Meanwhile... In Downtown Gotham...

And so it goes

Neverending Thursday

It was a series donchaknow.

If your kid ever asks, just show this.

Atomic Wednesday

Project: Upshot Knothole

Test: Harry
Time: 12:05 19 May 1953 (GMT)
05:05 19 May 1953 (local)

Location: Nevada Test Site (NTS), Area 3
Test Height and Type: 300 Foot Tower
Yield: 32 kt




This device, known as HAMLET, was designed by Ted Taylor at Los Alamos and holds the distinction of being the most efficient pure fission design with a yield below 100 kt ever exploded (the most efficient fission weapon of any size was the 500 kt Ivy King also designed by Taylor). This implies an unusually effective compression of the fissile material. The design is noted as being a test of a new hollow core design. It may be that this was the first device to use a hollow core, earlier levitated core devices being solid cores suspended inside a hollow tamper. It is also possible that a two stage levitation scheme may have been used to further intensify the shock compression. Predicted yield was 37 kt.

HAMLET used the TX-13D heavy weight strategic bomb design. The system was 56 inches in diameter and 66 inches long and weighed 7000 lb (without the outer bomb case), full weight was 8000 lb. A betatron was used for initiation. This design was never deployed because the design optimization chosen - using a large heavy bomb to get an efficient yield out of a small amount of fissile material - was obsolete in an era of rapidly expanding fissile material supply and with thermonuclear weapons nearing deployment status.



The Harry shot is notable for another reason. It resulted in the heaviest contamination of "downwinders" - civilians living downwind of the Nevada test Site - of any U.S. continental test, as measured by external gamma ray exposure.

For the period up to the end of 1958 (through Operation Hardtack II) it is estimated that a cumulative total of 85,000 person-roentgens of external gamma ray exposure occurred. Of this, Harry contributed 30,000 by itself.

137 miles downwind of the test area, in a location called Snow Canyon, the Howard Hughes film entitled "The Conquerer" was being filmed. Director Dick Powell , cast and crew went about their business as if this were any other film set. They had no idea how this experience would profoundly affect their lives. They were aware of the testing even to the point of John Wayne having a geiger counter on set however, at that time, no one really knew the effects radiation could have on a human being.

They found out.


The set was contaminated by nuclear fallout. After location shooting, an estimated 60 tons of dirt from the location was transported back to Hollywood in order to match interior shooting done there. Scores of cast and crew members developed forms of cancer over the next two decades, many more than the normal percentage of a random group of this size. Quite a few died from cancer or cancer-related problems, including John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendáriz (who shot himself to death soon after learning he had terminal cancer), Agnes Moorehead, Thomas Gomez, John Hoyt and director Dick Powell. People magazine researched the subsequent health of the cast and crew, which it published in November 1980. By the time of the article's publication, 91 of the 220 members of the film's cast and crew had contracted cancer, and half of these had died from the disease. The figures did not include several hundred local American Indians who served as extras on the set. Nor did it include relatives who had visited cast and crew members on the set, such as the Duke's son Michael Wayne. The People article quoted the reaction of a scientist from the Pentagon's Defense Nuclear Agency to the news: "Please, God, don't let us have killed John Wayne".

For this reason alone this test has since been known as "Dirty Harry."

Man on Crutch Vomiting. Cup Fragment

Man on Crutch Vomiting. Cup Fragment, originally uploaded by scottyferguson.

Greek, made in Athens, about 500 B.C.
Terracotta
Red-figured kylix fragment attributed to Onesimos as painter.
A man supporting himself on a walking stick bends over to vomit from too much wine and revelry. The consequences of immoderate drinking were popular subjects on this type of cup. They were shown with playful humor that probably did not carry a moralizing or cautionary message.

Skittles and shrimp.

Tikiroom Concept Art.

Tikiroom Concept Art., originally uploaded by scottyferguson.

Tiki Tuesday

Monday is goofy picture day.

