True Stories – Tacky Raccoons

Nothing Much Happened Today.

Three traders unload a camel from their truck in the small town of Birqash, Egypt.

Photograph: Jonathan Jasberg/Siena International Photo Awards

Beetle

There’s a bug in the “Museam”.

[Found here via here.]

33 Years

1719 Pacific Coast Highway, Wilmington CA 1989

1719 Pacific Coast Highway, Wilmington CA 2022

[1989 photo found here. 2022 image from here.]

Revealed: The Real Fake Captain K.

In June of 2011, I found a photo of Captain Kangaroo with something interesting in the background and posted it as a tribute to the late Bob Keeshan. In October 2014 a comment appeared and “Dave” corrected me – that is NOT the Captain.

Dave, Monday, 20 October 2014, 8:05 AM
FYI, that IS a kitchen in a home — an old home — in Derry, New Hampshire. And that is not Bob Keeshan as Captain Kangaroo, rather another “Mr. Dressup” in a Halloween costume. The picture you found and “acquired” is from a Halloween party that took place in 1986, and that is NOT Captain Kangaroo’s Heineken on the counter!

Now, a mere 11-1/2 years later, the identity of the fake Captain is revealed. It was Dave himself!

09 February 2023 12:45am [via email]

Hi Bunk,

Back in 2014 I was doing an online search for pics of Bob Keeshan as the Captain, and was surprised to find shots of myself mixed in with pics of the real Captain. At that time I had a website set up to highlight years of Halloween costume pictures I had of myself, and I guess some had found their way onto the Internet search engines. That is when I discovered your website, and I was amused by the Heineken comment, and flattered that someone may have thought that my portrayal made them think that I was the real Captain. Little did I know that you found that picture a whole three years earlier.

Here are a few Captain photos, including the updated 1986 shot. That shot was taken at a friend’s home in NH, an old farmhouse. Our friend is a pro artist, and they had the house decorated in total Halloween mode, including a front yard graveyard and crooked shutters on the windows, a parlor with a coffin, and an oil painting on the wall depicting a knife-wielding character with blood dripping from the blade, across the frame, and onto the floor. Plus much, much more.

I rarely repeat a costume, but the Captain was a fave, so I repeated it nine years later. This time I rigged a box with a lid to contain Bunny Rabbit. A false, sleeved arm held the box so I could use my real hand to operate the puppet. I had gotten previous use of the box when dressed as the Addams Family’s Uncle Fester, with Thing (my real hand) in the box.

Coincidentally, shortly after doing my CK reprise, I heard from a friend that Bob Keeshan was coming to a local Barnes & Noble for a book-signing. I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to meet him and brought a few pictures to show him, and a camera to get some shots of him.

You are welcome to post these pics, if you like.

Enjoy,

Dave

[Update: Dave’s website link deleted at his request.]

Here are those photos. Thanks Dave!

…and the Addams Family for the win:

My WebEx Meeting Notes 14 October – 07 December 2022

9am daily. Pen on paper, 8-1/2 x 11, approx. 2 square inches per each 30 minute teleconference.

A.I. Creates Universal Sign Language IHONIALLLILAL

“Someone asked AI to make a sign language manual, in case you’re worried that we’ll all be out of a job soon.”

[Top image and caption found here, story here.]

Baba Yaga

23 Sienkiewicza, Wrocław, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland.

[Top image found here; Google Maps street view here. h/t Jaime G.]

Martin Luther King, Jr. (15 January 1929 – 4 April 1968)

“And so I say to you today that I still stand by nonviolence. And I am still convinced that it is the most potent weapon available to the Negro in his struggle for justice in this country. And the other thing is that I am concerned about a better world. I’m concerned about justice. I’m concerned about brotherhood. I’m concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about these, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer but you can’t murder. Through violence you may murder a liar but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Atlanta, Georgia
16 August 1967

[Image source: Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story (1958). Excerpted quote found here.]

Highway Beautification in the Great Karoo

Courtesy of Mr. Possum:

A Google street view of the main highway between Johannesburg and Cape Town. LOL one lane each direction. The weed whacking crew are trimming excess vegetation!

They are in the middle of the Great Karoo:

Here’s the Google Maps Street View linky if you want to have a look around.

Sweden’s Kolarbyn Eco-Lodge

The Kolarbyn Eco-Lodge, somewhere northwest of Stockholm, consists of 12 wood and mud huts. No electricity, no running water, no WIFI, no housekeeping or room service, and no warm place to go doodoo, all for about $80 per adult per night.

Okay, it’s rustic but there’s more to it than just the huts and a half-dozen shared “business buckets.” You get to have deep conversations about saving the planet with other eco-tourists who haven’t bathed either.

[Found here.]