#man and van south london

[manandvanstar1]

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[sleekassuredremovals]

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[e-rated-beardo]

Today marks the first time someone notices (edit: tells me they've noticed) the tiny, insignificant, sidenote, literally-one-word clue to the plot-irrelevant fact that an OC in the Second Coming fic I completed two months ago is trans - so I'm going to take the shaky pride month justification and reshare the fic and some of the artworks I made before I joined Tumblr 🏳️‍🌈

Length: 3 parts, ~117k words; complete Series rating: Explicit (but the three sections where it applies are skippable) Tags: They Are Not Talking, The Second Coming, Crowley Is A Mess, Finding Meaning, Heaven Is Terrible, Supreme Archangel Aziraphale, Protective Aziraphale, BAMF Aziraphale, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Exiled from Heaven, Temporarily Human, Memory Loss, Skippable Smut, South Downs Cottage, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Ineffable Husbands (plus about 3451325 more tags on ao3)

Summaries for the three parts + art dump below the break! ⬇️

Part 1: After The End (T; 26k words)

Summary: Aziraphale has gone back to Heaven and Crowley has gone… well, in the direction his bonnet pointed, really; it doesn't matter, as long as it's anywhere but London. His back seat full of plants and his passenger seat full of empty bottles, he starts finding that his bonnet points back towards Soho more often than not and that the music is oddly appropriate. And some of the humans—and angel—on Whickber Street seem to care, for whatever stupid reason, whether he's dead or alive.

Part 2: Is It Raining In Heaven? (T; 30k words)

Summary: "It was the lark, the herald of the morn, no nightingale... I must be gone and live, or stay and die." (Romeo and Juliet, Act III, scene 5)

The new Supreme Archangel is Struggling. He can't stop the Second Coming, the archangels barely take him seriously, and a fog of blissful joy, only controllable by incessant, stone-cold fury, seems set to make his own mind betray him. Aziraphale has never been the one with the plan, but now, he needs to prevent the next apocalypse and keep Crowley safe on Earth, all while that reckless serpent insists on meddling in Heaven's affairs. (At least the new Christ is a good kid, and the Pope has nice tea.)

Part 3: Not Single Spies (E; 61k words)

Summary: A man with pale hair turns up in Saint Peter's Square, naked and without memory, and Crowley's old sense of Aziraphale's location snaps like a twig.

Heaven is down another Supreme Archangel—but the new Christ is already on Earth (in France, to be precise) and the Second Coming is well underway. And Crowley works for Hell now, but really, he works for the good of humanity; pulling on every friend he has to stop the end of the world.

Everything comes to a head with a delivery van, a flaming sword, a road trip, a prophecy, a wheat field and a miracle of rather significant proportions.

ping @goodomensafterdark ❤️

[myemuisemo]

"Modern Belgian masters" distracted me at the beginning of chapter V of The Hound of the Baskervilles in the most recent Letters from Watson. Doyle's offhand references to literature, pop culture, and politics usually have some substance behind them, and "modern Belgian masters" did not disappoint.

Belgium was a hotbed of artistic controversy! In 1876, a group of "rebellious" artists can formed what became L'Essor as a counterpoint to conservative art institutions. In 1883, L'Essor refused to exhibit James Ensor's De oestereetster on grounds that the painting was too risque (since oysters were considered an aphrodisiac, as well as resembling certain female parts). Rebels against L'Essor formed Les XX, which held its own exhibitions featuring more avant-garde artists, including Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Seurat.

Since Watson refers to Holmes having "the crudest ideas" about art, I'm guessing Holmes sided with Les XX on using experimental styles and unusual subjects to provoke (and to make political points). Whether the conversation included Ensor's etching Le pisseur, which shows Ensor urinating on a wall of graffiti that declares "Ensor es fou" (Ensor is crazy)... we can only hope.

This is just the beginning of a chapter that contains a lot of sly humor. For instance, when Holmes social-engineers information out of the desk clerk, the guests he asks about are a coal-merchant from Newcastle (so known for its coal that the phrase "like taking coals to Newscastle" meant taking a thing to a place where everyone already has plenty) and a very old lady named Mrs. Oldmore.

Sir Henry Baskerville establishes himself as rough-edged, choleric, and unaware of social nuance by yelling at the German waiter. Being rude to any staff would have been seen as ungentlemanly at the time (as now). There's more to it, though. Germans were the largest immigrant group in London in 1889, and their tradition of professional training made them highly in demand as waiters (source).

And then there's the man with the black beard, who has the wit and gall to tell the cab driver that he's Sherlock Holmes. It seems that there have not been sketches of Holmes in any press! Is he the same man with a black beard as butler Barrymore?

The telegram experiment seems to indicate not, but I'm not sure how probative it is.

The bearded man in the cab had his cab driver make haste to Waterloo Station, which served the London & Southwestern Railway. The L&SR took a northern route around Dartmoor, stopping at Exeter and Plymouth.

Watson and Sir Henry will be leaving from Paddington Station, which served the Great Western Railway. GWR takes the southern route along the Devon coast.

When I look at modern railroad schedules, a trip from London to somewhere around Dartmoor takes about 3.5 hours. Is that within the time frame of Sir Henry and Mortimer walking back to the Northumberland, the wait for Holmes and Dr. Watson to arrive for lunch, the luncheon itself, and finally the rigamarole of sending the telegram? It feels to me like it could be -- and also, when I was looking up old schedules for the short story with the missing train, it seems that sometimes Victorian lines ran faster than modern ones.

How common even were black beards? In latter half of the 19th century, beards were fashionable, though not universal. Dr. Alun Withey's discussion of 19th century beard styles shows an ad for false beards. The style at far right looks about right.

It's possible that someone is framing -- or just confusing the issue by imitating -- the butler Barrymore.

We are assured again that Rodger Baskerville died unmarried, which is starting to strike me as "protesteth too much."

Rodger is the one who went to make his fortune in South America. The largest silver deposits were in Bolivia and Peru, and Agatha Christie's Hastings goes to Argentina, so those are the countries where I started on looking for when civil registration of marriages and births started. The answers are 1940 in Bolivia, 1886 in Peru, and 1886 in Argentina. Peru did not start registering deaths until 1889. Before that time, proving a marriage or a birth meant going to the parish church records.

So the Baskerville family solicitor could not simply send a telegram to a government agency in the capital of Bolivia, nor hire a clerk at a Bolivian law office in the capital city to go check. Someone would have to identify the parish where Rodger would have married, produced an heir, or died -- which might be three different places. And then someone has to see about looking through a handwritten register.

How sure are we really that Rodger is even dead?

Since Holmes is so eager to send Watson along with Sir Henry, I assume he's counting on Watson's credulity to maximize the impact of planned shenanigans. Is this a story about a mysterious dog or a story about a grift?

[ukrfeminism]

Witnesses have described a "horrific" scene after a mother and her two girls were doused in their car with a "corrosive substance" in south London.

The family, three responding police officers and two others who tried to help were taken to hospital after the attack in Clapham on Wednesday.

One witness told the BBC the mother cried: "I can't see, I can't see" as he tried to help. "It was quite horrific," he added.

Police are searching for the suspect. 

The Metropolitan Police said emergency services were called to Lessar Avenue, near Clapham Common, at 19:25 GMT on Wednesday evening after reports of an attack with a suspected "corrosive substance".

Tests were ongoing to determine the substance involved, the force added.

As the sun rose over Clapham Common, a white car was wrenched onto a van and removed from the street.

