‘mr. rogers’ neighborhood’ aired for the very 1st time, 55 years ago
fred rogers was a unique person with an immense heart and an incredible understanding of life
he’s one of my personal idols/heroes and i’m happy to see his legacy and lessons continue.
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“we all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.”
-mr. rogers
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credit: fred rogers productions
‘ESPN to televise stone skipping competition from Mackinac Island. And I’m not kidding.’
– d.m.
—
“all sports for all people.”
*Pierre de Coubertin
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*Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (French) 1863 – 1937, (also known as Pierre de Coubertin and Baron de Coubertin) was a French educator and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and its second President.
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credits: dave millar, roger priebe, mackinac island dockporters association
Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA – Spring 2020
Rod Serling – working at home in Connecticut, 1956
anti-war and social justice activist, tv-writer, producer, narrator
and one of my idols.
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*In 1955, the miscarriage of justice in the Emmett Till case proved a galvanizing point in the Civil Rights Movement. Rod Serling, a 30-year-old rising star in a golden age of dramatic television, watched the events play out in the news. He believed firmly in the burgeoning medium’s power for social justice. “The writer’s role is to be a menacer of the public’s conscience,” Serling later said. “He must have a position, a point of view. He must see the arts as a vehicle of social criticism and he must focus the issues of his time.”
Soon after the trial concluded, Serling, riding off the success of his most well-received teleplay to date, felt compelled write a teleplay around the racism that led to Till’s murder. But the censorship that followed by advertisers and networks, fearful of blowback from white, Southern audiences, forced Serling to rethink his approach. His response, ultimately, was “The Twilight Zone,” the iconic sci-fi anthology series that spoke truth to the era’s social ills and tackled themes of prejudice, bigotry, nuclear fears, war, among so many others. At this point in history, the censors didn’t know what to make of this genre and he was free to deliver his message in a new way.
—
in honor of Rod Serling on national science fiction day,
who understood the power of the arts
as a way to communicate important messages.
—
“there are weapons that are simply thoughts.
for the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy.”
-rod serling
—
credits: Getty Images, *Smithsonian Magazine
david brinkley delivers the news – a job not for the faint of heart.
—
“the only way to do news on television is not to be terrified of it.”
-david brinkley
—
photo credit: abc news, 1987
definition: Merriam Webster –
faint of heart
i wish this option was available.
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after noticing that my bill had made a huge monthly rate leap
it was time for yet another wacky interaction with my cable provider
the rep was very friendly as he told me
that my old rate was purely promotional
it had expired without notice
and was no longer available
i then told him that in that case
i’d like to cut back on my service
to restore it to a more reasonable (yet still crazy) rate
he offered to get right to work for me
to find a happy solution to my problem
after thanking me often
during my 37 minutes of insane hold music
my rep came up with my new rate
i laughed out loud when he quoted me a price
that was actually higher than the one
i was calling about when we began
he quickly and politely explained
that he had provided me with their premier package
adding in home security, a landline, voice controls,
and i think something to do with walking my cat
(none of which i requested)
he also told me that he had used
their new state of the art billing service
(why it took so long)
which is very finely tuned
to review my bill and only charge me
based on the channels and services i use
offering me the best possible deal available
i reminded him that i had actually called
to eliminate channels and extra services
and to pay less not more
he politely went back to work on my issue
after a lot more hold music
i eliminated my useless channels and services
declining the best deal in the universe
even after he warned me i would be giving up things such as:
the rodeo clown channel, the quilting channel, and the watching paint dry live channel
i held my ground
and finally
in a twist of fate and luck and cable math
i somehow ended up back at
the special no longer available promotional rate
that i had requested to return to when we started .
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“the real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.”
