D-Day 6 June 1944: Operation Overlord

“There are moments in a nation’s history when its future course is decided by a chosen few who walked bravely into the valley of the shadow of death.”

–US Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Iron Mike Memorial, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France
4 June 2017.

D-Day commemoration: “We will never forget our heroes” U.S., German and French dignitaries salute as “Taps” is played during an “Iron Mike” wreath-laying ceremony in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, June 4, 2017. The ceremony commemorated the 73rd anniversary of the D-Day landings. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tamika Dillard

[Image and quote from here.]

Nothing Much Happened Today.

Yeah, I know it went viral yesterday, but so what. That’s the first time I saw it (and I reposted it just like everyone else did, except at least I linked my sources). Besides that, it’s still an awesome pic.

When I was a teenager I witnessed a “small” tornado that passed about a mile or so away from our house. Hail was raining down, sky was black with clear orange sky underneath, the funnel was a churning slow-moving mass of brown with no distinct edges. Next thing I recall is my dad grabbing me by the collar and throwing me into the basement where we hunkered down and listened to the static on the AM transistor radio.

The following day I drove to the neighborhood that took the hit. One side of the road was untouched, but the other was all splinters.

[Found here, story here, related posts here.]

Saturday Matinee – The Harrington Brothers, Roscoe Holcomb & Fleadh Finale Ennis

Spot on current events mockery from years ago by The Harrington Brothers.

Roscoe Holcomb sang about past troubles.

More evidence that “Anthropogenic Climate Change is caused by white people” and no one else. There’s an incredible amount of stupid flying around these days.

I honestly hope you’ve been properly inoculated and are relatively immune from this caustic brand of blatant racism.

 

Cliffside Path, China

As wonderful as Chinese tea is, it is definitely not something you’d closely associate with exhilaration, adrenaline and the fear of death. Mt. Huashan in China, however, manages to bring all of these things together by featuring a death-defying cliff-side mountain climb that brings daring visitors to a tea house 2,160 m (7,087 ft) up on the mountain’s southern peak.

Mt. Huashan has been a place of religious importance since at least the 2nd century BCE, when a Daoist temple was established at its base. Since then, pilgrims, monks and nuns have inhabited the mountain and the surrounding area. A network of dangerous and precipitous trails allows them to access the mountain’s five summits, each of which has a religious structure like the tea house on the southern summit. Together, these five summits form the points of a flower shape.

I don’t do heights very well – I get a visceral reaction when I’m too close to the edge – and this insane video spooked me just by watching it.

[Image found here. More info & pics here.]

Saturday Matinee – Nick Offerman, John Edmark & Phi, HST & Roy Buchanan

I’ve never seen a single episode of “Parks & Recreation,” but this advert featuring actor  Nick Offerman is mildly amusing [via]. It doesn’t go far enough IMO. Someone tell Nick that I’d be happy to outline a horror story based upon actual events.

John Edmark creates some amazing stuff using the irrational number Phi, laser cutters and strobes [via].

Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride” is a 2006 documentary about rogue reporter Hunter S. Thompson, narrated by Nick Nolte. Thompson was an amusing unhinged journalist who set the standard for inserting himself into every story he ever covered.

Gotta have at least one music vid, and we haven’t posted any Roy Buchanan in a while, so there you go.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend, folks, and please take the time to remember what it’s all about.

Pup On The Roof

“When this old world starts getting me down,
And people are just too much for me to face;
I climb way up to the top of the stairs,
And all my cares just drift right into space.
On the roof, it’s peaceful as can be;
And there the world below can’t bother me…”

Q. And what does the dog say?
A. “ROOF! ROOF! ROOF!”

[Found here via here.]

John Logie Baird’s Contribution To The World: The 1926 Televisor

The eerie image … shows the first image to ever be transmitted onto television. The year was 1926, and Scottish inventor John Logie Baird had successfully broadcast his business partner’s face through an apparatus he dubbed “the televisor”, which was of course the early version of all television sets today.

I’m guessing that’s a still from a 16mm test film, or perhaps it wasn’t animated at all and it was just a flickering image transmitted to a small (3.5″ x 2″) video display.

Another source includes this commentary:

One staff member quoted [the Editor of the London Daily Press] as saying: “For God’s sake, go down to the reception and get rid of a lunatic who’s down there. He says he’s got a machine for seeing by wireless. Watch him – he may have a razor on him.”

Following his demonstration in 1926, Baird developed colour TV and brought out the world’s first mass produced television set in 1929.

[Top image and caption found here; 2nd image and cap here.]

4 May 1970 – Kent State University

[Image found here, related posts here.]

Facebook in North Korea

Better click “like.”

[Found here.]

El Dos de Mayo y General Grouchy

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.