.By 1958, Howard Hughes had become a recluse. His drug addictions resulting from his disastrous air crash in 1946 which I posted about yesterday were undoing him mentally, physically and emotionally. This once very public figure now cowered in a penthouse hotel suite in Las Vegas, hiding from the world, doing business
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhhZqKlO6wEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1aKNy7hBV4 Airplane pilots are always quick to tell you that 99 percent of all aviation accidents are due to pilot error. This is almost a religious incantation with them–they believe firmly in ‘trusting the machine’, which I imagine is the only way to get over the insane fact that they’re
This past weekend my son and I journeyed to the little town of McMinnville, Oregon, to see what is arguably the ninth wonder of the world; the biggest plane ever built and never flown. Howard Hughes ‘Spruce Goose’ is a flying boat that was intended to be used during the
The famous (in her day) nightclub hostess/chanteuse Texas Guinan was captured on film on several occasions, the most elaborate of which was a feature she starred in called ‘Queen Of The Nightclubs’. Shot in 1928, it was likely the best and most detailed view of the true look, tone and
We close this weeks peculiar byway into the world of competitive race car driving with the silliest bit of stock car racing footage you’ll ever see. It’s a French attempt at the sport and while it sort of looks, acts and sounds like a car race it’s actually a very
Here’s a terrific look at the auto races of the 1920s. There’s a wipe out that’s awfully similar to the terrifying one I posted yesterday which occurred this past weekend, a mere one-hundred years later from the one in today’s video. Aside from the automobiles, the race looks pretty much
Warning: the above video contains a very violent race car crash. It also contains some truly bitchin’ footage shot from inside one of the cars that collided–you get to see and feel what it’s actually like to be in one of these formula racers. Two nights ago (Sunday the 16th–which
In 1971 at the Indy 500 a ‘Pace car’ (or safety car) went off the track as soon as the race began and crashed into a stand holding the photographers. Somehow there were no fatalities. The whole event is covered in nice, blurry old color footage in the above video
Of al the dopey sports that I don’t get, car racing tops the list (or takes the cake, if you prefer). Cars zooming around a track at dangerous speeds. Is this really any fun? Not unless somebody crashes. And then you feel like a heel for enjoying the disaster, for
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmD7jeIEkfg (NOTE: HIT ABOVE ‘PLAY ON YOUTUBE’ BUTTON TO WATCH VIDEO. THE GUY WHO POSTED IT APPARENTLY THINKS HE OWNS IT). When I was a kid in the early 70s getting into jazz and old movies, two great revivals were taking place. One was The Marx Brothers revival, which began