Black holes are one of our favorite cosmic objects
So we created Black Hole Week to celebrate them.
Throughout the week, science communicators from across the globe will be sharing news, videos, and social media posts about black holes. Our goal is that no matter where people turn that week, they’ll run into a black hole. (Figuratively, of course — we don’t want anyone falling in!) (snip)
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First Tip: Don’t Visit Black Holes!
But if you must, read our safety guide.
Learn more about black holes, how to find them, and how to stay safe on your travels!Read More snip) Enjoy!
May 1, 1865 Memorial Day was started by former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated. More of the story
May 1, 1886 May Day was called Emancipation Day in 1886 when 340,000 went on strike (though it was Saturday it was a regular day of work) in Chicago for the 8-hour workday.
May 1, 1890 May Day labor demonstrations spread to thirteen other countries; 30,000 marched in Chicago as the newly prominent American Federation of Labor threw its weight behind the 8-hour day campaign. More May Day info
May 1, 1933 Dorothy Day The Catholic Worker newspaper was founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. Dorothy Day said, “God meant things to be much easier than we have made them,” and Peter Maurin wanted to build a society “where it is easier for people to be good.” Peter Maurin Read more about the Catholic Worker
May 1, 1948 Senator Glen Hearst Taylor Senator Glen Hearst Taylor (D-Idaho) was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for trying to enter a meeting through a door marked for “Negroes” rather than using the “whites only” door, and convicted of disorderly conduct. Taylor was the Progressive Party candidate for Vice President, running mate of Henry Wallace. He was in Birmingham to address the Southern Negro Youth Congress.
May 1, 1965 Second Factory for Peace opened in Onllwyn, Dulais Valley, in south Wales, employing disabled miners. Tom McAlpine, active in the Committee for Nuclear Disarmament, and a supporter of cooperatives and industrial democracy, established Rowen Engineering in both Wales and Glasgow, Scotland.
May 1, 1966 500,000 Vietnamese marched for an end to the war dividing their country.
May 1, 1967 Soviet youths openly defied police and danced the twist in Moscow’s Red Square during May Day celebrations. In the early ‘60s the Twist had been banned in Buffalo, New York, and Tampa, Florida. The religious right claimed the Twist was actually a pagan fertility dance. Are you old enough to remember Chubby Checker?
May 1, 1971 Five days of anti-war May Day protests began in Washington, D.C., resulting in over 14,000 arrests—the largest mass civil disobedience in U.S. history.
May 1, 1986 One million South Africans demonstrated their opposition to apartheid in a strike organized by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) COSATU: a brief history
May 1, 2003 President George W. Bush landed in a jet on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the California coast and, in a speech to the nation, declared major combat in Iraq over. The banner his staff posted on the ship read, “Mission Accomplished.” Since that presidential declaration more than 4500 American and allied troops and nearly 9000 members of Iraqi security and police forces (Jan. 2005 through July 2011) have lost their lives. In addition, tens of thousands (more than 32,000 Americans) injured in the hostilities. The number of Iraqi civilian deaths is open to dispute, but minimally stands at well over 100,000. Details of Iraq military casualties Civilian casualties
This blogger visits us here; I’ve seen likes on our posts. I checked out the blog and subscribed. I admit, I read with the Translate turned on, so I’ve copy-pasted a snippet here, in English. It’s not too long to read, so please do! It’s motivating.
The government’s instructions on the “sobriety” to be maintained in the celebrations of April 25 have led to the cancellation of celebrations and concerts, even in municipalities administered by left-wing councils. An indication is not a ban, but many mayors have preferred to avoid being accused of having violated the sobriety required during the five days of national mourning proclaimed for the death of the Pope. As in the case of Foligno, they even cancelled the performance of the philharmonic that was supposed to play the national anthem.
In Lastra a Signa, on the outskirts of Florence, the municipal council has decided to cancel the concert of Quarto Podere , a historic Tuscan band that has always combined commitment, tradition and irony in its long artistic career. In response to this absurd decision, the members of the group wrote a letter in which they expressed deep dismay and asked for a reconsideration. Here is a significant passage:
“ April 25, Liberation Day from Nazi-fascism, is a cornerstone of our Republic. We therefore consider it unacceptable that a left-wing government, in a secular State (as established by Article 1 of the Constitution), chooses to deny the possibility of adequately commemorating such a significant day, outraging the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. This choice appears even more serious at a time in history when our dignity, workers’ rights and the founding values of the Republic are under attack by a far-right government, clearly of neo-fascist origin; a government that, since it has been in office, has undertaken a systematic demolition of political rights, limiting the possibility of dissent and resistance, as demonstrated by the latest Security Decree. The proclamation of five days of national mourning represents yet another opportunity to exploit a contingent event and silence any form of dissent. We are convinced that Pope Francis – a figure we deeply respect – would have been opposed to a cancellation that betrays the inclusive and profound spirit of a celebration that, for our country, is sacred .”
Music, singing, artistic expression have always been perceived as dangerous by totalitarian regimes. (snip-MORE)
Hello Everyone. I saw this vid come up and wanted to share it with you. This song reminds us that sometimes things are hard, but we are going to be alright. It also reminds us that there are people around us going through hard times, too. I thought it put out a great message, great music, and from a great group that doesn’t use any instruments – Home Free uses only those beats and sounds that can be produced by mouth. They have great harmony.
