#The Iroquois and Their Neighbors

[uwmspeccoll]

(Decolonizing) Science Saturday 

This Saturday we are sharing some illustrations from our first edition copy of Wendy Makoons Geniusz’s book, Our Knowledge is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings. The botanical illustrations are provided by the author’s sister, Annmarie Geniusz. Published in 2009 by Syracuse University Press, the book is part of their series The Iroquois and Their Neighbors. Established by the press in 1975, the publication series’ primary scope is Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) scholarship, but it also focuses on uplifting the voice of Indigenous scholars’ work in contemplating their own culture. 

As an academic raised in the Anishinaabe culture, Geniusz is particularly well suited to critically examine the Western scientific lens through which Indigenous botanical knowledge is often presented in the Academy. Genuisz, who got her undergraduate degree here at UWM, is the former director of the American Indian Studies program at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and currently teaches Ojibwe language there. 

View more of our Science Saturday posts here. 

You can find more posts on our Native American Literature Collection here.

-Olivia, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[entomolog-t]

I've been infected with a terminally stupid g/t brainrot.

Picture this- a borrower has their worst nightmare come true: they're spotted by a human.

Undeniably so- like right out in the open.

Though unexpectedly, the persons reaction is only mildly surprised. Like how one might go "Oh!" After finding a long lost item, or when a neighbor drops off a little gift. A strikingly mundane amount of surprise.

"Oh- you're here for the shoes, right?"

In utter disbelief the borrower just goes along with it. The human has clearly heard legends of various smallfolk. Bonus points if the human is heavily mixed/influenced by a ton of cultures (Irish fae, Iroquois little people etc..) but all their grandparents told them different legends/folklore so they have this weird Frankenstein belief system that's just WAY off base.

And somehow the borrower has let themselves get coerced into fixing shoes in exchange for fresh cream and loose change.

DOUBLE BONUS POINTS- at some point, the human accidentally lets their name slip and is convinced the borrower now owns them or something. The borrower is FULLY willing to take advantage of this.

[dwellordream]

“Like the Christians’ Eve, the Iroquois Sky-Woman had an insatiable desire to satisfy her hunger. At first she sought her husband’s guidance, but in time she struck out on her own. Her curiosity brought her to the sacred tree at the center of the Sky-World--a place where, as she soon discovered, the floor of the sky was very thin. Losing her footing, she slipped through a hole at the tree’s base and fell headlong ‘toward the great ocean far below.’

…Like her Iroquois descendants in North America, this first fallen Sky-Woman farmed the rich earths she created, gathered its fruits, and built a hut upon it to live in. After a time, her pregnancy ran its course and, legend says, she ‘was delivered of a daughter.’ The girl and her mother continued to look after their lands till one day, ‘when the girl had grown to womanhood,’ a man appeared. He stayed only briefly--just long enough to impregnate Sky-Woman’s daughter. When her time to deliver arrived she, like many women during the premodern period, died while giving birth. Her offspring survived: two boys who would come to rule the earth their mother and grandmother had made.

…Every native group had its own account of the world’s beginnings. For the Pueblo of the Southwest, human life began underneath the earth when a woman named Tsichtinako (Thought Woman) nursed two sisters: Iatikyu, the Mother of the Corn clan, and Nautsiti, the Mother of the Sun clan. The Ottawa, an Algonquian-speaking people living in the northern Great Lakes region, traced their origins to a male figure called the Great Hare and his younger brother.

…To the Protestants of New England, the followers of the teachings of the Swiss theologian John Calvin, the devotional practices of the Catholics in New France and the Spanish colonies seemed as alien as those of the Narragansets and Wampanoags who lived among them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In turn, the faithful in Virginia and Maryland, who followed the orthodox traditions of the Church of England, considered New England’s Puritans to be overzealous reformers.

…Even in the most physical, tangible sense religion was a constant presence. From the stark clapboard spires that capped New England’s Congregational meeting houses, to the sturdy brick of Virginia’s Anglican churches, to the poles marking the underground kivas in which the Pueblo held sacred rituals, places of worship dotted the landscape. Each and every day, the English villages lining the eastern seaboard would have been alive with the sound of church bells.

…Every part of colonial America had its own rhythms of religious devotion--rhythms that helped women and men make sense of their lives. But nowhere did religion play a greater role than it did in early New England. Almost without exception, the leaders of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, New Haven, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island were dissenters from the Church of England.

…No matter whether they enthusiastically supported or dared to question the Puritan mission, all law-abiding New Englanders gathered in their local meetinghouses every Sunday, and often once during the week as well, to hear their preacher expound upon scripture. One perennially popular sermon topic was the nature of women. Between 1668 and 1735, women’s lives were the subject of no fewer than 75 printed treatises. Some of these tracts were funeral sermons that eulogized an especially pious female parishioner; others were more general “how-to” homilies dealing with marriage or mothering.

…Pious women were praised by ministers and neighbors alike. If they resembled any Old Testament figure, it was the industrious Bathsheba (the ‘virtuous woman’ described in Proverbs 31:10-31) rather than the perfidious Eve. Where Eve tempted, persuaded, and seduced, Bathsheba planted, prayed, and spun. Her every word testified to a womanly brand of piety: faith tempered with respectful submission. More than one New England minister echoed these verses from Proverbs, exalting the woman who ‘openeth her mouth with wisdom…in her tongue is the law of kindness.’ As the biblical passage suggested, such well-spoken women were indeed more priceless than rubies.

…In fact, New England’s ‘virtuous women’ may have been even more devoted to religious practice than their husbands and fathers. At the very least they were more dedicated churchgoers. At first, men and women joined the churches in equal numbers. Within a generation, however, women outnumbered men in many if not most of the churches in Massachusetts and Connecticut. By the mid-1700s, women comprised nearly three-quarters of many congregations.

…One of the more radical groups in the entire spectrum of dissenting English Protestantism, the Quakers granted female believers an extraordinary degree of autonomy and equality. …Converts of both sexes were encouraged to preach about their religious experiences, and one of the movement’s early and most prominent leaders was an English wife and mother, Margaret Fell. …Where Quaker women were concerned, Massachusetts authorities made the links between female preaching, rejecting ministers’ teachings, and worshiping the devil even more explicit.

…Black women and men brought a very different set of religious beliefs to the southern colonies. Their traditions concerning the supernatural were as diverse as the many African peoples from which they came. There were, however, important common threads; most West Africans believed in more than one God and made the veneration of ancestors an important part of their worship ceremonies.

…Until the 1730s, southern whites made little effort to convert their slaves to Christianity. But in the late 18th century, evangelical sects such as the Methodists and the Baptists appealed to blacks and poor whites alike. …Call-and-response hymn singing and joyful shouting are examples of African forms that influenced the style of worship practiced by both whites and blacks in many southern denominations.”

Jane Kamensky, “Daughters of Eve, Daughters of Zion: Women and Religion” in The Colonial Mosaic: American Women, 1600-1760

[atopvisenyashill]

I am so glad you articulated the criticism of Dany crucifying the slavers as a political folly and not a moral folly like listen I am a Dany fan if I could send asks from my sideblog you would know this but I do not believe we are supposed to just brush off the crucifixion like Dany herself isn’t even fully convinced it was the right thing to do. Remembering it she feels sick and has to shut down her doubts and TELL HERSELF it was right. She is an interesting character to me because she can’t stand the compromises she must make to maintain peace AND YET she does want justice and liberation BUT she also hates the suffering and bloodshed of war AND YET she is quick to command violence on impulse. I do think her peace in Meereen was real (big Meereen Knot Essays believer) but all of her internal conflicts lead her to her mistakes. Can’t stand peace but can’t stand war so she just tears herself apart!! It’s tragic! It’s interesting! So much more interesting than an unambiguously heroic Dany who makes no mistakes ever!

Yeah, like....it's certainly morally messy, and I think it's morally more messy because Dany isn't a slave of the Ghiscari like Missandei or an Unsullied like Grey Worm, Red Lamb, etc who is rising up and using violent revolution to liberate the slave class of Meereen - she is a descendant from a foreign, formerly slaving culture that enslaved most of the cultures represented in Meereen, someone of noble birth who has experienced immense suffering but was able to pull herself out of it because of her immense social privilege and magical abilities, using violence in an attempt to liberate those her family had once helped subjugate while...still keeping herself at the top of the pyramid.