Earlier in the night, police forensic teams in protective gear examined the vehicle, which had stopped diagonally across the tree-lined street.

A couple who live on Lessar Avenue said they ran into the street after hearing a cry for help and then the sound of a car crashing. 

"We came outside and saw this guy and he took a girl out of the car and he slammed her to the ground twice," a man, who did not want to give his name, said.

"I chased him half way down the road, but I was in slippers so didn't get very far. 

"As I came back, that's when I saw the woman who had been attacked ... so I ran inside to get some water and just sprayed her down with water."

He described seeing what looked to be serious burns to her face. 

The witness's partner said she suffered burns to her face, arm and lips after caring for one of the children involved, and was taken to hospital but later discharged.

She was one of eight people taken to hospital - five to a major trauma centre, and three to a local hospital.

A ninth person was discharged at the scene, the London Ambulance Service said.

The Met said three officers suffered what are believed to be minor injuries. The extent of the victims' injuries have not been confirmed by police.

Labour MP for Streatham Bell Ribeiro-Addy told BBC Radio London the incident was "a huge shock to those living around the area".

"We are asking people to come forward if they have any information," she said.

As the search for the attacker began, residents said they heard the whir of helicopters through the night. 

The nature of the attack has left residents distressed. "How can people do this sort of thing?" one neighbour asked. 

London Fire Brigade confirmed two crews from Clapham and Battersea fire stations attended the scene to help provide emergency care to the mother and two children.

"Crews also used specialist equipment to detect a corrosive substance that is believed to have been used in the incident," it said.

[lesserafim-eden]

╰► ⌕ 𓆩 𓆪  ʾ ִֶָ%˓ ᵎ ҂ ࣪˖﹫𓂃⌁. ࣪˖ EDEN NOELIA LEE (LE SSERAFIM) Profile

Eden Noelia Lee (LE SSERAFIM) Profile and Facts:

EDEN NOELIA LEE ( Hangul; 에덴 노엘리아 자오, Mandarin; 赵伊登 born November 11, 2001 ) better known by the mononym EDEN is a Chinese/Korean English model, singer, rapper, Global ambassador, and dancer is a current member of South Korean girl group LE SSERAFIM under HYBE and Source Music. She is a former member of the South Korean-Japanese girl group IZ*ONE.

⌕ ‣     BASIC INFO ׁ⠀ ࣭ ⠀⠀⊹

𖥻★! ︿︿STAGE NAME: Eden

𖥻★! ︿︿BIRTH NAME: Eden Noelia Lee

𖥻★! ︿︿KOREAN NAME: Lee Binna

𖥻★! ︿︿CHINESE NAME: Zhao Meixing

𖥻★! ︿︿BIRTHDAY: August 1, 2003

𖥻★! ︿︿AGE: 21 years old ( Korean age ) 20 years old (int.)

𖥻★! ︿︿ZODIAC SIGN: Leo

𖥻★! ︿︿BIRTHPLACE: London, Uk

𖥻★! ︿︿NATIONALITY: English

𖥻★! ︿︿ETHNICITY: Chinese/Korean

𖥻★! ︿︿HEIGHT: 5'8" (173 cm)

𖥻★! ︿︿WEIGHT: 49kg (100lbs)

𖥻★! ︿︿BLOOD TYPE: AB

𖥻★! ︿︿REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI: 🐨 ( koala  )

𖥻★! ︿︿ REPRESENTATIVE GEMSTONE: Amblygonite

𖥻★! ︿︿ REPRESENTATIVE COLOR: Purple

⌕ ‣     EDEN FACTS...!?

https://Eden-Facts.Com: She was born in London, Uk so her British accent is so strong. Her family includes four grandparents, mom, dad, four older brothers. She was raised in Los Angeles, California, United States.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: She's the global ambassador of vivienne westwood, Alexander Wang, Chanel, HARRY WINSTON, l'Oreal, Fay, CoverGirl U.S, Maybelline, Mikimoto, Panerai, Revlon, Lancôme international, Versace, Puma, Miu Miu, Liu Jo, Prada, Maxim Mooncakes, Comme des Garçons, Clarins, CHOPARD, VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, BUCCELLATI, & GRAFF.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: Eden is often called "Man-heart's destroyer" or "Boy crush" as many male idols and actors have a crush on her or have said that she's their ideal type

https://Eden-Facts.Com: Eden is currently in college and majoring in Business (Management ) and minoring literature at Seoul National University online.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: She writes all of her parts. She also produced and wrote a number of songs including WayV 'Love talk', TxT 'cat & dog', 'Anti-Romantic', 'loser=Lover', 'OX1=LOVESONG' Stray Kids 'Back door', Pristin V 'Get it', Twice 'Cry for me', Weekly 'After school' Enhypen  'Drunk-Dazed', 'Polaroid love' Aespa 'Next Level', 'Girls' 'Illusion' IVE 'LOVE DIVE' StayC 'SO BAD', 'ASAP' Itzy 'WANNABE','LOCO', '#Twenty', 'SWIPE' Chungha 'Gotta Go', 'Bicycle' Red Velvet 'Feel My Rhythm' Jeon Somi 'XOXO' BLACKPINK 'Typa Girl' & more. Eden has solidified herself as a genius musician with 155 KOMCA credits.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: She is extremely loved by the public which is why she earned the titles of princess of K-pop, SM/HYBE's Ace, Idol's idol, The Nation's Treasure, The Genius Composer, and The It girl of Asia.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: She is a former IZ*ONE member.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: She trained for 3 years in SM Entertainment before joining Produce 48.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: In Gallup Korea's annual music poll for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 Eden was voted the most popular idol in South Korea, making her the highest-ranked individual in that poll.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: Eden is know for endorsements, various photo-shoots, and covers as they sell out in a minute.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: In 2020, She was featured in Harper Bazaar's 'Go To Bed With Me' and went rival for her nighttime skincare routine. It was mostly because of how simply yet in depth it was.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: Eden is really good at math as once she did over 20 fans math problems for fun during her Vlive in 2021.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: In January 2022, Eden purchased a building in Gangnam district's affluent Samseong-dong area, otherwise known as the Samsung neighbourhood. Purchased for approximately US$6.3 million, the mixed-use building has both residential and commercial spaces and spans a total of seven floors. Eden reportedly makes US$830,4000 monthly from rent. 

https://Eden-Facts.Com: In 2014, she performed as one of the upcoming members of SM Entertainment's pre-debut training group SM Rookies on SM Town Live World Tour IV.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: She is a big food lover. She can eat most types of food but likes spicy foods the most.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: Her way of relaxing: A can of pringles and either Netflix, or watching Law & Order: SVU on Hulu.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: She thinks she's pretty talkative especially if the vibes between her and another person match up (Instagram Q&A 2022.08.10).

https://Eden-Facts.Com: When she was younger, Eden frequently performed and sang for house guests and eventually began taking acting/singing classes.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: Her airport fashions always goes viral on Twitter, and fans say that the airport is her runaway.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: Eden once said if she wasn't an singer, she would have been a vet because she really loves working with animals.

https://Eden-Facts.Com: In November 2018, she revealed that she has three citizenships: Chinese, British, and South Korean.

⌕ ‣     EDEN'S IDEAL TYPE: I really don't have an ideal type because if I like you, then I like you as simple as that."

⌕ ‣     Show more Aria fun facts

—HOW MUCH DO YOU LIKE EDEN?

