In 1783, a political cartoonist could illustrate farting, but was forbidden to say the word. The cartoon above is in reference to The Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779-1783), an attempt by the French and the Spanish to capture Gibraltar from the British who were distracted by the American War for Independence.
I jumped the 3rd vid to one of my favorites, Young Ned Of The Hill [full concert starts here]. It’s a traditional Irish song about one Éamonn an Chnoic. Legend says he became an outlaw after shooting a tax collector dead during a quarrel over the confiscation of a poor woman’s cow.
Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here soon.
Might have been better with four NFL cheerleaders in skimpy wet chamois skins, but that’s just my non-judgemental politically correct sexist micoagressional opinion [via].
Have a great weekend, folks, and remember that President’s Day is a construct designed to minimize the historical importance of both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, two of the greatest and most influential Presidents in the history of the United States of America.
Broadway looking north from between Grand and Broome Streets in New York City, 1853–55.
The photo includes visible addresses, so I decided to take a drive down Grand [via Google Maps] and look for 497, 499, 501 & 519 Broadway.
A lot changed in +160 years. Some buildings were razed and rebuilt, others have been refaced, but a few are still there, like the large white building, the 2nd building closer (with the fire escape), and the one on the far right of the top image.
Also note that there is a blurry horse pulling a trolley in the top photo and a car named after a horse in the other, and if the drivers swapped places in time, neither one would know how to steer.
North Korea celebrated the 50th anniversary of the USS Pueblo (AGER-2) incident on Tuesday via broadcasts on state television and in an international press statement.
In 1968, the North Korean Navy captured the signals intelligence ship USS Pueblo (AGER-2) and its crew of 82 sailors. The sailors suffered starvation and torture and were used for propaganda purposes for almost a year before a release was negotiated in December of 1968.
[…] Pueblo’s crew resisted when possible, most notably by frequently raising their middle fingers to ruin propaganda photo ops staged by the North Koreans, telling their captors the gesture was considered a “Hawaiian Good Luck Sign,” according to the Navy investigation. The crew was severely beaten near the end of their confinement when the North Koreans learned the gesture’s true meaning.
The sign on the front of the truck reads, “The Kaiser’s Funeral.”
26 September 1918
“We are in a camp near Auzeville and the big drive is to start. In fact the one that finished the ‘Boches’. Then the morning of the 26th dawned but dawn was preceded by a terrific barrage which was as loud as thunder and lighted up the whole skyline for miles. We were not flying ours but were held in reserve. Hundreds of “planes” were now flying over head. One bunch had over 150 in it.
Along about 8 a.m., along comes a boche plane and he burned three of the balloons all observers landed safe but one and his parachute burned and he fell to his death.
A fellow by the name of Barnett and I started out to see the fun. Put our guns on and started for the front line trenches which were about 5 miles north. After a short while we hit the trenches but of course our boys had advanced and were chasing the boche for a fare you well. We hit several mine craters where the boche had mined the roads but already our engineers had started to budge them. After another hour’s walk and dodging a few pieces of shrapnel we hit the town of Varennes and were keen for souvenirs. The boche were still in one side of the Varennes and we were in the other.
Machine guns were crackling with a steady roar and long streams of ambulances carrying away the wounded. Dead Boche were laying every where. The roads were filled with them. Long about then a Boche 77 took my ….. but never touched us. Then we started going through the dugouts and it was there that I got the general’s helmet. Also was almost lucky enough to capture a Jerry but a doughboy beat me to it. He was hiding in a dug out. Looked like he wasn’t as old as “Bugs” and he was scared almost to death.
After monkeying around a while we hopped an ambulance and rode back toward Auzeville. So that finished the day’s fun. But you ought to have seen the dead Huns. Some had legs blown off. Some had their heads and shoulders off and some were in pieces only. A great many had been burned by mustard gas and were burned to a crisp.”
R.I.P. Antoine Dominique “Fats” Domino Jr. [1928-2017]. He was the greatest Country/Blues/R&B/Rock and Roll crossover recording artist ever, and he influenced generations with his easily recognized voice and rolling piano style.
Have a greats weekend, folks. Be back here tomorrow for stuff.