THANK ALLAH IT'S FRIDAY!!!

So the original Ford Mustang from Peter Yates' 1968 movie sold::





The new owner paid the now ex-owner Sean Kiernan a whopping $3.4 million for the iconic Ford Mustang GT. No bad deal for Mr Kiernan, as he himself paid $3,500 for it... in 1974.

Apparently Steve McQueen's own bids were never enough, since father and son Kiernan time and again turned down the actor's numerous offers. With just 46,000 miles on the counter ('just', cause I just sold my trusted silver Audi A6 station wagon after almost 480,000 kilometers), the Kiernans parked the Bullitt Mustang in 1981 and it never surfaced again, so that people began to think it had perhaps been scrapped. Until now, that is.


But what a beauty! I remember that as a kid growing up in the seventies, I was smitten by Ford Mustangs. We barely saw them over here in Europe - at least in my neck of the woods - but even so the car was a legend!





Quiz: what Mustang exactly is Steve McQueen aka Frank Bullitt driving in the movie? If you ain't sure, go over the specs of the three versions available back then. If you ARE sure, immediately skip the specs:


1.) Ford Mustang GT Hardtop 302 Challenger Special V-8 4-speed (man. 4) , model year 1968, version for North America U.S. (up to September)

* 2-door coupe body type
* RWD (rear-wheel drive), manual 4-speed gearbox
* gasoline (petrol) engine with displacement: 4942 cm3 / 301.6 cui, advertised power: 171.5 kW / 230 hp / 233 PS ( SAE gross ), torque: 420 Nm / 310 lb-ft
* dimensions: outside length: 4663 mm / 183.6 in, width: 1801 mm / 70.9 in, wheelbase: 2743 mm / 108 in
* reference weights: base curb weight: 1376 kg / 3033 lbs
* speed: max. 195 km/h (121 mph)
* accelerations: 0- 60 mph 7© s; 0- 100 km/h 7.4© s; 1/4 mile drag time (402 m) 15.5© s
* fuel consumption and mileage: average estimated by a-c©: 16.9 l/100km / 16.8 mpg (imp.) / 13.9 mpg (U.S.) / 5.9 km/l


2.) Ford Mustang GT Hardtop 390 Thunderbird Special V-8 Cruise-O-Matic (aut. 3), model year 1968, version for North America U.S. (up to September)

* 2-door coupe body type
* RWD (rear-wheel drive), automatic 3-speed gearbox
gasoline (petrol) engine with displacement: 6384 cm3 / 389.6 cui, advertised power: 242.5 kW / 325 hp / 330 PS ( SAE gross ), torque: 579 Nm / 427 lb-ft
* characteristic dimensions: outside length: 4663 mm / 183.6 in, width: 1801 mm / 70.9 in, wheelbase: 2743 mm / 108 in
* reference weights: base curb weight: 1513 kg / 3335 lbs
* speed: max. 193 km/h (120 mph);
* accelerations: 0- 60 mph 6.3© s; 0- 100 km/h 6.6© s; 1/4 mile drag time (402 m) 14.6© s
* fuel consumption and mileage: average estimated by a-c©: 25.1 l/100km / 11.2 mpg (imp.) / 9.3 mpg (U.S.) / 4 km/l


3.) Ford Mustang GT Hardtop Cobra 427 V-8 Cruise-O-Matic (aut. 3) , model year 1968, version for North America U.S. (up to September)

* 2-door coupe body type
* RWD (rear-wheel drive), automatic 3-speed gearbox
* gasoline (petrol) engine with displacement: 6964 cm3 / 425 cui, advertised power: 291 kW / 390 hp / 396 PS ( SAE gross ), torque: 624 Nm / 460 lb-ft
* characteristic dimensions: outside length: 4663 mm / 183.6 in, width: 1801 mm / 70.9 in, wheelbase: 2743 mm / 108 in
* reference weights: base curb weight: 1515 kg / 3340 lbs
* speed: max. 210 km/h (131 mph);
* accelerations: 0- 60 mph 5.5© s; 0- 100 km/h 5.8© s; 1/4 mile drag time (402 m) 13.8© s
* fuel consumption and mileage: average estimated by a-c©: 28 l/100km / 10.1 mpg (imp.) / 8.4 mpg (U.S.) / 3.6 km/l



Answer: Lt Frank Bullitt had No. 2, the 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback.

