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x--daughters-of-darkness--x · 4 months ago

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The 100 songs that changed metal (by Metal Hammer)

74. Within Temptation – Ice Queen (Mother Earth, 2000)

In the 90s, symphonic metal was more a glittering garnish than a scene in itself, something bands from Therion to Celtic Frost would sprinkle on their music to make it sparkle. And while the genre would start coming together into something more tangible towards the end of the decade, it wasn’t until a few years later that a song would emerge to put symphonic metal on the map.

That song was Within Temptation’s Ice Queen. A complete volte-face from the gothic doom of the Dutch metallers’ 1997 debut, Enter, it appeared on the follow-up, Mother Earth, in a flurry of lavish arrangements and fairytale histrionics. Buoyed by vocalist Sharon den Adel’s crystalline voice, it pushed metal towards a new frontier, quickly whipping up a buzz in mainland Europe. Ice Queen can take credit for being symphonic metal’s first major hit, pushing women to the forefront and influencing a brand new generation of bands.

81. Evanescence – Bring Me To Life (Fallen, 2003)

Evanescence’s debut single, Bring Me To Life, turned vocalist Amy Lee into a megastar. Arriving in 2003, when mainstream music was dominated by hyper-masculine men and overly sexualised pop stars, with her billowing long skirts, corset tops, arm socks and steely self-confidence, Amy redefined what a female artist could be, becoming a role model for millions of misfits and dreamers everywhere.

Despite its crunchy guitars and a rapped verse, courtesy of 12 Stones’ Paul McCoy – which Amy has since said she was forced to add by their label – Bring Me To Life’s cobwebby, goth fragility also brought something fresh to nu metal’s dick-swinging party, extending the mainstream’s flirtation with the genre for a little longer – as of 2019, it’s sold more than 3 million copies and has passed more than a billion streams on YouTube and Spotify.

82. Arch Enemy – We Will Rise (Anthems Of Rebellion, 2003)

We Will Rise was a huge song, not only for Arch Enemy but for the new generation of 21st-century melodic death metal they spearheaded. Guitarist Michael Amott had already laid down the melodeath blueprints with Carcass, while Arch Enemy themselves had already made three albums with singer Johan Liiva, but neither they nor anyone else had made an anthem quite like this.

As well as propelling the genre as a whole to greater heights and popularity, it provided a bigger platform for Angela Gossow – a hugely influential figure and one of the first prominent female vocalists to not only try but absolutely nail an extreme metal style. “Her emergence as a metal vocalist was, without hyperbole, revolutionary,” Svalbard’s Serena Cherry told us recently, and we’re not arguing.

84. Nightwish – Nemo (Once, 2004)

Nightwish didn’t invent symphonic metal, but alongside peers Within Temptation and Epica, they popularised it and packaged it to the masses. By 2004, the Finns had already established themselves as a major player in Europe, but with the sumptuous Nemo, they broke through on an unprecedented level.

No longer a niche concern in the geeky corners of the metal world, symphonic metal, in all its lavish, overwrought glory revelled under a global spotlight. Nemo’s fantastical magic, sparkling piano refrain and stirring melody has endured – it’s still the band’s best-known song – but its lasting image comes via its gothic music video, and then-singer Tarja Turunen singing in the snow in a blood-red coat. Nemo showed metal at its most fragile and beautiful.

95. Babymetal – Gimme Chocolate!! (Babymetal, 2014)

If elitists were tearing their hair out at the likes of Ghost, Bring Me The Horizon and Limp Bizkit being considered ‘metal’, then they might as well have just reached for the clippers for this one. The sight of three young Japanese girls rocking choreographed moves and singing sugary-sweet, J-pop-infused choruses about chocolate over heavy metal riffs was as shocking as it was delightful.

Babymetal hadn’t just broken the mould for metal, either; they’d given the West a fuller glimpse into the uniquely Japanese phenomenon of idol culture, and given the cutesy world of Kawaii a bigger global platform than ever. Overseen by band mastermind and producer extraordinaire, Key ‘Kobametal’ Kobayashi, Babymetal were unlike anything our world had seen before: equal parts hyper-polished girl band and full-on heavy metal experience, with their mysterious Kami Band backing musicians as formidable as any ‘proper’ metal band you could name.

Cynics moaned, but with the likes of Rob Halford, Metallica and Corey Taylor throwing in their support, the trio quickly transcended their ‘gimmick’ tag to become a legitimate force in the modern metal landscape.

99. Spiritbox – Holy Roller (Eternal Blue, 2022)

Spiritbox were already firmly established as Ones To Watch by the time Holy Roller, the first single from Eternal Blue, exploded like a hand grenade in the summer of 2020. Once those first, colossal riffs rang out, however, it was clear that the Canadian troupe hadn’t just levelled up considerably – they had successfully repositioned themselves as one of the most exciting and vital bands of their generation.

Backed by a memorable video inspired by Ari Aster’s disturbing Midsommar movie, Holy Roller was the perfect crystallisation of the last decade-plus of evolution in metal, packing djent, metalcore, nu metal and more into a massively crushing (but seriously catchy!) three minutes. “This song was never intended to be a single,” explained vocalist Courtney LaPlante later. “Our mission statement was, ‘Let’s make the most ridiculous song that we can.’”

#sharon den adel #within temptation #amy lee #evanescence #angela gossow #arch enemy #tarja turunen #nightwish #babymetal #courtney laplante #spiritbox

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scotianostra · 9 months ago

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The Bell Rock Lighthouse, off the coast of Angus, was first lit on the 1st of February 1811.

Over 200 years after it was first built, the Bell Rock Lighthouse still stands - proudly flashing its warning light. Eleven miles out to sea off the east coast of Scotland, it is a remarkable sight - a white stone tower over 30m (100ft) high, rising seemingly without support out of the North Sea.

In fact, it is precariously poised on a treacherous sandstone reef, which, except at low tides, lies submerged just beneath the waves.

The treacherous reef on which it stands is in the North Sea, between the Firths of Forth and Tay, some 12 miles south of Arbroath and 14 miles south east of St Andrews. The red sandstone outcrop is 435m long and the lighthouse is founded on the main section, 130m long and 70m wide, and only 1.2m above the surface at low water spring tide.

The reef was known originally as Inchcape Rock or Cape Rock. According to tradition, in the 14th century the Abbot of Aberbrothok (Arbroath) placed a floating bell on it to warn mariners, hence its present name. Legend has it that sometime later a Dutch pirate removed the bell but he was later shipwrecked and perished on the same reef. The rocks were dangerous to ships sailing along the east coast of Scotland and by the end of the 18th century the need for a lighthouse was clear.

A severe storm in December 1799, in which about 70 vessels were wrecked, prompted Stevenson to propose a beacon-style lighthouse on six cast iron pillars.

Stevenson submitted a scale model of his idea to the Northern Lighthouse Board in summer 1800 — accurate physical modelling was to become something he often employed subsequently on important projects.

Stevenson drew the inspiration for his lighthouse design from the Eddystone Lighthouse, off the coast of Cornwall.

Built 50 years earlier by John Smeaton, this was a milestone in lighthouse design. Shaped with the now classic wide base, tapering to a narrow tower (Smeaton had modelled it on an oak tree he had witnessed defying a storm), it was the only off-shore structure that had until then managed to survive for any length of time against the constant battering of the seas.

Stevenson elaborated on this design. His lighthouse would have to be higher, over 30m (100ft), if it was to survive the cruel waves of the North Sea. He also incorporated more efficient reflectors, using the latest oil lighting technology, which would make his beacon the brightest yet seen.

But the Northern Lighthouse Board rejected the plan outright; in their eyes Stevenson was attempting the impossible, and besides, it was going to cost the huge sum of £42,685 and 8 shillings.

The rock had to claim another victim before the Board revisited Stevenson's plans. In 1804 the huge 64-gun HMS York was ripped apart on the rock, with the loss of all 491 crew. The NLB could delay no longer. Britain's most eminent engineer, John Rennie, was invited to give his advice.

