Surprisingly Unsurprising

Hunh. Continuing with the "history of Western thought" I pinged Google's ngram viewer on a whim.

You see there the trend lines in English for "Republic" vs. "Democracy."

The big surge in the former is c. 1790. The lines cross around about 1910, and the latter spikes during WWII.

It's pretty much exactly what you'd expect, but still... seeing it all mapped out like that is just ... well... illuminating.



Hunh.

Bitter Clinger Birthdays

Okay, so I knew about this special birthday (what with the year being in the name, it's kinda hard to miss).

But I confess I'd completely spaced on this one* from 1611.*

To my Tennessee bitter clinger kindred... happy anniversaries, y'all.






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* I was raised with the RSV, and am picking a little through the Geneva version. KJV sure is pretty through, and runs straight through our language like no other single work ever I think.


Also, if you're Scots-Irish/Scotch Irish/whatever the word is today descent - you owe it yourself to follow Mr. Thompson's blog. Aside from his actual professional work, the blog itself is a cool look at distant cousins who aren't quite so distant. Neat. :)

Sunday miscellany

Anchorage, 2011
Some things only work once.

The first horse of Troy may get dragged inside the walls. The second will light the beach as a great smelly screaming Odyssacue once it's set to the torch.

With at in mind, may I remind Liberty Tax Service that the dancing college kids in raggedy Lady Liberty costumes are getting a bit old. However, the answer to that is probably not to change the robes to a lovely Stalinesque red, topped off with a black ski mask.

The effect, while hilariously appropriate, is probably not quite what you have in mind.



America, 1790's
Just finished Ellis' His Excellency about Washington. Like I mentioned before, there's enough shading of the original source material I don't dare take it all at face value, but it still feels a decent summary. Just not one to be relied on solely.

In the process of that and Founding Brothers though I found a reference to a great original source history I need to get to one day - Mercy Otis Warren's 1805 History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution. While definitely a history from the Democratic-Republic viewpoint as I hear, it sounds more than worth the time.




On a related note, I'm really starting to wonder about the early Federalist period - that decade and change between the Constitution and Jefferson's election. Even by modern standards, there are parts of it that sound decidedly statist and not a little worrying.

For all I already held a middling aversion to Hamilton, the descriptions of him pushing for a standing army under most any pretense, and desire to march Napoleon-like at the head of it straight through Virgina to cow the political opposition on the way to capture Spanish territories.. um... wow.

Let's just say having quite possibly the two most self-aggrandizing, empire-minded men in the Republic effectively take out each other that day in 1804 is striking me as supreme poetic justice ... if not outright Providence.

Regardless of which it was, I'm increasingly coming to think that the Republic may well have dodged a bullet when Hamilton ..well... didn't.





That's it for now. Hope y'all are having a grand weekend. Later!

Move over, Boss Hogg!

Now, I *meant* to post this last week... then managed to get myself knocked down *hard* by the worst bug I've had in years. Strangest one to - after lying down to rest knowing it was coming, once I was out it literally hit like a physical blow. If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn the room actually "banged" when it hit. The next couple days were..um... not fun.

But all (well, mostly) better now! And I bring the funnies from Alaska!

Now... imagine if you will - a little red pickup truck tooling down the road.
In the bed is the assorted detrius on usually sees in pickups... a cargo frame is up around it, and a great big ol' radio antenna swingin' off the back.

The best part though?

There is a MOOSE rack, WIDER than the cab of the frickin' truck, mounted on the top of the cab.



I love this state. The people here are just an awesome flavor of nuts. :)

Congratulations!

as an aside - this deserves it's own "cool!"

Now, I've never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Mark Baker, but it seems he's won himself some kind of major award. I know I've cussed about state schools before, but they do have their bright, bright lights. And he's the kind of teacher I'd have loved to have had growing up - especially growing up in the overmountain region he's made his passion for so long.

See... aside from poring over musty old records and essentially popularizing the whole "Southern Mountain Frontier" region to a country full of buckskinner types, this guy is also the man that taught Daniel Day Lewis how to load that big ol' rifle on the run, and look so dashing and romantic doing it.

How's that for an awesome English teacher?

Nicely done, Mr. Baker!

(Curious souls can see his articles collected in a book or video form. A Certain Deerhunter might even take a look at his processing/skinning/hide dressing video.... )

this... "TV" thing you speak of.. :)

Okay... where were we?

First up....Snow.
What the heck have y'all doing with all our Alaskan snow down there? Just feel free to send it on back any time you're tired of it. :)

Second... did a fair amount of sewing over the weekend, while keeping an eye on the recent(ish) DVD Into the West

Honestly...decent. Visually amazing, of course (what isn't these days?). Generally well acted and scripted, and from a "historical toys" point of view it's a delight. I distinctly remember geeking out over the freakin' cooking kettles they got right. :) Likewise enjoyed seeing the occasional background man of the 1830's-40's still in a rifleman's frock, a stylish holdover from the early American 'cult of the rifleman.' Tres cool. Nice attention to detail.

Storywise, it was fair amazing how well they managed to get the Big Themes all tied together so nicely. The only really big one I can think of offhand that didn't come in was the Mormon migration.. and probably the Mexican War should have had more emotional presence in its era.

On the other hand, well.. it is Hollywood - and that means exactly what you'd expect.

psst... Mr. Spielberg... this is 2011. John Wayne's been dead for thirty years. Your brave and innovative storytelling was not "telling the other side of the story." We've had a steady diet of Why We Suck films for decades now. Actually, your noticeably "brave and innovative" moment for 2011 (2005 I guess) Hollywood was having Jedediah Smith reading his scriptures and not being a total raging Pharisaical ass in the next scene. (Actually, the Sun Dance/cave scene was decently clever juxtaposition. Good for you on that one.)




So... meh. But pretty meh.





More seriously... in the middle of Ellis' His Excellency George Washington* and Chernow's book on Alexander Hamilton waiting in the wings. That last just because I've had a distaste for Hamilton so long, I might as well get a fuller story from someone generally sympathetic - leastwise that's what the reviews say.

Anyhow, back to the needle. Y'all take care.





OH! Before I forget - any of my Alaskan friends up here care to suggest a place to go snow shoeing? It'd be neat to try before spring comes on.














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*I'm a little bit cautious on this one actually, so far. The accounts from Yorktown taken from Joseph Plumb Martin's account are a little.... shaded from the original. Not wrong so much as more... faintly snide in its presentation of the General. It could just be the narrator of the audiobook, but that discrepency is still enough to make me take the rest of the work with a fair cellar of salt 'till I can cross check it.