(and the gangsters drive a 1968 Dodge Charger 440 Magnum)


Have a nice weekend! Ah dang it, I almost forgot THE Mother of all Car Chase Scenes!!! Enjoy:





They don't make 'em like that any more!



MFBB.

THANK ALLAH IT'S FRIDAY!!!

Ever heard about the July 30, 1916 Black Tom Island Explosion? It is ranked among the largest 'anthropogenic' non-nuclear explosions the planet has ever known. It was actually two explosions, of which the first one was the most devastating. An ammo dump destined to be shipped to Russia on an artifical island in New York Harbor blew up, resulting in the destruction of $20,000,000 worth of military goods. The Statue of Liberty was damaged, and as far away as Maryland and Philadelphia people thought there was an earthquake.

For a long time I thought it was an accident.

However, yesterday I learned it was actually an act of sabotage by German agents. Vox's Coleman and Phil explain:





Hat tip OutlawDaughter.



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In this episode I have let others compose a fascinating vid about 10 phenomena that scientists cannot explain:





How many did you know? Here's Outlaw Mike's score:


a.) Longyou Caves: nope
b.) Roman Dodecahedrons: nope
c.) Maine Penny: nope
d.) Baltic Sea Object: yup
e.) Lake Winnipesaukee Mystery Stone: nope
f.) Slime Mold Intelligence: nope
g.) Wow! Signal: yup
h.) Doguu figurines: yup
i.) Voynich Manuscript: yup
j.) Zodiac Concrete slab: nope


Chips. Only 4 out of 10. I may be a weirdo, but apparenly I'm not enough into weird stuff.


MFBB.

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During which Buzzfeed's Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara entertain us with some Area 51 stuff.





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In which we follow the restoration of a Citroën Traction Avant, the iconic car of the interbellum in Europe!





The legendary Citroën Traction Avant (litterally Front Traction) existed in a wide range of mostly 4-door saloons and executive cars, with four or six-cylinder engines. It was produced by Citroën from 1934 to 1957, and around 760,000 units of all types rolled off assembly lines in France, Belgium, the UK, Germany and Denmark.

The front wheel drive was but one of several quite revolutionary innovations which are still common in modern cars, like four-wheel independent suspension, a crash resistant monocoque body, and rack and pinion steering. Visually too, the car instantly stood out, because of its sleek lines drawn by famed Italian designer Flaminio Bertoni and the fact that its ground clearance was far less than that of contemporaries (because of the absence of a separate chassis underneath):





Isn't she a beauty? This is the Traction Avant 11CV, in which CV stands for "Chevaux fiscaux", or fiscal horsepower. The 11 CV was launched in 1935 and was fitted with the 1,911 cm3 engine. Real horsepower reached a maximum of around 55HP at 3,800 rpm, and maximum torque was 119Nm at 2,000 rpm.



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In which Garyx Wormuloid tells us a thing or two about Tarantino's Pulp Fiction:





Amazing how young Bruce Willis still looks. I wonder if this implies that I'm getting older?

Have a nice weekend!



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During which Sparky Sweets, PhD, tells us a thing or two about Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, in the following Thug Notes installment:





I must have read it some eight to nine years back in this commemmorative edition of H.P. Lovecraft:




I thought it lacked some plot substance, but overall it was a good read. Lovecraft does have a beautiful, measured, clear writing style, even though these days it must come over as a tad old-fashioned. But if you are into books, buy Necronomicon, it'll be a nice and worthy addition to your library.

While we are at it, here's some Lovecraft 101:





Have a nice weekend!



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Vlogger Hans Coudenys maintains a site, Ugly Belgian Houses, which sports the cream of Belgian architecture:




Take a look here. Sorry if you just ate.


He also published a book on the matter:




You can buy it here.


Have a nice weekend!



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We know Ryan and Shane from Buzzfeed's "Unsolved" series, but they also have a gig called "Ruining History". This one is about those naughty Brits Burning down the House (the White one) in 1812.





A weird war indeed. Come to think of it, one of the generals killed on the British side, be it far from Washington, in New Orleans, was a certain Pakenham, the brother of the (offical) wife of the Duke of Wellington.



