I will Navarre forget the King of France!

Ahh gentle readers, it has been quite the past month. Drama. Sex. Greed. Violence  Something that I am well acquainted with even at home. Somehow it follows me like a shadow, but alas, I am magnet for these sorts of intrigues.

Scene: A hostel in Fulham
Characters:
Little Ginger- Don't know much about him, save for the fact that he's a nitwit.
Fat Ginger - Came on to me a few times. Beats up his girlfriend. 21. Has a 3 year old son. Likely drug dealer
Canadia - Thought that Canadia was in the United States and Canada was in Canada. Yeah. I walked away as soon as he said that.
Crotchscratcher - He scratches his crotch. In the middle of the bar. Shoves his hands INTO HIS PANTS. Then bites his nails. No washing takes place between the two.
Crotchscratcher 2.0. -  Canadia's little bro, scratches his crotch and doesn't wash. Delightful.

Locals of the council house area of Fulham.

Plot: The characters were banned from the hostel pub due to their poor behaviour. AS in they harassed the women, and demanded special treatment.

Essentially, total trash.

Since then, we've had them threaten us, try and throw bins through the bar windows, and just cause issues.

Stay classy assholes. They may have lost their head because of their banishment from a pub (really?)

But Henry IV lost his head after his grave was desecrated by Revolutionaries in 1793, but it is suspected that a recently found head does indeed belong to this randy King.

King Henry IV of France 

 Born: 13 December 1553

 Died: 14 May 1610 

 King of France: 1589-1610

 King of Navarre: 1572-1610

   Henry IV was not supposed to be King of France. He was born to Jeanne III of Navarre and her consort, Antoine of Navarre, and was the heir to the throne of Navarre, a small but significant and wealthy kingdom bordering France and Spain. Henry was baptized as Catholic, but was soon converted to Protestantism and Calvinism was declared the official religion of Navarre by his mother.

His first marriage was to the daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici, Marguerite of Valois. They were married in Paris on August 19, 1572 in splendor, and there was hope that the marriage of a Catholic princess and a Protestant prince would end the violence between French Catholics and the Huguenots ( French Protestants). However, the Protestants that came to Paris to attend wedding were massacred a few days later, what is known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.  There were many rich and prominent Huguenots in Paris to attend the wedding, and this massacre started with planned assassinations of Admiral Coligny (but failed), and it led to full scale mob violence. Though there isn't a certain death toll, the estimates are between 5,000 and 30,000.  

Henry escaped the violence because of his new bride, and was convinced to convert to Catholicism and live at the court of France. However, he escaped in 1576 and reverted back to Protestantism and joined the Huguenot forces. Henry became the legal heir to the crown of France in 1584, when the last male descendant of Henry II had died, and the French do not recognize claims of woman or even from males who stake their claim to the throne on their mothers. 

Henry III had died in 1589, which meant that the protestant with a nose bigger than his kingdom (as was the popular saying) became King of Catholic France. 

The road was not without its difficulties. The Catholic League was obviously vehemently opposed to this new King, and sought to usurp him from the throne and replace him with someone more to their liking. The Cardinal Charles de Bourbon was proclaimed the leader of the Catholic league and the rightful heir to the throne. However, the Cardinal died in 1590 and there was little agreement between who should replace him as the head. The strongest candidate was Isabella Clara Eugenia, a Princess of Spain and the daughter of Elisabeth of Valois (Henry II's daughter), but this was seen as unsavoury for the French were not apt to become an "agent of Spain".  Soon most of France was well within Henry's control, but not rogue Paris, he was unable to control the mob violence and laid siege to the city.  

In 1593, Henry formally renounced Protestantism and converted to Catholicism. This was at the urging of the love of his life, Gabrielle d'Estrees. He is suspected to have claimed that "Paris is well worth a mass". This ended much of the violence, and he was formally crowned at the Cathedral of Chartes in 1594. 

His first marriage was an unhappy one, and they remained childless and were separated since 1589, before he became king. When he became King, he was expected to have an heir to the throne, and he sought to have his first marriage annulled and marry his beloved Gabrielle. The annulment was obtained in 1599, but sadly Gabrielle died due to premature labour and gave birth to a stillborn son before the marriage could take place. 

 

He married his second wife, Marie de Medici, in 1600, a woman not known for her beauty but her family was known for bearing plenty of sons. He cared little for his new wife, and often neglected her, but he did complete his duty and bear a string of children and heirs. His insatiable sexual appetite was stuff of legend, he caroused with a series of mistresses, much to the chagrin of his new wife. 

Marie thought that she would earn her rightful place as queen when she gave birth to their son, Louis XII, as Henry rushed from the battlefield to attend the birth and rejoiced at the prospect of a son. However, her happiness was short lived when a few weeks later his new principal mistress gave birth to a boy as well, whom the king had declared to much better looking and not so fat. 

King Henry IV died as the died of an assassination made by a Catholic fanatic. He died in 1610, leaving Marie de Medici regent for his son Louis XII.

A Whore, A Whore, My Kingdom for a Whore!

I failed to expand upon my experiences in the past few weeks in the past posting dear readers.

I feel absolutely amazing here, though admittedly I am living a charmed life at this current juncture. I am working from home for several hours a day, which I do normally whilst sitting in a bar surrounded by many kind friends and guests at the hostel. The past few evenings have been spent imbibing as well as dating one of the workers at the hostel.

