#conquest of florida

[jaywritesrps]

I think theres still more to the story with krashlyn. Not gonna lie it’s so one sided and the hate train on ash is extreme - like I get not believing her statement for some people but I feel like if there was proof of an affair it should’ve leaked by now. I just think the scales are eventually gonna tip and it might not be pretty for krieger. I just don’t buy ash left her family cause Sophia bush looked at her and she now wants to be rich and famous, when she’s been committed for 13 years and planning her retirement in Florida. Some of the fanfic is now boarding conspiracy and insanity.

I agree with you. You know that saying that says it needs two to tango. Don't get me wrong, as I stated before, I am an Ali Krieger's fan, even though I am deeply disappointed at how Ali dealt with this, cause we still don't know her side of the story, cause she is really good dodging tricky questions, but she has her share on this too.

Like after the wedding, they pegged me as an unbalanced relationship, it was more like "what Ali wants, Ashlyn will give her". And Ashlyn's likes on IG when the news broke sorta confirms this feeling I had. There was one particular quote that from her that strike my attention that said if someone you love use their conquests to belittle you, then this person doesn't deserves you, especially when you helped them to have those victories or something along those lines. And if something like this was happening, can't imagine what was going behind closed doors with them to a point she decided to leave a 13 years relationship. And Ashlyn isn't stupid, she knew this hate train was going to get her and all the implications involving thos decision, and she still chose to divorce cause it was better than live the way they were.

But okay, Let's assume there was cheating (which i don't think so cause of what you said about proof and from who Sophia is), on Ashlyn's side, can you imagine how bad your relationship has to be that you cheated on the person you are dating for 13 years and later decide to leave to be with the other woman?

What I really think it happened based on what we know is that their relationship was bad on both ends, Ashlyn and Sophia talked about it in Cannes. Sophia was responsible for giving support to Ashlyn undeniably, cause all of Sophia's friends says she is someone that will stand up for you and fight for you no matter what, even though she doesn't do that for herself (Hilarie Burton's words), she gave Ashlyn that emotional support, while Ashlyn did the same for her while she was sick and made Sophia realize her relationship with Grant it wasn't what she thought she wanted. It was a mutual platonic relationship that ended becoming romantic down the road. Period. the end.

Ashlyn and Ali didn't worked as couple for a while. We can't pinpoint exactly what happened or when that happen, cause we dont know their home life, but looking back them through their social media, press and interviews, you can see that cracks starting to show up prior the Cannes event.

And to be honest, it's better this way, Ashlyn and Sophia are happy and Ali will find someone that will treat her as the queen she is. What is despicable is the hate fans are sending to Ashlyn and Sophia for just living their lives, based on half true or fanfics from L Chat, you know.

[noelcollection]

Publications of the New World

The James Smith Noel Collection has closed out another exciting exhibit, this time the topic was the New World of the Americas as experienced by Europe and other explorers. The exhibit: Exploration of the New World features the culture and intriguing history of Central and South America as it was experienced in the resources produced in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. We welcomed visitors to the mysterious, ancient rituals of the Pre-Columbian Mayans, the Aztecs of Mexico, and the Incas of Peru. We also showcased the advancements in architecture, science, and community development while marveling at the natural beauty of the regions.

One of the cases displayed a fascinating book which was originally published in Spanish and later translated into English. The edition house in the Noel Collection was published in 1688 of The royal commentaries of Peru, : in two parts. The first part Treating the Original of their Incas or Kings: Of their Idolatry … by Garcilaso de la Vega. Vega wrote a pivotal account of Incan history. Vega has a unique personal connection to the Incan world being a descendant of royal Incan lineage. He was half Spanish and Incan, his father being Spanish, and he chronicled Incan history, culture, and destruction as a result of the Spanish conquest. We featured a portion of text that discussed the minerals, precious metals, and natural resources found in Peru, such as, gold, silver, and mercury or quicksilver.

Vega was born as Gómez Suárez de Figueroa in April of 1539, and became known as El Inca. He ventured to Spain when he was 21 where he obtained an informal education and remained until his death in April of 1616. His father died in 1559 and Vega relocated to Spain two years later to seek acknowledgement as the natural son of the Spanish conquistador. His paternal uncle became his protector. While he primarily wrote on the Incan civilization, Spanish conquest, and an account of De Soto’s exploration of Florida.

 Gómez Suárez de Figueroa was born in Cuzco, Peru; his father is recorded as being Sabastian Garcilaso de la Vega y Vargas, a Spanish captain, and his mother was Palla Chimpu Ocllo. When his mother was baptized after the fall of Cuzo and renamed Isabel Suarez Chimpu Ocllo, she was descended from Inca nobility, the daughter of Tupac Huallap and granddaughter of Tupac Yupanqui. Vega’s parents were not married in the Catholic church, resulting in his birth being considered illegitimate and he was given his mother’s surname. Vega was a child when his father left and married a younger Spanish noblewoman. His mother married and had two daughters. His first language was Quechua but learned Spanish as a child.

After moving to Spain, he received a European education and the works he produced was considered to have great literary value. He traveled to Montilla and met his father’s brother, Alonso de Vargas, who took him as his protector to help Vega make his way. He traveled to Madrid and petitioned the crown for acknowledgement. He was allowed the name of Garcilaso de la Vega, or "El Inca" or "Inca Garcilaso de la Vega" due to his mixed heritage. He had first-hand experience of the daily-life of the Inca life which heavily influenced his writings. His education allowed him to accurately describe the political system, labor force, and social life of the Incan empire.

Vega, Garcilaso de la (1688) The royal commentaries of Peru, : in two parts. The first part Treating the Original of their Incas or Kings: Of their Idolatry … London: Printed by Miles Flesher … https://bit.ly/3UxrtdH

Exhibit link: https://bit.ly/3y7k657

[eretzyisrael]

BY ROBERT SATLOFF

The 1973 Arab-Israeli war may be known to Jews as the Yom Kippur War, but it is widely known in the Arab world as “Harb Ramadan” — the Ramadan War — given that Anwar Sadat dispatched Egyptian forces to cross the Suez Canal during the holy month. But it is only a relatively recent example of Arab or Muslim armies waging war during this month. 

The Saudi newspaper Arab News provided a helpful primer on the topic in 2014: “While much literature has been written on Islamic conquests focusing on strategy, many victories occurred during Ramadan due to the focus of the Ummah on Allah Almighty and this removed fear from the hearts of the Muslims. This is why some of the greatest victories in Islam occurred during Ramadan …”

Starting with the seminal battle of Badr in Year 2 on the Islamic hijri calendar, corresponding to the year 624 A.D., the list of historic victories in Ramadan cited in this article includes “the conquest of Makkah (8 Hijri), the conquest of Rhodes (53 Hijri), the successful landing of Muslims on the coast of Spain (91 Hijri), the victory by Tarik Ibn Zayed against the King of Spain (92 Hijri), the victory of Salahuddin against invading crusaders (584 Hijri), and Mamluk’s victory versus invading Tatars in the battle of Ain Jiloot (650 Hijri).”

More recently, take a look at the bloodthirsty Ramadan record of the Islamic State. As a Washington Post reporter noted, a spokesman for the terrorist group exhorted followers in 2016 “to make it a month of calamity everywhere for nonbelievers” — and indeed they did, with gruesome Ramadan attacks against civilians from Kuwait to Syria to France to a nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

And, as my Washington Institute colleague Patrick Clawson pointed out in 2004, naive non-Muslim governments have been disappointed when they appealed to their Muslim foes for ceasefires during Ramadan: “Modern proposals for Ramadan ceasefires by secular governments — the Soviets in Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein when fighting the Islamic Republic of Iran — were uniformly rejected by the Islamist side, which usually intensified fighting during Ramadan.”

[ltwilliammowett]

Model of San Juan Nepomuceno, IMM Hamburg, 19th century

The San Juan Nepomuceno was a Spanish third rate ship of the line  launched from the royal shipyard of Guarnizo on October the 18th 1765. She was armed with 74 guns and operated by a crew of 530 men. The ship was the fist built after the designs of French naval architect Jean-François Gautier Oliber (1733-1800), that served as director of the Engineer Corps of the Spanish Navy between 1765 and 1782. Gautier was apparently quite impressed with the shipbuilding qualities of the oak wood from the region of Cantabria, where the Guarnizo shipyard stood. The town that was born out of the shipbuilding activity in the area is still called El Astillero today - which translates directly to „the shipyard“. The longevity of the San Juan Nepomuceno seems to prove the quality of her materials.

The ship outlived her architect for 18 years. She had a long service in the Royal Spanish Navy until the battle of Trafalgar.She was active in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean (including an expedition to Brazil. In 1781 she participated in the siege Of Pensacola, that ended with the Spanish conquest of West Florida from the British. In 1793, she participated in the siege and occupation of Toulon, France, in the conflicts related to the French Revolution. In that case, Spain and Great Britain acted as allies. The situation had changed radically when, in 1797, the ship belonged to the Spanish fleet defeated by the British at the Bettla of Cape St Vincent. On the 21st of October 1805, in the Battle of Trafalgar, the San Juan Nepomuceno fought until the very end of the battle and was finally taken by the British Royal Navy. Her captain, Cosme Damián Churruca, had apparently given a non-surrender order just before dying of his wounds in the battle.

After over 100 deaths and 150 wounded in her crew, the ship did surrender and came in the hands of the British Royal Navy. She was then renamed HMS Berwick first and the HMS San Juan. Her service for the British as a battleship, base hulk and prison ship in Gibraltar went on until 1818, when she was sold for scrapping.

[cleverwordsandotherstuffilike]

Deaths

300 million – Smallpox, worldwide, 20th century200 million – Bubonic plague, worldwide, 1300s62 million – World War II, worldwide60 million – Mongol conquests, 13th century 50 million – H1N1 flu pandemic, worldwide, 191850 million – Famine, worldwide, 1960s 19 million – AIDS, worldwide to date9.6 million – Cancer, worldwide, 2017 1 million – Irish potato famine, 1846-1849 1 million – Flu pandemic, worldwide, 1957  1 million – Mosquito, annual, worldwide 835,000 – COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide, 2020 830,000 – Shaanxi earthquake, China, 1556800,000 – Rwanda, 1994 650,000 – Roman Colosseum for public entertainment, 80-404 618,222 – US Civil War 500,000 – War, Iraqis, 2003 to 2011 500,000 – Famine, worldwide, 2010-2016 400,000 – Homicides per year, worldwide 295,000 – Pregnancy and childbirth, worldwide 227,898 – Indian Ocean tsunami, 2004 113,990 – Injuries, Palestinians, 2008-2020 97,207 – Bosnian war 70,237 – Drug Overdoses (US), 2017 60,000 – Natural disasters per year, worldwide 58,209 – Vietnam War, 1955-1975 (US) 50,000 – Snakes, worldwide 48,344 – Suicide, annual (US) 38,000 – Car accidents, annual (US) 36,000 – Krakatoa eruption, Indonesia, 188332,836 – Terrorism, worldwide, 2018 30,000 – The Blitz, Londoners 25,000 – Hippopotamus16,214 – Homicides, US, 2018 15,000 – Holy Inquisition, 1184-180014,000 – Opioid overdoses, Canada, 2016-2020 5,614 – Injuries, Israelis, 2008-2020 5,585 – Fatalities, Palestinians, 2008-2020 3,466 – The Troubles, Ireland, 1968-1998 1,950 – Halifax explosion, 1917 1,517 – RMS Titanic, 19121,000 – Crocodile, worldwide651 – Homicides, Canada, 2018 500 – Plane crashes, worldwide, 2018 500 – Hippopotamus, Africa 300 – Great Chicago Fire, 1871 (US)270 – Pan Am Flight 103, Lockerbie, Scotland, 1988249 – Fatalities, Israelis, 2008-2020 72 – Grenfell Tower fire, London, 2017 36 – Hindenburg disaster, Lakehurst, N.J., 1937 (US)7 – Space shuttle Challenger, Florida, 1986 (US)4 – Kent State shootings, 1970 (US)

[lunearobservatory]

Hello, in the tags of your post you said to ask you about your DND au, please tell about the DND AU

OH MY GOD. Okay. OKAY. I have so many race class combos, and even a pretty decent storyline? The story is batshit and rly loose rn, so for now I will share the race class combos for the fellas i Do have, not all of them have subclasses but most do

PLEASE if you dont see ur favorite guy here OR you want to hear more about ur favorite guy in the au in general. ASK ME ABOUT UR FAVORITE FELLA PLEASE. I have extensive notes its insane

California - scourge aasimar, (cringefail) bard/bladesinger wizard

Texas - minotaur, barbarian

Florida - summer eladrin elf (?), wild magic sorcerer/arcane trickster

Lousiana - tiefling, circle of spores druid

New York - human, ascendant dragon monk

Gov - porcelain warforged, oath of conquest paladin. Made by PA

Pennsylvania - human, battlesmith artificer

Alaska - firbolg, fey wanderer (antler faewild gift)

Colorado - human (afflicted), drunken master monk

Rhode Island - lightfoot halfling, swashbuckler/battlemaster

Connecticut - forest gnome, swashbuckler/fighter

Massachusetts (half brother Maine) - half wood elf (human father), artillerist artificer/clockwork soul sorcerer

Maine (half brother Massachusetts) - wood elf, beastmaster ranger

Kentucky - centaur (mountain pleasure horse) nature cleric

Michigan - water genasi, circle of waves druid

Ohio - fire genasi, wildfire druid

New Jersey - tiefling, soulknife rogue 

[give-me-a-movie-camera]

I was watching I Love Lucy on Pluto TV last night and it completely slipped my mind that yesterday marked Desi Arnaz’s 106th birthday.

His was a classic Riches-to-Rags, Rags-to-Riches Cinderella tale. Desiderio Alberto ‘Desi’ Arnaz y de Acha III was born 2 March 1917 in Santiago de Cuba, Oriente Province, Cuba, the only son of wealthy landowner Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Alberni II (a prominent Cuban politician, who, to date, was the youngest mayor of Santiago de Cuba from 1923 to 1932) and his wife, Dolores ‘Lolita’ de Acha y de Socías (one of the most beautiful women in the Caribbean, the daughter of a businessman, one of three founders of Bacardi Rum Limited, the world's largest privately-owned spirits company). Desi was of the small but vastly privileged, upper-class y de Acha, the descendent of Cuban nobility of whose colonial ancestors originated from Santander, Provincia de Cantabria, Cantabria, Spain. (His grandfather, Dr Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y Alberni I, was assigned to the first United States volunteer cavalry in Cuba, the ‘Rough Riders’ under the leadership of ‘Hero of Cuba’ Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War on 1 July 1898. To legend, they sieged San Juan Hill on horseback, and though the forged conquest did not belong primarily to Roosevelt, for the conflict was an integrated effort between the white volunteer regiment and the 1,250 black Buffalo Soldiers, the famed battle gained Cuba her independence from Spain—a victory for the people, the Cuban people).

At the height of the Cuban Revolution of 1933, Desi and his family were forced to flee their Motherland, leaving their riches behind. Following a brief election, the government collapsed with the removal of President Gerardo Machado y Morales from office in August of 1933. The opposing anarchists seized all political leaders and stripped them of their power. Among them, Desi’s father, imprisoned by the regime, before his brother-in-law, Alberto de Acha, intervened on his behalf, thus making his escape to Miami, where he was to remain in exile. Having lost their holdings to the rebels who confiscated their property (their palatial home, a cattle ranch, two dairy farms, and a vacation villa on a private island in Santiago Bay), his father sent for Desi and his mother, who took refuge in Key West, Monroe, Florida in 1934. When Desi washed upon the shores of the Americas, his father had established an import-export company, where the family of three took up frugal lodgings in the company warehouse and dined on cans of cold beans. Desi came to live in New York City and Los Angeles for about one year, where he tightened his belt for survival and scrambled for employment as a struggling musician. Following an engagement as a guitar player for a Latin-American band at the Roney Plaza Hotel in Miami Beach, and a cursory stint with the Xavier Cugat Orchestra in 1937, he made his Broadway debut in the Rodgers and Hart musical Too Many Girls, where he reprised the role for RKO's major motion picture of the same name in 1940. During the course of filming, he fell head-over-heels for the Apricot Queen, Lucille Désirée Ball. The couple eloped on 30 November 1940 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut. By 1949, at the age of thirty-two, Desi established himself a renowned nightclub entertainer as conga-playing band leader for the travelling self-titled Cuban orchestra.

Most Hollywood buffs would do well to remember the Power Couple formed by Desilu Productions—a celluloid empire built on the backs of Lucy and Desi’s American Dreams, despite the public scandals and tumultuous marital woes. But at the crowning glory of their golden existence, there are those who neglect Desi's legacy and his reluctant resignation to his fate as the Man Behind the Curtain, to remain in Lucy’s shadow so long as he lived. Lucy, of whose celebrity distinction was of higher standing than her husband’s. Desi, though undoubtedly talented, who was not exempt from the unjust ostracization and societal prejudice that plagued him as a Cuban Spaniard immigrant in racially-charged Hollywood. For those who clutched their pearls at the prospect of Middle American households who might've dismissed acceptance of the world’s first interracial couple on television, Lucy and Desi defied those expectations and dissolved racial barriers in an era dominated by cultural strife. Audiences of all races, colour, and creed came together to shower the Ricardos with adoration and praise, because they came to understand the Ricardos epitomized the human experience, no matter that they didn't reflect the typical post-war domestic demographic. Against all odds, the world fell in love with the All-American Ricardos… white, Hispanic, or otherwise. Lucy and Desi, to be envied by all... America's Sweethearts.

On his 106th birthday, we remember Desi for the pioneer he was, as the Mastermind behind the nation’s most Beloved Redhead.

Behind every great woman lies a greater man.

Perhaps Desi speaks for us all when he declared his everlasting love, in his own words... ‘I Love Lucy was never just a title.’

💓 Happy Heavenly Birthday, Desi.  💓

       𓆩♡𓆪 · ・ 𓆩♡𓆪 · ・ 𓆩♡𓆪 · ・𓆩♡𓆪 · ・ 𓆩♡𓆪 · ・

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Last year, after Disney had the temerity to issue a statement opposing one of his prized legislative initiatives, Ron DeSantis punished the company by removing its self-governing status. (DeSantis justified the maneuver as a removal of unjustified privileges, but he had not previously opposed Disney’s status and made little attempt to disguise its nakedly retaliatory nature).

On Monday, he took matters much further. DeSantis appointed a board to oversee Disney. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is stacked with DeSantis cronies, including Bridget Ziegler, a proponent of his education policies; Ron Peri, who heads the Christian ministry the Gathering USA; and Michael Sasso, president of the Federalist Society’s Orlando chapter.

While the board handles infrastructure and maintenance, DeSantis boasted that it could use its leverage to force Disney to stop “trying to inject woke ideology” on children.

“When you lose your way, you’ve got to have people that are going to tell you the truth,” DeSantis proclaimed. “So we hope they can get back on. But I think all of these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate.”

It is worth pausing a moment to grasp the full breadth of what is going on here. First, DeSantis established the principle that he can and will use the power of the state to punish private firms that exercise their First Amendment right to criticize his positions. Now he is promising to continue exerting state power to pressure the firm to produce content that comports with his own ideological agenda.

Whether he is successful remains to be seen. But a few things ought to be clear. First, DeSantis’s treatment of Disney is not a one-off but a centerpiece of his legacy in Florida. He has repeatedly invoked the episode in his speeches, and his allies have held it up as evidence of his strength and dominance. The Murdoch media empire, which is functionally an arm of the DeSantis campaign, highlighted the Disney conquest in a New York Post front page and a Fox & Friends segment and DeSantis touted his move in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Second, DeSantis’s authoritarian methods have met with vanishingly little resistance within his party. The only detectable Republican pushback has come from New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who warned, “Look, Ron’s a very good Governor. But I’m just trying to remind folks what we are at our core. And if we’re trying to beat the Democrats at being big-government authoritarians, remember what’s going to happen. Eventually, they’ll have power … and then they’ll start penalizing conservative businesses and conservative nonprofits and conservative ideas.” (Of course, this warning holds only if Republicans believe they will have to relinquish power. If DeSantis can truly follow the example of Viktor Orbán, losing power becomes only a theoretical risk.)

And third, DeSantis has been very explicit about his belief that he sees his methods in Florida as a blueprint for a national agenda. So there is every reason to believe that, if elected president, DeSantis would use government power to force both public and private institutions to toe his line. Speaking out against him, or even producing content he disapproves of, would become a financially risky proposition.

Part of what makes DeSantis so dangerous is that Donald Trump created a very defined idea of authoritarianism in the minds of his critics. His refusal to accept the 2020 presidential-election results was indeed a dangerous attack on democratic legitimacy — but this especially notorious episode has overshadowed his other efforts to abuse state power. Trump wielded federal regulations to punish the owners of the Washington Post and CNN for coverage he disapproved of and used diplomatic leverage to extort Ukraine into smearing his political rival. Republicans either supported or ignored these abuses of power.

To whatever extent they have principled objections to authoritarianism, those objections are limited almost entirely to fomenting a violent mob to overturn an election. And while inciting an insurrection is extremely dangerous, it hardly exhausts the scope of illiberal tools available to a sufficiently ruthless executive.

Damon Linker recently criticized liberals for unfairly calling DeSantis as bad as Trump. Linker’s prediction that a second Trump administration would be more dangerous than a first DeSantis administration might be correct. But it’s hard for me to understand how he can state this so confidently when he acknowledges DeSantis’s illiberal intentions and lack of democratic scruples. Comparing the relative evils of two authoritarian-minded leaders seems to be mainly an exercise in guesswork.

A year ago, I wrote a long profile of DeSantis, in which his deep-rooted distrust of liberal democracy was a major theme. Last fall, I attended the National Conservatism Conference, where the attendees laid out rather plainly their ambition to turn DeSantis into a model for a ruthless, illiberal party that would use the organs of the state to crush its enemies. Since those pieces appeared, DeSantis’s actions have made me more, not less, concerned.

Whether DeSantis would actually do more damage to American democracy in office than Trump could remains hard to say. Perhaps, perhaps not. But we should recognize that he is not putting himself forward as a critic of Trump’s authoritarianism. He is promising, on the contrary, to exceed it.

[deusluxuria]

some random headcanons about pucci because i aaaaaa:

(warnings: christianity, child abuse, brief NSFW subjects)

Has a limp because of his foot, and uses a cane to walk. The cane is very fancy and looks like it could be Versace or some shit, but he actually made it himself.

Dio is more of a father figure to him than anything else. This was part of why he became so attached to Dio in the first place; he had been neglected by his parents and didn't really realize it yet. Dio, in turn, sees him as his surrogate child.

Developed PTSD and a stutter around age 19. He also ran away from home at that age, after breaking his father's nose, smacking him in the face with the heavy bible he was supposed to be studying from. He lived with various depraved people after that, until Dio found him and convinced him to go back home, despite Enrico begging to live with him. Dio explained that the two of them had similar childhoods, and tried to convince Enrico to murder his father so that Enrico's mother wouldn't incur the same fate as Dio's mother. Enrico planned it, but ultimately found he didn't have the courage.

He has DIY stick-and-poke tattoos in places that other people usually don't see (i.e. upper thigh, chest, abdomen). Though, he usually dresses to cover most of his body anyway, and people would still rarely see them even if he had some on his arms or lower legs. A few of them are:

-The logo for "A Band Called Death," a punk band, on the left side of his chest.

-Tori Amos, the musician, on his inner left arm.

-"I DON'T HAVE TO PROVE MYSELF TO YOU" in loud, angry letters on his right inner thigh, upside-down.

He was originally born in New Orleans. His parents moved to Florida when he was 6. He was extremely sheltered as a child and a young teenager, so he never really spoke to anyone else other than his parents, and thus maintained most of the accent. Wes and Perla only have a slight remnant of the dialect, but otherwise, people can't really tell where they're originally from.

Does a bit of everything in the arts. Drawing, painting, sculpting, singing, piano...

Before Dio's conquest for heaven started to possess Enrico's personality, his priesthood was largely a way for him to heal in others what he himself suffered from as a result of his childhood and adolescence. He became a prison chaplain not only to get away from his father's church, but to put his work where he believed it would do the most good.

As a prison chaplain (again, before Dio's interference), he had a mindset where he believed absolutely everyone has at least some good in them, no matter what. He would listen and extend compassion to anyone, no matter what they had done or been imprisoned for. He thought of that as one of the most fundamental parts of his job. He could go home at night and lay awake haunted by the crimes of those same prisoners, but he would still go to work the next day to hold their hands and tell them they're heard.

Almost never smiles or laughs, or is even in the mood to. The first time Dio saw him laugh, he was actually a bit stunned, and would say "it was like seeing the sun break through the clouds for the first time in over a hundred years."

He's known he was queer ever since his time being sheltered as a kid, but he didn't specifically realize he was gay until he ran off at 19.

When he ran away, he went to do "everything that would horrify his father," but none of it was in any safe way whatsoever. Unprotected sex, shared needles, living with terrible people, mixing drugs and alcohol, etc. Being very repressed and uninformed because of his parents' beliefs, he didn't know the extent of the risks -- not that he would have cared at the time.

Becoming a prison chaplain instead of remaining a clerical figure at his father's church probably saved him a great deal from the wrath of the Christian community in his parents' town, considering he has always been incredibly rebellious for a "Catholic" priest.

[aboutanancientenquiry]

"Herodotus and the question why

Christopher B. R. Pelling, Herodotus and the question why. The Fordyce W. Mitchel memorial lecture series. Austin: The University of Texas Press, 2019. Pp. xv, 360. ISBN 9781477318324 $55.00.

Review by

David Branscome, Florida State University. dbranscome@fsu.edu

Herodotus’ keen interest in investigating historical explanations or causes is already evident in the Histories’ first sentence, which ends by asking ‘for what reason they [i.e. Greeks and Persians] fought with one another’. While this interest on Herodotus’ part has long been noted by scholars, Pelling’s book is the first monographic study of the topic.[1] In Pelling’s view, asking the question why, rather than merely the question what, in relation to past events is fundamental to Herodotus’ task as a historian.[2] Pelling does an outstanding job of analyzing all the varied rhetorical and thematic strategies Herodotus uses in his efforts to answer this question.

The book is divided into sixteen chapters. In Chapter 1 Pelling surveys the different ways in which Herodotus thinks about historical causes. The subject of Chapter 2 is the assignation of blame (aitiē) by Herodotus or his characters (such as in the abductions of women, 1.1-5) and the related theme of “payback” (tisis), whether with Candaules (1.8-12) or with Xerxes (9.108-113). Chapters 3-6 treat the intellectual and rhetorical background to Herodotus’ methods of explanation, especially as found in contemporary scientific and medical writers (Chapters 3, 5, and 6) and such writers as logographers (Chapter 4), from Hecataeus to Gorgias.[3] For example (Chapter 6), Herodotus can accumulate explanations, without preferring one over the other (as he does with the factors that drove Cyrus to continued conquests, 1.204.2), no less than can the Hippocratic authors of Airs, Waters, Places or of On Ancient Medicine. In Chapter 7 Pelling argues that with the stories of Candaules and of Croesus in Book 1, Herodotus trains readers to expect that some explanations are provisional and must be reevaluated over time (as Apollo himself demonstrates, when he points out the reasons why Croesus’ empire fell, 1.91). All the rest of the chapters except the last one focus on individual themes around which Herodotus seeks out explanations. Chapter 8 is on empire: the reasons why empires like Croesus’ rise and fall or imperial enterprises like Xerxes’ invasion of Greece succeed or fail usually depend on both the shrewdness and the folly of aggressor and of would-be victim alike. In Chapter 9 Pelling finds that Herodotus shapes his “Persian stories” to reflect certain thematic patterns: the influence of royal women, the difficulty of speaking truth to power, the imperialist led to ruin by overreach and by the gods. Although Herodotus privileges the human element as the determining factor in how historical events turn out, Chapter 10 shows that sometimes the divine element is inescapable, whether it is Xerxes’ dream figure commanding him to invade Greece (7.12-18) or the mountain peaks that tumble toward the Persians at Delphi (8.37.3, 39.2). Chapter 11 shifts from Persian defeat to Greek victory: the Greeks won at Marathon and against Xerxes’ forces for reasons both commendable (superior military equipment and training, 9.63.2) and not (Greek disorder at Plataea paradoxically leading Mardonius and his army to attack without good order, 9.59). Other reasons for the Greek victory are freedom (Chapter 12) and democracy (Chapter 13). Herodotus praises those who fought to preserve Greek freedom from the threat of Persian autocracy (7.145.1) and acknowledges that Athens only started to grow great once it freed itself from its tyrants (5.78). Democracy, says Pelling, is freedom taken to an extreme: the Athenian dēmos was free to make decisions that were providentially good (building two hundred ships at Themistocles’ instigation, 7.144) and bad (sending ships to help the Ionian Revolt, 5.97). Chapter 14 deals with the interplay between individuals and collectives: among Persians, individual success is ultimately the purview of the king alone, but even he must operate in the shadow cast by previous kings; among Greeks, the Spartan Pausanias is as free to achieve individual success (and prospective failure) as is the Athenian Themistocles. Herodotus’ allusions to events later than the end (479 BCE) of the main narrative, including the downfalls of Pausanias and of Themistocles, lead Pelling in Chapter 15 to consider how Herodotus, along with his first audiences in particular, may have sought connections between and even explanations for contemporary events (above all, the Peloponnesian War) in the past events narrated in his work. Chapter 16 is a brief epilogue, in which Pelling stresses the explanatory power that Persian imperialism (as described by Herodotus) may have held for Greeks living at the time of an imperialist Athens.

