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frostbitebakery · 1 year ago

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A Disturbed State Of The Natural Environment, Gods-Fucking-Dammit

A Pada-Wan Story

for @lttrsfrmlnrrgby

“Obi— Commander Kenobi-“

“You can call me Obi-Wan, Cody,” the kid huffs. “Neither you nor I will suddenly combust into a ball of fire if you do.”

You don’t know that, Cody thinks, not liking how his voice sounds in his mind.

Four days since the incident - or, “The Incident,” how Boil and Waxer like to say in unison with the bucket lights under their chins -, two since the 104th of all Battalions received their signal and towed the 212th fleet to the nearest station within the Republic that would allow them to overhaul the ships’ electronics.

It has been exactly two point five hours since Wolffe stopped wheezing at Cody over comms. Nearly as much time as the kid had vanished from under Cody’s paranoid nose.

“Councilor Kenobi is safe and sound,” General Koon had assured him while Wolffe stood at perfect parade rest a step behind, shriek-laughing his armor off.

The kid sighs. “You have come here for a reason?” he asks, stubborn and prim. “Or is Wooley babysitting me not enough?” He points a thumb over his shoulder to Wooley popping up several yards away, waving.

“If you haven’t noticed Hook, Line, and Sinker also keeping an eye on you, my trepidations are justified.”

The kid rolls his eyes, gesturing to three empty looking spots in the distance. “I am well aware Master Koon is in league with you.”

Cody will not explain safety precautions again. He’s saving that for when the kid really sets out to stomp on any and all walls Cody had to hastily and thoroughly built when his General, his partner, suddenly turned into a child at the worst possible development stage for Cody’s sanity.

The kid studies him while Cody is trying to come up with a legitimate reason for looking for him. Direct admittance to personal concern would backfire on Cody in multiple, entertaining ways, and he frankly doesn’t want to deal with that. From the kid being smug that Cody cares about him very much so keeping his distance must mean something more. To accusations of not trusting Obi-Wan (which, correct, Cody doesn’t know him after all), seeing him as a kid (also true) when he’s sixteen and basically a stone’s throw away from becoming a geezer.

Sixteen. Cody shudders. He remembers very well that half year when he was that developmental age. He shudders again. Gods, the mood swings alone.

“I am reasonably paranoid about your welfare,” he says at last. Wooden which makes him cringe but he’s never lied to Obi-Wan and he’s not starting now.

The kid stares at him for a while. One corner of his mouth quirks up with a shrug and a shuttered look in his eyes Cody desperately wants to make better. “It’s different when they really are out to get you, isn’t it.” The Council had explained how precarious his older self’s safety was at the best of times. Cody had only seen the aftermath and the accompanying ranting about life choices with the occasional visibly happy understanding that Obi-Wan could, actually, grow a non-patchy beard when he’s got a few more years on him.

“May I sit with you?” Cody asks. Shoveling his own metaphorical grave is so much easier with mixed signals after all. But he misses the older Obi-Wan. It’s not fair of him but he needs this.

The expected blush blooms on freckled cheeks. “Yes, of course!” is the eager reply, followed by more blushing.

It’s endearingly cute and Cody would like to chew on his bucket now.

The kid scoots over, wide eyed and expectant.

Gingerly, Cody lowers himself, ignoring the armor digging into his ass and thighs. And lets the silence stretch.

This, really, is what he came here for. A self-indulgent little break to catch his breath. The High General of a Systems Army is compromised and that fact has to remain eyes only to an exclusive handful of people. Only the Jedi Council knows out of obvious necessity. So it’s up to Cody to keep everything else running, keeping the admiralty in the dark because even teenaged Obi-Wan had said he’s got a bad feeling if they were to tell the brass. So they haven’t.

Usually, when flimsiwork and war horrors keep stacking up and expand into an avalanche, Obi-Wan and Cody sit together in silence, sharing a precious cup of real tea, being together and lending support and strength they can’t find for themselves but can always, always find for each other.

Selfishly he wants that strength from Obi-Wan now, the warmth of his body nearby. He’s already breathing easier.

The kid is looking at him curiously, but Cody chooses not to say anything. Instead he turns forward once more, watching the busy night markets of the station and the stars behind it. After a moment the kid does the same.

Shoulders slowly relax and the silence becomes comfortable.

#obi wan kenobi #commander cody #codywan #star wars #star wars fanart #frostbitebakery art #padawan obi wan #what are you going to do when Jedi robes are too big #you go to a storage closet and cry #poor cody #ahhh it’s been so long since I promised to draw this!#de aged!obi wan

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destieltaggedfic · 4 months ago

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Good afternoon! Do you have any recs for Royal AUs or something of that kind?

I sure do! Including one of my personal favourite fics! (Or series really)

Not Part of the Plan ‘verse – Annie D Ao3

AU. Castiel is in The Republic for an arranged marriage to help relations between 2 countries. On his last night of freedom before meeting his betrothed he goes out to lose his virginity in an act of rebellion. He meets Dean who offers to take care of him. Imagine the surprise the next day when meeting Sam Winchester his intended, that Cas already knows his brother! When Sam runs away, his parents offer Dean instead for the marriage. Once they are married, cue misunderstandings while getting to know each other all the while both of them insisting that its best to keep things impersonal. Despite that they fall in love, such a shame that both their countries are using their marriage for political intrigue to try and start a war… 8 works in the series

Word Count: 338k Graphic Sexual Acts

A Kiss Of Magic – casblackfeathers Ao3

AU. For years Dean has been writing to the prince of a different kingdom and has fallen in love. There are two problems with this. He has been writing on behalf of Sam who is the one betrothed to Castiel and also he has had a curse on him since birth that means he changes into a kitsune at night.

Word Count: 43k Graphic Sexual Acts

The Prince Switch - teacass (Fushigi) Ao3

AU. When Prince Castiel discovers his doppelganger Jimmy competing in his country’s Christmas baking competition, they switch places so he can have some freedom for a couple of days. Unfortunately Jimmy starts to like his arranged fiancé and Castiel starts to like Jimmy’s best friend Dean. The Princess Switch AU

Word Count: 12k No Sex

Ever After - BlackRose16 Ao3

AU. After losing his father when he was young, Castiel grew up as a servant to his step mother. That changes when he meets the Crown Prince at a ball and they are both captivated. Ever After AU. (mpreg mention)

Word Count: 20k Graphic Sexual Acts

King Of My Heart - tricia_16 Ao3

AU. Prince Dean finally realises that the reason he hasn’t been interested in any of the women paraded in front of him is because he is gay. So when his father betroths him to Princess Castielle from the angel kingdom, Dean doesn’t expect to find any great happiness in his life. But when it turns out that there was a bad translation in the agreement and the princess is a prince, all may not be lost as long as they can keep John from knowing until its too late.

Word Count: 127k Graphic Sexual Acts

#destiel #rec asks #alternate universe #royalty AU

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agentem · 2 years ago

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It's that time of year when you are going to see some "Irish" t-shirts in stores and can get your Shamrock Shake at Mickey D's. There will be St. Patrick's Day parades this weekend and next.

And I just want to be a nerdy know-it-all for a second. St Patrick's Day was originally a religious holiday (as most holidays were, holy + day = holiday); it still is in some places, like some actual Irish people from Ireland who believe in God--though the American parade/festival mentality seems to be gaining steam in some parts of Ireland, I am told.

St Patrick's Day as we know it is deeply rooted in the United States. Though it's been celebrated here since 1600 in the territory that became Florida, the tenor of the holiday greatly changed after the Great Famine of Ireland.

You may have been told in school that the famine occurred because a blight wiped out potato crops in Ireland. This is true but doesn't address the crux of the matter.

The blight started in North America and travelled to Ireland and into much of Europe. But we only think of it as an Irish problem because the Irish were too poor to eat other foods.

