2020 New Random Pics

[Bill Douglas]

[GH85Carrera]

Mel Brooks knew *Blazing Saddles* (1974) would challenge audiences, but he didn’t expect the intense censorship battles that lay ahead. Warner Bros. executives, uneasy about the film’s provocative racial humor and crude jokes, pushed for extensive cuts. Brooks stood his ground, convinced that the film’s impact depended on its fearless satire. Every scene the studio wanted toned down was, to him, vital.
One early flashpoint was the infamous campfire scene where the cowboys loudly break wind after eating beans. Studio executives labeled it vulgar and unnecessary, urging Brooks to trim or remove it. Brooks resisted, arguing that no Western had ever shown such a basic, natural moment so honestly. He was confident viewers would find it both hilarious and refreshingly real. His instincts proved correct—the scene became one of comedy’s most iconic moments.
Even more controversial was the frequent use of racial slurs, especially in scenes featuring Sheriff Bart, played by Cleavon Little. The studio was deeply uncomfortable with the raw language, fearing it would alienate audiences. Brooks and co-writer Richard Pryor insisted the dialogue was essential to the satire. Their goal wasn’t to promote racism but to expose its absurdity by holding a mirror to American prejudice. Pryor’s involvement helped convince the studio to keep the language, though worries about audience reactions lingered.
Another major point of contention was a scene where Sheriff Bart tricks a lynch mob by pretending to hold himself hostage. Executives felt the joke was too dark and worried it made light of a painful chapter in American history. Brooks argued that the humor worked precisely because it turned racism on its head, making the bigots look foolish rather than powerful. He refused to cut the scene, believing it to be one of the film’s sharpest moments.
The studio also pushed for a bigger-name star to play Sheriff Bart, doubting Cleavon Little’s ability to carry the film. Brooks stood firm, confident that Little’s charm, timing, and warmth made him the perfect choice. His faith was rewarded—Little’s performance became legendary, proving the right actor matters more than fame.
Brooks’ unwavering fight against censorship preserved *Blazing Saddles*’ bold, unflinching satire, securing its place as one of the most daring comedies ever made. Now 98, Brooks still believes great comedy must be brave—willing to confront even the toughest truths head-on.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

Dang if I wasn't watching this video several days ago talking about Sorrell's intelligence:



random - General Lee #1:

Vaguely related. In 1996 or 1997 our son did a summer camp thing for kids where they do singing and dancing and acting, and at the end the kids end up having a small part in a play in Houston. That year it was "The Music Man" and John Schneider was playing the lead roll. His personal car that he drove to each rehearsal was like the one pictured below except that it had a black vinyl roof. The paint wasn't bad, but it also wasn't glossy. Yeah, I'm 99% certain that it was a '68 charger vs a '69 like the General Lee. It had chrome valve covers and a chrome air cleaner, but was otherwise just a decent, unrestored driver.

[Bill Douglas]

[Bill Douglas]

[Bill Douglas]

[Bill Douglas]

[GH85Carrera]

[Bill Douglas]

[GH85Carrera]

I ran a BBS for many years. And I surfed a lot of BBSs and download a lot of files. I used Fido Net back in 1985 or so to send messages to a friend in Australia for free. At one point I remember we were all super happy to download a single megabyte in "just" 12 minutes. Just a few days ago I uploaded a 6GB file for one of our customers to download. He downloaded it all in just 2 minutes!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I ran a BBS for many years. And I surfed a lot of BBSs and download a lot of files. I used Fido Net back in 1985 or so to send messages to a friend in Australia for free. At one point I remember we were all super happy to download a single megabyte in "just" 12 minutes. Just a few days ago I uploaded a 6GB file for one of our customers to download. He downloaded it all in just 2 minutes!

Yep, I started on BBS' too. I had a big list of the local BBS' telephone numbers. The worst were the BBS that only had one or two numbers so if other folks were connected, you had to try back later. And back then nothing was fast.

I think my first modem was either 9600 or maybe 14400, but I think I was able to fairly quickly upgrade to 28800. Then 56k which depending upon a variety of factors could be limited to 32k, or could theoretically be capable of 56k, but I think the best that I ever managed was 52k, and that was after rewiring/upgrading the cabling for the telephone line to the modem in the house.



This was my software of choice.


I tried Procomm Plus, but preferred Telix.

[GH85Carrera]

My first modem was 300 baud, manual dial. So I had to use my landline to dial, then flip a switch on the modem to co to computer mode. Soon, I realized I really needed a second phone line. AT&T owned everything on the system, and customer only rented the phones in the house. I was supposed to tell AT&T I was using a modem, so they could charge me the business rate. I kept forgetting to tell them.

[Bill Douglas]

Karmann Kabrioletts for the Austrian police force.

