Wayne Morris, Hero and Movie Star. Born in Pasadena in 1914, he played football in high school.  His acting debut was the movie China Clipper.  His breakthrough film was Kid Galahad, with Bette Davis, Eddie G. and Humphrey Bogart.  While filming Flight Angels in 1940 he became interested in flying and joined the Naval Reserve.  He put his career on hold for the war, shot down seven (7) Jap fighters, probably Zeros, and earned four (4) Distinguished Flying Crosses.  Considered too big for fighters, he went to his uncle in law, Commander David McCampbell, and got in.  He flew with the V-15, the famed McCampbell Heroes.  He continued his film career and dropped dead on the bridge of the USS Bon Homme Richard in 1959. (An aside. As a Navy flyer he would not have gotten the DSC but rather the Navy Cross.  I ain't gonna go to the mat on this one, quien sabe?  Maybe he did, but I think it would have been the Navy version). Kid Galahad. He was in quit

Walking through a thrift this morning, I found this.  WTF?  It is heavy as hell.  It took me a while to realize that it is a self-sharpening razor. The handle is in the middle.  One side of the case is a stone, the other a strop.   Both faces come off.  Here it is being used on the stone.  The handle thingy is geared and does not come out. That is the handle on the left.  The blade is pulled until it is edge up, then given a half turn and removed from sharpener.  It then clips unto the handle.  Mine is in perfect condition and very sharp. What a great machine!  These were apparently so well made that no one threw one away.  They are quite reasonable in price.  I paid 5 dollars for mine.  I just need a handle, but I can get another razor with case for about 20 bucks.  Awesome!  Gillette put these folks out of buisness post WWII,

In the spring of 1951, over 250 people in the lovely town of Pont St. Esprit were sent into a month long shrieking hell of hallucinations and no sleep. None.  Many had permanent psychological damage.  It seems that one of the local bakers, Roch Briand, accepted a sack of decayed rye flour in exchange for good flour.  Whatever it was, the dough raised blisters on the bakery employees and was used for bread anyway.  The very, very likely suspect is ergot poisoning.  This was an extremely bad trip. Seven died, over 50 had to be put in Asylums. Hieronymus Bosch, The Temptation Of Saint Anthony.   Mass ergot poisoning was known in the middle ages as St. Anthony's Fire.  Limbs would go gangrenous and fall off, with other symptoms identical to the Pont St. Esprit nightmare.  (As far as I know the gangrene thing was not present at the Pont St. Esprit episode). Ergot induced gangrene. Temptation of St. Anthony, detail. This is fro

The salt cellar made by Cellini for Francis 1, 1543.  The woman represents the earth, and the temple next to her holds pepper.  This is the only known jewelry by Cellini left.  Back then, only the gold was worth anything and was usually melted down when sold.   The boat by Poseidon holds the salt.  This is on bearings to roll it around.  It was hand beaten into shape and is partially enameled. I think this is the greatest artwork of all time.  It was stolen from the  Kunthishistoriches Museum in Vienna by an idiot who set off the alarm when he did so.  The security guard was mentally retarded and should have been charged as an accomplice.  He reset the alarm and did not investigate.  The cellar was dug up in the Black Forest in 2006, unharmed.  The amazing lax security is common in art museums, where saving pennies is a priority, although they spend donated millions for their treasures.  The entire museum staff should have been fired.

When I was learning to play (and am still learning) I knew I would need a back-up instrument.  I bought this from a pawn shop in Bastrop with no idea what it was except that is was designed for metal bands.  This is a B .C. Rich Mockingbird, and boy oh boy was it fucked up.  I only paid 60 bucks for it and had no idea how bad off it was.  Unplayable.  Stop tail bridge.  So I took it apart and was going to re-finish it when my neighbor, Ed Rodriguez, stepped in and said no, no, No!   I'll do it.   Ed is the head finish man at Collings Guitar and this is what I got back.  That is a color shift metallic red that this pic does not do credit to.  This is a 1700 dollar paint job.  Ed did this on his own time and his own nickel.  I bought him a half gallon of cheap tequila in return.  This is a new Bianchi gunbelt that I bought from a clueless thrift store for 2 $.  The clasp and ring are off an Italian lady's belt, and they are modeled after a Roman swor

I do not know the photographer or the name of the "humans"  in this photo.  I will have to let this speak for itself.

I am trying to stretch and show more dynamism in this oeuvre.  I have my own reasons to be kept quiet about but I need a lighter, tighter style.  While this has a lot of problems I drew it quickly and in a well balanced manner which is what I need to work on.  The above is what I do to things that irritate me and when no one is around, within reason.

1962 to 66, Sears sold the amp in case Silvertone.  It had a 5" speaker and  3 watt amp built into the case.  These things sold for less than 70$.  I think this is so cool! Hi, Nancy! The Silvertone was made by Danelectro.  Above is Link Wray with a distintive long horned model. Here is George Harrison with his.  That looks like Tom Petty with an acoustic. Hmph! And this is a 60's model Silvertone with a built in amp.

To that kitten I was unable to save, I am so sorry.  I know we would have been the best of friends.  I am now naming you Purr,do! in a labored bi-lingual pun.  I wish so much I could have found you.  I am so empty inside over this.

The Death of Sardanapalus,  Eugene Delacroix.  1827.  Used extremely well in the "Runaway Horses" sequence of the movie Mishima.  This painting has it all. https://youtu.be/RIacGGqvVKQ?t=426   The Raft of the Medusa, Theodore Gericault, 1819.   This commemorates a French naval disaster caused entirely by a fool of a captain, De Chaumerays.  He had not held a command for over 20 years and managed to pile up his ship on the Arguin Bank, mainly because he listened to a passenger and not his experienced officers.  The shore of Africa was only a few miles away.  The lifeboats could have ferried all aboard to safety in a couple of days.  Instead, the boats towed a huge raft with 150 souls on it.   Tiring of the labor, they slipped their cables and left the men to die.  All but 10 did.  Although this was the fault of the Ministry of Marine, Louis 18th caught the anger of the French nation.  It was a political bombshell, and this painting fanned the flames.  Well done