1027 replies to this topic

[timeless]

http://encyclopedia......of Gettysburg

[timeless]

Today in 1961, Ernest Hemingway killed himself via shotgun in Ketchum, Idaho. He led an interesting life and had great impact on his profession, being a contemporary of Bob Howard.


He said:

"Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. ... [The writer] grows in public stature as he sheds his loneliness and often his work deteriorates. For he does his work alone and if he is a good enough writer he must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day."

[timeless]

Pickett's Charge failed, George Washington took control of the Continental Army, and Jim Morrison died.

Or did he...?

[Kane]

The Wikiepedia list of events for July 3.

[timeless]

Today is the birthday of Henry David Thoreau (1817) and also of Julius Caesar.

Caesar, in conquering Gaul, created the biggest and most experienced army of his time, all loyal to him more so than Rome. Rome was a republic then and his enemies in the Senate there passed legislation requiring him to surrender command of these soldiers and return to the city alone. He refused and instead returned at the head of his army, starting a civil war. He was actually outnumbered in most of the battles but he still won them. His big mistake was in giving quarter to the leaders he conquered; after he won the war and declared himself dictator for life, they conspired with his other enemies in the senate. And we all know what happened.

Rome was never again a republic.

[deuce]

Today is the birthday of Henry David Thoreau (1817) and also of Julius Caesar.

Caesar, in conquering Gaul, created the biggest and most experienced army of his time, all loyal to him more so than Rome. Rome was a republic then and his enemies in the Senate there passed legislation requiring him to surrender command of these soldiers and return to the city alone. He refused and instead returned at the head of his army, starting a civil war. He was actually outnumbered in most of the battles but he still won them. His big mistake was in giving quarter to the leaders he conquered; after he won the war and declared himself dictator for life, they conspired with his other enemies in the senate. And we all know what happened.

Rome was never again a republic.

Hey Timeless! It seems amazing now, but up until the 20's noone saw fit to "call a spade a spade" in regards to ol' Gaius. Basically, NOBODY had anything but praise/respect (though sometimes qualified) for JC up until (REH fave) Talbot Mundy had Tros of Samothrace published in Adventure magazine in the early 20's. Mundy portrayed Caesar as a proto-fascist with an almost demoniacal intelligence and ambition. This stirred up a $h!t-storm in the magazine's letter-column the likes of which had never been seen before or since. Honestly, this was the first time that a well-known writer in OR out of the pulps had the temerity to paint JC as anything but a "Great Man". Though Howard was no fan of Rome before "Tros" was published, it certainly didn't dissuade him, IMO.

Caesar did the Republic no real favors in the end. BTW, Rome was still called a "republic" by its citizens right up until things came crashing down in the 400's. A lot of "mass self-deception" going on there. Of course, the Senate DID still meet, but all real power lay in the hands of the Imperator and the military officials.

[timeless]

Heya, Deuce!

Marcus Aurelius's intent was to return Rome to republic status. Obviously, the 'philosopher-emperor' failed.

J.C. was a tough ol' buzzard, apparently. I like the story about him being taken captive by pirates and promising them if they let him go, when he returned to confront them he would in exchange offer them a quick death instead of a tortured one.

[deuce]

Heya, Deuce!

Marcus Aurelius's intent was to return Rome to republic status. Obviously, the 'philosopher-emperor' failed.

J.C. was a tough ol' buzzard, apparently. I like the story about him being taken captive by pirates and promising them if they let him go, when he returned to confront them he would in exchange offer them a quick death instead of a tortured one.

Marcus was a stand-up guy (Cato, too). GJC? Tough. Smart. Ambitious. A good writer/propagandist. No principles. Did he do the world much good, IMO? Not really. Didn't REH describe him as a "degenerate demi-god" (or something like that)? I'll take Scipio "Scippy" Africanus, who was just as good a general and a better man/statesman.

My two sesterces.

[amster]

I've heard that Caesar was cut from his mothers womb, the first "Caesarian section", if you will. I guess I owe his mother's physician a debt of gratitute, because I came into this world the same way. I'd probably be dead otherwise.

Also on this day, Alexander Hamilton died (shot by Aaron Burr on the 11th), and the Rolling Stones performed their first concert.

[deuce]

I've heard that Caesar was cut from his mothers womb, the first "Caesarian section", if you will. I guess I owe his mother's physician a debt of gratitute, because I came into this world the same way. I'd probably be dead otherwise.

Also on this day, Alexander Hamilton died (shot by Aaron Burr on the 11th), and the Rolling Stones performed their first concert.

