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With the announcement of the investigation becoming criminal and to put a positive spin on things in the midst of the FrEores and Lucy football memers, I offer a lighthearted alternative. ...a happy song about hanging. Best to listen with a hot cup of coffee. Gallows Pole

Zeppelins, the rigid airships most famously epitomized by the Hindenburg, now seem kind of retro, rather than the image of futurity they represented in the 1930s. But they could be about to make a comeback in a big way — courtesy of a new aluminum-shelled, solar-powered airship that’s being built by the U.K.-based company Varialift Airships. According to the company’s CEO Alan Handley, the airship will be capable of making a transatlantic flight from the United Kingdom to the United States, consuming just 8% of the fuel of a regular airplane. It will be powered by a pair of solar-powered...

I know of no finer assemblage of minds and knowledge than the folks on Free Republic. I came across this cartoon this morning: I figured out that it's a reference to Led Zeppelin -- but being familiar with only three of the group's songs, I'm at a loss to figure out which song's lyrics are being parodied. I'm 100% percent confident that some FReeper will know -- and probably in less than 10 minutes after I post this. Thanks!

Led Zeppelin are being accused plagiarising the introduction of their iconic 1971 anthem, “Stairway To Heaven”, in a new lawsuit brought by the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy California and members of the band. Business Week reports the estate – and group’s members – believe the acoustic introduction to “Stairway” was lifted from their 1968 instrumental, “Taurus.”

from japan

Zeppelins were once considered the future of air transport - but after the horror of the Hindenburg disaster, they disappeared from the skies for more than 75 years. Now a pioneering aviation firm hopes to bring back the airships in a bid to revolutionise the global market in transporting freight. The Aeroscraft is built using innovative technology which allows it to control its flight better than previous airships, so it should avoid the problems experienced by the first generation of zeppelins.

LED Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant has taken out a restraining order against a crazed fan after she bombarded him with threatening messages, it is reported. The rock legend, 64, is even said to have hired a security team in the wake of intensifying harassment from the deluded groupie.

On Sept. 25, 1980, at 32 years of age, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham passed away, inadvertently bringing an end to one of rock’s greatest bands. The group’s final studio effort ‘In Through The Out Door’ had been released in Sept. 1979 after many delays. In May 1980, the group performed what would be their last European tour. That September, the band was in rehearsals at guitarist Jimmy Page’s house in advance of an American tour.

Led Zeppelin II has died. Not the album ... the man. Zeppelin, of downstate Bethalto, near St. Louis, was known most of his life as George Blackburn before officially changing his name last fall.

I'm an aspiring guitarist. I like some of Led Zeppelin's music. But Jimmy Page was reputed to have ties with witchcraft and satanism. Do you see a conflict between Christianity and learning some of their instrumental guitar riffs? Like, Stairway to Heaven. I kind of got around the question since it's actually "Taurus" by Spirit. But there are other guitar riffs I really like but am bothered by Page's influences.

Jason Bonham knows better than to promise a Led Zeppelin reunion as part of his "Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience" show that goes on tour this fall. But he's certainly not opposed to the idea. "I'm not going to hide it from them," Bonham, who filled his late father John "Bonzo" Bonham's spot and played with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones at the 2007 Zep reunion concert at London's O2 arena, tells Billboard.com. "I will invite them to every show I can, because my goal and dream is, 'Wouldn't it be cool if I did something that...

October 8, 2007 It’s as big as a superyacht, and not quite as fast as a supercar but it does have a range of over 3000 miles and can do it over land, sea or snow, lingering anywhere you like the view. A new category of aircraft that fits somewhere in between a blimp, airship or dirigible, the Aeroscraft ML866 project was recently presented at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) show in Atlanta, Georgia. The key factor of the ML866 design is that it offers superyacht size and comfort in a platform that can operate independently from airports, meaning...

The zeppelin, Eureka, sits on the tarmac at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. The airship was dedicated Friday at an event celebrating the 75h anniversary of Moffett Field.(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News) MOFFETT FIELD, Calif.--NASA celebrated the 75th anniversary of this iconic airfield and research center on Friday by dedicating a brand-new zeppelin from a private company called Airship Ventures. The zeppelin NT ("new technology"), which is one of just three currently functioning zeppelins that exist in the world, and the biggest, at 246 feet, was named "Eureka," a name that relates to the fact that the ship is based...

The military zeppelin USS Macon was meant to be a floating American aircraft carrier over the Pacific Ocean -- but it crashed, sank and has been lying on the ocean floor for more than 70 years. Now scientists have discovered and documented the unique wreck off the coast of California.

The final resting place of a massive blimp-like airship that went down off the California coast 75 years ago has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the loss of the U.S. Navy airship USS Macon, NOAA today announced that the wreck site on the seafloor within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Macon, a 785-foot dirigible was one of the largest airships in the world – comparable in size to the RMS Titanic. It was intended to serve as a scout ship for the Pacific Fleet and had the ability to launch and recover Sparrowhawk biplanes. In service less than two years, the Macon, based at Moffett Field in Sunnyvale, Calif.,...

Lost Charlie Chaplin film bought on eBay for $5 A lost Charlie Chaplin film has been discovered in a can of nitrate film bought on eBay for £3.20 ($5). Morale Park from Henham, Essex, purchased the tin simply because he liked the look of it. He was amazed to discover its fragile contents: a previously unknown seven-minute film Chaplin film called Zepped. His interest was piqued, he said, when he could not find any mention of it on the internet. The film features footage of Zeppelin airships flying over England during the First World War, and out-takes from three pictures...

Led Zeppelin sales soar after concert success Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 11/12/2007 Sales of Led Zeppelin’s back catalogue soared today after the spectacular success of their one-off reunion concert. The group’s best-of album, Mothership, have already gone Platinum, meaning it has sold more than 300,000 copies, but Gennaro Castaldo, a spokesman for HMV, said it was on track to become one of the biggest best-sellers. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page perform in Istanbul in March Sales of the album at the company’s 240 stores leapfrogged those of Westlife and the Spice Girls to become the chain’s number one seller. “Sales...

Led Zeppelin to get heavy on ticket touts By Joanna Corrigan Last Updated: 2:14am GMT 10/12/2007 Led Zeppelin fans who bought tickets online for the band's first performance in almost 20 years could be turned away from the concert because of stringent security measures. Touts have been selling tickets to the band's reunion on auction websites such as eBay despite organisers trying to prevent anyone apart from winners of the official ballot from attending the show at London's O2 arena. Only fans with a special code obtained in the ballot, photographic ID and the credit card that paid for the...

LONDON, England (AP) -- Will Led Zeppelin's long-awaited reunion lead to more concerts? Guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant and bass player John Paul Jones will perform Monday at London's 02 Arena, a benefit tribute to Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died last year. It will be the rock band's first concert in almost two decades. "I must say that after our initial get-together it was so exhilarating and fun that I did feel I would like to do more," Q music magazine quoted Page, 63, as saying. "I've got things I've been working on for the past four...