𓋰 I LOVE HER, SHE'S MY ULTIMATE BIAS

𓋰 I LIKE HER, SHE'S OK

𓋰 SHE IS OVERRATED

[theunderestimator-2]

Reading stories of betrayal, despair & friendships going south from “Wally …Did You No Wrong” by Ron Evans:

some of you may -or may not- be familiar with the sad & obscure tale of the lost Sex Pistol, Wally Nightingale, Steve Jones & Paul Cook’s schoolmate who actually put the initial pre-Pistols band together as a trio & provided the classy rehearsal space (“Riverside” studios in Hammersmith, London, where the boys could sneak in since Wally’s dad worked there as an electrician) but got the boot because Malcolm McLaren had decided he didn’t fit the image he had envisioned for the band, being the geeky & uncool kid with the ‘old man’s glasses’. He was completely erased from the Pistols history in a heartbeat, as though he had never existed and the rest is known R’n’R history.

Wally’s story remains a fairytale gone bad, one in which the dishonest get all the glory while the good guy is left with bollocks, and Ron’s book is so rich in first-hand feedback and so well written that sometimes it’s hard not to actually see the narrative played in your head as a scene from a movie that hasn’t been filmed yet. Like the heartbreaking part where Wally’s pals come to his parents’ house, after he was ousted from his own band, to get all the gear that he kept in his bedroom: guitars, acoustics, amps, saxophones, foot controls and harmonicas that had been nicked throughout the band’s lifespan. Wally had been gutted but he managed to keep it all in with dignity (he was such a lovely bloke that he even went for a drink with his ‘former’ bandmates that same night after he got the axe) and when they came with a van to move the gear, he dutifully even helped them to unplug and pack everything up, carefully putting everything in their cases, while his mum and dad silently stood in the hallway, till his mum broke into tears and had to be hurried into the living room while shouting that they owed Wally:

“I could hear her crying as I went back upstairs to say goodbye to Wally. His bedroom door was ajar and I looked through the gap. All I could see was that second-hand Les Pau copy he’d bought in order to start the band sitting on its stand, and Wally sitting on his bed crying”, says his schoolmate Steve Hayes.

Needless to say that the late Wally Nightingale is my all-time favorite R’n’R anti-hero, the most underrated figure in the entire history of punk & the undisputed champion of punk rock underdogs, and Ron Evans, his younger schoolmate/neighbor/friend/bandmate in Key West -the band Wally Nightingale played after the Sex Pistols- has done an excellent job in documenting Wally’s tragic path to self-destruction. You can order the book from his site: https://www.ronevans.rocks/, as well as his cool music, which you can also enjoy on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1z5w6O0737uoAZutq48mrn

[beardedmrbean]

Police have released an image of a suspect with "distinctive" injuries wanted in connection with an alkali attack in south London.

Abdul Shakoor Ezedi, 35, was last seen at a Tesco store on Caledonian Road, north London, at 20:48 GMT on Wednesday.

Police have warned the public not to approach him, but to call 999 if they see him.

Mr Ezedi had travelled to London from the Newcastle area, the force said.

The image is taken from the Tesco store, where the suspect is believed to have purchased a bottle of water.

"He left the shop and turned right," the Met said.

"The image shows Ezedi with what appears to be significant injuries to the right side of his face. This makes him distinctive."

A mother and daughter hurt by the corrosive substance could have suffered "life-changing" injuries in the attack.

The 31-year-old and her daughter, three, remain in hospital, along with her older daughter, eight.

The suspect fled the scene in Clapham on Wednesday evening.

He attempted to escape in a car but crashed into a stationary vehicle, then ran.

Police believe the suspect is known to the family, but said they were not yet clear on their exact relationship.

Supt Gabriel Cameron told reporters on Thursday he had "no idea" what Mr Ezedi's motivation may have been, but that he was "wholeheartedly confident" he would be caught.

He said Mr Ezedi is believed to be from the Newcastle area, and the car left at the scene, a Hyundai, belonged to him.

He may have been known to police, Supt Cameron added.

"While this appears to be a targeted attack, he is a dangerous individual, and we urgently need to find him," the Metropolitan Police said earlier on Thursday.

Supt Cameron said the suspect was last seen in the north London area, in Caledonian Road, and if people see him they should not approach him, but call 999.

There was a heightened police presence in Caledonian Road on Thursday afternoon, including unmarked cars with blue sirens and police vans.

Twelve people in total were hurt in the attack. Out of four members of the public who tried to help, three went to hospital with injuries - two women in their 30s and one in her 50s. Police say they "bravely came to the aid of the family" and have now been discharged from hospital.

The London Ambulance Service said it sent a response team, including three ambulance crews, to the scene after receiving a call about an incident near Clapham Common just before 19:30 GMT on Thursday.

A man in his 50s declined medical treatment for minor injuries he suffered at the scene.

Five officers who were injured as they responded to the attack have left hospital after receiving treatment.

Some of the burns the mother and her daughters suffered in the attack were "quite substantial", Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley told the BBC on Thursday, but added he did not have a full picture of their injuries yet.

They were attacked on Lessar Avenue, near Clapham Common, at 19:25 GMT on Wednesday evening. Police were called following reports of an attack with a suspected "corrosive substance".

One witness told the BBC that the mother cried "I can't see, I can't see" as he tried to help.

Police have urged any members of the public who saw what happened to call 101 quoting reference CAD 7790/31Jan.

Officers have also asked local residents and drivers to check their doorbell and dash cameras for any footage that might have captured a man fleeing the area.

A crime scene is now in place and is likely to remain there for some time, police say.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 8.25

Holidays

American Oil Discovery Day (Pennsylvania)

Apocynum Day (French Republic)

Aromatic Visibility Day

Australian South Sea Islander Recognition Day (Australia)

Battle Of Blair Mountain Anniversary Day

Clio Asteroid Day

English Channel Swim Day

Gene Simmons Day

Great American Duck Day

The Great Moon Hoax Day

Healthy Lifestyle Day

Honorable Artillery Company Day (UK)

International Day of the Hairstylist

International Redhead Day

Kiss and Make Up Day

Lake Sevan Day (Armenia)

Liberation of Paris Day (Paris, France)

National Don't Utter a Word Day

National Park Service Founders Day

National Poetry Day (New Zealand)

National Second-Hand Wardrobe Day

National Tech-Voc Day (Philippines)

Nils Lofgren Day

Pops Staples Day (Chicago, Illinois)

Private Eye Day

Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day

Second-Hand Wardrobe Day

Soldier's Day (Brazil)

Songun (North Korea)

South Sea Islander Recognition Day (Australia)

Tim Burton Day

Wizard of Oz Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Feast of the Green Corn

Instant Ramen Day (Japan)

National Banana Split Day

National Lamington Day

National Whiskey Sour Day

Independence & Related Days

Belarus (from USSR, 1991)

Constitution Day (Paraguay)

Iloilo City Charter Day (Philippines)

New Orleans (Founded; 1718)

Parva Domus Magna Quies (Declared; 1878) [unrecognized]

Uruguay (from Brazil, 1825)

4th & Last Sunday in August

Burning Man begins (Nevada) [8.27 thru 9.4]

Family Day (Tennessee) [Last Sunday]

Go Topless Day [ website ] [Sunday nearest 26th] (Also 8.24)

International Bereaved Father’s Day [Last Sunday]

Miner’s Day (USSR) [Last Sunday]

National Faith HIV/AIDS Awareness Day [Last Sunday]

