Category: True Stories

Mother’s Day Hot Links

Arthur C. Clarke‘s predictions in 1974 (45 years ago). Wow.

What happens in the dishwasher stays in the dishwasher.

Fun Facts To Know And Tell 1:
President Reagan once gave a speech about manure.

Fun Facts To Know And Tell 2:
It all has to do with electrons. Mammals need iron for energy. Octopi need copper for the same reason and their is blood greenish-blue rather than red.

Fun Facts To Know And Tell 3:
WWII fighter pilot Jack C. Taylor (1922-2016) retired from the military in 1945 and started a successful car leasing business in 1948. He named it after one of the aircraft carriers he flew missions from – the USS Enterprise.

Octopus Hentai Fail. Girl got her cheek beak bit (and no, she wasn’t trying to eat it). [Update: Sources say she WAS trying to eat it.]

I didn’t like Never-Trumper Ben Shapiro before, and now I like him even less. What a snot.

“Great Green Globs” as sung by Penn Gillette in 1994. It’s slightly different from what I remember:

Great big globs of greasy grimy gopher guts,
Dirty little birdy feet, mutilated monkey meat,
French fried eyeballs dipped in kerosene:
That’s what I had for lunch.

“All mixed up with all-purpose porpoise pus?” Nice addition. The differences are probably regional.

[Top image: “The Conversation” – William McGregor Paxton, 1940, found here.]

Robert H. Keaton’s Contribution To The World: The Music Typing Machine

It’s an interesting arrangement that gives the Keaton Music Typewriter its distinctive look. In terms of engineering, thanks to a curved meter on the left that Keaton called the Scale Shift Handle and Scale Shift Indicator, it’s easy to control exactly where the notes and characters fall on the page. By moving the handle up or down a notch, the typewriter adjusts to print 1/24 inch in either direction. Moving one notch up or down will cause the character to fall one musical step either way.

It appears that the typed sheet music in the museum display (the 2nd image) is turned 90 degrees from the way the machine types, or perhaps it’s a different model.

[Images and text found here; Original Patent here; Video here.]

Saturday Matinee – Claude Fontaine, Jerry Reed & CSN&Y – Kent State Day

Bunkessa suggested I post Claude Fontaine. Nice stereotypical reggae groove, but her fake wispy voice kinda turns me off.

I’d rather hear this.

Jerry Reed was a hoot.

Then something happened on 4 May 1970 and a bunch of morons chimed in, like these guys:

Took me a long time to realize that CSN&Y were nothing more than a bunch of musically talented idiots.

See you back here tomorrow.

Benjamin J.S. Cahill’s Contributions To The World

From the map inset:

“THE NEW STYLE WORLD MAP IS MADE BY CUTTING CROSSES AT 6 EQUIDISTANT POINTS ON THE COVERING OF A SPHERE WHICH IS THEN LAID OUT FLAT.

THE BUTTERFLY MAP

SHOWS THE WORLD JUST ABOUT AS ONE SEES IT ON A GLOBE WITHOUT EXAGGERATION OR DISTORTION OR ERRORS OF DISTANCE, AREA, OR DIRECTION. LONG DISTANCE FLIGHTS ALL OVER THE WORLD CAN BE ACCURATELY COMPARED ON THIS MAP AS ON NO OTHER.”

Bernard Joseph Stanislaus Cahill (1866–1944), cartographer and Architect, was the inventor of the octahedral “Butterfly Map” (published 1909; patented 1913).

At the start of his professional career in 1896, Cahill participated in the Phoebe Hearst competition for the design of the U. C. Berkeley campus. He was elected an Associate Member of the A.I.A. in 1899. He wrote articles for the “California Architect and Building News” and later for “The Architect and Engineer.” An early advocate of city planning, Cahill helped to define the concept of a “civic center” with his 1904 design of the San Francisco Civic Center, which he felt was the basis for the plan adopted by the city in 1912. He continued to be involved in the plan for the city, and wrote letters to the editor and articles expressing his ideas on the proper plan.