There's a lot of mess and contradictions in this situation and I find it much less interesting (as you say) when people paint what Dany is doing here as unambiguously heroic. I know I sound like a broken clock when I say it, but the justification of "well this culture has slavery and slavery is bad" is the exact sort of rationalization many colonial and imperial powers make when conquering. White Americans made it about various Indigenous communities ("oh well the Iroquois had slaves and conquered their neighbors" yeah and white americans had chattel slavery which is objectively worse so what now??), the UK and France used it as a rationale for conquering most of Africa and parts of Asia; there's always this annoying through-line of "well Africans sold themselves into slavery" and I think making this argument that "Well the Ghiscari are brutal slavers" is really similar. And I know people don’t like the dragon/nuke comparison or the imperialism/colonizer comparisons but….what made the genocides of the Americas, and the colonization and imperialism of the 20th centuries stand out from the wars that came before is the sort of hellish combination of nationalism, political schisms, fervent hatred of the Other, and industrial growth. Never before could people amass armies and kill on such a massive scale before. Never before did we have weapons that were so fucking good at killing. Never before did we have the bureaucracy capable of streamlining the process so damn well! (and not for lacking of trying, shout out rome but like...still). I think the dragons are a commentary on that - when someone has access to technology like that, can one person be left to decide if it’s use is good or evil? can one culture not be completely corrupted by their technological advances? can nuclear bombs or weapons Ever be used for good, and if they can be then where is that line drawn? who draws the line? why does that person get to draw the line? I don't think any of this will have a clear answer because that's not exactly how he does things - he's just writing a scenario about this and letting us analyze why it happens on our own.

So it’s like okay the Ghiscari and Dothraki are slaving cultures...Sacking a city is still a violent, destructive thing to do and she does it three times including to a city she is attempting to rule. The moment she had an inkling she might be ruling Meereen, she should have rethought her actions there so she doesn’t start off alienating a large group of people. Coming in as a stranger from a culture who used to be slavers and constantly making comments about how much she hates the culture she’s ruling over is....not great! Dany going back and forth between "I hate these people I was right to crucify them" and "there's too much violence amongst these people I have to stop the violence" is why the issues in Meereen become so complicated. Does she have reasons for acting this way? Yes! It doesn't change the outcome of her actions!

What's interesting about her is that as you say, she does realize this conflicting dichotomy within herself! That’s like, the entire issue she’s facing in Meereen - she wants peace because she knows that’s what’s best for the people there and yet struggles to control her boredom and temper because she is too traumatized to sit still any longer. She’s associated the constant move, the constant fight, the violence and blood and death and destruction with righteousness, justice, goodness, and we can SEE it’s having a negative effect on her psyche, her emotions. She’s not HAPPY by the ending of adwd, she’s not self actualized, she’s just hardened herself completely in the face of this unending monster of a campaign. She wants off this ride and yet she’s unable to find a way out. I don’t think we’re meant to cheer her on here!! SHE is barely cheering herself on here!!! It’s a burden to her!!!!

[mecthology]

Folklore of The Flying Head.

Flying Heads are generally described as resembling a human head with long dark hair, "terrible eyes," and a large mouth filled with razor-sharp fangs. In some versions, the Flying Head has a pair of bat wings jutting from each side of its cheek and bird-like talons. Other versions replace their bat wings with those of a bird. In all instances, they are described as being larger in size than that of the tallest man and possessing a hide that no weapon can penetrate.

Many of the Iroquois were supposedly troubled by the Flying Head, which, when it rested upon the ground, was taller than a man. This supposed monster was coated in thick black hair, it had wings like a bat and talons.

According to folklore, the Flying Head drove the original native inhabitants who lived in the area of the state of New York near the source of the Hudson River, in the Adirondack Mountains away from their hunting grounds before the Europeans came. In the early nineteenth century, a Mohawk guide in the town of Lake Pleasant, New York, who called himself Capt. Gill claimed it was the Sacandaga Lake where the legend took place.

The tribe had their village on a hill that is now located behind the Hamilton County buildings. The name of the previous inhabitants has been lost to history, and the legend of The Flying Head ensured that every neighboring tribe steered clear for many years.

Follow @mecthology for more folklores.

DM for pic credit.

Source: Wikipedia

[eternal-echoes]

“Such impartiality could not have been expected to develop out of American Indian cultures. "The Indians of the same region or language group did not even have a common name for themselves," explains Harvard historian Samuel Eliot Morison. "Each tribe called itself something like We, the People,' and referred to its neighbors by a word that meant 'the Barbarians,' 'Sons of She-Dog,' or something equally insulting." That a counterexample like the Iroquois Confederation comes so readily to mind is an indication of its exceptional character. The conception of an international order of states large and small, of varying levels of civilization and refinement, operating on a principle of equality, could not have found fertile soil amid such narrow chauvinism. The Catholic conception of the fundamental unity of the human race, on the other hand, informed the deliberations of the great sixteenth-century Spanish theologians who insisted on universal principles that must govern the interaction of states. If we criticize Spanish excesses in the New World, therefore, it is thanks to the moral tools provided by the Catholic theologians of Spain itself that we are able to do so.”

- Thomas E. Woods Jr., Ph.D., “The Origins of International Law,” How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

[jeannereames]

Hi Dr Reames!

Would you say that Macedon shared the same "political culture" with its Thracian and Illyrian neighbours, like how most Greeks shared the polis structure and the concept of citizenship?

I don't really know anything about Macedonian history before Philip II's time, but you've often brought up how the Macedonians shared some elements of elite culture (e.g. mound burials) with their Thracian neighbours, as well religious beliefs and practices.

I've only ever heard these people generically described as "a collection of tribes (that confederated into a kingdom)", which also seems to be the common description for nearby "Greek" polities like Thessaly and Epiros. So did these societies have a lot in common, structurally speaking, with Macedon? Or were they just completely different types of polities altogether?

First, in the interest of some good bibliography on the Thracians:

Z. H. Archibald, The Odrysian Kingdom of Thrace. Orpheus Unmasked. Oxford UP, 1998. (Too expensive outside libraries, but highly recommended if you can get it by interlibrary loan. Part of the exorbitant cost [almost $400, but used for less] owes to images, as it’s archaeology heavy. Archibald is also an expert on trade and economy in north Greece and the Black Sea region, and has edited several collections on the topic.

Alexander Fol, Valeria Fol. Thracians. Coronet Books, 2005. Also expensive, if not as bad, and meant for the general public. Fol’s 1977 Thrace and the Thracians, with Ivan Marazov, was a classic. Fol and Marazov are fathers of modern Thracian studies.

R. F. Hodinott, The Thracians. Thames and Hudson, 1981. Somewhat dated now but has pictures and can be found used for a decent price if you search around. But, yeah…dated.

For Illyria, John Wilkes’ The Illyrians, Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, is a good place to start, but there’s even less about them in book form (or articles).

—————

Now, to the question.

BOTH the Thracians and Illyrians were made up of politically independent tribes bound by language and religion who, sometimes, also united behind a strong ruler (the Odrysians in Thrace for several generations, and Bardylis briefly in Illyria). One can probably make parallels to Germanic tribes, but it’s easier for me to point to American indigenous nations. The Odrysians might be compared to the Iroquois federation. The Illyrians to the Great Lakes people, united for a while behind Tecumseh, but not entirely, and disunified again after. These aren’t perfect, but you get the idea. For that matter, the Greeks themselves weren’t a nation, but a group of poleis bonded by language, culture, and religion. They fought as often as they cooperated. The Persian invasion forced cooperation, which then dissolved into the Peloponnesian War.

Beyond linguistic and religious parallels, sometimes we also have GEOGRAPHIC ones. So, let me divide the north into lowlands and highlands. It’s much more visible on the ground than from a map, but Epiros, Upper Macedonia, and Illyria are all more alike, landscape-wise, than Lower Macedonia and the Thracian valleys. South of all that, and different yet again, lay Thessaly, like a bridge between Southern Greece and these northern regions.