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Vox is a young (founded in 2014) news and opinion website owned by Vox Media. It's special in that it professes to approach the news through a concept they call 'explanatory journalism.'

They are liberal bozos, but that don't mean they can't come up with something decent now and then. E.g. Vox's Coleman Lowndes recently started the series Vox Darkroom. Here's a Darkroom installment dealing with the Hindenburg disaster:





Nite.


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... during which Shane and Ryan (Buzzfeed Unsolved) will entertain you on the subject of UFOs:





I like these guys. They are goofy and sympatico.


Nite.



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Short film shot from a drone, starring Ghent. Less well known than Bruges, but definitely worth a visit.





I started my engineering studies there in 1984 (and finished them in 1991), and if all goes well, our daughter will start studying there later this year. That'd be a full 35 years later than her old man.

And I ask myself...

.... where the h*ll did these 35 years go???


Hat tip my oldest sister. I just wonder why they left out the Gravensteen or the Lievekaai?

Have a nice weekend.


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Welcome to this week's Thank Allah it's Friday, with Garyx Wormuloid telling us a thing or two about Memento.





As for me, Memento blew me away just like Reservoir Dogs or The Usual Suspects or Track 29 did. Trivia fact: neither of the main protagonists, Pearce, Moss and Pantoliano, were the director's first choice. For the role of Leonard, Christopher Nolan had actually wanted Brad Pitt. Pitt did read the script, and was interested, but for one reason or another it didn't go thru. However, Guy Pearce knew that Pitt had read the script, and because of that cred gave it a try himself, and was on board. Besides Carrie Ann Moss, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd and Famke Janssen were also contenders for the role of Natalie, and Moss wasn't even in the lead. Somehow however, she got it. And because of that, she was able to push Joe Pantoliano, her Matrix co-star, for the role of Teddy - while previously, Alec Baldwin had been considered.

Speaking of Pearce, Moss and Pantoliano, where the heck are all of them now?


Nite, and have a nice weekend.


MFBB.

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Thug Notes for today, where Sparky Sweets, Ph.D., enlightens us on the subject of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude.





I read 100 Years of Solitude when I was a teen and was sold from page one. Make that sentence one; I remember it to this very day. Or so I kid myself: test, and I will look it up in two hours or so when back home: "Years later, standing before the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia remembered the day his father took him to watch the ice."

Reading 100 Years of etc was a rollercoaster experience, an Aha Erlebnis with books I apparently encounter on average only once a year. Funny, but not one of Marquez' other books was ever able to again cast such a spell on me. Indeed, I was never able to finish, even read halfway, another one. I briefly recall starting Love in times of cholera (or was it The Colonel never gets post?) Whatever). The fizz was gone. And stayed gone once I discovered GGM was some kind of nutcase commie. Either way, I guess I'll have to thank him for one of the few bright sparks in a dreary period of my life.

Try it too. Chances are you'll be hooked just like me. And, you know? Maybe it's a good hint for a last minute Christmas present?


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After a long and tedious week, Earthling Cinema for you. Garyx Wormuloid takes over for the night. Topic: Interstellar.





Hat tip OutlawDaughter. Thx, Garyx.


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All the doom and gloom of late gets a man down, and presumably a woman too, and prolly also Chelsea Manning, so I thought I'd start a new gimmick on DowneastBlog to lift the spirits at the beginning of the weekend. I could have borrowed another British Mountaineering vid but I figure not everyone is interested in people sweating their asses off just to scale Ben Lomond or Beinn Chìochan or whatev and besides, I might actually induce people to do just that. Upon which sooner or later they would find themselves on top, asking themselves 'WTF am I doing here' and cursing that weirdo in Belgistan. Worse, some might even fall down a cliff and DIE, which wouldn't be such a problem if the reader in question was a leftist or a greenie but firstly he/she/xe might also be rightwing in which case it would be a shame and second I don't think there's many of the former category to begin with.

So, no mountain videos, no artsy fartsy posts either that's for Sunday (weather permitting), AND it's not Saturday yet so no boring Gen X music either. I'll just post an Answers with Joe video (hat tip OutlawDaughter) and since I am surrounded day and night by freaks I thought his post about the most inbred people of all time would be a good start. Here goes:





Have a nice weekend.


MFBB.