London is a spectacular beast. Some areas are the seedy underbelly, whilst others are the epitome of the upper crust class structure that still exists in this country. Many of the Englishmen that I have encountered have been less than charming and congenial, most being rather seedy, unethical and disrespectful. To be fair though, most of the ones that I have met have been under some kind of influence. I do not think of all Englishmen in this manner.

When there is a football game, the crowds are immense in this area, as the Chelsea Football Club is located in our vicinity. Signs in the pubs say "Only Home Supporters are allowed". Something met with raised eyebrows from yours truly, but alas, I find little to be angry or passionate about when it comes to sports.

The food in general is rather lackluster, unless you count chips/french fries. I love chips, and eat way more than I should. My feelings towards the fish in this city is mixed, sometimes it's satisfactory other times, barely.  The quality of meat is tenable, but is certainly not up to the par of Canada.

But for all its negatives, I still love this city.

Speaking of which.... today is the day of the death of one of my favourite mistresses of Charles II of England.... Nell Gwyn

NELL GWYN/ GWYNNE
Born:  February 2, 1650
Died:  November 14, 1687

Nell Gwynne was one of Charles II's many mistresses. His desire for sex was insatiable and unrelenting such that he required a harem of them at any given time. They mostly ranged from higher born women, but sometimes he would descend from his ivory tower and pluck a mistress from the common class. One of which was Nell, another was Moll Davis, but Nell's longevity made her more beloved to the people of London.

Due to her status, much is not known of her early life, but from what can be discerned, she had lived in London for most of her life.

What is known is that when Charles II was restored to the throne after the period of the Cromwells, all of the Puritan austerity and severity fell back to the wayside, and theatre was permitted to exist once again. Nell started out in the theatre working as an orange girl, selling sweet oranges to people in the theatre. Charles II being the raucous playboy he was, frequented these theatre houses.

Interestingly enough, these would be the first theatrehouses to feature women playing women's roles.

Eventually, Nell was taught the craft of acting, which was rather difficult due to her illiteracy. She started out in dramatic plays, which did not in the end suit her personality. She was fun-loving, bouncy and funny, so it was only apt that she would be much better at comedic plays.

During the Great Plague of London, the theatres were shut as a precautionary measure, and thus, the theatre groups went on the road with the King. This included Nell and her mother.

Nell and Charles became lovers after they both attended the same play, and the King was far more interested in the lovely Nell than the play. Her well-known affair with the King made her notorious and therefore a far more successful and sought after actress. Her affair with Charles was not short term, as opposed to the many other affairs and d'alliances that he carried on. She gave birth to his son, Charles, in 1680.

Her only real rival was French nobelwoman, Louise de Keroualle, a lady in waiting to his sister Henriette Marie. Their personalities could not be more difficult. Where Louise was pristine and prude in character, Nell was fun-loving and joking. A lot of Nell's witticisms would be directed at Louise and Louise would be unable to come up with retorts.

My personal favourite story about Nell,
"Nell Gwynn was one day passing through the streets of Oxford, in her coach, when the mob mistaking her for her rival, the Duchess of Portsmouth, commenced hooting and loading her with every opprobrious epithet. Putting her head out of the coach window, "Good people", she said, smiling, "you are mistaken; I am the Protestant whore."^[36]

Nell died of a stroke at the age of 37.

Fawksey Lady!

It has been a long time since I have updated this blog gentle readers. The past two months have been a whirlwind of activity. I was busy getting my 2 year UK working visa together, along with the associated goodbyes and selling off my life. I moved back home for the month of September from downtown Toronto to the suburbs. The month of September was spent in periods of stress, excitement, anticipation and planning. Stress caused by the uncertainty of the visa, excitement because of the leaving of this country, and the last two are pretty self explanatory. 

I left October 4th at 6:55PM from Toronto Pearson Airport. Finally. Not without one last goodbye to my grandmother, who is unlikely to remember me for much longer. My heart breaks for her, but alas, my life must continue. Most of my phone calls to her are met with tears on the other end. It pains me to listen to her.

I have been here for 31 days now. Admittedly, a lot of the time has been spent in a bit of a haze. Drinking in different sections of the city. Different atmospheres. Different people. I feel a bit more at home here, but not sure I have found the elusive "it", yet. I hadn't expected to find it yet, a journey doesn't usually end within 5 minutes of a depart. Or at least not a good one.

Born:13 April 1570
Died: 31 January 1606

This dude has some major balls. Fighting for the Spanish Catholics against your country? Very ballsy. Deciding to kill the King of England and the parliament via a Catholic rebellion? Whoa. Like dude, whoa.  In the midst of the Gunpowder Plot, he was found out. His response to why he had so much gunpowder? “To blow you Scotch beggars back to your native mountains.” 

To be continued....

It's Boiling(brooke) out there!

Ahh gentle readers! It has been awhile since I have posted, for I have been running around like a crazed woman and stressed out. Now that I am relaxed, I can return to my beloved blog.

I moved out of my downtown apartment back into the inglourious suberbs of Mississauga, but it has been a stress-free move. It's nice to be in a place called home, whilst my downtown apartment had no warmth or character, especially since the new landlords took over and made the rooms smaller with no closet space making one feel more like a rat and less than a human.

The past few weeks have been spent applying for my work visa to go to the UK for two years. The prospect of moving to England has me thrilled, chilled, and quilled. It is a terrifying prospect to go to a country where you know no one, but I think I will be fine. We'll see on how well my job search goes, I am hoping to work as some sort of historical guide. Oh, but that would be a dream! The paperwork has been a whirlwind of missing minuscule descriptions that seem rather innocuous. But alas, my paperwork has nothing on the paperwork following the death of King Henry V of England, and his baby son's immediate succession.