National Fantasy Football Draft Day [Last Sunday]

Notting Hill Carnival begins (UK) [Sunday before Last Monday]

Plague Sunday (Gloucestershire, UK) [Last Sunday]

Pony Express Day [Last Sunday]

Sacrifice Our Wants For Other’s Needs Sunday [Sunday of Be Kind to Humankind Week]

Seven For Sunday [Every Sunday]

Social Justice Sunday [Last Sunday]

Soothing Sunday [4th Sunday of Each Month]

Spud Sunday [4th Sunday of Each Month]

Souper Sunday [Last Sunday of Each Month]

Sultry Sunday [Last Sunday of Each Month]

Sundae Sunday [Every Sunday]

Sunday Funday [Every Sunday]

World Kitchen Garden Day [4th Sunday]

Weekly Holidays beginning August 25 (4th Full Week of August)

Be Kind to Humankind Week (thru 8.31)

Brake Safety Week (thru 8.31)

Contact Lens Health Week [4th Week]

National Composites Week [Last Week]

World Water Week (thru 8.29)

Festivals Beginning August 25, 2024

Bloemencorso Blankenberge (Blankenberge, Belgium)

Burning Man (Black Rock City, Nevada) [thru 9.2]

California Restaurant Show (Los Angeles, California) [thru 8.27]

Coffee Fest Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California) [thru 8.27]

Detroit Bourbon & Blues Festival (Detroit, Michigan)

Georgia VegFest (Atlanta, Georgia)

Notting Hill Carnival (London, United Kingdom) [thru 8.26]

Nutty Pie Contest, at the Alaska State Fair (Palmer, Alaska)

Peach Festival (Grafton, Illinois)

Sharq Taronalari International Music Festival (Samarkand, Uzbekistan) [thru 8.30]

Taste of Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, California)

Terptown Throwdown (Boston, Massachusetts)

Feast Days

Æbbe of Coldingham (Christian; Saint)

Aredius (Christian; Saint)

Bret Harte (Writerism)

Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo (Artology)

Conté (Positivist; Saint)

Daniel Hulet (Artology)

Discovery of the Runes (Norse)

Dorothea Tanning (Artology)

Duke (Price Charming’s Horse; Muppetism)

Ebba (a.k.a. Tabbs; Christian; Saint)

Frederick Forsyth (Writerism)

Ganesh Chaturthi (a.k.a. Vinayaka Chaturthi; India)

Genesius of Arles (Christian; Saint)

Genesius of Rome (Christian; Saint)

Ginés de la Jara (a.k.a. Genesius of Cartagena; Christian; Saint)

George Stubbs (Artology)

Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (Artology)

Gregory of Utrecht (Christian; Saint)

Heliogabalus Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Horus Nativity (Ancient Egypt)

Ian Falconer (Artology)

Jacob Maris (Artology)

Joan Antide-Thouret (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Joseph of Calasanz (Christian; Saint)

Leonard Bernstein (Humanism)

Louis IX of France (Christian; Saint)

Ludovicus Baba (Christian; Blessed)

Ludovicus Sasada (Christian; Blessed)

Luis Sotelo (Christian; Blessed)

Maelrubha (Celtic Book of Days)

Martin Amis (Writerism)

Mary Michaela Desmaisieres (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Menas of Constantinople (Christian; Saint)

Michael Kaluta (Artology)

Miguel de Carvalho (Christian; Blessed)

Opiconsivia (Roman festival to Ops, goddess of fertility & abundance)

Patricia of Naples (Christian; Saint)

Pedro Vásquez, Blessed (Christian; Saint)

Rumpleskunkskin’s Bride Escapes to Heerwigoland (Fairy Celebration; Shamanism)

Thomas de Cantilupe (a.k.a. of Hereford; Christian; Saint)

Walt Kelly (Artology)

Whiskey Sour Day (Pastafarian)

Hindu Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Krishna Janmashtami (a.k.a. Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [34 of 53]

Premieres

Advance and Be Mechanized (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1967)

And Justice For All, by Metallica (Album; 1988)

Barnacle Bill (Betty Boop Cartoon; 1930)

Beerfest (Film; 2006)

Bertie the Brain (Video Game; 1950)

Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen (Album; 1975)

Boston, by Boston (Album; 1976)

Bring It On (Film; 2000)

Carrotblanca (WB LT Cartoon; 1995)

Cheese Chasers (WB MM Cartoon; 1951)

Desperado (Film; 1995)

Electric Ladyland Studio (Recording Studio; 1970)

The Golden West (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1939)

Graceland, by Paul Simon (Album; 1986)

Grand Uproar (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1933)

Humboldt's Gift, by Saul Bellow (Novel; 1975)

Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (WB TV Cartoon; 1992)

Laughable Loves, by Milan Kundera (Short Stories; 1969)

Leap!, a.k.a. Ballerina (Animated Film; 2017)

Madame Bovary (Film; 1949)

Miracle on 34th Street, by Valentine Davies (Novel; 1947)

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, by Lauryn Hill (Album; 1998)

Mutt ’n’ Bones (Phantasies Cartoon; 1944)

My So-Called Life (TV Series; 1994)

The Pink Tail Fly (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1965)

The Pique Poquette of Paris (The Inspector Cartoon; 1966)

Raw! Raw! Rooster! (WB LT Cartoon; 1956)

Samurai!, by Saburo Sakai (Autobiography; 1957)

Solid Ivory (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1947)

Swing Shift Cinderella (Tex Avery MGM Cartoon; 1945)

The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo (Children’s Book; 2003)

The Thief and the Cobbler (Animated Film; 1995)

The Wizard of Oz (Film; 1939)

Wrecking Ball, by Miley Cyrus (Song; 2013)

Today’s Name Days

Elvira, Josef, Ludwig, Patricia (Austria)

Grgur, Josip, Ljudevit (Croatia)

Radim (Czech Republic)

Ludvig (Denmark)

Tauno, Tunne (Estonia)

Loviisa (Finland)

Louis (France)

Ebba, Elvira, Ludwig (Germany)

Bartholomeos, Titos (Greece)

Lajos, Patrícia (Hungary)

Ludovico, Luigi (Italy)

Ivonna, Ludis, Ludvigs (Latvia)

Liucija, Liudas, Liudvikas, Mangailas, Mangailė (Lithuania)

Louise, Lovise, Ludvig (Norway)

Gaudencjusz, Gaudenty, Grzegorz, Ludwik, Luiza, Michał, Sieciesław (Poland)

Ľudovít (Slovakia)

Ginés, José, Luis, Patricia (Spain)

Louise, Lovisa (Sweden)

Dorcas, Lanard, Lennie, Lenny, Leonard, Leonardo, Tabatha, Tabitha (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 238 of 2024; 128 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of Week 34 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 23 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Ren-Shen), Day 22 (Xin-You)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 21 Av 5784

Islamic: 19 Safar 1446

J Cal: 28 Purple; Sevenday [28 of 30]

Julian: 12 August 2024

Moon: 58%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 13 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Conté]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 3 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 67 of 94)

Week: 4th Full Week of August

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 4 of 32)

[sleekassuredremovals]

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[ausetkmt]

Mass killer who ‘hunted’ black people says police encouraged him - The Apartheid Killer

A convicted South African murderer who shot dead dozens of black men during apartheid has told the BBC the police sanctioned his violence. Louis van Schoor says others should share the blame for the killings he carried out as a security guard. But in talking to BBC Africa Eye over the past four years, he has also let slip horrifying details that raise serious questions about his early release from prison.

Standing in the bedroom of a killer, your eyes naturally hone in on the details.

The Apartheid Killer Watch on iPlayer (UK only) or on Monday 22 July at 23:05 on BBC Two (Northern Ireland 23:35). Outside the UK, watch on the BBC Africa YouTube channel.

Van Schoor’s bed is immaculately neat - the duvet so flat it looks like it has been ironed. The air is heavy with the smell of cigarettes, their stubs piled high in an ashtray. Strips of sticky paper are dangling from the ceiling, writhing with trapped and dying flies.

The so-called “Apartheid Killer” has lost his teeth. His health is waning. Following a heart attack, both his legs were recently amputated, leaving him in a wheelchair, with painful scars. When his surgeon carried out this procedure, Van Schoor requested an epidural instead of a general anaesthetic - so he could watch them remove his legs.

“I was curious,” he said, chuckling. “I saw them cutting… they sawed through the bone.”

In speaking to the BBC World Service, Van Schoor wanted to persuade us that he is “not the monster that people say I am”. His enthusiastic description of his legs being removed did little to soften his image.

Over a three-year period in the 1980s under the country’s racist apartheid system - which imposed a strict hierarchy that privileged white South Africans - Van Schoor shot and killed at least 39 people.

All of his victims were black. The youngest was just 12 years old. The killings occurred in East London, a city in South Africa’s windswept Eastern Cape.

Van Schoor was a security guard at the time, with a contract to protect as many as 70% of white-owned businesses: restaurants, shops, factories and schools. He has long claimed that everyone he killed was a “criminal” who he caught red-handed breaking into these buildings.

“He was a kind of vigilante killer. He was a Dirty Harry character,” says Isa Jacobson, a South African journalist and filmmaker, who has spent 20 years investigating Van Schoor’s case.

“These were intruders who were, in a lot of cases, pretty desperate. Digging through bins, maybe stealing some food… petty criminals.”

Van Schoor’s killings - sometimes several in a single night - struck terror into the black community of East London. Stories spread through the city of a bearded man - nicknamed “whiskers” in the Xhosa language - who made people disappear at night. But his shootings were not carried out in secret.

Every killing between 1986 and 1989 was reported to the police by Van Schoor himself. But the release from prison of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in 1990 signalled an end to this impunity. Ripples of change swept across South Africa and, following pressure from activists and journalists, the security guard was arrested in 1991.

Van Schoor’s trial was one of the largest murder trials in South Africa’s history, involving dozens of witnesses and thousands of pages of forensic evidence.

However, the case against him largely collapsed in court. At the time of his trial, much of the apparatus of the apartheid system was still in place within the judiciary. Despite killing at least 39 people, he was only convicted of seven murders. He would go on to serve just 12 years in prison.

His other 32 killings are still classified as “justifiable homicides” by the police. Apartheid-era laws gave people the right to use lethal force against intruders if they resisted arrest or fled once caught.

Van Schoor relied heavily on this defence to maintain his innocence, claiming that his victims were running away when he killed them.

Louis van Schoor pointed out the places where he would track down intruders

The BBC’s investigation into Van Schoor scrutinised the evidence underlying these so-called “justifiable” shootings, delving deep into long-forgotten police reports, autopsies and witness statements.

The investigation was led by Isa Jacobson, and involved years of archival research in multiple cities across the Eastern Cape. The most important files were scattered among hundreds of boxes, hidden away in vaults.

“The whole scale of it is just mesmerising,” she said. “It's astounding that any court of law could allow this to happen.”

Some of the most harrowing evidence Ms Jacobson found were witness statements from people who were injured by Van Schoor, but survived. These accounts contradict the security guard’s argument that they had been running away when he shot them.

Multiple people said Van Schoor shot them while their hands were up, after they had surrendered. Others describe him toying with them, asking if they would prefer to be arrested or shot - before shooting them in the chest. Another victim described being shot in the abdomen, begging for water, before being kicked in his wound by Van Schoor.

The security guard was armed with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, frequently loaded with hollow-point bullets, which cause severe internal ruptures when entering a victim. In one case, he fired eight shots into an unarmed man.

In a particularly brutal case on 11 July 1988, Van Schoor shot a 14-year-old boy who had broken into a restaurant searching for petty change.

The boy - who we have not named to protect his privacy - told the police he hid in the toilet when he saw Van Schoor with his gun. He says the security guard called him out, told him to stand next to the wall, and then shot him repeatedly.

“He told me to stand up, but I couldn’t,” said the boy, in his recorded testimony. “While I was lying there, he kicked me in the mouth. He picked me up and propped me up against a table and then he shot me again.”

The boy survived, but he was not believed. He was charged for breaking into the building. Many young black men and boys who gave first-hand accounts of being assaulted and shot by Van Schoor faced a similar fate.

Testimonies such as this were heard during Van Schoor’s trial, but the judge repeatedly dismissed the witnesses as “unsophisticated” and “unreliable”. There are no jury trials in South Africa. The opinion of the judge is final.

At the time of Van Schoor’s trial, many members of the white community in East London supported him. One entrepreneurial businessman printed bumper stickers with pictures of the security guard. They said “I Love Louis”, next to a heart full of bullet holes.

“There was evident racial bias in the legal system,” says Patrick Goodenough, a South African journalist who led the 1980s investigation into Van Schoor. He also attended his trial.

“The support for him was massive… He would not have been able to get away with a fraction of what he got away with without it.”

There is no statute of limitations for murder or attempted murder in South Africa. In theory, there is nothing stopping the police from reopening Van Schoor’s case and re-assessing these “justifiable” shootings.

“Louis van Schoor was basically going out and murdering people for sport,” says Dominic Jones, a journalist who helped raise awareness of the security guard’s killing spree in the 1980s.

Some of the most shocking findings from the BBC's investigation came from interviews with Van Schoor himself, which strongly suggested he got a thrill from his activities.

“Every night is a new adventure, if you want to put it that way,” he told the BBC.

Journalist Isa Jacobson has spent years going through public records to scrutinise Louis van Schoor's case

Many of the businesses he protected installed silent alarms. When someone broke in, Van Schoor would receive an alert which allowed him to surprise the intruder - and identify exactly where they were inside the building. And he always went alone.

“I was barefoot. It’s quiet. You don’t have your shoes squeaking on tiles and stuff,” he said.

He would never switch the light on. Instead, he relied on his sense of smell.

“If somebody breaks in, the adrenaline gives off an odour. And you can pick that up,” he said.

Van Schoor claims he never went out “with the intention of killing black people” and says he is not a racist. But he admits he found stalking them in the dark “exciting”.

Before becoming a security guard, Van Schoor was a member of the East London police force for 12 years. He used to handle what he calls “attacker dogs”, which he used to track down and catch protesters and criminals - almost all of whom were black.

He compared this to “hunting, but a different species”.

Tetinene “Joe” Jordan, a former anti-apartheid activist who was operating in East London at the time of Van Schoor’s killings, remembers this well.

“He was hunting, literally hunting people,” he says.

Van Schoor strongly denies he is a “serial killer” and believes everything he did was “within the law”. If people feel aggrieved over his killings, he says they should blame the South African police.

He says the police never criticised or warned him, but actively supported and encouraged him.

“Every officer in East London knew what was going on… all the police officers knew,” he said. “Not once did anybody say ‘Hey Louis, you’re on the borderline or you should cool it or whatever’… they all knew what was happening.”

