good boy: a thirty year old dog in Portugal beats a century-old record for oldest in the world
bb-8: a small security robot that rolls about the premises
eternity’s pillar: late night variety show produced by Turiyasan-gitananda—see previously
studio fong leng: a look at the Dutch fashion designer who dressed Kate Bush and socialite Mathilde Willink
can’t do hands: an atrocious sign language guide imaged by an AI—see previously
catgpt: a feline version of the scarily smart chat bot—via Waxy
super 8: Kodak background orchestral ensemble for home movies (1961) would make a good soundtrack for any clip
memory hole: unearthing—with surprising difficulty—an iconic, defining moment of 90s US political pop culture
the fourth plinth: what becomes of statuary exhibited temporarily in Trafalgar Square—via Things Magazine
whw: an interview with the ousted Kunsthalle collective who wanted to showcase all sides of Vienna
poissons de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires: exquisite disco fish (1719)
geyser relays: a rather pie-in-the-sky proposal for irrigation using a series of water canons
parade route: revisiting the would-be arrival and presentation of Ganda the Rhinoceros
sympawny № 4: a short arrangement to pay tribute to a beloved cat
The American-registered brigatine, sailing from New York to Genoa was found (see also) by fellow Nova Scotian vessel Dei Gratia on this day in 1872 in the waters of the Azores, mysterious abandoned and remaining an enduring conundrum. 
One lifeboat missing but still well-provisioned and sea-worthy—with her cargo of rum untouched—the salvage proceedings held in Gibraltar following recovery entertained a range of possible explanations from mutiny, piracy to giant squid attacks and paranormal interventions but no theory was ever confirmed nor were the missing nine crew members ever found. Following the hearings and under new ownership, the ship was wrecked deliberately in Haiti in an attempt to collect on insurance fraud. Legendary fodder for myths, her fate was sealed with a treatment by Arthur Conan Doyle with a fictitious accounting from reportedly the ship’s surgeon—one statement by J Habakuk Jephson—among many other alleged survivors of this ghost ship.
slava ukraini: president Zelenskyy visits liberated city of Kherson
backstory: a modern history of our butts
pets.com: series of Silicon Valley layoffs
turbulent indigo: Joni Mitchell reminisces on her career with Elton John
hidden in plain sight: the anti-MacGuffins of Hitchcock’s Charade—via Language Hat
trench run: we are not skilled enough to try this with our X-Wing drone
semester abroad: tips for affecting an RP accent, as one does
an army marches on its stomach: a trove of 1970s field rations—see previously—via Present /&/ Correctalgar do carvรฃo: a guide to the incredible Azores—see also
blowhole: sea platform harnesses wave energy by using it to pressurise air and powering a turbine—outperforming expectations
mappa mundi: an annotated, interactive fifteenth century world atlas—see also
5 bby: Star Wars fans invented their own calendar (see previously) over a quarter of a century ago and the latest series finally makes it canon
Via Things Magazine, we are directed to a quite repulsive, compelling masters thesis from Natacha de Mahieu on overtourism that explores not only the growing chasm between social media and reality but about the performative instincts that have emerged as the leading edge of sharing society like a prisoner’s dilemma especially when we think that no one is watching, aptly titled Theatre of Authenticity. 
This representative image of the lone national park in Portugal, Peneda-Gerรชs, properly radicalises me
as we together use these composite photos taken over the course of an hour help us reconcile and resolve our own conflicts over travel and picture-taking and quite as the most jarring staging and unreality of nature’s quiet spots but rather for its backstory, de Mahie relating that she had to rig up her camera to take this shot remotely since otherwise people would politely stand out of frame to allow her to take her perfect souvenir. What do you think? Have you experienced such disconnect and struggle to create the illusion of leisure and discovery? I can understand the urge to want to see, experience something pristine before it’s all lost to our bad stewardship of the planet and feel some sympathy for those vying for one last pose. Much more at the links above.
can i pet your dog: a short-lived 1971 talk show, The Pet Set, hosted by Betty White
particle zoo 2.0: revved up Large Hadron Collider discovers three new exotic quark-pairings—via the New Shelton wet/dry
plastic mero: artwork installed on a beach in Funchal crafted on salvaged ocean waste speaks to the plight of the Atlantic goliath grouper and fellow fish onomatopoeia: a collection of nonsense words invented by bird-watchers to convey calls and songs
gol gumbaz: a resplendent seventeenth century mausoleum in Bijapur is called the Taj Mahal of Southern India
denton, denton you’ve got no pretension: a photoessay of the Texas city in the 1970s
gravitational waltz: tracing the orbits of stars near super-massive black hole Sgr A* (previously)
golden girls 3033: BoJack Horseman director Mike Hollingsworth creates an animated pilot using splices of original dialogue
Having previously showcased lettering artist Rafael Serra, PRINT magazine was quick to recognise his 1980s-informed logo inspiring another new management’s corporate image. Be sure to check out Serra’s whole nostalgic, bold portfolio recasting iconic labels at the link above or at the graphic designer’s website, particularly the iterations of fast food franchises in corresponding styles.