If language (and religion) are markers of shared culture, culture can also be shaped by ethnically distinct neighbors. Thracians and Macedonians weren’t ethnically related, yet certainly shared cultural features. Without falling into colonialist geographical/environmental determinism, geography does affect how early cultures develop because of what resources are available, difficulties of travel, weather, lay of the land itself, etc.

For instance, the Pindus Range, while not especially high, is rocky and made a formidable barrier to easy east-west travel. Until recently, sailing was always more efficient in Greece than travel by land (especially over mountain ranges).* Ergo, city-states/towns on the western coast tended to be western-facing for trade, and city-states/towns on the eastern side were, predictably, eastern-facing. This is why both Epiros and Ainai (Elimeia) did more trade with Corinth than Athens, and one reason Alexandros of Epiros went west to Italy while Alexander of Macedon looked east to Persia. It’s also why Corinth, Sparta, etc., in the Peloponnese colonized Sicily and S. Italy, while Athens, Euboia, etc., colonized the Asia Minor and Black Sea coasts. (It’s not an absolute, but one certainly sees trends.)

So, looking at their land, we can see why Macedonians and Thracians were both horse people with their wide valleys. They also practiced agriculture, had rich forests for logging, and significant metal (and mineral) deposits—including silver and gold—that made mining a source of wealth. They shared some burial customs but maintained acute differences. Both had lower status for women compared to Illyria/Epiros/Paionia. Yet that’s true only of some Thracian tribes, such as the Odrysians. Others had stronger roles for women. Thracians and Macedonians shared a few deities (The Rider/Zis, Dionysos/Zagreus, Bendis/Artemis/Earth Mother), although Macedonian religion maintained a Greek cast. We also shouldn’t underestimate the impact of Greek colonies along the Black Sea coast on inland Thrace, especially the Odrysians. Many an Athenian or Milesian (et al.) explorer/merchant/colonist married into the local Thracian elite.

Let’s look at burial customs, how they’re alike and different, for a concrete example of this shared regional culture.

First, while both Thracians and Macedonians had shrines, neither had temples on the Greek model until late, and then largely in Macedonia. Their money went into the ground with burials.

Temples represent a shit-ton of city/community money plowed into a building for public use/display. In southern Greece, they rise (pun intended) at the end of the Archaic Age as city-state sumptuary laws sought to eliminate personal display at funerals, weddings, etc. That never happened in Macedonia/much of the northern areas. So, temples were slow to creep up there until the Hellenistic period. Even then, gargantuan funerals and the Macedonian Tomb remained de rigueur for Macedonian elite. (The date of the arrival of the true Macedonian Tomb is debated, but I side with those who count it as a post-Alexander development.)

A “Macedonian Tomb” (above: Tomb of Judgement, photo mine) is a faux-shrine embedded in the ground. Elite families committed wealth to it in a huge potlatch to honor the dead. Earlier cyst tombs show the same proclivities, but without the accompanying shrine-like architecture. As early as 650 BCE at Archontiko (= ancient Pella), we find absurd amounts of wealth in burials (below: Archontiko burial goods, Pella Museum, photos mine). Same thing at Sindos, and Aigai, in roughly the same period. Also in a few places in Upper Macedonia, in the Archaic Age: Aiani, Achlada, Trebenište, etc.. This is just the tip of the iceberg. If Greece had more money for digs, I think we’d find additional sites.

Vivi Saripanidi has some great articles (conveniently in English) about these finds: “Constructing Necropoleis in the Archaic Period,” “Vases, Funerary Practices, and Political Power in the Macedonian Kingdom During the Classical Period Before the Rise of Philip II,” and “Constructing Continuities with a Heroic Past.” They’re long, but thorough. I recommend them.

What we observe here are “Princely Burials” across lingo-ethnic boundaries that reflect a larger, shared regional culture. But one big difference between elite tombs in Macedonia and Thrace is the presence of a BODY, and whether the tomb was new or repurposed.

In Thrace, at least royal tombs are repurposed shrines (above: diagram and model of repurposed shrine-tombs). Macedonian Tombs were new construction meant to look like a shrine (faux-fronts, etc.). Also, Thracian kings’ bodies weren’t buried in their "tombs." Following the Dionysic/ Orphaic cult, the bodies were cut up into seven pieces and buried in unmarked spots. Ergo, their tombs are cenotaphs (below: Kosmatka Tomb/Tomb of Seuthes III, photos mine).

What they shared was putting absurd amounts of wealth into the ground in the way of grave goods, including some common/shared items such as armor, golden crowns, jewelry for women, etc. All this in place of community-reflective temples, as seen in the South. (Below: grave goods from Seuthes’ Tomb; grave goods from Royal Tomb II at Vergina, for comparison).

So, if some things are shared, others (connected to beliefs about the afterlife) are distinct, such as the repurposed shrine vs. new construction built like a shine, and the presence or absence of a body (below: tomb ceiling décor depicting Thracian deity Zalmoxis).

Aside from graves, we also find differences between highlands and lowlands in the roles of at least elite women. The highlands were tough areas to live, where herding (and raiding) dominated, and what agriculture there was required “all hands on deck” for survival. While that isn’t necessary for women to enjoy higher status (just look at Minoan Crete, Etruria, and even Egypt), it may have contributed to it in these circumstances.

Illyrian women fought. And not just with bows on horseback as Scythian women did. If we can believe Polyaenus, Philip’s daughter Kyanne (daughter of his Illyrian wife Audata) opposed an Illyrian queen on foot with spears—and won. Philip’s mother Eurydike involved herself in politics to keep her sons alive, but perhaps also as a result of cultural assumption: her mother was royal Lynkestian but her father was (perhaps) Illyrian. Epirote Olympias came to Pella expecting a certain amount of political influence that she, apparently, wasn’t given until Philip died. Alexander later observed that his mother had wisely traded places with Kleopatra, his sister, to rule in Epiros, because the Macedonians would never accept rule by a woman (implying the Epirotes would).

I’ve noted before that the political structure in northern Greece was more of a continuum: Thessaly had an oligarchic tetrarchy of four main clans, expunged by Jason in favor of tyranny, then restored by Philip. Epiros was ruled by a council who chose the “king” from the Aiakid clan until Alexandros I, Olympias’s brother, established a real monarchy. Last, we have Macedon, a true monarchy (apparently) from the beginning, but also centered on a clan (Argeads), with agreement/support from the elite Hetairoi class of kingmakers. Upper Macedonian cantons (formerly kingdoms) had similar clan rule, especially Lynkestis, Elimeia, and Orestis. Alas, we don’t know enough to say how absolute their monarchies were before Philip II absorbed them as new Macedonian districts, demoting their basileis (kings/princes) to mere governors.

I think continued highland resistance to that absorption is too often overlooked/minimized in modern histories of Philip’s reign, excepting a few like Ed Anson’s. In Dancing with the Lion: Rise, I touch on the possibility of highland rebellion bubbling up late in Philip’s reign but can’t say more without spoilers for the novel.

In antiquity, Thessaly was always considered Greek, as was (mostly) Epiros. But Macedonia’s Greek bona-fides were not universally accepted, resulting in the tale of Alexandros I’s entry into the Olympics—almost surely a fiction with no historical basis, fed to Herodotos after the Persian Wars. The tale’s goal, however, was to establish the Greekness of the ruling family, not of the Macedonian people, who were still considered barbaroi into the late Classical period. Recent linguistic studies suggest they did, indeed, speak a form of northern Greek, but the fact they were regarded as barbaroi in the ancient world is, I think instructive, even if not necessarily accurate.

It tells us they were different enough to be counted “not Greek” by some southern Greek poleis and politicians such as Demosthenes. Much of that was certainly opportunistic. But not all. The bias suggests Macedonian culture had enough overflow from their northern neighbors to appear sufficiently alien. Few Greek writers suggested the Thessalians or Epirotes weren’t Greek, but nobody argued the Thracians, Paiones, or Illyrians were. Macedonia occupied a liminal status.

We need to stop seeing these areas with hard borders and, instead, recognize permeable boundaries with the expected cultural overflow: out and in. Contra a lot of messaging in the late 1800s and early/mid-1900s, lifted from ancient narratives (and still visible today in ultra-national Greek narratives), the ancient Greeks did not go out to “civilize” their Eastern “Oriental” (and northern barbaroi) neighbors, exporting True Culture and Philosophy. (For more on these views, see my earlier post on “Alexander suffering from Conqueror’s Disease.”)