In the police records held in public archives, Ms Jacobson found instances of killings where officers had been present at the time of the shootings. At no point did they appear to question Van Schoor as a suspect.

In many instances, the police failed to take photos of the deceased at the scenes of shooting and failed to collect key forensic evidence, such as bullet casings. Van Schoor was often the only witness to his shootings, so this evidence could have been crucial for determining what had actually happened in each case.

“These were cover-ups… He had the backing from police officers from junior rank and senior rank,” said Mr Goodenough.

“They wouldn’t investigate. They’d sit down with him and have a cigarette while chatting, with bodies lying nearby.”

In all cases Van Schoor pulled the trigger - but between the police and the businesses that hired him, an entire community played a role in the killings which took place in East London.

“Van Schoor was a serial killer because there was a society that allowed him to be one,” says Ms Jacobson.

For the relatives of Van Schoor’s victims, his freedom, and the failure of the state to thoroughly investigate his killings, is a constant source of pain. Some never recovered the bodies of their loved ones.

“It seems like we are stuck in this phase of being heartbroken, being angry,” says Marlene Mvumbi, whose brother, Edward, was murdered by Van Schoor in 1987. His remains were dumped in an unmarked grave by the authorities without the family’s consent.

“Lots of people are still missing and not even in the graveyard… there is no closure.”

Van Schoor’s case pre-dated South Africa’s 1995 Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which gave compensation to many victims of apartheid-era crimes.

Sharlene Crage, a former activist who played a key role in pressuring the South African authorities to prosecute Van Schoor, is outraged that he was ever allowed to walk free.

“It’s a shocking miscarriage of justice,” she said. “There is no reason his case shouldn’t be reopened.”

Louis van Schoor admitted he found tracking intruders down thrilling

Van Schoor was sentenced to more than 90 years in prison at the conclusion of his trial in 1992, but the judge allowed him to serve each term concurrently. He was freed on parole in 2004.

The early release of apartheid-era killers from prison has become a contentious issue in South Africa.

In 2022, there were protests in Johannesburg over the parole of Janusz Walus, who killed anti-apartheid politician Chris Hani. A few years previously, Eugene de Kock, in charge of a death squad responsible for the abduction, torture, and murder of dozens of black activists was also freed.

Nowadays, Van Schoor spends most of his time watching rugby, smoking and playing with his pet rottweiler, Brutus. He says he has no memory of many of his killings.

Some reports have stated, without verification, that he shot as many as 100 people. Van Schoor denies this, but concedes his number of shootings may exceed the documented number of 39.

“I honestly don’t know how many I shot. Some say over a 100, some say 40… Let’s say for argument’s sake I shot 50 people,” he told us.

He says he is proud of his past actions.

“I don’t feel any guilt,” he said. “I’ve got no remorse inside.”

The BBC contacted the South African police for comment, but they did not respond. The authorities have given no explanation for why Van Schoor’s killings have not been reassessed in the post-apartheid era.

“There is too much pain, and for now I don’t feel that there is enough that is done for us to heal,” says Marlene Mvumbi.

“It’s not only the ones that were killed by Van Schoor. The ones that have similar stories from the killings of the apartheid regime.”

[brookston]

Holidays 6.12

Holidays

Anne Frank Day

Bedstraw Day (French Republic)

Blue Galaxy Day

Children’s Day (Haiti)

Crowded Nest Syndrome Day

Dia dos Namorados (Brazil)

Flag Day (Brazil; New Zealand)

Ghost in the Machine Day

Grimace Day

Helsinki Day (Finland)

Idol Day

Indiana Jones Day

International Adobo Day

International DDX3X Day

International Dubbing Day

International Shia Day

Interracial Marriage Day

June 12 Commemoration (Lagos State, Nigeria)

Lancaster Day (UK)

Little League Girls Baseball Day

Lover’s Day (Japan)

Loving Day

Magic Day

Man of Steel Day

Mother’s Day (Luxembourg)

National Automotive Service Professionals Day

National Black Men Don’t Cheat Day

National Button Battery Awareness Day

National Cancer Thriver Day

National Chiropractic Health Assistant Day (Canada)

National Control Room Worker’s Day

National Cougar Day

National Dairy Goat Awareness Day

National Dame Day

National Esther Day

National Great Dane Day

National Harm Reduction Day (Canada)

National Hospital at Home Patients Day

National Magic Day

National X Day

Orlando United Day (Florida)

Peace Day (Kosovo)

Perfect Game Day

Portland Trail Blazers Day (Oregon)

Pulse Remembrance Day

Queen’s Birthday (Pitcairn Islands, Tuvalu)

Railway Day (Japan)

Red Rose Day

Rock Around the Clock Day

Russia Day (Russia)

Science Day (Turkmenistan)

Senior Race Day (Isle of Man)

Sharon Needles Day (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

612 Day (Minnesota)

Spoonful of Sugar Day

Spousal Abuse Day

State Protection Service Day (Poland)

Stock Market Employees Day (Ukraine)

Superman Day

Swiss Army Knife Day

Tear Down This Wall Day

Valentine’s Day (Brazil)

Welsh Bands T-Shirt Day (UK)

We Remember 612 Day (Hong Kong)

Women’s Veterans Day

World Day Against Child Labour (UN)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chuy’s National Taco Day

International Cachaca Day

International Falafel Day

National Apple Cinnamon Muffin Day

National Jerky Day

Peanut Butter Cookie Day

Pink Spaghetti Day

Poultry Day

Independence & Related Days

Act of Settlement Day (UK; 1701)

Bill of Rights Day (Virginia; 1776)

Chaco Armistice Day (Paraguay)

Constitution Day (Turks & Caicos Island)

Democracy Day (Nigeria)

Philippines (from Spain, 1898)

2nd Wednesday in June

National Time Out Day [2nd Wednesday]

Worshipful Company of Vintners of the City of London Annual Procession [2nd Wednesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning June 12 (2nd Full Week)

California State Parks Week (thru 6.16)

International Listening Association Week (thru 6.16)

Raggedy Ann and Andy Days (thru 6.13)

Festivals Beginning June 12, 2024

Emmett Cherry Festival (Emmett, Idaho) [thru 6.15]

Ice Cream Days (Le Mars, Iowa) [thru 6.15]

Mattituck Strawberry Festival (Mattituck, New York) [thru 6.16]

North by Northeast [NXNE] (Toronto, Canada) [thru 6.16]

San Diego County Fair (Del Mar, California) [thru 7.7]

Taste of London (London, UK) [thru 6.16]

Teapot Day (Tea, South Dakota) [thru 6.15]

W. C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival (Henderson, Kentucky) [thru 6.15]

Feast Days

Adriaen van Stalbemt (Artology)

St. Anthony’s Day Eve (Portugal)

Antonina (Christian; Martyr)

Bannocks Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius (Christian; Martyrs)

Be More Paranoid Day (Pastafarian)

Bob Katz (Muppetism)

St. Charles Borromeo (Positivist; Saint)

Dave Berg (Artology)

Egon Schiele (Artology)

Enmegahbowh (Episcopal Church)

Eskil of Sweden (Christian; Martyr)

Feast of the Blessed Polish Martyrs of World War II

Festival of Mut (Ancient Egypt)

First Ecumenical Council (Lutheran)

Gaspar Bertoni (Christian; Saint)

Gerard Hoffnung Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Gin Day (Pastafarian)

Guy of Cortona (Christian; Saint)