Signed on this day in its namesake town on the Douro river in 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas (Tratado de Tordesilhas, see previously) divided the so called New World—those lands new to European explorers—between the Spanish and Portuguese Empires along a meridian in the Atlantic judged halfway in 
between the Cape Verde island group (then a crown colony of Portugal) and the lands claimed for Castile and Leon by Christopher Columbus, modern-day Cuba and Hispaniola) with points east going to the latter and westward to the former. The Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529 defined the antemeridian to address the other side of the globe in order to settle conflicting claims to the Moluccas Islands, an Indonesia archipelago historically called the Spice Islands. Though blessed-off by the pope, newly discovered peoples viewed this claim with disdain and other European powers did not sign on and generally ignored the treaties, Francis I (albeit representing one of the worst future colonisers) declaiming, “The sun shines for me as it does for others. I would very much like to see the clause of Adam’s will that denies me my share of the world.” The signatories considered the arrangement null and void by 1750, notwithstanding competition and their general decline as global powers, swapping rights Brazil and the Philippines.
The series of Marian apparitions that reportedly presented themselves to a trio of three shepherd children appeared for the first time on this day in 1917. Declared events worthy of believe after years of careful study and deliberation by the local bishop, this set off a chain of investigations of the visions of Lรบcia dos Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto that led to the coronation and veneration of the site by the mid-1950s. 
Appearing to the children for the first of six times, the Virgin Mary delivered the prophecy that prayer would end the Great War, promising to return soon in a more public fashion so that all would believe, a miraculous solar aberration observed by many assembled in a field on 13 October of the same year. The call to pilgrimage and the general incredulity of the witnesses was regarded with suspicion with many accusing the movement to be subversive and to overthrow the newly established republic that had first thrown off the yoke of monarchy and then dictatorship in 1910 and 1915. Sister Lรบcia—who had since taken become a nun, publishing her memoirs—detailed in 1941 that she and her companions had been entrusted with three secrets: first a vision of Hell and that whilst the Great War (WW1) had ended, more dreadful future conflicts were to come if the people were not repentant; second the need to evangelise to Russia and the restoration of the pious monarchy (an assessment enforced by the thwarted assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II on this day in 1981); and thirdly—not revealed until 2000—that of the downfall of the Catholic Church, which especially hinged on whether the above attack had been carried off successfully.
Considered by many to represent the first modern work of art for its departure from convention stylistically and in its message, the 1814 commission for the provisional government of Spain by Francisco Goya, The Third of May, depicts and commemorates resistance to the forces of Napoleon during 
the occupation and Peninsular War over access to the Mediterranean—the French garrisons originally invited under the pretence of jointly conquering and dividing Spain and award the Spanish prime minister the principality of the Algarve and not realising the ruse until it was too late. Picturing in media res the suppression of the junta uprising against the soldiers of the First French Empire, the rebels and their ranks facing the firing squad on Prรญncipe Pรญo hill portrays war as bleak and unheroic—in vast contrast to the usual posed compositions of charging victory and unflagging patriotism—and inspired Pablo Picasso’s Guernica and Massacre in Korea among other revolutionary and edifying works of art.
Priest and Franciscan friar and Doctor of the Church, Anthony of Lisbon (*1195 - †1231 in the commune west of Venice) is one of the most popular and quickly canonised among the cult of the saints and was acclaimed in his lifetime for giving powerful and persuasive sermons, even keeping a school of fish in rapt attention once and reputation for care for the poor and sick. 
Invoked in the name of lost things—credited first with the restoration of his own psalter full of notes when Anthony feared it was gone forever—his extensive patronage (see previously) includes things prone to going missing like mail, mariners, shipwrecks, travellers and lost souls, though not all who wander… Anthony in the extended sense is also the protector of the elderly, fisherfolk, amputees, Native Americans, harvests, watermen, horses, travel hosts and counter-revolutionaries.
