"...we should pass over all biographies of 'the good and the great,' while we search carefully the slight records of wretches who died in prison, in Bedlam, or upon the gallows."
~Edgar Allan Poe

Friday, May 5, 2017

Weekend Link Dump, Annual Kentucky Derby Edition



This week's Link Dump is sponsored by Kentucky Derby winners and the cats who loved them:

1956 Derby winner Needles and his pal Boots

1957 Derby winner Iron Liege and Houdini

1958 winner Tim Tam and unofficial trainer



That ongoing question:  What the hell is the Shroud of Turin?

What the hell brought down the Hindenburg?

What the hell happened to Napoleon's body?

Watch out for the Burbank Bat Light!

Watch out for those bewitched spinning wheels!

How a fistula became a 17th century celebrity.  Because the 17th century was just like that.

A horse-racing Run For the...Crape?

If you think George Patton was someone you wouldn't want to mess with, you need to meet his wife.

When pet squirrels were A Thing.

When moss saved lives.

When a movie was used to try to capture a serial killer.

Let's talk about Tinker Bell's sex life, shall we?

You've gotta love a guy who was nicknamed "The War Wolf" AND "King of the Trebuchets."

The machine that transformed London.

The strange disappearance of little Harry Browe, Jr.

So now you can control a turtle with your mind.  Although, if your life's goal has been mental domination over a turtle, we really need to talk.

An essay on Poe's "Eureka."

An 18th century French ballerina.

A 17th century moon mission.

Film makers in 1910 California.

A visit to the rings of Saturn.

Ghostly house-hunting.

A Yorkshire murderer.

A Newmarket murderer.

Victorians were weird, but not weird enough to use tear catchers.

When cats go to war.  (Mutterings from the gallery:  "Aren't they always at war?")

NESSIE LIVES!!!!

The ancient pyramids of Nubia.

Meet Doctor Strange.

The India Office and the Russian Revolution.

You'll be greatly relieved to hear they've found the hoof of Napoleon's horse.

May Day and Mayday.

Reincarnated dogs.

The billionaire pirate.

The ill-fated Lady Mary Grey.

The ill-fated Madame RĂ©camier.

The really ill-fated Madame Elisabeth.

Know your fairies!

A look at Spitalfields in 1842.

The "Evil May Day."

Unity Mitford, Hitler's fangirl.

This week's Advice From Thomas Morris:  What not to do with a saw.

The Lioness of Coalville.

Queen Victoria's governess.

The 19th century "Dandy Horse."

Murder on the Cotswold Hills.

And that's it for this week!  We'll return on Monday, with the story of a famous murder case...that just might have been a terrible miscarriage of justice.

In the meantime, as usual this time of year, I'm inviting everyone to select their picks for tomorrow's Kentucky Derby.  If you win, you get...um, massive bragging rights in the comments section?



And, no, I don't have a solid idea who'll win.  Nobody has a solid idea who'll win.  This year, I'm just going to wait until I see the post parade on TV, put a couple of bucks on whoever happens to catch my eye, and pray.  Until then, here's John Stewart with horse racing's greatest song:




6 comments:

  1. I gotta go with "Classic Empire."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I may go with Gunnevera, simply because he's a Venezuelan horse whose trainer has twice been kidnapped in his native land.

      Just seems like a Strange Company type of Derby winner.

      Delete
  2. Can I vote retroactively?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I keep trying to persuade Santa Anita to let me bet retroactively.

      Delete
  3. Though I am not a fan of Napoleon I, my sympathies must be extended to him after reading of the indignities his body suffered after death. He should have been left in the hands of his enemies; his countrymen did too much damage.

    ReplyDelete
  4. A little late, but being a military history buff I'll have to select Battle of Midway.

    ReplyDelete

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