Lot’s going on today – Children’s Day in Japan, Constitution Day in Kyrgyzstan, Independence Day in Latvia, Patriot’s Day in Ethiopia, Arrival Day in Guyana, The Buddha’s Birthday and some minor battle in Mexico. It is also Liberation Day in the Netherlands – the anniversary of the end of Nazi occupation in 1945.
At the outbreak of the second world war, the Netherlands had declared its neutrality from the conflict. However, this did not stop the country being invaded by Nazi Germany on May 10th 1940.
After landing in Normandy in June 1944, the allied forces advanced across Europe with key engagements taking place in the south of the Netherlands by September of that year.
The Netherlands was liberated in a large part by the Canadians, British and Polish armies.
On May 5th 1945, General Foulkes of the Canadian forces and the German Commander Blaskowitz reached an agreement on the surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands in Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen.
Me too…
You were warned…
New Marvel Hero…
Canadians have had it with the U.S.A.
Screenshot
(Thanks, Debra)
Today is the birthday, in 1951, of Rex Goh, guitarist, for the Australian soft rock band Air Supply who scored the 1980 UK No.11 single ‘All Out Of Love’ and the 1981 US No.1 single ‘The One That You Love’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY31ZH6hAFI
On this day in 1670, King Charles II granted a permanent charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company which included a monopoly over the region drained by all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay in northern parts of present-day Canada, taking possession on behalf of England. The area was named “Rupert’s Land” after Prince Rupert, the first governor of the company appointed by the King. This drainage basin of Hudson Bay spans 3,861,400 square kilometers (1,490,900 sq mi), comprising over one-third of the area of modern-day Canada, and stretches into the present-day north-central United States.
The company established a number of posts along James Bay and Hudson Bay. During the fall and winter, First Nations men and European fur trappers accomplished the vast majority of the animal trapping and pelt preparation. They traveled by canoe and on foot to the forts to sell their pelts. In exchange they typically received popular trade-goods such as knives, kettles, beads, needles, and the Hudson’s Bay point blanket.
HBC traders explored and operated in much of what is now the northern and western United States. The company even established a presence in the Sandwich Islands (Now Hawaii) for a time.
In 1869, after rejecting the American government offer of CA$10 million, the company approved the return of Rupert’s Land to Britain. The government gave it to Canada and loaned the new country the £300,000 required to compensate HBC for its losses. HBC also received one-twentieth of the fertile areas to be opened for settlement and retained title to the lands on which it had built trading establishments. The deal, known as the Deed of Surrender, came into force the following year. The resulting territory, the North-West Territories, was brought under Canadian jurisdiction under the terms of the Rupert’s Land Act 1868, enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Deed enabled the admission of the fifth province, Manitoba, to the Confederation on 15 July 1870, the same day that the deed itself came into force.
Poundmaker, a chief of the plains Cree First Nation wearing a Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket, Image courtesy of the National Archives of Canada
Cats have a bad reputation. Some people even think that cats are total a-holes. That’s actually not true at all. Cats are affectionate and loving creatures, they even gladly help their humans to solve puzzles!
Here are some SIGNZZZZ
Today is the birthday, in 1954, of Prescott Niles, bassist with The Knack. Their first single, ‘My Sharona’ was an international No.1 hit in 1979. Their album Get the Knack became one of the most successful debuts in history, selling over one million copies in less than two months and spending five weeks at No.1 on the Billboard album chart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbr60I0u2Ng
Today is Labor Day in much of the world. The holiday may also be known as International Worker’s Day or May Day and is marked with a public holiday in over 80 countries.
The first May Day celebrations focused on workers took place on May 1st 1890 after its proclamation by the first international congress of socialist parties in Europe on July 14th 1889 in Paris, France, to dedicate May 1st every year as the “Workers Day of International Unity and Solidarity.”
The date was chosen due to events on the other side of the Atlantic. In 1884 the American Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demanded an eight-hour workday, to come in effect as of May 1st 1886. This resulted in the general strike and the Haymarket (in Chicago) Riot of 1886, but eventually also in the official sanction of the eight-hour workday.
In the 20th century, the holiday received the official endorsement of the Soviet Union, and it is also celebrated as the Day of the International Solidarity of Workers, especially in some Communist states. Curiously (given the origin of the May 1st date), the United States celebrates Labor Day on the first Monday of September. There is some suggestion that the reason for this was to avoid the commemoration of riots that had occurred in 1886. The adoption of May Day by communists and socialists as their primary holiday has been as another reason for the official resistance to May Day labor celebrations in America.
May 1st was also a pagan holiday in many parts of Europe, Its roots as a holiday stretch back to the Gaelic Beltane. It was considered the last day of winter when the beginning of summer was celebrated.
During Roman times, May 1st was seen as a key period to celebrate fertility and the arrival of spring. The Roman festival of Flora, the goddess of flowers and the season of spring, was held between April 28th and May 3rd.
Traditional English May Day rites and celebrations include Morris dancing, crowning a May Queen, and dancing around a Maypole; festivities which made it a popular seasonal celebration in medieval England.
fortuitous…
We don’t need no math in our schools…
Congratulations to Canada on their election!
These are kind of punny…
Today is the birthday, in 1966, of merican bassist Johnny Colt with The Black Crowes who had the 1991 hit single ‘Hard To Handle’ and the 1992 US No.1 & UK No.2 album The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion. The band have sold more than 30 million albums. Colt also played with Lynyrd Skynyrd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRcs_OzQb14
On this day in 1770, Lieutenant James Cook first landed at Kurnell, on the southern banks of Botany Bay, in what is now Silver Beach, on Sunday 29 April 1770, when navigating his way up the east coast of Australia on his ship, HMS Endeavour. 18 years later, Governor Arthur Phillip sailed the armed tender HMS Supply into the bay on 18 January, 1788. First contact was made with the local Indigenous people, the Eora, who seemed curious but suspicious of the newcomers. Two days later, the remaining ships of the First Fleet arrived to found the planned penal colony.
Watercolor by Charles Gore
Old school Do Not Disturb
Formerly…
Philosophers ruining stuff…
BADA BING!
I try to be a little overweight because it wouldn’t be fair if I were this good looking, intelligent, funny, AND thin. It’s a public service really.
I hate when people can’t let go of the past. Debt collectors are the worst.
I’ve decided to leave my past behind me. So if I owe you money.. I’m sorry… but I’ve moved on.
I do all my own stunts. But not intentionally.
*Day 3 of the kidnapping* The kidnappers are now offering my wife a ransom if she’ll take me back but she’s holding out for more.
The older I get, the tighter companies are screwing lids on jars.
My dog is the main the reason I know any of our neighbors.
*first date* Her: “Do you like dogs or cats better?” Flipping through the menu: “What page are you on?”
I don’t know if JD Vance killed the Pope, but I think we should deport him to El Salvador just in case.
My wife caught me sucking in my stomach while standing on the bathroom scale. HA! That’s not going to help! she laughed. Actually it does. It’s the only way I can see the numbers.
My wife says I can be a real idiot sometimes. I think it’s pretty cool that she gives me permission like that.
So the guy who had to pay $25,000,000 for running a fake university is suddenly an expert on what Harvard should teach.
Whenever my wife says, “Cheer up. You could be stuck in a hole in the ground that’s filled with water” I know she means well.
IF PIGS REALLY COULD FLY, I BET THEIR WINGS WOULD BE DELICIOUS.
My psychiatrist says there’s nothing more he can do for me. That means I’m cured right? Right guys?
I’m pretty upset how fast my life went from MySpace to Mychart.
There’s no such thing as a grouchy old person. Truth is, once you get older, you stop being polite and start being honest.
I want to meet the Tom that got an entire genre of foolery named after him.
ICE in America today is the SS of 1930s Germany.
A tattoo makes someone a gang member the same way a shiny gold cross makes Karoline Leavitt a Christian.
Don’t friend me unless you want to be constantly amazed by the amount of movies and shows I’ve never seen.
Nothing says ‘competent’ like a Homeland Security Secretary who can’t secure her own handbag.
Cutting off a narcissist from your life and radically accepting you are going to be the villain in their delusional world is top-level self-care.
My ex was bitten by a rattlesnake once. After three days of excruciating pain, the snake finally died.
Medical researchers have determined stress will kill you. Great! One more thing to worry about.
Today is the birthday, in 1945, of American recording artist Tammi Terrell who had a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye. She had had hits with Marvin Gaye, and scored seven Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, ‘Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing’ and ‘You’re All I Need to Get By’. Terrell died of a brain tumor on March 16th 1970 after collapsing into Marvin Gaye’s arms on stage during a duet of ‘That’s All You Need To Get By’. Terrell had undergone eight brain operations in 18 months. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC5PL0XImjw
Today is Sardinia’s Day, (sa die de sa Sardigna; Sassarese: la dì di la Sardigna; Gallurese: la dì di la Saldigna; Algherese: lo dia de la Sardenya; Italian: il giorno della Sardegna). a holiday in Sardinia commemorating the Sardinian Vespers, which occurred from 1794 to 1796.
In the last decades of the 18th century following the Savoyard take-over of the island, tensions had begun to mount among the Sardinians towards the Piedmontese administration. Sardinian peasants resented the feudal rule and both the local nobles and the bourgeoisie were being left out of any active civil and military role, with the viceroy and other people from the Italian mainland being appointed in charge of the island.
In 1793, a French fleet tried to conquer the island. However, the locals managed to resist the invasion by the French, and began expecting the Savoyards to acknowledge the feat and improve their condition in return. The Sardinians thus presented with the King a list of grievances requiring his remedy, amongst which the demand that most of the offices be reserved for native Sardinians, along with autonomy from the Savoyard ruling class.
The King’s peremptory refusal to grant the island any of these wishes eventually spurred the rebellion against Piedmont’s primacy. On 28 April 1794, known as sa dii de s’aciappa (“the day of the pursuit and capture”), people in Cagliari started chasing any Piedmontese functionaries they could find; since many of them started to wear the local robes in order to blend into the crowd, any people suspected to be from the Italian mainland would be asked by the populace to “say chickpea” (nara cixiri) in Sardinian: failure in pronouncing the word correctly would give their origin away.
Thus, Sardinia became the first European country to have engaged in a revolution of its own, the episode not being the result of a foreign military importation like in most of Europe.
special…
Schadenfreude is so much funnier in Dutch…
triggering their target audience…
Today is the birthday, in 1952, of American musician Chuck Leavell who was a member of the The Allman Brothers Band during the height of their 1970s popularity. He is the longtime keyboardist and musical director with The Rolling Stones and Leavell has also toured and recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour and John Mayer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCRS4DRmf_w
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