Miya 18. INTJ.Ravenclaw with Slytherin aspirations. Curmudgeon with delusions of grandeur. Lover of film, television (usually flawed, for writer reasons),history, literature, art, musicals, smoked salmon and Gothic vaulting. Movie music makes me cry. And that's just about the gist of it. About Me Blogroll Tags ewoks
“World Map Drawn in a Fool’s Head.” ca. 1590. Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
“This image is one of the enigmas of cartographic history. The artist, date and place of publication are all unknown. The geography of the map strongly resembles that of the world maps of Ortelius published in the 1580s, giving a tentative date of c.1590.
“Its central visual metaphor is the universality of human folly and various mottoes around the map reinforce that theme. The panel of the left says: “Democritus laughed at it, Heraclitus wept over it, Epichtonius Cosmopolites portrayed it.”
“Although Epichtonius Cosmopolites appears to be the author’s or artist’s name, it translates roughly as “Everyman,” leaving the mapmaker’s true identity hidden.”
(Source: theenglishladye)
September 3, 1783: The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the American Revolutionary War.
The terms of the treaty were overwhelmingly favorable to the United States (and not so much to the new nation’s wartime allies). Peace talks began in 1782, after the colonies’ decisive victory at Yorktown. The idea of an autonomous United States existing within the British Empire was rejected, and so the first provision of the Treaty of Paris was that the King would regard the United States as ”free sovereign and independent states” and treat them as such. Additionally, the treaty urged the restoration of confiscated Loyalist property (ignored) and the payment of creditors on each side (also ignored in some states) and granted both countries access to the Mississippi River (later defied by the Spanish).
The preamble of the document stated that its goal was to “to forget all past Misunderstandings and Differences” and to establish “a beneficial and satisfactory Intercourse between the two countries”. To lay ground for this future relationship, the British defined very generous boundaries for the new country’s borders (far past that of the original Thirteen Colonies), ending to the west at the Mississippi River. The French, whose aid during the war had been indispensable in securing victory, were not included in these negotiations; they drew up their own treaties with the British and regained some scattered territories as a result.
The bottom illustration of the American delegation (which included John Jay, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin) was painted by Benjamin West, but it was never completed because the British negotiators declined to sit for the portrait.
8/31/12
Pompeia Plotina
Empress of Rome, and guardian and mentor to Roman Emperor Hadrian
(Source: fearsomeladies)
Sadayakko as Ophelia (1905)
“Sadayakko (貞奴) was her stage name as an actress and dancer, derived from a combination of her real name, Sada Koyama, and her geisha name, Yakko.
Born in 1871, the twelfth child of a Samurai family, which had fallen into poverty, she was indentured to the Hamada okiya (geisha house) in the Yoshi-cho hanamachi (geisha district) of Tokyo at the age of four. In 1893, after a successful career as a geisha, she retired at the age of twenty-two to marry Otojiro Kawakami, a ‘new wave’ actor and theatrical entrepreneur. However, after only a few years of marriage they were in severe financial difficulties when one of his major ventures failed.
So, in 1899 the couple leapt at an opportunity to tour the United States of America where, at the age of twenty-eight she re-invented herself as Sadayakko (or Sada Yacco), the first female actor in Japan for two hundred and fifty years. After a tumultuous beginning, Sadayakko eventually found acclaim and they went on to tour Paris and the European capitals where Sadayakko was feted as a star, her performances influencing artistic luminaries of the time such as, Pablo Picasso, Isadora Duncan and Claude Debussy.
The couple returned to Japan in August 1902 and went on to champion ‘new wave’ theatre and European-style productions at home, re-interpreting many of the Western classics for a Japanese audience.
Her portrayal of Orié (Ophelia) was a triumph, her long black tresses tumbling to her waist, her face like that of a little lost child, wearing a pale water-blue dress trimmed with white lace, flowers in her hair and in her hands, singing snatches of nursery rhymes “rain is falling on his grave…no, not rain, it is tears of blood”.” (source)
03/? historical otps ✧ john & abigail adams
John Adams → Paul Giamatti
Abigail Adams → Laura LinneyAlthough she lived at a time when many women were not educated, Abigail Adams learned to read, developing an appreciation of current events. Her intellect attracted her to a young lawyer, John Adams, and they were married in 1764.
It was an intellectual and romantic relationship that would last for more than 50 years. The intimacy of their courtship remained throughout their marriage, as did their copious letters.
The Revolutionary War and other events often forced Adams to be away from home for long periods of time, so they wrote each other over a thousand of long, affectionate letters. He often addressed his letters to his “Miss Adorable” or “My dear Diana” -after the Roman goddess - and Abigail addressed her letters to “My Dearest Friend”.
When she did join her husband, on diplomatic missions to Paris and London, and later in Washington, DC, Abigail was an esteemed partner, entertaining with style and observing people with interest, John valuing her advice above all others. She advocated an expanded role for women in public affairs during the formative days of the United States.
Abigail died of typhoid fever on October 28, 1818. Her last words were, “Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend. I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long.”
John and Abigail are buried side by side in a crypt located in Massachusetts.