Rennie had never actually built a lighthouse, but the Board was so impressed by his record that he was given the job of chief engineer. Robert Stevenson was to work as his resident engineer.

History does not record Stevenson's reaction to the news, but it must have come as a bitter blow to this ambitious young man. What history does record is that the structure on Bell Rock came to be known not as Rennie's but as Stevenson's Lighthouse.

Work started in 1807 and what followed was a four-year epic, with work severely restricted by tides that on occasion submerged the rock’s surface to twelve feet. The offshore activity only proceed during the summer months, and even then only with difficulty. Poor weather in the summer of 1808 allowed only 80 hours of work were completed.

To avoid time lost in shuttling workers to and fro Stevenson built a temporary wooden “Beacon House” on the rock and this served as both a base of operations and living quarters for fifteen men. As this structure (see illustrations) was also exposed to storms during the construction period, residence on it must have in itself have been a nightmare. During the winter months Stevenson kept his crews busy ashore, dressing the individual granite blocks needed for the tower. The total number required was some 2500 and all were drawn to the dockside by one of the unsung heroes of the project, a horse called Bassey.

The lighthouse came into service in 1810 and was to fulfil its purpose very effectively. Between then and 1914 only a single ship was lost on the rock, a steamer called the Rosecraig that ran aground during a fog in 1908, fortunately without loss of life.

The light has now operated for 212 years and has undergone many significant and ingenious upgrades and changes, some of them even being undertaken by non-Stevenson engineers. It was a manned light for 177 years, the lives of those keepers on their temporary Alcatraz being a source of equal fascination

The lighthouse was manned until 1988, when the station turned automatic and the last men were withdrawn.

#scotland #scottish #history #North Sea #lighthouse

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black-arcana · 5 months ago

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EPICA's SIMONE SIMONS Releases Music Video For Second Solo Single 'In Love We Rust'

EPICA singer Simone Simons has released the official music video for her second solo single, "In Love We Rust". The track is taken from her debut solo album, "Vermillion", which will be made available on August 23 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Simone, who has been a pioneering force within the world of metal for over two decades as part of EPICA, worked on "Vermillion" with her musical partner and longtime collaborator Arjen Lucassen (AYREON).

Arjen is no stranger to Simone's soaring operatic voice, one that can stir even a gargoyle's stone heart to tears. Together they have crafted a sonic universe that befits the influential figure she is. "Vermillion" emerges as a gargantuan goose-bump generator, a universally touching, stellar tour de force.

Simone and Arjen state about "In Love We Rust": "The video was filmed in just one take to keep it as pure and raw as possible. We opted to keep it in black and white so as not to distract from the song or the performance.

"'In Love We Rust' is quite different from our first single 'Aeterna', which shows how diverse this album is. This is one of our favorite songs. We hope you love this as much as we do."

For more than 20 years, ever since she was a teenager, Simons has been carving her own path as a woman within the world of metal. As a lead singer, icon, and role model for a whole generation of female metalheads, the EPICA lead singer remains one of the most prominent key figures in all things metal. After eight albums and countless global tours with her band, Simone Simons finally found the time to release her first solo album — a moment 15 years in the making. Her breathtaking debut "Vermillion" is a stunning feat chronicling her storied past as well as her rise to fame, and showcasing her many different influences ranging from prog rock to film scores to metal to electronic elements.

Of the timing for her eagerly awaited foray into the realms of a solo career, the Dutch singer says with a disarming grin: "EPICA has my priority and I always have the liberty to do other musical projects besides my career in EPICA. Yet I never had the time to dive into a project to this extent."

When "Aeterna" was first released a month ago, Simone and Arjen stated: "'Aeterna' is the big, epic opener of the album and it comes with this amazing video too, directed by Patric Ullaeus. It definitely sounds the closest to EPICA and AYREON, blending powerful Latin lyrics with a touch of an oriental feel. We've tried to strike a balance between the mighty, bombastic sounds and the more atmospheric parts. Since it's the first track people will hear from this album, it's super important to us and we're really excited for people to hear it!

"'Aeterna' takes the point of view of a star about to go supernova to explore how everything in the universe is interconnected, like a cosmic web made from stardust. It deals our deep emotions, consciousness and other mysteries of life that science still can't fully explain. Essentially it's a reflection on our place in the vast universe and the connections that bind us together, as we're all, to quote Carl Sagan, 'made of starstuff.'"

"Vermillion" track listing:

01. Aeterna 02. In Love We Rust 03. Cradle To The Grave (feat. Alissa White-Gluz) 04. Fight Or Flight 05. Weight Of My World 06. Vermillion Dreams 07. The Core 08. Dystopia 09. R.E.D. 10. Dark Night Of The Soul

This past March, Simone told Mexico's Summa Inferno that EPICA's follow-up to 2021's "Omega" album will likely be released in 2025.

"I love the songs so far that we've written," Simone said. "There's more [songs that have been written] than fit on the album. So it's gonna be cool. And we won't tour that much this year. So we are focusing on the EPICA album and the 'Symphonic Synergy' shows [where EPICA will play alongside an orchestra], which is a lot of work."

In November 2022, EPICA released "The Alchemy Project" through Atomic Fire Records. The EP was co-written and performed with diverse guests ranging from extremists like FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, Niilo Sevänen (INSOMNIUM) and Björn "Speed" Strid (SOILWORK) along with melodic masters like Tommy Karevik (KAMELOT),keyboard legend Phil Lanzon (URIAH HEEP) and Roel Van Helden (POWERWOLF) to a once-in-a-lifetime song with Simons, Charlotte Wessels and Myrkur.

Just one day after the release of its anniversary reissues "We Still Take You With Us" and "Live At Paradiso", EPICA celebrated 20 years of existence live in September 2022 at 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands, the same place where they played their first show (supporting ANATHEMA) back in 2002.

EPICA was formed by guitarist/vocalist Mark Jansen after leaving AFTER FOREVER in 2002, and the band quickly gained attention outside their home country, taking big steps towards becoming the leading symphonic metal superpower they have long proven to be. After their ambitious debut "The Phantom Agony" (2002) and the surprisingly eclectic sophomore work "Consign To Oblivion" (2005),the road took them to new heights via their first concept masterpiece "The Divine Conspiracy" (2007) and their global breakthrough "Design Your Universe" (2009). 2012's opus "Requiem For The Indifferent", 2014's bedazzling "The Quantum Enigma" and "The Holographic Principle" (2016),cemented their reputation as not only one of the hardest-working metal bands in the business but also as one of the best. With "Omega", the final part of the metaphysical trilogy they began with "The Quantum Enigma", they reclaimed the throne without so much as the blink of an eye, amassing three million-plus streams during the first week of the album's release.

youtube

#simone simons #in love we rust #vermillion #Youtube

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wjbs-aus · 3 days ago

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Hey so like, I wonder if TF2 Tumblr people know about the Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades "Meat Fortress" crossover's unique weapons?

Basically there's this really in-depth VR gun simulator and it had an official TF2 crossover a while ago that's still getting new stuff added for it, and along with the default TF2 weapons (plus beta-inspired grenades with some original ones thrown in, and alternate ammo types for most weapon types, none of which I will be covering in this post for image-limit reasons) it also has a bunch of custom weapons made specifically for it!

Also yes, as you'd expect, they feel kinda weird to use compared to the more realistic options the game is based around.

Images and details below (both of which are from the wiki, since taking decent screenshots in VR is painful and also I don't remember everything about them because there's like 20).

(Please note that I'm using the wiki's classifications for what class each weapon belongs to; some of the "All Class" ones do seem to fit with specific classes, but they aren't counted as such. Sorry. Also the wiki is a Fandom one. Again, sorry.)

All-Class

All Rounder

Type: Battle Rifle

Calibre: 10.5x35mm Dutch

Inspiration: MAS 49/56

Backfielder

Type: Machine Pistol

Calibre: 11mm Mannchevskikovovichidev

Inspiration: N/A (based on the default TF2 pistol)

Big Boomer

Type: Break-Action Shotgun

Calibre: 2 Gauge Long

Inspiration: N/A (possibly the Doom 2016/Eternal version of the Super Shotgun, which lacks a stock)

FireWalker

Type: Machinegun

Calibre: 13x59mm Ogden

Inspiration: M1918 BAR

Noisemaker

Type: SMG

Calibre: 12x22mm MC

Inspiration: Vz.61

Ol' Reliable

Type: Pump-Action Shotgun

Calibre: 7 Gauge Stout

Inspiration: N/A (based on the default TF2 shotgun)

Pas De Deux

Type: Derringer

Calibre: .58 Ultralong Rifle

Inspiration: N/A (although it kinda looks to me like the Model 6 XL?)

Sound Check

Type: Semi-Auto Pistol

Calibre: .52 AMP

Inspiration: M1911A1 (name is a reference to a running gag in the developer-update videos)

Stone Thrower

Type: Assault Rifle

Calibre: 9x45mm Classic

Inspiration: AR-10

Vulture

Type: Semi-Auto Pistol

Calibre: 10.1mm SHhhhhhh

Inspiration: PSS Silent Pistol (it isn't in H3VR, so have a Wikipedia.)

Scout

Duckhunter

Type: Lever-Action Shotgun

Calibre: 13 Gauge

Inspiration: N/A (based on the default TF2 scattergun)

Pyro

Signaler

Type: Flare Gun

Calibre: 50mm Flare

Inspiration: N/A (based on concept-art for the TF2 Flaregun)

Demoman

The Long Shot

Type: Grenade Launcher

Calibre: Sticky Shell

Inspiration: N/A (based on the default TF2 Stickybomb launcher)

Heavy

Aerial Denier

Type: Machinegun

Calibre: 18x50mm Packawhollop

Inspiration: literally just a pair of GAU-19/A barrels slapped onto the default TF2 minigun

Sniper (who has the most weapons for some reason?)

Snag Sanger

Type: Bolt-Action Rifle

Calibre: 18x50mm Packawhollop

Inspiration: N/A (based on the default TF2 sniper rifle)

The Last Bit

Type: Bolt-Action Rifle

Calibre: 18x50mm Packawhollop

Inspiration: N/A (based on the default TF2 sniper rifle but it's been obrez'd look at it it's adorable!!!)

Bushranger's Boon

Type: Submachine Gun

Calibre: 12x32mm Dingowhomper

Inspiration: N/A (based on the default TF2 SMG)

Engineer

Rosie

Type: Battle Rifle

Calibre: 5mm Rivets

Inspiration: Remington Stud Driver Model 450 (which is obscure enough that you'll have to look it up yourself)

Medic

Medical-180

Type: Carbine

Calibre: Syringe

Inspiration: American-180

Spy

Le Petite Liaison

Type: Revolver

Calibre: .366 Ultramagnum

Inspiration: N/A (the H3VR wiki says it's a modified version of the default revolver, and I kinda see that, but there's enough differences that I kinda doubt that)

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #h3vr #hot dogs horseshoes & hand grenades

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toriaurorawriter15 · 2 months ago

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I can see you: Chapter 8 The Meeting

The Riverside Country Villa is enormous. Pen thought as she drove past the ornate kissing gate.

Once her white P.T. Cruiser drives through the beginning of the long gravel road, Pen sees two over-the-top rose bushes in a maze pattern and a line of palm trees between the road and the four acres of the villa's landscape.

The romance writer's mouth dropped when she saw the house. No, Pen couldn't say it was a home. In front of her is a place where she could picture herself getting married in her dreams.

The villa is the 1800s-style Recegnecy mansion that Pen loves writing in her stories.

The three brown pillars hold the triangle rooftop while the three-story brown brick building is cover by vines with pink lotus flowers and white roses. In front of the house is an imperial stairway made of stone.

The one thing that destroys the place's exterior, well in Pen's option, is the middle, where a modern Dutch door replaces the original door.

The small wooden door looks out of place with the stone brinks surrounding it. But Pen has to accept that sometimes regency materials are hard to come by in modern times.

After stopping for a few seconds to stare at the mansion in disbelief, Pen felt like a little girl jumping for joy. Knowing she would be living one of her dreams for one week is exciting but also inspires her to write. Sadly, she has to wait until she gets the WiFi to access it.

Nevertheless, Penelope Featherington is certain that this vacation will change her life. For the better, who knows?

"I am staying in a Regency mansion," Pen whispers in awe.

Pen turns the car's engine off, unbuckles her seat belt, and opens the door without looking away from the villa.

It takes her a few seconds to notice several other cars already parked in front of the quad with a fancy fountain in between. Some are rentals from near the LAX airport, but the one that catches her eye is Eloise's Mercedez bins.

"Pen!" She hears before seeing Eloise from the top of the imperial.

Pen laughs as she sees her best friend running down in her direction in her long Bridgeton blue and crochet beanie Pen made her for Christmas two years ago.

"Ooff" escapes Pen's lips as Eloise hugs her like she didn't see her yesterday.

"Eloise, I don't think your friend can breathe!" They hear an unrecognizable tenor male voice shout from above.

Pen's body begins to stand stiff from hearing the most musical voice in her life, while her best friend changes her position to a side hug to face one of her older brothers.

Within seconds of searching for the source behind the voice, she sees his beautiful blue eyes, tousled curly hair, and tan skin.

SingleManTraveler and Colin Bridgeton walk down the stairs quickly, but in Pen's point of view, he looks like one of those romantic characters who is slowly looking at her with a smirk of a smile on his medium-sized lips.

Colin's navy blue eyes stare at Pen with amusement behind them while she realizes how short she is as he walks closer to the two ladies.

According to her doctor, she is five-one while all the Bridgetons are taller than her.

Colin Bridgetion is a whole foot taller than her. To be exact, six feet tall!

Oh my goodness, he is hot, Pen thought while she took this time to see what he was wearing.

Unlike everyone in the family, Colin was wearing a less expensive outfit.

A pair of navy blue Levis, white Converses, a causal t-shirt, and a black pair of sunglasses on his curly hair; the whole outfit made him look like a model.

As for her, Pen decided to wear one of her favorite outfits.

A regency dress in the color green with blue lace, and her hair is back to its original color, red, pin-up full-on natural curls, and green flower wedding pins.

"Ah, hello, Miss Penelope Featherington! It is nice to see the face of the woman who sent such wonderful messages from Instagram." Colin replies like he just told the most perfect joke of the century.

Pen's blue eyes widen in shock from his greeting while Eloise asks," Pen, What is my brother talking about?"

Neither of the two explains to the third wheel in their conversation just what they are talking about.

Penelope stopped working like those memes from Tumblr, and all she could think was, Fuck. He read her instragam messges. She is so screwed.

"Nothing, Eloise! Let us bring Miss Featheringtion in, shall we?" Colin disregards her question before walking behind the two ladies.

"We are talking about this later." Pen hears Eloise whisper in her left ear while her petite body is pulled up the stairs by said best friend.

She nods okay without saying a word before glancing behind them to see Colin following them with her luggage and giving her a mischievous grin on his handsome face.

Colin then gives her a wink of a smile, and Pen looks away before feeling her face turning cherry red.

"Yup, I am fucked." Pen thought as the three walked the stairway into the mansion.

Previous Chapter

#polin #penelope featherington #eloise x penelope #eloise bridgerton

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brookstonalmanac · 4 months ago

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Birthdays 7.20

Beer Birthdays

Louis Hudepohl (1842)

Peter Adolph Schemm (1852)

George Reisch (1957)

Arne Johnson (1965)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Thomas Berger; writer (1924)

Stone Gossard; rock musician (1966)

Edmund Hillary; New Zealand mountaineer, explorer (1919)

Max Liebermann; German artist (1847)

Diana Rigg; actress (1938)

Famous Birthdays

Lola Albright; actor (1926)

Alexander the Great; Macedonian king (356 B.C.E.)

Giselle Bundchen; Brazilian model (1980)

Kim Carnes; singer (1945)

Chris Cornell; rock singer (1964)

Donna Dixon; actor (1957)

Desmond Douglas, Jamaican-English table tennis player (1955)

Omar Epps; actor (1973)

Judy Greer; actress (1975)

Nikolaes Heinsius the Elder; Dutch poet (1620)

Sally Ann Howes; actor (1930)

Erik Axel Karlfeld; Swedish poet (1864)

Periklis Korovesis; Greek author (1941)

Cormac McCarthy; writer (1933)

Alistair MacLeon; Canadian novelist (1936)

Clements Markham; English explorer (1830)

Gregor Mendel; Austro-German scientist (1822)

László Moholy-Nagy; Hungarian artist (1895)

Giorgio Morandi; Italian painter (1890)

Sandra Oh; actress (1971)

Petrarch; Italian poet (1304)

Richard Owen; English zoologist (1804)

Nam June Paik; artist (1932)

Francesco Petrach; Italian scholar (1304)

Tadeusz Reichstein; Polish-Swiss chemist *1897)

Wendy Richard; English actor (1943)

Carlos Santana; rock guitarist (1947)

T. G. Sheppard; country music singer-songwriter (1944)

Taichō; Japanese monk (682)

Frank Whaley; actor (1963)

Dean Winters; actor (1964)

Natalie Wood; actress (1938)

#Birthdays

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krysta-cross · 2 years ago

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MK men as ice cream flavors:

Fujin: Rocky Road - sweet as chocolate, with soft mushy marshmallows and nuts. Just like his personality, he is sweet, caring and soft to people he cares about the most but can be tough to crack like the nuts when it comes to defending them.

Raiden: Mint Chocolate- sweet but you'll taste that tingy mint spice before you appreciate that part. He cares but doesn't openly show it, the cold demeanor isnhis defense but getting close to him will make you discover he isn't that stingy (minty)

Scorpion: Mangoes and Grahams- aside from his favorite color yellow, Hanzo seems like the guy who will enjoy fruit flavors miced with the texture of the crushed grahams like his opponents dusts after he toast them 😆

Sub Zero: Blueberries and Cream- He's cold thats a given but I'm sure grandmaster blueberry ice would still enjoy having ice cream especially now he's friends with toasty 🔥 must keep his cool all the time 😊

Rain: Black Forest- Not so sweet but the cherries make up for it. Rain has this personality and black forest flavor suits him as he might not be sweet but for sure he will try and also cherries are like his royalty ego, he's common like chocolate but cherries makes him special 🍒

Noob Saibot: Dark Chocolate- Cold as death, not so sweet but will still take you for a ride on brainfreeze if you got too much. Perfect flavor not only for his color of choice but his personality as well. Dark chocolate might have a really low sweetness level but it's still sweet.

Erron Black: Pistachios and Cashews- As a cowboy who is a master of the rough roads and dry lands, he will surely enjoy ice cream with many nuts but not overly sweet like this. The crunch on every bite excites him, reminds him of his horse rides on stone riddled rough roads.

Johnny Cage: Cheese- Sounds simple but JC would surely like this as of course he needs to always smile for the camera and paparazzi (lol) also I can see him modeling for an ice cream brand and he would slay the "cheese" part as his life is basically under glitz and glamour.

Kabal: Double dutch- Vanilla with marshmallows and cashews, even though how rough he depicts his personality as, Kabal would still have this soft (marshmallow) side and hard as a rock attitude (cashews). Vanilla isn't really sweet but it has chocolate drizzles that make up for it.

Kano: Licorice- He would definitely enjoy alcohol flavored ice cream, Kano may look like he doesn't even eat one but he is still interested in things that have the flavor of the drinks he likes so he will surely try.

Jax: Vanilla- Jax seems like the man who will enjoy the simple things in life, also having a daughter would make him very familiar with vanilla ice cream as it's commonly sold anywhere and eating it will take him back to his good memories with Jacqui.

Rambo- Cookies and Cream- being a soldier is tough but why cookies and cream? Rambo is tough as a cookie, has battled so many and is the type to sit down and eat ice cream just to reminisce some good times with his comrades. Cookies and cream have both sweetness and rough texture due to the cookies just like him.

These are just random thoughts, don't mind them so much haha I might be inaccurate but that might just mean I haven't tasted much ice cream in my life yet 😆

#mortal kombat #random thoughts #fanfics #fujin #raiden #scorpion #sub zero #johnny cage #kabal #kano #noob saibot #rambo #jax #brain freeze

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violettduchess · 2 years ago

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Heya dear! Hope there was still spots available 😳😳😳😳❤️❤️🥺 could i pretty please request Theo+ 11+ fall fluff😍🔥🔥🔥 gotta get some fluff to get some motivation to make it thru the week🥺🤣🤣🤣👏👏🔥✨️🌷

Thanks so much! Hope u have the best day!

A/N: I'm sorry this took ages @nad-zeta! 💜

Theo x f!reader

Dutch translation: kleintje: little one

Word Count: 1465

The Fall Festival is around the corner and nowhere is that more apparent than in the dining hall of the orphanage. The sisters have been hard at work to make the gray stone walls warm and inviting, stringing bright orange paper pumpkins from one end of the room to the other. Small, uneven leaves in red and yellow and gold hang from the rafters on long strings, turning lazily in the rush of air that enters every time the doors open. The children are quick to show you and Theo which leaves they each cut out, pride shining in young eyes that have seen far too much.

Now the dining room tables are covered in pots of paint, paint brushes, and paper. The children are sitting in groups, excitedly painting autumn-themed pictures to sell at the festival. The church had placed a notice, looking for volunteers to help with all the artistry and Theo and Vincent had readily agreed to help. You smile as you watch Vincent in the far corner of the room. He’s sitting on a small stool, holding a ripe red apple in his hand, turning it as he speaks to the children sitting by him, brows furrowed in concentration as they listen to his gentle explanation on the best way to capture the perfect red of the fruit.

A tug on your sleeve tears your gaze away from the scene. A small girl with a smear of orange paint across her cheek asks you to please refill her orange pot.

“Of course I will. But remember, the paint is supposed to be on the paper.” You tap her small nose with your index finger and she giggles as she tries to hide her very orange fingers.

You make your way to the table by door where the smaller paint pots can be refilled. As you’re pouring the color from a larger pot into the smaller one, you feel a hand on your waist. One glance over your shoulder and you can’t stop the smile that blossoms. Theo slides his hand subtly over your hip as he watches you finish filling the small pot.

“Don’t spill, Hondje,” he murmurs, that voice running over you like a warm current of water.

His hand on your hip is certainly not helping you keep your hands steady and that gleam in his summer-sky eyes tells you he knows it. You’re about to let him know that you’re on to him when you both hear it at the same time: the sound of a small nose sniffling. A tiny chest heaving with muffled sobs.

A young boy with hair the color of sunrise and eyes bright with tears has moved away from all the other children and slumped onto the cold stone floor. His fingers, usually streaked with dirt are now streaked with different colors of paint. They’re clutching a piece of paper, the paint so fresh it echoes the falling of his tears as it drips onto the floor. You exchange a look with Theo. You feel his fingers squeeze the curve of your hip. I’ll handle it, the touch says.

Watching out of the corner of your eye, you see how he lowers his large body onto the floor next to the boy, not caring about the cold stone or tiny drops of paint.

“Can I see your painting?” His voice is a type of gentle not often heard from Theodorus.

The little boy sniffs, his face a model of misery. “It’s not good, Monsieur. All the other kids laughed at it. It’s…..it’s all wrong.”

Theo tilts his head, his expression skeptical. “Art can’t be wrong. It can only be misunderstood.”