-b. f. skinner
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image credit: gadgetpage.info
mister rogers will get his own stamp in 2018
in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, fred rogers’s groundbreaking PBS series that the USPS says “inspired and educated young viewers with warmth, sensitivity, and honesty,” the mail service shared a mockup of what the final stamp may look like. on it, rogers—decked out in one of his trademark colorful cardigans (all of which were hand-knitted by his mom, smiles for the camera alongside king friday XIII, ruler of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
though no official release date for fred’s forever stamp has been given, mister rogers is just one of many legendary figures who will grace a piece of postage in 2018.
singer/activist Lena Horne will be the 41st figure to appear as part of the USPS’s Black Heritage series, while former Beatle John Lennon will be the face of the newest Music Icons collection. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, will also be honored.
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“every man bears the whole stamp of the human condition.”
-michel de montaigne
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credits: usps, mental floss, jennifer wood
shhhhh….
epa (environmental protection agency) administrator scott pruit, is spending nearly $25,000 to construct a secure, soundproof communications booth for his office, according to government contracting records. he signed a $24,570 contract earlier this summer with acoustical solutions, a eichmond-based company, for a “privacy booth for the administrator.” he sought a customized version — one that eventually would cost several times more than a typical model — that he can use to communicate privately.
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when i read this i could not help but be reminded of
* ‘the cone of silence’ from the 1960’s spy comedy, ‘get smart,’
one of my all-time favorite shows.
except that this time it’s real.
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*The Cone of Silence is one of many recurring joke devices from Get Smart, an American comedy television series of the 1960s about an inept spy. The essence of the joke is that the apparatus, designed for secret conversations, makes it impossible for those inside the device – and easy for those outside the device – to hear the conversation. The end result being neither secret nor communication.
In popular culture, “cone of silence” is a slang phrase meaning that the speaker wishes to keep the indicated information secret and that the conversation should not be repeated to anyone not currently present. For example: “We aren’t inviting Cindy and her boyfriend to the movies because they embarrass us, but keep that in the cone of silence.”
“to silence criticism is to silence freedom.”
-sidney hook
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credits: nbc television, cbs television, wikipedia, @alt national park service
i will never forget that day in the 70s
my brother was going to windsor
to sit in the studio audience
of the bozo the clown show
watching it filmed live
the whole neighborhood
had a vested interest in his visit
besides it being so cool to see him on tv
we assumed and expected that
he would be chosen from the audience
for a chance to toss the beanbags into the buckets
and win the bozo grand prize game
this was going to be the best day ever
we knew he was going to win the jungle gym
and our backyard would be
the new official headquarters of endless fun
we ran home from the bus after school
and gathered around the tv
in our family room
to watch it all play out
we could hardly contain ourselves
it began just as we planned
he was chosen for the big game
then
he lost on the final toss
that never made it into the bucket
bozo gave a quick chuckle
a wink, a pat on the back
he had won the second prize
a 6-pack of orange crush
the family room went silent for a minute
as we realized that
our yard would not be undergoing any major change
and we’d have to find a way to share the pop.
(post below found on a bozo fan club site):
Posted on Monday, November 20, 2006 – 8:32 pm:
‘I went to see Bozo around 1972-73 also. One of the things that stands out was taking the tunnel to Canada. I also recall getting there late and having to be separated from my two cousins in the seating area. I was wedged in near the top and had to deal with some Girl Scouts kicking me in the back throughout the show. To this day when a Girl Scout asks me if I want to buy some cookies I tell them to go to hell. I don’t forget easy.’
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“i’m in competition with myself and i’m losing. “
-roger waters
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credits: cklw-tv, womc radio-motor city moments,
mayo playground – archives, pre-1920s, pinterest
kind of funny
that the weather channel on tv
that was supposed to warn me
about incoming dangerous storms
wasn’t working right
because of the incoming dangerous storms.
every so often
a word like ‘severe’ would pop up
and disappear back into the screen
hope it wasn’t saying,
‘turn this off and take cover immediately!’
or
‘if you can see this, you are in harm’s way!’
at least i lived to tell the tale
and that is still working for me.
—
“weather forecast for tonight: dark.”
-george carlin
i have never talked back to my television so much in my life as i have recently.
i wish it was mr. rogers who i was watching and talking back to.
—
“conversation is like a television set on honeymoon… unnecessary.”
-peter sellers
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image credits: google images, mr. rogers television
I didn't have my glasses on.... 