On This Day In History

March 30th, 2023: Donald Trump is indicted by the New York grand jury, making him the first US president (current or former) to face criminal charges.

Fun fact: The pronunciation of American English is closer to the pronunciation in William Shakespeare's time (1564-1616) than in British English. Today's American accent is more closely related to what Shakespeare heard while he wrote. People generally assume that Shakespeare's English is related to British English, but in Early Modern English the letter "r" is still pronounced. During the 18th century the "r" was dropped from pronunciation when it was the last syllable of a word in southern British English. American English froze in how we pronounce letters, which is why we sound more like Shakespeare than British English.

Guys. I can't breathe.

“I fell in love with a person, who happens to be a man and that man happens to be a prince, he has captured my heart and made my life immeasurably better.” - Alex about Henry.

THE ARIELS MAKING HISTORY

1919: The Sugar Tsunami of Boston

On January 15, 1919, Boston witnessed an extraordinary disaster that sounds almost too bizarre to be true: the Great Molasses Flood. This catastrophic event occurred when a massive storage tank containing over two million gallons of molasses burst, unleashing a tidal wave of the sticky substance through the streets at an estimated speed of 35 mph. The flood was not only a surreal spectacle but a deadly one, claiming 21 lives and injuring 150 people.

Molasses, the central figure in this disaster, is a byproduct of sugar refining, known for its thick, syrupy consistency and sweet flavor. It is widely used in cooking and baking, as well as in the production of rum and other industrial goods. Despite its commonplace nature, the Great Molasses Flood highlighted the potential dangers of industrial storage and the catastrophic consequences of negligence.

The sheer volume of molasses, coupled with its thick consistency, posed unique challenges for rescue and cleanup efforts. In the cold winter temperatures, the molasses quickly thickened, hampering attempts to free those trapped by the deluge. The disaster caused significant damage to the North End neighborhood, destroying buildings, overturning vehicles, and leaving a sticky residue that was notoriously difficult to clean. It took weeks to clear the molasses from the streets, and the harbour remained discoloured until summer.

The aftermath of the flood had lasting impacts beyond the immediate cleanup. It led to a reevaluation of safety standards and regulations for industrial construction, marking a turning point in how such facilities were built and maintained. The tragedy underscored the importance of regulatory oversight to prevent similar disasters in the future.

For the newest coworker @mpnephi

It was all part of the routine: scanning documents, translating them, uploading them to the digital archives, and returning the original materials to the library circulation desk. That was just what Vitas did this day, which thus far had proven to be a fairly typical day. He liked it that way, when things went how they were supposed to go without any unexpected interruptions--though he did usually make accommodations. Usually.

As he returned an armful of materials to the circulation desk, he had heard someone approaching from behind, but did not acknowledge them, assuming they mean to speak to the librarian on the other side of the counter who was already assisting another patron; however, upon turning around, he realized he had underestimated how close the individual was, having been in the blind spot to his left and thus the archivist took a sharp step to the side, out of the way, giving this person a stern look that all but screamed a warning about invading someone's personal space despite his silence.

I'm just so glad to be in formula 1 at the same time as Oscar Piastri

On This Day In History

November 26th, 2011: The Mars rover, Curiosity, launches.

I can't wait for all the video essays on the Predstrogen situation five years from now

Today in 1882, Thomas Edison, and his partner Edward H. Johnson created the very first string of electric lights intended for a Christmas Tree. People originally illuminated their trees with candles, which as you can guess was a dangerous practice leading to many house fires. Edison and Johnson hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue bulbs, and hung them around the Christmas tree. During this time many people mistrusted electricity, it wasn't until 1895, when President Grover Cleveland had the White House family Christmas tree illuminated by hundreds of multicolored bulbs, people started to change their minds. It is important to remember for the time being, families would have to hire a wire man which would have cost $2,000 in today's dollars. It wouldn't be until 1903 when General Electric began to sell preassembled kits of stringed Christmas lights, as a more affordable option.

Alright, I've been sick and my brain was soup, so this is a little late, BUT-

I can't help thinking about the season finale and how anime only's must be processing the contents of season six.

Despite well reasoned fears, Bones handled this season with great care towards bkdk. For those of us who read the manga, that was our focus this season: seeing how Bones would handle it. Because we already knew what was coming. We had that content for over a year, and now were just seeing it become animated. But for anime only's, the story had "changed".

We have to consider the average watcher. Most people don't start a show over from the beginning every single time a new season comes out. Hard to imagine, I know, but you have to factor that in. Because for people who passively watched MHA up to this point, this season was their turning point. It's when the story stopped having any airs of light heartedness.

If you go back to the beginning and watch now, you see all the signs, you see the foundation Horikoshi set, you see the subtext. But if you were just mindlessly watching the latest popular shonen anime, you might not have seen all the foreshadowing- for the overall plot or for bkdk.

And if you didn't see it coming, then there's no buffer. The break between season 5 and season 6 was lengthy, and a lot of people discounted season 5 thinking it was slow and weird and off, when really it was just setting the stage. But again, if you didn't see that coming then how do you react to season 6?

All of this brings me to my point. Horikoshi wrote a story that calls out all sorts of societal and political unease. He wrote about every type of discrimination under the sun and has set a foundation which his characters can stand on and call out issues in our real everyday lives. Racism, homophobia, corrupt leadership, individual selfishness vs. serving a community, lack of support for the disabled, and so much more. And we've seen that. But for a lot of people, they are just seeing it now. And it is the average watcher that these messages need to reach the most. And I can't help but wonder- did it? Is it? Is it reaching them?

The reason I love MHA so much, is because, at the end of the day Kohei Horikoshi, looked at the world and didn't like what he saw. He was just one person and didn't know if he could change anything but decided to try. He took the darkest parts of our world, turned to his art and tried to speak to that darkness from it. He had no idea what would happen. Now he possesses one of the top shonen series of all time, his reach is vast, and people are listening.

You might look at bakudeku and think it's just another fanatical anime ship. But these boys, and the rest of the characters as well, are standing at the edge of history.

Representation within media has power. We've all been influenced by media whether you want to admit that or not, whether you see it or not. I promise you your life has been more touched by media than you could possibly imagine. And it definitely has not been for the better. This is how discrimination proliferates. But now we have a series that aims to give us something new, something a lot of us have never had before. Hope.

And damn, I hope it reaches them.

still not over first male kpop group at coachella 🥹❤️

Something that I love about Becky and the eras tour, but I think is different from any other artist, that I know of, is that it’s a collection of history books that we’ve all been a part of the making. Stories told on social media, in person, through photos and memories.

I’m sure this tour is cathartic for her as much as it will be, as we watch on social media, in person, and photos and in memories the same; locked in time and space as history is made one again.