de bene esse: December 2013

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1600 > Charter is granted to the East India Company. 1775 > Patriots are defeated at Quebec. 1879 > Edison demonstrates incandescent light. 1880 > American general and diplomat George C. Marshall is born. 1927 > Henry Ford publishes the last issue of the Dearborn Independent. 1944 > Hungary declares war on Germany. 1961 > Kennedy and Khrushchev exchange holiday greetings. 1985 > Rick Nelson dies in a plane crash. 1999 > Panama Canal is turned over to Panama. More from this day: http://histv.co/19Ir8tw

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 31

history.com

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1600 > Charter is granted to the East India Company. 1775 > Patriots are defeated at Quebec. 1879 > Edison demonstrates incandescent light.

Scotland and England...

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http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/30/the-origins-of-the-wars-of-independence-in-scotland-1290-1296/

The Origins of the Wars of Independence in Scotland, 1290-1296 - Medievalists.net

medievalists.net

Very late on the 19th March 1286, in the teeth of a howling gale on a dark and stormy night, Scotland's history was changed forever with the death of King

To Party at a Slave Plantation

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Here's why everyone is mad at Ani DiFranco right now

motherjones.com

The social-justice songstress has canceled the event—but the mess is of her own making.

ancient obelisk's true purpose revealed

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

another fascinating history story: an ancient obelisk's true purpose has finally been revealed.

3D Shines Light on Ancient Obelisk's True Purpose

newser.com

Researchers using 3D modeling and data from NASA think they've discovered the true purpose of the Obelisk of Montecitorio—upending a theory that has stood for decades. The 71-foot-tall ancient... Science News Summaries. | Newser

It's very frustrating

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Downton Abbey

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Downton Abbey is a perfect example of a show's complete and total quality collapse: http://slate.me/1cinbbh

What do Ireland’s county names mean?

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Translations of the Irish names

irishcentral.com

Ever wonder what the Irish language county names we see on football jerseys and road signs actually mean?

Fiercest One-Liners in History

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5 of the Fiercest One-Liners in History

mentalfloss.com

Lost Images Come To Life A Century After Antarctic Expedition

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

These lost images have resurfaced a century after they were taken.

Lost Images Come To Life A Century After Antarctic Expedition

npr.org

Conservators have processed a clump of 22 negatives from Ernest Shackleton's 1914-1917 expedition.

Found on the Internet Today

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13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. LIV)

☞ http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/12/30/13-things-i-found-on-the-internet-today-vol-liv/

Monday, December 30, 2013

16th Century Mobile Device

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What A Hot Mobile Device from the 16th Century Tells Us About 2014

theatlantic.com

A girdle book (British Library). This miniature book was meant to be worn like a holstered…

Savings Bond Book 1948

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The mark of an earlier era: seven-year-old Billy Mott licks postal stamps in to his Savings Bond book, 1948. http://ti.me/KheV4Y

(Photo: Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Debate on the Merits of Landmarking

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It was another great year for the real estate industry and preservationists sniping at each other: http://curbed.cc/19wXY2v

Debate on the Merits of Landmarking Rages On

ny.curbed.com

The Landmarks Preservation Commission had an active 2013, designating numerous individual landmarks as well as three new historic districts—the Bedford-Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, the West End-Collegiate Historic District...

Many Americans Still Don't Believe Evolution

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

White evangelical Protestants were most likely to not believe in evolution, with two-thirds saying humans have existed in their current form since the beginning of time.

Surprising Number Of Americans Still Don't Believe In Evolution

www.huffingtonpost.com

One in three Americans doesn't believe in evolution, according to new survey results from the Pew Research Center. The results, released Monday in report on vie...

Portuguese and (Medieval) French

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http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/30/losing-the-null-subject-a-contrastive-study-of-brazilian-portuguese-and-medieval-french/

Losing the null subject : a contrastive study of (Brazilian) Portuguese and (Medieval) French -...

medievalists.net

This paper deals with the development and the use of subject pronouns in Portuguese and discusses the question of whether or not Brazilian Portuguese

Expensive Typos in History

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10 of the Most Expensive Typos in History

mentalfloss.com

An ode to proofreaders.

Found on the Internet Today

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13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. LIV)

messynessychic.com

1. The Mystery of the 1960s Underground Home buried in Queens, NY Held at the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, NY, the 1964-65 World’s Fair had an exhibit called “Underground World Home”

The Stereoscope

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

This stereoscope may have been used for something other than entertainment purposes. Click to find out more.

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/109571-stereo-viewer-eye-doctor-tool

"Nazi" hand gesture

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San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker is under fire for his alleged use of a "Nazi" hand gesture.

