July 11, 2017

Amelia Earhart and the problem with History Channel documentaries

So, there was some media splash to promote a documentary on the History Channel about an alleged photograph of Amelia Earhart.

The problem with "I've got a theory" documentaries on that channel and elsewhere is that while it provides the promoter of the theory with a platform to promote that theory, it's not as if they are produced on the basis of actual research beyond whatever supports the promoter's theory. So, yes, they are convincing, compelling, etc. ... because everything that lines up with the theory is presented. Things that don't line up... not so much.

One of the obvious holes in the History Channel documentary was where, exactly, did the photograph come from, beyond "found mis-filed in the National Archives". Pretty obviously, if the photographer was working for the Japanese, then it might be worth a look to see where the photograph turns up in Japan...


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/11/blogger-discredits-claim-amelia-earhart-was-taken-prisoner-by-japan

Claims made in a US documentary that the pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart crash-landed on the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean and was taken prisoner by the Japanese appear to have been proved false by a photograph unearthed in a travel book.

The History Channel documentary, Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence, which aired in the US on Sunday, made the claim that the American and her navigator, Fred Noonan, ended up in Japanese custody based on a photograph discovered in the US national archives that purported to show them standing at a harbour on one of the islands.

The film said the image “may hold the key to solving one of history’s all-time greatest mysteries” and suggested it disproved the widely accepted theory that Earhart and Noonan disappeared over the western Pacific on 2 July 1937 near the end of their attempt at a history-making flight around the world.

But serious doubts now surround the film’s premise after a Tokyo-based blogger unearthed the same photograph in the archives of the National Diet Library, Japan’s national library.

The image was part of a Japanese-language travelogue about the South Seas that was published almost two years before Earhart disappeared. Page 113 states the book was published in Japanese-held Palau on 10 October 1935.

July 11, 2017

Remember... Mike Flynn's Lawyer Tweeted This In November 2016

https://twitter.com/robkelner/status/797655334454259713

July 11, 2017

State Street, Dover, DE

To satisfy your burning curiosity about Delaware's capital, this is a short ride through the heart of it...



(and don't give me a hard time about the sidewalks, the capital complex was pretty much deserted this weekend)

July 11, 2017

A ride along State Street in Dover

So, in preparation for the Pan Mass Challenge, I took a little two day ride from Hockessin to Lewes, across on the ferry, and then from Cape May to Pennsville.

Along the way I captured some of my favorite stretches of road, and took a spin around The Green and a glimpse of Legislative Hall in this trip down State Street....

July 4, 2017

How about that Caesar Rodney, eh?

Happy 4th, Delaware...

http://twitter.com/Berryhillj/status/882275659497828352

http://twitter.com/Berryhillj/status/882340944309354496

June 24, 2017

Piedmont man charged after viral video threatening cyclists

Calhoun County sheriff's deputies arrested a Piedmont man Thursday after he posted videos of himself online allegedly endangering bicyclists on the roadway, clips that enraged cycling enthusiasts across the country.

Keith Maddox of Piedmont was charged Thursday afternoon with reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. His bond was set at $3,000, according to Matthew Wade, chief deputy of the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office.

June 24, 2017

The driver and passenger have a court date of June 28

June 21, 2017

Pan-Mass Challenge for Dana Farber Cancer Center

I don't know how I let a buddy of mine rope me into this, but I'm aiming for 165 miles in two days:

http://profile.pmc.org/JB0722

June 8, 2017

Was McCain trying to suggest the "Seth Richards" conspiracy theory?

In the effort to figure out just WTF Gramps was on about during his mini-stroke, it dawned on me...

Was he trying to resuscitate the Seth Richards conspiracy theory?

June 8, 2017

McCain loses Clue with "It was Hillary Clinton, in the pizza parlor, with an email server!"