shootout
A BUTCHER'S #83
A BUTCHER’S hook/look (Cockney rhyming slang)
down in one
why shot glass? There are a few well worn theories on how it got its name….. there’s the sound it makes slamming the glass down, like a gun - it’s not that. In the Old West, a cowboy without cash could trade a bullet or cartridge for a glass of whiskey - not that either.
The shot as a fixed measurement came before the shot glass. ‘Shooting’ whiskey is a probable origin to ‘taking a shot’ - the rapid consumption of a small amount of liquor could well have led to the naming of the glass.
Take your pick - shot glass, pony glass, or shooter?
“sunday, sunday, sunday”
was the familiar ad we’d hear on the radio for Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. And we used to go. Full strength August sun, concrete, no shade, the smell of nitro and a volume that can physically knock you over - it really is something else! Probably one of the stranger sports there is - strap yourself into an engine and see how fast you can go in a straight line, over a quarter of a mile. Insane.
Shirley Muldowney was racing in her barbie pink top fuel dragster. When you’re there wandering around the track, it’s a very strange local kind of event with drivers signing autographs sitting next to their machines, chatting with fans, while mechanics are doing a total rebuild of the engine (for every run).
Following Shirley’s lead, Brittney Force is the current NHRA champion - her record is 343.16 mph (552.26 km/h), in 3.645 seconds (watch here)
Naturally, going this fast they have to stop fast as well, so they use a parachute - known to the drivers as ‘hanging out the laundry’ - that’s pretty good!
FAST FORWARD
We knew when we started spring that we wanted to show ‘design god’ Don Ervin’s hand made cars, but I also knew that I really wanted to feature a dragster in an exhibition - I mean how many New Yorkers have seen a dragster? So I set about figuring out how to borrow one.
Armed with a flyer and a tape measure to check the width, to know if it would fit through the narrow doors at spring, I set off to the drag strip. I wandered around, talked to drivers, eyed their cars and eventually ran into ‘Gentleman George’ DeSiato who was racing his ‘68 ‘sling-shot’ (front engined) ‘Risky Business’. Amazingly he agreed and was thrilled to participate. Have a look at the whole show here
For some atmospheric old school racing there’s a 1973 film Burn out at the strip that features ‘Big Daddy’ Don Garlits, Shirley M and others. Watch the tires flexing.
For the whole story there’s the 1983 movie about Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney with Beau Bridges - watch it here: Heart like a wheel
more kid’s play
Quick draw - winkie, lenticular or magic motion?
Vari-Vue were the creators of lenticulars (3D) in the 30s winkies (eyes) and magic-motion cards (depicting movement). Dive deep into the world of Vari-Vue (click here)
Loaded - from another time, the back page ads on a couple of old Italian ‘Topolino’ (Mickey Mouse) comics. Those revolvers look pretty realistic - in fact I did an image search and only Ads for real guns came up!
Don’t forget to ‘load up’ on BUM (pronounced ‘boom’) bullets.
keep down
A case of ‘what were they thinking’? Back in the neighborhood, the locals are wondering why the latest development has chosen to put a steel fence/wall around its garden - that appears to be riddled with bullet holes.
shot shoot Don't! who knew when I rented a chicken house for me and my cat in Water Mill, LI, I'd be living next door to Carl Yastremski's brother. Unlike Carl, the brother enjoyed shooting into the hedge dividing my little yard from his, particularly when he saw a furry animal. Risky Business.