Stout Scarab 1935

Years ago, I once saw a Stout Scarab in the flesh/sheetmetal, and I thought it was one of the coolest vehicles ever built.  In fact, I am little surprised to find that I have not posted about it before, but I can find no previous reference to it on the SSS.  Allow me to correct that oversight with this article from the June 1935 issue of Science & Mechanics, posted on Modern Mechanix, which describes the car's many advanced features.

Sunrise Serenade: Beans And Cornbread - Plus Pledge Drive Special!

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Beans And Cornbread" by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five.  It was probably floating through my unconscious this morning because it is on the playlist for tonight's Swing Shift Shuffle Fall Pledge Drive Special:  "Eat, Drink and Be Members" featuring music about food and eating.  I hope you will join me tonight and make a pledge to support WEVL.  Enjoy the video below from YouTube.

Live Music And A Double Shot Of Lindy Hop

You will wear out your shoes this week.  The Rhodes Jazz Band presents Swing Dance Night this Thursday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the McCallum Ballroom of the Bryan Campus Life Center.  The Red Hot Lindy Hop will be there offering free swing dance lessons. 

Then on Friday, the weekly  lesson and session continues at the Rumba Room with a lesson by Kirk and Meghan and music by Alexis.  Free admission before 7:00 p.m., and $5 at the door afterwards. 

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

Sunrise Serenade: The Yam

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "The Yam" by the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

The Saint - Comics Version

The first "Saint" I remember is probably the most recognizable:  Roger Moore playing Simon Templar (the Saint) in the early 1960's television series.  I also remember a late 1970's television series called Return of the Saint, and of course there was the 1997 movie with Val Kilmer in the title role.  My favorite Saint is unquestionably George Sanders, from the series of movies in the 1930's-40's.  I never knew there was a comic book version, but I am not surprised.  Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine posted this 1949 issue of The Saint featuring a story entitled, "The Saint Breaks A Spell."

Sunrise Serenade: Rump Steak Serenade

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was the hearty "Rump Steak Serenade" by Fats Waller and His Rhythm.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Popeye: I'm In The Army Now

On this Veterans Day weekend, we have a tale of inter-service relations, with two sailors fighting to join the Army. From the Internet Archive, starring Popeye the Sailor, here is the 1936 animated short: I'm In The Army Now.

Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day and a well deserved thanks to our nation's veterans, like this M-3 tank crew in 1944 from the Library of Congress American Memory Collection.

Sunrise Serenade: There'll Be A Hot Time In The Town Of Berlin

When I awoke this morning, I remembered that today was Veterans Day.  Almost instantly, this song started playing in my head.  Today's Sunrise Serenade was "There'll Be A Hot Time In The Town Of Berlin" by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Spitfire's Browning Machine Gun Spits Fire Again After 70 Years

BBC News posted a very interesting article about the discovery and excavation of a World War II RAF Spitfire that crashed into an Irish bog in 1941.  Despite the damage from the crash, the properties of the peat bog preserved the remains of this vaunted British aircraft.  The diggers were able to recover six of the eight Browning .303 machine guns carried in the wings.  Experts cleaned and reassembled one complete gun using the workable parts from all six, and after 70 years, it still fires.  There is a great video of the excavation and test firing. 

The gun fired without a hitch. There can be no greater testament to the machinists and engineers in UK factories in the 1940s who, despite churning out guns at the rate of thousands per month, made each one of such high quality that they could survive a plane crash and 70 years underground and still fire like the day they were made.