All Purls. No Swine.
Well, here's something I didn't know about this day in history: It seems that 124 years ago, on July 24, 1901, one William Sydney Porter was released early from his five-year prison term at the Ohio Penitentiary, where he'd been sent down for embezzlement. To his credit, Porter--who'd been charged in 1895 and had fled… Continue reading Oh, Henry!
There’s a lot of buzz over in Old Blighty at the moment over the news that the French have agreed to “loan” the Bayeux Tapestry (which most scholars believe was embroidered somewhere near Cambridge, England) to the British Museum for display during the 960th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. The conclusion as to its provenance is… Continue reading The Great Norman Stitch Up
In 1885, Louis Pasteur (not a doctor) was convinced by Jacques Joseph Grancher, (who was a doctor), to administer his then-experimental rabies vaccine to a young French boy, Joesph Meister, who had been bitten numerous times by a rabid dog. Pasteur and his team were reluctant, as the vaccine was--at the time--still in the experimental… Continue reading A Useful and Effective Vaccine: For Rabies
I doubt that there are many British females of my generation (so sue me, I'm a Boomer, perhaps the last generation with some fairly comprehensive understanding of historical facts, context and consequences that the world may ever see), who wasn't stirred to her bones, in her youth, by the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie and… Continue reading Speed, Bonny Boat: At least Bonnie Price Charlie Didn’t Have to Worry About the Quangos or the Disatrously Incompetent CalMac Ferries, Back in the Day
Is it possible to defend Western Civilization without defending, and standing for, Christianity and the West? I happen not to think so. Sadly, some of the more disheveled among my own generation appear to disagree with me. Every time I see some half-wit, lack-wit, want-wit, fuck-wit, or any other sort of missing-wit propounding the notion… Continue reading For the (Remaining) Men of the West
My darling Auntie Pat died at the age of 99, in December of 2022. Prior to that time, she'd been the focus of several posts I've written, both here and on Ricochet. This particular one came about on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, on June 6, 2019, a time in which Donald Trump was the… Continue reading D-Day +81: Spent With Auntie Pat, of Blessed Memory
Here's wishing Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, an only slightly belated, and very happy, four-hundred seventy-fifth birthday as of yesterday, April 12. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, succeeding to his position as Earl when he was only eight years old, and he kept the side up by… Continue reading Noblesse Oblige: “My Lord, I had quite forgott the fart.”
She was a star in the Republican party, beginning with her speech (while she was the Mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah) at the 2012 Republican National Convention. That year, she lost her first bid for Congress, by fewer than 1000 votes. She tried again, and was elected, two years later, and then again two years… Continue reading Grace and Love: Rest in Peace
Thus spoke Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, just before agents of his archenemy Oliver Cromwell chopped off his head 376 years ago this month, on January 30, 1649. Personal, political, and religious modesty wasn't his jam, as even a momentary examination of Charles's life will demonstrate. He had, during his years of… Continue reading QOTD: “I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown”
Yeah. Ok, Bill Clinton. I remember your televised remarks, twenty-seven years ago today, the ones you ended with, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky." I guess the dress, and the cigar, and maybe even the young woman, might choose to differ. Although, perhaps, it all depends on what the definition… Continue reading Quote of the Day: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman….”