A specialist in mausoleum design and mortuary architecture, Cahill designed the catacombs and columbarium for the Cypress Lawn Cemetery, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (San Francisco), Evergreen Memorial Cemetery Memorial Building (Oakland), the St. Mary’s Cemetery mausoleum (Sacramento), and the Diamond Head Memorial Park in Honolulu [more here].

[Map found here.]

Hot Links and Airbags

Puke.

Asparagus FAQ.

Vindshield Viper.

There’s a lobster loose.

Arguing on Twitter is like…

Norm MacDonald is Polish.

How to introduce yourself to a dog.

The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

From the Fun Facts to Know and Tell Department: The English words “banana” and “yummy” supposedly come from Wolof, a language spoken in Senegal.

Awesome. Honda airbags were recalled a few years ago and now the replacement airbags have been recalled also.

[Top image from here.]

The Blue Angels

About midway through the Cleveland Air Races in 1946 an event placed somewhat inconspicuously on the program was dutifully announced over the public address system. The man said that a Navy Flight Exhibition team in four Grumman Bearcat fighters would demonstrate Navy precision flying in formation. On the team were a Lieutenant Commander, a Lieutenant and two Lieutenants Junior Grade. They were all Naval Aviators with combat records.

[…]

Such a four-plane formation employed so skillfully in the last war [WWII] gave cause for its leader, out-numbered fifteen to one, to exclaim without hesitation,

“Red Leader to Carrier, I have 60 Zeros surrounded and am proceeding to attack!” All of his four planes got back and were accredited 17 “kills.”

This week in 1946 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Chester W. Nimitz ordered the creation of a flight demonstration team. In 1949, the team took the name Blue Angels.

This 1950 Proceedings article explains the Blue Angels’ early history.

Saturday Matinee – Robert “Junior” Lockwood, Robert Johnson & Eric Clapton

That’s Robert “Junior” Lockwood Jr. (1915-2006)

I had no idea of Lockwood’s pedigree when he showed up at an early morning jazz appreciation class I took in college. For him, it was all about the blues, and his lecture/demonstration blew me away.

He was taught guitar by Robert Johnson (1911-1938), the legendary King of the Delta Blues (and the Grandfather of Rock and Roll) hence the nickname Robert “Junior.”

Most of Robert Johnson’s songs have been covered by modern musicians, but I hadn’t heard the original “Hellhound On My Trail” until today. It’s got unusual chord patterns and rhythms:

You sprinkled hot foot powder
All around your daddy’s door.

Here’s Eric Clapton’s version from 2004, and it’s just as disturbing.

Have a great weekend, folks, and remember that everything’s gonna be alright.

Bailing Water is a Union Job

Hourly wages plus guaranteed overtime, pays.

[Image found here. Original image found here via Tineye.]

Here’s the true story via Google Translate:

Heavy rain yesterday / Rufisque totally under water: Citizens are sounding the alarm. (Images)

Fortes pluies d’hier/Rufisque totalement sous les eaux : Des citoyens tirent la sonnette d’alarme. (Images)

US Marines Lance Corporal Cardone

Every day is Monday for a US Marine.

[Image found here.]

Character Assassination Hot Links

The Kiss.

Workout Music.

Old Time Hockey.

This is on sale in CGtrader.

The Best TV Spy Intro Ever.

The Best Wombat Movie Ever.

The Best PeeWee Herman Joke Ever.

“Smoking or Non-Smoking” is mortician slang for
“Cremation or Burial.” [h/t Jonco S.]

Sometimes it’s not always what you think it is.

In 1937, The Mass-Observation project began in the UK. Some consider it the grandfather of blogging.

In 2017, a theatrical department theorized that Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump because she’s a woman, so they reversed the genders and re-enacted the presidential debates verbatim, including body language and gestures. Afterwards they polled the audience. Male Hillary still lost. Full story here, complete video here.

Liberal Tolerance: Note how fast she goes from hate monger to playing the victim.

[Top image: Attendees of the 2019 WONDERCON in Anaheim, CA.]