12 mini-reviews for the short attention span, taken from the dark corners of stevenl's video vault:

"The War Against Pornography" (Monty Python's Flying Circus ; v. 15, episode 32) / directed by Ian MacNaughton (1972, VHS). Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin. Tory Tours, The war against pornography, Mr. Gumby sees Dr. Gumby and declares "My brain hurts!", Gumby surgery room, Gilliam uses Adlai Stevenson's face in a collage cartoon, Documentary on molluscs, Gilliam uses John L. Lewis' face in a collage cartoon, Today in Parliament, The Tuesday documentary, The Children's story, Party political broadcast, Match of the day, Politicians: an apology, The hip Navy interviewed by a morphing pirate, Royal Navy-- something other than else, The lake in the basement, Mr. Badger is interviewed. A good, classic entry into the Python series. This one includes one of my all-time favorite Python lines, this time delivered by a very officious Navy man (Graham Chapman): "And may I take this opportunity in emphasizing that there is no cannibalism in the British Navy. Absolutely none. And when I say 'None' I mean there is a certain amount." It crosses my mind that Gilliam, the only American born member of Python, frequently employs faces taken from figures in United States history as sources for his cartoon collage animations, especially unsuccesful Vice-Presidential candidate John Alexander Logan (1826-1886). As it so happens, unsuccessful Vice-Presidential candidates used to be an interest of mine. I even published a book about them over two decades ago. But that's in the sordid past. So let's move on.

From the Sunday Olympian, Dec. 30, 1934, during the era of Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger, and Baby Face Nelson:

Bandits Stage Train Holdup Near Bucoda

Engineer Forced to Stop Train After Four Armed Men Learn Mail Cars Not in Section

Wide Search Starts

Masked Gunmen Escape in Auto Following Along Behind

A disappointed group of four or more train bandits was being hunted by county and state authorities last night after the masked robbers had held up section one of the south-bound O.W.R. & N. train No. 458, as it approached Bucoda about 7 o'clock the past evening.

Apparently the bandits had boarded the train either in East Olympia or Tenino, thinking the section in which they had secreted themselves included the usual mail and baggage cars. The bandits had hidden between the coal tender and the first car.

When they discovered the section was not pulling the mail and baggage cars, the heavily armed bandits crawled over the tender into the cabin of the engine, covering Engineer L.H. Graham and his fireman. The engineer stopped the train and the bandits left. They were reported to have been picked up by an automobile which had been following them.

Section one was pulling passenger cars only but the robbers did not bother the passengers, according to reports.

Reports Conflicting

Varying reports of the number of bandits were received last evening, the sheriff's office here being informed that there were four. From Bucoda, however, came the report that there were five or six highwaymen, that all wore caps, and that the car they boarded headed northward.

The second section of the train, carrying the mail, passed unmolested through Bucoda, Portland-bound, shortly after the first section had moved on.

One of the funniest kid show hosts of all time. Goodbye Soupy.

The other day I was looking at a 1978 topographic map of the Tumwater area prepared and published by the Defense Mapping Agency Topographic Center and an interesting detail caught my eye. Just west of the Olympia Airport, about where I'm guessing Newmarket St. and 76th St. intersect today, a crescent shaped structure has the designation "Machine gun bunker (abandoned)." [see attachment for more detailed view]

The existence of that place was news to me. I even worked near that spot (Timberland Regional Library Service Center) just about the same time this map was created.

According to the monograph, Olympia Airport : master plan update (1995), the land was used as an airstrip since the 1920s. But then, during the Big One ...

"Immediately after the start of U.S. involvement in World War II in 1942, the military obtained control of the airport and all Olympia civilian aviation activity was relocated to Eastern Washington and Idaho. The airport was renamed Olympia Army Air Field. It was operated as a satellite facility to McChord Field located approximately 21 miles to the northeast. The U.S. Army lease of the airport included the entire property and all on-site facilities. An additional 1,000 acres were acquired by the military for the airport. As a result, the basic appearance of the current airport was established with 1,392 acres including three paved runways, 3.6 linear miles of paved taxiways, and 24 hardstands providing service areas for the P-38 military aircraft based at Olympia. The airport was operated as a training base for pilots flying these aircraft. The 55th Pursuit Group, consisting of 30 officers and 180 enlisted men, was based in Olympia for the duration of the war. Immediately after the war the airport served as a site for surplus military aircraft."

12 mini-reviews for the short attention span, taken from the dark corners of stevenl's video vault:

Dimension One Spas UltraLife Series Video Owner's Manual (1997, VHS). Produced by Imageworks in San Diego, this 20 minute video acts as a supplement to the printed manual. Workmanlike and plain, it outlines the basics in hottub ownership: Delivery, Start-Up, Operation, Care and Maintenance, Safety. Many of the pointers could be applied to makes other than UltraLife. I particularly enjoyed the part where the narrator precautioned consumers against soaking in the water alongside your pet porcupine. Ha ha. Just kidding. My hottub had a good decade-long run, but then became such a pain to maintain I just gave up. It hasn't been turned on in over a year and I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the unit. Suggestions for what to do with a dead hottub are welcome. Here's a special offer by stevenl! I'll give away this video for free, but you have to take the hottub with it. While I am it, I have a free couch/bed too!

It's a really old joke,
It's a dog with a smoke,
UMLs are everywhere!

UMLs are everywhere,
UMLs are everywhere,
UMLs are everywhere,
UMLs are ev ery where!

All these license plates,
With that UML,
Form those little dots,
Just what do they spell?

UMLs are everywhere,
UMLs are everywhere,
UMLs are everywhere,
UMLs are ev ery where!

UML license plates recorded in this installment are illustrated on the graph: 065, 069, 077, 216, 225, 292, 295, 331, 336, 337 (contributed by Olymp-ian), 346, 369, 418, 429, 466, 490, 526, 630, 666, 676, 708, 721, 816, 825, 893, 970, 974.

Here's an annoying little song to sing out loud while absorbing this UML set. Sing it to the tune "It's a Small World."

It's a world of Dodges,
A world of Fords,
A world of imports,
Coming by the hordes
But there's one thing they share,
So it's time we're aware,
UMLs are everywhere!

For what it is worth, I just saw a seagull flying around McCleary. They generally don't show up here in the hills unless some nasty weather is about to hit from the Coast. Either that, or that particular bird took a wrong turn at Junction City.

Bad weather in October brings to mind the infamous Columbus Day Storm of 1962, perhaps the worst windstorm in this area during the 20th Century. That storm was the closest I've come to experiencing a hurricane in the Pacific Northwest. We were living on Eastside St. in Olympia at the time, surrounded by big trees.

Right after the storm, the world had the joy of flirting with WWIII as the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded. We had nuclear war drills at Roosevelt School. My, what a fun month it was in Oct. 1962.

That's where my mind is wandering today. What about you guys?