Henry V of England 

Born: c.1387 

Reign: 1413-1422

Death: August 31st, 1422

        Henry was born the first child of Henry of Boilingbrooke (later Henry IV) and his first wife, Mary de Bohun. Henry of Boilingbrooke was a descendant of the English Royal Family through his father, John of Gaunt (a son of Edward III) and Blanche of Lancaster. Given this, Henry IV never really expected to rule the kingdom. It was through the maltreatment of Henry of Boilingbrooke that lead to the takeover of the English crown by the House of Lancaster.

Henry had shown an aptitude and capability for managing government and military affairs. He was taught well by his caretakers, and included in a treasonous uprising in Wales (which as the Prince of Wales, he was required to help put down in order to save his inheritance). He became something of a hero and known for his valor and bravery at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, whereupon when he was hit in the face with an arrow, he remained on the battlefield. Also, a lot of the funding for military campaigns came from his own estate revenues, which endeared him further to the Parliament. During these campaigns as Prince, he learned much about military tactics, which would help him in the future as King.

From 1406-1411, he became very influential in the King's Council (a body of advisers), however, his own opinion often differed very greatly from his father's, especially in foreign affairs. His father dismissed him from this post in 1411, though the Parliament still favoured him.

There was a slight change in the political atmosphere at court, whereby some of Henry IV's old enemies were growing tired of him, and sought to change that. Luckily, before anything happened, Henry IV died and Henry V succeeded him.

To be continued....

Love and the Marriage, it’s an institute you can’t disparage

This post is not going to go with the flow of my usual blog postings, but yet, I find this to be a long time coming post.

The History of Marriage

The history of marriage has been a long and complicated one. The history of Christian marriage is less long, but still complicated. It was never black and white. Christian marriage was only begun to be developed in the early 11th century.

For a long time, Christians could not marry within 5 degrees of affinity. Meaning that if they were 5th cousins, they were ineligible to marry each other. How were the many nobles able to marry? They simply applied for dispensations from the Pope, which were usually granted. In the case of the Spanish Hapsburg family, there were few marriages between double first cousins, first cousins, uncle and nieces, not allowed within the Christian marriage, but yet, ultimately allowed.
It is hard to believe that many peasants that lived in rural villages would be bothered to make sure that their spouses would not be within five degrees of affinity. Given that most people rarely ventured far out of their village, conclusions could be drawn that many married within their own communities and families. Today, the Catholic Church does not prohibit marriage between distant cousins, and I know of a few people personally that are products of 1st and 2nd cousins.
Henry VIII also used the degree of affinity to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (his brother’s widow). His excuse was that the papal dispensation that was granted to Catherine and Henry was not the word of God.
Translation: It was not the word of God, because it did not suit my selfish needs. It was Henry’s desire for a male heir, and Anne Boleyn that caused the detachment from Henry and Rome. Henry changed the definition of marriage, by marrying his former mistresses’ sister (also not accepted using degree of affinity). Pope refused to grant the annulment, so Henry broke with the Church completely, and thus the Church of England (and new marriage definitions were born).
So the five degrees of affinity was a decent idea (though genetics weren’t known then), but completely impractical.
And many Christians, could not afford the privilege of weddings and officiants either. They could however afford to make solemn promises in the presence of two witnesses that they should be married.In the 15th-16th century, a betrothal and solemn promise was seen as the same as marriage, given that Henry VIII used Anne of Cleve’s pre-contract to the Duke of Lorraine’s son as a valid reason for their annulment. But the Bible differentiates between the betrothal and the marriage itself, but no distinction was made between these two in these centuries. (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=M&artid=213).
According the Old Testament, the betrothal was a price paid by the groom for his bride, to the father. These later come in forms of bride prices and dowries (there are differences between the two) practiced by royalty and nobility to a great extent, and peasantry to a lesser extent. Peasant women may simply have a few dresses and some household items, while wealthier women would have many dresses, gold, jewels, etc.
Nowadays, do we accept bride prices? Or are dowries necessary for a Christian marriage? Perhaps in some cultures so, but not in most of “Christian” world (for lack of a better term, if someone has something better please inform me, and I am not making derisive commentary about the dowry system as a whole).  There may be some men that ask their future father in law for their permission to marry their daughter, but I have yet to hear of a man paying the bride’s father for her hand.
Dowries and bride prices: Not in today’s world. So that has changed.
The Old Testament also talks of bigamy (only men marrying multiple women), with the exception of some sects (some extreme Mormon sects and I don’t know of others, please let me know), it is not legal or even acceptable in most Christian divisions.
The New Testament says that one must be monogamous with one another, both the man and the wife. So Jesus changed the definition of marriage. It goes without saying that the idea of monogamy was flouted by the Christian world for several centuries henceforth. Many kings had mistresses, and flings, it was however, unacceptable for women to be adulterous.
Bigamy: Not in today’s world. So that has changed.
So basically, this post is a long winded explanation of saying that the Christian marriage has changed from it’s inception to today’s world. People’s ideas and sensibilities change all the time, so basically, deeming homosexual marriage unacceptable because it ruins Christian marriage is pure hogwash.
So dearest NOW (National Organization for Marriage), Concerned Women, Bigots, and the lot of you, you have no fucking clue what you are talking about.

I see London, I see France!

I’ve come to the conclusion recently, that I need to make a big change in my life. Being miserable is not suitable to my mind. Being unhappy is not good for anyone attached. Misery does enjoy company, but toxicity itself is a contagion. Much like toxicity of the soul, there is toxicity and the contagion of hysteria and fear. Maximilien Robespierre was executed tomorrow July 28, 1794.

Maximilien Robespierre
Born: 6 May 1758
Death: 28 July 1794

Maximilien Robespierre was born to a lawyer, and the daughter of a brewer. He was the oldest of four children, born into bastardy, his parents had a rushed marriage. His mother died in childbirth in 1764, and his father left Arras and died in Munich in 1777. Maximilien and his siblings were brought up by their mother’s family.
Maximilien attend collège at the age of eight, and obtained a scholarship from the bishop at the age of 11 to attend Lycee Louis le Grand, where he learned much about the Roman Republic, oratory and many of the speakers (Cicero, Cato). At the age of 17, and shortly after the coronation of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, The Lycee determining that he had a gift for oratory had decided that out of five hundred pupils, it would be Maximilien that would give the speech to the visiting monarchs.
An avid follower of Jean-Jacques Rosseau, Robespierre believed in the goodness of the French people. He obtained a lawyer’s education and was admitted to the bar in Arras. He was appointed a local judge, but resigned soon after to prevent himself from having to issue a death sentence. He was a known advocate for the poor and extolled the virtues of the Enlightenment.
Robespierre became involved in politics when Louis XVI allowed provincial elections, he decided to run as a deputy for the Third Estate and was elected.
He became a frequent speaker the (newly named) Constituent Assembly, where he
” soon became involved with the new Society of the Friends of the Constitution, known eventually as the Jacobin Club. This had consisted originally of the deputies from Brittany only. After the Assembly moved to Paris, the Club began to admit various leaders of the Parisian bourgeoisie to its membership. As time went on, many of the more intelligent artisans and small shopkeepers became members of the club. Among such men, Robespierre found a sympathetic audience. As the wealthier bourgeois of Paris and right-wing deputies seceded from the club of 1789, the influence of the old leaders of the Jacobins, such as Barnave, Duport, Alexandre de Lameth, diminished. When they, alarmed at the progress of the Revolution, founded the club of the Feuillants in 1791, the left, including Robespierre and his friends, dominated the Jacobin Club.” (Wikipedia.org)
Robespierre became very popular amongst the citizenry of Arras and a lot of France.
Despite his earlier distaste for the death penalty, he advocated the death penalty for Louis XVI. He believed that Louis betrayed France by fleeing to Varennes, and it was in the interest of public safety to eliminate Louis. After Louis’ execution, the power of Robespierre and the Jacobins increased dramatically. A nine member Committee of Public Safety replaced the government institutions, and while all members were supposed to be equal, it was unilaterally Robespierre that was in charge and the defacto ruler of France.
The food riots and violence did not decrease after the death of Louis and thus the Reign of Terror was born (This is obviously an oversimplification of the events no singular event causes such catastrophe).
Robespierre lauded the Reign of Terror, and said it was necessary to eliminate France of the non virtuous citizens. It became such that counter revolutionaries were not given fair trials and were executed for simplistic and silly reasons. This aroused the ire of the French citizens, and his political enemies. On July 26th 1794, he gave a two hour long speech claiming that there are conspiracies amongst the other Committees and his innocence in any wrong doing.
He was arrested the next day, and executed the day after.

A Husterical Moment!

I awoke this morning with a layer of sweat on my body. The fan was all for naught, because the heat decided to ignore the modern appliance and attack me anyways. I get up to work at the normal time, I do the normal thing, I leave at the normal time.

I get home to my non air-conditioned apartment, and try to remain as still as possible. I make a trip to the local mall knowing full well that the air conditioning will be on full blast. I do my necessary errands, and sit in the food court eating fries with cheese sauce. Take the fry, dip it, put it in my mouth. Take. Dip. Eat. I look at the surrounding persons, and all are locked into conversation with their shopping partners. I grab some ice cream and head home to the 7th circle of heat.

Though, the heat cannot compare to the heat that Jan Hus had to deal with at his execution taking place this day 1415.

JAN HUS

Born: c.1372
Died: July 6, 1415

There is little known of Jan Hus' childhood and family structure. The best estimate of his year of birth is 1372, though it could be as early as 1369 or late as 1373.

What is known is that in 1392, Hus graduated from the University of Prague with a bachelor of arts degree, and obtained a Master's Degree in 1394.  He began teaching at the university soon after, the university had been going through some changes, due to the bitter feud between the Bohemians and Germans.

One of the earliest dissidents of the Catholic Church, he was influenced by the ideas of  John Wycliffe, which were transmitted by the servants of the now deceased Anne of Bohemia, Queen of England.

The University of Prague was been ripped apart by the Papal Schism, whereby there were two popes, Pope Gregory XII and Avignon Pope Benedict XIII, allegiances were divided. A solution to this problem was to elect a third pope, Alexander V, who was known as the Anti-Pope. The King of Germany, Wenceslaus, supported Benedict XIII for he felt Gregory would interfere in his plans to become Holy Roman Emperor.

Hus spoke out against (via his writings, pamphlets and lectures)

• Papal indulgences: where sins would be forgiven for a nominal fee. 
• The Crusades: he said that no man should take up the sword on behalf of the Church. Rather the pope should pray for his enemies.

Such ideas were considered heresy and were punished. Hus was sent to trial, where he was encouraged to recant everything he claimed, not venerate his predecessor Wycliffe and quit preaching his ideas. He resisted and was burned at the stake. 

Que(bec) Sera Sera!

