By 1808, Spain had had just about enough of French Imperialism and Napoleon‘s occupation armies, and there was a bloody rebellion in Madrid that lasted for days (and led to The Peninsula War).
Francisco Goya was commissioned for paintings to commemorate the rebellion of Dos de Mayo a few years later in 1814.
Oh, and BTW, General Grouchy was a real dickhead.
Barely five years after Germany’s unconditional surrender in WWII, and they were still in business.
[Found here.]
![Klek Shop [08]](https://i0.wp.com/tackyraccoons.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/klek-shop-08.jpg?w=276&h=276&crop=1&ssl=1 "Klek Shop [08]")
Bulgarian “Squat Shops” emerged in Sophia after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Bulgaria rejected fascism and communism in favor of capitalism.
In the late 80’s, private ownership of production was legalized in Bulgaria. Among the first businesses to appear were these small “Squat Shops,” operated out of floor-level cellar windows. Despite more legitimate storefront space becoming available, these small portals remained operational and lucrative – miniature convenience stores catering to the cigarette fix of the passing pedestrian or the midday thirst of those waiting on bus stops, for which patrons have no objection to stooping to street level. An idiosyncratic, now common element of the Bulgarian capital, over time the shops have evolved elaborate displays, framing the small street level openings with bottles of alcohol, coffee, and cartons of cigarettes, often in eye-catching bright colors. –Ivaylo Getov.
Did you get that? No one was allowed to own a private business in Bulgaria until about 30 years ago, and they’re still recovering from that brutal economic oppression.
[Click on any image above for detail. Found via here.]
ATLANTIC OCEAN (April 15, 2015) The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) pulls alongside the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE 13) before a replenishment-at-sea. Porter is participating in Joint Warrior, a United-Kingdom led training exercise designed to provide NATO and allied forces with a unique multi-warfare environment in which to prepare for global operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Rohn D. Wallace/Released)
There’s an interesting timeline posted at USNI regarding the missile attack on the Syrian military airbase on 6 April 2017 that I haven’t seen elsewhere, and it gives hints about the strategy behind it… and more.
[Image and caption found here. USNI is updating their post as more information is released.]
Johnny Rotten weighs in on Briexit… and Donald Trump.
Roger Daltrey weighs in on Briexit… and Donald Trump.
Earliest known definition of “cocktail” as a beverage appeared in 1803. The actual origins of the word are disputed; here’s one analysis.
Groucho Marx once hawked cocktail napkins.
Ever wonder why cocktails are served in different glasses? Me neither.
No idea what the 1927 Jiggling Chair was supposed to remedy.
Attempted Escape of the Maniac from The Wild Witch of the Heath, 1841.
This is mildly amusing. Move your curser, then do it real fast.
From the You Gotta Be Kidding Me Department:
Cloned Woolly Mammoths are planned to be introduced to an Arctic Siberian park in order to stop “global warming climate change.”
Horrific April Fools Day pranks of the 19th Century, and some were lethal. More pranks here.
[Top: Original image of the TV-HiFi console hottie found here.]
“I will tell you this much however, that the rays of the Sun and Moon and Dew must be collected in a clean Jar or Vessel, separated from Rain and dirt, stench, smoke, and also from flying and wandering animals. The ways of attraction are many, but it is as well at home, as in an open place in the wind. As also a most fit and convenient Receptacle.”
Alchemist Johann Friedrich Fleischer‘s invention is described in his paper Chemical Moonshine, published in 1739. A subsequent publication in 1797 included the illustration above, by Sigismund Bacstrom, for its frontispiece
[Image found here.]
How to ruin the game of Darts.
What if James Brown didn’t feel good? This amused me.
Angry customer complaint dates to 1750BC.
Can you spot the error(s) in this 1816 painting? I spotted three. Okay, 2-1/2. [Found here.]
It’s called the WTF Mobile.
From the Holy Crap Department: A dwarf star trapped by a black hole (only 2.5x the distance between the Earth and the Moon away) completes an orbit every 28 minutes – at a velocity of 1% of the speed of light!
All you need to know about developing nuclear weaponry.
What did Donald Trump Tweet about YOU? Find out here.
Q: Why did early cartoon characters wear gloves?
1. Speed.
2. Contrast.
3. They were minstrels.
The correct answer is 4. All of the above.
Yeah, we lost another famous Chuck this week. Here’s Chuck Barris on The Gong Show featuring the late Eugene Patton, aka, Gene Gene The Dancing Machine. (If you thought I was going to post vids of The Unknown Comic, you’re mistaken, but here’s a link instead.)
GGTDM’s themesong was always Count Basie‘s 1938 hit “Jumpin’ At The Woodside,” so let’s go there. Here’s Basie’s Orchestra playing their 1937 hit “One O’Clock Jump” six years later in the movie Reveille with Beverly.
That 1943 Basie lineup likely included Buck Clayton, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Snooky Young, trumpet; Dicky Wells, trombone; Earle Warren, Buddy Tate, Don Byas, Jack Washington, saxes; Freddie Green, guitar; Jo Jones, drums. Not sure who’s on bass.
This Funk Bass Slapfest is awesome, and the girl’s smacking a six-string. I’m guessing that this how Julliard students settle their differences and go busking at the same time.
OH WAIT! THAT’S AMERICA PAZ!
Very impressive, Ms. America.
Have a great weekend, folks. We’ll see you tomorrow.
Just read Chris Kyle‘s book “American Sniper” and I highly recommend it. Here are some interviews.
I read Marcus Luttrell‘s “Lone Survivor” – twice.
Johnny Mead‘s got a story from WWII.
Former Soviet citizen Vladimir Jaffe politely attempts to educate students on the truth about life under communism. (The girl actually believes that the millions of people murdered by The Red Terror was “an accident.”) Their ignorance scares me.
Here’s what happens when you mess with a dead whale carcass.
This is what you get when you google Holy Crap.
Hungry? Eat this.
Perhaps you’d like a tin sandwich instead?
[Top image from here, and, yeah, they’re all tweezers.]
Tacky Raccoons 