In fact, Greeks of the Late Iron Age (LIA)/Archaic Age absorbed a great deal of culture and ideas from those very “Oriental barbarians,” such as Lydia and Assyria. In art history, the LIA/Early Archaic Era is referred to as the “Orientalizing Period,” but it’s not just art. Take Greek medicine. It’s essentially Mesopotamian medicine with their religion buffed off. Greek philosophy developed on the islands along the Asia Minor coast, where Greeks regularly interacted with Lydians, Phoenicians, and eventually Persians; and also in Sicily and Southern Italy, where they were talking to Carthaginians and native Italic peoples, including Etruscans. Egypt also had an influence.

Philosophy and other cultural advances didn’t develop in the Greek heartland. The Greek COLONIES were the happenin’ places in the LIA/Archaic Era. Here we find the all-important ebb and flow of ideas with non-Greek peoples.

Artistic styles, foodstuffs, technology, even ideas and myths…all were shared (intentionally or not) via TRADE—especially at important emporia. Among the most significant of these LIA emporia was Methone, a Greek foundation on the Macedonian coast off the Thermaic Gulf (see map below). It provided contact between Phoenician/Euboian-Greek traders and the inland peoples, including what would have been the early Macedonian kingdom. Perhaps it was those very trade contacts that helped the Argeads expand their rule in the lowlands at the expense of Bottiaians, Almopes, Paionians, et al., who they ran out in order to subsume their lands.

My main point is that the northern Greek mainland/southern Balkans were neither isolated nor culturally stunted. Not when you look at all that gold and other fine craftwork coming out of the ground in Archaic burials in the region. We’ve simply got to rethink prior notions of “primitive” peoples and cultures up there—notions based on southern Greek narratives that were both political and culturally hidebound, but that have, for too long, been taken as gospel truth.

Ancient Macedon did not “rise” with Philip II and Alexander the Great. If anything, the 40 years between the murder of Archelaos (399) and the start of Philip’s reign (359/8) represents a 2-3 generation eclipse. Alexandros I, Perdikkas II, and Archelaos were extremely capable kings. Philip represented a return to that savvy rule.

(If you can read German, let me highly recommend Sabine Müller’s, Perdikkas II and Die Argeaden; she also has one on Alexander, but those two talk about earlier periods, and especially her take on Perdikkas shows how clever he was. For those who can’t read German, the Lexicon of Argead Macedonia’s entry on Perdikkas is a boiled-down summary, by Sabine, of the main points in her book.)

Anyway…I got away a bit from Thracian-Macedonian cultural parallels, but I needed to mount my soapbox about the cultural vitality of pre-Philip Macedonia, some of which came from Greek cultural imports, but also from Thrace, Illyria, etc.

Ancient Macedonia was a crossroads. It would continue to be so into Roman imperial, Byzantine, and later periods with the arrival of subsequent populations (Gauls, Romans, Slavs, etc.) into the region.

That fruit salad with Cool Whip, or Jello and marshmallows, or chopped up veggies and mayo, that populate many a family reunion or church potluck spread? One name for it is a “Macedonian Salad”—but not because it’s from Macedonia. It’s called that because it’s made up of many [very different] things. Also, because French macedoine means cut-up vegetables, but the reference to Macedonia as a cultural mishmash is embedded in that.

---------------

* I’ve seen this personally between my first trip to Greece in 1997, and the new modern highway. Instead of winding around mountains, the A2 just blasts through them with tunnels. The A1 (from Thessaloniki to Athens) was there in ’97, and parts of the A2 east, but the new highway west through the Pindus makes a huge difference. It takes less than half the time now to drive from the area around Thessaloniki/Pella out to Ioannina (near ancient Dodona) in Epiros. Having seen the landscape, I can imagine the difficulties of such a trip in antiquity with unpaved roads (albeit perhaps at least graded). Taking carts over those hills would be daunting. See images below.

[shamandrummer]

Traditional Water Drums

Water drums are a category of membranophone characterized by the filling of the drum chamber with some water to create a unique resonant sound. The presence of the water within gives the sound far greater carrying power than a dry drum possesses. At close range, the tone of the water drum is often a dull thud, but when properly tuned by an experienced drummer it has a resonance that can be heard for miles. No drum can be heard so far; it is on record that water drums have been heard eight to ten miles over a lake. This capacity to be heard distinctly at a distance, coupled with a peculiar tone quality, gives the water drum a very unique voice.

Water drums are used all over the world, including African music and American Indian music, and are made of various materials, with a membrane stretched over a hard body such as a metal, clay or wood. The Native American Church uses a black iron kettle with three tripod legs. The leather drum head is soaked in water before being stretched over the kettle. Clay pot drums were common among many eastern and southern tribes in the ancient days, those of the South using a semicircular-shaped bowl with legs. The pottery water drum of the Pueblo Indians is a vase-shaped pot with a flared out top. Pueblo water drums vary in size from small pots holding a gallon of water up to huge ones measuring thirty or more inches in diameter. These are filled about one-fourth full of water and the wet hide is tied over the top. When not in use the tanned drumhead and rawhide thong for tying it are kept inside the pot.  

Wooden water drums are the traditional percussion instrument for the Native American Anishinaabe (Ojibwe), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Huron and Iroquois peoples. The Eastern Woodland tribes made far greater use of water drums than any other Native peoples, and attached a greater significance to them. To the Anishinaabe and their many neighboring tribes, the water drum is a true medicine drum of great power, the sacred drum of the Midewiwin or Grand Medicine Society, which is at the core of Anishinaabe religion. Water is synonymous with life, hence it adds great potency to the water drum. Its sacred sound is regarded as one of the most effective ways of establishing connections with the spirit realm, since it travels through space, permeates visual and physical barriers, and conveys information from the unseen world. It is widely used today in traditional Longhouse social dances and ceremonies.

Wooden water drums are made either by hollowing out a solid section of a small soft wood log, or assembled using cedar slats and banded much like an old keg. The drum is filled about one-fourth full of water and a wet leather hide is stretched over the top. For detailed instructions on crafting, tuning and playing water drums, download the free eBook, How to Make Drums, Tomtoms, and Rattles by Bernard S. Mason. This classic 1938 edition is now a free public domain eBook.

[enkisstories]

Daniel: "Now won't the neighbors like that... the werebeast and his brat are leaving New Henford!"

Gavin: "It's clever, yes? They will treat you and Tina better while I'm gone, thinking I left for good. Meanwhile we will perform some behind the screen stage magic, that hopefullly will save both the town and the pack."

Daniel: "Thanks, I hate it! All I ever wanted was you. If you don't come back, I won't forgive that!"

Gavin: "Now let's pick up Hank and then make you the second Pontiac."

Connor: "The "zeroth president"? He's quite famous, but what for exactly?"

Gavin: "In the face of a neverending stream of settlers from europe, Pontiac occupied Detroit and then talked the colonists into declaring independance from their respective motherlands. That's how the United States came to be. At first it was a mere buffer zone between the Europeans and the native Simericans, but it survived those dangerous decades and grew into a proud nation."

Connor: "Sounds similar to our problem. Tell me more about the story while we travel to Moonwood Mill!"

More alternate History:

- Detroit is the capital of the USS (naturally, these being my Detroit sims)

- In 1811 Tecumseh founded the Federation of Indigenous Simerican tribes

- Spain was able to keep some of their colonies, that in 1820 formed their own country.

- That gives four about equally powerful political bodies in addition to several smaller nations: The Iroquois League in the North, the (very loose) Simerican Federation, the United States of Simerica and the former spanish colonies.

- The end result is a continent as fractured as Europe.

- Gameplay will remain small scale. The sims will receive opportunities to make differences locally, they won’t be able to influence the greater political landscape.

- One possible way for this save to evolve is a massive timeskip into the present after the founding generation has passed. By then each of the Sims 4 worlds will be its own country.

[allronix]

Thank you for your response.

My main issue with the Mandalorians is the massive difference in what we’re meant to see them as versus how they are.

In most Traviss or Traviss-inspired works, they’re meant to be these gruff but honourable, family committed people who are respected by many in Galaxy - even some Jedi.

