Category: History

CB & FZ

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A seat at this table would have been priceless.

[Image from here by way of link from here.]

Memorial Day – Remember Always.

Heroes

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“We need a statue…”

“…so I’m commissioning you to create a lasting statue, one that represents our country’s honor, bravery and courage in the face of adversity.”
“How about a ferocious lion, fighting its way to freedom?”
“No. I want a goat.”
“A goat, sir?”
“Yes. A goat with a pike.”
“A goat holding a fish, sir?”
“No. A goat holding a pike, a lance.”
“A jousting goat, sir?”
“No. A goat just holding a lance, to show that we are peaceful at heart, yet are capable of defending ourselves should we need to.  And it’s got to be a Christian goat.”
“But sir, not all of our countrymen are Christians.”
“So include our flag, to unite us, and to recognize the Christians as well.”
“You got it.”

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And it struck fear in the hearts of no one…

[Image from VE’s Fantastical Vacation.]

Kent State Day – 4 May 1970

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Many sequential decisions and errors in judgment resulted in the deaths of Four Innocents, yet few condemn the true perpetrators.

After reviewing many videos posted on the utoobage about the event, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a lot of fabrication going on in the “information age,” just as there was in 1970 with the campus infiltrators.  One pathetic moron even posted a video that claims the atrocity happened in April 1970.

History teaches valuable lessons, but rewriting history and exploiting the deaths of The Innocents to push a political agenda  is truly despicable.

[Previous post with brief summary and links here.  Image from here.]

John Rowley’s Contribution to the World

How to Build a Zebra

Step 1.  Build a zebra frame.

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Step 2. Paint to resemble a zebra.

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How to Build a Rhinoceros

Step 1.  Build a rhinoceros frame.

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Step 2. Paint to resemble a rhinoceros.

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How to Build a Wildebeest

Step 1. Take a wild guess.

“The Art of Taxidermy,” 1898, by John Rowley can be found in its entirety here.  The text is fascinating.  I just might download it so I can repair my jackalope head.

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[Another excellent find by Hanuman.  Jackalope photo from here.  Also, check out our Archive of Contributions to the World.]

Happy Birthday, Diesel

jiminy-cricket1We first met Mr. D months before we lifted this from Mattress Police.  After heated debate about copyright infringement  (during which I pointed out his own legal transgressions)  we agreed to resolve the matter with my purchase of  a copy of “Tales of the Mattress Police.”  Cost me my penny jar vs. a long expensive legal procedure, and I think the settlement was fair.  Oddly, the tome vanished from sight within days of its arrival at the House of Strutts.

Our revered autographed copy  mysteriously reappeared recently, slightly soiled with suspicious creases in the binding, and with the bookmark postcard above stuck  in the crack between pages 136 & 137.

Anyone not familiar with Diesel’s work needs to read this classic entry.

Happy Birthday from Bunk and our crack team of webminers here at Tacky Raccoons.  Thanks for your advice and encouragement, Rob.  Lub you, man.

ANZAC DAY

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[Update below.] Continue reading “ANZAC DAY”

Saturday Matinee: Pure Logic = Brilliance.

Folks, for those of you not familiar with Milton Friedman, you’re in for a treat, as I was when I found these videos.  He’s not talking about politics here, but common sense economics.

What amazed me as I watched these videos is how easily Mr. Friedman understood the basic principles beneath apparently contradictory economic philosophies, and simplified/pared down the questions until the answers were obvious.

His extraordinary logic left both Phil Donahue and the liberal student in the dust;  I doubt that either one of them completely understood what Friedman said.

This is stuff that even Oprah fans can understand, but many in the US Congress either do not, or choose not to.  Our president is not stupid. He knows about the probable economic damage and is willing to forfeit his veto power  (just as he is willing to tell our enemies his war strategy, as he did today).  God help us.

BUT ON A LIGHTER NOTE:

Cheesecake from the Dawn of Time? Nah.

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“The Dancing Venus of Galgenberg is unique. Her head and limbs are carefully depicted, and even accented with openings in the stone. Her left arm is raised with the hand behind the head. She stands with her weight resting insouciantly on one foot, and the right hand is placed on the hip. One breast is shown in profile, the other is carved in low relief. In my column, I drew attention to Betty Grable’s familiar pose.

“The Dancing Venus is no Mother Goddess. This is a chick with sex appeal. Cheesecake since the dawn of time.“

Really.  Someone needs to get a life. Continue reading “Cheesecake from the Dawn of Time? Nah.”

Saturday Matinee: Jerrie Thill, Ray McKinley, Gene Vincent & Clifford Stoll.

We have a very eclectic combination this weekend.  You’re gonna like ’em.

Oddness alert: Jerrie Thill, and  Allee Willis. [Found here.]

Ray McKinley‘s band with “Big Boy” (featuring Imogene Lynn) and “Jive Bomber.” These appeared in a 1942 short that included “St. Louis Blues.”

Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps’ “Baby Blue” from the 1958 movie “Hot Rod Gang.”  Oh yeah.

18 Minutes with Clifford Stoll, an amazing guy with a lot of things he’s not going to talk about.  (This is the same guy who more recently was mocked for a Newsweek article he wrote in 1995 regarding the future of the Internest… and was wrong.)  I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the inspiration for Dr. Emmet Brown,  played by Christopher Lloyd, in the movie “Back To The Future.”  This one is mandatory viewing here, so grab a snack and a beverage and watch the whole thing.

[Found at Neatorama.]