Both Winners

Once upon a time .....

Anomalies? Inquire

1942 Time Capsule And the answers are :  http://bonedjello.com/blogger14/frenchretro-anomolies.jpg

SLAVERY AND �REPARATIONS

My New Years Eve Post Twelve Years Ago.

John Ray has two entries that are of particular interest to me.  His research on the slave trade, vis·a·vis the demand for reparations in this country, is worth a look ["SLAVERY AND �REPARATIONS�].  The second entry is a link, to a short news item, dealing with the projected demise of the Christian church, Down Under.  "Religious scholars have warned that Christian churches have become so out of touch with modern life that their end could come within two decades. "     I am always amused by these complaints, that the "church" (any flavor) needs to become "more relevant." Usually, this involves modifying, Warren-court-like, hard wired tenets (e.g. - abortion) so as to assuage bruised consciences, or accommodate libertine lifestyles. I wish McDonalds had the mettle to tell militant vegans to go fuck themselves, the way Pope John Paul does with Catholic church whinos.  Carry on. 12/31/2002 08:21:00 AM PERMLINK (0) | B-52 Gas Fund |

Beating the coin man ...

nostalgia                                                  WHO REMEMBERS ...

“ not this ... ... this One way I used to get free calls was to drop the nickel into the slot and simultaneously smack the coin return button with the meaty part of the palm, just below the thumb.  Done properly, you got your coin back and a dial one.   I heard stories of taping the coin onto some thread and reeling it back in after getting the dial tone, but never tried that.  If your parents (or employer) used a dial phone lock, you could dial your number by tapping the number, Morse Code-like, using the cradle button.  Even worked for long distance. And yes, you had to confess it.  ”

ReColored

art is everywhere

COLORED PEOPLE More Here Ron Metzger has 52 more ...

Tube Chess

YUR-TUBE CHESS Tommy Mann sent me a pic of his (?) chess set using vintage vacuum tube chessmen.  My first thought was "Wow, I bet that cost $87,000 for the tubes alone!"  But no.  I seem to remember the 6AQ5A tube as being one I was constantly buying at the vacuum tube testing machine store.  I can still smell them; a comforting smell.

"OMG. Where's my iPhone?"

Oh My A man from outer space?

Can you pass this test- if it was updated?

WHAT GUMMINT DO          West Virginia Diploma Test - 1931 Jodi Lou sent me this 1931 West Virginia Elementary School Diploma Test.  You can download the entire thing (,pdf) HERE.  Of course it will elicit the usual comparisons between then and now; the older you are the harsher the comparison.  But, this is what struck me the most.  Look at the Geography section.  The emphasis on the local economy and West Virginia itself hearkens back to a time when people saw themselves as citizens of their state first, and Americans second.  When Robert E. Lee was offered command of the Army of the Potomac in 1861,  the Virginian rejected the command  on the day after Virginia seceded.   It was with Virgina, he felt, that his sacred honor dictated he must follow.  And what a wonderful notion it was, federalism.  It meant that if the state you lived in wasn't being governed to your satisfaction, you could vote with your feet and move to another. It was what the framers anticipated. All that ended with the election of FDR in 1932. Yes, you can still  vote with your feet, but to little avail, since the Federals and their courts dictate what the states may, or may not do.    We have chained ourselves to a central government, so that today we are reduced to debating  passage of New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s  “21st Century WPA Act” to reinstate the FDR's New Deal employment program.  Laut's estimated cost  —   through 2013?  — $250 billion!   I am positive Lautenberg would have failed this West Virginia test. Here a 1910 test from Washington state.

1929 Perhaps?

My guess, circa 1960

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah