what do you do with the mad that you feel

On this day in 1969, just a year into his PBS children’s programme, Fred Rogers testified before the US Senate Subcommittee on Communication (previously) to advocate that public and educational television receive the full funding earmarked by the LBJ administration but halved by Nixon due to the demands on the ongoing Vietnam war. The legislative body was chaired by Rhode Island senator John Pastore, whom nearly lost his subsequent race for reelection to Catholic priest John McLaughlin whom in turn abandoned his political aspirations and retired from the Church and went on to host the panel show The McLaughlin Group—aired for decades on PBS affiliate stations—and whom was unfamiliar with Rogers’ work and grew a little impatient with Rogers’ communication style, yet admitted that his argument was compelling and inspired prompting the television show host to recite the above song. Pastore replied, “I think it’s wonderful—looks like you just earned the twenty-million,” the full funding.

operation neptune spear

Captured by White House photographer Pete Souza (previously) in the late afternoon (just after midnight local time) on this day in 2011 in its namesake Situation Room, it frames US president Barack Obama, vice president Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and numerous security and intelligence officials monitoring live-updates from the field of a CIA-led operation to infiltrate the compound that hosted Osama bin Laden outside of Abbottabad, Pakistan, the raid the culmination of a nearly decade-long search for the founder of the pan-Islamic militant organisation after the 9/11 terror attacks.

sffd

Via Super Punch, we are directed to a joyful and pure interview a San Francisco Chronicler reporter conducted with a gentleman who bought a tiny, retired Japanese fire truck (see also) during the pandemic at auction and had it shipped to the city—where it has become a welcome sight on the streets, like an exchange student. Bringing the fully-functional vehicle called Kiri overseas seems like it would have presented several expensive logistical hurdles, but the adoptive owner assures that the intimidating factors dissolve once one actually embarks on such an acquisition and would encourage others to do the same.

your daily demon: paimon

The ninth spirit on the Calendar of Demonology is the infernal great king known for his loyalty and obedience to Lucifer and presents as a man mounted on a dromedary camel proceeded by a parade of spirits under his command, governing from today until 4 May. Formerly of the angelic rank of dominions, Paimon is countered by Haziel and has power over fish, can conjure up any number of useful armaments and compel thieves to return to the scene of a crime.

geomancy

Via Things Magazine, we learn that phantom islands and trap streets may be making a resurgence in an awful and insurmountable way with deepfake satellite imagery, with making a Potemkin neighbourhood be it for misrouting traffic, boosting property value, lowering tax liability or for disguising a nuclear refinement plant or concentration camp an easier task that creating a passably convincing human—not to mention undermining useful demographics and economic trends that can be gleaned by such monitoring as well as engendering distrust in what previously was accepted as irrefutable evidence. Artificial intelligence and generative adversarial networks are able to create virtual empires and dystopias to dupe us all.

colin’s bear revisited

Andy Baio at Waxy noticed a viral resurgence of an animated dance moves of a thirteen-year-old short clip, rediscovered and remixed though sadly without any deference to the creator—which Baio seeks to remedy the record by recontextualising and exploring the evolution of the meme that untethered certainly carries the sentiment idk—ive never seen the show its from. Whatever iteration you prefer, you can make your own joyful celebration of International Dance Day, held annually of this day, marking the birthday (1727) of Jean-Georges Noverre, creator of modern ballet.

midden-aarde

First spied by Super Punch, we are referred to a nice appreciation of the recently departed, prolific Dutch artist Cor Blok (*1934), particularly well known in the Netherlands for illustrating J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (In de ban van de Ring) in the early 1960s.

Later creating a tapestry out of Middle Earth’s characters to showcase his repetoire, Blok went on to become docent of the school of modern art at the University of Utrecht from 1977 to 1999, retiring as professor emeritus at the University of Leiden.

billiard balls & bowling green bowles, turnt correctly

We quite enjoyed perusing these antique furniture trade cards (see previously) from the shops and emporia of old London—reportedly discovered in a secret drawer of a hypothetical cabinet. There are carpenters and casket-makers, upholsters as well as looking-glass and chair manufacturies.