Our Biggest Fan: SPAM

Spam. We all get it. Most of it is caught and diverted by filters; others we can delete merely from reading the subject line. Some, we have to actually read into to determine it is an unsolicited pitch by email. Spam.

By some accounts, spam comprises nearly half of the millions of emails circulating daily. In recent years however, there is a rising popularity among spammers to do their carnival barking in the comment section of a blog.

In the article “How Spam Works” Marshal Brain enlightens us on the subject; where it comes from, how much there is, what is being done and other things.

For a few weeks this spot will show some of the sillier messages found in blogger comment spam. These will be quoted exactly, grammar, punctuation, spelling and content bungles included.

Here is today's exciting example.

From a post about identifying some aircraft in old photographs:

Thanks for anotheer excellent post. Where else could anyone get that type oof info in such an idwal way of writing? I've a resentation next week, and I'm at the search for such information. my blog post divorce advice men

Thinking about things - Bassingbourn AFB

The original negative was one of a set of over 300 found at a flea market. Most are of aircraft and personnel. There are three or four aerial shots. The whole set is posted on Flickr. Recently a Flickr member identified this black and white aerial negative as being Bassingbourn Air Force Base near Kneesworth on A1198 in the UK. With a little stretching and twisting the profile is still there today as seen in a recent satellite shot.

The Profile (more than you really wanted to know) is here.

Martha Jean - B-25 extraordinair

We met Martha Jean this past week end at the Bartlesville, Oklahoma Phillips 66 Annual Bi-Plane Fly-In. It was a pleasure. For some fine shots of Martha Jean's arrival and departure from Pogue airport in Bartlesville, see the Northeast Oklahoma Railfan blog.

The Profile (more than you really wanted to know) is here.

Found Friday - Patches Two

This is "Patches 2" a B17 assembly ship. This photo is from the biggest "find" of 2008. In a Wichita Falls flea market mall I found a book of 205 35mm negatives all taken duing the winter of 1944 in the south of England. This is a rather rare photograph. I have been able to find only four other photographs of this ship, TWO HERE (Recent) and TWO HERE (Vintage). This aircraft that flew 61 missions before being retired and painted to work as an assembly ship. All in all, I am beginning to think of this book of negatives as a significant discovery, certainly acutely nostalgic if not stunningly historical.

The Profile (more than you really wanted to know) is here. These are the most popular pages: Alison Young Art Pepper Barney Kessel Bettie Page Curl-up-and-dye Edgar Degas and the lost Ginger Nude Ginger Panda Gnat Trap Little Annie Fannie Marilyn Resident Alien Sunday Funnies

Lost Gallery - The AAF

For the first ten days of 2009, Thinks Happen will feature the most visited blog pages of the two blogs, Thinks Happen and Lost Gallery. This will be in Letterman style, least-to-most, with the most visited page on January 10. Isn't that excitig? From LOST GALLERY October 4, 2007, here's number NINE! Here is a set of 327 photogaphs scanned from one of two very carefully kept files of 35mm negatives. Most of the photographs in this set are of aircraft in world war two. The date is late 1944. The negative files were found together at a flea market. These marvelous photographs were on the brink of being lost forever. CLICK HERE to view some history and identification of some of the photographs in this AAF collection. The 205 negatives in the other file were taken postwar, about half in England and the rest in Texas, USA. The photographs apparently show a bit our touring before leaving the England based AAF unit and the first photographs after arriving in Texas. CLICK HERE to view some postwar photography from the other negative file from the same photographer.

This is a P-61 "Black Widow" This one was nicknamed "Wabash Cannonball IV" This is a B25 Maurader, not a common plane or popular. There were only about five thousand of them made. They were famous for handling problems and gained the nickname "Widow Maker."

These are the aircraft photographs from the set:

These are the other various subjects from the set:

For THUMBNAIL CONTROLS click on any picture. Roll cursor to top of frame for controls, to the bottom for thumbnails. You can leaf through the set and read any additional comments by clicking on the arrows in the control bar.

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WHERE THE TRIOS ARE PLAYING... Places More about "Where" Than "Who" Somewhere in England 1944 The Guys Gloria and the Amateur Photographer And don't miss Penny Tales The best FOUND PHOTOGRAPH site on the web.

Single Standing STUDIO PORTRAITS C'est la guerre Doubles,Couples, Deuces and Pairs Head and Shoulders Cleo and the Jodhpur Gang

Agent 8 (Kate) Spy Extraordinaire That Old Gang Parties Parades and Picnics THE KIDS Dee and the Business School

Laura At The Beach Family Tries Our House Frau Fritz Bassermann Germany 1943 The Vintage Photobooth

Kentucky 1930 GETTING THERE The GIRLS WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? Cabinet Card Gallery