Today is the Seventeenth of February. Happy Quirinalia! In ancient Rome, a celebration of Quirinus, the deified form of Romulus, one of the founders of Rome. The name derives from co-viri, meaning “men together.” We don't know how they celebrated it, no records survive, but hey, they were Romans; use your imagination. Go ahead, get carried away. They did.
In 1598, Boris Godunov was chosen to be Tsar, following the death of Ivan Grozny’s invalid son Fyodor. He would ascend to the position a few days hence. Is that a verb tense problem?
In 1600, Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for having the gall to suggest, among other things, that God might have also created life on other planets.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Rings and roses
In 1923, Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun.
In 1943, students belonging to the White Rose Society posted a sign in Munich reading “Out with Hitler! Long Live Freedom!” (They were caught two days later in the midst of another subversive act, and beheaded on the 22nd).
So... I was digging around this morning, looking up some Pope Gregory or other, because I had it in my notes that today was the anniversary of his commandment that his people say "God bless you," after a sneeze, to protect themselves and each other from the oncoming Black Plague.
Not so. We've apparently been blessing each other after sneezing, for longer than that.
But I found something more interesting as I read along. Apparently, everyone's favorite Plague-inspired nursery-rhyme, "Ring Around The Rosey," is not so, either. The Wikipedia entry I've linked to there is fascinating. Amaze your friends! Bore your co-workers!
In the news:
International law was undermined? Hell, if you ask me, the very Rule Of Law was raped, beaten, and left for dead like a -well, like nothing I can say politely. Many authorities believe that crimes were committed on a global scale by governments and private operators alike. It's time for investigation and prosecution.
In fact, we know crimes were committed, because they broadcast them on the news, bragged about them in press conferences, blabbed about them in OpEd columns and from the podiums in our halls of Congress.
In 1943, students belonging to the White Rose Society posted a sign in Munich reading “Out with Hitler! Long Live Freedom!” (They were caught two days later in the midst of another subversive act, and beheaded on the 22nd).
So... I was digging around this morning, looking up some Pope Gregory or other, because I had it in my notes that today was the anniversary of his commandment that his people say "God bless you," after a sneeze, to protect themselves and each other from the oncoming Black Plague.
Not so. We've apparently been blessing each other after sneezing, for longer than that.
But I found something more interesting as I read along. Apparently, everyone's favorite Plague-inspired nursery-rhyme, "Ring Around The Rosey," is not so, either. The Wikipedia entry I've linked to there is fascinating. Amaze your friends! Bore your co-workers!
In the news:
International law was undermined? Hell, if you ask me, the very Rule Of Law was raped, beaten, and left for dead like a -well, like nothing I can say politely. Many authorities believe that crimes were committed on a global scale by governments and private operators alike. It's time for investigation and prosecution.
In fact, we know crimes were committed, because they broadcast them on the news, bragged about them in press conferences, blabbed about them in OpEd columns and from the podiums in our halls of Congress.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The wheel turns
Last day of Lupercalia (ancient Rome).
In 1564, Galileo Galilei was born.
In 1571, Michael Praetorius was born.
In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established as a trading post where Pierre LaClede and his stepson Auguste Chouteau had notched a couple of trees to mark their landing on the bank of the Mississippi.
In 1898, the U.S.S. Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor, now widely believed to have been a false-flag operation intended to start a war with Spain.
In 1905, composer/songwriter Harold Arlen was born (“Paper Moon,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Stormy Weather,” among some 400 others).
In 1954, Matt Groening was born.
In 2002, over 300 corpses were found in buildings and woods on the property of Tri-State Crematory, in Georgia. Only four years later, Tri-State was implicated in the mis-handling of bodies recovered from Hurricane Katrina by Service Corporation International. The lawsuit accused SCI-owned funeral homes of sending bodies to the unlicensed, unregulated crematorium. Ahh, gotta love that unregulated capitalism, eh?
In 1564, Galileo Galilei was born.
In 1571, Michael Praetorius was born.
In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established as a trading post where Pierre LaClede and his stepson Auguste Chouteau had notched a couple of trees to mark their landing on the bank of the Mississippi.
In 1898, the U.S.S. Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor, now widely believed to have been a false-flag operation intended to start a war with Spain.
In 1905, composer/songwriter Harold Arlen was born (“Paper Moon,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Stormy Weather,” among some 400 others).
In 1954, Matt Groening was born.
In 2002, over 300 corpses were found in buildings and woods on the property of Tri-State Crematory, in Georgia. Only four years later, Tri-State was implicated in the mis-handling of bodies recovered from Hurricane Katrina by Service Corporation International. The lawsuit accused SCI-owned funeral homes of sending bodies to the unlicensed, unregulated crematorium. Ahh, gotta love that unregulated capitalism, eh?
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