Iconic Shot: A “Dynamite” cast

© Gage Skidmore

I didn’t like Napoleon Dynamite when it debuted on the big screen in 2004. I thought it was just another indie waste that benefitted from MTV-generated hype. But after watching the flick another six or seven times, I am now compelled to drop whatever I’m doing the moment I see it on television.

Taken at Comic Con in San Diego last July, the pic above is a nice candid shot of Deb, Grandma, Napoleon, Kip, Pedro, Uncle Rico and Rex. An outstanding ensemble if ever there was one.

Iconic Shot: Wellington College

© Richard Peat

Located on a 400 acre estate in southeast England, not far from Windsor Castle, is Wellington College, a selective co-educational public school in the same G-20 vein as Eton College, Phillips Academy and Harvard-Westlake.

The school is also a national monument to Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), the Duke of Wellington. A Christian and Tory Conservative, the Irish-born commander of the Seventh Coalition defeated Napoléon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The triumph ended the Napoleonic Wars and ushered the era of Pax Britannica during which the British Empire enjoyed uncontested European hegemony while the continent itself enjoyed near-constant peace for 100 years.

Iconic Shot: Their potential was evident even then

c/o Van Halen News Desk, original source unknown

Last night Van Halen played a warm-up gig at Café Wha? in New York’s West Village in lieu of their upcoming 45-city tour to support “A Different Kind of Truth,” the band’s first album since 1998 and their first with legendary frontman David Lee Roth in 27 years.

Reminiscent of my September 9 post that also featured these four lads from Pasadena, the shot featured above was taken in 1978 during a promotional appearance for Van Halen’s debut album. Their eponymous release eventually went diamond (domestic sales of 10 million+) and would set the tone for an additional five groundbreaking albums with DLR at the helm before he parted ways with the group under questionable circumstances in 1985.

Although bassist/co-founding member Michael Anthony has been out of the band since the end of the ’04 reunion tour with Sammy Hagar (replaced two years later by Eddie’s son, Wolfgang), fans by all accounts seem more than satisfied – downright giddy in some cases – to see this otherwise “original” lineup return to the road once again with a new album set for release next month.

Considering the present state of the genre’ – AC/DC and Metallica notwithstanding – a return to form by one of the greatest of all Rock bands is both highly anticipated and long overdue.

Still-shot, borrowed respectfully, from the online promo for their upcoming tour.

Iconic Shot: Still the Kings

Metallica recently observed their 30-year anniversary as one of the heaviest Rock/Metal groups ever to break into the mainstream. The picture below, shot in the Yucca Corridor of Los Angeles, was taken amid the earliest days of the “Black Album” era just as they hit a level of international success which, 20 years later, shows no sign of fading.

While the genre they epitomize presently lounges in a state of disarray, we can always expect Hetfield & Co. to set the standard by which all others will be judged.

© Metallica, via their “Through the Years” Facebook album

Iconic Shot: The King & Ali

I don't believe in self-given monikers. Whereas fans were responsible for christening Elvis as "The King," it was the man formerly known as Cassius Clay who was only too happy to inform the world that he was "The Greatest" of his chosen profession. However debatable Ali's status in boxing lore – welterweight and middleweight powerhouse "Sugar" Ray Robinson (173-19-6, 108 KO) is the pound-for-pound greatest – the historical merit of the picture below presents a rare meeting of pop culture royalty that far exceeds the dislikable figureheads enthroned today.

In addition, Elvis was a legit karate black belt. First exposed to the art while stationed in Europe during his time in the Army, Presley earned his first degree {Shodan} rank in March 1960 from a Chitō-ryu instructor (and a very interesting fellow) named Henry Slomanski. In an actual head-to-head versus Muhammad Ali, "The King" would have held his own quite well.

Original source unknown, c/o Julien's Auctions

Iconic Shot: A different kind of garden

"Summer Heather Garden"
© Christopher Burkett, Studio 391

Iconic Shot: Magic & Bird

Original source is indeterminable

The NBA lockout is now in its 100th day with no end in sight. As players and owners haggle over the details of a 50/50 split in the diminishing revenue of a corporate franchise that continues to lose nine-figure sums each year, longtime fans often reminisce back to the good ol' days when two guys from opposite ends of the spectrum essentially saved the league.

Different in background, position and style, it was their similarities – and resulting mass appeal – that endure the most. Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson first met when Michigan State and Indiana State met in the 1979 NCAA national title game. Magic's Spartans were victorious, but both would make their mark on the next level in a way that only Michael Jordan would ever equal.

Magic's career numbers through his 13 seasons are impressive: 17,707 points (19.5 PPG), 10,141 assists (11.2 APG), 6,559 rebounds (7.2 RPG) and 1,724 steals (1.9 SPG). A 12-time All-Star and two-time All-Star Game MVP, Johnson also led his Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA championships en route to being named the league's Most Valuable Player three times.

Larry Legend's stats over his 13 years are equally notable: 21,791 points (24.3 PPG), 8,974 rebounds (10.0 RPG), 5,695 assists (6.3 APG) and 1,556 steals (1.7 SPG). Also a 12-time All-Star, Bird also led his Boston Celtics to three NBA titles en route to being named the league's Most Valuable Player three times.

These men typified the game in every way. Unfortunately for the NBA, their impact may never be duplicated.