Henry Scott Tuke (Artology)

Hildegard Burjan (Christian; Blessed)

Johanna Spyri (Writerism)

John of Sahagún (Christian; Saint)

Korean Rice Farmers Stream Hair Washing Day (Everyday Wicca)

Len Wein (Artology)

Leo III, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Media Ver VII (Pagan)

Odulf (Christian; Saint)

Onuphrius (Christian; Saint)

Peter of Mount Athos (Christian; Saint)

Sparky Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Ternan, Bishop of the Picts (Christian; Saint)

Zeus’ Day (Ancient Greece)

108 Martyrs of World War II (Christian)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Shavuot, Day 2 (Judaism) [6-7 Sivan] (a.k.a. …

Feast of the Harvest

Feast of Weeks

Festival of Weeks

First-Fruit festival

Wheat Harvest

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 163 [38 of 72]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [34 of 57]

Premieres

Admission Free (Betty Boop Cartoon; 1932)

All About Dogs (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Andy Warhol’s Blue Movie (a.k.a. Fuck; Adult Film; 1969)

Are You My Mother?, by P.D. Eastman (Children’s Book; 1960)

The Brighter Buccaneer, by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1933) [Saint #12]

Bullet Park, by John Cheever (Novel; 1969)

Can’t Hardly Wait (Film; 1998)

Chesapeake, by James A. Michener (Historical Novel; 1978)

Chuck Berry Is On Top, by Chuck Berry (Album; 1959)

Clash of the Titans (Film; 1981)

Cleopatra (Film; 1963)

Clockwork Angels, by Rush (Album; 2012)

Coming Up for Air, by George Orwell (Novel; 1939)

Deep Throat (Adult Film; 1972)

Donald’s Garden (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Donovan’s Reef (Film; 1963)

Farmer Al Falfa’s Bedtime Story (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

Food, Inc. (Documentary Film; 2009)

Foundation and Empire, by Isaac Asimov (Novel; 1952) [Foundation #2]

Go Bo Diddly, by Bo Diddly (Album; 1959)

History of the World: Part 1 (Film; 1981)

The Horse Soldiers (Film; 1959)

I’ll Chase the Blues Away, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (Song; 1935)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot (Science Book; 2010)

Jurassic World (Film; 2015)

Line of Duty (BBC TV Series; 2012)

Love and Kisses, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (Song; 1935)

Mariah Carey, by Mariah Carey (Album; 1990)

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Film; 2015)

Moon (Film; 2009)

Palestrina, by Hans Pfitzner (Opera; 1917)

Predator (Film; 1987)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Film; 1981)

Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin (Orchestral Jazz; 1924)

The Sailor’s Home (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

She’s Not There, recorded by The Zombies (Song; 1964)

Some Time in New York City, by John Lennon (Album; 1972)

Speedway (Film; 1968)

Superman vs. The Elite (Animated WB Film; 2012)

Surfer Girl, recorded by The Beach Boys (Song; 1963)

Swingers (Film; 1997)

Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, by Blink-182 (Album; 2001)

Testimony of Two Men, by Taylor Caldwell (Novel; 1968)

Toreadorable (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1953)

2 Cool 4 Skool, by BTS (Album; 2013)

The Witches of Eastwick (Film; 1987)

Today’s Name Days

Florinda, Guido, Leo (Austria)

Bazilid, Gašpar, Leon (Croatia)

Antonie (Czech Republic)

Balisius (Denmark)

Eskel, Esko (Estonia)

Esko (Finland)

Guy (France)

Florinda, Guido, Leo (Germany)

Onoufrios (Greece)

Villő (Hungary)

Basilide, Guido, Onofrio (Italy)

Ija, Narda, Nora (Latvia)

Anupras, Dovė, Kristijonas, Kristis, Ramūnas (Lithuania)

Sigfrid, Sigrid, Siri (Norway)

Antonina, Bazyli, Jan, Leon, Onufry, Wyszemir (Poland)

Onufrie, Pavel, Petru (România)

Zlatko (Slovakia)

Juan, Onofre (Spain)

Eskil (Sweden)

Onopriy (Ukraine)

Ahmad, Ahmed, Aisha, Asia, Mohamed, Mohammad, Mohammed (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 164 of 2024; 202 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 24 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 4 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 7 (Ding-Wei)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 6 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 5 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 14 Blue; Sevenday [14 of 30]

Julian: 30 May 2024

Moon: 36%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 23 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Charles Borromeo]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 4 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 86 of 92)

Week: 2nd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 23 of 31)

[scotianostra]

On February 26th 1672  the Border woollen industry was  established when  Philip van der Straten of Bruges set up the first mill dressing and refining wool at Kelso

Van den Straten came over to Scotland to set up the business, but first had to wait for the correct paperwork to be completed, by the powers that be, when it did it read;

‘Anent a petition presented by Philippus van der Straten… intending to reseid in this country and imploy a considerable stock of money in dressing and refining of wooll, in order to which he hath already sett up a work and imployed diverse workmen who are now refining and dressing of Scottes wooll at Kelso… being born in Bruges in Flanders.’                         Register of the Privy Council.

This certainly wasn’t the first time a Flemish man came over to ply his trade here, the first influx was said to have happened in the 11th century,.The Flemings were so expert in making woollen cloth, that it was said of them that their skill in the art of weaving was a peculiar gift conferred by nature. Large numbers of weavers came over from Flanders.

In the reign of Alexander III. considerable quantities of wool were exported to the Continent in exchange for linen, silks, and broadcloth; but there is no mention in the records of those times, so far as I can see, but a lot of our mediaeval records were lost when Edward I plundered the country and took everything that  defined our nationality south in an attempt to turn us into his fiefdom.

 About the year 1600 seven Flemings were brought to Edinburgh to instruct the people how to make "seys" and broadcloth at home, so as to be independent of a supply from England. There were many difficulties in the way, however, and no record remains to show that anything came of the scheme. When "the Hospital of our Lady," which had been founded in Leith Wynd, Edinburgh, by Bishop Spens of Aberdeen in 1479, passed into the hands of the Town Council in 1619, it was converted into a work-house, and named Paul's Work.

The woollen industry really took off in 1771 with the introduction of stocking frames by a canny merchant, Bailie John Hardie. The Pringle brand began life in 1815, with Barrie, Innes Henderson, Lyle & Scott, Peter Scott and many others following.

Over time, stockings evolved into ‘combination’ garments, and eventually knitted underwear made the leap into outerwear, in the form of pullovers, cardigans and the classic British style icon, the ‘twinset’, invented by Pringle’s.

The woollen industry saw a downturn in the late 20th century due to overseas competition, but is thriving once again, with renewed emphasis on design, superb quality, cutting-edge technology and exquisite hand finishing.

Hawick has a long association with the world’s most famous designers, from Dior, Bernat Klein and Chanel to Vivienne Westwood and Clements Ribiero.

Today, couturiers and designers from Italy, France, London’s Savile Row and Highland estates are still regular visitors to Hawick’s mills. And the Hawick-couture partnership is a secret no more!

