Crabs and Beer!

On this day in 1187, Crusader forces in Jerusalem surrendered to Saladin – a Kurdish commander and political leader. He was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. He spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant.

After a truce between the Muslims and the Crusader states was repeatedly broken by Raynald of Châtillon, prince of the Crusader state of Antioch, Saladin vowed that he would personally slay Raynald for breaking the truce, a vow he would keep. The outrage also led Saladin to resolve to dispense with half-measures to rein in Raynald, and to instead topple the entire edifice of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, thus precipitating the invasion of the summer of 1187.

On 4 July 1187, Saladin faced the combined forces of Guy of Lusignan, King Consort of Jerusalem, and Raymond III of Tripoli at the Battle of Hattin. In this battle alone the Crusader force was largely annihilated by Saladin’s determined army. It was a major disaster for the Crusaders and a turning point in the history of the Crusades. Saladin captured Raynald and was personally responsible for his execution in retaliation for his attacks against Muslim caravans.

Saladin had captured almost every Crusader city. Saladin preferred to take Jerusalem without bloodshed and offered generous terms, but those inside refused to leave their holy city, vowing to destroy it in a fight to the death rather than see it handed over peacefully. Jerusalem capitulated to his forces on Friday, 2 October 1187, after a siege.

Saladin, against the wishes of his treasurers, allowed many families who could not afford the ransom to leave. Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem organized and contributed to a collection that paid the ransoms for about 18,000 of the poorer citizens, leaving another 15,000 to be enslaved. Saladin’s brother al-Adil “asked Saladin for a thousand of them for his own use and then released them on the spot.” Most of the foot soldiers were sold into slavery. Upon the capture of Jerusalem, Saladin summoned the Jews and permitted them to resettle in the city. In particular, the residents of Ascalon, a large Jewish settlement, responded to his request.

Saladin and Christians of Jerusalem, illustration by François Guizot (1883)

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leftover Halloween candy

Nice windows!

My thoughts exactly…

Today is the birthday, in 1955, of Phil Oakey singer, songwriter with The Human League. Formed in Sheffield, England in 1977 the group attained widespread commercial success with their third album Dare in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US No.1 hit ‘Don’t You Want Me’. The Human League has sold more than 20 million records worldwide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPudE8nDog0

On this day in 1553, Mary I, also known as Mary Tudor, was crowned Queen of England and Ireland. She made vigorous attempts to reverse the English Reformation, which had begun during the reign of her father, King Henry VIII. Her attempt to restore to the Church the property confiscated in the previous two reigns was largely thwarted by Parliament but, during her five-year reign, more than 280 religious dissenters were burned at the stake in what became known as the Marian persecutions, leading later commentators to label her “Bloody Mary“.

Mary was the only surviving child of Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. She was declared illegitimate and barred from the line of succession following the annulment of her parents’ marriage in 1533, but was restored via the Third Succession Act 1543. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded their father in 1547 at the age of nine. When Edward became terminally ill in 1553, he attempted to remove Mary from the line of succession because he supposed, correctly, that she would reverse the Protestant reforms that had taken place during his reign. Upon his death, leading politicians proclaimed their Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as queen instead. Mary speedily assembled a force in East Anglia and deposed Jane.

She died in 1558, in pain, possibly from ovarian cysts or uterine cancer. She was succeeded by her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth. Mary is remembered in the 21st century for her vigorous efforts to restore the primacy of Roman Catholicism in England after the rise of Protestant influence during the previous reigns. The policies of fiscal reform, naval expansion, and colonial exploration later lauded as Elizabethan accomplishments were started in Mary’s reign.

More details

Mary by Hans Eworth, 1554. She wears a jewelled pendant bearing the Tudor pearl set beneath two diamonds.

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Chicken Girl and Gumbo Guy????

Some kind of Mexican bird???

Today is the birthday, in 1959, of Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician and composer Youssou N’dour who had the 1994 UK No.3 single ‘7 Seconds’. He has worked with many artists including Peter Gabriel, Wyclef Jean, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen and Sting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqCpjFMvz-k

On this day in 1791, Mozart’s last opera – The Magic Flute (German: Die Zauberflöte) premiered. It is a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue.^[a] The work premiered at Schikaneder’s theatre, the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, just two months before Mozart’s death. It was an outstanding success from its first performances, and remains a staple of the opera repertory.

Detail of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from Mozart family portrait by Croce

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Upscale neighborhood McDonald’s.

