FIVE SECOND STORIES

4/30- Mr. Grosbeak returned to the Diner and I got a nice pic of him:

Mr. Big Bun came out to lounge under his favorite honeysuckle to catch some rays:

Ahh, safe enough to stretch out!

5/1-The forecasters had been promising beaucoup rain for us but of course it mainly went around us except for occasional showers that amounted to barely .10". Pretty much just got stuff wet. In between showers, the sun peeked out:
 

Lilacs!

 

#cutebuddypics-Mr. B chillin' next to me on the couch:

When I give him belly rubs, an old, silly tune comes to mind: from 1957 by the Royal Teens-the Short Shorts song-replacing who wears short shorts?, we wear short shorts! with who likes belly rubs? I like belly rubs!

Some historical milestones:

April 30,1945: 80th anniversary of Adolf eating a bullet. This is last known photo of him outside the Führerbunker surveying the damage by Allied bombing before marrying Eva Braun and then retiring for his final act as Führer.

April 30,1975: 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. In this famous pic, a CIA officer is helping employees of USAID board a helicopter to evacuate as NVA troops were entering the city.

Hubert van Es

May 4, 1970: 55th anniversary of the shootings at Kent State University, Ohio. In this iconic photo, a young woman kneels next to the body of Jeffrey Miller, shot dead by Ohio National Guard troops.

John Filo

I wonder 40 years in the future looking back at the Russo-Ukraine war, if historians will recognize this as the birth of the use of robots in combat, namely the extensive use by Ukraine of drones. They are very much part of their offensive and defensive strategies in surveilling frontlines, guiding artillery and destroying enemy targets. This has changed the nature of modern warfare.

Adventures in marketing-"Men Have Skin Too" Campaign:

Old Spice's "Men Have Skin Too" campaign uses humor to explore relatable tensions in relationships and families, particularly around borrowing or using each other's grooming products. One offshoot is "Men Have Sweat Too" where a man's Old Spice is ahem, "borrowed" and the poor lad is suffering...from First World Problems...as well as a persecution complex of people doing bad things to his armpits! Dude, get a grip! Oi vey!

Historical stuff:

 

The Newark Earthworks

Artist's depiction of the Newark Mound complex

From Wiki: The Newark Earthworks in Newark and Heath, Ohio consist of three sections of preserved earthworks: the Great Circle Earthworks, the Octagon Earthworks, and the Wright Earthworks. This complex, built by the Hopewell culture  between 100 BCE and 400 CE, contains the largest earthen enclosures  in the world, and was about 3,000 acres  in total extent. Less than 10 percent of the total site has been preserved since European-American settlement. 

 

Notable is the Octagon Earthworks-from Wiki: In 1982 researchers from Earlham College in Richmond, IN concluded that the complex was a lunar observatory, designed to track motions of the moon, including the northernmost point of the 18.6-year cycle of the lunar orbit.

The Octagon Earthworks is made of two geometric enclosures: A large circle enclosing 20 acres, and an even larger octagon enclosing 50 acres, connected to one another by an avenue. The walls of these shapes reach eye-level, and show how the Hopewell culture had an understanding of soil science, as they only selected soil with properties that would maintain the integrity of the mounds.

Directly across from the avenue, there is a break in the circular wall where two parallel extensions originally projected outward, forming a gateway. This former gateway is covered by a large, earth and stone platform mound called the Observatory Mound.

When viewed from the observatory mound, the moon rises at that time within one-half of a degree of the octagon's exact center. 

Artist's depiction of the northernmost moonrise

Sadly, in 1910, the Octagon had a golf course built amongst its structures, known as the Moundbuilders Country Club. The Ohio History Connection, which acquired the land containing the earthworks in 1933, has since leased it to the club. For a decade, the History Connection sought to reach a deal with the club to purchase the property and open the site for full public access. In 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a they could use eminent domain to buy out the lease on the property and finally the two parties came to an agreement.

What happened to the Roanoke Colony? 

From Wiki: The Roanoke Colony was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The colony was started in 1585, but when it was visited by a ship in 1590, the colonists had inexplicably disappeared. It has come to be known as the Lost Colony, and the fate of the 112 to 121 colonists remains unknown. 

The Anglo-Spanish War delayed resupply ships to Roanoke until 1590. A fortified settlement was found abandoned with the cryptic word "CROATOAN" carved into the palisade, which was interpreted to mean that the colonists had relocated to Croatoan Island (Hatteras Island today).

There are several theories about the fate of the colonists:

-there was a split amongst the group with some going inland into the forest, possibly on their own but more likely, they integrated with local tribes out of the desire to survive. There are 2 archeological sites where excavations have found colonial artifacts.

-another group sailed 50 miles to Croatoan Island, again merging with a local tribes. Their artifacts have been discovered there.

-all were massacred at Roanoke or Croatoan either by Indigenous peoples or marauding Spanish forces.

Fun Vids:

Wow!

I hadn't heard this cheeky, odd song in ages-from 1979 Squeeze Cool For Cats

FUBARland

Roach and Zelenskyy have a chat while attending Pope Francis's funeral:

Roach wants a grand military parade on his birthday which also is Flag Day and the 250th anniversary of the US Army. He wanted one during his 1.0 regime but was overruled by both the military and Washington DC city officials citing enormous costs and damage to streets from the heavy machinery. Awww, he wants to mimic his pals:

 

This week on Cabinet Apprentice: although not part of Roach's cabinet, Michael Waltz was his National Security Advisor...until Signalgate. Having created this cringy security lapse, he's been FIRED-well, re-assigned as the US representative to the UN where he will in no doubt, suffer the slings and arrows thrown at him by the rest of the world.