Some scholars have said it was a "man made crisis" and I agree that is true. Other crops in Ireland were not affected by the blight, in fact, this time was considered one of "plenty", but all that food was used to feed the English. Not the Irish.

Nor were the English quick on providing aid, "There is such a tendency to exaggeration and inaccuracy in Irish reports that delay in acting on them is always desirable," said Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel after initial reports of the catastrophe.

Workhouses designed to assist the poor and starving were closed prematurely. "The only way to prevent the people from becoming habitually dependent on Government is to bring the food depots to a close," said Charles Trevelyan, the man who was literally in charge of famine relief. He also said some gems like, Sure the famine is bad but "the moral evil of the selfish, perverse and turbulent character of the people" was the real problem. Great guy; he became a Baronet.

The soup kitchens, which replaced the workhouses were also closed prematurely, were widely believed to serve portions too small even for children and lacking any nutritional value due to them being watered down to feed more people than anticipated by the brilliant British government.

A million people died in Ireland from famine and disease and nearly 2 million left Ireland for other parts of the world. Including my father's family. (If they survived the "Coffin Ships" leaving their home.)

So when I said above that the tenor of the holiday changed, it was because of increasing Irish Nationalism and anger at Britain. Now, Ireland is a Republic (though it's not unified, yet) and we are proud of those who stayed and fought to make that happen.

We are also proud just to still be alive anywhere. The population of Ireland is 6.9 million now--slowly nearing the 8.5 million it was home to before the famine--but people with Irish ancestry across the world has been measured to be about 80 million people. Take that, Sir Robert Peel.

The English actively tried to kill us. Nevertheless, we persisted. A lot.

I hope you have a Happy St. Paddy's Day (it's Paddy not Patty). Drink some Guinness. Dance some jigs. Definitely eat some potatoes (Boil 'em! Mash 'em! Stick 'em in a stew!) But please remember that when people are starving, you should feed them. Don't be like the English government.

In fact, as I write this there is a crisis in Turkey and Syria. It just so happens that the Sultan of Turkey wanted to donate money to Ireland (10,000 pounds) but since Queen Victoria donated just 2,000, he was told it would be against protocol.

#st patricks day #saint patrick #ireland #irish american #the great famine #irish potato famine #st paddys day #turkey #turkey earthquake #syria earthquake #immigration #sir robert peel #england #queen victoria #Charles Trevelyan #republic of ireland #nothern ireland

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have-a-hiddles · 4 months ago

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Happy Birthday to me!

Here’s some (mostly positive) stuff about the year I was born:

Chinese Year of the Horse

United States Senate proceedings are broadcast on radio for the first time.

The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.

The first global positioning satellite, the Rockwell International-built Navstar 1, is launched by the United States.

The first radio episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, is transmitted on BBC Radio 4.

San Francisco's City Council signs the United States's most comprehensive gay rights bill.

Dallas debuts on CBS, and gives birth to the modern day primetime soap opera.

At the 50th Academy Awards, Annie Hall won four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (Woody Allen), and Best Actress (Diane Keaton). On the other hand, Star Wars won six Oscars, including Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Art Direction. Finally, Madame Rosa (France) won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta win the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 for Israel with their song A-Ba-Ni-Bi.

The Bee Gees' album, Saturday Night Fever, went #1 for 24 weeks.

Sarajevo is selected to host the 1984 Winter Olympics, and Los Angeles is selected to host the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Mavis Hutchinson, 53, becomes the first woman to run across the U.S.; her trek took 69 days.

The Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl, the Washington Bullets were the NBA champs, and the Montreal Canadiens clinched the Stanley Cup.

Garfield's first comic strip, originally published locally as Jon in 1976, goes into nationwide syndication.

Charon, a satellite of Pluto, is discovered.

The rainbow flag of the LGBT movement flies for the first time (in its original form) at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

Louise Brown, the world's first test tube baby, is born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, UK.

Pope John Paul I succeeds Pope Paul VI as the 263rd Pope.

NASA unveiled the first group of women astronauts: Shannon W. Lucid, Margaret Rhea Seddon, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, and Sally K. Ride.

Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days of papacy.

United States President Jimmy Carter signs a bill that authorizes the minting of the Susan B. Anthony dollar.

Pope John Paul II succeeds Pope John Paul I as the 264th pope, resulting in the first Year of Three Popes since 1605.

Abolitionist Harriet Tubman became the first African-American woman to be honored on a U.S. postage stamp.

Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy is arrested.

Cabbage Patch Kids are first created.

The video game Space Invaders launched a craze for computer video games.

The first email system was created at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, N.J.

The first spam email was sent by Gary Thuerk, a marketing manager who was promoting a new model of computer. Thuerk sent the correspondence out to about 600 prospects via ARPANET, and “complaints started coming in almost immediately.”

Illinois Bell Company introduced the first-ever Cellular Mobile Phone System.

Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Carl Sagan for his book, The Dragons of Eden.

At the 30th Primetime Emmy Awards, All in the Family (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and The Rockford Files (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Carroll O’Connor (All in the Family) won an Emmy for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series, and Jean Stapleton (All in the Family) won an Emmy for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series.

At the 35th Golden Globe Awards, The Turning Point won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Drama, and The Goodbye Girl won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

Actor Ashton Kutcher was born on Feb. 7, 1978 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Actor James Franco was born in Palo Alto, Calif. on April 19, 1978.

Actor Jason Biggs was born on May 12, 1978, in Pompton Plains, N.J.

Actress Zoe Saldana was born on June 19, 1978.

Singer Nicole Scherzinger was born on June 29, 1978.

Actor Josh Harnett was born on July 21, 1978.

NBA star Kobe Bryant was born on Aug. 23, 1978.

Singer Usher was born on Oct. 14, 1978.

Actress Katherine Marie Heigl was born in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 24, 1978.

Popular movies included: Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Star Wars (the first one), Superman: The Movie, and Halloween.

The most popular baby names for boys were Michael, Jason, Christopher, David, and James.

The most popular baby names for girls were Jennifer, Melissa, Jessica, Amy, and Heather.

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 6 months ago

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KEN BURNS' COMMENCEMENT SPEECH AT BRANDEIS

TCINLA

MAY 29, 2024

Something worthwhile to read and consider at this fraught time.

I am deeply honored and privileged that you have asked me here to say a few words at such a momentous occasion that you might find what I have to say worthy of your attention on so important a day in all of your lives. Thank you for this honor.

Listen, I am in the business of history. It is not always a happy subject on college campuses these days, particularly when forces seem determined to eliminate or water down difficult parts of our past, particularly when the subject may seem to sum an anachronistic and irrelevant pursuit, and particularly with the ferocious urgency this moment seems to exert on us. It is my job, however, to remind people of the power our past also exerts, to help us better understand what's going on now with compelling story, memory, and anecdote. It is my job to try to discern patterns and themes from history to enable us to interpret our dizzying and sometimes dismaying present.

For nearly 50 years now, I have diligently practiced and rigorously tried to maintain a conscious neutrality in my work, avoiding advocacy if I could, trying to speak to all of my fellow citizens. Over those many decades I've come to understand a significant fact, that we are not condemned to repeat, as the saying goes, what we don't remember. That is a beautiful, even poetic phrase, but not true. Nor are there cycles of history as the academic community periodically promotes. The Old Testament, Ecclesiastes to be specific, got it right, I think. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. What those lines suggest is that human nature never changes or almost never changes. We continually superimpose that complex and contradictory human nature over the seemingly random chaos of events, all of our inherent strengths and weaknesses, our greed and generosity, our puritanism and our prurience, our virtue, and our venality parade before our eyes, generation after generation after generation. This often gives us the impression that history repeats itself. It does not. "No event has ever happened twice, it just rhymes," Mark Twain is supposed to have said. I have spent all of my professional life on the lookout for those rhymes, drawn inexorably to that power of history. I am interested in listening to the many varied voices of a true, honest, complicated past that is unafraid of controversy and tragedy, but equally drawn to those stories and moments that suggest an abiding faith in the human spirit, and particularly the unique role this remarkable and sometimes also dysfunctional republic seems to play in the positive progress of mankind.

During the course of my work, I have become acquainted with hundreds if not thousands of those voices. They have inspired, haunted, and followed me over the years. Some of them may be helpful to you as you try to imagine and make sense of the trajectory of your lives today.

Listen, listen. In January of 1838, shortly before his 29th birthday, a tall, thin lawyer prone to bouts of debilitating depression addressed the young men's lyceum in Springfield, Illinois. "At what point shall we expect the approach of danger?" He asked his audience, "Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military giant to step the earth and crush us at a blow?" Then he answered his own question. "Never. All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we must live through all time or die by suicide." It is a stunning, remarkable statement, one that has animated my own understanding of the American experience since I first read it more than 40 years ago. That young man was of course Abraham Lincoln, and he would go on to preside over the closest this country has ever come to near national suicide, our civil war, and yet embedded in his extraordinary, disturbing, and prescient words is also a fundamental optimism that implicitly acknowledges the geographical forcefield two mighty oceans east and west and two relatively benign neighbors north and south have provided for us since the British burned the White House in the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key.

Lincoln's words that day suggest what is so great and so good about the people who happen to inhabit this lucky and exquisite country of ours. That's the world you now inherit: our work ethic and our restlessness, our innovation and our improvisation, our communities and our institutions of higher learning, our suspicion of power. The fact that we seem resolutely dedicated to parsing the meaning between individual and collective freedom; What I want versus what we need. That we are all so dedicated to understanding what Thomas Jefferson really meant when he wrote that mysterious phrase, "The pursuit of happiness". Hint, it happens right here in the lifelong learning and perpetual improvement this university is committed to.

But the isolation of those two oceans has also helped to incubate habits and patterns less beneficial to us: our devotion to money and guns and conspiracies, our certainty about everything, our stubborn insistence on our own exceptionalism blinding us to that which needs repair, especially with regard to race and ethnicity. Our preoccupation with always making the other wrong at an individual as well as a global level. I am reminded of what the journalist I.F. Stone once said to a young acolyte who was profoundly disappointed in his mentor's admiration for Thomas Jefferson. "It's because history is tragedy," Stone admonished him, "Not melodrama." It's the perfect response. In melodrama all villains are perfectly villainous and all heroes are perfectly virtuous, but life is not like that. You know that in your guts and nor is our history like that. The novelist, Richard Powers recently wrote that, "The best arguments in the world," — and ladies and gentlemen, that's all we do is argue — "the best arguments in the world," he said, "Won't change a single person's point of view. The only thing that can do that is a good story." I've been struggling for most of my life to do that, to try to tell good, complex, sometimes contradictory stories, appreciating nuance and subtlety and undertow, sharing the confusion and consternation of unreconciled opposites.

But it's clear as individuals and as a nation we are dialectically preoccupied. Everything is either right or wrong, red state or blue state, young or old, gay or straight, rich or poor, Palestinian or Israeli, my way or the highway. Everywhere we are trapped by these old, tired, binary reactions, assumptions, and certainties. For filmmakers and faculty, students and citizens, that preoccupation is imprisoning. Still, we know and we hear and we express only arguments, and by so doing, we forget the inconvenient complexities of history and of human nature. That, for example, three great religions, their believers, all children of Abraham, each professing at the heart of their teaching, a respect for all human life, each with a central connection to and legitimate claim to the same holy ground, violate their own dictates of conduct and make this perpetually contested land a shameful graveyard. God does not distinguish between the dead. "Could you?"

[Audience applauding]

"Could you?" A very wise person I know with years of experience with the Middle East recently challenged me, "Could you hold the idea that there could be two wrongs and two rights?"

Listen, listen. In a filmed interview I conducted with the writer James Baldwin, more than 40 years ago, he said, "No one was ever born who agreed to be a slave, who accepted it. That is, slavery is a condition imposed from without. Of course, the moment I say that," Baldwin continued, "I realize that multitudes and multitudes of people for various reasons of their own enslave themselves every hour of every day to this or that doctrine, this or that delusion of safety, this or that lie. Anti-Semites, for example," he went on, "are slaves to a delusion. People who hate Negroes are slaves. People who love money are slaves. We are living in a universe really of willing slaves, which makes the concept of liberty and the concept of freedom so dangerous," he finished. Baldwin is making a profoundly psychological and even spiritual statement, not just a political or racial or social one. He knew, just as Lincoln knew, that the enemy is often us. We continue to shackle ourselves with chains we mistakenly think is freedom.

Another voice, Mercy Otis Warren, a philosopher and historian during our revolution put it this way, "The study of the human character at once opens a beautiful and a deformed picture of the soul. We there find a noble principle implanted in the nature of people, but when the checks of conscience are thrown aside, humanity is obscured." I have had the privilege for nearly half a century of making films about the US, but I have also made films about us. That is to say the two letter, lowercase, plural pronoun. All of the intimacy of "us" and also "we" and "our" and all of the majesty, complexity, contradiction, and even controversy of the US. And if I have learned anything over those years, it's that there's only us. There is no them. And whenever someone suggests to you, whomever it may be in your life that there's a them, run away. Othering is the simplistic binary way to make and identify enemies, but it is also the surest way to your own self imprisonment, which brings me to a moment I've dreaded and forces me to suspend my longstanding attempt at neutrality.

There is no real choice this November. There is only the perpetuation, however flawed and feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249-year-old experiment or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route. When, as Mercy Otis Warren would say, "The checks of conscience are thrown aside and a deformed picture of the soul is revealed." The presumptive Republican nominee is the opioid of all opioids, an easy cure for what some believe is the solution to our myriad pains and problems. When in fact with him, you end up re-enslaved with an even bigger problem, a worse affliction and addiction, "a bigger delusion", James Baldwin would say, the author and finisher of our national existence, our national suicide as Mr. Lincoln prophesies. Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation. We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives. This is a choice that could not be clearer.

[Audience applauding]

Listen, listen. 33 years ago, the world lost a towering literary figure. The novelist and storyteller, not arguer, Isaac Bashevis Singer. For decades he wrote about God and myth and punishment, fate and sexuality, family and history. He wrote in Yiddish a marvelously expressive language, sad and happy all at the same time. Sometimes maddeningly all knowing, yet resigned to God's seemingly capricious will. It is also a language without a country, a dying language in a world more interested in the extermination or isolation of its long suffering speakers. Singer, writing in the pages of the Jewish Daily Forward help to keep Yiddish alive. Now our own wonderfully mongrel American language is punctuated with dozens of Yiddish words and phrases, parables and wise sayings, and so many of those words are perfect onomatopoeias of disgust and despair, hubris and humor. If you've ever met a schmuck, you know what I'm talking about. [audience laughs] Toward the end of his long and prolific life, Singer expressed wonder at why so many of his books written in this obscure and some said useless language would be so widely translated, something like 56 countries all around the world. "Why," he would wonder with his characteristic playfulness, "Why would the Japanese care about his simple stories of life in the shtetls of Eastern Europe 1,000 years ago?" "Unless," Singer paused, twinkle in his eye, "Unless the story spoke of the kinship of the soul." I think what Singer was talking about was that indefinable something that connects all of us together, that which we all share as part of organic life on this planet, the kinship of the soul. I love that.

Okay, let me speak directly to the graduating class. Watch out, here comes the advice. Listen. Be curious, not cool. Insecurity makes liars of us all. Remember, none of us get out of here alive. The inevitable vicissitudes of life, no matter how well gated our communities, will visit us all. Grief is a part of life, and if you explore its painful precincts, it will make you stronger. Do good things, help others. Leadership is humility and generosity squared. Remember the opposite of faith is not doubt. Doubt is central to faith. The opposite of faith is certainty. The kinship of the soul begins with your own at times withering self-examination. Try to change that unchangeable human nature of Ecclesiastes, but start with you. "Nothing so needs reforming," Mark Twain once chided us, "As other people's habits." [audience laughs]

Don't confuse success with excellence. Do not descend too deeply into specialism. Educate all of your parts, you will be healthier. Do not get stuck in one place. "Travel is fatal to prejudice," Twain also said. Be in nature, which is always perfect and where nothing is binary. Its sheer majesty may remind you of your own atomic insignificance, as one observer put it, but in the inscrutable and paradoxical ways of wild places, you will feel larger, inspirited, just as the egotist in our midst is diminished by his or her self regard.

At some point, make babies, one of the greatest things that will happen to you, I mean it, one of the greatest things that will happen to you is that you will have to worry, I mean really worry, about someone other than yourself. It is liberating and exhilarating, I promise. Ask your parents.

[Audience laughs]

Choose honor over hypocrisy, virtue over vulgarity, discipline over dissipation, character over cleverness, sacrifice over self-indulgence. Do not lose your enthusiasm, in its Greek etymology the word enthusiasm means simply, "god in us". Serve your country. Insist that we fight the right wars. Denounce oppression everywhere.

[Audience applauding]

Convince your government, as Lincoln understood that the real threat always and still comes from within this favored land. Insist that we support science and the arts, especially the arts.

[Audience cheering]

They have nothing to do with the actual defense of our country; They just make our country worth defending.

[Audience applauding]

Remember what Louis Brandeis said, "The most important political office is that of the private citizen." Vote. You indelibly... [audience applauding] Please, vote. You indelibly underscore your citizenship, and most important, our kinship with each other when you do. Good luck and godspeed.

[Audience applauding]

#Ken Burns #Commencement speech #Brandeis #election 2024 #democracy #us and them

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brookston · 4 months ago

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Holidays 8.11

Holidays

Alcatraz Day

Annual Medical Check-Up Day

Border Guard Day (Turkmenistan)

Brother's Day

Builder’s Day (Former USSR Nations)

Burry Man Parade Day (Scotland)

Cheech and Chong Day (San Antonio, Texas)

Chris Hemsworth Day

Constitution Day (Anguilla)

Day of the Latvian Freedom Fighters (Latvia)

Deimos and Phobos Discovery Day (Moons of Mars)

Dog Days of Summer end

811 Day

Fair Day (Puck Fair, Day 2; Ireland)

Festival of Happy Feet

Fiesta de Santa Clara (New Mexico)

Flag Day (Pakistan)

Freethinkers Day

Gay Uncles Day (a.k.a. Guncles Day)

Global Kinetic Sand Day

Green Bay Packers Day

Health Center Staff Appreciation Day

Heroes' Day (Zimbabwe)

Hip Hop Celebration Day

Hug a Tiny Day

Ingersoll Day

Inula Day (French Republic)

Koomu Alezer’i (Elder Scrolls)

Mountain Day (Japan)

National Align Your Teeth Day

National Canine Companion Graduation Day

National Day of Civic Hacking

National Face Mask Day

National Hip Hop Day

National Minority Day (Pakistan)

National Safe Digging Day

Navy Day (Bulgaria)

Nutritionist Day (Mexico)

Play in the Sand Day

Presidential Joke Day

Roller Rink Day

Son’s and Daughter’s Day

SOS Day

Veterinary Workers Day (Ukraine)

Watts Riots Anniversary Day (Los Angeles)

WIT Brag Day

World Krill Day

World Steelpan Day (Trinidad & Tobago)

Food & Drink Celebrations

International Fufu Day

National Bakewell Tart Day (UK)

National Instant Coffee Day

National Panini Day

National Raspberry Bombe Day

National Raspberry Tart Day

Independence & Related Days

Balochistan (from UK, 1947) [unrecognized]

Chad (from France, 1960)

Ebenthal (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Penang (Ceded to the British by Rajah of Kedah; 1786)

2nd Sunday in August

Bagel Day [2nd Sunday]

Children’s Day (Chile) [2nd Sunday]

Day of Cantabria (Spain) [2nd Sunday]

Father’s Day (Brazil, Samoa) [2nd Sunday]

Gay Uncles Day [2nd Sunday]

Melon Day (Turkmenistan) [2nd Sunday]

National Day [2nd Sunday]

Spirit of ’45 Day [2nd Sunday]

Victory Day (Rhode Island) [2nd Sunday]

V-J Day (a.k.a. Victory Day) [2nd Sunday]

Weekly Holidays beginning August 11 (2nd Full Week of August)

Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week (thru 8.17) [2nd Week]

National Health Center Week (thru 8.17) [2nd Week]

National Resurrect Romance Week (thru 8.17) [2nd Full Week]

National Smile Week (thru 8.17) [2nd Full Week]

Festivals Beginning August 11, 2024

Beacon Sloop Club Corn Festival (Beacon, New York)

Bludfest (Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)

Carytown Watermelon Festival (Richmond, Virginia)

Comiket [Comic Market] (Tokyo, Japan) [thru 8.12]

Czech Heritage Festival (Bechyn, Minnesota)

Hugo Awards (Glasgow, Scotland)

Italian American Festival (Akron, Ohio) [thru 8.13]

Kadayawan Festival (Davao City, Philippines) [thru 8.18]

Montrose Blueberry Festival (Montrose, Michigan) [thru 8.18]

Oslo Jazzfestival (Oslo, Norway) [thru 8.17]

Feast Days

Alexander the Charcoal-Burner (Christian; Martyr)

Alex Haley (Writerism)

Ancestor Day III (Pagan)

Andre Dubus II (Writerism)

Athracht (a..k.a. Attracta or Araght; Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Blaan (a.k.a. Blane; Christian; Saint)

Byron (Positivist; Saint)

Clare of Assisi (Christian; Saint)

Clare Foley Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Claude Joseph Vernet (Artology)

Day Honoring Oddudua (a.k.a. Mother of All Gods; Santeria)

Don Freeman (Artology)

Enid Blyton (Writerism)

Equitius (Christian; Saint)

Fiacre (Christian; Saint)

Gaugericus (a.k.a. Gery; Christian; Saint)

Gerard of Gallinaro and His Companions (Christian)

Great Quackini (Muppetism)

Jim Lee (Artology)

John Henry Newman (Church of England)

Leila (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Mick Foley Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Morris Weiss (Artology)

Philomena (Christian; Saint)

Puck Fair (Irish Fertility Festival; Everyday Wicca)

Rakish Bandhan 2022 (Hindusim) [Last day of Śrāvaṇa]

Rum Quaffing Day (Pastafarian)

Sidhe (Place of Peace; Celtic Book of Days)

Susanna (Christian; Saint)

Taurinus of Évreux (Christian; Saint)

Tiburtius and Chromatius (Christian; Martyrs)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [32 of 53]

Prime Number Day: 223 [48 of 72]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

The Abyss (Film; 1989)

Advise and Consent, by Allen Drury (Novel; 1959)

After Dark, My Sweet, by Jim Thompson (Novel; 1955)

Almost Human (TV Series; 2013)

American Graffiti (Film; 1973)

Atypical (TV Series; 2017)

C’est Chic, by Chic (Album; 1978)

Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke (Novel; 1953)

Corduroy, by Don Freeman (Children’s Book; 1968)

Dangerous Minds (Film; 1995)

Danny Deckchair (Film; 2004)

Doug (Animated TV Series; 1991)

Down to Earth, by Jimmy Buffett (Album; 1970)

Food for Feeding’ (Disney Cartoon; 1950)

Free Ride, by The Edgar Winter Group (Song; 1973)

A Hard Day’s Night (Beatles US Film; 1964)

The Harmony of the World, by Paul Hindemith (Opera; 1957)

Henpecked (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1930)

Hey, Soul Sister, by Train (Song; 2009)

His Better Elf (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1958)

His Hare Raising Tale (WB LT Cartoon; 1951)

Hypnotic Eyes (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1933)

Le Freak, by Chic (Song; 1978)

I Left My Heart in San Francisco, by Tony Bennett (Song; 1962)

In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World (Anime Film; 2017)

The Life of Emile Zola (Film; 1938)

The Magicians, by Lev Grossman (Novel; 2009)

Need You Know, by Lady Antebellum (Song; 2009)

Orphan’s Benefit (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

Party in the U.S.A., by Miley Cyrus (Song; 2009)

Pete’s Dragon (Film; 2016)

Popeye Makes a Movie (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1950)

Puppet Love (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1944)

The Psychedelic Experience, by Timothy Leary (Science Book; 1964)

The Ren & Stimpy Show (Animated TV Series; 1991)

The Replacements (Film; 2000)

Rugrats (Animated TV Series; 1991)

Runaway Brain (Disney Cartoon; 1995)

The Screwdriver (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1941)

Step Up (Film; 2006)

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, by Pam Adams (Children’s Book; 1973)

3:47 EST, by Klaatu (Album; 1976)

Two-Headed Giant (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1939)

The View (TV Talk Show; 1997)

A Walk in the Clouds (Film; 1995)

What If…? (Animated TV Series; 2021)

You Beat Me To the Punch, by Mary Wells (Song; 1962)

Today’s Name Days

Klara, Susanna (Austria)

Jasminka, Jasna, Klara, Suzana (Croatia)

Zuzana (Czech Republic)

Herman (Denmark)

Sanna, Sanne, Susanna, Suusi (Estonia)

Sanna, Sanni, Susanna, Susanne (Finland)

Claire, Gilberte, Suzanne (France)

Klara, Susanne (Germany)

Efpious (Greece)

Tiborc, Zsuzsanna (Hungary)

Chiara, Lelia, Susanna (Italy)

Liega, Olga, Zita (Latvia)

Klara, Ligija, Visalgas, Visvilė, Zuzana (Lithuania)

Tarald, Torvald (Norway)

Aleksander, Herman, Ligia, Lukrecja, Włodzimierz, Włodziwoj, Zula, Zuzanna (Poland)

Zuzana (Slovakia)

Clara, Susana (Spain)

Susanna (Sweden)

Susanna (Ukraine)

Laila, Layla, Leila, Leilani, Lela, Lelia, Nayeli (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 224 of 2024; 142 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of Week 32 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 9 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Ren-Shen), Day 8 (Ding-Wei)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 7 Av 5784

Islamic: 5 Safar 1446

J Cal: 14 Purple; Sevenday [14 of 30]

Julian: 29 July 2024

Moon: 41%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 27 Dante (8th Month) [Byron]

Runic Half Month: As (Gods) [Day 4 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 53 of 94)

Week: 2nd Full Week of August

Zodiac: Leo (Day 21 of 31)

#calendar #Holidays

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brookstonalmanac · 6 months ago

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Holidays 6.2

Holidays

Acacia Day (French Republic)

American Indian Citizenship Day

Autograph Day

Children’s Day (North Korea)

Civil Aviation Day (Azerbaijan)

Coastal Cleanup Day (Russia)

Contango Day

Coronation Day (UK)

Decoration Day (Canada)

Donati’s Comet Day

Elfreth's Alley Day (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Emancipation Day (Tonga)

Father’s Day (Lithuania)

Festa della Repubblica (Italy)

Festival of Light and Dark Spots

Festival of Utter Confusion

Happy Neil Diamond Day

Hristo Botev Day (Bulgaria)

I Love My Dentist Day

Important People Day

International Sex Workers Day (a.k.a. International Whore's Day)

International Volkswagen Bus Day

Isabel Province Day (Solomon Islands)

Lesbian Pride Day

Local Industry Workers Day (Ukraine)

Lou Gehrig Day

Mother Earth's Day

National Bubba Day

National First Ladies Day

National Greyhound Day

National Janice Day

National Leave the Office Early Day [6.2 or Closest Weekday]

Pimpernel Flower Day

retail, Consumer Services and Public Utility Company Employees Day (Tajikistan)

Sir Randol Fawkes Day (Bahamas)

602 Day

Social Forestry Day (Bhutan)

Telangana Day (India)

Textile Industry Workers’ Day (Turkmenistan)

3-Ring Circus Day

Water Resource Management Employees Day (Ukraine)

World Day to Fight Myasthenia Gravis

World Eating Disorder Action Day

World Mind Map Day

World Peatlands Day

Yell "Fudge" at the Cobras in North America Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

International Fish & Chips Day (Australia)

National Rocky Road Ice Cream Day

National Rotisserie Chicken Day

Vanilla Coke Day

Velveeta Day

Independence & Related Days

Aenderia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Republic Day (Italy)

Telangana State Formation Day (India)

1st Sunday in June

Armed Forces Day (Canada) [1st Sunday]

Children's Awareness Memorial Day [1st Sunday]

Day of the Rice God (Japan) [1st Sunday]

Father’s Day (Haiti, Switzerland) [1st Sunday]

Fisherman’s Day (Iceland) [1st Sunday]

German World Heritage Day [1st Sunday]

International Mother's Peace Day [1st Sunday]

National Animal Rights Day [1st Sunday]

National Cancer Survivors Day [1st Sunday]

National Child’s Day [1st Sunday]

National Frozen Yogurt Day [1st Sunday]

National Godparent’s Day [1st Sunday]

Philippine Independence Day Parade (New York City) [1st Sunday]

Sjómannadagurinn (Seamen’s Day; Iceland) [1st Sunday]

World Breakfast Day (Turkey) [1st Sunday]

World Meditation Day [1st Sunday of Every Month]

World Naturist Day [1st Sunday]

Weekly Holidays beginning June 2 (1st Full Week)

America The Beautiful Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

Bedbug Awareness Week (thru 6.8)

Black Single Parents Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

Community Health Improvement Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

End Mountain Top Removal Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

Healthcare Executives Appreciation Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

National Boating Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

National Business Etiquette Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

National Commuter Challenge (thru 6.8) [During Canadian Environment Week]

National Fishing Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

National Flag Football Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

National Garden Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

National Headache Awareness Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

Pet Appreciation Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

Teacher Thank You Week (thru 6.8) [1st Full Week]

Festivals Beginning June 2, 2024

Asheville Springfest (Asheville, South Carolina)

Baby Jumping Festival [a.k.a. El Colacho] (Castrillo de Murcia, Spain)

Calgary Lilac Festival [a.k.a. 4th Street Lilac Festival] (Calgary, Canada)

Cape May Restaurant Week (Cape May, New Jersey) [thru 6.9]

Casa Pacifica Angels Wine, Food & Brew Festival (Camarillo, California)

Culinary Coast Restaurant Week (Various locations, Delaware) [thru 6.7]

Heritage Fire (Savannah, Georgia)

Paso Pinot & Paella Festival (Templeton, California)

Tustin Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off (Tustin, California)

Feast Days

Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church)

Alexander (Christian; Martyr)

Binkham Tamino McDoyal III (Muppetism)

Blandina (Christian; Martyr)

Buddha Day (Indonesia; Buddhism)

Elmo (Christian; Saint)

Émile Munier (Artology)

Erasmus (Christian; Saint)

Eugene I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Felix of Nicosia (Christian; Saint)

Festival of Light and Dark Spots (Shamanism)

Finneces (Celtic Book of Days)

Frank Runacres (Artology)

St. Gregory the Great (Positivist; Saint)

Isaac van Ostade (Artology)

Juno Regina’s Day: Queenship Rite (Pagan)