Hemingway was The Man!

BADA BING!

I came home today to find my daughter has been on eBay all day long. If she’s still on there tomorrow, I’ll have to lower the price.

I’m gonna be a terrible ghost because as hard as it is to get ahold of me now, just wait and see how fast I decline a Ouija board call.

Here’s what we do: Just tell tRUMP that Obama went to school at the electoral college and he will dismantle it.

I always said that when I retired, I was going to travel. I just never expected it would be mostly to the doctor’s office.

Vaccines are a tricky thing. On one hand we have thousands of qualified scientist saying they’re good. But then on the other hand we have one weird guy, who sounds like a drowning lawnmower, saying they’re bad. So I’m not sure. 

I don’t judge people based on color, race, religion, sexuality, gender, ability, or size. I base it on whether or not they’re an asshole.

Did you know if you treat conservatives the same way they treat minorities, they get very upset?

I’ve decided I’m going to avoid everything that makes me fat: pictures, mirrors, scales…

While setting up a voice recognition password on my new phone, a dog barked nearby and ran away. Now I’m looking for that dog to unlock my phone.

My ducks are not in a row. I don’t even know where most of them are. And I’m pretty sure at least one of them is a pigeon.

I don’t mean to brag, but I can always tell when they use fake dinosaurs in movies.

People should give more credit to Trump for stopping the war between Azerbaijan and Acetaminophen.

If you think Tylenol is bad for children’s health, just think about what guns do.

It is much more striking who DIDN’T speak at Kirk’s funeral—neither of his parents, no siblings, no old friends, just his wife, Carlson, and a whole lineup of Trump people he *maybe* knew getting in their talking points.

I love the phrase “bear with me” because it can either mean “be patient” or “the zoo heist was a success”.

Don’t stress about your eyesight failing as you get older – it’s nature’s way of protecting you from shock as you walk past the mirror.

Hugo Chavez loses spot in Guinness book for most batshit UN speech.

Researchers from Tylenol find alarming link between Donald Trump and Jeffery Epstein.

I just saw this fella going up a hill with a wheelbarrow full of horseshoes, four leaf clovers, and rabbit’s feet. I thought: “He’s pushing his luck!”

Why do I post here? To disturb the humorless and humor the disturbed.

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I actually never really liked The Magic Flute, but here is the amazing Yuja Wang playing variations on another familiar Mozart work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGAPTRrAilY

Today is the birthday, in 1901, of Enrico Fermi. He was an Italian and naturalized American. He is renowned for being the creator of the world’s first artificial nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project. He has been called the “architect of the nuclear age” and the “architect of the atomic bomb”. Fermi was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity by neutron bombardment and for the discovery of transuranium elements. With his colleagues, Fermi filed several patents related to the use of nuclear power, all of which were taken over by the US government.

Fermi left Italy in 1938 to escape new Italian racial laws that affected his Jewish wife, Laura Capon. He emigrated to the United States. Fermi led the team at the University of Chicago that designed and built Chicago Pile-1, which went critical on 2 December 1942, demonstrating the first human-created, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

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Great for Vikings!

Nominative Determinism…

Combo business…

On this day in 1979, The Police had their first UK No.1 single with ‘Message In A Bottle’ the group’s third Top 20 hit. The song was released as the first single from Reggatta de Blanc and also topped the charts in Ireland and reached No.5 in Australia. Despite its popularity in the UK, the single only reached No.74 in the United States. Another of their songs did quite well here, though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs

On 26 September 1580, Francis Drake sailed the Golden Hind into Plymouth at the conclusion of his round-the-world trip with 59 remaining crew aboard, along with a rich cargo of spices and captured Spanish treasures. The queen’s half-share of the cargo surpassed the rest of the crown’s income for that entire year. Drake was hailed as the first Englishman to circumnavigate the Earth, and his was the second such voyage arriving with at least one ship intact, after Elcano’s in 1520. He had departed in 1577 with five ships.

A replica of the Golden Hind at Bankside in London

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Every time I park it on top of the hill, it rolls right down.

Graphic Design

Nuturing…

Today is the birthday, in 1954, of Cesar Rosas guitarist from Los Lobos (Spanish for “the Wolves”), who had the 1987 UK & US No.1 single with their cover version of ‘La Bamba’, which was a 1958 hit for Ritchie Valens and one of early rock and roll’s best-known songs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLAWPrCUQQ0