential performers in the history of Hawaii’s popular music. Although he recorded for less than a decade, Apaka set the standards for modern Hawaiian music with his joyful, baritone vocals and highly entertaining performances.” (BTW, “hapa haole” doesn’t translate to “Honolulu,” and is also a style of music.)
NASA/NOAA prevented Global Cooling.
Binaural beats are considered auditory illusions.
“This is the best game of hide-and-seek ever.” [via]
Kiddie board games imagined as horror flicks. [h/t Nate L.]
Escaping through a predator’s butt can be a lifesaver [via].
[Top image: artwork by Derek Yaniger.]
From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.
Android 207 is a fun stop-motion from Carrotkid (Paul Whittington). In 2007, the film received the Best Film, Best Technical and People’s Choice awards at the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival. I’ve posted it before, and it’s still one of my favorites.
Classic Talking Heads video won “Best Group Video” at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1987. I probably posted it before also – I couldn’t find a live version of …oh wait, just found one.
Tito Larriva plays Radio Head in the movie TRUE Stories (1986). Larriva was a founding member of The Plugz.
Lost another great talent this week. Johnny Nash (1940-2020) was born in Houston, Texas, but moved to Jamaica in 1965, where rocksteady was big and reggae was just beginning to gain in popularity. Video is from Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, 1968.
Krosfyah‘s single Pump Me Up (1995) was a hit in Barbados, went gold in Canada. Great Soca.
That’s a wrap, at least for now. See you tomorrow and we’ll mess with stuff.