Then in any other work, they’re a glorified horde of savages and psychopaths who gleefully commit genocide and mass murder of entire planets for thrills.

I really don’t find their “adopt parent less orphans” policy admirable either, considering they just train the kids into fanatical killing machines.

I don’t disagree with most of your analysis of the Jedi btw. But the Mandos never seem to be called out for being what they are, and they never admit to it either.

Oh, yes. Canderous is Token Evil Teammate for a reason (HK-47 is just...programmed that way). I had to hit that Traviss very hard when trying to figure out how he could even work with an overwhelmingly LS/Republic/Jedi party in either game.

The Mandalorians just have less to go on overall. Traviss was pretty much the only one giving them anything past "Space Mongols/Vikings." And I could appreciate her enthusiasm and the idea of trying to make them a SW equivalent to the Bat and Arrow families (the Badass Normals of the DCU), but the quality of execution was wildly uneven.

I also think Mandalorians get a bit of a pass because they aren't supposed to be the good guys. Much of the time, they're mooks to some Sith. (Boba contracted by Vader, the SW Bounty Hunter being on Imperial payroll, Mandalore the Ultimate being Vitiate's useful idiot, his predecessor being under Ulic Qel Droma's command, etc.) At best, they're wild cards. And I think their style of adoption has its own precedent in history with its own mixed bag. They are closer to the Iroquois who would sometimes war with their neighbors and decided that "adopting" surviving children of their enemies into their own tribe was better than killing/enslaving those children than the Ottomans who made a very precice institutional practice of recruiting young, non-orphaned boys from peasant families to turn into the Sultan's elite guard.

With the Jedi, they present themselves as the moral center of the universe so we expect higher standards than a faction that is more "Good? Bad? I'm the guy with the gun."

[putnam-speedwell]

Setting the table for a gathering of family, friends, neighbors or the just the two is as unique as each individual. Russel Wright resisted marketing "sets of dinnerware" - the set imposed a design limitation. American Modern was the first open stock dinnerware. Consumers resisted and soon retailers requested dinnerware sets.

Iroquois China went to market in sets . . . Russel Wright learned the "art of compromise."

The variation is visible in the "foamy blue" plate; the Sugar White and Pink Sherbet are clean and bright. Three perfect pastels for Spring.

https://bit.ly/3tKYSZb

[brookston]

Holidays 9.1

Holidays

American Chess Day

Arts Day (Bardo)

Back to Hogwarts Day

Bahti Meskerem (Eritrea)

Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day

Carrington Event Day

Chicken Boy Day

Childhood Cancer Awareness Day (Tennessee)

Constitution Day (Slovakia)

Creation Day

Daffodil Day (New Zealand)

Day of Knowledge (Estonia, Russia)

Disaster Prevention Day (Japan)

Draft Horse Day

Emma M. Nutt Day (a.k.a. Nutt Day)

Flag Day (Honduras)

Footy Colors Day (Australia)

Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

Global Talent Acquisition Day [1st Wednesday]

Human Resources Professional Day (South Dakota)

International Cap Classique Day

International Day of Awareness of the Dolphins of Taiji

International Naalbinding Day

International Neil Diamond Day

International Primate Day

International Trade Union Action Day for Peace

International Women in Cyber Day

Journalist Day (Taiwan)

Kama Sutra Day

Kanto Earthquake Memorial Day (Japan)

Knowledge Day (Armenia, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine)

Letter Appreciation Day

Lose Your Virginity Day

Mary Had a Little Lamb Day

Meteorological Autumn begins (Northern Hemisphere)

Meteorological Spring begins (Southern Hemisphere)

National Acne Positivity Day

National Boykin Spaniel Day

National Child Identity Theft Awareness Day

National Disaster Prevention Day (Japan)

National Forgiveness Day

National Homecare Day of Action

National Hotel Employee Day

National Little Black Dress Day

National Marmoset Day

National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day

National Police K-9 Day

901 Day (Tennessee)

No Music Day (Nigeria)

Onam (Hindu harvest festival; India)

Partridge Day (UK)

Pink Cadillac Day

Presidential Message Day (Mexico)

Random Acts of Kindness Day (NZ)

Respect the Drive Day

Revolution Day (Libya; 1969)

Rites of Moawita (Elder Scrolls)

Save Japan’s Dolphins Day

Sing A Silly Song In Bed Day

Teacher’s Day (Singapore)

Tourist Day

Toy Tips Executive Toy Test Day

Trout Day (French Republic)

Veteran’s Day (Poland)

Wattle Day (Australia)

White Rabbit Day

World CLL Day

World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

World Day of the Fingerprint

World Emotional Trauma Awareness Day

World Freestyle Football Day

World Letter Writing Day

World PCOS Day of Unity

World War Two Anniversary Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cherry Popover Day

National Burnt Ends Day

National Gyro Day

National Oatloaf Day

National Tofu Day (UK)

Oyster Season begins

1st Friday in September

Bandcamp Friday [1st Friday]

Belgian Beer Weekend begins (Belgisch Bierweekend) [1st Friday thru Sunday]

Bring Your Manners To Work Day [1st Friday]

Casual Day (South Africa) [1st Friday]

College Colors Day [Friday nearest 9.1]

Dri-jerbal (Labor Day; Marshall Islands) [1st Friday]

Freddie Mercury’s Montreux Memorial Day begins [Weekend of 1st Friday]

Labor Day Weekend (U.S. & Canada) [Begins Friday before 1st Monday in September]

Benton Neighbor Day (Benton, Missouri)

Britt Draft Horse Show (Britt, Iowa)

Bumbershoot (Seattle, Washington)

Central City Rock 'n' Roll Cruise-in & Concert (Central City, Kentucky)

Cleveland National Air Show (Cleveland, Ohio)

Clothesline Fair (Prairie Grove, Arkansas)

Colombia River Cross Channel Swim (Hood River, Oregon)

Colorado Balloon Classic (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Commonwheel Labor Day Weekend Arts and Crafts Festival (Manitou Springs, Colorado)

Daniel Boone Pioneer Days (Winchester, Kentucky)

Fort Bridger Rendezvous (Fort Bridger, Wyoming)

Great Bathtub Race (Nome, Alaska)

Great Grove Bed Race (Coconut Grove, Florida)

Harvest Wine Celebration (Livermore, California)

Hog Capital of the World Festival (Kewanee, Illinois)

Hopkinton State Fair (Contoocook, New Hampshire)

Iroquois Arts Festival (Howes Cave, New York)

Johnson City Field Days (Johnson City, New York)

Jubilee Days Festival (Zion, Illinois)

Lifelight Outdoor Music Festival (Worthing, South Dakota)

Mackinac Bridge Walk (St. Ignace, Michigan)

National Championship Chuckwagon Races (Clinton, Arkansas)

National Hard Crab Derby and Fair (Crisfield, Maryland)

National Sweetcorn Festival (Hoopeston, Illinois)

Oatmeal Festival (Bertram/Oatmeal, Texas)

Odyssey Greek Festival (Orange, Connecticut)

On the Waterfront (Rockford, Illinois)

Old Threshers Reunion (Mount Pleasant, Iowa)

Oregon Trail Rodeo (Hastings, Nebraska)

Payson Golden Onion Days (Payson, Utah)

Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Colonial Festival (Greensburg, Pennsylvania)

Popeye Picnic (Chester, Illinois)

Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival (Independence, Missouri)

Scandinavian Fest (Budd Lake, New Jersey)

Sta-Bil Nationals Championship Lawn Mower Race (Delaware, Ohio)

Snake River Duck Race (Nome, Alaska)

Taste of Colorado (Denver, Colorado)

Taste of Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)

Totah Festival (Farmington, New Mexico)

Waikiki Roughwater Swim (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Westfest Czech Heritage Festival (West, Texas)

West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival (Clarksburg, West Virginia)

Wisconsin State Cow-Chip Throw (Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin)

Woodstock Fair (Woodstock, Connecticut)

World Championship Barbecue Goat Cook-Off (Brady, Texas)

National Chianti Day [1st Friday]

National Food Bank Day [1st Friday]

National Lazy Mom’s Day [1st Friday]

Wear Teal Day [1st Friday]