There is much that is excellent in Pelling’s book. It is comprehensive in scope, treating an impressive number of Herodotean passages. At the same time it is well-structured and argued, with each chapter flowing easily into the next. Pelling’s discussion (Chapters 3-6) of Herodotus’ explanatory modes vis-à-vis that of other prose authors stands out for its thoroughness. He provides a useful annotated list (Chapter 15) of Herodotus’ allusions to later events – external analepseis in narratological terms. Perhaps the best part of the book are the many overarching statements Pelling makes about the Histories. A few of these literary critical gems are: “As so often, the richest explanatory passages explain more than the single context in which they figure” (43); “But it was not coincidence that Herodotus happened now; nor was he writing for an audience that would find his thinking too alien to accommodate” (79); “For Herodotus knows that choices can be overdetermined” (103); “Herodotus has more than one approach to multiple explanations” (269 n. 25); “This is a two-way street: past illuminates present, present illuminates past” (215); “Herodotus too will puzzle, and expect his readers and hearers to puzzle too, over the complex events he describes, and he allows us to share the different ways of looking at them and making sense of them” (162); “And Herodotus surely does expect a very active reader, one who is given plenty to work on and plenty to puzzle at” (11).

While Pelling himself seems to expect “a very active reader” for his own book, this can at times cause problems. Indeed, there are some statements Pelling needs to explain more fully. While discussing the mercurial nature of the Athenian dēmos (“swift to decide and swift to change their mind”, 192), Pelling refers to “the Athenians’ swift recrimination of their envoys for offering Persia earth and water (5.73.3; cf. 5.96.2).” Herodotus says that the Athenians had sent their envoys to meet with the satrap of Sardis in ca. 507 BCE and to form an “alliance” (symmachiē, 5.73.1) with the Persians. Pelling implies that the Athenians are upset with their envoys for doing exactly what they had been sent to do (i.e. form an alliance). But it could be instead that the Athenians belatedly realize that the envoys, by offering earth and water to the King, had subjected, not allied, Athens to Persia; this would have made the Athenians rebels in the eyes of the King when they later participated in the Ionian Revolt.[4] Elsewhere, Pelling rightly observes that the idea that Persian subjects were tantamount to slaves is “a Greek conception of the way Persians thought, and real Persian ideology was more nuanced” (286 n. 10). On the other hand, Pelling’s assertion that among the Persians “[t]he degree of slavery doubtless varied greatly even at a much lower level” (176) is not very helpful, and his claim that “‘vassalage’ is a better term” (286 n. 10) for this supposed slavery is also untenable because the Persian “slavery” in question was broader than the concept of vassalage suggests. Rather, in the context of Greek (mis)conceptions of Persian slavery mention should be made of the Old Persian term bandaka (literally “bondsman”), a word which ranged in meaning from whole subject peoples (e.g. Darius’ Bisitun inscription [DB], paragraph 7) to individual Persian aristocrats who had ties of loyalty to their superiors (much like vassals to a feudal lord), particularly to the Persian king.

Errors in the book are rare. Fortunately, the typographical errors tend not to mislead; they occur mostly near the end of the book or in the bibliography.[5] The three outright factual errors are: “Aristagoras arrives in Athens” not in 494 (191-2), but probably in either 500 or 499; Cyrus is recognized by Astyages not “at the age of fourteen” (129), but at the age of ten (Hdt. 1.114.1), as Pelling correctly says later (151: “ten-year-old Cyrus”); it is not Harpagus who is ‘“stricken by the gods”’ (152, referring to Hdt. 1.127.2), but Astyages, as Pelling correctly notes earlier on the same page (152).

Pelling has produced a book that has a definite Herodotean feel to it: sweeping, rich, and thought-provoking. Readers will come away with renewed respect for Herodotus’ overall historiographic achievement and especially for the dogged nature of Herodotus’ attempts to get at the reason why things happened.

Notes

[1] See esp. H. R. Immerwahr, “Aspects of Historical Causation in Herodotus,” TAPA 87 (1956): 241-80 (reprinted in R. V. Munson, ed., Herodotus: Volume 1: Herodotus and the Narrative of the Past (Oxford 2013) 157-93).

[2] In a self-professed companion piece to the current book, Pelling examines the role that Homeric epic played in establishing the roots of historical explanation for later Greek historians: C. Pelling, “Homer and the Question Why,” in C. Constantakopoulou and M. Fragoulaki, eds., Shaping Memory in Ancient Greece: Poetry, Historiography, and Epigraphy (Newcastle upon Tyne: Histos Supplement 11, 2020), 1-35.

[3] In these chapters, Pelling builds upon Thomas’ work to ground Herodotus in the thought world of the Hippocratics: R. Thomas, Herodotus in Context: Ethnography, Science and the Art of Persuasion (Cambridge 2000).

[4] See M. Waters, Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550-330 BCE (Cambridge 2014) 84.

[5] Potentially misleading errors include: “euteteōs” for eupeteōs (205); “160.3” for 1.60.3 (205); “above, n. 000” (285 n. 4) Dewald 1993 is not “repr. Munson 2013” (306); “Xeus” for Zeus (326)."

[auditionsuggestions]

Latine/Hispanic Plays and Musicals

As if I'm not loud enough about being Latina already, but IT'S HERITAGE MONTH, FRIENDS!!!!

Here are some plays and musicals I recommend in honor of Latine/Hispanic Heritage Month. (Please, note I'm not including things set in Spain). Most of these I have seen, read, or been in (or auditioned for). Obviously there are more than I list here, but here's a starting point! Feel free to reblog with your favorites :)

Plays

Ghosts of Bogotá by Diana Burbano--Three Colombian-American siblings return to their family home in Bogotá after the death of their abusive grandfather and must face the literal and metaphorical ghosts of their generational trauma. (stage rights, buy the play)

Welcome to Arroyo's by Kristoffer Diaz--"Alejandro Arroyo owns the newest (and cleanest) lounge in New York City’s Lower East Side. His sister, Molly, has a nasty habit of writing graffiti on the back wall of the local police precinct. Officer Derek is a recent NYC transplant with something to prove. Lelly Santiago is a socially awkward college student who may have discovered that the Arroyo siblings’ late mother was one of the founders of hip-hop music" (From the synopsis on the Dramatists Play Service website).

La Gringa by Carmen Rivera-Tirado--"Mari­a Elena Garcia goes to visit her family in Puerto Rico during the Christmas holidays and arrives with plans to connect with her homeland. Although this is her first trip to Puerto Rico, she has had an intense love for the island, and even majored in Puerto Rican Studies in college. Once Maria is in Puerto Rico, she realizes that Puerto Rico does not welcome her with open arms. The majority of the Puerto Ricans on the island consider her an American – a gringa – and Mari­a considers this a betrayal. If she’s a Puerto Rican in the United States and an American in Puerto Rico, Maria concludes that she is nobody everywhere. Her uncle, Manolo, spiritually teaches her that identity isn’t based on superficial and external definitions, but rather is an essence that she has had all along in her heart." (From the synopsis on Concord Theatricals).

In the Time of the Butterflies by Caridad Svich--An adaptation of the novel of the same name by Julia Álvarez. A fictionalized version of the lives of the Mirabal-Reyes sisters. "The sisters inspired resistance cells throughout the country against the dictatorial regime of Gen. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. The ‘butterflies’, their secret code name, were brutally murdered by the regime in 1960. With immersive video and animation dispersed across the stage, this epic production paints a visual dreamscape of the interior lives of the activist sisters, the beauty and ferocity of the natural world, and the music heard on the radio of the time." (From the show page on the Teatro Vista website).

