This Is Only A Test.

Fellow Netizens, my friend Cbullitt of Soylent Green alerted me to an internet-wide blog protest in response to the Censorship of the cable cartoon show “South Park.” The image above, with permission from the designer Chris Muir, is scheduled to show up throughout the blogosphere at midnight tonight. Cbullitt wrote:

“I’m not an artist or Cartoonist, but Chris Muir is and Trey Parker and Matt Stone are. And Theo Van Gough was. Muir, whose work you see above, obviously does not ascribe to the dictum displayed in the cowardice of Comedy Central, the EU, and the U.S. Government under the last four administrations, namely: Feeding the crocodile in hopes that it will eat you last.”

To be truthful, I’ve never seen an episode of “South Park” although I understand its popularity due to its irreverent humor. The recent imposition of domestic sharia law on the writers of “South Park” for a joke involving the Prophet Muhammed is inexcusable in the Land of the Free and the Home of the First Amendment.

Let’s celebrate our First Amendment Rights before we lose them. Continue reading “This Is Only A Test.”

Hot Links Я Us

Trivia:  Sluggo had a dual role in Ernie Bushmiller‘s  “Nancy” comics. He played himself as well as Nancy’s Aunt Fritzi.

WWII in Facebook.

Ken Nordine’s got a website… Last updated July 2006.

There be some funny in the comments section here. [Tip o’ the Tarboosh to Wheels for the link.]

Acme Corporation was sued for product defects. Writ of litigation  may be viewed here.

This made me laff and laff and laff.

Is Snopes for real? Click here to find out.

Gorilla suits from the past: great article here.

“Curta” is an awesome mechanical calculator designed by a POW in WWII. More retro calculators at the home page.

Saturday Matinee – A Baboon, The Baboons, The Guana Batz, The Aquabats, The Skatalites

How to get a baboon to tell you where the water is in the Kalahari. Amazing. [Found here.]

The logical follow up to that video is The Baboons‘ “Drinkin’ Gasoline.” (Don’t laugh, they were on Walker, Texas Ranger, and if Mr. N says they’re awesome then they ARE awesome.)

The logical follow up to that video is more Rockabilly. Here are the Guana Batz with “Streetwise.”  Following the Guana Batz we have:

The Aquabats! Here’s a live version of “Fashion Zombies.” One last one before we go:

The Skatalites‘ rock steady ska with “Lawless Street.” Have a great weekend folks, see y’all tomorrow.

The.Gif Friday Post No.125 – BeetleOopsCassettes

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[Found here, here and here.]

Want. Really Want.

I’d just add a huge rearview mirror so I could jump before the Amtrak nails me. And a cooler.

[Found here.]

A Tortoise in Paris

This is Beyond the Valley of Awesome, 26 Gigapixels worth.

That’s a panoramic view of Paris above,  the Eiffel Tower is on the horizon at far left. The black donut in middle left is where we’re going. I didn’t believe it at first, until I zoomed in. Below are screen shots from the same image.

We zoom in a little, the Eiffel Tower is still there, skewed by the lens.

Ignore the yellow “I’s” here. On the website linked above you can use them to click for zoomed images of historical sites.

That image by itself would be worth copying and framing, IMO.

The orange dealies scattered around are clay chimney pots, vents for the flats below.

It’s likely the tortoise was photoshopped in as a prank/copyright by the professional zoomers since there is no barrier to keep it from falling off of the sheet metal roof, but I don’t care… the photo detail is still awesome. After all, look where we came from:

[Link found here. Zoom Archive here.]

“I AM NOT A PEPPER! I AM A FREE CHILI!”

Purists don’t refer to fruits of the Capsecum family as peppercorns. So there.

[Found here.]

Giant Isopod! Yay!

These pups live in the deep, scrounging around in the darkness for rotted detritus, and occasionally they are captured on trawling lines. The one in the picture is about 2-1/2 feet long  and was found clinging to a submarine returning from an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. They’re related to common pillbugs, wood lice and lawn shrimp. Wikipiddlia has this:

“In northern Taiwan and other areas, they are common at seaside restaurants, served boiled and bisected with a clean lateral slice. The white meat, similar to crab or lobster in texture, is then easily removed.”

I’d eat it.

[Image with story found here. Crossposted here.]

18 April 1942 – The Doolittle Raid

December 31, 2009 — Jonna Doolittle Hoppes speaks about her Grandfather, General Jimmy Doolittle from her new book “Calculated Risk” and the importance of recording history for future generations at the Historic Flight Foundation’s “B-25 Grumpy Welcome Reception”. This clip includes original film footage of the crews on the historic “Doolittle Raid” of WWII, which proved to the US and the Japanese Empire that America could and would strike back.

There’s obviously more to the story than we’re able to present here. The anniversary of the Doolittle Raid deserves recognition, as it was not only unimaginably dangerous and ballsy, but very necessary to send a message to Japan, as well as to the American public. It was created, orchestrated and accomplished in a little over 4  months after the unwarranted attack on Pearl Harbor.

Military Magazine recently published a first person account of a pilot who volunteered for the mission without knowing what it was. The mission wasn’t revealed until the modified bombers had been loaded onto the U.S.S. Hornet and the Hornet was at sea. Of the pilots who volunteered, all were given opportunities to decide for themselves whether they wanted to go on, without reprimand or dishonor, and not one of them sat down.

http://www.milmag.com doesn’t have the story on line yet, but it’s a must read.

[Crossposted here.]

Saturday Matinee – Botswana Guitar, Panama Red, Panama Davis, Blues for Greasy & Stevie W.

[Found here.]

New Riders of the Purple Sage’s “Panama Red.”

Panama Eddy Davis, live in New Orleans.

“Blues for Greasy,” performed by an amazing lineup of talent from 1950: Harry ‘Sweets’ Edison: trumpet; Lester Young: Tenor Sax; Flip Phillips: Tenor Sax; Bill Harris: Trombone; Hank Jones: Piano; Ray Brown: Bass; Buddy Rich: Drums; Ella Fitzgerald: Vocals.

Sorry to switch gears so quick. Here’s Stevie Wonder’s classic “Higher Ground” live in 1973. Always take it.