Located in the geographic park and preserve in the town of Arouca outside the Porto capital district and definitely not for the acrophobic new span crossing the Pavia river valley boosts the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge. The marvel of engineering is over five hundred metres long between peak and pylon with the roaring watercourse one-hundred and fifty metres below and offers outstanding vistas—though far from the only attraction to see in the nature park. More from Plain Magazine contributor Toby Orton at the link above.
tsugite: software that generates traditional Japanese joinery (previously) that can be 3D printed or precision cut
prince albert in a can: a collection of fish tin labels from a digital museum dedicated to the Portuguese canning industry
cosmic nature: artist Yayoi Kusama exhibits at New York’s Botanical Garden
tune-dex: the real-fake book of jazz standards, essential to musicians in the 1970s
dingbat: thirty select works of Mid-Century Modern print for inspiration
beer is proof god loves us and wants us to be happy: brew theorems post US National New Beers’ Eve ahead of the anniversary of rescinding parts of the Volstead Act that allowed for consumption of higher proof beer
ukiyo-e: the unintentional ASMR of a master printmaker at work
silvagunner: an appreciation of the remixing collective from Kicks Condor
film festival: curate one’s own streaming series from a vast, public domain archive
prompts and cues: remedies to exhausting monologues and fostering better conversations
metronome: a fascinating look at synchronicity
ะฑัะฐัััะฒะพ ะบะพะปััะฐ: a 1991 Russian television version of The Fellowship of the Rings (see also) resurfaces on the internet—including an appearance by Tom Bombadil whose otherwise left out of the adaptations
the only post-punk supergroup: the musical stylings of the New Age Steppers
Taking advantage of the quiet ahead of Easter with the Diet not in session and the regent installed by the Allies Miklรณs Horthy settled in for a long weekend at the palace, former king and last Hapsburg Austro-Hungarian emperor Karl I. (IV. Kรกroly) attempted on this day in 1921 to retake the throne, encouraged by royalists and his close entourage. 
Via friends TYWKIWDBI and Nag on the Lake, we find ourselves transported to the monastic complex of the town of Alcobaรงa, a Cistercian community famed for its gastronomical and vinicultural excellence and founded by Portugal’s first king Alfonso Henriques, which features among its Gothic elements a dining hall whose entrance is preceded with the rather abstruse admonishment: Respicte quia peccata Populi comdeitis—that is, Remember you eat the sins of the people.
Otherwise perfectly proportion, the communal area has direct egress to the kitchen, which according to popular legend and rather practically, had a door to discourage gluttony, either measured for self-catering or as a monthly check on one’s girth with the passage two metres high but only thirty-two centimetres wide, a model pants-size for many though the cloth and cowl could be quite concealing in any circumstance. Perhaps we are misinterpreting the whole intent of this narrow doorway and it was rather meant to shame those who were not committed devoradores de pecados. According to current lore, those who could not pass needed to diet until they could sidle and squeeze through.
Though not the only joint-stock venture to hedge its liabilities and ultimately prove ruinous for investors, the South Sea Company (official long form above), founded as a public-private partnership—with the support of the government hoping to offset some of the national debt incurred during its involvement with the War of the Spanish Succession and its own colonial activities—in 1711, was the most spectacular economic bubble, bankrupting thousands of investors and speculators who had underwritten the enterprise. 
Originally incorporated as a substitute revenue generating operation when a national lottery scheme run on behalf of the Crown failed to turn a profit (the jackpot winners were deprived of their prizes), the public was instead invited to purchase shares of a chartered company with a monopoly over trade with Spain and Portugal and would in time collect dividends from the profits. The stock price was inflated by those late-comers not wanting to miss out (taking out loans to take part) on an opportunity and rife mismanagement, including a not insignificant amount of business in the trafficking of enslaved individuals from Africa to Central and South America—and though huge sums of money were trading hands, the company failed to be profitable and engaged in increasing debt for equity swaps until the price increased in a frenzy from £100 to over £1000 in the course of a few months in 1720, falling just as precipitously at an even faster pace. A decade after its founding, on this day, with recriminations rampant and with the aristocracy, the merchant classes as well as the working poor duped and financially broken, the Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble came forth with their findings, revealing fraud and corruption at all levels. Amazingly the newly appointed First Lord of the Treasury, Robert Walpole, was able to restore public confidence in the financial market and the company continued—this time focusing its efforts on whaling—until the reign of Victoria, finally dissolved in 1838.