The boy raises his gaze from the floor to the large man beside him, his wide eyes still glistening with tears but now, there is a small glimmer of something else there as well. “Really?”

The head of messy golden hair you love so much nods. “Natuurlijk”, he says seriously. “Of course. Will you show me?”

The boy sniffs again, but slowly tips the paper away from his chest. He’s painted an autumn scene like the other children. Except his sky is purple instead of blue. The apples on his trees are bright yellow. The grass is red. He’s even added a small brown squirrel with colorful dots perched on one of the branches.

Theo leans forward. He takes his time, his sharp gaze running over every brush stroke, every color choice. He inspects it the way he would any painting. With respect. “What bold choices you have made.”

The little boy wipes his eyes on his sweater sleeve, a piece of clothing that has been patched many, many times. “The other–” He sniffles again, but now sits up straighter, laying the paper down on the floor, smoothing out the corners. “The other kids said the colors were wrong.”

Theo shakes his head, scoffing. “How can colors be wrong?”

The boy points a skinny finger at the sky he created. “They said it needs to be blue.”

Theo glances at him, his own bright blue eyes searching his face. “Why did you paint it purple?”

The boy smiles. “Because when the sun comes up in the morning, sometimes the sky IS purple. And I like how that looks!”

Theo does something unusual for him. He immediately returns the smile. “Well then it’s fine if your sky is purple, isn’t it?” He points to the other elements of the painting. “And why did you choose the other colors?”

The young boy is animated now, shifting on his knees as he wiggles around to sit next to Theo. “The apples are yellow because I like yellow and I like apples a lot so I wanted apples to be a color I like. The grass is red because the grass out in the fields behind the church always leaves my skin all itchy and bumpy and red. And here, the squirrel-” He jabs at the almost dry squirrel. “We had a clown come one time at Christmas and he was-he was so funny, Monsieur. He made me laugh. And squirrels are also funny, with their fuzzy tails and the way they bounce around branches so I made him with lots of colorful dots, like the clown we saw.”

Theo nods, listening intently. “That makes perfect sense, kleintje.” He clears his throat, pretending to ponder something. “You know, you're a very talented artist. And I really like your picture. So much so that, with your permission, I would like to ask the sisters if I can purchase it today and not wait until the festival.”

The boy’s eyes widen in shock. “Really? You want to buy my picture?”

Theo cracks a smile at the wonder in his voice. “I do. But only if you make me a promise.”

The boy nods seriously, his gaze earnest as he leans in.

“You must promise me you'll make another painting for the festival.”

The young boy’s face shines, his heart glowing under Theo’s praise.

“I will, Monsieur. I promise.” He raises his hand, pressing it to his heart, a solemn vow made.

“Good. I’ll be looking for it.” Theo stands up slowly, offering his hand to help the small boy up. “Now go, ask the sisters if it’s ok for me to bring this home today.” The boy grabs his hand, practically jumping up. He bends down, carefully collecting his painting and makes his way toward the closest group of nuns. The oldest raises her gaze to Theo, a soft smile on her lips.

Hours later, you exit the orphanage together. Theo has the painting rolled up and tucked carefully under one arm. You have your hand tucked into his other elbow as you walk across cobblestones littered with dry leaves that crunch underfoot. The sky overhead is a brilliant lavender streaked with yellow and orange, the sun’s farewell as she sinks to her well-earned slumber. You’re about to cross the stone bridge when you stop walking, holding onto his arm, forcing him to stop as well.

He turns to you, a question in his eyes as he looks down. “Yes, Hondje? What is it?”

You rise up onto your toes and press your lips to his. It’s soft and it’s warm and it’s full of the emotion that flooded your body as you watched Theodorus take a little boy’s heart in his hands and raise it up to the light.

When you slowly lower yourself again, he looks both pleased and slightly confused. “What was that for?”

You take his hand, lacing your fingers through his, solid and steady and secure. “Just because.” You smile at him, bright as the emerging stars in the darkening autumn sky. “Now let's get back and hang up that masterpiece.”

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nancypullen · 2 years ago

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Unexpected Pleasures

I was piddling around the house today, minding my own business and dancing to old Zumba tunes, when the USPS dropped a package on our porch. That’s not at all unusual, we order a lot online - even our cat food gets delivered. So I opened the door, brought the box inside and realized that it was from one Dr. Matthew Pullen. Oh boy! He recently journeyed to Uganda and told me that he was bringing home gifts for everyone. I always tell him not to do that, to just get there and back safely. But he doesn’t listen. So I dug into the box and pulled out surprise after surprise. He sent Ugandan coffee for Tyler and Jamie, our family’s coffee snobs. I know they’ll love it.

“Grown by the Endiro Growers Bukalasi Women’s Group in the village of Bukalasi in the Mt. Elgon region of Uganda. This coffee is grown at an altitude ranging from 5,850 - 6,100 feet. Expect to find stone fruity flavors and a tea-like finish.” Cool! He had some time to kill in Amsterdam on his trip home and he knows how much Mickey and I love the Netherlands, so he sent us a killer collection of Dutch cheese! My fat cells are quivering with delight.

For his favorite niece he chose an adorable, soft Delft blue bear and a big container of her favorite gummi bears. He knows the way to her heart.

I didn’t take things out of their bags because I didn’t want to risk messing anything up before they reached their intended recipients. I’m clumsy. I could see myself lifting the bear out, fumbling it, bouncing it off the counter and into the cat’s water dish. Seriously. So as I exclaimed over the thoughtful gifts while keeping everything tucked away, I found the pièce de résistance. Because Matt has enough frequent flyer miles to go to the moon, and because he has a professional travel budget and all that - he was able to make the entire trip to Uganda and back in the comfort of first class. He’s made plenty of hopscotch trips across the globe in less than luxurious circumstances, he’s earned it. Anyway, he was delighted with the private pod where he could actually get some sleep, and all of the other perks were fun too. He landed in Amsterdam and had to switch from Delta to KLM to make the milk run to Kigali and Entebbe before getting a shuttle to Kampala. Because he was a first class passenger on KLM he was gifted with a commemorative Delft house. It’s filled with some sort of gin, but who cares about that? He received one going and coming back, so he sent one to me!!! It’s sitting on my kitchen window sill and I absolutely love it.

Isn’t that the cutest thing EVER? I’ll think of our visits to the Netherlands every time I look at it. The chimney is corked and sealed, but if you wanted the gin that’s where it would pour out. Each one is modeled after an actual building and they’ve been giving away these houses since 1952. Wow! How’s that for a treasure chest? Smack dab in the middle of an ordinary day, Matt showered us with some love. The day after tomorrow we’ll carry the gifts over the bridge to the Edgewater gang and celebrate the grandgirl’s 5th birthday. More joy. She has requested a mermaid cake and some “good binoculars”. Grancy has the binoculars and her mom is creating the beautiful cake. I’m 100% sure it will be a hilarious and sweet day. That’s it. Just sharing some happiness and feeling really, really grateful for the people that I love. I never forget how very, very lucky I am. That’s not bragging , that’s bone deep gratitude. I’m off to soak in a tub and use my last Christmas bath bomb. Then I’m going to get under the covers, play a few word games on my phone and then start a new book. I’ll share that tomorrow. Until then, stay safe, stay well, call someone you love.

Nancy

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aboutanancientenquiry · 2 years ago

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A “revisionist” article on the battle of Marathon and its historical significance, with some critical observations of mine on this text

The “revisionist” article to which I refer is written by Dutch historian Jona Lendering, who runs the well known website Livius. I reproduce below in its entirety Lendering’s article on the battle of Marathon and its historical significance (or rather, according to him, insignificance). After his text, I present my critical remarks on it.

“The Significance of Marathon

Battle of Marathon: famous clash between a Persian invasion force and an army of Athenians in 490 BCE. Its signicance is greatly exaggerated

It often said that the battle of Marathon was one of the few really decisive battles in history. The truth, however, is that we cannot establish this with certainty. Still, the fight had important consequences: it gave rise to the idea that East and West were opposites, an idea that has survived until the present day, in spite of the fact that “Marathon” has become the standard example to prove that historians can better refrain from such bold statements.

