Rick's Mysterious Things

Souvenir Lava Cast

This is a souvenir lava cast- someone dipped a two-sided iron mold into hot lava and created this item.   It's about 3" in diameter, and on one side is a crescent moon with a person having a braid of hair down the shoulder, and a hat.   On the other side is the date- 1923- and a picture of 2 volcano cones- the front one erupting.   Both sides have raised images.   I asked around a bit on the internet, and this may be depicting Mt. Etna based on several thoughts-
1) there aren't very many "non-explosive" erupting volcanos in the world (where you could walk up to a molten lava stream and do this)
2) which of those had an active eruption in 1923?
3) how many have dual cones?
4) Hawaiian custom frowns on removing any volcano lava, so it seems unlikely to me that anyone would be making such souvenirs there.
Mt. Etna fits this description, including having an active eruption in 1923.   I recall seeing a volcano special on PBS TV years ago that showed a clip of people making similar souvenirs using long-handled dippers, but I haven't been able to find it at the library- I would love to see it again to see what volcano they were using.   Besides a larger lava cast on display at the Rochester Museum & Science Center, this is the only other one I've ever seen, even in pictures.   If you can shed any light on this mystery- who the person is on the cast or corraborate any of this, please contact me- I would appreciate it immensely.  

What is this Coin?

I picked up this thick coin at a mineral show.   The vendor told me it was a "mogul coin" from roughly the ??th century.   It appears to be made of copper.   Any more details you might have about the coin (whether my info is correct, what the writing on it says, etc.) would be much appreciated. 

Dutch Settler Clay Pipe

This is a clay pipe that my daughter found on the shore of Great Sacandaga Lake near the Batchellerville Bridge in Saratoga County, NY.   It has some sort of manufacturer's symbol molded into it.   The color is creamy white, like the right image; the others appear yellowish due to the incandescent lighting I was using to control the shadows.   Any clues to it's age or history?

Morse Code Card

I believe I found the idea for this neat morse code card in an old 1950s-era Boys Life magazine.   A normal alphabet-to-morse code list is ok for sending morse code, but this card is really great for RECEIVING it.   Read from the top down until the desired letter is reached.

Comet Hyakutake

As a kid, I longed to see Halley's Comet someday.   I never thought I'd ever get a chance to see any other one.   In March of 1996, I became aware that newly discovered Comet Hyakutake would soon be visible.   As a kid, I had imagined that comets would look like shooting stars, moving across the sky.   I found this is quite wrong.   This comet was visible for weeks, hanging in the same spot in the sky each night, looking pretty much like this photo, unmoving and silent- it was beautiful and awesome in the truest sense of the word.   On the night of 3/27/96, I took my camera and tripod out to my friend Fred's house and took this picture.   It came out better than I imagined it would, with the long exposure recording the tail visible all the way to the edge of the picture frame.

Comet Hale-Bopp

Incredibly, about a year later, ANOTHER comet was discovered, and coming our way.   It was as spectacular as Hyakutake had been.   Like Hyakutake, this comet was visible for weeks.   On the night of 3/23/97, I took this picture from my backyard.   I'll never forget seeing these comets.

The Weinermobile!

Here I am with the Weinermobile!   I read in the newspaper that they were having local auditions for kids to sing the Oscar Mayer Bologna theme song, and that they'd be bringing the Weinermobile to town.   I just had to stop by at lunch hour and take a look!  No, I DIDN'T audition.

Here's a song I've been trying to identify for many years.  The song is notable in that appears in at least 6 different Columbia "short" films by the 3 Stooges, from 1938 to 1952, plus in the full-length movie "All The King's Men" from 1949 (so the song was written 1938 or before).   There is no other music that appears so often within their work as this one (and I want to figure out why!).  I *suspect* it is a march, but I can't be sure as a different recording is used in each of the 6 shorts, and the tempo being used changes in each performance; sometimes it sounds fast like a polka, most of the time like a march, maybe it's swing. This particular audio file was clipped from "Dutiful But Dumb", from 1941.  Some films contain more parts of the song- it seems like a portion of it is played repeatedly in this clip- but hopefully this one will trigger somebody's tune memory bank. Ignore the mid-tune changing tempo and the actors' voices. Any pointers to the title of this song would be much appreciated! 
UPDATE, 2008: I've heard that the song is titled The Frederic March, and was composed by Howard Jackson and Raphael Penso. "Frederic March" - the person- was actually a famous actor circa 1930s-1950s.

Occurrences I've noted:
 - Termites of 1938 (1938)- the Stooges "play" this song on a violin, flute, and string bass at a dinner party in an attempt to attract mice. The song is played steadily, like a "march" in this scene.
- Dutiful But Dumb (1941)- my favorite rendition of this song. Curley is hidden inside a floor-standing radio, and plays the song on a modified harmonica, gradually speeding up the music as he goes. Played quite fast, like a polka.
- Three Little Twirps (1943)- plays as background music at circus while Moe & Curley sell their tickets. Sounds like a march here, with a longer, previously unheard introduction (or perhaps it's the 2nd song in a medley here?).
- Idle Roomers (1944)- Curley "plays" the song on trombone, very fast, to calm the wolf-man.
- Gents Without Cents (1944)- 3 girls perform acrobatics on stage while this song is playing. The song is played faster here, like a fast march or maybe a polka.
-"All The King's Men" from 1949- It follows the political rise of Willie Stark to governor. The song is played during a pep rally early in the film.
- Gents in a Jam (1952)- Shemp, Moe & Larry have a problem with a broken-apart radio that won't stop playing this song. Song is played at presumed normal tempo.