A wee thread about a young boy and the tweet that got away. Feel free to RT.

Three weeks ago my youngest, Gabriel 12, came home upset. His love of woodwork was not deemed cool, nor was only having 6 followers on his instagram. 1/15

His Dad was upset too. It's hard watching your children battling with life. But what to do? Mum wasn't around, so Dad, the impulsive fool that he is, instead reached out to the lovely people on twitter. Maybe he could persuade some of them to follow his son? 2/15

He was aiming for 60, the magic number in teen world when your instagram page is apparently no longer deemed an embarrassment.

So he posted the tweet and got on with cooking tea. 3/15

But then something very odd happened...

Followers started appearing, slowly at first, but then their 100's, and finally, as Dad and son looked on in astonishment, in their 1000's.

By the time Gabriel went to bed he had over 6000 new followers! 4/15

When he woke up the next morning he had over 33,000 and still it kept going. By the end of the weekend he had over 225,000 and was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of kindness and support. 5/15

Not only that, he had over 20,000 orders for bowls and chopping boards, which, he calculated, would take him 32yrs to fulfil. And now the press were knocking at the door.

It was a lot to take in for a wee lad of 12yrs. 6/15 Image

But Gabriel was certain of one thing - he wanted to share the kindness. So instead of carving 20,000 bowls, he would carve just one special one - his #BowlForUkraine 7/15

We set up a Just Giving page 10 days ago for Save the Children's Ukraine Appeal, with Gabriel setting a target of £5000. The fundraiser would stay live until Easter when one donor would be chosen at random to win his bowl. 8/15

Within 24hrs of going live you wonderful, kind-hearted people once again blew our goal out of the water, donating over £50,000!!!

The press got even more excited so Gabriel gave up a chunk of his holiday to run around doing interviews in the hope of raising even more. 9/15

And so here we are. Together we have now raised over £83,000, with donations coming in from all over the world, and, with just 48hrs remaining, our little story is coming to a close. 10/15

But how it ends is up to you. It's your story. Certainly we could all pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. Save the Children are already enormously grateful for the very real difference this money will make.

But what if there was another ending? 11/15

What if we threw caution to the wind and let go of our cynicism and really went for it? What if we blew this silly tale of a small boy and his bowl out of the water with a last swing shot around the moon? 12/15

We're all so tired of covid and war and division. What if we came together in one big, generous, soppy, silly last hurrah and we RT'd the shit out of this and all chipped in to give Save the Children £100,000?

Isn't that the ending we should go for? 13/15

So it's up to you lovely people as to whether lightning strikes a 3rd time. Either way a heartfelt thanks. You have already changed so many lives. 🙏 14/15

And if you do want to follow a little lad making bowls, and other things from wood, feel free to follow on instagram: clarkie_woodwork

Happy Easter to you all!🐣🙏❤️ 15/15

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1514981921411026949.html

A receipt written by the French artist Yves Klein auctioned by Sotheby’s in Paris has been hailed as a precursor to NFTs

How much would you pay for nothing?

For one private European art collector, it is $1.2m. That’s the amount paid at a recent Sotheby’s auction in Paris for a receipt written by the French artist Yves Klein to prove the ownership of one of his “invisible art” pieces – now being billed by collectors as a precursor to NFTs.

Klein, a key figure in the French new realism movement founded in the 1960s, was a pioneer in performance art. In 1958, he launched The Void, an exhibition in which he placed a cabinet in an empty room. It was a success, with thousands of visitors showing up to the mostly vacant Parisian gallery.

Soon after, Klein decided to offer collectors the opportunity to buy invisible “zones” in exchange for gold bullion. Each purchase of one of Klein’s Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility came with a receipt, which he urged buyers to burn.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/apr/14/receipt-for-invisible-art-auction-yves-klein

Le Pen is always so proud of her photos/proximity to Putin!
Yet NOW, as protesters display THOSE VERY SAME PHOTOS (reminding her of her pro-Putin stance) they are violently exfiltrated from her press conference—in apparent “Russian /Le Pen style” democracy!

Over the years, @BarackObama and I have been lucky enough to show our girls some of the magic of our world’s natural wonders.

This time, Barack wants you to join in on the fun with his new @HGMedia show, Our Great National Parks, which is streaming now on Netflix.

Barack Obama Narrates A Gorgeous New Netflix Series: ‘Our Great National Parks’

Get set to get inspired by Netflix’s breathtakingly beautiful new five-part series, Our Great National Parks, premiering April 13th. This stellar documentary is narrated and executive produced by Barack Obama, who has protected more public lands and water than any other U.S. president. If you’ve been longing to savor travel sights and sounds in exceptional wild yonder (particularly after two years of pandemic lockdown), then view this inviting unveiling of ravishingly varied landscapes, seascapes, and surprising animal escapades. Its cinematography wows with grand sweeps of secluded terrain and astonishingly intimate close-ups of colorful creatures. “A fish that can walk. Surfing hippos that want to catch the waves. Species found nowhere else on earth,” says Obama in his soothingly optimistic voice. “Join me in the celebration of our planet’s greatest national parks and wildernesses.... A journey through the natural wonders of our shared birthright."

Ambitiously conceived and elegantly edited, this project arced its production schedule over more than three years, from initial brainstorms to final cuts, while also navigating COVID-19 concerns and precautions. Imagine the complicated planning that spanned 33 expeditions in ten countries across five continents, spearheaded by executive producer James Honeyborne (of Emmy Award- and BAFTA-winning Blue Planet II), executive producer Tonia Davis and series producer Sophie Todd. “We set out to capture dramatic natural spectacles, reveal new behavior and experience our national parks as we never have before,” explains Todd. “And to show that, even if you’ve never set foot in one, what happens in them affects each and every one of us. We wanted to showcase the incredible habitats that exist globally. It’s one human idea we can all agree is a good thing!”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauramanske/2022/04/07/barack-obama-narrates-a-gorgeous-new-netflix-series-our-great-national-parks/

BREAKING: Russia imposes sanctions on 398 members of the US House of Representatives

The official Russian Foreign Ministry statement here. It is a direct response to US sanctions on Russian State Duma members after they recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics