#michael-annals

[wordsgood]

thinking of things that are going to happen in prophecy trilogy book 2 and wanting to scream about them but even on my dead writing blog i don't want to spoil anything 🤭🤫

[k1ng0k]

Meet Michael Morningstar, 1st Prince of Heaven

The oldest amongst the archangels, Michael is the protector and voice of the Father and the Kingdom of Heaven. He is entrusted with the commands of his Father and to accomplish them as soon as possible. Hers the most feared to demons and the most admired to angels.

[michaelvarrati]

If you want to sing out…sing out! This week, Peaches and Michael explore unconventional connection in celebration of 1971’s HAROLD AND MAUDE! In addition to discussing the film’s remarkable use of music, our hosts delve into Harold’s place as one of cinema’s first proto-goths. Joining the conversation is cult filmmaker Chris LaMartina, who digs into the continued impact this classic has had on his life and outlook. Then, Vintage Annals Archive’s own Richard Wexler stops by to offer up some of the more nuanced bits of the movie’s storied history. From modified hearses to Cat Stevens verses, this episode has it all! Go!

[beastsovrevelation]

Nine people I’d like to get to know better

Tagged by @suspendingtime , thank you! ❤

Last song I listened to: Baphomet's Throne by Samael

Favourite colour: black, if I have to choose... I love so many colors, and so many shades of them. If black's "not a color", then dark red. 💫

Currently watching: to be honest, I'm looking for what to watch. Rewatching Yellowjackets in the meanwhile. And, I must finally see The First Omen.

Sweet/savoury/spicy?: savoury and spicy

Relationship Status: single, pretending to be in a relationship with a fictional character or two 🤡

Current obsession: various fictional universes, certain fictional characters (mine and not), the Antichrist lore, the Book of Revelation, the occult, my favorite pairing Archangel Michael x The Antichrist in all it's incarnations

Currently reading: Tacitus' Annals

Last thing I googled: "what did Augustus say about Varus latin"... don't ask, it was for a paper 🤣

❤ Tagging: @seventhoflitha , @whodoesnataliehave , @eldritchlibertine , @charliecow , @chaliceink , @ivereadthemanual , @yourcoolguitargf , @mysticls , @celticseawych

[theantonian]

The Antonian Reading List

Mark Antony: A Life by Patricia Southern (Highly recommended!)

Mark Antony: A Biography by Eleanor Goltz Huzar (Highly recommended!)

The Life and Times of Marc Antony by Arthur Weigall (Recommended)

Marc Antony: His Life and Times by Allan Roberts (Recommended)

Marc Antony by Mary Kittredge

Antony & Cleopatra by Patricia Southern

Antony & Cleopatra by Adrian Goldsworthy (By far the most negative book on Antony by a modern historian, the Cleopatra portion is better)

Mark Antony: A Plain Blunt Man by Paolo de Ruggiero (Recommended)

Mark Antony and Popular Culture: Masculinity and the Construction of an Icon by Rachael Kelly

Mark Antony's Heroes: How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor by Stephen Dando-Collins

A Noble Ruin: Mark Antony, Civil War and the Collapse of the Roman Republic by W. Jeffrey Tatum (Highly recommend!)

Mark Antony & Cleopatra: Cleopatra's Proxy War to Conquer Rome & Restore the Empire of the Greeks by Martin Armstrong

Actium and Augustus: The Politics and Emotions of Civil War by Robert Alan Gurval

The Roman Revolution by Ronald Syme (Recommended)

Octavian, Antony and Cleopatra by W. W. Tarn

Fulvia: Playing for Power at the End of the Roman Republic by Celia E. Schultz

Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley (Highly Recommended!)

Cleopatra by Michael Grant (Highly Recommanded!)

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff (Highly Recommended!)

Cleopatra - A Biography by D. Roller

Cleopatra and Antony by Diana Preston

Cleopatra by Alberto Angela (Recommended)

Cleopatra by Jacob Abbott

Cleopatra the Great by Joann Fletcher

Cleopatra and Egypt by Sally-Ann Ashton

Cleopatra and Rome by Diana E. E. Kleiner

Cleopatra Her History Her Myth by Francine Prose

Cleopatra Histories, Dreams, and Distortions by Lucy Hughes Hallett (Recommended)

Cleopatra’s Daughter Egyptian Princess by Jane Draycott

The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard (Good for beginners)

The Last Assassin: The Hunt for the Killers of Julius Caesar by Peter Stothard

Robicon by Tom Holland

Alesia 52 BC: The final struggle for Gaul (Campaign) by Nic Fields

Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra (Campaign) by Si Sheppard

Pharsalus 48 BC: Caesar and Pompey – Clash of the Titans (Campaign) by Si Sheppard

Philippi 42 BC: The death of the Roman Republic (Campaign) by Si Sheppard

Mutina 43 BC: Mark Antony's struggle for survival (Campaign) by Nic Fields

The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium by Barry Strauss

The Battle of Actium 31 BC: War for the World by Lee Fratantuono

Rome and Parthia: Empires at War: Ventidius, Antony and the Second Romano-Parthian War, 40–20 BC by Gareth C Sampson

Rivalling Rome: Parthian Coins and Culture by Vesta Curtis

Classical sources:

Plutarch’s Lives

Cicero: Philippics, Ad Brutum, Ad Familiares

Appian, The Civil Wars

Dio Cassius, The Roman History

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars

Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War

Livy, The Early History of Rome

Tacitus, Annals and Histories

Friction:

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra by Willian Shakespeare

All For Love or The World Well Lost by John Dryden

The Siren and the Roman – A Tragedy by Lucyl

Caesar and Cleopatra by George Berbard Shaw

Cleopatra (play) by Sardou

Antony by Allan Massie

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

I, Cleopatra by William Bostock

Cleopatra by H. Rider Haggard

Cleopatra by Georg Ebers

Kleopatra (Vol I & II) by Karen Essex

Last Days with Cleopatra by Jack Lindsay

The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George

When We Were Gods by Colin Falconer

The Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough

Caesar's Soldier: Mark Antony Book I by Alex Gough (Ongoing series)

The Antonius Trilogy by Brook Allen

The Last Pharaoh series by Jay Penner

Throne of Isis by Juith Tarr

Hand of Isis by Jo Graham

Woman of Egypt by Kevin Methews

The Ides of Blood 01-06 (Comics)

Terror - Antonius En Cleopatra (Erotic yet pure love, Dutch comics)

Cleopatra - Geschiedenisstrip (Dutch comics)

Les Grands Personnages de l Histoire en Bandes Dessinees – Marc Antonie (French comics)

Les Grands Personnages de l Histoire en Bandes Dessinees – Cleopatre (French comics)

Les Grands Personnages de l Histoire en Bandes Dessinees – Julius Caesar (French comics)

Cléopâtre (French Manga)

 Ils Ont Fait L'histoire - Cléopâtre (French Graphic Novel)

[thestylesindependent]

We haven’t seen an artist like him since David Bowie

I’ve always considered myself to be somewhat of a music purist.

I still listen to albums from front to back, usually on an old record player I keep next to a collection of EPs that produces a lovely scratchy sound as original masterpieces from Revolver to The Queen Is Dead turn on its table.

Those albums aren’t just important because they are musical triumphs, they’re important because they had a profound impact on the industry and influenced cultural movements that impacted society as a whole.

Without the Beatles there is no Pixies, Nirvana or Oasis. Without The Smiths there is no Stone Roses, Radiohead or The Libertines. But what those bands did for women’s liberation, gay liberation, environmentalism and working class movements is equally profound. Both are bands whose popularity was supplanted by their artistry, giving them a unique position in the annals of music history.

For me, ever since the X Factor aired on our screens, fronted by Simon Cowell with his pearly white teeth, pristine T and Twickers jeans and shoes combination, it has been the absolute antithesis of all that.

The public flogging of people out to chase their dreams has seen huge audiences flock to the show over the years as they crown acts who manage to not butcher classic covers. As Michael Rosenberg (AKA Passenger) once put it, the show “murdered music” at the altar of a few “money-grabbing pricks”. It robbed us of an original Christmas Number 1 for decades until a countermovement propelled Rage Against The Machine to the top spot. And quite right, too.

But the show has, quite miraculously, given birth to a musician who, in my view, belongs in the same category as The Beatles, The Smiths and, pertainantly, David Bowie in status.

Harry Styles, formerly of One Direction fame, is quite obviously a popular bloke. He is about to perform in front of 90,000 people at Wembley for the fourth night after completing the highest selling Scottish stadium tour ever. He has 48.9 million followers on Instagram and his 2022 hit ‘As It Was’ was the most streamed Spotify song that year.

But his popularity should not be confused with his artistry.

Styles is more than just the hoards of screaming teenage fans and strings of celebrity endorsements we’ve come to know him for. He’s actually an icon both in music and in style, and increasingly an icon in modern movements of inclusiveness and self-worth.

During a concert in Houston, Texas, in 2018, he interacted with a ten-year-old boy in the crowd who had become overcome with emotion. Styles assured the young boy, “Crying is very manly. Being vulnerable is manly”. That is fucking classy, man.

His debut album artwork, which depicts the least tattooed area of his naked body half-submerged in a pastel pink bath, similarly conveys vulnerability, femininity, reflection, and intimacy, all of which are buzzwords for new youth movements that will only grow in acceptance and popularity.

When I look at his Love on Tour show I don’t see a teenage heartthrob. I see the Beatles. I look at his fashion and I see Bowie. I look at the messages he’s sending out to kids and I see Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation. And I see the fact that nobody is talking about him in those terms as proof that he is actually woefully underrated.

Now bring on the hate…

[tuulikki]

Why, then, did the killings go on for so long? The same irrationality lies at the heart of many other mass murders. In the Soviet Union, for example, shooting or jailing political opponents at first helped the Communist Party and then Josef Stalin gain absolute power. But after there were no visible opponents left, seven million more people were executed, and many millions more died in the far-flung camps of the gulag. So many engineers were seized that factories came to a halt; so many railway men died that some trains did not run; so many colonels and generals were shot that the almost leaderless Red Army was nearly crushed by the German invasion of 1941.

In the Congo, as in Russia, mass murder had a momentum of its own. Power is tempting, and in a sense no power is greater than the ability to take someone's life. Once under way, mass killing is hard to stop; it becomes a kind of sport, like hunting. Congo annals abound in cases like that of René de Permentier, an officer in the Equator district in the late 1890s. The Africans nicknamed him Bajunu (for bas genoux, on your knees), because he always made people kneel before him. He had all the bushes and trees cut down around his house at Bokatola so that from his porch he could use passersby for target practice. If he found a leaf in a courtyard that women prisoners had swept, he ordered a dozen of them beheaded. If he found a path in the forest not well-maintained, he ordered a child killed in the nearest village.

Two Force Publique officers, Clément Brasseur and Léon Cerckel, once ordered a man hung from a palm tree by his feet while a fire was lit beneath him and he was cooked to death. Two missionaries found one post where prisoners were killed by having resin poured over their heads, then set on fire. The list is much longer.

Michael Herr, the most brilliant reporter of the Vietnam War, captures the same frenzy in the voice of one American soldier he met: "We'd rip out the hedges and burn the hooches and blow all the wells and kill every chicken, pig and cow in the whole fucking ville. I mean, if we can't shoot these people, what the fuck are we doing here?" When another American, Francis Ford Coppola, tried to put the blood lust of that war on film, where did he turn for the plot of his Apocalypse Now? To Joseph Conrad, who had seen it all, a century earlier, in the Congo.

