Trump stamps, we are detective and environmental cyberattacks + this day in history w/China’s rise in artificial intelligence and our song of the day by MC Ma’at on your #MorningMonarchy for April 15, 2025.
Notes/Links:
Jeff Bezos FACEPLANTS as he scrambles to find the door to his celeb-packed rocket; First video emerges from INSIDE the Blue Origin space ship… as Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry and Gayle King are seen in terror
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14607863/Blue-Origin-blasts-female-crew-headlined-Katy-Perry-Jeff-Bezoss-fianc-e.html
Katy Perry’s wacky views on aliens revealed – after all-girls space flight
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14606297/blue-origin-flight-live-katy-perry-gayle-king-lauren-sanchez-launch.html
Social media users SLAM Katy Perry and Blue Origin crew and dub launch a ‘joyride for the super-rich’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14607889/social-media-slam-blue-origin-katy-perry.html
El Salvador president refuses to order return of wrongly deported US man; Trump officials claim they’re not legally bound to bring Kilmar Abrego García back despite supreme court ruling
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/14/trump-doj-return-man-wrongly-deported-el-salvador
Harvard Says It Will Not Comply With Trump Administration’s Demands; Federal officials said Harvard must enact “merit-based reform” in hiring and admissions and report international students who broke rules, among other steps. Harvard called the demands unlawful.
https://archive.is/PTqaN
Update: US freezes $2 billion in federal funding for Harvard after it rejects Trump’s demands
https://archive.is/UFW7B
Fed Up With Switch 2 Scalpers, Nintendo Fans Are Fighting Back; Nintendo fans are mobilizing to report scalpers on sites like eBay.
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fed-up-with-switch-2-scalpers-nintendo-fans-are-fighting-back/1100-6530806/
USPS Seeks to Raise Stamp Price to 78 Cents to Achieve Financial Stability; A proposed 5-cent increase would mark a 56 percent rise in stamp prices since 2019, as USPS continues its push for long-term financial stability.
https://archive.is/1RiHC
Video: US Postal Service seeks to hike cost of a first-class stamp to 78 cents (Audio)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a52Owd0l4k
The Postal Service – “Nothing Better” (Audio)
‘Give Up’
Sub Pop – February 18, 2003
*The Postal Service – “Nothing Better” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiFLQklABUg // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_Up // Named for mailing DAT tapes back and forth, the sole release from Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard and DNTEL’s Jimmy Tamborello is a landmark in electronic pop – and Sub Pop’s best selling album, suck it ‘Bleach’.*
Video DownloadHelper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_DownloadHelper // https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/video-downloadhelper/lmjnegcaeklhafolokijcfjliaokphfk/reviews
HYBE & Korean Police Arrest Eight People on Suspicion of Targeting Artists With Deepfake Content; HYBE promises to “continue to monitor and take legal action to eradicate such serious crimes.”
https://archive.is/OdVN5
Microsoft killed Skype and trapped her money. She is fighting back.; It’s a question we face repeatedly: What do companies owe us when they shut down the products and services we use?
https://archive.is/Rp1eN
Powerful programming: BBC-controlled electric meters are coming to an end; Customers are being pushed to smart meters that have their own signal problems.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/04/powerful-programming-bbc-controlled-electric-meters-are-coming-to-an-end/
Video: How TV Detector Vans Know If You Have A TV In Your House (Audio)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCVps7N0YYE
Thompson Twins – “We Are Detective” (Audio)
‘Quick Step and Side Kick’
Arista – February 1983
*Thompson Twins – “We Are Detective” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2SMSoblH3Y // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_Detective // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_Step_%26_Side_Kick // “We Are Detective” is a 1983 song by the British pop band Thompson Twins. It was the third single from the band’s third studio album, ‘Quick Step & Side Kick’ (1983). In the United States and Canada, the album was titled simply as ‘Side Kicks,’ as “quick step” is not something positive over here.*
Television licensing in the United Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom
Oregon’s environmental agency shuts down network after cyberattack
https://therecord.media/oregon-department-environmental-quality-cyberattack
Video: Oregon DEQ’s vehicle inspection stations closed after cyberattack (Audio)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq2O7PbUzZY
Chemical Brothers – “Song To The Siren” (Inst. // Audio)
‘Exit Planet Dust’
Junior Boy’s Own/Freestyle Dust/Virgin – Jun. 26, 1995 (UK) // Astralwerks – Aug. 15, 1995 (US)
*Chemical Brothers – “Song To The Siren” (Inst. // Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_g4DHxMvu8 // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_Planet_Dust // The brother’s debut album title acknowledges the loss of their prior band name to the American originators while bringing a non-stop mix of big beats that would herald a new era. My roommate Greg turned me on to it!*
April 2015 – Page 2 – Media Monarchy
https://mediamonarchy.com/2015/04/page/2/
Flashback: Intuition – Delusion or Perception? Toward a Scientific Explanation of the Akashic Experience
https://mediamonarchy.com/intuition-delusion-or-perception-toward/
#MorningMonarchy: April 15, 2016 – The new concert-industrial complex is music biz payback for what you did them the previous decade
https://mediamonarchy.com/20160415morningmonarchy/
#MixlrMusic: April 15, 2016 ♬ Portishead & Negativland
https://mediamonarchy.com/20160415mixlrmusic/
#ThisDayInHistory/#MorningMonarchy: April 15, 2019 – China’s rise in artificial intelligence (Audio)
https://mediamonarchy.com/20190415morningmonarchy/
#PumpUpThaVolume: April 15, 2019 ♬ Amyl and The Sniffers & Black Keys
https://mediamonarchy.com/20190415pumpupthavolume/
#MorningMonarchy: April 15, 2021 – Gov. Lujan Grisham’s campaign reaches settlement in sexual misconduct allegation
https://mediamonarchy.com/20210415morningmonarchy/
#PumpUpThaVolume: April 15, 2021 ♬ Godspeed You! Black Emperor & Doris Wishman
https://mediamonarchy.com/20210415pumpupthavolume/
#NewWorldNextWeek: Fake Punks Get The Real Jab + Internet Bans & Cyber Warnings
https://mediamonarchy.com/nwnw443-video/ // https://mediamonarchy.com/nwnw443-audio/
#MorningMonarchy: April 15, 2022 – Gilbert Gottfried, iconic comedian and actor, dies at 67
https://mediamonarchy.com/20220415morningmonarchy/
#PumpUpThaVolume: April 15, 2022 ♬ Brian Jonestown Massacre & Belle and Sebastian
https://mediamonarchy.com/20220415pumpupthavolume/
#MorningMonarchy: April 15, 2024 – House votes to reauthorize FISA, a key national security law
https://mediamonarchy.com/20240415morningmonarchy/
#PumpUpThaVolume: April 15, 2024 ♬ AC/DC & Lana Del Rey
https://mediamonarchy.com/20240415pumpupthavolume/
MC Ma’at – “Pharma Sickness” (Audio)
‘The Insurrection’
MC Ma’at – September 26, 2020
*#PumpUpThaVolume/#TruthMusic: MC Ma’at – “Pharma Sickness” https://mcmaat.bandcamp.com/track/pharma-sickness // https://mcmaat.bandcamp.com/album/the-insurrection // A powerful protest against big pharma included on ‘The Insurrection,’ the 2020 album by Netherlands revolutionary hip-hop artist, MC Ma’at. Available now via the artist.*