Laugh Like a Bad Guy Day (Pastafarian)

Marcellinus and Peter (Christian; Martyrs)

Marquis de Sade Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

The Melissae (Ancient Crete; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Mindfulness Day (Zen Buddhism)

Nicholas the Pilgrim (Christian; Saint)

Paul-Albert Besnard (Artology)

Pothinus, Bishop of Lyon, and Attalus, Blandina, and other martyrs of Lyon (Christian; Saint)

Shapatu of Ishtar (Everyday Wicca)

Solemnity of the Body & Blood of Christ (Roman Catholic)

Stephen of Sweden (Christian; Martyr)

Thomas Hardy (Writerism)

Vesak Day (Buddha Day; Singapore)

Yell “Fudge” at North American Cobras Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

The Betty Boop Mystery (Animated Film; 1989)

Churchill (Film; 2017)

Cooked, by Michael Pollan (Food Book; 2013)

Corvette Summer (Film; 1978)

Darkness on the Edge of Town, by Bruce Springsteen (Album; 1978)

Dead Poets Society (Film; 1989)

Deliverance, by James Dickey (Novel; 1970)

De-Lovely (Film; 2004)

Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym (Novel; 1952)

Hells Heels (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1930)

If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, by Tim O'Brien (Memoir; 1972)

Isabeau (Lady Godiva), by Pietro Mascagni (Opera; 1911)

The Light Fantastic, by Terry Pratchet (Novel; 1986) [Discworld #2]

Obscured by Clouds, by Pink Floyd (Album; 1972)

Oil!, by Upton Sinclair (Novel; 1926)

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster (Novel; 1961)

The Prize Guest (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1939)

Room and Bird (WB MM Cartoon; 1951)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Animated Film; 2023)

Storms of Life, by Randy Travis (Album; 1986)

The Unexpected Pest (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

The Wire (TV Series; 2002)

Whitney, by Whitney Houston (Album; 1987)

Wonder Woman (Film; 2017)

Today’s Name Days

Armin, Erasmus, Marcel, Petrus (Austria)

Erazmo, Eugen, Marcelin, Petar (Croatia)

Jarmil, Jarmila (Czech Republic)

Marcellinus (Denmark)

Veevi, Viiva, Viive, Viivi, Viivia, Viivika, Vivian (Estonia)

Venla (Finland)

Blandine (France)

Armin, Blandine, Erasmus (Germany)

Marinos, Nikiforos (Greece)

Anita, Kármen (Hungary)

Emilia, Erasmo, Marcellino (Italy)

Emma, Emmija (Latvia)

Auksė, Ąžuolas, Erazmas, Eugenijus (Lithuania)

Runa, Runar, Rune (Norway)

Efrem, Erazm, Eugeniusz, Marcelin, Maria, Marianna, Mikołaj, Nicefor, Piotr, Racisław (Poland)

Ioan (România)

Oxana, Xénia (Slovakia)

Eugenio, Marcelino, Pedro (Spain)

Roger, Rutger (Sweden)

Elma, Elmer, Elmo, Elmore, Erasmo (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 154 of 2024; 212 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 22 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Huath (Hawthorn) [Day 22 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ji-Si), Day 26 (Ding-You)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 25 Iyar 5784

Islamic: 25 Dhu al-Qada 1445

J Cal: 4 Blue; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 20 May 2024

Moon:18%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 13 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Gregory the Great]

Runic Half Month: Odal (Home, Possession) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 76 of 92)

Week: 1st Full Week of June

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 13 of 31)

#Holidays

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senjuushi · 1 year ago

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Carcanore Anniversary Login — 2023

Carcanore: Duce! Benetta! Having my beloved treasures here to celebrate my Anniversary puts me in a benissimo* mood.♪

Benetta: June second... Italy’s Republic Day? How appropriate. Or rather, that’s exactly what I’d expect from you.

Carcanore: Yep. Perfect for an Italian man who loves his homeland, isn’t it?♥ With all the ceremonies and military parades bringing the city to life, it’s actually one of my favorite days, y’know?

Carcanore: How nostalgic~ Benetta, do you remember? Back when I’d just been summoned by the Bofonchio family~?

Benetta: You mean when you, unaware that security would be tightened on Republic Day, tried to seize a transaction site and ended up in a car chase with the World Union’s men?

Carcanore: Yeah! Benetta and I weren’t so close back then, so I got majorly yelled at and almost killed~ But since there wasn’t any time to argue right then, we both had to run for it.

Carcanore: I threw a Molotov cocktail to throw off the guys chasing us, but it lit up way more than I expected, and caused an explosion that put the parade’s fireworks to shame— soon enough, we were both laughing.

Master:

Should you be telling me that...?

Shh! Shh!

Carcanore: Oopsie, little slip of the tongue there. Forget all that, okay, Duce? How about a kiss to show I’m sorry?

Carcanore: Anyway, that’s why today’s so special to me. And I couldn’t be happier that you two are here to celebrate with me.♪

Master:

...is that true?

Are you really happy?

Carcanore: Huh!? Why do you not believe me? I’m seriously, totally happy! You don’t trust this glowing smile?

Benetta: I’ll say it too, Carcano. I understand what Maestro is feeling more than I’d like. ...you’re too good at hiding things.

Carcanore: ...sorry.

Carcanore: Mm, I guess you two really won’t leave it alone... But as we build up trust again, I’ll see all kinds of faces from both of you, right? I can’t wait.♪

Carcanore: Soaked in each other’s colors, until “believe or don’t” means nothing, sweetly, sincerely, I’ll prove that you can trust me.

Carcanore: Right, tesoro mio?*

(LOGIN) Benetta: Surprisingly, Carcanore is fond of historical tales— that’s why I’m giving this to him as a present. I look forward to seeing his delighted response.

Notes:

*1: Italian for “very well”.

*2: Italian for “my treasure”.

#Senjuushi #千銃士 #Benetta #Carcanore #Translation

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goggledoddle · 1 year ago

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Latvia Independence Day 2023 Date: November 18, 2023 Today’s Doodle celebrates Latvia’s Independence Day, locally known as Latvijas Republikas proklamēšanas diena (Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia). On this day in 1918, Latvia declared its independence from German and Russian occupation. People across the country bundle up to stay warm at public events, like parades and concerts. The largest parade in Riga attracts thousands of people, who cheer for military personnel and marching bands as they walk by. A plane flies overhead, spraying two streams of red smoke, which resembles the crimson and white flag waving in today’s Doodle. Latvians gather at the Freedom Monument throughout the day. Many lay flowers in honor of those who fought for Latvia’s autonomy, and crowds return later to hear federal representatives speak about Latvia’s founding, accomplishments, and future. As night falls, sprawling torchlight processions illuminate the streets as a beautiful memorial to Latvia’s fight for freedom. Happy Independence Day, Latvia! Location: Latvia Tags: @GoggleDoddle is only here on [tumblr]! #GoggleDoddle goggledoddle.[tumblr].com

#Latvia Independence Day 2023 #Today #GIF #AnimatedGIF #Animated GIF #Animation #GoogleDoodle #Google Doodle #google #doodle #GoggleDoddle #Video

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bloggingforu · 2 years ago

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Happy Republic Day 2023: Wishes, Quotes, History,

If you want to know about Happy republic day blog, then you have come to the right place, we will give you all the information about republic Day and you will know a lot of things and gain your knowledge so let’s start.

bloggingforu Provides You knowledgeable and Informational content.

India Republic Day: History

It is Indian Republic Day is celebrated on the 26th of January every year to commemorate the day that India’s Constitution of India came into force in 1950.

The day on which the Constitution was adopted, India was declared an independent country and was able to replace by the Government of India Act 1935 as the official document that governs India.

The principal Happy Republic Day celebration is held in New Delhi, the capital of India in which a large parade is held . It is attended by prominent dignitaries from around the world, in addition to an overwhelming number of people.

In addition, the President of India also presents an address known as the “Address to the Nation” on the day. The celebration of Republic Day also includes a parade of cultural events and parades that represent the various States of India.

How’s India it celebrated Republic day

Republic Day is celebrated with huge enthusiasm and patriotic enthusiasm all over India. The biggest celebration is held in the capital city, New Delhi, where the grand parade takes place at Rajpath which is in front of the residence of the President (Rashtrapati Bhavan).

The parade begins with the raising of the flag, by President India and is followed by the singing of the national anthem. It is attended by prominent people from around the world, and many individuals from all over India. The parade features cultural events and floats that represent the various states of India that showcase the country’s vast culture.

The parade also features a display of military power, including an air-borne display by India’s Air Force Indian Air Force and a display of tanks as well as other military equipment.

Apart from the parade in addition to the parade, there are also other celebrations and celebrations being held across the nation like patriotic songs as well as dances, festivals of culture shows and sporting events.

Colleges and schools also organize special events to celebrate the occasion as well as there is an annual ceremony where the Indian flag is lowered at government buildings and other public spaces.

The celebration is also commemorated by the gifting of sweets as well as the exchange of messages between families and friends.

Happy Republic Day Wishes 2023

1. “Let us all come together to celebrate the spirit of freedom and unity on this Republic Day. Jai Hind!”

2. “Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Republic Day. May we continue to build a strong and prosperous nation.”

3. “On this special day, let us take a moment to remember and honor our brave soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for our country. Happy Republic Day.”

4. “May the tricolor of our nation fly high and proud on this Republic Day. Wishing you all a very Happy Republic Day.”

5. “Let us all come together to celebrate the essence of our democracy and the diversity that makes our country great. Happy Republic Day!”

6. “On this Republic Day, let us pledge to work towards building a better and stronger India for future generations. Happy Republic Day to all.”

7. “Let us celebrate the spirit of unity and togetherness on this Republic Day. Wishing you all a very Happy Republic Day.”

8. “On this special day, let us honor the sacrifices of our founding fathers and their vision for a free and democratic India. Happy Republic Day.”

9. “As we celebrate Republic Day, let us remember the ideals of our nation and strive to make India a better place for all. Wishing you a Happy Republic Day.”

10. “Warm wishes on Republic Day to all my fellow citizens. May we continue to strive for a better India and keep our democracy strong. Jai Hind!”

#happy republic day #republic day #happy republic day wishes #happy republic day quoytes #quotes #happy republic day 2023 #bloggingforu #blogger

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darkmaga-returns · 4 days ago

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We just survived a very long election year. For those of us who covered the political slog known as the Iowa caucuses — The Hawkeye Cauci, as El Rushbo used to call the quadrennial parade of pretenders and contenders — it was even longer. I have the bonus wrinkles and additional gray hairs (beyond the ones my kids and the ravages of time have put there) to prove it.

The outcome was going to make one side or the other really happy or really miserable. But at the end of the day, the ultimate winner or loser would be the republic the factions have been sparring over, against George Washington’s admonitions, for the better part of the last 250 years.

I’m proud to report the republic won — this time.

That’s not to say the exceptional, shining “city on a hill” is no longer in peril. Like rust, the left never sleeps. So liberty warriors, too, must remain wide awake.

But we certainly have an abundance of blessings to count following America’s latest political war. A cornucopia, in the parlance of the Thanksgiving holiday. And if we hope to keep this republic so richly blessed by our Creator, it is right to give our thanks and praise.

So here I humbly submit an abridged list of the many things we can truly be thankful for this post-election season.

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tmarshconnors · 5 months ago

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Happy Bastille Day! 2024!

July 14th, 2024, marks another grand celebration of Bastille Day, known in France as La Fête Nationale. This day commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789, a pivotal event that ignited the flames of the French Revolution. The fall of the Bastille, a medieval fortress and prison, symbolises the end of absolute monarchy and the birth of the citizen's fight for liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Historical Significance

Bastille Day is more than a national holiday; it's a reminder of the power of the people to instigate change. On that fateful day in 1789, the citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille, seeking ammunition and the release of political prisoners. This act of defiance against the oppressive regime of King Louis XVI set the stage for the French Revolution, which ultimately led to the establishment of a republic.

The Revolution's ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity continue to resonate, influencing democratic movements worldwide. Bastille Day is celebrated not just as a French holiday but as a symbol of the universal quest for freedom and justice.

Celebrations in France

Bastille Day in France is a spectacle of national pride and cultural heritage. The day kicks off with the oldest and largest military parade in Europe, held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This parade showcases France's military might and honors those who serve in the armed forces. The President of France, alongside other dignitaries, presides over this grand event.

In addition to the parade, there are numerous festivities across the country. Fireworks light up the night sky, particularly the magnificent display at the Eiffel Tower, drawing locals and tourists alike. Street parties, concerts, and communal meals foster a sense of unity and joy. The French tricolor flag waves proudly from buildings, and the Marseillaise, the national anthem, echoes through the streets.

Global Observance

Bastille Day is not confined to France; it is celebrated by French communities and Francophiles around the world. Cities like New York, London, and Sydney host their own versions of the festivities, complete with parades, French cuisine, and cultural performances. These celebrations serve as a reminder of France’s cultural influence and the universal appeal of the values born from the Revolution.

Reflecting on Liberty

As we celebrate Bastille Day 2024, it’s important to reflect on the enduring relevance of the Revolution’s principles. In a world where struggles for freedom and equality persist, the story of the Bastille reminds us that change is possible through collective action. It encourages us to stand against oppression and advocate for justice and human rights.

Bastille Day Traditions

Whether you are in France or elsewhere, you can partake in Bastille Day traditions. Host a French-themed party with friends and family, complete with French music, food, and wine. You can also watch French films or read literature inspired by the Revolution to immerse yourself in the history and culture. Participating in or organizing local events celebrating French heritage can also be a meaningful way to honor this day.

Bastille Day 2024 is an opportunity to celebrate not only French history and culture but also the broader ideals of freedom and democracy. As fireworks illuminate the skies and parades march through the streets, let’s remember the courageous actions of those who fought for liberty over two centuries ago. Their legacy inspires us to continue striving for a world where liberty, equality, and fraternity prevail.

Vive la France! Happy Bastille Day!

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elotroalberto · 6 months ago

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Ken Burns at Brandeis University

Undergraduate Commencement Address by Ken Burns

Ken Burns, in a black academic robe with a white hood, speaks at a podium in front of a large blue banner with Brandeis University and the university logo. Also on the stage are other faculty members and distinguished guests wearing academic robes.

KEN BURNS SPEAKING:

President Liebowitz, Ron, Chair Lisa Kranc, and other members of the board of trustees, Provost Carol Fierke, fellow honorees, distinguished faculty and staff, proud and relieved parents, calm and serene grandparents, distracted but secretly pleased siblings, ladies and gentlemen, graduating students of the class of 2024, good morning.

Listen, listen. In January of 1838, shortly before his 29th birthday, a tall, thin lawyer prone to bouts of debilitating depression addressed the young men's lyceum in Springfield, Illinois. "At what point shall we expect the approach of danger?" He asked his audience, "Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military giant to step the earth and crush us at a blow?" Then he answered his own question. "Never. All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we must live through all time or die by suicide." It is a stunning, remarkable statement, one that has animated my own understanding of the American experience since I first read it more than 40 years ago. That young man was of course Abraham Lincoln, and he would go on to preside over the closest this country has ever come to near national suicide, our civil war and yet embedded in his extraordinary, disturbing, and prescient words is also a fundamental optimism that implicitly acknowledges the geographical forcefield two mighty oceans east and west and two relatively benign neighbors north and south have provided for us since the British burned the White House in the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key.