—King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, & Heroism in Colonial Africa

Reading this due to current events (Congo, Palestine, Ukraine, Myanmar, Azerbaijan, Xinjiang, Tigray, Manipur… nothing ever changes, does it)

[glass-needles-and-futurisms]

I keep thinking back to Muse playing Survival at the closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, and I keep saying that one of these days I'm just gonna spew all my feelings about how it's not just one of my all-time favorite Muse moments, but also a hilarious, if perhaps unintentional, moment of social commentary.

I still remember our postgrad professor showing those same closing ceremonies in class, explaining the not-so-subtle propagandistic purpose the entire spectacle served on the global stage. (For those who don't know, the 2012 Olympics closing ceremonies were essentially a three-hour star-studded tribute to UK music and pop culture.)

Picture this: you just sat through about two hours of the UK's various national exports - One Direction, the Spice Girls, the Pet Shop Boys, George Michael, Ed Sheeran, Annie Lennox, erm, Russell Brand. You've just seen live performances of Bohemian Rhapsody, Imagine, Wonderwall, and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, alongside tributes to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury. And you still have Queen, Take That and The Who to go after this.

Interestingly, that class glossed over what an afterthought the Muse performance felt like by comparison. You could argue a lot of extenuating circumstances: the controversial reception of Survival as the official London Olympics theme song, the infamous NBC debacle where it inadvertently got cut from the US broadcast of the ceremonies, or the simple fact that this far into the festivities, a fairly straightforward stage performance* by a band with slightly less name recognition than Coldplay was pretty underwhelming.

* Not sure if this is common knowledge, but apparently this performance was mostly playback with the exception of Matt's vocals. Which also makes this an underappreciated entry in the annals of Muse miming shenanigans.

But something becomes very apparent once you actually reach this part of the show: Survival is fucking bananas. I'll never forget that one internet commenter calling it the world's most epic villain song that doesn't know it's a villain song. I mean, just look at the lyrics:

Life's a race / and I am gonna win

And I'll light the fuse / and I'll never lose

And I choose to survive / whatever it takes

You won't pull ahead / I'll keep up the pace

And I'll reveal my strength / to the whole human race

This is how the song starts! You can sort of see the logic behind making it the Olympics theme song. And then it gets weirder from there:

Yes, I am prepared / to stay alive

I won't forgive / the vengeance is mine

And I won't give in / because I choose to thrive

Yeah, I'm gonna wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin

Good grief. No wonder it's called "Survival". The song makes slightly more sense in the thematic context of The 2nd Law, the album it was released on. But on its own it's just.... yeah.

And this performance ramps up the insanity even more by just taking the piss. Between Matt Bellamy peacocking in a sparkly suit and Union Jack t-shirt, the batshit guitar solo, the pyro, the backing choir, and the fact that everything onstage (including the grand piano) is pretty much just for show (and wobbling like mad), Survival feels cheesy and irreverent in a way that makes you suddenly hyper-conscious of how tightly orchestrated everything else you just saw (including the Monty Python and Mr. Bean stuff) was. Remember that this was all broadcast to an international audience of millions.

Pairing the sheer pageantry of the ceremonies thus far with the actual lyrics of Survival kinda puts everything in an uncomfortable new light. Then it dawns on you that you pretty much just watched an accidental three-hour love letter to British imperialism. (Okay maybe that's overselling it a bit but it's still pretty funny.)

