Train Tracks to Oblivion

 

This slide was is a box of slides which had plenty "people on a train" and "train travelling thru' American mid-west" slides. So, I'm assuming that this is another view from a train slide.

And I like it.   Slide colour deterioration over the (sixty?) years does lend this an stylish nostalgic view.

Bonus - What should you do if you're addicted to sea weed?

Sea kelp

Bonus 2 Post-Brexit Anarchy

Not Quite ManhattanHenge

 

Whether by luck or judgement, this photographer has achieved an "against the light" image that is faintly similar to the shots of Manhattanhenge.

Similar, but not the same.

The sign on the wall says Rose Avril, which suggest that this might be in Belgium.

Bonus

What can I say?

"Ignore The Fruitcake"

 

In today's episode of "West-Country Games" (Series 8, Episode 14, Scene 3, if you're keeping track) we see Doreen Butterclough playing the traditional Somerset game of "Ignore The Fruitcake".

At the time of photographing, Doreen had managed to ignore a slice of Dundee Cake for 27 hours, still well short of Mrs Edith Blatt's record.

Bonus - the Binturong, also known as the bearcat, has musk glands emit an odor reminiscent of popcorn.

Bonus 2 - The western banjo frog (Limnodynastes dorsalis) is also known as the pobblebonk

Weird Stuff That People Photograph - Number 232 - The Fish

 

Ummm....

< Speechless >

Bonus - Petrichor.  The smell of rain.

Bonus 2 - Sausage!

All Aboard the DC-7B

 

Nothing written on this slide, but it's easy to tell that this is a Douglas DC-7 aircraft. 

The DC-7B variant was the first long-range variant with higher gross weight and fuel capacity, with most of the added fuel in saddle tanks in enlarged engine nacelles

The mention of  Falcon Super Coach marks this as one for Eastern Air Lines.

Another slide shows this aircraft has the registration N848D, which helps. It later crashed in 1992, while serving as a water-bomber.

Bonus - Oh Dear. RIP Kitten Natividad.

Kitten featured in the film "Up".  No, the Russ Meyer one, not the Disney one.

The Majestic Mountains of ... Somewhere

 

Unlike yesterday, no verbosity today.

This was in a box marked "Hawaii and France", but this (and the moose pics) make me think of Canada, but ... bottom line ... Unknown location.

Bonus -  R.I.P. Ramsey Lewis

 

Bagpipes and Gravel

 

I thought I'd be a little verbose, and in response to (almost zero) requests, give an outline of how I research slide locations.

Today's slide was a card-mounted slide, with no makers markings - so it may be that the photographer mounted his own slides. However, the quality makes me think Kodachrome, so... not much dating / location options there.

Written on the slide was "Our Official Greeters in Victoria", so at least I have a city/village. But, there are many "Victoria" locations across the world. The pipers, and the look of the vehicles made me think Canada. And the building in the background - I'm guessing that's "Sand & Gravel".

So, a quick Google for Canada, 1929, Victoria and Sand & Gravel turns up a few options... and "Producers Sand & Gravel Co. (1929) Ltd. of 900 Wharf Street, Victoria, Vancouver Island" looks like a positive hit. And an address ( Yay!).  A check of Google Streetview is ... disappointing.  Looks like there's been a lot of redevelopment over the years, and nothing looks like our building. It does show that the location is very close to the harbour and the sea-plane terminals.

One other link, the sign beside the bagpipers seems to say "Black Ball Line", and Googling reveals that the Black Ball Line is/was a shipping company, who have had operations between Victoria BC and Washington state, USA. So, that links in.

When ?  What sort of cars?   Heck, I can't do everything. The vehicles seems late 1950s / early 1960s to me (not an expert) and that ties in with Black Ball Line, but ... Don't Know. Any help from you readers? 

Bonus - 'Artificial Blowhole' Generates Wave Energy 

Helen, The Flasher

 The only info on this slide was "Helen 1-11-53", but I have it on good authority (my imagination) that Helen is sexually promiscuous, and is shown here ready to go out for a night of flashing at passing cars.

