So, Old Stuff Day. Right off the bat, there are folks who collect classics, antiques, collectibles and all like that,some of which is of value strictly for its antiquity, and some of which also has intrinsic value, like that Jag above. That's still a serviceable vehicle, despite its notorious issues, most of which can be fixed by tearing out the electrical components and replacing them with ABL (anything but Lucas). A lot of old stuff is, in fact, perfectly serviceable provided it was acquired for utilitarian purposes and not status or fashion. Hammers just don't wear out through normal use, nor a lot of other products of adequate original quality. Beyond that, a lot of stuff that breaks can be epaired and sometimes old stuff no longer suited for its original purpose can be repurposed for other uses with but a little adaptive modification. I know because I've got lots of old stuff that has undergone repairs and some which has been repurposed for other uses that what is was bought or built for.

The idea of Old Stuff Day started me thinking about the old stuff I have, some of which was already old when I acquired it, and ergo far less expensive than equivalent brand new stuff. My references above to repaired and repurposed stuff led me to think of the old "Green" mantra of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" and how it should more properly be "Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Repurpose, and Recycle. That, of course, is Un-American and Anti-Capitalist. You're not supposed to wait until something breaks or wears out to trash it, you should throw stuff away merely because it is old, or even, arguably, slightly aged. The word "outdated" comes to mind, basically an anti-aging propaganda term which reeks of the worlds of fashion and advertising.

Thus I drift into consideration of the conservation of resources and energy. We, locally, have a StopWaste site, run by StopWaste dot org and it seems to me that one way to do that it is continue to use old stuff for so long as it is adequate for the tasks at hand. Sadly, our economy, to a significant extent, is based on the opposite behavior. We are endlessly told we should be running out and getting the very latest and newest, regardless of the age, utility or condition of what we have on hand. This is nowhere more true than the world of fashion which, objectively, is pure unadulterated waste, thouosands of persons spending vast amounts of time and energy to come up with stuff that has no real intrinsic utility not possessed by the stuff it is intended to replace, manufacture, distribute, market and sell it. What? You're wearing last seasons shoes? Shame! The answer, IMHO, is to be intentionally perpetually out of fashion. OF course, that is something I've been doing all my life without really consciously intending to do so, so it is easy for me to recommend. Clothing appropriate to the environment and season is, of course, a necessity, but the fashion industry is pure unadulterated waste

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On this day in history:

1484 – The College of Arms was formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England. Getcher program here, can't tell the players without a program

1498 – Vasco da Gama's fleet visited the Island of Mozambique.

1657 – The Great Fire of Meireki began in Edo , Japan, causing more than 100,000 deaths

1791 – Claude Chappe demonstrated the first semaphore line near Paris.

1807 – The U.S. Congress passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.

1836 – The Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico was adopted.

1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, once thought to be the largest such auction in United States history, began

1865 – The Völkner Incident in New Zealand's East Cape War:

1867 – The U.S. Congress passed the first Reconstruction Act.

1877 – The U.S. Congress declared Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 U.S. presidential election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote, which really isn't worth much at all

1901 – United States Steel Corporation was founded as a result of a merger between Carnegie Steel Company and Federal Steel Company and became the first corporation in the world with a market capital over $1 billion. Always remember, their business isn't making steel, it is making money

1901 – The U.S. Congress passed the Platt Amendment limiting the autonomy of Cuba, as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.

1903 – The Martha Washington Hotel opened in New York City becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.

1917 – The enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act granted Puerto Ricans US citizenship.

1919 – The first Communist International met in Moscow.

1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signed a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel

1943 – During the Battle of the Bismarck Sea Allied aircraft defeated a Japanese attempt to ship troops to New Guinea.

1949 – Captain James Gallagher landed his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.

1962 – The Birmese army led by General Ne Win seized power in Burma in a coup d'état

1965 – The US and Republic of Vietnam Air Forces begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained 44 month bombing campaign against North Vietnam that failed to achieve anything beyond killing a lot of Vietnamese people.

1969 – In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde was conducted.

1970 – Rhodesia declared itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.

1972 – The Pioneer 10 space probe was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets. It became the first man-made object to achieve the escape velocity necessary to leave the solar system

1977 – Libya became the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as the General People's Congress adopted the "Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People". This, of course, could not be allowed to stand but it did hold out until October 2011

1983 – Compact discs and players were released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.

1989 – Twelve European Community nations agreed to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.

1990 – Nelson Mandela was elected deputy president of the African National Congress.

1991 – Establishment of Kuwait Democratic Forum, center-left political organization in Kuwait. As of this date it seems to be merely aspirational and, hence, harmless to the rulers of Kuwait

1992 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan joined the United Nations.

1995 – Researchers at Fermilab announced the discovery of the top quark.

1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicated that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.

2012 – A tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States and into the Ohio Valley region, resulting in 40 tornado-related fatalities.

2014 – The Oscar Selfie, regarded as one of the most influential and important images of all time, was taken at the 86th Academy Awards. *

2017 – The elements Moscovium, Tennessine, and Oganesson are officially added to the periodic table at a conference in Moscow, Russia.

* If this statement is even remotely close to true it is blindingly sad commentary on modern society

Some people who were born on this day:

A cult is a religion with no political power.

~~ Tom Wolfe

1453 – Johannes Engel, doctor, astronomer and astrologer
1545 – Thomas Bodley, diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library
1577 – George Sandys, traveller, colonist, author, translator and poet
1760 – Camille Desmoulins, journalist, revolutionary, and politician
1769 – DeWitt Clinton, lawyer and politician, had a big role in creation of Erie Canal
1824 – Bedřich Smetana, pianist and composer
1859 – Sholem Aleichem, author and playwright
1860 – Susanna M. Salter, activist and politician, first woman Mayor in the US
1866 – Margaret Sibella Brown, bryologist
1886 – Kurt Grelling, German logician and philosopher
1900 – Kurt Weill, pianist and composer
1901 – Grete Hermann, mathematician and philosopher
1902 – Moe Berg, baseball player and spy
1902 – Edward Condon, physicist and academic
1904 – Dr. Seuss, children's book writer, poet, and illustrator
1905 – Marc Blitzstein, composer and songwriter (died 1964)
1905 – Geoffrey Grigson, poet and critic
1908 – Walter Bruch, engineer, invented closed circuit TV

1912 – Henry Katzman, pianist, composer, and painter helped found BMI
1917 – Desi Arnaz, actor, singer, and producer
1919 – Eddie Lawrence, actor, singer, and playwright
1921 – Ernst Haas, photographer and journalist
1922 – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, saxophonist
1922 – Frances Spence, computer programmer
1930 – Tom Wolfe, journalist and author
1934 – Dottie Rambo, singer and songwriter
1938 – Lawrence Payton, singer, songwriter, and producer
1942 – John Irving, novelist and screenwriter
1942 – Lou Reed, singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1943 – Robert Williams, painter and cartoonist
1944 – Leif Segerstam, conductor and composer
1945 – Derek Watkins, trumpet player and composer
1947 – Nelson Ned, singer and songwriter
1948 – Larry Carlton, guitarist and songwriter
1948 – Rory Gallagher, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1950 – Karen Carpenter, singer
1955 – Dale Bozzio, pop-rock singer and songwriter
1955 – Jay Osmond, singer, drummer, actor, and TV/film producer
1956 – John Cowsill, musician, songwriter, and producer
1956 – Mark Evans, rock bass player
1957 – Mark Dean, inventor and computer engineer, invented ISA bus and more
1959 – Larry Stewart, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1961 – Simone Young, conductor, director, and composer
1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1963 – Alvin Youngblood Hart, singer and guitarist
1970 – Wibi Soerjadi, pianist and composer
1977 – Chris Martin, singer and songwriter
1983 – Deuce, singer, songwriter, and producer
1988 – James Arthur, singer and songwriter
1990 – Luke Combs, singer and songwriter

Some people who died on this day:

Pictures may serve as helps to religion but are only an appendix to idolatry, for the people must be taught to believe in false gods and in the power of saints before they will learn to worship their images.

~~ Horace Walpole

1729 – Francesco Bianchini, astronomer and philosopher
1755 – Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, memoirist and diplomat
1797 – Horace Walpole, English historian and politician
1829 – Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, revolutionary
1830 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, physician, anatomist, and anthropologist
1840 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, physician and astronomer
1895 – Berthe Morisot, painter and printmaker
1930 – D. H. Lawrence, novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
1938 – Ben Harney, pianist and composer
1939 – Howard Carter, archaeologist and historian
1944 – Ida Maclean, biochemist, the first woman admitted to the London Chemical Society
1945 – Emily Carr, painter and author
1949 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet and activist
1962 – Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, mathematician and academic
1982 – Philip K. Dick, philosopher and author
1991 – Serge Gainsbourg, singer, songwriter, actor, and director
1999 – Dusty Springfield, singer
2003 – Hank Ballard, singer and songwriter
2003 – Malcolm Williamson, pianist and composer
2005 – Martin Denny, pianist and composer
2008 – Jeff Healey, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
2019 – Mike Oliver, sociologist, disability rights activist

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

National Read Across America Day (United States)
National Banana Cream Pie Day
International Rescue Cat Day
Old Stuff Day

Today's Tunes

Old Stuff

The Incorporation of the College of Arms

De Witt Clinton

The First Communist International

Kurt Weill

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Marc Blitzstein

Henry Katzman

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

Lawrence Payton

Lou Reed

Nelson Ned

Larry Carlton

Rory Gallagher

Karen Carpenter

Jay Osmond

Jon Bon Jovi

lvin Youngblood Hart,

Serge Gainsbourg

Dusty Springfield,

Hank Ballard

Martin Denny

Jeff Healey

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. What's on your mind?

Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com

open thread, Old Stuff, Kurt Weill, Lou Reed, Nelson Ned, Rory Gallagher, Karen Carpenter, Dustry Springfield, Hank Ballard, Martin Denny, Jeff Healey