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Ancient Greece and Ancient Iran: Cross‐Cultural Encounters 1st INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE (ATHENS, 11‐13 NOVEMBER 2006) Edited by Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi and Antigoni Zournatzi National Hellenic Research Foundation Cultural Center of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Athens Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO Athens, December 2008

Description The extraordinary feats of conquest of Cyrus the Great and Alexander the Great have left a lasting imprint in the annals of world history. Successive Persian and Greek rule over vast stretches of territory from the Indus to the eastern Mediterranean also created an international environment in which people, commodities, technological innovations, as well as intellectual, political, and artistic ideas could circulate across the ancient world unhindered by ethno-cultural and territorial barriers, bringing about cross-fertilization between East and West. These broad patterns of cultural phenomena are illustrated in twenty-four contributions to the first international conference on ancient Greek-Iranian interactions, which was organized as a joint Greek and Iranian initiative.

Contents

Preface (Ekaterini Tzitzikosta)

Conference addresses (Dimitrios A. Kyriakidis, Seyed Taha Hashemi Toghraljerdi, Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi, Vassos Karageorghis, Miltiades Hatzopoulos, Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi, Massoud Azarnoush, David Stronach)

Introduction (Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi and Antigoni Zournatzi)

Europe and Asia: Aeschylus’ Persians and Homer’s Iliad (Stephen Tracy)

The death of Masistios and the mourning for his loss (Hdt. 9.20-25.1) (Angeliki Petropoulou)

Magi in Athens in the fifth century BC? (Kyriakos Tsantsanoglou)

Hājīābād and the dialogue of civilizations (Massoud Azarnoush)

Zoroastrianism and Christianity in the Sasanian empire (fourth century AD) (Sara Alinia)

Greco-Persian literary interactions in classical Persian literature (Evangelos Venetis)

Pseudo-Aristotelian politics and theology in universal Islam (Garth Fowden)

The system Artaphernes-Mardonius as an example of imperial nostalgia (Michael N. Weiskopf)

Greeks and Iranians in the Cimmerian Bosporus in the second/first century BC: new epigraphic data from Tanais (Askold I. Ivantchik)

The Seleucids and their Achaemenid predecessors: a Persian inheritance? (Christopher Tuplin)

Managing an empire — teacher and pupil (G. G. Aperghis)

The building program of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae and the date of the fall of Sardis (David Stronach)

Persia and Greece: the role of cultural interactions in the architecture of Persepolis— Pasargadae (Mohammad Hassan Talebian)

Reading Persepolis in Greek— Part Two: marriage metaphors and unmanly virtues (Margaret C. Root)

The marble of the Penelope from Persepolis and its historical implications (Olga Palagia)

Cultural interconnections in the Achaemenid West: a few reflections on the testimony of the Cypriot archaeological record (Antigoni Zournatzi)

Greek, Anatolian, and Persian iconography in Asia Minor: material sources, method, and perspectives (Yannick Lintz)

Imaging a tomb chamber: the iconographic program of the Tatarlı wall paintings (Lâtife Summerer). Appendix: Tatarli Project: reconstructing a wooden tomb chamber (Alexander von Kienlin)

The Achaemenid lion-griffin on a Macedonian tomb painting and on a Sicyonian mosaic (Stavros A. Paspalas)

Psychotropic plants on Achaemenid style vessels (Despina Ignatiadou)

Achaemenid toreutics in the Greek periphery (Athanasios Sideris)

Achaemenid influences on Rhodian minor arts and crafts (Pavlos Triantafyllidis)

Historical Iranian and Greek relations in retrospect (Mehdi Rahbar)

Persia and Greece: a forgotten history of cultural relations (Shahrokh Razmjou)

The editors Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi is General Director of Cultural Offices of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Europe and the Americas. Antigoni Zournatzi is Senior Researcher in the Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity, National Hellenic Research Foundation. Her work focuses on the relations between Achaemenid Persia and the West.

The whole volume can be found as pdf on:

[theroyalhouseofwindenburg]

As time flowed on in Windenburg, King Wilhelm V's reign continued with a mix of extravagance and shrewd political maneuvers. The young king reveled in a life of parties and indulgence, surrounded by numerous mistresses. Firm in his conviction to marry on his own terms, Wilhelm adamantly refused any suggestions of a marriage alliance, much to the chagrin of his advisors.