Yes, naked under her warm woolen coat, she will stop on a pedestrian crossing, turn to the waiting vehicle, open her coat and display her saggy milkers to the astonished driver.

Maybe.

Bonus - Smooth Moves

Bonus 2

If today is your birthday "Florida man tries to trade in
vehicle he stole from same dealership, police say"

Washday Helper

 

Mom's little helper.

Yes, growing up, preparing for a life of domestic drudgery...and smiling through it all.

No wonder that little Katey Clarkson turned into a bed-hopping psycho.

But, more of her story layter.

Bonus - Queen.Queue.Fail  How What3Words was a hindrance during the Queen Queue.

Bonus 2 - 

Those Sunglasses ... Awesome.

 

A slide marked August 1962, so mucho respect for these ladies from sixty years ago.

Those sunglasses ROCK !

Bonus - A remastering of the fever-dream dance section of "Metropolis" (1927, Fritz Lang)  Stunning.

Bonus 2 - Also fascinating, The Special Effects of Metropolis.

Valley of the Fallen, Civil War Memorial, Spain

 

A memorial, but still just a tedious image.

To be honest, there's very little of the Memorial visible here - basically the cross visible on the horizon.

Wiki Info

Bonus - Remains from 1936, found in Oregon State Hospital’s ‘Room of Forgotten Souls,’

Bonus 2 - How speed skaters train

R.I.P. Queen Elizabeth II

 

Pennine Tower Restaurant at Forton Motorway Service Area

 

No info on the slide other that "Summer - 1987".

But, I RECOGNISE IT ! Having driven along the M6 many, many times, I recognize this as the (now) Lancaster Services, and recall once having had a meal in the restaurant (before it closed in 1989.)

Alas, fire safety rules mean that it'll probably never function as a restaurant ever again, which is a pity.

Bonus - Your brain, after all, is encased in darkness and silence in the vault of the skull. Its only contact with the outside world is via the electrical signals exiting and entering along the super-highways of nerve bundles. Because different types of sensory information (hearing, seeing, touch, and so on) are processed at different speeds by different neural architectures, your brain faces an enormous challenge: what is the best story that can be constructed about the outside world? Brain Time

They're Baaaaaack !

 

Yes, September sees the return of the Clown-Face Gang, after a 10-year hiatus.

Bonus - Sticky (2014) - Narrated by biologist Nicholas Carlile, this animation tells the story of how he and other scientists rediscovered the world's rarest insect (living on just a single bush on a sea stack) and how they're trying to bring it back from the brink of extinction.

Bonus 2 - 

I'm getting tired of this Death Of The Queen stuff...

....and the horse you rode in in !

 

It was a simpler time.

It was September 1959, according to the slide, and a young lad could spend hours entranced, going in circles, riding a fairground merry-go-round horse.

 And the horse was called Starlight.

Bonus - Gutta percha: forgotten material of the communication revolution.

Bonus 2 - 

Years from now, this will mean nowt.

How To Camouflage Your House

 

No info again, so I'll be unable to track down this property for a Then & Now comparison.

However, I do suspect that the owner was trying to disguise the entire house as a very large bush.

That is all.

Bonus - Chicken.Photos

Whenever a chicken passes in front of the motion sensor, the Pi snaps a photo on the camera, which in turn fires the speed flash. Once the photo is taken, the Pi downloads the photo from the camera’s SD card and uploads it to our website. The photo is then tweeted and potentially minted as an NFT.

Example...

The Swingers' Xmas, 1960

 

It's always nice to see other cultures, and other times.

Like this view of Hank Favreau's basement - the venue of the Grand Rapid Swingers Group's Christmas Orgy for 1960.

Nice.

Bonus - "Hey Slide Guy. Why no mention of the death of Queen Elizabeth II?"

Simple. I have been away on holiday for the last 12 days. Recent posts were stacked up, ready to post automatically. 

Bonus 2 - So, here's a picture of Wigtown Harbour.

The Sea. and The Tracks.

 

Yup. 