Independence Days

Alberta Province Day (Canada; 1905)

Baltia (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Chrisland (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Gymnasium State (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Saskatchewan Province Day (Canada; 1905)

Uzbekistan (a.k.a. Mustaqillik Kuni); from USSR, 1991)

Feast Days

Constantius (Costanzo) of Aquino (Christian; Saint)

Dalton (Positivist; Saint)

David Pendleton Oakerhater (Anglican Communion)

Ecclesiastical New Year (Orthodox Christian)

Feast of Macuilxochitl (5 Flower God; Mexico)

Festival of the Grapevines I: Ariadne (Pagan)

Felix, Donatus, Arontius, Honoratus, Fortunatus, Sabinianus, Septimus, Januarius, Vitalis, Satyrus, abd Repostius, 12 brothers (Christian; Martyrs)

Festival of Juno Regina and Jupiter Liber (Ancient Rome)

Fiacre (France, Ireland; Christian; Saint) [also 8.30]

Firminus II (Christian; Saint)

Gideon the Judge (Christian; Saint)

Giles (Christian; Saint)

Hobbit Remembrance Day (Pastafarian)

Loup (a.k.a. Lupus or Lew) of Sens (Christian; Saint)

Nivard (a.k.a. Nivo; Christian; Saint)

Ramalamadingdong begins (Church of the SubGenius)

Simeon Stylite (Eastern Orthodox)

Sixtus of Reims (Christian; Saint)

Taddeo Zuccari (Artology)

Terentian (a.k.a. Terrence; Christian; Saint)

Uncle Ermisimo (Muppetism)

Verena (Christian; Saint)

Vibiana (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Historically Bad Day (Germany invaded Poland, earthquakes in Iran & Japan & 8 other tragedies) [7of 11]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Address Unknown, by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor (Novel; 1938)

The Aleph, by Jorge Luis Borges (Short Story; 1945)

Arsenic and Old Lace (Film; 1943)

The Autograph Hound (Disney Cartoon; 1939)

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (Film; 1947)

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (Novel; 2009) [#2]

Chocolates for Breakfast, by Pamela Moore (Novel; 1956)

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, by Thomas De Quincey (Autobiography; 1821)

The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen (Novel; 2001)

Crank (Film; 2006)

Dames (Film; 1934)

Dr. Feelgood, by Mötley Crüe (Album; 1989)

Dug Days (Animated TV Series; 2021)

The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje (Novel; 1992)

Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton (Novel; 1911)

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway (Novel; 1929)

A Farewell to Kings, by Rush (Album; 1977)

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, by Dr. Seuss (Children’s Books; 1938)

Hook, Lion and Sinker (Disney Cartoon; 1950)

Honey’s Money (WB MM Cartoon; 1962)

Idiocracy (Film; 2006)

Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1599)

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (Novel; 1955)

The Mass Psychology of Fascism, by Wilhelm Reich (Political Book; 1933)

Middlemarch, by George Eliot (Novel; 1871)

The Mighty Hercules (Animated TV Series; 1963)

The Old Man and the Sea (Short Story; 1952)

Outside Providence (Film; 1999)

Peculiar Penguins (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

The Plastics Inventor (Disney Cartoon; 1944)

Private Eyes, by Hall & Oates (Album; 1981)

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran (Poems; 1923)

Rear Window (Film; 1954)

A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf (Novel; 1929)

The Slap-Happy Mouse (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, by John le Carré (Novel; 1963)

The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin (Novel; 1972)

Haydn String Quartets, Opus 10, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Quartets; 1785)

Swordfishtrombones, by Tom Waits (Album; 1983)

TikTok (Social Media App; 2016)

Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller (Novel; 1934) What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong (Song; 1967)

When Worlds Collide, by Philip Wylie (Novel; 1932)

The Women (Film; 1939)

Worth Dying For, 15th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2010)

You Can’t Take It with You (Film; 1938)

Today’s Name Days

Ägidius, Ruth, Verena (Austria)

Damyan, Damyana, Kozma, Kuzman, Simeon, Simona (Bulgaria)

Aron, Egidije, Estera, Jošua, Oliver, Predrag, Šimun, Tamara, Viktor (Croatia)

Jaroslava, Linda, Samuel (Czech Republic)

Ægidius, Theobaldus (Denmark)

Eha, Ehala, Hämarik, Ülar, Ülari, Ülev, Üllar, Üllart, Üllas, Üllo, Ülo (Estonia)

Aaro, Aaron, Pirkka (Finland)

Aaron, Esther, Giles, Goulwen, Jossué, Thierry (France)

Ägidius, Ruth, Verena (Germany)

Anargyros, Argyris, Antigone, Antigoni, Athena, Athina, Damianos, Kosmas, Margarita, Polynike, Polyniki, Symeon (Greece)

Annamária, Egon, Egyed, Tihamér (Hungary)

Caio, Cono, Costanzo, Egidio (Italy)

Austrums, Ilmārs, Iluta, Irisa, Imants, Ingars, Intars, Teobalds, Verena (Latvia)

Burvilė, Egidijus, Gytautas, Gytis, Julijus, Liepa, Tautrimas, Tautrimė (Lithuania)

Ask, Embla, Solveig, Solvor (Norway)

Aaron, Bogusław, Bronisław, Bronisława, Bronisz, Halina, Idzi, Klarysa, Marian, Niegosława, Teobald (Poland)

Dionisie (Romania)

Diana, Drahoslava (Slovakia)

Aarón, Arturo, Ester, Esther, Gil, Josué, Leonor, Oliverio, Simeón, Sixto (Spain)

Aron, Mirjam, Sam, Samuel (Sweden)

Debbie, Deborah, Debra, Edgar, Edgardo, Giles, Josh, Joshua, Josue, Ruth (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 244 of 2024; 121 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 35 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Geng-Shen), Day 17 (Ren-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 15 Elul 5783

Islamic: 15 Safar 1445

J Cal: 4 Aki; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 19 August 2023

Moon: 96%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 20 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Dalton]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 72 of 94)

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 11 of 32)

Calendar Changes

September (Gregorian Calendar) [Month 9 of 12]

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 9.1

Holidays

American Chess Day

Arts Day (Bardo)

Back to Hogwarts Day

Bahti Meskerem (Eritrea)

Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day

Carrington Event Day

Chicken Boy Day

Childhood Cancer Awareness Day (Tennessee)

Constitution Day (Slovakia)

Creation Day

Daffodil Day (New Zealand)

Day of Knowledge (Estonia, Russia)

Disaster Prevention Day (Japan)

Draft Horse Day

Emma M. Nutt Day (a.k.a. Nutt Day)

Flag Day (Honduras)

Footy Colors Day (Australia)

Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

Global Talent Acquisition Day [1st Wednesday]

Human Resources Professional Day (South Dakota)

International Cap Classique Day

International Day of Awareness of the Dolphins of Taiji

International Naalbinding Day

International Neil Diamond Day

International Primate Day

International Trade Union Action Day for Peace

International Women in Cyber Day

Journalist Day (Taiwan)

Kama Sutra Day

Kanto Earthquake Memorial Day (Japan)

Knowledge Day (Armenia, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine)

Letter Appreciation Day

Lose Your Virginity Day

Mary Had a Little Lamb Day

Meteorological Autumn begins (Northern Hemisphere)

Meteorological Spring begins (Southern Hemisphere)

National Acne Positivity Day

National Boykin Spaniel Day

National Child Identity Theft Awareness Day

National Disaster Prevention Day (Japan)

National Forgiveness Day

National Homecare Day of Action

National Hotel Employee Day

National Little Black Dress Day

National Marmoset Day

National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day

National Police K-9 Day

901 Day (Tennessee)

No Music Day (Nigeria)

Onam (Hindu harvest festival; India)

Partridge Day (UK)

Pink Cadillac Day

Presidential Message Day (Mexico)

Random Acts of Kindness Day (NZ)

Respect the Drive Day

Revolution Day (Libya; 1969)

Rites of Moawita (Elder Scrolls)

Save Japan’s Dolphins Day

Sing A Silly Song In Bed Day

Teacher’s Day (Singapore)

Tourist Day

Toy Tips Executive Toy Test Day

Trout Day (French Republic)

