Images

jaredbkeller:

Before The Aircraft Carrier: The Union Army Balloon Corp

Beginning in 1861, the Union Army had an active balloon corp. The Union Army Balloon Corp, led by presidential appointee Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, consisted of seven vessels, the largest at 32,000 cubic feet, used primarily for reconnaissance and surveilling Confederate troops. Most of these units were launched from ground bases; seaborne balloons had only been utilized once before, in 1849, when an Austrian vessel, Vulcano, launched a failed attempt to bomb Venice with manned hot air balloons.

The Union did not utilize a maritime vessel as a staging area until August of 1961. Lowe, with the assistance of fellow aeronaut John LaMountain, directed the construction of the first real aircraft carrier. The two rebuilt a coal barge, the George Washington Parke Custis, gutting the deck of its rigging to accommodate gas generators and a flight deck superstructure. TheCustis was part of its own battle group, towed by the Stepping Stone and accompanying sloop Wachusett, the gunboats Tioga and Port Royal, and the armed transport Delaware during the course of its operational lifespan.

Read the full article here.

(Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/12/before-the-aircraft-carrier-the-union-army-balloon-corp/68592/)

theatlantic: YES.

(Source: http://bank.imgdumpr.com/index.php/random/bizarre-signs-and-advertisements-part-3/)

ben:

MoMA purchased some fonts recently (23 to be exact), most of which having some sort of historical significance.

One of these typefaces was OCR-A by American Type Founders, which is probably best known as the font used for routing numbers on checks. It’s used in other business contexts as well because it was designed to be perfectly readable by computers. The characters are distinct enough that individual characters won’t get mistaken for other ones.

(Source: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=139567)

nevver:

Drug is the Love

(Source: http://thisisnthappiness.com/post/2180099055/drug-is-the-love)

theeconomist: Tomorrow’s cover today Some natural disasters change history. Japan’s tsunami could be one.

(Source: http://www.economist.com/node/18395981?Story_ID=18395981)

hydeordie:

Christine Wong Yap Positive Signs #1 (Five Steps of the Creative Process), 2011

cyukol: #prayforjapan (Taken with instagram)

(Source: http://instagr.am/p/CSfMq/)

pursuitofny:

Help Japan
by Rob Dobi

All profits from this gorgeous poster go to benefit disaster recovery in Japan.

Purchase it here.

rooftoppoets:

Many thanks to all who attended last night’s Rooftop Poets literary salon at the Roof Garden Ballroom of the Battery Park Hotel!

rooftoppoets:

Poet’s on the Roof: A Literary Salon

You are invited to a literary salon at the Roof Garden of the historic Battery Park Hotel. Whether you dabble in poetry or prose or you’re a published poet or writer or maybe you just love art and books; join the Rooftop Poets for a stimulating evening of literature, music and conversation.

Come prepared to participate in engaging dialogue about art, books, literature and life. Discussions will be lead by Barbara Gravelle, Matt Mulder and Brian Sneeden. Please bring work by someone you admire or something you’ve written to share at the salon.

Snacks and hors d’oeuvres will be provided, along with music by Mattick Frick and the Bloodroot Orkaestarr.

$10.00 admission includes all food and beverages.

Join us Friday, February 18, 8:00pm – 11:00pm at the historic Battery Park Hotel, 1 Battle Square, Asheville, NC (located north of the Grove Arcade building).

For more info or to register for the salon, visit the Facebook events page or email: coffeehousejunkie@gmail.com

Design: bookshelf/nightstand

52books:

Apartment Therapy has a pretty decent project for turning an old drawer into a new bookshelf/nightstand. But like my old stand, you still can’t hide much in it.

(Source: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/bedroom/bedside-bookshelf-foundonthestreet-drawer-135910)

Megan McIsaac Photography

meganmcisaac:

bedside table.
portland, oregon.
january 2011. 

#avl #avlwx #avlsnomg Remember that 10% grade snomaghetto road I couldn’t navigate at 6AM. Makes a perfect sled (or luge) run at 2PM.

#avl #avlwx #avlsnomg At 6AM I realized I wasn’t going to make it out of the snomaghetto. May not look like it but that’s a 10% grade slope.

npr:  After The Crisis, An Economist Reconsiders Cappuccino  Oh, Planet Money, you had me at “cappuccino.” –wrightbryan3

(Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/12/17/132115320/after-the-crisis-an-economist-reconsiders-cappuccino)

malty: every damn day

(Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/5094668)

#avlsnomg Of all the stores closed on Tunnel Road, yesterday, both IHOP and Cook Out were open for business.

I may have ‘O.D.ed on twitter this weekend’ and need to unplug for awhile.

I am taking a 30-day spiritual retreat and a sabbatical from social media.

Frank’s Pizza is open

Frank’s Pizza was open on Monday. According to Ray’s Weather, it’s supposed to hit 41°F today. Yesterday’s snow will be a memory.

#avlsnomg As @ashevegas stated yesterday, I overdosed on Twitter as the Christmas Day winter storm dumped almost a foot of snow on Asheville.

#avlsnomg Driving to the office Monday morning.

A morning walk the day after Christmas and all is quiet except the chatter of a couple cardinals in a holly tree. #avlsnomg

Day after Christmas. Snowfall measures just under nine inches. Locals used impassable streets as sled runs. #avlsnomg

Excellent day for a game or two of chess. (via enpasant: Die schachpartie: Max Oppenheimer)