I can see the sea.

I can sea the train tracks.

I can't be bothered figuring out where in the world...

Bonus - A blond cop pulls over a blond and asks for identification.

The blond asks, “What’s that?”

The blond cop replies, “It’s the thing in your purse with your picture on it.”

The blond reaches into her purse, pulls out her compact mirror, and hands it over.

The blond cop opens it, takes a look, and says, “I’m sorry mam. If I knew you were an officer, I wouldn’t have pulled you over.”

Bonus 2 -

The Committee Meeting

 

In action here, we have the "Policy and Procedures Recommendation Sub-Committee", for the "South Harford and Eggleton District Council, Parks and Recreation Improvement Committee".

Broadly, just a cover for the local swingers group.

Bonus - 

The R_pe of Polyxena

 

Something a bit different today. A bit of Culture, and the slide says

Pio Fede 1866 R*pe of Polyxena  Loggia des Lanzi

So, that's nice.    More info here, if you want it.  Yes, I did censor the title of this post - Google can get funny about certain words...

Bonus - Getting a Handle on Sales: Shopping Carts Affect Purchasing by Activating Arm Muscles

What The Flub?

 

I mean,  I see what it is.

But ... who?    Why?     Whether?   Whey?

Bonus - You had one job ...

Name That Aircraft - Biplane Edition

 

A real treat for all you vintage aircraft buffs out there.

Can you identify it?

Answer here

Bonus - 

Summertime Snowdrift

 

Strangely, this slide reminds me of my summers walking in the Cairngorms. Occasionally, I would encounter a remote corrie with a patch of snow remaining in the shadows.

Now, this doesn't look like the Cairngorms to me.

Arizona, perhaps?

Bonus - The Uncomfortable is a collection of deliberately inconvenient everyday objects by Athens-based architect Katerina Kamprani

"The Church" Restaurant and "The Belfry"

 

Yes, another of those Then and Now pairs.

Again, there was no info written on the slide, so where do you start in trying to search for a location. Luckily, I iz a genius, and in a mere 76 hours, I'd tracked the location down.

The Church restaurant has since closed, but it was at 70 Brunswick Street, Stratford, Ontario. 

Thanks to Google Streetview, I can confirm that the building looks very VERY similar in 2020.

 Bonus - alison pollack captures miniature mushrooms and fungi in macro photography

The Reserve Armada

 

No info on this one (Surprise) but the feeling I get is that these are Ships forming part of the US Navy's reserve fleet.

Also known as Mothballed, the ships are capable of being reactivated, in times of crisis. Or, being scrapped.

Bonus - Medieval Punishment  Harsh, but fair.

It's ... It's ... It's a gun.

 

From a collection of slides identified as "Oklahoma".  And that's it.   No other info.

I'm sure some militaria aficionado could identify it ...but I can't.

Bonus - “Margret: Chronicle of an Affair – May 1969 to December 1970”

and in the Daily Mail 

Shopping For Bags

As in holiday makers go shopping, and are tempted by handbags, and NOT Two miserable old bags drag their husbands round a local market.

Bonus - "I want to grow my own food but I can’t find bacon seeds"

Bonus 2 - "‘Praying for something implies that, despite My omniscience, I don’t already know what you want.’ –@TheTweetOfGod"
 

Terri's Torpedo Tits

 

I am reliably informed, that this phenomenon is informally known as Torpedo Tits, and is the result of the then-fashionable "Rounds Them Up and Point Them Forward" bra design.   Admittedly, using it for a wedding dress, and with anonymizing sunglasses makes me suspicious that this is some odd retro-porn set-up.

Bonus - 

It Looks Like Rain, Dear

 

Yes, it's a crappy punchline to an old crappy joke.

But, I don't care.

Bonus - How Much Do Small, Daily Purchases Really Affect Your Long-Term Finances?

Bonus 2 -

Seven September Swimmers

 

Good Lord

September. Already !

Time flies like an arrow.

Fruit flies like a banana.

Bonus - Spastic Hawk - The Rubberbandits.

And why not?