Veteran’s Day (Poland)

Wattle Day (Australia)

White Rabbit Day

World CLL Day

World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

World Day of the Fingerprint

World Emotional Trauma Awareness Day

World Freestyle Football Day

World Letter Writing Day

World PCOS Day of Unity

World War Two Anniversary Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cherry Popover Day

National Burnt Ends Day

National Gyro Day

National Oatloaf Day

National Tofu Day (UK)

Oyster Season begins

1st Friday in September

Bandcamp Friday [1st Friday]

Belgian Beer Weekend begins (Belgisch Bierweekend) [1st Friday thru Sunday]

Bring Your Manners To Work Day [1st Friday]

Casual Day (South Africa) [1st Friday]

College Colors Day [Friday nearest 9.1]

Dri-jerbal (Labor Day; Marshall Islands) [1st Friday]

Freddie Mercury’s Montreux Memorial Day begins [Weekend of 1st Friday]

Labor Day Weekend (U.S. & Canada) [Begins Friday before 1st Monday in September]

Benton Neighbor Day (Benton, Missouri)

Britt Draft Horse Show (Britt, Iowa)

Bumbershoot (Seattle, Washington)

Central City Rock 'n' Roll Cruise-in & Concert (Central City, Kentucky)

Cleveland National Air Show (Cleveland, Ohio)

Clothesline Fair (Prairie Grove, Arkansas)

Colombia River Cross Channel Swim (Hood River, Oregon)

Colorado Balloon Classic (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Commonwheel Labor Day Weekend Arts and Crafts Festival (Manitou Springs, Colorado)

Daniel Boone Pioneer Days (Winchester, Kentucky)

Fort Bridger Rendezvous (Fort Bridger, Wyoming)

Great Bathtub Race (Nome, Alaska)

Great Grove Bed Race (Coconut Grove, Florida)

Harvest Wine Celebration (Livermore, California)

Hog Capital of the World Festival (Kewanee, Illinois)

Hopkinton State Fair (Contoocook, New Hampshire)

Iroquois Arts Festival (Howes Cave, New York)

Johnson City Field Days (Johnson City, New York)

Jubilee Days Festival (Zion, Illinois)

Lifelight Outdoor Music Festival (Worthing, South Dakota)

Mackinac Bridge Walk (St. Ignace, Michigan)

National Championship Chuckwagon Races (Clinton, Arkansas)

National Hard Crab Derby and Fair (Crisfield, Maryland)

National Sweetcorn Festival (Hoopeston, Illinois)

Oatmeal Festival (Bertram/Oatmeal, Texas)

Odyssey Greek Festival (Orange, Connecticut)

On the Waterfront (Rockford, Illinois)

Old Threshers Reunion (Mount Pleasant, Iowa)

Oregon Trail Rodeo (Hastings, Nebraska)

Payson Golden Onion Days (Payson, Utah)

Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Colonial Festival (Greensburg, Pennsylvania)

Popeye Picnic (Chester, Illinois)

Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival (Independence, Missouri)

Scandinavian Fest (Budd Lake, New Jersey)

Sta-Bil Nationals Championship Lawn Mower Race (Delaware, Ohio)

Snake River Duck Race (Nome, Alaska)

Taste of Colorado (Denver, Colorado)

Taste of Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)

Totah Festival (Farmington, New Mexico)

Waikiki Roughwater Swim (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Westfest Czech Heritage Festival (West, Texas)

West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival (Clarksburg, West Virginia)

Wisconsin State Cow-Chip Throw (Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin)

Woodstock Fair (Woodstock, Connecticut)

World Championship Barbecue Goat Cook-Off (Brady, Texas)

National Chianti Day [1st Friday]

National Food Bank Day [1st Friday]

National Lazy Mom’s Day [1st Friday]

Wear Teal Day [1st Friday]

Independence Days

Alberta Province Day (Canada; 1905)

Baltia (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Chrisland (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Gymnasium State (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Saskatchewan Province Day (Canada; 1905)

Uzbekistan (a.k.a. Mustaqillik Kuni); from USSR, 1991)

Feast Days

Constantius (Costanzo) of Aquino (Christian; Saint)

Dalton (Positivist; Saint)

David Pendleton Oakerhater (Anglican Communion)

Ecclesiastical New Year (Orthodox Christian)

Feast of Macuilxochitl (5 Flower God; Mexico)

Festival of the Grapevines I: Ariadne (Pagan)

Felix, Donatus, Arontius, Honoratus, Fortunatus, Sabinianus, Septimus, Januarius, Vitalis, Satyrus, abd Repostius, 12 brothers (Christian; Martyrs)

Festival of Juno Regina and Jupiter Liber (Ancient Rome)

Fiacre (France, Ireland; Christian; Saint) [also 8.30]

Firminus II (Christian; Saint)

Gideon the Judge (Christian; Saint)

Giles (Christian; Saint)

Hobbit Remembrance Day (Pastafarian)

Loup (a.k.a. Lupus or Lew) of Sens (Christian; Saint)

Nivard (a.k.a. Nivo; Christian; Saint)

Ramalamadingdong begins (Church of the SubGenius)

Simeon Stylite (Eastern Orthodox)

Sixtus of Reims (Christian; Saint)

Taddeo Zuccari (Artology)

Terentian (a.k.a. Terrence; Christian; Saint)

Uncle Ermisimo (Muppetism)

Verena (Christian; Saint)

Vibiana (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Historically Bad Day (Germany invaded Poland, earthquakes in Iran & Japan & 8 other tragedies) [7of 11]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Address Unknown, by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor (Novel; 1938)

The Aleph, by Jorge Luis Borges (Short Story; 1945)

Arsenic and Old Lace (Film; 1943)

The Autograph Hound (Disney Cartoon; 1939)

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (Film; 1947)

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (Novel; 2009) [#2]

Chocolates for Breakfast, by Pamela Moore (Novel; 1956)

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, by Thomas De Quincey (Autobiography; 1821)

The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen (Novel; 2001)

Crank (Film; 2006)

Dames (Film; 1934)

Dr. Feelgood, by Mötley Crüe (Album; 1989)

Dug Days (Animated TV Series; 2021)

The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje (Novel; 1992)

Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton (Novel; 1911)

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway (Novel; 1929)

A Farewell to Kings, by Rush (Album; 1977)

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, by Dr. Seuss (Children’s Books; 1938)

Hook, Lion and Sinker (Disney Cartoon; 1950)

Honey’s Money (WB MM Cartoon; 1962)

Idiocracy (Film; 2006)

Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1599)

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (Novel; 1955)

The Mass Psychology of Fascism, by Wilhelm Reich (Political Book; 1933)

Middlemarch, by George Eliot (Novel; 1871)

The Mighty Hercules (Animated TV Series; 1963)

The Old Man and the Sea (Short Story; 1952)

Outside Providence (Film; 1999)

Peculiar Penguins (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

The Plastics Inventor (Disney Cartoon; 1944)

Private Eyes, by Hall & Oates (Album; 1981)

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran (Poems; 1923)

Rear Window (Film; 1954)

A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf (Novel; 1929)

The Slap-Happy Mouse (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, by John le Carré (Novel; 1963)

The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin (Novel; 1972)

Haydn String Quartets, Opus 10, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Quartets; 1785)

Swordfishtrombones, by Tom Waits (Album; 1983)

TikTok (Social Media App; 2016)

Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller (Novel; 1934) What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong (Song; 1967)

When Worlds Collide, by Philip Wylie (Novel; 1932)

The Women (Film; 1939)

Worth Dying For, 15th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2010)

You Can’t Take It with You (Film; 1938)

Today’s Name Days

Ägidius, Ruth, Verena (Austria)

Damyan, Damyana, Kozma, Kuzman, Simeon, Simona (Bulgaria)

Aron, Egidije, Estera, Jošua, Oliver, Predrag, Šimun, Tamara, Viktor (Croatia)

Jaroslava, Linda, Samuel (Czech Republic)

Ægidius, Theobaldus (Denmark)

Eha, Ehala, Hämarik, Ülar, Ülari, Ülev, Üllar, Üllart, Üllas, Üllo, Ülo (Estonia)

Aaro, Aaron, Pirkka (Finland)