[GH85Carrera]

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

My first modem was 300 baud, manual dial. So I had to use my landline to dial, then flip a switch on the modem to co to computer mode. Soon, I realized I really needed a second phone line. AT&T owned everything on the system, and customer only rented the phones in the house. I was supposed to tell AT&T I was using a modem, so they could charge me the business rate. I kept forgetting to tell them.

In the early 80s we had moved back to the US from Japan. We had a phone line that had a phone downstairs in the living room, I think (or was it the kitchen). We were living in a townhouse. My parents wanted a phone upstairs in their bedroom, and the wiring was there, so they bought a phone. After we'd had the phone for a while, the telco called and said "we 'hear' two phones ringing when you get a call. You must have a second phone, but you're only renting one from us." I think my parents said "no, we only have one phone. It must be something weird on the line." From then on they left the phone upstairs unplugged until they wanted to use it and then they'd plug it in. It was a phone just like this one.



When I was a senior in HS, there was a kid in my Physics class. He'd been "caught" by the FBI. He got a modem and had quickly run up a several hundred dollar telephone bill (this was in the mid 80s). He realized that the telco "listened" for the touch tones (listened for a voltage change due to the "beep" when a button was pressed). He eventually discovered that the mute button on the phone didn't kill the signal, it just attenuated it. Apparently if you muted the line and then dialed, the system that performed the connection was sensitive enough to hear the muted dialing and connect you, but the system that realized that you'd made a call wasn't sensitive enough to realize that you'd dialed and made a call. So his parent's tel bill went from several hundred dollars to nothing. They eventually figured it out and the FBI came and said "stop that, and if you show/explain what you did, we won't prosecute."

[GH85Carrera]

My house back then was built in 1952. There was just one phone line. in the middle of the house, with a little chair and place to write. When I wanted a second phone line run the the area where my computer was, and a phone in my bedroom I had to go to my attic and I needed holes in the header of the wall. I had to use grandpa's hand powered brace to drill the holes. Battery powered tools were just coming on the market and I did not have one. And I did not own enough extension cords to reach that area. That brace hangs on my wall in the garage next to my dwell meter and timing light.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

My house back then was built in 1952. There was just one phone line. in the middle of the house, with a little chair and place to write. When I wanted a second phone line run the the area where my computer was, and a phone in my bedroom I had to go to my attic and I needed holes in the header of the wall. I had to use grandpa's hand powered brace to drill the holes. Battery powered tools were just coming on the market and I did not have one. And I did not own enough extension cords to reach that area. That brace hangs on my wall in the garage next to my dwell meter and timing light.

I've got several "cordless" drills. Look171 got me started, sent me a couple, which triggered a bug in me. So on top of a Stanley brace and a smaller egg-beater drill, I've also got a Millers Falls Rose patent brace a lot like this. The colored metal is brass, not copper.
IMG]

And I've got the creme de la creme breast drill that has 5 modes that allows for locked, direct drive clockwise, direct drive counter clockwise, ratcheting cw, and ratcheting ccw in case you're in a tight spot where you can't get a full revolution of the arm. Apparently, it was useful for folks building carriages, train cars, or automobiles where they had to drill holes in wood back in the depths of the thing that was being built. They made 3 different sizes of this one. This is the largest. I want the other 2 sizes.



I've also got a brace (2 actually) John Fray 104 similar to this.



And Stanleys similar to these



and a Millers Falls corner brace like this


and a Goodell and Pratt Corner brace like this

[GH85Carrera]

This is my antique collection. The hole saw is really perfect to cut out the shape for a new outlet box. Two old oil can openers, dwell meter, timing light, and two "cordless drills" I have used all of those for the intended purpose.











Photograph of a steamship. Muskogee, OK on the Arkansas River.
Creator: Unknown. Creation Date: Unknown.
Oklahoma Historical Society Photograph Collection and was provided by the Oklahoma Historical Society to The Gateway to Oklahoma History.Photograph of a steamship. Muskogee, OK on the Arkansas River in Muskogee.



Libeň Bridge, Prague, July 1942. Germans collecting bells from Bohemia and Moravia. They were smelted down and used for the war effort. At that time, five ships sailed from Prague on the Vltava and the Elbe river, 9801 bells with a total weight of 1563 tons.
A total of 43,776 bells were removed and smelted in former Czechoslovakia. Of the pre-war number, 13% remained in Bohemia and 6% in Moravia.
This happened throughout most of the occupied countries.

[GH85Carrera]

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

This is my antique collection. The hole saw is really perfect to cut out the shape for a new outlet box. Two old oil can openers, dwell meter, timing light, and two "cordless drills" I have used all of those for the intended purpose.

I've got a very similar old Disston saw that, based on the medallion, was manufactured somewhere in the 1896 - 1917 range.