"Could you?" A very wise person I know with years of experience with the Middle East recently challenged me, "Could you hold the idea that there could be two wrongs and two rights?"

Don't confuse success with excellence. Do not descend too deeply into specialism. Educate all of your parts, you will be healthier. Do not get stuck in one place. "Travel is fatal to prejudice," Twain also said. Be in nature, which is always perfect, and where nothing is binary. Its sheer majesty may remind you of your own atomic insignificance, as one observer put it, but in the inscrutable and paradoxical ways of wild places, you will feel larger, inspirited just as the egotist in our midst is diminished by his or her self regard.

Convince your government, as Lincoln understood that the real threat always and still comes from within this favored land. Insist that we support science and the arts, especially the arts.

They have nothing to do with the actual defense of our country; They just make our country worth defending.

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evsvolunteerstotem · 6 months ago

Text

A month full of surprises

28. 05. 2024

Čau, everybody!

Even if I don't want to commit myself too much, I'll go out on a limb here and say, that May was one of the best months in the Czech Republic for me so far. It was a month full of happy moments and surprises and because I want to have enough time to shed light on all the highlights, I'll keep the introduction short and will not spoil everything already. So have fun reading on and I hope you’ll feel entertained today.;)

May started right away with a National holiday, the “Labour Day” and Tatiana and I used it to drink a coffee together and go to the cinema afterward. On the following weekend, Plzeň celebrated the liberation of the city by the Americans at the end of the Second World War. The city centre was full of onlookers who watched the parades of uniformed people in historical cars and learned more about the liberation at stands, lectures, and information boards. My friend Isabelle and I were also curious and therefore attended the festival. In addition to the lectures, we were also entertained by the concerts on three different stages, the performance of an American school orchestra and other acts in the city centre. There were also many booths with delicious food while the sun played along as well and made the day a wonderful experience for both of us.

The next holiday, known as "VE-Day" (Victory in Europe Day), the official end of the Second World War in Europe followed on the 8th of May. But that day I didn't stay in Plzeň, but made my way off to Poland, more precisely to the beautiful city of Wroclaw. Even though the trip didn't go as planned and our bus was stuck in a traffic jam for almost 3 hours, I received an even warmer welcome from my sister, when I arrived at our flat. After breakfast the next morning, we made our way to Slodowa Island, then on to Wroclaw Cathedral, and finally, after a short lunch break, to the so-called “Hala Stulecia ". When we arrived there, we were very surprised, as we felt like we had seen this building before and after we searched for it on the Internet, we found out that it was indeed a film set for the latest part of "The Hunger Games", which was released in cinemas in 2023. We bought some tickets for the interesting exhibition and then had the chance to see the hall from the inside, and well, rumor has it that there were one or two fan-girl moments when we entered the hall. ^^

After the visit we sat down at the nearby fountain to enjoy the sunny weather and cooled down a little bit before we made our way to the Japanese garden and after that back to the city centre. By the way, if you plan to visit Wroclaw and want to use public transport there, I would recommend that you hold on well to something on the tram because the tram drivers can be little rowdies sometimes. ;D

In the afternoon we had coffee and cake at a super cute café before heading home again, where we ended the day with a very relaxed evening. On Friday, things didn’t go quite as planned, as we went to the Sky Tower, the highest building in Wroclaw, just to find out that it wasn’t open already. Then my route planner sent me on a complete detour and my sister, who was already hangry, didn't feel like doing anything anymore. But then, thank God, we arrived at our destination, the Jewish cemetery, and the ticket seller, without knowing it, lightened our mood by asking "One way or return?”. ^^ The cemetery was very impressive and we spent some time there, before heading back to the centre, or to be more precise, right next to the Oder. At the “Café Odra,” we enjoyed our much-needed lunch and a cold drink and had a good time in the sunshine. After a walk home and an important little nap, we went to a pizzeria in the evening and finally to a nearby park, where we ended the day with a looooooong deep talk.

Our last day in Wroclaw started with checking out of our flat before heading to the so-called “Hydropolis”, a very interesting museum that we visited before making our way to the bus station, where we had our last coffee together – at least this was what I thought. Because, when it was time to say goodbye, my sister suddenly told me that she was not ready to say goodbye already and that she would like to come to Plzeň with me. And well, that’s how it went. She bought the LAST ticket for the bus and we made our way back to Plzeň and, even though I was very surprised in the beginning, I think it was the right decision because if I’m being honest with myself, I was also not ready to already say goodbye to her. ;)

This is why my next days looked different than expected, because we enjoyed the good weather together, drank iced coffee in my favourite cafes, went to the cinema and even at work my sister accompanied me. She attended the sports event we had on Tuesday and was our special guest at the English and German conversation. We even pranked one of my classes by having my sister pretend to be me and start the class before I joined in and finally clarified the situation. You should have seen the faces of my seniors haha. But of course, she was not able to stay forever, even though some probably liked the idea (including me) and so after she left on Wednesday, everything was going back to normal.

Well almost everything, because in TOTEM some other special events were following. Like the "Sousedský jarmark" one week later, which was indeed the next little surprise. While the whole week seemed to be quite sunny and nice, Friday turned out to be the complete opposite. And so we had to reschedule everything and move all stands and activities from outside to inside. On the day itself, everyone was a bit nervous, because no one knew how many people would come and if the atmosphere would be good or not. But what can I say, I think it was a big success! The house was full of people -from children to seniors- and the performances in the large hall as well as the stands in the small hall and other activities went really well and it seemed as if no one was letting the bad weather take their good mood. I also had my own stand and of course, performances with Adeto again, which were -as always- very exciting and fun. We also performed with Adeto the next day and, in my opinion, delivered a great appearance in Beseda, "a 3-story centre for arts events, conferences, and children's activities in a magnificent Art Nouveau building." After that, I met with volunteers from Brno and spent a nice afternoon with them, where we not only laughed together but also reflected on our voluntary service so far and our thoughts of it ending soon. Well, we all came to the conclusion that we don’t really want it to end and that we would wish to stay a bit longer because, for all of us, it feels a little bit like a second home already.

Speaking of second home, on the following Sunday I once again had the feeling of belonging a little bit more to the Czech society, when we went to the finals of the Ice Hockey World Championship. As we arrived at the public viewing in the centre the place was already full of people and it was even hard to find a place, where we were able to watch the match without always standing on our tiptoes and craning our necks, but in the end, we found a good spot and followed the very exciting match. Even though the Czech Republic was dominating the match against Switzerland they only got a draw in the first two thirds, but then, 10 minutes before the end, they finally shot their first goal. And when their second goal 15 seconds before the final siren followed everyone in the crowd was cheering. And I was so overwhelmed and happy to be part of this historical moment. Well, this was what I would call the last real surprise in May, as the Czech Republic seemed to be the outsiders during the last years but then proved everyone wrong! For me, it was a great honor to be part of the spectacle and the great celebration afterward, and even though they say “Kdo neskáče, není Čech. Hop, hop, hop“, of course, I had to celebrate with all my might. =D

Sign at the “Slavnosti Svobody” festival ;)

One of our numerous mirror selfies in Wroclaw^^

Visiting the impressive ‘Hala Stulecia":D

Modern urban art in Wroclaw….

Watching the beautiful sunset from our flat <3

At the sports tournament with TOTEM:)

Summer is coming to Plzeň!!

Last smažák before my sister left us again:(

At the public viewing of the Ice Hockey match between Czechia and Switzerland =D

… and again, I’m very grateful for this month and everything I was able to experience during the last weeks. I promised myself to make the best out of my last months in Plzeň and I think that I have done quite well so far.;)

Next week I will be home for some days but then I’ll be back here and enjoy my last two months in the Czech Republic. I’m looking forward to summer and everything I will experience during it and of course I will keep you updated on everything about to happen.

With that being said stay tuned and we'll see each other again in June.

Sbohem!

Laila ;)

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