In the realm of diplomacy, King Wilhelm displayed cunning and foresight. He brokered a significant trade deal with the influential Landgraab Dynasty, arranging the betrothal of his youngest sister, Princess Jane of Windenburg, to Captain Michael Landgraab, the powerful leader of the Pirate Kingdom of Arbyville. This strategic union not only solidified an alliance with the thriving Pirate community but also strengthened Wilhelm's position against his adversaries.

Ever dedicated to the Jacoban faith, King Wilhelm actively supported and promoted its influence within Windenburg. He took a hard stance against any Peteran establishments or alliances, ensuring that Jacoban laws were upheld and reinstated, even if it meant overturning decisions made by his predecessors. The Jacoban community found a staunch ally in King Wilhelm V, who used his authority to enforce his beliefs and mold the kingdom according to his vision.

With a combination of lavish living and astute political maneuvering, Wilhelm V wielded his power to shape Windenburg into a realm that suited his desires and aspirations. His determination to govern on his own terms, however, would have consequences that would test his resolve and define his legacy in the annals of Windenburg's history. As time marched forward, the kingdom awaited the outcomes of the choices made by their enigmatic and forceful young monarch.

[kevrocksicehouse]

Priscilla.

D: Sofia Coppola (2023).

Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla tells the story of a 14-year-old girl (Cailee Spaeny) who meets the most famous man in America while he’s serving in the army, how he dates her, drops her and then whisks her off to Graceland after she turns 17 where he takes charge of her while waiting for her to reach the age of consent after which they can be wed. It’s a profoundly creepy tale, worthy of Du Maurier and Coppola catches the eerie echoes of a girl living in a mansion that in brief patches is full of the life of a superstar and his entourage enacting the star’s narcissistic adolescent fantasies (while being kept at arms-length by a “Memphis Mafia” as insular and exclusionary as the real thing) and when the star is absent (working on a far-off career), is a well-kept mausoleum. The director keeps us at a distance from this groomer – we never hear any of his songs and his manipulative seduction of her is the only relationship we see him have with anyone, although there’s a strong suggestion that he’s being handled and exploited himself (a scene where he’s presented as a Michael Corleone figure, only to get shut down by a call from the REAL Godfather, is dripping with irony) which leaves us, for great chunks of time with the imprisoned princess waiting for her to figure out her best bet is to walk out with her daughter (conceived in mysterious ways although there is a strong suggestion that sex is involved). In real life the princess returned after the King died and took control of the Kingdom as well as the story, greenlighting the narrative we see before us (which was adapted from her annals), but revealing this in the film would ruin the enchanted tale she weaves so she merely says Goodbye to All That and drives away sadder and wiser into a blissful future.

In other words, I’d like this movie a lot better if I didn’t give a shit about Elvis Presley.

[wordsgood]

dog food commercial: the thing a wolf in the wild craves most is meat

me, just finished a smutty m/m werewolf shifter audiobook: you can say that again

[col-rajyavardhan-rathore]

Celebrating 20 Years of Glory - Athens 2004 Olympics: Col Rajyavardhan Rathore

The Athens 2004 Olympics marked a historic moment in sports history, not only for its grandeur but also for the remarkable achievements of athletes from around the world. This event, hosted in the birthplace of the Olympic Games, Greece, stood as a testament to human excellence, perseverance, and the spirit of global unity through sport.

A Brief Overview of Athens 2004

Athens, the capital of Greece, became the focal point of global attention from August 13th to 29th, 2004, as it hosted the XXVIII Olympiad. This edition of the Olympics was particularly significant as it returned to its ancestral home after 108 years, where it all began in 1896.

The Venue and Infrastructure

Athens 2004 saw the construction of state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure to accommodate athletes and spectators alike. Iconic venues such as the Olympic Stadium (OAKA), where the opening and closing ceremonies were held, became symbols of modern Olympic excellence.