Spurs’ Parker under fire for ‘Nazi’ gesture

nyp.st

https://twitter.com/Lana93390/statuses/417021588513382401 San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker is embroiled in controversy following his alleged use of what a Jewish human rights group believed was an anti-Semitic

The Quenelle

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The "quenelle" is a reverse Nazi salute gaining momentum in European soccer‬. On Saturday, French star Nicolas Anelka celebrated a goal with the troubling viral gesture:

http://po.st/VYApWV

In Vanity Fair

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... see rare photographs of Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra, and more from Hollywood’s golden age: http://vnty.fr/1lu0dn2

See stunning, rare photographs of Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra, and more from Hollywood’s golden age: http://vnty.fr/1lu0dn2

Archaeological news from Poland...

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http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/30/church-burial-mounds-among-medieval-archaeological-finds-in-poland/

Church and burial mounds among medieval archaeological finds in Poland - Medievalists.net

medievalists.net

The remains of a 13th-century church and burial mounds dating back to the ninth-century are among the archaeological finds announced this month by

Medieval Cone Shaped Princess Hats Were Inspired by Mongol Warrior Women

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the hats that adorned the heads of pale-skinned ladies were modeled after the hats of Mongol warrior queens.

Medieval Cone Shaped Princess Hats Were Inspired by Mongol Warrior Women

blogs.smithsonianmag.com

What we think of as the headgear of white Europeans actually began as the headdress of Mongolian queens

Al Capone

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone, son of

Gabriele and Teresa, who had nine children, became an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. He was forced out of Brooklyn by the White Hand Gang: was born in Brooklyn in 1899 and lived with his family on Navy Street where the notorious Italian Camorra gang was headquartered within the Irish community’s neighborhoods. He later moved to Park Slope and still a youngster, joined the Italian Five Points Juniors Gang.

As a teenager, he started working for Frankie Yale, getting his infamous nickname

"Scarface Al" by being slashed across the face by a gangster in Yale's Coney Island restaurant. Capone soon became the Italian crime world's hottest up-and-comer. According to multiple sources, Capone had caught the eye of the Irish White Hand Gang and made it onto their hit list.

With a new wife and child and loads of opportunity in Johnny Torrio's Chicago, but knowing how gruesome and serious the White Handers were, Capone left Brooklyn. "It was common knowledge… that he had gone to Chicago because the Irish mob played too rough." ~Willie Sutton, famous Brooklyn bank robber

Other nicknames were

King Alphonse, The Big Fella, Scarface, Snorky, Public Enemy No. 1, Big Al.

http://www.chicagohs.org/history/capone.html

Henry VIII Signs His Last Will and Testament

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30 December 1546 – Henry VIII Signs His Last Will and Testament

The Anne Boleyn Files

On 30th December 1546, Henry VIII signed his last will and testament, authorising changes he’d instructed William Paget to make on his behalf on 26th December 1546. The

Sin and Sodomy in the Dutch East Indies

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'Best of 2013'

Sin and Sodomy in the Dutch East Indies | History Today

historytoday.com

Joost Schouten was one of the ablest servants of the 17th-century Dutch East India Company, but he came a serious cropper when his fellow countrymen discovered his ‘crimes against nature’, as Peter Murrell explains.

50 years ago today

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It was 50 years ago today New York radio station WMCA becomes the first to play the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The station played it at 12:50 Eastern time; WABC followed with the tune an hour later.

Aristotle

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MLK

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No more idling.

Thanks to @[278550055496918:274:Occupy Canada] for the image.

Hampton Court Palace

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This week in 1603-4: William Shakespeare’s company, the ‘King’s Men’, performed for King James I over Christmas and New Year at Hampton Court Palace.

James I considered himself to be a great intellectual and loved reading literature and watching plays. Shakespeare had his company perform in the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace over Christmas and New Year for the pleasure of the King, and is believed to have written Macbeth especially to indulge his interest in witchcraft. http://bit.ly/WWA0VI

Mankind

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-@Ryan-

White Jesus

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Stephen takes on Megyn Kelly: http://on.cc.com/JkG32k

The Arc of Justice and the Long Run

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

"Whenever I look around me, I wonder what old things are about to bear fruit, what seemingly solid institutions might soon rupture, and what seeds we might now be planting whose harvest will come at some unpredictable moment in the future. The most magnificent person I met in 2013 quoted a line from Michel Foucault to me: “People know what they do; frequently they know why they do what they do; but what they don't know is what what they do does.” Someone saves a life or educates a person or tells her a story that upends everything she assumed. The transformation may be subtle or crucial or world changing, next year or in 100 years, or maybe in a millennium. You can’t always trace it but everything, everyone has a genealogy."
- Rebecca Solnit