The past few weeks have been interesting. My friend and I went to Quebec City for a few days to escape the G20 and the chaos that was bound to occur. We toured the lovely old city, reminiscent of European cities but with a French-Canadian twist. I loved the many narrow streets, even though the smell of horse dung sometimes took over my senses. My friend clicked away at her camera, the sounds of the camera eventually faded into the background of other noises from the streets.

Chateau Frontenac is nothing short of beautiful. The hotel dominates the city skyline (if one can call it that). The Citadelle was pretty cool, as was the Aquarium in Sainte-Foy. The food was good (save for the duck, far too greasy for this woman's stomach), and the drink wasn't a plenty. Met some really sophisticated cab drivers (who shared his Chopin love with us).

Unfortunately while we were in the lovely city, there was chaos through out Toronto. The cops arresting people left and right, most were completely innocent of any wrong doing, but rights were suspended because a few "important" people were here. My disappointment is not with the protesters (other than the vigilantes, but curiously those were allowed to run rampant causing destruction to my beloved city?), it is with the security squads that abused the citizens they were supposed to protect. For those who are interested in a perspective from a detained man go here. http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2204676030&topic=18059&post=135891#!/note.php?note_id=397205503638&id=511491565

Happy Independence Day to our American friends!

Incidentally, Quebec City was founded only one day ago, July 3, 1608!

In honour of the founding, today's historical figure is Samuel de Champlain

SAMUEL DU CHAMPLAIN
Born: c.1567-1580
Died:  December 25, 1635

Samuel du Champlain was born into a family of mariners likely in the French province of Saintonge. There is uncertainty about the year of his birth, the most likely year is 1580 as thought by scholars.

In 1598, Du Champlain's uncle invited him to join him on a ship to transport soldiers to Cadiz, Spain.  Du Champlain joined the voyage and while the ship exchanged hands, he took meticulous notes about information he heard about Spanish landholdings in the New World, and gave the information to King Henry II and was rewarded with an annual pension. He returned to Cadiz in 1600, and his uncle had fallen ill and asked him to look after the business affairs. When his uncle passed on 1601, he left Samuel his estate, which included some real estate and a 150 tonne ship. He was given the post of geographer to King Henry II, where he would go to the ports of France and would be given information about the New World from the season fisherman. He also noted the previous failures of France to colonize the Americas, such as: Pierre de Chauvin's loss of the fur trade monopoly. Assigned to renew the fur trade agreement with the First Nations was Aymar de Chaste, and Samuel asked for permission to go with him on his first voyage.

The expedition was lead by Francois du Pont, and from him Samuel would learn much about North America and they established an affable long term friendship. Samuel's goal was to explore further than Jacques Cartier did 60 years earlier, he created a map of the St. Lawrence and upon his return to France, published his journal, Des Sauvages: ou voyage de Samuel Champlain, de Brouages, faite en la France nouvelle l'an 1603 ("Concerning the Savages: or travels of Samuel Champlain of Brouages, made in New France in the year 1603") where he detailed his trip and how he dealt with the Native locals of the area (including meetings with Begouret, a chief of Montagnais.

Champlain made a second trip to the St. Lawrence, again as an observer, and took notes of the areas for a few years.  The trip was "lead by Pierre Dugua de Mons, a noble and Protestant merchant who had been given a fur trading monopoly in New France by the king."

Dugua asked Champlain to establish a new French colony on the St Lawrence, and on July 3,1608, Quebec City was founded with the creation of a fortification (a moat, 3 buildings colloquially named the Habitation, and stockades).

Macedo, Macedon't

The past two weeks have been in a bit of a tizzy. Some were let go at work, lowering the morale of the office. A blanket of depression passes over me.

I had a house party, my first in my own home. A few frat boys failed to impress and did not cease to amuse me.  A play fight. A kissed bicep. Some bawdy talk about "chicks". Sigh. My friends were there to add some life to the party. Dancing. Good conversation. Bragging. I smile at the thought.

My day was not  worse than our historical figure of the day

Alexander the Great

Born:  20/21 July 356 BCE
Died:  10/11 June 323 BCE

When a man, especially a King, of such enormous military ability is born, his birth story is often fraught with grandiose legends. It was said that Olympias, Alexander's mother, dreamt that her womb was struck by a thunderbolt and the land was lit afire til it slowly died away. His father, Philip II of Macedon, dreamt of himself sealing up his wife's womb with the seal of a lion. Contemporary writers noted that this must have meant that Alexander had divine parentage, an oft claim of great warriors.

As a young man, he was purported to have tamed an unbreakable stallion to which his father was immensely proud. When he reached 13, Aristotle became his tutor and in exchange for his services, Phillip promised to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of Strageira (which had been plundered by Phillip).

When Alexander became 16, he was left as regent for the kingdom while his father went off to war. When Philip returned, he sent Alexander with small armies to put down some rebellions in the other states.

Philip fell in love with a daughter of one of his Macedonian generals, Cleopatra Eurydice, and there was tension because if Cleopatra produced a male heir, he could possibly oust Alexander (only half-Macedonian) from the line. After a fight at the wedding, Alexander fled with his mother (he dropped her off in Epirus) and he went to Illyria.  He came back to Macedon at the behest and mediation of family friends.


In 336 BCE (to use BC is archaic and should not be used anymore), whilst at the wedding of his daughter, Cleopatra, Philip of Macedon was assassinated by his bodyguard, Pausanias. He was immediately pursued and killed by Philip's companions. Alexander was immediately named the new king by the Macedonian army.