Cultural Significance

Beyond its athletic feats, Athens 2004 celebrated Greek culture and history. The torch relay retraced ancient routes, connecting modern Greece with its storied past. This cultural homage resonated globally, showcasing Greece’s enduring influence on civilization.

Sporting Triumphs and Highlights

Memorable Moments

Athens 2004 witnessed unforgettable performances across various disciplines. Michael Phelps, the American swimmer, began his record-breaking streak, while Kelly Holmes of Great Britain triumphed in the 800m and 1500m races, capturing hearts worldwide.

India’s Proud Moment: Col Rajyavardhan Rathore

India’s participation in Athens 2004 was highlighted by Col Rajyavardhan Rathore, who clinched a silver medal in the men’s double trap shooting event. His achievement marked a milestone in Indian Olympic history, inspiring a generation of athletes and fostering a renewed interest in sports across the nation.

Legacy and Impact

Global Inspiration

The legacy of Athens 2004 extends beyond the games themselves. It reaffirmed the Olympic movement’s ability to inspire and unite diverse nations and cultures under the banner of fair play and sportsmanship.

Infrastructure Legacy

Post-Olympics, Athens’ infrastructure improvements left a lasting impact on the city’s urban development. The facilities continue to host international sporting events and serve as recreational spaces for locals and visitors alike.

Conclusion

Athens 2004 remains etched in the annals of Olympic history as a celebration of athletic excellence, cultural heritage, and global camaraderie. The games not only revitalized Greece’s Olympic spirit but also set new standards for future host cities and athletes worldwide.

[annabeth-my-beloved]

Finished Immortal Longings and I am too obsessed with August he is the worst but he is a little guy. I am also way too into history so mentally separating him from the actual Augustus is a challenge.

Every time I read about his ideas for the future, I thought about Tacitus' description of his actions "he seduced the army with bonuses, and his cheap food policy was successful bait for citizens... Opposition did not exist. War and judicial murder had disposed of all men of spirit. Upper class survivors found that slavish obedience was the way to succeed. They liked the security of the existing arrangement better then the dangerous uncertainties of the old regime. Besides, the new order was popular in the provinces." (Tacitus, Annals of Imperial Rome, translated by Michael Grant)

This fits in very well with our August, (although Tacitus was writing from an anti-Augustus lens and there is quite a lot going on behind this rather unflattering depiction, we'll take it at face value so as to avoid this descending in a full essay (which it might later)) so, for all of August's idealism, this is where history tells us San-Er is headed. But Augustus is also known for Suetonius' words, saying that Augustus "found it [Rome] built of brick and left it in marble." (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, translated by J. C. Rolfe) a much more positive opinion, and maybe one not mutually exclusive with the earlier depiction.

I love the juxtaposition between August and Anton's opinions and actions in terms of rulership and the end of Immortal Longings has certainly thrown a spanner in the works in terms of lining things up with history (although I think that was inevitable). How much can we rely on history as the series proceeds? I cannot wait to see what happens next

[projazznet]

Scott LaFaro – Pieces of Jade

Pieces of Jade is a posthumously-released album by jazz bassist Scott LaFaro. It consists of five tracks dating from 1961 featuring LaFaro in a trio format with pianist Don Friedman and drummer Pete La Roca, a 23-minute recording of LaFaro rehearsing with pianist Bill Evans in 1960, a 1966 interview with Evans, and a Friedman solo piano piece dedicated to LaFaro, recorded in 1985. The album was released in 2009 by Resonance Records (Wikipedia).

In a review for AllMusic, Michael G. Nastos wrote: “that this recording exists is nothing less than a miracle, and an event in the annals of jazz… It’s a rare window into the soul of Scott LaFaro… and a complement to the book written by his sister.”

[scotianostra]

On June 13th 1831 James Clerk Maxwell was born in Edinburgh.

