A Declaration

I came across this video nearly two years ago, and I love it.  Between the clever use of OneRepublic/Timbaland's melody and the truly in-depth symbolism (not to mention the sheer level of awesome involved!) Soomo Publishing outdid themselves in entertaining educational material.  This is great for the classroom, for children, for college students who love a good show, or for anyone else who appreciates the sight of Thomas Jefferson belting it out into a microphone shaped like a quill pen while Ben Franklin wails on a guitar and John Hancock rocks the drums.  It just doesn't get any more awesome than that.

If it does, I'll let you know.  Until then, watch and learn!

Peter the Great, the Blacksmith

Pyotr Alekseyevich, better known as Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great), was a much debated reformer and tyrannical leader.  He was also an excellent politician and a very intelligent man.

In March 1720 he visited the Martsial'nye medicinal springs for a month.  While there, he hosted dinners for men of "all ranks," possibly including peasants, sang in the local church choir multiple times, and learned some rudimentary blacksmith skills.  According to the son of the Moscow blacksmith to whom Peter sold his finished goods, on the last day of his visit the Emperor forged without help 720 pounds of iron (apparently, he made his noble guests pump the bellows) in bars, and stamped them with his own mark.  He then sold them for fair market value to purchase a new set of shoes, probably to replace the ones he ruined while working in the smithy.  He took great pride in showing off the shoes which he had earned through honest labor, for, as he put it:  "I have earned them well, by the sweat of my brow, with hammer and anvil."

Whether or not this story is true (we have no reason to believe or disbelieve it) these sorts of stories would humanize the super-human king.  What do you know about Peter the Great?  What do you think of his legacy, or of him as a person?  Comment below!


Image Source:

A&E Television Networks, LLC.  "Peter the Great Biography."  Accessed December 15, 2011.  http://www.biography.com/people/peter-the-great-9542228.

Information Sources:

A&E Television Networks, LLC.  "Peter the Great Biography."  Accessed December 15, 2011.  http://www.biography.com/people/peter-the-great-9542228.

Hughes, Lindsey.  Peter the Great:  A Biography.  New Haven, CT:  Yale University Press, 2002.  142.

Stæhlin.  Original Anecdotes of Peter the Great, Collected from the Conversation of Several Persons of Distinction at Petersburgh and Moscow.  London, 1788.  22-24.

Did you know...?

Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" was first published today, December 9, in 1854.  The poem commemorated the famous charge at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.  You can click the link below to read the poem.

The Charge of the Light Brigade


Image Source:

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. "Crimean War:  charge of the Light Brigade, October 25, 1854."  Accessed December 9, 2011.  http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-140032/A-painting-depicts-the-charge-of-the-Light-Brigade-an.

Information Source:

A&E Television Networks, LLC.  "'The Charge of the Light Brigade' by Alfred Lord Tennyson is published."  Accessed December 9, 2011.  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade-by-alfred-lord-tennyson-is-published.

We Remember

On December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor on Ford's Island, between about 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM, the Japanese naval air force struck without warning and severely crippled the American Pacific Fleet.  The two hour attack left Oklahoma and Arizona destroyed beyond repair, California, West Virginia, and Nevada out of commission for a year or more; and Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania (the flagship) under repair for weeks.

In addition to the loss of matériel, over 2,400 Americans died, and about 1,000 more were wounded.  This unexpected attack united America and led to our entrance into World War II.

Image Source:

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h97000/h97378.jpg

Information Sources:

A&E Television Networks, LLC.  Pearl Harbor.  Accessed December 7, 2011.  http://www.history.com/topics/pearl-harbor.

Naval History and Heritage Command.  "Battleship Row during the Pearl Harbor Attack."  Accessed December 7, 2011.  http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/ph-bba.htm.

Naval History and Heritage Command.  "Overview and Special Image Selection."  Accessed December 7, 2011.  http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm.

As per request!

 I give you Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer and musician extraordinaire, who lived from 1756 to 1791.  Austrian by birth, his baptized name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus. He was a sickly child when very young, but by the time he reached six years old he was performing music for the kings and queens of Europe.  He died when he was only 35 years old, but had already written over 600 works!


Image source:
Classical Net.  "Wolfgang Amadé Mozart."  Accessed December 5, 2011.  http://classical.net/music/images/composer/m/mozartwa.jpg.

Information sources:
Classical Net.  "Wolfgang Amadé Mozart."  Accessed December 5, 2011.  http://classical.net/music/comp.lst/mozartwa.php.

The New York Times.  "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart."  Accessed December 5, 2011.  http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/m/wolfgang_amadeus_mozart/index.html

Solomon, Maynard.  Mozart:  A Life.  New York:  HarperCollins, 2005.

Today, a long time ago...

On December 2, 1804, in Notre Dame Cathedral, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France while Pope Pius VII watched.  The military strategist (genius?) was at the peak of his power, power which he would maintain until 1812, when in December of that year his 600,000 man Grande Armée (estimated) returned from a failed Russian campaign a mere 25,000 men, and Europe began to see a chance to conquer the illustrious leader.

Image source:

National Gallery of Art.  "Napoleon in His Study."  Accessed December 2, 2011.  http://www.nga.gov/kids/napoleon/.

Information sources:

A&E Television Networks, LLC.  "Napoleon crowned emperor."  Accessed December 2, 2011.  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/napoleon-crowned-emperor.

Walter, Jakob.  The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier.  Translated by Marc Raeff.  New York:  Penguin Books, 1991.  (page xxvi)