As his first act of King, he had his immediate rivals murdered. Many Greek cities rose up and revolt and Alexander went to the cities to quash the rebellions. He was named the leader of Amphictyonic League. Corinth gave him the title of Hegemon and named commander of the upcoming Persian War.

Alexander lead many battles, and military campaigns and became known as the foremost general of his contemporary era. I am talking very vaguely, but you cannot stop talking about Alexander the Great.

He died at the age of 32 as one BAMF.

By the way, Attila the Hun is not more badass than Alexander the Great. Screw you Deadliest Warrior.

Tip for Tap!

The heat is almost debilitating, but people around here remember the summer of the past 2 years and we are somewhat grateful for this heat.

The people are walking around in light wear, women in short skirts or shorts, men in their board shorts and children in as little clothing as possible. People tapping their fans in the heat.
 
This leads us to Bojangles....

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson


Born: May 25, 1878
Died: November 25, 1939

Bill Robinson was born in Richmond, Virginia on May 25, 1878. He was born with the name Luther, a name he detested and under threat, he exchanged his name with his younger brother. At the young age of six, Bill appeared as a dancer in the black theatre circuit and nightclubs.

He was well known for his quickly moving feet, and wacky expressions. He didn't start dancing for white audiences until the age of 50, and he received much publicity when he danced up the stairs to receive an honour from the King of England, therefore creating the "stair" dance. 

Bill is most famous for dancing in movies alongside Shirley Temple, as the kind black man with a heart of gold and amazing feet. She says that he was her favourite co-star, though, she quickly learned that he was the recipient of racism. For despite his success and money, Hollywood did not treat him as well as they did their white stars. For example, Shirley Temple was housed in nice hotels, and Bojangles slept in the chauffeur's quarters over a garage.

In 1936, he also co-founded the baseball team, the New York Black Yankees, along with his James "Soldier Boy" Semler (take that Souljah Boi). He was named Honourary Mayor of New York and Harlem.

 And because of Bojangles, we celebrate National Tap Dance Day today.  

 

We are Siamese if you please!

The past couple weeks have been relatively tumultuous. I had to get my stuff together to move downtown Toronto. The day I moved in was rainy, dreary but yet, still wonderful. The feeling of finally leaving the nest was just too good to be dampened. My social calendar is filling up rapidly in the past days of being down here. Ahhh.

Many things have changed at work, a new era is upon us, whether it is good or bad has yet to be seen.

The walk to work is a dream, it takes less than 20 minutes and the hustle and bustle gets underway.

The feeling of independence is just..........bliss.

Speaking of lack of independence, today's feature birth is


CHANG AND ENG BUNKER 
(1811-1871)

Chang and Eng Bunker were born to Chinese parents in Siam (hence the now largely defunct colloquialism Siamese twins). They were "discovered" in 1828 by British merchants and sent them on a world tour of curiosities. In 1839, they terminated the contract with the merchant and decided to settle down in the United States (Wilkesboro, North Carolina specifically) to make a hand at farming. On 1843, they married two sisters, Sarah and Adelaide Yates.  Both couples shared the same bed for a number of years, until the wives got seperate households, with the men spending 3 days with one and 3 days with another. 


They died within 3 hours of one another in 1871.




 

Rosie the Rioter

Ahh. It has been quite the past few days.

On Saturday evening, I took the bus downtown Toronto go see Major Lazer with my friends Pascal and David. We first met close to the distillery district at a lovely restaurant. The restaurant had a very nice homey feel to it, and the food was delicious and healthy. We took a cab to the Docks where Major Lazer was playing. Apart from the expensive drinks, I have no complaints about the experience. DJs Diversity and Sinden opened, and they were really enjoyable.  By the time Major Lazer hit the stage, the crowd was in full force and people were chanting for them. Ahh. Pure decadence.

Mary Wollstonecraft  (27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797)

Mary was born to a middle class family in London, England. Unfortunately, her father was an alcoholic that would hurt her mother in drunken rages, and Mary became her mother's protector. These events would shape Mary's life.

Through out her childhood and adolescence, she had a few intellectual friends that she could call upon for support and for intellectual stimulation. Fanny Blood was one of these friends, and she and her family allowed Mary to live with them for a few years. Mary and Fanny had dreams of forming a feminist utopia, whereby they would live together and support one another through their trials and tribulations. Unfortunately, this was to remain a dream, as neither had the funds to do so. Wollstonecraft, her sisters, and Fanny opened up a school in London (in a Dissenting Community*) .

Blood's health was not always good, and when she got married, her husband moved her to continental Europe to improve. Mary followed her, and tried to nurse her back to health. But alas, Fanny had died. And because Mary left the school, it had failed.

The death of Fanny Blood would provide the inspiration for her novel, Mary:A Fiction.

Mary was frustrated by the lack of job prospects for an educated but poor woman. She tried to be a governess for one year, but it left her wanting. After this experience, she made the decision to become an author. She got a job with a publisher, Joseph Johnson, with whom she would become very close. She learned French and German and translated texts. Through Johnson, Mary would meet intellectual luminaries like Thomas Paine and William Goodwin.

By this time Mary had fallen in love with an artist Henry Fusseli, even though he was married. She had made romantic overtures to him, only to be rejected. To escape her humiliation, she retreated to France at a time of the Revolution, which events would influence much of her later works. In 1790, she wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Man in response to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France where Mary advocates feminism and republicanism. Her most famous work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was written in 1792, and is one of the earliest writings of modern feminism.

