What a Difference 200 Years Makes

'The Lover Crowned' vs. 'Promiscuous'

Now, let us compare 'The Lover Crowned' by Jean-Honoré Fragonard

with

'Promiscuous' by Nelly Furtado & Timbaland.

Fragonard, in case you never heard of him, was a bit of an edgy guy himself. He painted around 1800. His epic (and quite scandalous) 'The Swing' recently served as a major stylistic influence for both Disney's 'Tangled' and 'Frozen' - which says something there, too, though I'm not quite sure what it is.

One wonders what 'Promiscuous' will serve as an influence for in 200 years.

Fragonard 'The Swing' - pure class.

'Tangled' - well, they gave it their best shot.

Oh, and lest you think I'm picking on anyone specific, you don't have to go back quite that far to see where culture has gone.

McCartney vs. Bieber.

2019

The Best Way to Take a Selfie

This is the absolute best way to take a selfie. The man is a pro! And all he had to do was get in a rocket and go into orbit. That's how it's done!

That is how it's done, folks. Now get yourself into orbit and get at it!.

2019

Vintage Flying Over New York City

Flying Over The Big Apple

Clipper, 1939. Europe in 29 hours.

I will be collecting vintage shots of planes and dirigibles and, well, anything else flying over New York City on this page as I happen to come across them. This spans several of my personal interests - flight, New York City, historical architecture, history, dirigibles, clippers - so it's a natural fit for me. The dirigibles are the German Hindenburg and the USS Macon.

It was a very luxurious way to fly.

Thanks for stopping by.

PanAm Clipper Flies Above Manhattan, 1949. This looks like it came from a newspaper or magazine or maybe advertiser archive somewhere, note the cropping lines. The less of NJ we see, the better! And the Empire State still did not have the tv antennas, but that would change soon.

German Zeppelin Hindenburg Over Manhattan, May 6, 1937.

Hindenburg.

Hindenburg.

It took a ton of sailors to haul in this beast. This may have been at the New Jersey landing field where it later burned. Incidentally, notice the Olympic Rings on the side, put there because Germany hosted the 1936 Olympics.

The Hindenburg. Probably May 6, 1937. Back when they still had the mooring mast on the Empire State Building, an incredible conception.

Grumman Geese over New York, date unknown.

DC-4 Over Midtown, 1939. Hood’s Daily News Building lower right.

This and the other 1931 shots are of the USS Macon, ZRS-5. Obviously, Fairchild Aerial Surveys was quite fascinated by the Macon that day and was buzzing around it for hours.

1931. Macon. Fairchild Aerial Survey.

Midtown, 1931. The tracks lead to Penn Station. Post Office spans tracks, may someday be Penn Station. Fairchild. The US Navy Dirigibles generally met horrible ends from inclement weather.

Downtown Skyport with Cities Service Tower.

Sikorsky Clipper, 1931. New spires gleam. River traffic, piers, ocean liner in slip.

Six Engines! And Battery Park sure has changed. 1931.

2019

Zombie Christmas

A Song for Modern Times

Look, I know how it is: Christmas is great, you watch the holiday shows, you overdose on presents and goodness, the relatives are there and you have to actually put on pants... So, just for temporary relief, we present... Zombie Christmas.

"Zombie Christmas" adapted from Robert L. May, 1939

You know Dasher and Dancer
And Prancer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid
And Donner and Blitzen.
But do you recall
The most packin' reindeer of all?

Rudolph the hard-assed reindeer
Had a very shiny AK-47
And if you saw him shoot it
You would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names

They never let poor Rudolph
Use the North Pole target range
Then one zombie Christmas Eve
Santa came to say,
"Rudolph with your gun so near
Won't you guard my ride tonight?"
Then all the reindeer loved him
And they shouted out with glee,
"Rudolph the well-armed reindeer
You'll go down in NRA history!"

2019