The History Eraser Button

 AARRRGH, Crazy, dumbassery, Forward!, news, politics, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Jul 022019
 

… is being pushed again.

Tufts to remove mural with only white people ‘to attract a diversity of people’

Murals painted in 1955 are to be removed and hidden away because racist students are upset. From the Tufts press release:

In an open forum last year, students spoke about feeling alienated by the murals and questioned the university’s support for imagery that undermines its values of diversity and inclusion—a response especially important because Alumnae Lounge is a frequent gathering space for awards ceremonies and other events.

“Students have told us that they don’t want to receive awards in Alumnae Lounge because they feel excluded, and that’s important to hear,” said Deborah Kochevar, senior vice president and provost ad interim.

Yes, it’s important to hear so you know which students aren’t there to actually learn anything useful but are merely being coddled.

 Posted by at 10:41 am

Give them an inch…

 Crazy, dumbassery, Forward!, Gah., news, politics, THIS is why Trump won, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Jul 012019
 

… and self-important SJWs will take your whole culture from you.

Nike dropped Betsy Ross-themed Fourth of July sneaker after Colin Kaepernick complained, report says

Poor ol’ Colin is upset that the shoes have US flags on them:

Nike nixed the released of the Air Max 1 USA after having already sent the sneakers to retailers because the protesting quarterback said he felt the use of the Betsy Ross flag was offensive and carried slavery connotations

UPDATE:

There is a smidgeon of good news coming out of this…

Arizona Gov. Ducey to pull Nike plant incentives over reported Colin Kaepernick, Betsy Ross flag flap

“Instead of celebrating American history the week of our nation’s independence, Nike has apparently decided that Betsy Ross is unworthy, and has bowed to the current onslaught of political correctness and historical revisionism. It is a shameful retreat for the company. American businesses should be proud of our country’s history, not abandoning it.

“Nike has made its decision, and now we’re making ours. I’ve ordered the Arizona Commerce Authority to withdraw all financial incentive dollars under their discretion that the State was providing for the company to locate here. Arizona’s economy is doing just fine without Nike. We don’t need to suck up to companies that consciously denigrate our nation’s history.”

 Posted by at 10:38 pm

TCM + Sci Fi

 history, science fiction  No Responses »
Jul 012019
 

Just an FYI: Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is running classic science fiction movies on Tuesday nights in July.

July 2: “A Trip To The Moon,” 1902; “Metropolis,” 1926; “Di Frau Im Mond,” 1931; “Things to Come,” 1936; and  bunch of “Flash Gordon” serials.

July 9: “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” 1951; “The War Of The Worlds,” 1953; “Forbidden Planet,” 1956; “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” 1956; “It Came from Outer Space,” 1953; “The Thing From Another World,” 1951; “Earth vs the Flyign Saucers,” 1956

July 16: “Destination Moon,” 1950; “For All mankind,” 1989; “Countdown,” 1968; ” From the Earth to the Moon,” 1958; “First Men In the Moon,” 1964; “20 million Miles to Earth,” 1957, “Them!” 1954; “The Blob,” 1958; “The Fly,” 1958

July 23: “The Time Machine,” 1960; “2001,” 1968; “Five Million Miles to Earth,” 1968; “Marooned,” 1969; “Twelve to the Moon,” 1960; “Village of the Damned,” 1960

July 30: “Close Encounters of the third Kind,” 1977; “Star Wars,” 1977; “Star Trek II,” 1982; “Solaris,” 1972; “Logans Run,” 1975; “Westworld,” 1973; “2010,” 1984

 Posted by at 4:09 pm

McDonnell-Douglas Phase B Shuttle Model

 art, models, Monthly Historical Documents Program, projects, rockets, spacecraft  No Responses »
Jul 012019
 

For much of the time while the concept of the Space Shuttle was being developed the vehicle consisted of a manned flyback booster of relatively enormous dimensions, coupled with an orbiter that included sizable internal oxygen tanks, sometimes with external hydrogen tanks, sometimes internal. The model below, a masterpiece of late 1960’s model makers craft, illustrates one such concept. the orbiter is similar to the Grumman H-33 except larger, with completely internal hydrogen and oxygen tanks.

Had this type of Space Shuttle been built and flown successfully, there is every chance that it would have been substantially less costly to operate than the Shuttle we got: flying the booster back to a runway landing and refurbishing it would theoretically have been a lot faster and easier than fishing solid rocket motor casings out of the ocean and shipping them to Utah for refurb. But getting the design to the point of operation would have been a nightmare. The booster was unlike anything previously attempted, and would have been an aircraft roughly the size of the C-5 Galaxy, with a top speed like that of the X-15

 

I have uploaded the full resolution scan of the photo to the 2019-07 APR Extras Dropbox folder, available to $4 and up subscribers to the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.

 Posted by at 1:03 pm
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