[dbstaches]

MATERIAL WORLD: THE GRID Grid your loins, it's Dave Ball (left) and Richard Norris Picture: Roger Sargent

NME magazine, 30 October 1993 — full article text bellow

WHERE ARE YOU NOW AND HOW DO YOU FEEL? RICHARD: In the Village Inn as usual, unshaven, post-remixing lag DAVE: The Village Inn, tired and emotional

FIRST RECORD YOU EVER BOUGHT? R: ‘Blockbuster’, The Sweet D: ‘Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes’, Edison Lighthouse

WHO WOULD DIRECT THE ‘TEXAS COWBOYS’ MOVIE? R: Andy Warhol, if he was alive, Lonesome Cowboys 2 D: Sam Peckinpah – lots of fake blood

WHICH CHARACTER WOULD YOU HAVE PLAYED IN THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY? R: Clint – for the stubble and cheroots D: Lee Van Cleef. He wears black clothes, smokes cigars – my kind of guy

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW MARC ALMOND AND WHAT WAS HE DOING? D: On TV, doing a costume-change at Royal Albert Hall

DESCRIBE EACH OTHER IN THREE WORDS? R: Jolly Uncle Jack D: Griff Rhys Jones

WAS VIC REEVES AS SURREAL IN REAL LIFE? R: Haddock

FONDEST MEMORY OF YOUR NME DAYS? R: Jack Barron ranting, Fred Dellar (gawd bless ’im) and two weeks in Ibiza on expenses

MOST EMBARRASSING RECORD IN YOUR COLLECTION? R: A double LP of Barbara Woodhouse teaching dogs to sit. Walkies! D: ‘In The Night’ by Tony Blackburn

HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF SPAGHETTI DISCO? R: Take That doing ‘Rawhide’

BEST THING ABOUT PERFORMING LIVE? R: Watching the wide-eyed and legless

WHAT INSPIRES YOU? R: Punk rock, disco D: Everything

WORST FLYING EXPERIENCE? R: Being in economy class D: Flying from LA to London on acid; flying from London to the South of France with Depeche Mode, dropping 1,000 feet when we hit an air pocket

WHO WOULD BE YOUR DREAM COLLABORATION? R: Iggy Pop D: A film score with John Barry/Angelo Badalamenti

IF YOU HAD A LABEL WHICH TWO ROCK ACTS WOULD YOU SIGN? R: AC/DC, Nine Inch Nails D: Zodiac Mindwarp, The Ramones

WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN THEY DESCRIBED YOUR MUSIC AS “JUNGLE” ON CORONATION STREET? R: Smashing, chuck D: I liked it so much I sampled it

FIRST BANDS? R: The Innocent Vicars, The Fruitbats, The Wild Kitchen, East Of Eden D: Soft Cell

HOW MANY TELEVISIONS DO YOU OWN R: About 20. I got a fine for not having a license

DESCRIBE YOUR TOTP EXPERIENCE? D: Tedium-tastic

THREE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THAILAND AT CHRISTMAS? R: The sky at night, bats, blue-capped evenings with neon fish

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND AN IDEAL SUNDAY AFTERNOON? R: Horizontally, after a bad game of golf D: Lunch with friends and good wine

WHAT'S THE WEIRDEST SITUATION YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN? R: Being surrounded by Hackney constabulary with Genesis and Paula P Orridge at 5am after imitating a Sunday People reporter D: Running naked down a Madrid hotel corridor with Stevo, wielding two replica Flintlock pistols, chasing two Spanish girls

FAVOURITE PEOPLE? D: Richard & Judy, Paul Merton, Dennis The Barman

CAN YOU RETIRE ON THE MONEY ‘TAINTED LOVE’ MADE IN AMERICA? D: No, but I'm, sure our American lawyers and A&R men could!

WHAT DID MADONNA DO WHEN YOU UPSTAGED HER IN NEW YORK? D: She forgave me the next morning

CHOOSE A RECORD TO WAKE UP TO/SLEEP TO/HAVE SEX TO R: Wake up: ‘Cobalt Blue’, Michael Brook. Sleep: ‘Music For Airports’, Brian Eno. Sex: ‘There's A Riot Goin' On’, Sly And The Family Stone D: Wake up: ‘Rise And Shine’, The Flintstones. Sleep: ‘Very/Relentless’, Pet Shop Boys. Sex: ‘Neroli’, Brian Eno

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO? R: Write a mean paragraph. I could be an A&R man if I was really desperate D: Top oarsman and not a bad cook

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO? R: Like Aldous Huxley

[rabbitcruiser]

Skyscraper Appreciation Day

Take a trip to the grandest skyscraper in your area and appreciate the architectural marvel, or appreciate an entire skyline from just outside a city.

Climb to the highest of man-made heights in observance and celebration of Skyscraper Appreciation Day!

History of Skyscraper Appreciation Day

Skyscraper Appreciation Day was initiated and founded by Dr. Tom Stevens. Interestingly, it was created so that the general public could admire the structural and architectural brilliance of skyscrapers. Furthermore, it also celebrates the triumph of reason, as well as man’s ability to construct industrial masterpieces that go far beyond expectations.

This important day is situated on the anniversary of the birth of one of architecture’s most important and famous names, William Van Alen. Back in 1883, this native of Brooklyn, New York was born and, after studying in Paris, Van Alen would eventually go on to design the famous, art-deco style Chrysler Building, which is one of New York City’s most iconic and well-known landmarks.

In today’s world, skyscrapers continue to push the limits of architecture, offering a wide range of features. For instance, Taipei 101, is the world’s tallest and largest green and sustainable building, while The Shard in London has a unique layout of a “vertical city”, where a person could theoretically live and never leave!

Skyscraper Appreciation Day offers a wide range of opportunities to learn more, join in on events, and generally have a soaring celebration in honor of these architectural feats!

How to Celebrate Skyscraper Appreciation Day

It might be a whole lot of fun to celebrate Skyscraper Appreciation Day by undertaking one or more of the following activities:

Visit a Skyscraper

In honor of Skyscraper Appreciation Day, an interesting activity would be to venture to a skyscraper, whether close to where you live or far away, and marvel at its architectural beauty. Cities all over the world can be visited in celebration of the day, giving a nod of appreciation to these feats of architectural mastery. Consider visiting one of these famous skyscrapers from around the globe:

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Built in 2010, this one will stand as the tallest building in the world for more than a decade, at 2722 feet, holding at least 19 records.

One World Trade Center, New York City, USA. Officially the tallest building in the western hemisphere, this one was built in 2014 and stands at 1776 feet, as a nod to the year that the US gained her independence.

The Petronas Tower, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Not just a single, but a double, this one holds the record for the tallest twin tower in the world, joined by a skybridge at the 41st and 42nd floors.

Gran Torre Santiago, Santiago, Chile. The tallest building in South America was opened in 2013 and offers a postmodern style for its 62 floors.

Host a Skyscraper Themed Party

Have a skyscraper themed day where friends, family members or coworkers are encouraged to dress up as famous skyscrapers from around the world. This type of event is likely to get off the ground more for those who work at an architectural firm or with building contractors, but people with regular jobs can certainly try it out as well!

Learn Fun Facts About Skyscrapers

A super way to pay honor and respect on Skyscraper Appreciation Day would be to learn some fun facts to share in raising awareness for the day. Kids and adults alike will be interested in these bits of trivia about skyscrapers:

The world’s first skyscraper is considered to be the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1885.

The world’s fastest skyscraper elevator is located in the Shanghai Tower in China.

Certain skyscrapers can actually affect the weather, creating wind tunnels when multiple skyscrapers are built near each other.

Create a Skyscraper Themed Photo Collection

Folks who are avid travelers to cities, or who are photographers, might want to take this opportunity to sort through all of those favorite skyscraper photos and add them to the “Photos” section of the Skyscraper Appreciation Day Facebook page.

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