James Clerk Maxwell was no ordinary child, considering what he achieved! He attended school in the city and was nicknamed ‘daftie’ by his classmates, due to his home-made clothing and rustic accent. Despite the teasing, he excelled at the school, producing a scientific paper at the age of just 14, he later studied at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge.

He graduated with a degree in mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge and soon after started his career as a Professor of Physics in Marischal College, Aberdeen. He then switched to King’s College, London and then at Cambridge as the first ever Professor of Experimental Physics.

Ask physicists to rank their heroes, and Maxwell is in the top three, standing a shade below Newton and Einstein. But when it comes to being celebrated by the public, somehow Maxwell got left behind. Einstein’s image is well known and Newton’s pilgrims regularly flock to his tomb at Westminster. But few of us would recognise Maxwell’s face.

His theories on the composition of the rings of Saturn was so far ahead of it’s time that they were only confirmed to be correct in the 1980s when the Voyager space expeditions allowed closer examination of Saturn. He also predicted the existence of radio waves. Maxwell gave us the first colour photograph in a collaboration with Thomas Sutton, and of course being a Scot he knew the best thing to capture different colours would be a piece of tartan!

It has been said that Maxwell was one of the most likeable men in the annals of science. How can you not like a man who sends a heartfelt letter of condolence on the death of a friend’s dog? A man who patiently nursed his dying father, and later his wife, and who regularly gave up his time to volunteer at the new “Working Men’s Colleges” for tradesmen? It seems that everyone who knew him thought of him as kind and generous, albeit a little eccentric. He was “one of the best men who ever lived”, according to his childhood friend and biographer, Lewis Campbell.

It seems a sin that a man held in such high esteem in the scientific world hardly gets a mention in our history books, even in death he is very understated, his grave is a simple affair in Parton Kirk, Galloway, granted, there is now a statue of Maxwell Clerk in George Street but it is relatively new affair, and I wonder how many actually know about him as they pass him on the way in and out of St Andrews Square.  Maxwell was ranked 91st on the BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, a figure way too low for a man who inspired people like Albert Einstein, another poll put him in a more favourable light, when a survey of the 100 most prominent physicists saw Maxwell voted the third greatest physicist of all time, behind only Newton and Einstein.   Einstein himself described Maxwell’s work as the “most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton.” Einstein kept a photograph of Maxwell on his study wall, alongside pictures of Michael Faraday and Newton.

Most men of science are portrayed as dour serious folk, that is certainly not the case with James Clerk Maxwell, he has been described as funny, flippant and charming.

As a great lover of Scottish poetry, Maxwell memorised poems and wrote his own. The best known is Rigid Body Sings, closely based on Comin’ Thro the Rye by Robert Burns, which he apparently used to sing while accompanying himself on a guitar. It has the opening lines:

Gin a body meet a body Flyin’ through the air. Gin a body hit a body, Will it fly? And where?  

A collection of his poems was published by his friend Lewis Campbell in 1882.  I’ll leave you to go find the full verse for that and give you my fave by the great man.

Song  Of  The  Edinburgh  Academician

If ony here has got an ear, He’d better tak’ a haud o’ me, Or I’ll begin, wi’ roarin’ din, To cheer our old Academy.

Dear old Academy, Queer old Academy, A merry lot we were, I wot, When at the old Academy.

There’s some may think me crouse wi’ drink, And some may think it mad o’ me, But ither some will gladly come And cheer our old Academy.

Some set their hopes on Kings and Popes, But, o’ the sons of Adam, he Was first, without the smallest doubt, That built the first Academy.

Let Pedants seek for scraps of Greek, Their lingo to Macadamize; Gie me the sense, without pretence, That comes o’ Scots Academies.

Let scholars all, both grit and small, Of Learning mourn the sad demise; That’s as they think, but we will drink Good luck to Scots Academies.