Gandalf’s judgment on Denethor as given in Lord of the Rings: The Third Age: Thus is the havoc when a steward breaks his solemn bond with his people. Gondor shunned counsel, chose to dominate its subjects. While its sons were sent to die in hopeless causes, alliances faltered. Hope withered. Armies were squandered, leaders lost.Continue reading “A Thought for the Day”
Tag Archives: History
Rarities
I’ve seen this on several friend’s pages (most recently Andrew Timson‘s), and so I now take a whack at it. A book you own that no one on your friends list does: The Forgotten Monarchy of Scotland, by Prince Michael Stewart of Albany. I’m not sure why I own this. It’s not a very goodContinue reading “Rarities”
First Invasion: The War of 1812
The History Channel showed tonight a documentary entitled First Invasion: The War of 1812. Being something of an enthusiast on the subject of America’s forgotten war, I tuned in, curious how they would distill the war, its causes and its effects, into two hours. I needn’t have bothered. The cause of the war? Impressment. WhatContinue reading “First Invasion: The War of 1812”
On Star Trek Commodores
Commodore is, in naval history, a title rather than a rank, held by a captain who commands a fleet, essentially like an admiral, but without the promotion, and for a limited period of time. What we’ve seen in Star Trek is that Commodore is a rank. Bob Wesley, in “The Ulimate Computer,” was acting inContinue reading “On Star Trek Commodores”
On the Picard who fought at Trafalgar
What I’m wanting to do is write a story about the Picard who fought at Trafalgar, mentioned in Star Trek: Generations, and I am trying to settle on a name for the historical Picard’s ship, though perhaps giving the French frigate the same (or a similar) name as the Starfleet vessel his descendant commanded fiveContinue reading “On the Picard who fought at Trafalgar”
Who'd have thought?
Which Historical Lunatic Are You?From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.
Comic Literary Footnotes
Thursday, March 6th, marked the anniversary of the death of English playwright Francis Beaumont, died in 1616. From the Forgotten English calendar of that day: One evening in a tavern, Mr. Beaumont and his writing partner, John Fletcher, were hammering out the details of either The Maid’s Tragedy or another of their tragic plays whenContinue reading “Comic Literary Footnotes”
Move, Countermove, Guile, and Deceit
A few weeks ago I picked up The Complete Musketeers on DVD, a collection of The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers as directed by Richard Lester in the early 1970s. (The title is misleading–the collection is not complete in that it does not contain The Return of the Musketeers, the 1989 sequel by LesterContinue reading “Move, Countermove, Guile, and Deceit”
Three happenings
Two Lord of the Rings thoughts. First, The Two Towers video game was released last week for the PlayStation2. For fans anxiously awaiting the Special Edition DVD release of Fellowship of the Ring or the December theatrical release of The Two Towers this game should probably find its way to your video game console. NotContinue reading “Three happenings”
On the Enterprise Premiere and Unanswered Questions
Watching Enterprise‘s premiere “Broken Bow” I kept asking myself, “Why do the Vulcans want humanity bottled up? Why do the Vulcans think humanity should keep to their own solar system?” Then in an Instant Messenger chat last evening with several friends, all Trek fans of varying ages and degrees, the same question came up severalContinue reading “On the Enterprise Premiere and Unanswered Questions”