Sindbad vs Popeye

There was a time when I regularly posted Wednesday 'Hump Day' fight videos. I'm not going to resume that posting tradition, finding videos of silly fights was getting increasingly difficult, but today I'll post a throw-back Hump Day fight. This one features a brawl between Popeye the Sailor and Sinbad the Sailor, who is played by Brutus. Naturally Olive Oyle is caught in the middle.

King Tut's restored tomb

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Without ever really thinking about it, I just assumed that King Tutankhamen's tomb was restricted to only archeologists and other guests. It turns out it could be visited by tourists, and they recently did restoration work on it.

From the History Blog article Conservation of Tutankhamen’s tomb complete:

The project team found the wall paintings to be in relatively stable condition, apart from localized flaking and loss of paint that was caused by both inconsistencies in the materials used and their application, as well as damage caused by visitors. Newly designed barriers now restrict visitor access in these areas to reduce the risk of future damage. The paintings were stabilized through dust removal and reduction of coatings from previous treatments, and condition monitoring was also established to better evaluate future changes.

Also addressed were the mysterious brown spots on the wall paintings. They were already present when Carter first entered the tomb, and a comparison of the spots with historic photographs from the mid-1920s showed no new growth. To confirm this finding, DNA and chemical analysis were undertaken and confirmed the spots to be microbiological in origin but dead and thus no longer a threat. Because the spots have penetrated into the paint layer, they have not been removed since this would harm the wall paintings.

Restored, stabilized and with new lighting, ventilation and information panels, the tomb of Tutankhamen offers a much improved experience for visitors as well as more secure, controlled conditions to preserve the priceless archaeological material. That includes a few important pieces on display as well as the tomb itself: Tutankhamen’s mummy on view in an oxygen-free display case, the stone sarcophagus and the outermost coffin made of gilded wood.

So Lonesome I Could Cry

Get ready for an abandoned weekend with Seasick Steve & Amy Lavere.

Making manioc flour in Brazil

Manioc is an edible tropical root that is rich in carbohydrates. It can be eaten alone in various forms, and it is also frequently used as a filler to other dishes.

Old motivational posters

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Motivational posters are a minorly annoying feature of modern office life. Yes, we all need banal sayings to guide us on our way. I guess they've been around for some time -- these three are from the 1930s and 40s. So, read them and heed their wise advice!

500 miles

Get ready for a pedestrian weekend with Haley and Michaels.

Confusion and clarity

On two occasions I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. -- Charles Babbage

One of the last patients in an iron lung

Self portraits of women painters painting

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This is a sample of a nice collection of self portraits by women painters showing them at work. It is from La boite verte's post Des autoportraits de femmes peintres en train de peindre. There are many more at the link, as well as captions identifying the artists.

Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out

Get ready for a destitute weekend with Carla Bruni.

Visiting a Russian convenience store

A previous post took us to a roadside café in India, today we're visiting a Russian convenience store in a small village. I realize I'm taking a chance here, for all I know this video is nothing but Russian propaganda designed to throw another election Trump's way. Regardless, as a fearless internet journalist I'm willing to risk facing a Bob Mueller grand jury to speak truth to power, etc., etc., etc. Enjoy.

Do Not Disturb (South American)

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Edoardo Flores describes himself as an Italian who worked for the International Labour Organization of the United Nations. Yes, that is a bit of a frightening job description to some of us. However, this post isn't about his previous job. Rather, it is about a hobby of his -- collecting Do Not Disturb signs.

He's got a very extensive collection of them (over 17,500 of them by his count) at his website Do Not Disturb. The images on this page, and those after the jump, are a small sampling of Do Not Disturb signs from South America.

Found via Flashbak's post A Wonderful and Extraordinary Collection of Old Hotel ‘Do Not Disturb’ Signs which has more samples from his collection.

Köprüaltı (Under the Bridge)

Get ready for a rapprochement weekend with Sufle.

At a roadside cafe on the way to Jaipur