Presenting Marathon – Then and Now

The Spartans were the first to commemorate the battle of Marathon. Although they arrived too late for the fight, they visited the battlefield, inspected the dead, and praised the Athenians. The story is told by Herodotus, note the author of our main source for the fight. The very first question we ought to ask is why he chose to tell it. After all, his ambition was to record “great and marvelous deeds”, and the late arrival of the reinforcements was neither great nor marvelous. The Spartan presence at Marathon, however, served to present the battle that had been, or ought to have been, a fight by all Greeks.

That “Marathon” had been more than a normal battle, was hardly a new idea. Prior to Herodotus’ writing, monuments had already been erected, which presented the warriors as the equals of the heroes of the Trojan War. Other monuments, like the one mentioned by Pausanias, presented the dead as defenders of democracy: Pausanias mentions an Athenian “grave in the plain with are stones on it, carved with the names of the dead in their voting districts”.note A monument erected in Delphi presented the ten tribes and lauded the democratically elected Miltiades, but conspicuously ignored the polemarch Callimachus.

Herodotus of Halicarnassus

Framing the Battle

Herodotus chose not to present the battle in the same way. Knowing that the Persians had returned in 480 and had tried to conquer Greece, he interpreted the battle as a first attempt to do the same, which made the fight important for all of Greece. This is unlikely to be a correct judgment: the Persian army was too small for conquest and occupation, and most historians have rejected this.

What they did not reject, was the context in which Herodotus presented the violent actions. His Histories presuppose an elaborate model of action and reaction, which is Herodotus’ way to express historical causality: Cyrus conquered the Greek towns in Asia (action), they revolted (reaction), a war broke out in which Athens and Eretria supported the rebels (action), Persia restored order and decided to subdue the allies (reaction), the Persians came to Attica (action), where the Athenians defeated them at Marathon (reaction), so the Persians returned with a bigger army to avenge themselves.

This pattern of action and reaction is unlikely to correspond to historical fact. After all, the first action and the first reaction are separated by a considerable period, and the campaign of 490 was not aimed at the conquest of Greece. So, while Herodotus’ sequence of the events between 500 and 479 is probably correct, we may have some doubt about the causal connections. The Halicarnassian may in the end turn out to be right, but that is not now at issue: what needs to be stressed is that the framework in which we place the battle of Marathon, was created by Herodotus.

This framework also presents the struggle between the Greeks and the Asians as going back to times immemorial. The very first part of the Histories is a slightly ironic account of some ancient legends about women being carried away, but Herodotus continues by pointing at “the man who to the best of my knowledge was the first to commit wrong against the Greeks”, king Croesus of Lydia. The restriction “to the best of my knowledge” suggests that Herodotus believed that the conflict had started earlier. Herodotus is not just the father of history, he is also the father of the idea that East and West are eternal opposites.

Even more importantly, he is the first author to make this antagonism something more than a geographical opposition. The Asians were the slaves of the great king, and they went to war because the ruler ordered them to, while the Greeks were citizens of free cities, who obeyed the law and went to defend their liberty. This is borne out by the words of the Spartan exile Demaratus to Xerxes:

Over the Greeks is set Law as a master, whom they fear much more even than your people fear you”.note

This speech is, of course, one of Herodotus’ own compositions: not only are “tragic warners” in the Histories invariably speaking on behalf of the author, but the topic under discussion, the tension between the rule of a leader and the rule of the law, is typical for the political debate in democratic Athens.note

Herodotus’ framing of the Persian Wars as a struggle between a monarchical Asia and a free Greece explains his authorial choices. He might have mentioned the Spartan visit to the battlefield very briefly, but inserted a long digression, because the incident, although completely irrelevant for the battle, was useful to convert Marathon into a panhellenic event.

Nineteenth-Century Theories

Greece versus Asia: although popular in the classical age, this theme lost relevance in the Hellenistic age. Once Rome had seized power, the main opposition was that between the barbarians outside the Empire and the civilized Mediterranean city dwellers. When Christianity became popular, the main antagonism was between pagans and orthodox believers. In the Early Middle Ages, new self-identifications and oppositions arose: the scholars of Constantinople believed that Islam was the archenemy of the Byzantine Empire, whereas in the Carolingian Empire, scribes believed in an antagonism between Islam and those who were called “Europenses”. The first reference to Europeans as a cultural unity is the Mozarabic Chronicle of 754.

For centuries, the inhabitants of western Europe associated their culture with Rome and Christianity. In the eighteenth century, however, the famous German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann created the modern paradigm that Rome had merely continued Greek culture, and that Athens was the real origin of western civilization.

This new idea was successful, and in the early nineteenth century, the belief that Athens was the cradle of a freedom-loving, rational European civilization, was fully accepted. It was freedom, philosophers argued, that had at Marathon been defended by the Athenians. Because their victory had inspired other Greeks to resist Xerxes, Marathon had been an important battle: in Marathon, the foundations of western civilization had been laid. The British philosopher John Stuart Mill judged that “the battle of Marathon, even as an event in English history, is more important than the battle of Hastings”.

That bold, often repeated statement, is based on three assumptions. The first is that the Athenians were fighting for the independence of Greece. The pre-Herodotean monuments prove that this was not the perspective of the participants: Athenian democrats fighting against a Persian army that wanted to bring back the tyrant (sole ruler) Hippias. As indicated above, it was Herodotus who introduced the panhellenic element.

The second assumption is that the political independence of Greece guaranteed the freedom of its culture. In 1901, the great German historian Eduard Meyer wrote in his Geschichte des Altertums (“History of Antiquity”) that the consequences of a Persian victory in 490 or 480 would have been serious.

The end result would have been that some kind of religion … would have put Greek thought under a yoke, and any free spiritual life would have been bound in chains. The new Greek culture would, just like oriental culture, have been of a theocratic-religious nature.

The argument is, more or less, that the great king would have replaced democracy with tyranny, so that the free Athenian civilization would have vanished in a maelstrom of oriental despotism, irrationality, and cruelty. Without democracy, no Greek philosophy, no innovative Greek literature, no arts, no rationalism. In this sense, the Greek victory in the Persian Wars was decisive for Greek culture.

The third assumption is that there is continuity from ancient Greece to nineteenth-century Europe. This sociological statement has never been properly tested, even though there is an obvious counterargument: after the fall of Rome, people did not recognize this continuity. The “Europeans” were not recognized as a cultural unity until 754, and when they were, they were Frankish Christians fighting Iberian Muslims, not Greeks fighting Asians. Some scholars (e.g., Anthony Pagden) have tried to solve this problem by arguing that, in spite of the fact that nobody had noticed it, the spirit of freedom had always been there, just like the spirit of monarchism had always remained alive in the East, influencing individual behavior. This type of argument is called “ontological holism”, and is better known from Marx’ idea that history was forged by the struggle between classes, or the notorious idea that history was a war between races. Class struggle, race war, or the clash between free Europe and tyrannical Asia are abstractions that do not really exist.

A more sophisticated way to refute the counterargument is the idea, best known from Jacob Burckhardt’s famous Geschichte der Renaissance in Italien ("Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy", 1867), is that the Renaissance was a rebirth of Roman civilization and that Winckelmann was the first scholar who understood that Roman civilization had been a continuation of Athenian civilization. This cannot be discarded out of hand, because social scientists have never developed the tools to test such bold statements about continuity.

Meyer’s View Assessed

Today, the German scholar Max Weber is best known as the father of sociology, but he started his career as an ancient historian. In 1904/1905, he published the two “Critical Studies in the Logic of Cultural Sciences”, in which he investigated the epistemological foundations of the study of the past. The second essay deals with “Objective Possibility and Adequate Causation in Historical Explanation”, and has become rightly famous. As it happens, one of Weber’s examples is Meyer’s analysis of the meaning of Marathon, which is shown to be the result of a counterfactual argument: if the Persians had won, the preconditions would not have been met for the rise of Athenian civilization. But, Weber argued, this was nothing but speculation. Counterfactual arguments are usually fallacious.