Anna in the Tropics b Nilo Cruz--"In Florida in 1929 in a Cuban–American cigar factory, where cigars are still rolled by hand and “lectors” are employed to educate and entertain the workers. The arrival of a new lector is a cause for celebration, but when he begins to read aloud from Anna Karenina, he unwittingly becomes a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners, for whom Tolstoy, the tropics, and the American dream prove a volatile combination." (From the synopsis on DPS)

Musicals

In The Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Algeria Hudes--Set in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York, In the Heights follows a few days of one summer in the neighborhood. The show explores themes of family, purpose, legacy, and what it means to be Latine in the US.

Temple of the Souls by Dean Landon and Anika Paris, Anita Velez-Mitchell, and Lorca Peress. (A note, this show as far as I know has only been performed at the New York Musical Festival) Set just after the Spanish conquest of Puerto Rico, Temple of the Souls follows the story of a young Taino man and the daughter of a conquistador as they become entangled in an ill-fated romance.

On Your Feet by Alexander Dinelaris Jr, Emilio Estefan, and Gloria Estefan. This is a jukebox musical about the life of Gloria Estefan following her from her childhood to the accident that nearly cost her her life and career.

West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents. I'm a bit loathe to include shows not by Latine creators, but it feels like there are so few musicals about us. WSS is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. The noble houses of Verona have now been recast as warring street gangs of New York's West Side, the two star-crossed lovers now a best friend of one side's leader and the sister of the other.

Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. A biographic musical about the spiritual leader of Argentina, Eva Peron. Following her life from a driven and ambitious teenager to one of the most powerful women in the Western Hemisphere. Narrated by Che (imagined as revolutionary Che Guevara in the original production, though really intended to simply be a stand-in for the everyday Argentinian), the show follows Eva's rise and subsequent illness and her impact on her people.

[crossoverquest]

Crossover Quest does King for A Day: Qualifier Match 5/16

Get ready for the next battle!

The Big Time vs. Team Noize!

The Big Time: Hey, punks! I’m gonna hit you so hard, you’ll be seeing 808s!

Noize(Space Channel 5): I don’t consider myself a punk; I’m a loyalist to Big Band and Pop Jazz.

Noize(River City Girls): Being a punk’s MY distinction.

The Big Time

Favored Genres: All manners of Rock, Punk Rock being chief among them

Favorite Song: Mr Sandman’s Theme from Punch-Out for the Wii

The Big Time is a Sinistra Major who joined Crossover Quest does King for A Day to help his boss, Senator Skull, realize his dreams of world conquest after he argued that winning a tournament of this caliber would earn him some recognition. (Senator Skull’s from Boca Raton, Florida. Florida Men already have respect from me.) Despite technically being a heel, The Big Time wants to win over the voters if not the whole world.

Team Noize

Favored Genres: Rock, Electronic Music, Big Band, Pop Jazz

Favorite Song: Unseen by Megan McDuffee or Noize(River City Girls) on an in universe basis

Two different Noizes from two different games coalesce into one musical force! They didn’t have much in common, but when they learned of their mutual liking of music, Team Noize was born.

[eddonegan]

Georg H.W. Bush provider of hitmen to Nixon helped hit JFK RFK. Marcello was hated by RFK, groomed as assasin by Nixon Wild Bill Donovan

The Chicago Outfit

The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 used for Secret Society rule of world. The #Secretteam of #NWO uses #Mafia for #CIA conquest as though #Mafia #IrregularWarfare #WETDIVISION was marching uniformed military.

The Nixon Tramps 3

Nixon-Rubenstein 1946 Nixon-Sturges 1948 Charles Harrleson with them. Watergate Breakin covers up, G. Gordon Liddy FBI part of assassination.

Frank Anthony Sturgis (December 9, 1924 – December 4, 1993), born Frank Angelo Fiorini, was one of the five Watergate burglars whose capture led to the end of the presidency of Richard Nixon. He served in several branches of the United States military and in the Cuban Revolution of 1958, and worked as an undercover operative for the Central Intelligence Agency. Charles Harrelson was a Mafia contract killer. Jack Rubenstien killed pasty Lee Harvey Oswald who Earle Cabell had setup as alleged JFK hitman.

This is where Robert F. Kennedy was headed, where CD Douglas made his CIA based operations, and has continued to be the Chicago Overthrow source of CIA mafia.

The Chicago Outfit To RFK the Mob as a problem. To Richard Nixon they were secret assets to the CIA.

Ruby had talked with Sam and Joe Campisi and Marcello who had talked in advance of killing JFK and also Candy Barr stripper at Ruby Free Mason Donald Barr CIA Goerge H.W. Bush Free Mason Knight's of Malta and Free Mason J. Edgar Hoover James Angleton, John ulled Alan Dulles Cabell CIA https://youtu.be/PYI4PqtIyE0?t=5950 Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald? (full documentary) | FRONTLINE Oswald an hour late coming down stairs like to get Ruby in position.

A long tradition of organized crime, Lo Cosa Nostra (Sicilian House of Ours) the Kosher Nostra Yiddish Maria of Jack Rubinstein, and mafia available as CIA and FBI assets including Mexican Mafia from Texas and elsewhere.

Nixon had not only Rubinstein and Sam Giacanco and others he had Jimmy Hoffa, coming to Mafia power 1952 Chicago (when Nixon was elected VP) tied to illegal acts and Mafia also Hoffa was tied to gambling Mafia.

But it was in the Soldier Field parking lot in 1961 that Jimmy Hoffa, Teamsters president since 1957, learned how to drive a truck.

There is a possibility Clay Shaw and Marcello were connected in New Orleans through the CIA Mafia

Carlos Joseph Marcello[1] (Italian: [marˈtʃɛllo]; born Calogero Minacore [kaˈlɔːdʒero minaˈkɔːre]; February 6, 1910 – March 3, 1993) was an Italian-American crime boss of the New Orleans crime family from 1947 until the late 1980s.

Aside from his role in the American Mafia, he is also notorious for the reason that G. Robert Blakey and others have alleged that Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante Jr., and Sam Giancana conspired in the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in retaliation for federal investigations and prosecutions that threatened both the power and the multibillion-dollar profits of organized crime.

By the end of 1947, Marcello had taken control of Louisiana's illegal gambling network. He had also joined forces with Genovese crime family associate Meyer Lansky in order to skim money from some of the most important casinos in the New Orleans area shortly after becoming associated with the Todaro family through marriage. According to former members of the Chicago Outfit, Marcello was also assigned a cut of the money skimmed from Las Vegas casinos, in exchange for providing "muscle" in Florida real estate deals. By this time, Marcello had been selected as "The Godfather" of the New Orleans Mafia, by the family's capos and with the approval of The Commission after the deportation of his predecessor, Sylvestro Carolla, to Sicily. He held this position for the next thirty years. In a 1975 extortion trial, two witnesses described Marcello as "The Godfather" of the New Orleans crime syndicate.

Marcello appeared before the U.S. Senate's Kefauver Committee on organized crime on January 25, 1951. He pleaded the Fifth Amendment 152 times. The Committee called Marcello "one of the worst criminals in the country".

Marcello continued the family's long-standing tradition of fierce independence from interference by mafiosi in other areas. He enacted a policy that forbade mafiosi from other families from visiting Louisiana without first asking permission.

On March 24, 1959, Marcello appeared before the United States Senate's McClellan Committee investigating organized crime. Serving as Chief Counsel to the committee was Robert F. Kennedy; his brother, Senator John F. Kennedy, was a member of the committee. In response to committee questioning, Marcello invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer any questions relating to his background, activities, and associates. From then on, Marcello became an avowed enemy of the Kennedys.

General Wild Bill Donovan recruits Frank Sturgis even before OSS

"On April 14, 1942, William Donovan, as Coordinator of Information (forerunner of the Office of Strategic Services), activated units charged with gathering intelligence, harassing the Japanese through guerrilla actions, identifying targets for the Army Air Force to bomb, and rescuing downed Allied airmen."[4] This was what led to Stilwell's Chinese forces, Wingate's Raiders, Merrill's Marauders, in the war, and Frank got trained in Guerrilla tactics and gathering intelligence which became useful in his later events.

Honorably discharged as a corporal in 1945, he enrolled at Virginia Polytechnic Institute but left college and joined the Norfolk Police Department on June 5, 1946.[6] He soon discovered a corrupt payoff system and brought it to the attention of his superiors, who told him to overlook the illegal activities. On October 5, 1946, he had a confrontation with his sergeant and resigned the same day. For the next 18 months, he managed the Havana-Madrid tavern in Norfolk that catered to foreigners, mostly Cuban merchant seamen.

On November 9, 1947, Fiorini joined the United States Naval Reserve at the Norfolk Naval Air Station and learned to fly while still working at the tavern. He was honorably discharged on August 30, 1948, and joined the United States Army the next day. He was sent immediately to West Berlin, where the USSR had closed the land routes during the Berlin Blockade, and he became a member of General Lucius Clay's honor guard. Two weeks after the USSR reopened the land routes on May 11, 1949, Fiorini was honorably discharged. As a Marine Raider, Fiorini had worked behind enemy lines gathering intelligence, and during his Army tenure in Berlin and Heidelberg, he had a top secret clearance and worked in an intelligence unit whose primary target was the Soviet Union. Fiorini started to believe Russia was a threat, and he became a lifelong militant. Returning to Norfolk in 1952, he took a job managing the Cafe Society tavern, then partnered with its owner, Milton Bass, to co-purchase and manage The Top Hat Nightclub in Virginia Beach.

On September 23, 1952, Frank Fiorini filed a petition in the Circuit Court of the City of Norfolk, Virginia, to change his name to Frank Anthony Sturgis, adopting the surname of his stepfather Ralph Sturgis, whom his mother had married in 1937. His new name resembled that of Hank Sturgis, the fictional hero of E. Howard Hunt's 1949 novel, Bimini Run, whose life parallels Frank Sturgis' life from 1942 to 1949 in certain salient respects.

Driver`s ed ''I`d drive (the truck) to Soldier Field,'' said Williams, who was convicted at the 1982 trial and has since died.

''It was the largest place and nobody was parked there at night. We did it two, three times a week. Hoffa picked it up quickly. There were no cops. Just five, six of us guys.''

The guys included Donald Peters, the now-retired longtime president of Chicago Local 743, the union`s largest, and perhaps Hoffa`s closest Chicago friend. While visiting grandchildren in the Pacific Northwest last week, Peters recalled evenings outside the stadium`s south end, including testing anti-jackknife and anti-sleep devices.

''Hoffa was always concerned with truckers` safety, with their livers and kidneys,'' Peters said. ''So it was not just teaching him how to drive, but (teaching him) all the new safety features too.''

To hear Hoffa watchers tell it, Chicago was Hoffa`s most frequent stopover after Detroit (home) and Washington (union headquarters). https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-05-20-9202150150-story.html

Nixon Watergate and Hoffa Deal to silence the matter. Richard Nixon & The Mafia Murdered Jimmy Hoffa (USA Labor Union Leader) | Conspiracy: | Channel 5. Nixon reduced Hoffa's sentence. https://youtu.be/1SsYjlcrXN8

Cubans in the USA can be highly patriotic reject the Communistst that overthrew Cuba. Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany or those fleeing communists in Latin America may have inclinations towards political mafi roles and possible be in mafia ridden towns already.

Big Jim Colosimo retrieved from Wikipedia and copied or modified to here

Vincenzo Colosimo (Italian: February 16, 1878 – May 11, 1920), known as James "Big Jim" Colosimo or as "Diamond Jim", was an Italian-American Mafia crime boss who emigrated from Calabria, Italy, in 1895 and built a criminal empire in Chicago based on prostitution, gambling and racketeering. He gained power through petty crime and by heading a chain of brothels. From about 1902 until his death in 1920, he led a gang that became known after his death as the Chicago Outfit.

Colosimo acquired another nickname, "Diamond Jim," because he frequently dressed in a white suit and wore diamond pins, rings and other jewelry.[4] This, combined with his personal charm and money, helped him establish relationships with women. He had a love of both women and money, which fueled his enthusiasm for prostitution. In 1902, Colosimo married Victoria Moresco, an established Chicago madame[6] and together they opened a second brothel. Torrio was the nephew of Moresco. According to Laurence Bergreen, "Torrio is [also] described as Colosimo’s nephew, but in the absence of any evidence to confirm the relationship, it is more likely their kinship was spiritual rather than familial." There are also references to Colosimo's wife being somehow related to John Torrio.[7] Within a few years, Colosimo had expanded this to nearly 200 brothels and had also made inroads into gambling and racketeering.

Among his first brothels were The Victoria, at Archer and Armor avenue, and The Saratoga, at Dearborn and 22nd street.

He was reputedly making $50,000 ($ 720 000 in 2022) per month from his various legal and illegal operations.

Help from New York By 1909, Black Hand extortion was a serious threat to Colosimo in Chicago. He brought in gangster John "The Fox" Torrio from Brooklyn and made him his second in command. The following year, he opened Colosimo's Cafe, a restaurant and nightclub at 2126 South Wabash. It quickly became a popular destination for prominent Chicagoans and visitors to Chicago.[4] In 1919, Torrio and Colosimo opened a brothel at 2222 South Wabash called the Four Deuces, a reference to the address. Torrio hired his old Brooklyn colleague Al Capone to work as a bartender and bouncer, which gave Capone his entry into Chicago crime.

Black Hand was a method of extortion practiced by gangsters of the Camorra and the Mafia.

The roots of the Black Hand can be traced to the Kingdom of Naples as early as the 1750s. The English language term specifically refers to the organization established by Italian immigrants in the United States during the 1880s. Some of the immigrants formed criminal syndicates, living alongside each other and largely victimizing fellow immigrants.

By 1900, Black Hand operations were firmly established in the Italian communities of major cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Scranton, San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Detroit. In 1907, a Black Hand headquarters was discovered in Hillsville, Pennsylvania, a village located a few miles west of New Castle, Pennsylvania. The Black Hand in Hillsville established a school to train members in the use of the stiletto.[4] Another Black Hand headquarters was later discovered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Pillory epub

[powerrangersaromatix]

Prologue

If Master Xandred’s last words to the Samurai Rangers ring a bell, you’d know that he prophesied the return of the Nighlok. That prophecy was fulfilled when a Nighlok remnant rose to power in the Samurai Rangers’ Earth. The leader of the remnant is FoxTrot, the basis of legends regarding Kitsune and Kumiho. She’s a white humanoid vixen with blue eyes that wore the same type of clothes Robtish wore in life. FoxTrot had a vendetta against Antonio that started when she learned that he killed Vulpes. Vulpes was FoxTrot’s son; he was the first child born during a relationship between FoxTrot and the mute Tengu she chose to marry. FoxTrot taught Vulpes every spell he knew and was proud of him. The news of Vulpes’s death at the hands of Antonio saddened and enraged FoxTrot in that order. FoxTrot amassed an army that was supposed to attack the Gold Samurai Ranger in Panorama City, California, as she wanted his heart on a plate. FoxTrot miscalculated her gap magic, however, sending both her and her army to Tarpon Springs, Florida instead. FoxTrot liked the idea of conquest and made taking over Tarpon Springs one of her primary goals. She thought that Tarpon Springs would be a perfect base from which she can launch large-scale attacks. FoxTrot didn’t know at the time that she’d already run afoul of the three girls who would later become the Aromatix Power Rangers.

[shirtfashion68]

JoJo Siwa Karma graphic shirt

Florida Panthers Yesterday – Today – Tomorrow Forever No Matter What T Shirt

Kublai had cannon, Genghis did not. Kublai had managed to recruit Chin artillerymen and Florida Panthers Yesterday – Today – Tomorrow Forever No Matter What T Shirt metallurgists who were able to produce his cannon and then, train his tumans to operate them. Kublai also had learned from the knights of Russia and Europe and so, his horsemen were not just archers but lancers also. So they would alternate between the lance and bow, depending on what they faced. The European armies consisted of crossbowmen and pikemen as well as cavalry, of course. Kublai’s tactic was to switch when it was advantageous, so the knights would charge with lance and the Mongols would stage a false retreat, shooting the knights down as they went. Then, when the knights were nullified, they would charge the crossbowmen. The pikemen would come to the fore and the Mongols would switch to the bow. Because the pikemen needed both hands to wield their pikes, they had to put aside their shields which they used to defend from archers so they were vulnerable to Kublai’s horse-archers. Then the crossbowmen would advance to answer the arrows and the tuman would ride them down with lances. And so, they would wear down armies in such fashion, switching to exploit the weaknesses of their enemies.

JoJo Siwa Karma graphic shirt

He unified the Mongol tribes by force of charisma, starting with nothing, creating the JoJo Siwa Karma graphic shirt empire through conquest after conquest of many old established empires. That included 2 Chinese realms, the Kwarezmian empire (in the area of Kazakhstan, Afghanistan & Persia), Kievan Rus, and parts of the Caucasus, culminating in one of the largest empires in history, which his son and successor Ogedei expanded to the largest. Genghis never lost in battle, and personally participated in many. Kublai Khan took his grandfather’s legacy in China, ruling the Yuan dynasty that was constructed of Genghis’ northern Jin and Western Xi-xia conquests, completing the conquest and unification of China by conquering the Southern Song dynasty. He also conquered the Goryeo kingdom, modern day Korea. However, he lost to Japan in the famous Kamikaze, partially due to poor planning and overconfidence. And a large portion of his energies were consumed in the Toluid civil war between himself and his brother Arik-Boke (their father was Tolui, Genghis’, 4th son).

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The current NHL leadership will only consent to moving one of the San Francisco Giants Orlando Cepeda Willie Mays Giant Gunner T Shirt teams as an absolute last resort. Winnipeg only got the Thrashers when the situation in Atlanta became untenable and the team needed a last-minute landing site. This is why the Centre Videotron was constructed in Quebec City: to have an NHL-ready arena if and when another team needs to relocate.The NHL insists that it is committed to keeping its current franchises where they are: this is true until it suddenly isn’t. There may come a point when a club like the Arizona Coyotes has no option but to relocate, and Quebec City could indeed wind up with a new version of the Nordiques.The league is bullish on Houston, which has a local NBA owner who is eager to become part of the NHL. So the Texas city is often considered the top candidate for a relocated franchise. But it is more likely that Houston would enter the league via an expansion franchise (Seattle paid $650M to join and the other owners will be wanting another cash injection in the future). Quebec would probably get the next team that needs to relocate.

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The Neutral Zone Trap started with one forward pressing with a Joe Biden and Donald Trump golf Make America golf again shirt forecheck, usually not going any deeper in the offensive zone than the high slot in order to be able to retreat back to the blue line when the opposing team was breaking out. The other four players would stay spread out between the two blue lines totally plugging the neutral zone. As long as a team was committed to a passive forecheck and stayed in position it worked almost too well.  The Left Wing Lock is a bit different. Basically once the puck changed possesion, the left winger on the defensive team would retreat to almost playing defense creating on the left side (right side to the team with the puck). Given that about 70% of players shoot left, giving up that ice would would put most players on their backhand causing them to kind of have to always to be looking behind.

[cbairdash]

Author’s note: Hoist the Colors may eventually inspire fiction. Most likely will and I’ll gladly write it. But right now, it’s a role-playing game setting with what I hope is an interesting take and look at an “Alternate History” of Earth. It isn’t really “steampunk”, though I can see how someone would get that impression. For me, it’s more a “flintlock fantasy” set on Earth of 1722 in all it’s historical mess… that I’ve stirred up even more!

So, with that said, this time we get into one of the many locations in Hoist the Colors. The Caribbean, but maybe not as you know it!

Hoist the Colors: The Caribbean

It’s the crossroads of the world. Those islands are rich with history and hope for a fresh start. But behind all that lurks monsters of our own making…

- Helena Barrow, Captain of the Horizon’s Rose

The Caribbean. A wide archipelago made up of the Caribbean Sea with its collection of islands and island chains. It’s a tropical region between North and South America, known for its diverse cultures, settlements, trade, and a storied, bloody history. The region has always been home to one culture or another for over 7000 years. 

It has been witness to, and withstood, invasions from Europe, trade wars of conquest, plagues, bloody pirate rampages, and a worldwide cataclysm. Specifically, the event called Crossing’s Fall that shoved the region and its inhabitants into the world’s view. 

At midnight on October 31, 1712, the mysterious events of Crossing’s Fall changed the world. Warped it with shattered fragments of Otherworld appearing and melding with Earth. Near mythical animals appeared around the globe along with refugees from Otherworld. The landscape changed as well. In some places, it was dramatic, but in others, subtle. In the case of the Caribbean, it was more the former instead of the latter.

Changed Lands

Like elsewhere on Earth, the land itself had changed. Fragments of Otherworld became new mountains or foothills in places like Cuba, Jamaica, or Puerto Rico. Rocky islands rose along the coastlines of South America, New Spain, and Florida. The Bahamas, an island chain of scattered small islands, became even more fragmented, and dangerous, with primeval jungles having overrun the more remote ones. 

Across those islands are towns and cities nestled in those dangerous jungles. Ports of call for ships from around the world from Europe, Americas, Japan, China, and beyond. Not to mention local ships such as pirates prowling the waves for a fresh kill. Deeper inland, lost Earth cities are mixed with Otherworld ruins, from ancient stone forts to lost tombs and forgotten libraries. Riches and relics wrapped in fog-shrouded mystery or lethal curses. 

But the most remarkable change was not on land, but in the water. Sirens and other threats joined sharks and other perils already there. Then, across the Caribbean expanse, there was the appearance of the mysterious Arcane Gates. Those alone changed everything.

Riddle of the Gates

The gates appeared for a moment at the stroke of midnight, October 31, 1712, in flashes of emerald lightning. It was dozens of Arcane Gates across the Caribbean, each with their own unique knotwork and mysterious lettering. Then, as quick as they appeared, they vanished. But they weren’t gone. 

As learned in later years, the Arcane Gates had gone ‘dormant’. Waiting to be sensed by a Wavebinder, Navigator, or anyone trained in the Etherwave Arcana. Later, Maria Fairbain, a Sunweaver thayan and seasoned Wavebinder relic hunter, ‘discovered’ the first of many Arcane Gates in the Caribbean. It lay in the middle of the sea between Puerto Rico and Hispanola islands and wasn’t alone.

To date, Navigators and Wavebinders have discovered more Arcane Gates in the Caribbean region that exist anywhere else in the world. No one understands why and the Gates gave no clue. But dozens of Arcane Gates were enough to upset the balance of trade and power around the world. Which was already overturned by the change to the lands, people, and a flood of the Etherwave Arcana into the world. 

For the rest about the Caribbean in Hoist the Colors, see the link above!

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