All Blog Posts (89)

June 15, 1215 -

All the English Barons of the realm gathered with King John at Runnymede and presented him with a little document they'd prepared. They asked him either to sign the document or to specify what they should do with his remains. The king signed.







This was the Magna Carta, and therefore historical.…

At two o'clock in the morning on March 15, 1917 the Tsar sent word to Petrograd that he was awfully sorry about the war and starvation and everything, but that he had some really good ideas about what they could do now, was looking forward to working with them, believed that healthy debate was a symptom of good government, and so on.



The new government told him to blow it out his ass.…

March 13, 1917 -

March 12, 1918 -

Russia's peasants and workers are still exhausted by the war and its attendant famine. The Tsar and Tsarina are past caring about their suffering - they were under arrest The Russia's peasants and workers are still furious with the government, which had become two governments and therefore twice as bad. And they were tired of all this nonsense about March being February, St. Petersburg being Petrograd, the Czar being Tsar, and all those crazy,…

While you're opening your Valentine Day Cards and eating your special candy, opine on this -



When Rome was first founded, wild and bloodthirsty wolves roamed the woods around the city. They often attacked and mauled and even devoured Roman citizens—which, incidentally, is why the city took more than a day to build.



With characteristic ingenuity, the Romans begged the god Lupercus to keep the wolves away.  …

Louis the XV wasn't the most incompetent or profligatespending monarch.

The spending at the court of Louis XV was not any higherthan under previous French kings, and certainly much lower than in some other Europeancourts, such as in Russia, where Peter the…

December 30, 1916 -

Kids, you know I love discussing early 20th Century Russian history as much as the next person, but this item is so good, it has to span over the course of two days (but it will reside on December 30th - you'll see why shortly.

Grigory Rasputin, a self-fashioned Russian holy man, whore monger, very unbathed and alcoholic, was a very unpleasant man. And yet he held tremendous influence over the royal family (which probably hastened…

December 18, 1626 -

Christina (Kristina), Queen of Sweden , later known as Maria Christina Alexandra, Minerva of the North, Protectress of the Jews at Rome and sometimes Count Dohna, was born on this date. Like most royalty and some presidents, Christina did not have to carry money, a passport or consistantly spell her name the same way.…

December 15, 1966 -

Walt Disney, neo-nazi, commie hater, child pornography lover died on this day.

And…

Max Planck published his theory of quantum mechanics, which is often considered one of the most radical scientific discoveries of the 20th century, on this date. It's even more radical than the belief in the collection of Turkish union dues or Iraqi clerics



Max Planck was working in a laboratory in 1900, heating up…

Ricordate amici

It's about 20 minutes per pound for a frozen turkey and 15 minutes for a fresh one.

Here is a brief history of the holiday you may wish to share with your loved ones:…