Sunday, March 19, 2023

Snoozer Sunday

You pretty much know what you're gonna get on a Sunday, or you should by now if you've been paying attention! I'll go through my scans and pick out a few that rate a 3 out of 10, or maybe a 4 if things are good. You have been warned.

Let's start with this not-good photo of the nuclear submarine (from November, 1974), "George Washington". I'll bet George wishes he had one of these when he crossed the Potomac (which he did to retrieve that silver dollar that he threw years before). I dunno, there's not much to say about this one, it's dark and murky and frankly I'm ashamed that I've shared it with you today.


Next, from "sometime in the 1960s" comes this Skyway view of part of the Matterhorn; it's a little bit interesting due to the angle, I like the waterfall, and the winding tracks, and the way you can see how the conifers get smaller as the altitude increases. BUT... it's a little out of focus, so that issue lowers it by 3 points.

8 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
Oh, com'on... don't try to fool us. That "George Washington" submarine is a model, and that image was shot in your bathtub-! (Nice job on the rock work, though).

Happy Sunday.

JB said...

Major, I think yer pulling our leg. This Sub is a bathtub toy, right? Maybe 8" long? And that stuff in the background is a (rather large) bathtub sponge. You can't fool me!
Is this taken from a Skyway gondola? Too high up for the Monorail, I think. Possibly a Matterhorn bobsled? Nah, too far over the Lagoon.

This photo illustrates why Disney chose Switzerland's Matterhorn over other mountains to build; the Swiss mountain is full of holes, like Swiss cheese, perfect for bobsled track! I wonder if the Matterhorn's holes were created by carbon dioxide, like the cheese?

Oh dear, I just read Nanook's comment, and he made the same comparison of the Sub to a bathtub model that I did, almost word for word. I swear I wrote my bit before I read yours, Nanook. I guess just about everybody will notice that it does indeed look like a model... can't be helped. Well, I could read ahead before composing my comment.

Thanks for the pics, Major.

Chuck said...

From this angle, that riveted panel atop the sub’s sail looks sort of like a hatch, as though the skipper or a lookout could pop it open while surfaced and scan the horizon with an expensive pair of binoculars in search of other ships, or shore, or kaiju.

I’m also embarrassed to admit that until this very moment, I’d never noticed that the subs’ sails are flat-topped, devoid of any details like periscopes or antennae or snorkels like real submarines have. I realize there’s no need for them at Disneyland like on a real sub, but then again, the Columbia doesn’t need sails, either, but they sure enhance the experience. I guess my mind just sort of fills them in as a detail that it thinks should be there but really isn’t.

The Matterhorn photo shows an interesting angle. Without the tall, snow-capped peak, its family resemblance to Cascade Peak really stands out here. Too bad about the blurriness, but I’ll pretend it’s an action shot…even though there’s no action in it. Even the Fantasyland Autopia cars in the background are gridlocked. BONUS: real mountain sighting in the distance.

Melissa said...

The lighting and angle of the first picture really does make it look like a miniature. It could be some enemy vessel Gordon Tracy has to fight from Thunderbird 4.

And that's an angle on the Matterhorn you don;t see every day. If these be snoozers, good snoozers they be.

JG said...

I agree with Melissa, these are in the top 10% of snoozers at least.

If no other reason than the inspiration and efforts it took to take these shots, also that each is a unique view that can no longer be replicated in today's diminished Park.

Also, trees have no scale and Fantasyland is closed.

Thanks Major, hope you’re having some good family time!

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

Hi folks, I’m BACK!

Nanook, hmmm, I wonder if the “tilt shift” effect would work from this angle? I kind of don’t think so, but the sub DOES look like a toy in a bathtub.

JB, D’oh! Why, anybody who thinks it looks like a bathtub toy must be crazy! CRAZY, do you hear? Also, there are two kinds of people. Loofah people and sponge people. And never the twain shall meet. My head is soft like a sponge so I guess I am a sponge person. Yes I’d assume that the photo was taken from the Skyway, which was on its way up (or down), so it wasn’t at its peak height. I think Walt should have made a Spruce Knob attraction instead of a Matterhorn. Spruce Knob is the tallest of the Allegheny Mountains. As for reading comments, I swear to you that I had not read yours before I made my bathtub toy comparison!

Chuck, the Imagineers used that riveted panel to lock in freshness. Important in a submarine, I think you’ll agree (though I admit that I never considered it before). You make a good point about the flat tops on the sub’s sails, I wonder why they didn’t hot glue some sticky-uppy bits? Long ago I posted a photo of Cascade Peak that was labeled “Matterhorn”, I’m sure that you (like me) laughed uncontrollably for at least three minutes (tears streaming down cheeks). I think that is Spruce Knob in the distance.

Melissa, I wish I remembered those Gerry Anderson shows better, I watched some when I was a kid but they are distant. I was thinking more of those low-budget movie serials (or “poverty row” pictures) that had adorably low-tech special effects!

JG, I’d say that you and Melissa must be in good moods this morning (that’s a good thing!), I wish these were a little better, but then maybe they wouldn’t be “Snoozers”. I feel like these are pretty lame, maybe I’m still tired from my family. Those freeloaders expected food EVERY DAY! It turns out that part of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity does in fact state that trees have no scale.

"Lou and Sue" said...

If that's a miniature submarine in your bathtub, Major - then you need to scrub down your tub a little more often, I think. It's no wonder your guests left early.
BTW, it really does look like that sub's bumping the side of a tub, there.

At a quick glance, in your MH picture, it looks like the tracks in the lower left are pouring down out of that tunnel...just like the waterfall that's flowing down from above. Even the other tracks are 'flowing down.' Lots of flowing going on.

Welcome back, Major. Yesterday's party got a little wild, but we cleaned up everything.

Major Pepperidge said...

Lou and Sue, if I cleaned my bathtub it would ruin the flavor of the water. You didn't think about that, did you? I think maybe that waterfall is flowing under the tracks, but on the other hand it looks like the tracks are wet, so... not sure. If I hear that the cops showed up, all of you are grounded!