April 6, 1712 The first major slave rebellion in the North American British colonies took place in New York City. One out of every five New Yorkers was enslaved at the time. Twenty-three black slaves set fire to buildings, killed six white British subjects and wounded six others. More on the rebellion and its aftermath Slavery in New York
April 6, 1909 Robert Peary, his negro servant, Matthew Henson, and four Eskimos reached the geographic North Pole for the first time. Matthew Peary at the White House, 1954 Stamp issued 2005 Though Henson was alongside Peary, widely hailed as a courageous explorer, during that and subsequent Arctic expeditions, Henson achieved little notice until much later in life. Article about the unsung hero of the polar expedition
April 6, 1968 Dozens of major cities in the United States experienced an escalation of rioting in reaction to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. two days before. At least 19 people had already died in the arson, looting and shootings. Several hundred had also been injured and about 3,000 arrested—most of those in Washington, D.C.
April 6, 1968 Bobby Hutton, the 17-year-old first member of the Black Panther Party was gunned down by officers of the Oakland Police Department. Police opened fire on a car of Black Panthers returning from a meeting. The Panthers escaped their vehicle and ran into a house. Police attacked the house with tear gas and gunfire. After the building was on fire, the Panthers tried to surrender. Hutton came out of the house with his hands in the air. Bobby Hutton But a police officer shouted, “He’s got a gun.” This prompted further police gunfire that left Hutton dead and Panthers co-founder Eldridge Cleaver wounded. Police later admitted that Hutton was unarmed. More about Bobby Hutton
April 6, 1983 President Ronald Reagan’s interior secretary, James Watt, banned all rock ‘n’ roll groups from the Fourth of July celebration on the Washington Mall.The bands scheduled to play included the Beach Boys, generally considered very wholesome. But Watt said such acts attracted the “wrong element.” ”We’re not going to encourage drug abuse and alcoholism as was done in the past.” The president’s wife, a fan, complained directly to Secretary Watt, but he claimed never to have heard of the band.
April 6, 1996 Eleven were arrested at the main post office near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., for attempting to mail medical supplies to Iraq in defiance of the U.S.-led embargo. Between 1990 and 1995 with the first Gulf War and the sanctions regime imposed by the U.S., its coalition and the U.N., infant and under-5 mortality rates in Iraq had more than doubled. More about Voices in the Wilderness
Guster welcomed the cast of the children’s musical “Finn” to the Kennedy Center over the weekend after the center’s Trump-appointed board canceled its national tour.
Guster shared the Kennedy Center stage with the cast of children’s musical “Finn” on Saturday, March 29. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
After opening at the Kennedy Center to strong reviews in November and December 2024, the Kennedy Center-commissioned musical was supposed to begin a national tour this year. “Finn” — about a young shark who “wants to let out his inner fish” — was co-created by Chris Nee, the openly gay creator of the popular children’s TV show “Doc McStuffins.”
But after President Donald Trump took over as chairman of the arts institute in February — firing its board of trustees and installing allies including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo in their place — the planned national tour for “Finn” was canceled.
“We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in February. “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP.”
According to Deadline, the new regime at the Kennedy Center cited financial considerations when canceling the musical’s planned tour, but “the musical’s theme of tolerance and acceptance – the young gray shark named Finn ultimately decides to let out his ‘inner fish’ by adopting a vibrantly colored and glittery new appearance – has been widely interpreted as at least a contributing factor in the tour’s axing.”
During Friday evening’s show, Guster brought the cast of “Finn” on stage to accompany the band on its song “Hard Times.”
Guster lead singer Ryan Miller addressed the audience before bringing the cast on stage, talking about his friendship with “Finn” co-creator Michael Kooman.
“As the new administration has made abundantly clear, ‘Finn’’s themes of inclusivity, love, and self-acceptance aren’t going to be welcome in this building while they are in control,” Miller said. “Tonight our band is here to say our stage is your stage. We are your allies, we stand with the LGBTQ community, and we want you to sing with us.
“Please welcome the cast of ‘Finn’ and composer Michael Kooman,” Miller concluded. “They belong here.”
In a Facebook post on Monday, the band wrote that it left the Kennedy Center “imbued with energy, purpose, and righteousness.”
“Reflecting on the weekend and feeling so grateful for our fans,” the band wrote. “Many of you were hesitant to enter the charged atmosphere at the Kennedy Center but trusted us to navigate these shows with purpose and showed up as your fullest most spirited selves.”
“I think all of us, and it’s like 5000 of us over the weekend, left that venue feeling the power of music to heal and refresh,” the post continued. “And the power of community to overcome. (snip unembeddable Facebook post)
The self-anointed chairman of the Kennedy Center fancies himself a producer Read on Substack
One of his favorite musicals is Fiddler on the Roof and “when he was a young man Mr. Trump had dreams of one day becoming a Broadway producer himself. Now, he said, the Kennedy Center’s focus would be on producing ‘Broadway hits.’”
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