In the event of a nuclear attack, move to Redding.

When the alert happens You'll have 4 minutes to pack your stuff and relocate to "California's Swap-meet" Redding.
At least the prisoners will survive in Chico. A great way to start George Miller's version of the future! All we need to do is make sure Mel Gibson is safe.

This was on a wine jug shaped just like the one the lad is holding.

This was on a wine jug shaped just like the one the lad is holding., originally uploaded by scottyferguson.

The Getty Villa is a pretty fantastic place.

This gave me a good chuckle. Ye olde Greeks had a sense of humor.

Salome Jens Friday

WHAT in a box?

Women just love your junk poking through a hole in the bottom of an empty box.

Neverending Thursday

There was a part three doncha know. This one starred Jack Black.


Here is a little wiki on it:

Plot

Bastian Balthazar Bux has begun a new chapter in his life. His father has married again, to a woman named Jane, whose daughter Nicole is displeased by having a new family. Bastian also starts term in high school, where he becomes victim to the Nasties, a quintet of five bullies led by Slip (Jack Black). He manages to get them expelled by the janitor after the Nasties trap him in the boiler room. He flees to the library where he is surprised to find Mr. Koreander and the Neverending Story. The Nasties locate him, but he escapes through the book to Fantasia.

Bastian arrives in Fantasia, where he is reunited old friends Falkor and the gnomes Engywook and Urgl. However, the Nasties find the Neverending Story and use their cruelty to bombard the land with fireballs and a storm. Meeting a walking tree gnome, Barkis, Bastian and the group of his friends head for the Wandering Mountains to speak with the Childlike Empress. She asks Bastian to find the Neverending Story with the Auryn. Falkor, Barkis, the gnomes and the Rockbiter's son, Junior, help him; a "wish overload" causes the group to scatter across Earth. Barkis ends up in a forest somewhere; Falkor saves Junior from falling to his death near Mount Rushmore; and the gnomes end up ironically in Nome, Alaska. Bastian locates Falkor and Junior. Falkor flies off to find the others while Junior stays at Bastian's house. Rockbiter sadly informs his wife that Junior is gone and the effects of the Nasties cause them to fall out.

Nicole takes the Auryn from Bastian's room, discovers its wishing abilities, and takes it for a shopping trip to the local mall. Barkis arrives at Bastian's house disguised as a tree, while the Gnomes are mailed in a box. The reunited group go to the mall to find Nicole so they can get the Auryn back. Unfortunately, the Nasties gain it first, whereupon giant crusteacean creatures appear in Fantasia to kill the Empress and her advisors. Everyone in the mall begins to turn to evil, including Mr. Koreander and Bastian's parents. Nicole runs away in sadness and reveals to Bastian outside that her father was abusive and eventually divorced Jane. Bastian is struck by lightning, and begins to succumb to the cruel effects of the Nasties, but Nicole saves him. The two rush back to the mall where all the Fantasians are being held captive by the Nasties. Bastian manages to retrieve both the Auryn and the book and defeats the Nasties with a range of fighting moves. The Fantasians are sent back to Fantasia, which is restored to its former magnifience. Bastian and Nicole manage to keep their parents from divorcing, while Junior is reunited with his parents. Nicole and Bastian return to school the next day and find Bastian turned the Nasties into friendly school students. Bastian returns the Neverending Story to Mr. Koreander, who tells him that the story is not over yet.


Oh and includes the worst cover of BORN TO BE WILD ever.

???

Atomic Wednesday

Fair Warning


Operation Ranger (Planned under the name Operation Faust)
Test: Baker-2
Time: 13:49 2 February 1951 (GMT)
5:49 2 February 1951 (local)
Location: Frenchman Flat (NTS), Nevada
Test Height and Type: 1100 foot Air Burst
Yield: 8 kt

At shot-time, the temperature at the surface was -9.2' C , the relative humidity was 79 percent, and the atmospheric pressure was 12.8 psi. The surface winds were calm. Winds were 22 knots from the west-southwest at 10,000 feet and 45 knots from the northwest at 20,000 feet .