During her stay in France, she met Gilbert Imlay, with whom she had began a sexual relationship. She got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Fanny. While they were not married, Imlay had her registered as his wife to protect her in the Revolution. Imlay soon tired of the domesticity and family life and left Mary. Hearing that he had went to London, she went back to her home to find him. Not so surprisingly, he rejected her. His rejection was too much for Mary to bear, and she had tried to commit suicide, but was saved at the last moment by Imlay.  In an attempt to win back Imlay, she went to Scandanavia with her young daughter, so that she may recoup some of his losses. During her adventures, she wrote  Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark in 1796. She returned, and when she realized that the relationship was indeed over, she attempted suicide again by throwing herself in the river, only to be rescued by a stranger. 

She became involved again in Johnson's literary circle and had became re-acquainted with Goodwin. This time, however, Goodwin and Wollstonecroft started a relationship. About Letters, "If ever there was a book calculated to make a man in love with its author, this appears to me to be the book. She speaks of her sorrows, in a way that fills us with melancholy, and dissolves us in tenderness, at the same time that she displays a genius which commands all our admiration."

Mary would become pregnant again by Goodwin, and they decided to get married so that their child would not face the prospect of bastardy. Though this revealed that Wollstonecraft was never married to Imlay, and they faced scorn from others amongst them.  After their marriage, they got adjoining homes so that they may retain their independence.

When Mary gave birth to her daughter, Mary (the future Mary Shelley), she developed an infection and died 10 days later of septicemia.

After her death, her loving husband had published her memoirs about her illegitimate child, suicides and problems, in hopes that the audience will look upon her with compassion.  However, this only heaped scorn upon Mary's life, and people were aghast at her illegitimate children. These views persisted until recently.

Sources: Wikipedia

Nun Too Special

Thank goodness for Friday.

The end of the week is always a relief, don't you think? You are free to spend your next 2 days as you please. Sleeping until it pleases you (or if you have children or dogs, until it pleases them), spend time with friends and being at your own leisure.

Today, I went to work as per the usual, taking the same bus, riding the same train, walking the same route to work. Redundancy is easy, since you needn't concentrate on anything surrounding you. Maybe that's a problem, I feel disconnected from the world sometimes, but make no effort to plug in. After work, I am more willing to reconnect, not in the mornings. Not a chance.

This evening I was at Symposium with 3 good friends to celebrate one friend not having pneumonia, but rather bronchitis. Any reason to celebrate is a good reason I should think.

My week was just a bit draining tis all. I have to get ready to move for next week. I don't need to bring much, just my clothes, and a money saving spirit (I haven't been praying to that one lately).




Joan Valois, Queen Consort of France (7 April 1498- 15 December 1498)
was born on this day April 23, 1464
died February 4, 1505

Joan was born the second daughter of Louis XI and Charlotte of Savoy. At the age of 12, she was married to her father's second cousin, Louis of Orleans, whom had a very distant claim to the throne. However, Joan's brother, Charles VIII, died in 1498 without any male heirs, and since Salic Law prohibited women from inheriting the throne, they had to go through the male lineage to find a suitable candidate and Louis was that person.

Whilst, technically, Joan had a greater claim to the throne, it was Louis that would take it. Not soon after ascending the throne, he was trying to repudiate Joan and annul the marriage, in order to marry Charles' widow, Anne of Brittany. He had claimed that Joan was malformed, ugly and that he was unable to consummate the marriage. Understandably so, Joan was horrified and fought fiercely against these claims, providing men who said that the King boasted that he had "mounted my wife three or four times during the night". Later, the King claimed that he had been a victim of sorcery, whereby he claimed that his sexual performance was inhibited by it. To which Joan replied as to how he would know it is like to make love to her?

Unfortunately for Joan, the pope Alexander VI granted the annulment.

After this bitter defeat, Joan stepped aside and retreated to her dowry estate of Bourges. In 1502, she founded, "Sisters of the Annonciade", a Franciscan order of religious contemplatives. Joan did good works, devoted herself to God and religion and prayed for her husband.
She was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1950.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_France,_Duchess_of_Berry
Accessed on April 24, 2010

Illustrious Dames of the Court of the Valois Kings
Katharine Prescott Wormeley Translator
Year: 1912
Pages: 215-216

Grammarring!

For the love of God, does ANYONE know how to write anything anymore? I know I am not the expert on grammar matters, and I do probably get things wrong sometimes. HOWEVER, I don't make the silly mistakes that are PLAGUING "literature" (Dan Brown is not literature, get over it), "newspapers" (I'm especially looking at you Asshole (Fox) News and affiliates) and advertisements.

Let's begin Grammar 101!

Their/They're/ There

Okay, so the awful, evil English language decided to confuse the hell out of people by having three words sound the exact same. This is how the separate the scholars from the men/women.

THEIR
1. a form of the possessive case of they used as an attributive adjective, before a noun: their home; their rights as citizens; their departure for Rome.

THERE
[thair; unstressed ther] Show IPA
–adverb
1. in or at that place (opposed to here ): She is there now.
2. at that point in an action, speech, etc.: He stopped there for applause.
3. in that matter, particular, or respect: His anger was justified there.
4. into or to that place; thither: We went there last year.
5. (used by way of calling attention to something or someone): There they go.
6. in or at that place where you are: Well, hi there.
–pronoun
7. (used to introduce a sentence or clause in which the verb comes before its subject or has no complement): There is no hope.
8. that place: He comes from there, too.
9. that point.
–noun
10. that state or condition: I'll introduce you to her, but you're on your own from there on.
–adjective
11. (used for emphasis, esp. after a noun modified by a demonstrative adjective): Ask that man there.
–interjection
12. (used to express satisfaction, relief, encouragement, approval, consolation, etc.): There! It's done.


