A vessel said to be the world’s largest aircraft has left its hangar for the first time, in preparation for a test flight.
British company Hybrid Air Vehicles towed the Airlander 10 – nicknamed the Flying Bum – out of its hangar at the UK’s Cardington Airfield in the early hours of Saturday morning [via].
And Iowahawk wins at Twitter again:
Leaving the 2016 Democrat National Convention?
The Astonishing Annual Red Crab Migration
Each year millions of bright red land crabs leave their burrow homes on Australia’s Christmas Island and start a long, laborious trek toward the sea. They descend cliffs, climb banks and maneuver around obstacles to reach the shoreline and lay their eggs, eventually returning to the island’s central plateau with their offspring in tow. The synchronized migration resembles a crimson-colored river undulating across the island and can last up to 18 days. The event typically takes place in November or December (the crabs will only move when it’s raining) and coincides with the turning of high tide and the arrival of the waning moon.
Epic Cat is still epic.
84 year old shows his stuff at Muscle Beach.
Weaponized Victimhood: “This is not a grand battle against institutionalised injustice. This is an addiction to indignation.”
The MiniMoog made music history. Here are Parts 1 & 2 of an interesting (but flat) documentary.
Remember Walter Carlos? He flipped the switch years ago, and nobody cared. Why does anyone care about that Bruce guy?
The Ramones 31 December1977 London. Very cool, but they didn’t play Sheena.
Canadian cities in the 1950s in watercolor.
Cussing in the carnival photobooth.
Incarcerated for his opinions in the United States of America, Dinesh D’Souza has a new film out.
FWIW, The Blogmocracy had trouble migrating their blog. Their new address is http://www.blogmocracy.com so update your bookmarks.
[Top image from here, with the caption:
“Already struggling with an impeachment challenge, the worst recession in a century and the biggest corruption scandal in Brazil’s history, the Workers Party leader was given another reason to doubt she will complete her four-year term.”
Something sounds familiar.]
Dinosaurs are always fun, and this video has a great cast of relative unknowns. It’s over an hour long, but that’s just a day in dinotime.
Ted Hawkins (1936-1995) had more success in the UK than the US, although he had a local fan base in Venice Beach CA where he was a popular busker. Check out his background at the link.
[h/t Charlie L.]
This version of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” is fascinating, as it appears that all the players recorded remotely. Playing For Change is not a band, it’s an organization based in Venice California that records musicians from around the world, and is dedicated to creating and supporting music schools particularly in developing countries.
Haven’t heard any Stevie Ray Vaughan in a while, so here he is with fellow Texan Johnny Copeland, live At Montreux 1985.
Have a great weekend, folks. Stay cool.
Yep, that looks like a bigass prehistoric ammonite fossil, and it’s not a snail fossil as the caption states.
Ammonites are perhaps the most widely known fossil, possessing the typically ribbed spiral-form shell as pictured above. These creatures lived in the seas between 240 – 65 million years ago, when they became extinct along with the dinosaurs. The name ‘ammonite’ (usually lower-case) originates from the Greek Ram-horned god called Ammon. Ammonites belong to a group of predators known as cephalopods, which includes their living relatives the octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus [via].
I found the top image (with the erroneous caption) in here, and wondered about the story behind it. Since fossils are typically embedded in rock and I didn’t see any hole or excavation, something seemed off.
Ammonite fossils are common, but are rarely larger than about 9 inches in diameter. Sure, some larger species have been found, but why wasn’t this one encased in plaster, crated up and shipped to an archeological museum? How could something so heavy and brittle stay in one piece while being tilted up? How could four guys lift it, let alone one?
A Tineye search brought me to the source – a 2005 documentary filmed in Lyme Regis, England for the BBC series “Journey of Life.”
This “fossil” was a prop, and it had a cameo role in Episode 1: Seas of Life.
[Full story with photos here.]
Perhaps you’re wondering why I suddenly found an interest in large fabricated ammonite fossils. It’s because I saw that top picture and wanted to do this with it:
The Anacreontic Song as sung by the University of Michigan American Music Institute Chorus, with Scott Van Ornum on harpsichord and soloist Jacob Wright, conducted by Jerry Blackstone.
The complete words to “Defence of Fort M’Henry.”
The National Anthem, The Great War & The 7th Inning Stretch. There’s a connection.
13 Illinois Toads & Frogs living in squalor and what they sound like. The Green Frog sounds like the intro to Seinfeld, but The Wood Frog is a serious contender for my next ringtone.
Here are some sources in case you ever need one.
Just Googled “Eyelash Peacock Dumpster.” I was not impressed.
Black Napkins is my personal choice for the theme song of the 2016 Presidential Election. If it all goes awry, I’ll replace it with Watermelon In Easter Hay.
[Personal to Weez: Thanks for the phone call.]
[Top image: “They are roughly 3 inches by 4 inches.” Found here.]
This magnificent feat was engineered with slide rules, and it amounted to blasting a giant bullet containing a human into the sky, then recovering both it and Alan Shepard intact [via]. Those early astronauts had big brass ones, and the creepy music made it even better. (John Glenn appears at 04:15.)
Speaking of Great Balls of Fire, here’s the next best thing to The Killer. Jason D. Williams pounds the ivories with Sticks McGhee‘s 1947 classic “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-dee-o-dee.”
Spodiodi was street slang for chipping in for a cheap bottle of fortified wine in a brown paper bag and sharing it with your buddies. Urban Dictionary says “Spodiodi” is a glass of wine spiked with bourbon. Nah.
BTW, Sticks McGhee was the brother of Brownie McGhee, who partnered with harmonica player Sonny Terry known for his harmonica whooping. “Key to the Highway” was covered by many, including what’s his name. That famous British guy. You know. That guy.
Here’s some Easy-On-The-Ear-Holes stuff from The Yonder Mountain String Band. They need some authentic whooping in my opinion. Maybe even some eefin.
Have a great weekend, folks, and be glad that you’re not in Turkey.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Read it in its entirety, and then read it to your children.
[Image found here.]
Tacky Raccoons 