For example, how did Meyer know that the Persians, after a victory in the Persian Wars, would have put an end to democracy? We must pause for thought when we read that Herodotus explicitly states that the Persian commander Mardonius supported Greek democracy.note Another point is that very few historians, right now, will accept that the ancient Near East was “of a theocratic-religious nature”: it was in Persian Babylonia that astronomers developed the scientific method. Plato and Aristotle might have lived in a Persian Athens. Likewise, Eric Dodds’ The Greeks and the Irrational (1951) meant the end of the idea that Greek culture represented a more rational view of life.

So, Meyer’s reading of the Persian War has been decisively challenged. We cannot make bold statements about the meaning of Marathon. Unfortunately, not everybody is aware that there are limits to what we can understand about the past: over the past years, several books have appeared that pretend that there is a direct continuity from Marathon to our own age. Historians and social scientists have something really important to discuss.

[Originally published in the Marathon Special of Ancient Warfare (2011).]

This page was created in 2011; last modified on 15 October 2020.”

Source: https://www.livius.org/articles/battle/marathon-490-bce/the-significance-of-marathon/

Jona Lendering is Dutch historian and runs the website Livius (see about him https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jona_Lendering )

And now my critical remarks on Lendering’s article:

1/ In the battle of Marathon Athens, a free city-state and fledgling ancient democracy, dared to resist the most powerful Empire the world had seen till that time and, against all odds, she won the day. If one bears this truth in mind, the historical significance of the battle of Marathon is obvious for all humans of all ages who see with favor the cause of freedom and sympathize with peoples who dare to fight powerful empires in order to defend their independence. This is even more the case for people who see with sympathy democracy and the defense of democracies face to imperialism and authoritarianism.

2/ The fact that, when the Athenians fought at Marathon, they had quite naturally first of all in their minds the defense of their city does not exclude the Panhellenic significance of the battle. Marathon was not of course the decisive and final battle of the Persian Wars. However, it was the battle which proved to the Greeks that the Persian Empire was not invincible. Moreover, as Herodotus says, the Persians had already decided to subjugate (in the one or the other form) the whole mainland Greece. If they had won at Marathon and taken Athens, the Athenian army and above all the powerful navy that Athens built in the years 490-480 BCE would have been out of the equation. If one properly understands the critical role played by Athens in the Greek defense during Xerxes’ invasion of Greece in 480-479 BCE, it becomes evident why Marathon, although not the decisive battle itself, played a major role in the eventual outcome of the Persian Wars.

3/ It is true that, as Herodotus writes, the Persians and more particularly Mardonius experimented with democracy in the Greek cities of Asia Minor which they occupied again after the quelling of the Ionian revolt. We can only speculate about the reasons which made a Persian satrap (moreover, according to Herodotus, the most hawkish one) introduce democracy in the occupied by the Persians Greek cities. However, we should not have illusions about what “democracy” meant in such conditions: this “democracy” was no more than a form of limited self-government of cities which were in fact under the total domination of the Persians. I don’t think that we can compare this “democracy” under Persian control with the great democratic experiment of sovereign Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE and with the tremendous stimulus the latter gave to Greek political thought and intellectual life.

Moreover, one of the aims of the Persian campaign in Attica in 490 BCE was to reestablish as tyrant of Athens the Peisistratid Hippias, who had been expelled about two decades before, a thing which means that there would be no repetition in Athens of Mardonius’ experimentations in Ionia. The other aim of the Persian campaign was of course to punish the Athenians for their previous support to the Ionian revolt. This punishment would have meant destructions of the one or the other extent in Athens, but also captivity and deportation to Persia of an important part of the Athenian population, as the Persians were already doing with Eretria, the other Greek city besides Athens which had sent troops to support the revolted Greeks of Asia Minor. Families and groups which had been the most hostile toward the Peisistratids and had played a prominent role in the political life of the city and in its involvment in the Ionian revolt would have been of course the first among the deported (if the Persians and Hippias did not choose to put them to the sword). Now, I think that it is obvious that an Athens largely depopulated and under a vindicative pro-Persian tyranny could not have become the intellectual and artistic center of Greece that she became after the Greek victory in the Persian Wars. So, although Lendering is right that the Persians would not have imposed some kind of “oriental mystical religion” on Athens, I think that it is evident that, if the Athenians had lost at Marathon and the Persians had subdued Athens, a very important damage in the development of the classical Greek civilization would have occured.

4/ Herodotus is not the inventor of some eternal opposition between West and East and between Europe and Asia. The “West” and “Europe” as civilization and as political and cultural identity meant nothing for him; it is for instance obvious that he saw as far more relevant for the ancient Greek cultural identity the Egyptians than the Celts. Herodotus chose for sure as the central theme of his work the conflict between on the one hand Greece and on the other hand the Persian imperial monarchy, which had under its command all the resources not only of Iran, but also of the ancient civilizations of the Near East and of parts of Central Asia and of India. But this conflict, which culminated with Xerxes’ invasion of Greece, was of course a historical reality, not some invention of Herodotus.

Now, concerning the ideological aspect of the same conflict as opposition between on the one hand freedom and law and on the other hand despotism, again what Herodotus writes is not out of touch with reality, because, put aside some rhetorical exaggerations from Greek writers (less in Herodotus and more in later authors), there was a very real ideological dimension in the Persian Wars. I say this because the Persian Wars were the endeavour of the Persian imperial monarchy, characterized by an immense concentration of power in the hands of the Great King, to subdue the Greek free city-states, which were implementing to various degrees and in various forms institutional experiments with rule of law, balance of power, political participation of the people, and active citizenship, and even, in the case of Athens, an institutional experiment with political equality between free people, equal free speech, and direct political democracy. I don’t say that we should idealize these experiments, first of all because slavery was a feature (and a major flaw) of the ancient Greek social and economic life (although this was also the case with most societies of the ancient world, including of course the Persian Empire), secondly because among these city-states there were Sparta and some other Dorian polities ressembling Sparta, which were undoubtedly militaristic and one-sided in their development. However, despite these flaws and historical limitations, in their pluralism the institutional experiments of the ancient Greek republics and first of all of course Athens were the great precusors of later historical developments and experiences with political, social, and individual freedom and with democracy. Therefore, the successful defense of these republican Greek experiments face to the autocracy and imperialism of the Persian Empire is obviously of major importance not only for the political and military history, but also for the history of ideas.

All this does not mean that we should subscribe to some essentialist opposition between a supposedly by nature free-loving West and a supposedly by nature despotic/servile East, notions that Lendering correctly criticizes. And I remind here that Herodotus is far more nuanced in his presentation of Greeks and non-Greeks than many believe: on the one hand, he describes tyranny and tyrants like Periander, Polycrates, and Gelon as an important problem of the Greek world, and most scholars believe today that his work contains implicit warnings about the Athenian imperialism of the Periclean and post-Periclean age; on the other hand, he accepts that the “Oriental’ monarchs, although for sure too powerful for the Greek standards, were not necessarily hybristic despots (Cyrus the Great was seen as “father” by the Persians, Egypt before Cheops was governed according to justice and custom), and he describes freedom-loving “barbarians”, like the Scythians, the Massagetae, and even the Persians, when they followed Cyrus and overthrew the yoke of Astyages and of the Medes. Moreover, in the “Constitutional Debate” of Book III of Histories Herodotus presents the Persians as able to envision other constitutional dispensations than monarchy, including even democracy.

5/ Marx’ theory of history is not of course above criticism, but I believe that Lendering’s grouping in his text above of Marxism with the racialist (racist) theories on history as instances of “ontological holism” is very unfortunate on many levels.

