Posts Tagged: #morningmusings
Would be Supervillains
Here’s some footage of two supervillain wannabes hopefully discovering that a life of crime isn’t for them.
What illicit goodies were this pair hoping to score by taking a trash can from a doggie daycare center? What cool, unique, totally awesome verbiage was on that sign? How rigid was the timing on this caper that the wheelman couldn’t stop two seconds to find out how badly he ran over his partner? How much alcohol was consumed before they thought this was a good idea?
A whole lot of work for a can full of poop (that he left behind).
Free Music!
If you’ve got an Android device and live in the US the Google Play Music site has about a dozen full albums currently listed for free.
They’re mostly Country artists, and mostly greatest hits compilations, but you can’t beat the price.
Links are in the articles:
[Freebie Alert] Grab these 5 gratis Google Play music albums in the US
Remembering Challenger
The remarkable story behind the soccer ball that survived the Challenger explosion.
Just saw this wonderful story about Ellison Onizuka, the first Hawaiian in space, the tragic explosion of the Challenger, his soccer ball that was one if the rare things recovered intact, and the two times the ball made it into orbit.
Just Joshin’
Behold the Liberty nickel. They’re really not gold colored, but in 1883 a clever deaf/mute named Josh Tatum came up with a novel get rich scheme.
He realized that the coin was similar in size to a five dollar gold piece and the “V” on the back lacked any mention of “cents”. He also guessed correctly that a sales clerk handed a gold plated version of the nickel would assume it was really the five dollar gold piece.
The brilliant part of his plan? When he was finally caught he successfully used the defense that, because he was deaf and dumb, he was unable to correct the clerks mistake in giving him back to much change.
How well did Mr. Tatum’s plan succeed? When someone figures out they’ve been conned with a line of BS, we still use the defense, “It’s ok, I was only joshing you!”
Oldest Banjo Recording Known
Here is a podcast from the Washington Post about someone’s awesome junk pile find. In a box of old wax cylinders there was a recording from 1891 of Charles Asbury playing Haul the Woodpile Down.
It was recorded during the height of Minstrelsy by one of its top stars. While modern sensibilities are rightly horrified at the thought of white performers donning blackface to portray stereotypical characters, at the end of the 19th Century, it was by far the most popular form of “authentically American” entertainment.
How popular was it? Literally every stereotype of African Americans was born on a minstrel stage. Kids today still hear Campton Races when they turn their jack-in-the-box handles. Modern variety shows still employ the staging of the minstrel shows.
Minstrelsy was a weird time in American history that produced a lot of ugliness that we reject directly, yet built the backbone of American entertainment that still delights.
Webb Delayed Again
Just saw that the replacement for the Hubble Telescope will be delayed again.
Webb Space Telescope pushed back again, won’t launch until 2021
The biggest problem facing Webb is after 2019 the funding needs another Congressional approval for 2020 and beyond. With NASA and hard science spending a low priority of the #MAGA race to the bottom crowd it might not ever get up there.
Some lowlights of what triggered this delay:
- Fasteners for the sunscreen weren’t tightened sufficiently prior to testing under simulated launch conditions. Over a dozen of them popped loose, several ended up inside the spacecraft body, and two of them still haven’t been definitively located.
- Using a solvent to clean valves without checking with the valve manufacturer; the improper solvent damaged the valves and forced their replacement.
- Relied on the word of a single technician that test wiring was installed properly. As a result, hardware was exposed to excess voltage.
These are right up there with, “forgot if they were using the English or Metric system.”
Here’s hoping I live long enough to see an operational space telescope again.
A Triple Header of Suspense
Like Stranger Things? How about A Quiet Place? Classic Stephen King stories from back before he realized he could just churn out the same story over and over?
Well make way for The Boogeyman.
I just saw a blurb announcing the producers of Stranger Things, and the writers of A Quiet Place just optioned the rights to make Stephen Kings short story The Boogeyman into a movie. You can find that story on Night Shift which was the collection of early short stories that came out in 1978.
It’s still early in production, but this already sounds like it’ll be awesome. It also gives me a good excuse to pick up an old book and see if those stories were as good as I remember.
How ’bout Them Tigers
Let’s see, last time I did a Tigers post it was Father’s Day and they’d just won again to get their record to 36-37. How have they been this last week and a half?
Yep, that’s right, in the six games they’ve had since then, the Tigers have lost every single one of them. They got the Buckeye sweep losing twice to Cincinnati and three times to Cleveland and they’ve lost the first to Oakland.
The Red’s and A’s games were close, but the Tribe series had a combined score of 26-3. Now that we’re almost through June it looks like the Tigers days of sneaking in some wins against the better teams might be over. If they can’t beat the mid and bottom tier teams either, then there’s nowhere to go but down.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
The only thing more scary than the current President of the United States proposing we eliminate due process in the name of law and order, are the legions of partisans cheering him on as he dismantles democracy.
The greatness of our system of justice is that it applies equally to all. It isn’t supposed to play favorites or be withheld from groups that a politician declares aren’t worthy. By protecting even the lowest and least deserving of us, it guarantees protection for all of us.
Requiring a judge to hear the government’s case for kicking someone out of the country, even when we’re reasonably sure that person will be excluded, is one of the checks on power that keeps the government from just rounding up its critics and declaring them unworthy of justice.
“First they came for…“
doesn’t have a happy ending. Even if you’re white…. or a loyal, party over country, Republican.
Happy 80th Eddie Adcock
Yesterday, one of the remaining living legends of bluegrass banjo celebrated his 80th birthday. Eddie Adcock was one of Bill Monroes Blue Grass Boys. He was an originalCountry Gentelmen. He started the first “Newgrass” group, II Generation, with his wife Martha. He has played country rock and outlaw country. He’s done just about everything but brain surgery in his awesome career.
Oh wait, did someone say brain surgery? In October 2008 Eddie was facing giving up playing due to hand tremors. While under local anesthesia forDeep Brain Simulation surgery Eddie played his banjo so the doctors could check out what was happening in real time.
And here’s a whole range of Eddies mastery