The Baker-2 was a test of the reproducibility of weapons performance and was identical to the Baker-1 device. It was detonated at 5:49 on February 2, 1951 over Frenchman Flat.

About one hour after the detonation, onsite induced activity greater than 0.5 R/h was confined to an area 450 meters from ground zero. Lesser intensities, ranging from 0.5 R/h to 0.0004 R/h, were confined to an area 2,880 feet to 11,520 feet from ground zero.




The atomic explosion, the largest yet set off on the Nevada test range, was clearly visible in Los Angeles. Staff photographer Perry Folwer was ready with his camera on a tripod on the roof of the Herald-Express building when the blast occurred at 5:49 a.m. Reporter Jack Smith, points towards the great white flash that clearly silhouetted mountains to the east. The brilliant spectacle was seen by many early-rising residents of Los Angeles. Photo dated: February 2, 1951.

Excerpt from the Cleburne Alabama News 3-31-05:
On the morning of Feb. 2, 1951, almost 2,000 miles from Heflin, an explosion occurred which affected everyone living in Cleburne County.
Now, some 54 years later we are beginning to learn about those explosions and that the spectacular sunsets of the 1950s and later were due, in part, to radioactive clouds continuing to float in the atmosphere following nuclear bomb tests in Nevada.
The Feb. 2 test, Baker-2 of the Ranger series, sent a radioactive cloud just south of Cleburne County.


The medical effects of this fallout did not become public until the late 1990s after a study by the National Cancer Instutite was made public.
The NCI had sat on the information for four years and apparently had no intentions of releasing it to the public had it not been for a story by USA TODAY.
Several websites now address this national and international situation with one (www.downwinders.org) noting the federal government, “had knowingly exposed American citizens to radioactive fallout in every single county of the nation.” and that,“the actual fallout levels across the country were a hundred times higer than the government had ever admitted to.”
In Cleburne and thousands of other counties across the nation, radioactive Iodine-131 fell to the ground and now is believed to have contributed to increases in thyroid and other types of cancers.
Strontium 90, an isotope known as a “bone seeker”, was among the fallout and could be absorbed in the teeth and bones.

Unthinkable

Iggy and the Stooges ripped off in "Friendly" Montreal.





All their gear was stolen.

Please take a moment to click on the link below. If you see any of this stuff please contact Eric Fischer. His contact is provided in the link.

List and picture of stolen items

They are in the middle of a tour and everything is gone. (Dear God even the pain killers are gone. Please see the list.)

Mr Rogers is Evil.

Tiki Tuesday

I found out last Friday afternoon that Damon's in Glendale has included my version of the SUFFERING BASTARD to their new drink list.

I'm very proud to be a part of Damon's history.

The new drinks will be introduced in a few weeks.

Can you describe the man who attacked you?

Here Comes NY 05 6-03-08, originally uploaded by superape.

Um... 4ft 6. white I think. Big beady eyes. high pitched laugh. Big red floppy shoes.

Its better than the real thing.

Monday is Goofy Picture Day

Smashy Smashy

Thats what you get for being a not so humble jerkface douchebag.

Thats ok. Uncle Mike will fix everything for you. He knows what it's like to be a prick and I'm sure he sees a little bit of himself in you. Just remember you'll owe him one, bigtime.

More regurg'd youtube.

If I was a studio exec this would be the A#1 priority. Way better than Transformers 2.

Know Your Chicken

Never trust street meat.

My army is standing by to give you a'pokin'

When I give the word-they'll come aknockin'

Stabbie snow bunnies are not the ones with whom to fuck.

Tom Durkin rocks!

rolled off the tracks and given a full tank of gas.

Bette Davis Friday

And just for fun...