You don't owe ol' GJC a thing, Amsterdamaged. A bit of an "official old wives' tale" there.
Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia....esarean_section

BTW, ol' Hamilton was handy with a sword. Have any of y'all seen him carving up Hessians like a Christmas goose in The Crossing?

[timeless]

That Hamilton-Burr duel was just a kick-a55 event in American history. Very dramatic.

I covered an Atlanta city council meeting one time in which a council member proposed a bill that would allow (no sh1t!) attorneys representing their clients to duel in their clients behalf to settle issues that were deadlocked. Haha! Imagine, at worst we would have one less lawyer in the world. And at best, if the dueling pistols fired at the same time and both found their mark, we would have TWO less lawyers. I was all for it.

It didn't pass, unfortunately.

[amster]

That Hamilton-Burr duel was just a kick-a55 event in American history. Very dramatic.

I covered an Atlanta city council meeting one time in which a council member proposed a bill that would allow (no sh1t!) attorneys representing their clients to duel in their clients behalf to settle issues that were deadlocked. Haha! Imagine, at worst we would have one less lawyer in the world. And at best, if the dueling pistols fired at the same time and both found their mark, we would have TWO less lawyers. I was all for it.

It didn't pass, unfortunately.

Was that the "Zell Miller" bill???

[timeless]

Ol' Zell was an a55kicker of the Old School! I used to deal with his campaign manager all the time. Zell was half nuts, but in a good way.

[PainBrush]

Alexander Hamilton died (shot by Aaron Burr on the 11th)

Very unfortunate , I thought Burr was great in the old Perry Mason & Ironsides reruns..............

[Axerules]

Hey Timeless! It seems amazing now, but up until the 20's noone saw fit to "call a spade a spade" in regards to ol' Gaius. Basically, NOBODY had anything but praise/respect (though sometimes qualified) for JC up until (REH fave) Talbot Mundy had Tros of Samothrace published in Adventure magazine in the early 20's.

Hey Deuce, when you say "nobody", I assume you're only talking for the USA.
The French Third Republic (1870-1940) made of Vercingetorix a symbol of resistance against foreign invasions, school books (Like le Lavisse) and propaganda books (G. Bruno's Le Tour de France par deux enfants, 1877, who talked of JC as "the insensible and ambitious Roman invader") condemned him harshly. The Roman conquerors were compared to the Germans, after the defeat of 1870. Vercingetorix became a symbol of the spirit and courage of the French nation, opposed to the figure of the "cruel" and "ambitious" Caesar.

Edited by Axerules, 13 July 2008 - 12:46 PM.

[deuce]

Hey Timeless! It seems amazing now, but up until the 20's noone saw fit to "call a spade a spade" in regards to ol' Gaius. Basically, NOBODY had anything but praise/respect (though sometimes qualified) for JC up until (REH fave) Talbot Mundy had Tros of Samothrace published in Adventure magazine in the early 20's.

Hey Deuce, when you say "nobody", I assume you're only talking for the USA.
The French Third Republic (1870-1940) made of Vercingetorix a symbol of resistance against foreign invasions, school books (Like le Lavisse) and propaganda books (G. Bruno's Le Tour de France par deux enfants, 1877, who talked of JC as "the insensible and ambitious Roman invader") condemned him harshly. The Roman conquerors were compared to the Germans, after the defeat of 1870. Vercingetorix became a symbol of the spirit and courage of the French nation, opposed to the figure of the "cruel" and "ambitious" Caesar.

You're quite right, Axe. I should have qualified that statement with "in the English-speaking world". The same situation prevailed in the British Isles. Mundy was actually British.

[John Maddox Roberts]

Caesar owes most of his reputation in the english-speaking world to Shakespeare's play, and Marcus Aurelius wanted to restore the Republic only in the movies. The fact was, and everyone knew it, that the Senate was far too corrupt and self-interested to govern competently long before Octavian (later Augustus) brought it to heel and instituted the monarchical executive, a perpetual Dictatorship in all but name.

[timeless]

July 16:



In 1945, first atomic bomb exploded near Alamagordo, N.M. J. Robert Oppenheimer quoted from the Gita: 'We are become destroyers of worlds."


In 1918, the Bolsheviks executed Russia's Czar Nicholas II, his wife and children.


In 1969, Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon, was launched from Cape Kennedy.

[Taranaich]

Also for July 16th:

622: The first day of the Islamic calendar. Happy New Year!

1054: an invalid Papal Bull of Excommunication starts the events which would lead to the East-West Schism.

1683: the Battle of Penghu.

1935: A new age of tyranny begins, as the world's first parking metre was installed in Oklahoma City!

Even more here!

[timeless]

An enduring mystery, what happened to Anastasia...