Hello!

Been a little while. Nice to see you again. Got a buncha fun stuff for ya today. Let’s get right into it.

Delights of the Day: 11.22.19

Today in History: Hack Attack

What you see above is what was seen by anyone watching the nightly news in Chicago on today’s date in 1987 – but this wasn’t part of any breaking report. For both viewers and producers of WGN-TV, the sudden interruption of their broadcast came as a total surprise. After a 15-second blackout, the man you see appeared wearing a Max Headroom mask, swaying and dancing slightly for half a minute – which is how long it took the engineers to switch their broadcast link back to the studio.

But that wasn’t the last Chicago would see of this TV hacker. Later that night, he reappeared during an episode of Doctor Who. This time, the 90-second transmission included a middle-finger-dildo, spanking-by-flyswatter, and a can of Pepsi.

To this day, the man behind the mask remains a mystery. Had he been caught in 1987, his maximum potential punishment would have been $10,000 in fines and a year in prison.

And now we’ll return to our regularly-scheduled programming.

Today’s Photo: The Fab Four Meet the Champ

Since I mentioned both the band and the sport of boxing in today’s audio component, this photo seems to fit the bill for today. On February 18th, 1964, The Beatles went to meet Cassius Clay at his training gym in Miami Beach, where the 22-year-old underdog was training for his fight against Sonny Liston. In a few weeks, he’d change his name to Muhammad Ali – but that day, he was just another guy sparring with the boys, trading insults instead of punches, according to Biography.com:

At one point, Ali reportedly told The Beatles, “You ain’t as dumb as you look!” Fired back Lennon, “No. But you are!” Following a brief awkward silence, the whole group erupted in laughter.

Song of the Day: “Rocky Raccoon,” The Beatles

I figure we should top it all off with a track from the very album that debuted 51 years ago today. This is a favorite of mine to listen to while traveling by motorcycle somewhere in the black mining hills of Dakota.

Ciao for Now

Thanks again for stopping by. Hope to catch you again soon.

Cheers,M

P.S. – The song heard in today’s audio component is “Alberto Balsalm” by Will Van Horn.

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