Spires and Secrets: A Cambridge Compilation
In between the early morning mist and ancient cobblestones; in between being late for supervisions and shagging the tutor in apology; in between dives in the lake and laughing after too much gin; in between sneaking into Corpus Christie after hours and watching the waning moon on the lawn of King’s; in between adolescent trepidations and youthful idealism, comes the sobering tonic of reality: of glances over shoulders and whispers over brandy; of reticent touches and deceitful tongues; of notes slipped between pages of books and unmarked packages left on doorsteps; of becoming embroiled in something far more sinister than dining hall mysteries, and losing one’s identity in the process.
i / ingo frenzel - sturm und drang (race to king’s college)
ii / john williams - the homecoming (gin and idealism)
iii / christopher gunning - a country retreat (friday lessons)
iv / ennio morricone - song that my mother taught me (punt on the cam)
v / adrian johnston - bond street airs (the sidney sussex regulars)
vi / jan ap kaczmarek - the sun (ways of the world)
vii / stephen endelman - men of harlegh (pride of the nation)
viii / elmer bernstein - van der luydens (trinity ball)
ix / bruno coulais - disparus (all that glitters)
x / abel korzeniowski / i will follow you (the society)
xi / philip glass - martin reese childhood (tell me what you know)
xii / patrick doyle - rat in a trap (trust no one)
xiii / king’s college choir, cambridge - allegri, ‘miserere’ (forgive me)
xiv / max richter - timepiece (a life forgotten)
xv / vera lynn - long ago and far away
The companion to this.
Djamila Bouhired (جميلة بوحيرد) is a leading Algerian heroine and revolutionary.
She fought in the war of national liberation (1954–1962) and has worked as a vocal activist in the movement for women’s rights in independent Algeria. Djamila Bouhired joined the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) while a student activist to fight for independence from France. Bouhired and other young women played a critical role during the battle for Algiers, which began in September 1956. Bouhired assisted the FLN leader, Saadi Yacef , in recruiting young Muslim women from the capital who could pass as Europeans. Dressed as Frenchwomen, Bouhired and two other female militants placed concealed bombs in the European sections of Algiers. Two bombs exploded, causing civilian casualties; Bouhired’s bomb failed to detonate. This event and others unleashed the Battle of Algiers, which raged until 1957. Bouhired eluded the French military and police until April 1957, when she was arrested, imprisoned, and subjected to appalling torture; in July she was sentenced to death by the guillotine after a trial deemed a travesty of justice. However, Bouhired became a cause célèbre because of international media coverage of the French army’s systematic use of torture, and she was eventually released.
In the early twenty-first century Djamila Bouhired continued to be actively involved in feminist politics, advocating fundamental transformations in the legal, political, and social status of Algeria’s women.
(Source: palestiniennepriestess)
August 31, 12: Caligula is born.
The Roman emperor Caligula succeeded the his great-uncle Tiberius in the year 37 at the age of twenty-four. Like his predecessor, Caligula was popular with the public and generally regarded as a good ruler - early in his reign; not only was he the son of the very popular general Germanicus (whose soldiers gave him the nickname “Caligula” - “little boot”), but he was also not Tiberius, who, in the later years of his reign, became brooding and reclusive and was perceived by the public as paranoid and cruel.
It is still unclear exactly what triggered Caligula’s almost spontaneous transformation into the depraved, insane despot we are familiar with. Some surviving sources simply state that he was insane; more modern scholars offer up medical explanations for his condition (hyperthyroidism, meningitis, epilepsy, etc.) He famously attempted to appoint his favorite horse, Incitatus, to the Senate, although this may have been Caligula’s idea of a joke, or simply not true at all. Caligula was also accused of, among other things, seducing his guests’ wives, trying to erect statues of himself in temples for worship, punishing the most minor of offenses with death, killing random bystanders simply because he could, and committing incest with each of his sisters. Philo of Alexandria also hints at pedophilic inclinations, although there is little historical basis for this claim (and for any of these claims, to be fair). Another notable feature of Caligula’s short reign was his reckless spending and the general decadence of his courts and lifestyle. While Tiberius left a large surplus in the imperial treasury, Caligula emptied it, spending wastefully on all sorts of projects and public displays.
After less than four years of rule, conspirators within the Praetorian Guard murdered Caligula, his wife, and their daughter.
04/? historical otps ✧ justinian I & theodora
Byzantin Emperor Justinian → Ben Whishaw
Byzantin Empress Theodora → Eva GreenJustinian was born son of a farmer but was called to the capital by his uncle -Emperor Justin- to be educated as the next emperor. He quckly became Justin’s most influential adviser.
Around 522, Theodora and Justinian met at Constantinople. Meticulous, patient, and by nature solitary, Justinian was her opposite, Theodora being social, witty, beautiful, and confident. Her parents were performers, the lowest strata of free society and she took to the stage to earn a living -at the time “actress” was synonymous with “prostitute”-. Despite her tender age of 20, she had a worldly wisdom about her that belied her years. But more importantly, Justinian sensed an intellectual equal from his time with her, felt that she was someone who could help him to fulfil his ambitions. He grew fonder of her with each passing day and asked her to be his mistress. Theodora accepted. So enamored with her, he changed the law so that actresses could marry into high society. The following year, now Emperor, Justinian married her and named her as co-regent. He adored her, and she was his most important counselor, listenning her advices about politics, religions or even war.
Theodora came to the crown from the gutter and never forgot it: she had laws passed that prohibited forced prostitution and that granted women more rights in divorce cases. She also established homes for prostitutes.
They both were entombed together in the Church of the Holy Apostles.
A German civilian looks at a large portrait of Stalin on the Unter den Linden in Berlin, 3rd June 1945 (via)