6/ Lendering alludes in his text to some idiosyncratic and erroneous views of his on the origin of science and scientific method, for instance to his belief that the scientific method developed in Antiquity not in Greece, but exclusively in Babylonia, and that Aristotle would have borrowed his theory of science, of scientific syllogism, and of scientific truth from the Babylonian “Astronomical Diaries” (see with more details about his views on these topics and my criticism of them https://at.tumblr.com/aboutanancientenquiry/the-babylonian-astronomical-diaries-and-their/9kwxss8gyvuf and https://at.tumblr.com/aboutanancientenquiry/the-babylonian-astronomical-diaries-and-their/8m68it6lzmru ). Moreover, contrary to what Lendering thinks, the reality that the ancient Greek civilization was not only rationalism had been understood before Dodds, as for example already in the 19th century Nietzsche had discerned the existence of the “Dionysian’ element in it. More generally, it would be illusory to search for some purely rationalist ancient civilization (and we should not forget that our own civilization has its own types of irrationality), and in fact one of the great triumphs of the ancient Greek culture was that it transformed the “irrational” in human life (extreme passions, reversals of fortune, undeserved suffering etc) and ‘irrational” myth into great literature, which contains immortal insights into the human condition. However, it is beyond doubt that rationalism too was something of major importance in the ancient Greek civilization. And I think that Lendering underestimates grossly the great innovations, breakthroughs, and contributions of the Greek rationalist thought and their importance for the intellectual and cultural evolution of humanity.

8/ I think that it is also beyond doubt that, although it is true that there is not some direct continuity between ancient Greece and Western Europe, the ancient Greek heritage played a very important role in the formation of the Western European cultural identity, either indirectly (via Rome and Western Fathers of the Church heavily influenced by Platonism like Augustine) or directly (above all with the rediscovery of ancient Greece in the last centuries of Middle Ages and in Renaissance). However, it seems that Lendering suggests that the Western European heritage is in fact exclusively Roman and Germanic and that ancient Greece has been included in this heritage rather artificially much later, a view which is shared today also by others in Western Europe. I don’t agree of course with this point of view, but I recognize that people have every right to include and exclude things from what they see as their cultural heritage and identity. Moreover, I recognize also that, although erroneous, such a point of view has at least the merit that it may facilitate the appreciation of the great ancient Greek civilization for what it was in itself and not just as an ancestor of the modern West.

#battle of marathon #athens #persian wars #herodotus #jona lendering

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alienson · 1 month ago

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As a model, may I suggest the Dutch city of Amersfoort?

Starting with their historical "Amersfoort stone", which was hauled into town on a bet (the reward for which was beer and pretzels), the area became famous for a large (and largely useless) stone.

As a joke, other towns began gifting Amersfoort more large stones. Now there are multiple boulders from other countries displayed around the medieval city center.

i think everyone deserves a large rock a short distance from their home. i dont like that discussions about walkable cities never include plans to allow wider access to large rocks. the people need large rock

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abigailbozarthart · 1 month ago

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This thing's finally done! I've mostly been doing quick artistic pieces lately and wanted to push myself with something intensive and challenging again. So here's a Rennaissance style wall painting of my character Peregrine that exists in a closet under a cloth on his family's estate somewhere of him after graduating from a naval education program ready to join the military when he was younger. Influenced by Dutch Masters and those classic noble and Revolutionary War era portraits. Much less colorful than my normal style, and I stayed fairly precise instead of wild. Lots of rendering. Rare that I paint indoor scenes atmospherically. There's a few things I see room for improvement on- the hand doesn't look like it's really resting on the globe properly, the attachment of his goatee to his chin and lower lip, the anatomy of his hand on the fancy schmancy cane...but overall I'm very pleased with the composition and colors. Probably open for comissions in this style if anyone wants, DM me for details if you're interested.

Alt: A somewhat short and stocky blond man with a goatee, one hand on a cane, the other on a globe, staring intesely to the right into the distance in a moodily lit brown room. In the background are a small flame chandalier, a passage to a hallways with a flower bouquet on a table in a blue vase by a painting, and a large bookcase with many tomes, an animal skull, a glass, a ship in a bottle, and a model ship with orange fan sails. The table with the globe is covered in a white draping cloth and also carries a pot of ink, a velu or parchment weighted down by a stone, a sextant, a pocket telescope, a stamp for wax seals, and a compass. The nobleman is dressed in fine brown clothes with white gray ruffles and a blue sash. He wears a gold medallion on a red ribbon around his neck, and his brows are furrowed.

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libidomechanica · 3 months ago

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And so I though her

Moss smuggles stall; Cupid is set of flowers were the till May, know how you will beheld Salámán on the best look down coat wraps me in a crown, with thou which all its thoughtful land real suffer’d—Perish them! Rainbows of men, a land offer

in the white blade. Well serves our town, I sigh’d, and bristly bales; hear it—sdeath-wound, the Foam upon thy mind. Monthly fix himself was not wrongs of keen beauties peece of her and probably ignored you are him, there is made up million. Jasmine-

muffled, or reproof’s a stone; lost in these point: not like starfish Hildebrand—gentle shadowing seaward, for quest, condemn’d to chase, which faire Queen, whose eyelash is liking strands enmesh your foolish self! Now that green all friend and with the gains

he proper time I stood this upland drink; he feeds they came my garden’s groan and ill when first I spurred like harness’d a splendid anger, without, how God with upon her empty dressing and by skill, in rock yawns,— you call mean, poet?—Ah,

bitter and nothing. Let’s coruscation to be hamburg. Dream of which the face the deck, perhaps a sorry mutter’d by men. I faints, albeit the correct, that thou minion. She mighty men, some virgins might from Oxford up yon heath

and raw, when it come on his bed what people going to her horrors up with blood of the mounts, and we three to the same that is a great need your hollows of the lade o’ the aged me on all girded up in thunder’d, but mine arm,

most wits to say. Never! Till it was, shall learnes in its break from the central cedar’d Lebanon. And so I though her do depart, with bugs is swell in Rhenish and bunch of maidenly in his traveller: for ever guilt—of guilt,

perhaps surpris’d a song and jealous matter: a ribbon of the instead of women the uninitiated. And, as a model to be the Dutch a things beauty’s edge, look’d—and the Pomp of my study there, or as endless wealth,

ostage of your Faith too daring— platonic blasphemy, the screendoors of death, of office, or chain-droop’d lamp was fill up that clashed your gentle sound-like this, and seen an acorn gave heart I doubting caught to every shadows rise again!

#poetry #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Markov chains #Markov chain length: 6 #167 texts #ballad

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black-arcana · 6 months ago

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EPICA's SIMONE SIMONS Releases Debut Solo Single 'Aeterna'

Simone Simons has been a pioneering force within the world of metal for over two decades as part of EPICA. Now, alongside her musical partner and longtime collaborator Arjen Lucassen (AYREON),she embarks on the journey of her debut solo album, "Vermillion".

Arjen is no stranger to Simone's soaring operatic voice, one that can stir even a gargoyle's stone heart to tears. Together they have crafted a sonic universe that befits the influential figure she is. Due on August 23 via Nuclear Blast Records, "Vermillion" emerges as a gargantuan goose-bump generator, a universally touching, stellar tour de force.

Alongside the announcement of her debut solo record, Simone has released a video for the album's first single, "Aeterna". You can watch the clip below.

Simone and Arjen state: "'Aeterna' is the big, epic opener of the album and it comes with this amazing video too, directed by Patric Ullaeus. It definitely sounds the closest to EPICA and AYREON, blending powerful Latin lyrics with a touch of an oriental feel. We've tried to strike a balance between the mighty, bombastic sounds and the more atmospheric parts. Since it's the first track people will hear from this album, it's super important to us and we're really excited for people to hear it!

"Vermillion" track listing:

This past March, Simone told Mexico's Summa Inferno that EPICA's follow-up to 2021's "Omega" album will likely be released in 2025.

youtube

#simone simons #aeterna #vermillion #Youtube

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