Aaron, Esther, Giles, Goulwen, Jossué, Thierry (France)

Ägidius, Ruth, Verena (Germany)

Anargyros, Argyris, Antigone, Antigoni, Athena, Athina, Damianos, Kosmas, Margarita, Polynike, Polyniki, Symeon (Greece)

Annamária, Egon, Egyed, Tihamér (Hungary)

Caio, Cono, Costanzo, Egidio (Italy)

Austrums, Ilmārs, Iluta, Irisa, Imants, Ingars, Intars, Teobalds, Verena (Latvia)

Burvilė, Egidijus, Gytautas, Gytis, Julijus, Liepa, Tautrimas, Tautrimė (Lithuania)

Ask, Embla, Solveig, Solvor (Norway)

Aaron, Bogusław, Bronisław, Bronisława, Bronisz, Halina, Idzi, Klarysa, Marian, Niegosława, Teobald (Poland)

Dionisie (Romania)

Diana, Drahoslava (Slovakia)

Aarón, Arturo, Ester, Esther, Gil, Josué, Leonor, Oliverio, Simeón, Sixto (Spain)

Aron, Mirjam, Sam, Samuel (Sweden)

Debbie, Deborah, Debra, Edgar, Edgardo, Giles, Josh, Joshua, Josue, Ruth (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 244 of 2024; 121 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 35 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Geng-Shen), Day 17 (Ren-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 15 Elul 5783

Islamic: 15 Safar 1445

J Cal: 4 Aki; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 19 August 2023

Moon: 96%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 20 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Dalton]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 72 of 94)

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 11 of 32)

Calendar Changes

September (Gregorian Calendar) [Month 9 of 12]

[travismckeeentr1281]

Business Operations Plan

Location was an easy choice for the business. A freshly established, currently personal, church-turned-garage will be a prime component in the success of our venture. Situated in the heart of Iroquois, our venue is conveniently strategically positioned to attract local car enthusiasts and visitors from neighboring areas. The central location will ensure ease of access for our target market, facilitating their participation in car shows, car meets, and educational courses. This ideal location will be a hub for automotive enthusiasts of all ages, fostering a sense of community and excitement that drives our venture's success.

After carefully considering and evaluating our initial budget constraints, we have decided to outsource our clothing production instead of using our expensive equipment until we reach a more established stage. Outsourcing offers several benefits, including cost-effectiveness and flexibility. By partnering with a reputable clothing manufacturer, we can benefit from their expertise and established production processes, ensuring high-quality merchandise for our customers. Additionally, outsourcing allows us to focus our resources and efforts on building a solid community, organizing events, and marketing our venture during its early stages. As we grow and achieve a more substantial customer base, we can revisit the possibility of investing in our equipment when the production costs can be more efficiently justified, thus ensuring a well-rounded approach to sustainable growth in the car enthusiast market.

Fortunately, my partners have already handled the licensing and permits required for our car enthusiast venture. The circumstance was quite convenient and ensured a smooth and compliant operation from the outset. Moreover, the property we have secured for our venture is already established as commercial, further streamlining the process. This commercial designation offers us the advantage of a ready-to-use space that complies with local regulations, saving us valuable time and resources. With the licensing and permits already in place and the property's commercial status, we can now focus our efforts on developing an exceptional experience for our community of car enthusiasts, organizing exciting events, and providing top-notch merchandise and services.

As we approach the final stages of launching our car enthusiast venture, we have a well-defined path to success. Our priority is to complete the outsourcing process for the remaining products, ensuring the highest quality standards for our merchandise. Concurrently, we will finalize our pricing plan, balancing competitiveness and profitability to appeal to our target market. Engaging with our community and driving sales will be achieved through organizing regular meets where we will showcase and sell our products. We will launch a comprehensive marketing and advertising campaign to boost brand awareness, utilizing social media, local channels, and collaborating with automotive influencers. Community outreach initiatives will be essential in fostering a sense of belonging and promoting our venture as the go-to destination for car enthusiasts. With these meticulously planned next steps, we are confident in making a remarkable entry into the car enthusiast market.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“BUILDING GOOD ROADS IN NORTHERN ONTARIO,” Toronto Globe. November 2, 1912. Page 17.  ---- Splendid Work Has Already Been Accomplished ---- GREAT AID TO SETTLERS ----- The Old System of Securing Grant for Roads and Having the Work  Done by Friends of "the Party' Receives a Rude Jolt.  ---- (Staff Correspondence of The Globe.) Cochrane, Oct. 28.-Since June Mr J. F. Whitson has built 218 miles of road over an area approximately one hundred miles square. For every mile built dozens of families have been liberated from the burden of the packsack. For years many women have been incarcerated by the mud and the swamp back in the bush until the snow comes and a trail can be trodden; they can now leave their shacks and do their own marketing. 

It has been a hard light with two main disturbing factors, one season which has made the clearing of land a sodden misery. Often the men had to work up to their knees in waters.. In several places where the road has not yet been corduroyed camp outfits have had to be left until  the snow roads are made, because the continuous fall of rain made the track a quagmire. Certainly it would have been impossible to pick a more trying and unpropitious year to commence the gigantic task of supplying the northern section of the Province with roads.

Fighting the Old System. Secondly, there has been the insidious influence of the old bad system to ward off. Under the old haphazard method the settlers would find their condition desperate, and would be forced to ask the Government for aid. They would seek the assistance of the President of the local branch of the Conservative Association, and a collection would be taken to send a deputation to Toronto with the President as one of the spokesmen. Some months afterwards the settlement would be notified that a certain meagre grant had been awarded them, and the President of the Conservative Association would appoint himself foreman and his relatives, neighbors and friends would build the road. They would come pretty much when they liked and quit when they liked, and if farm concerns demanded their car far be it from a paternal Government to stop their pay in the meantime, and the wretched trails throughout the country witness the result. 

The old system found that the new Commissioner wanted a day's work for a day's pay, and if he could not get it from the settler, who always had the preference, why, he must get it from someone else.. The astounded President of the conservative Association found himself tired from his job as foreman and the whole force paid off. There has been a good deal of potty badgering to contend with. 

Headquarters in Toronto. In a few weeks' time. the headquarters of the Northern Ontario road branch will be moved to Toronto, where It will be permanently established in the Parliament buildings. Next year the Rainy Lake and Fort William country will be invaded, as well as the work resumed in Northern Ontario. For the campaign this year has but just opened. and main roads have been cut which will let the people out to the light and the sun of open country. Next year Townships lines will be cut, and further areas will be prepared for the future settler. The main centre of endeavor this year has been round Cochrane, where 119 miles of road have been cut in four townships.. e road runs straight as the compass could draw it for seventeen mile between the Frederickhouse and Abitibi Rivers, and there are several other tunnels through the bush equally as long. There is much low, wet land to be crosslayed, and the cost per mile would run up to $1,200 and $1.100. When the ground is dry and high will cost about $800 per mile.

Much Has Been Done, There are fifty of the 218 miles graded, ditched and finished: the others are still to be completed, though they will do well enough during the winter. From north to south the work been distributed as follows:--- Cochrane, 119 miles; at Okidisik, on the Transcontinental, right against the Quebec boundary, ten miles; Iroquois Falls,fifteen miles; Kelso, twelve;  Matheson, fifty-two miles; Englehart, ten miles. The ten miles at Pidisik consisted in cutting a trunk road paralleling the rallroad. It will serve as a base to cut side lines next spring. There is here some of the choicest land of the north. Twenty-five of the miles round Matheson consisted of a trunk road paralleling the T. & N. 0. Rallway and connecting up all the side lines with Mathesen and themselves. This will suit the whole community into one, instead of having isolated and discouraged units. At Kelso and Iroquois Falls roads have been run out to small clusters of settlers. There are still some families three or four miles back from any road, but they have gone in since the colonization work commenced, and it may be said that Northern Ontario. has in one year passed from the age of the packrack and the trail through the woods to that of the sixty-foot colonization road and the top buggy. 

BEN. HUGHES.

[jaygabler]

Although hockey as we know it took shape in our northern neighbor nation in the late 1800s, the sport's origins stretch across Europe and pre-colonial America. The word "hockey" itself could have evolved from similar words in either Iroquois or French.