Iconic Shot: Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love

The '80s weren't quite as unsullied as we sometimes like to reminisce, but it was an era in which innocence and decadence seemed to coexist rather harmoniously.  And unlike today, Rock 'n' Roll was good.  And fun.  Here's Van Halen's original lineup, less than a year before 1984 was released, in a shot that exemplifies the spirit of a genre' that is all but dead and likely never to return.

© "Samboob," who claims to have taken the picture for a 1983 issue of Circus magazine

Iconic Shot: Hank & The General

Original source unknown

I become nostalgic for college football around this time every year. Correction: I remain wistful for college football practically year-round, but I digress.

In this shot, University of Tennessee head coach Robert Neyland (right) and consensus All-American running back Hank Lauricella examine their Longhorn opponents during the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1951. Lauricella finished runner-up in the Heisman voting earlier that season. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

With 173 wins, seven conference titles, four national championships, and a career .829 winning percentage, Coach Neyland (also a U.S. Army Brigadier General) remains the most successful coach in Tennessee football history.

And by the way, the Volunteers defeated Texas on this particular day, 20-14.

Iconic Shot: God bless America

Our flag embodies what makes our nation great.  Britney Spears, in this pic, is just Exhibit A:

Original source unknown

Iconic Shot: Antarctic architecture

© Sander Klaassen


An iceberg at Pleneau Bay, Antarctica

Iconic Shot: Dave and The King

c/o The Official Elvis Presley Facebook page

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl pays homage to Elvis at Graceland just prior to his band's show at the FedEx Forum here in Memphis on May 20, 2011.  I'm told the Foo boys played over 25 songs in their set, far more than the average concert normally lasts.  They do it because they care, which is just one reason why Kurt Cobain's former drummer is, quite possibly, the Elvis of Generation X.

Iconic Shot: Soulmate

Okay, you don't have to beg.  I'll marry you...

c/o The Clearly Dope

Iconic Shot(s): Justice is served

Authorized by Vice Admiral William H. McRaven, a former SEAL and commander of the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command, and in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency via direct order of President Obama, an indeterminate number of elite soldiers from the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group – formerly SEAL Team Six – dropped into Abbottabad, Pakistan yesterday and bestowed a particular brand of justice that Osama bin Laden has deserved for well over a decade.

Obviously the maneuver was a remarkable success.  Our warriors suffered no casualties, bin Laden's lifeless body has already been disposed at sea, and America's role as de facto international police force, for better or worse, has never been more fortified.  Of course the War on Terrorism is far from over, but for the moment our world is a better place now that the Saudi-born founder of Al-Qaeda is burning in Hell.

Spirits among my fellow Americans haven't beeen this uplifted and unified in quite some time.  The following pictures from the UK's Daily Mail, per the Associated Press, speak volumes.

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Iconic Shot: Northern Ireland

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Set in the small village of Ballintoy in Northern Ireland, practically a stone's throw across the North Channel from Scotland, the Carrick-a-Rede suspension bridge spans 20 meters (66 ft.) across and 30 meters (98 ft.) above the rocks below. Located approximately 65 miles from Belfast, the bridge averages 200,000 visitors a year.

Shot credited to someone identifying himself as "Van Helsing" and published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Iconic Shot: The Four Kings of Hollywood

What's so funny?

In a shot that personifies Hollywood's "Golden Era," Slim Aarons, a prominent photographer of the day, caught Clark Gable, Van Heflin, Gary Cooper and James Stewart in a jovial moment during a New Year's party in 1957.  The picture was later dubbed "a Mount Rushmore of stardom" by Smithsonian magazine and "the very image of American he-men" by novelist Louis Auchincloss.

Who could possibly disagree?

Iconic Shot: Hetfield

© 2011 Metallica, all rights reserved.  Click to enlarge.

Respectfully borrowed from the "2007-2009" pictures section of Metallica's website, this is simply one of the greatest pictures in the history of photography.  TEC hopes the mighty Hetfield doesn't sue me (or beat me up) for featuring this pic without consent.

Iconic Shot: Christchurch

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A view of the devastation from the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that rocked Christchurch in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island on February 22.  A slightly larger quake also hit nearby last September.
 
Shot taken anonymously, per Lucilu

Iconic Shot(s): The F-14 Tomcat

I was born and raised just a few miles from the once-bustling Naval Air Station in Millington, Tennessee (now NSA Mid-South), so I was very much in awe of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat several years before "Goose" and "Maverick" announced their need for speed to the world.

Each of our fighters are beautiful in their own way, but the Tomcat is perhaps the only one that has earned the right to be called majestic. Retired by the Navy in 2006 after 35 years of blasting our would-be aggressors out of the sky, the F-14 will always be among the standard bearers of American air superiority. Below is a humble tribute to our fly boys, highlighted by the legendary Jolly Rogers of Strike Fighter Squadron One Zero Three {VF-103}.

Note: Each shot was pulled from a file I hadn't looked through in probably a couple of years. The source of the individual pics were not recorded as a result, and any possible copyright infringement is completely unintentional.

Iconic Shot: The Bahamas

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A fascinating piece in National Geographic last summer told the story of the mysterious blue holes found throughout the Bahama islands.  In this shot, a diver makes his way through a "stalagmite forest" beneath Abaco Island, in which one wrong move could decimate mineral formations formed over a thousand years ago.

Photograph by Wes C. Skiles via National Geographic, and more great shots can be found here.