THEY'RE
They're is quite simply a contraction of THEY ARE. Not too hard.


Let's use all 3 in one sentence, shall we?

They're moving their house over there.

Translation:They are moving the house that they live in over to the place that I am pointing.


RANDOM APOSTROPHES

Okay, the world is out to get me with this one. Stop it. Apostrophes are like McDonald's burgers, they may look pretty, but only have them SPARINGLY and when NECESSARY.

Apostrophes imply OWNERSHIP of the item/items that are being listed after.
Apostrophe then an S is par for the course, unless the name or owner ends with an S, then you simply add the apostrophe.
GOOD
I am in awe of Natassia's awesomeness!
Bill Gates' head needs to be examined because Vista sucks.

BAD
Walk In's are welcome! (This is one I've seen around)
- NO. The Walk In's are not owning ANYTHING in this sentence. STOP IT!

THAN/ THEN

THAN
[than, then; unstressed thuhn, uhn] Show IPA
–conjunction (Conjunction Junction, what's your function?)
1. (used, as after comparative adjectives and adverbs, to introduce the second member of an unequal comparison): She's taller than I am.
2. (used after some adverbs and adjectives expressing choice or diversity, such as other, otherwise, else, anywhere, or different, to introduce an alternative or denote a difference in kind, place, style, identity, etc.): I had no choice other than that. You won't find such freedom anywhere else than in this country.
3. (used to introduce the rejected choice in expressions of preference): I'd rather walk than drive there.
4. except; other than: We had no choice than to return home.
5. when: We had barely arrived than we had to leave again.
–preposition
6. in relation to; by comparison with (usually fol. by a pronoun in the objective case): He is a person than whom I can imagine no one more courteous.

THEN
[then] Show IPA ,
Use then in a Sentence
–adverb
1. at that time: Prices were lower then.
2. immediately or soon afterward: The rain stopped and then started again.
3. next in order of time: We ate, then we started home.
4. at the same time: At first the water seemed blue, then gray.
5. next in order of place: Standing beside Charlie is my uncle, then my cousin, then my brother.
6. in addition; besides; also: I love my job, and then it pays so well.
7. in that case; as a consequence; in those circumstances: If you're sick, then you should stay in bed.
8. since that is so; as it appears; therefore: You have, then, found the mistake? You are leaving tonight then.

I'll use both in the same sentence, again.

"Then Bobby said, that Billy said, that Jenny said, that Kelly said, that you are so much better at grammar than Carla."

At that time Bobby said.........that you are more apt at grammar than Carla.

YOU'RE/ YOUR

YOUR
[yoor, yawr, yohr; unstressed yer] Show IPA
–pronoun
1. (a form of the possessive case of you used as an attributive adjective): Your jacket is in that closet. I like your idea. Compare yours.
2. one's (used to indicate that one belonging to oneself or to any person): The consulate is your best source of information. As you go down the hill, the library is on your left.
3. (used informally to indicate all members of a group, occupation, etc., or things of a particular type): Take your factory worker, for instance. Your power brakes don't need that much servicing.
Origin:

YOU'RE

Simply, it is a contraction of YOU ARE.

I'll use both again in ONE sentence.

"Your biggest problem is that you're not as awesome as I am"

It's funny that most of these grammar mistakes have to do with ownership, and that we are part of one of the most materialistic societies on earth, you'd think we'd learn how to own shit properly.

Yours in grammatical correctness,

Natassia

Jelly Belly!

Abortion is a tenuous subject which almost all people have an opinion on. Most people know whether we are for or against it. Though not of all us know what will we ACTUALLY do when the situation calls for it.

Abortion has been around for THOUSANDS of years. It is not novel nor new. Hippocrates talked about it in his oath, by the way Hippocrates was not against abortion. He was against a SPECIFIC type of abortion where the procedure was more dangerous then childbirth. It was Ancient Greece for crying out. They chucked ugly, deformed children off cliffs, you really think they were against abortion? Ancient Egypt had abortificients and birth control (we owe some of our knowledge of these things to them).

This is my roundabout way of saying, it is not going anywhere. Pre-Morgentaler women were desperate and did horrible things to themselves to force a miscarriage or abortion. One woman was quoted as saying "I would have let a guy with a Gray's Anatomy textbook give me one". Was it smart to let back alley butchers do it? No, but it simply speaks to the desperation of women, who decided that they could not have more children. Some women went the "traditional" route of hangers, vacuums, suctions, knitting needles. Others would work themselves to exhaustion, some used firecrackers??!!!!!!!, rotten food, and scissors.

A lot of anti-choicers like to scream hateful rhetoric about women opening our legs and bringing this upon ourselves and to take responsibility for these actions. I think that deciding against giving birth IS taking responsibility, but they will disagree with me. Our very human nature has us wanting to desire sex and sexual contact with others. Though nature and desire does not mean we get to shirk responsibilities, like I said, I think that abortion is being responsible.

Some anti-choicers like to point to science to say that human life begins at conception (NOW THEY TRUST SCIENCE? When its convenient for them? No, global warming isn't happening, God wouldn't do that. Nope no evolution). It has separate DNA yes so? If I spit on a spot, and someone else spits in the same spot it has different composition. Does that mean it is life too? Yeah, anti-choicers are big on consistency too. I love how these people howl and castigate women who try to enter clinics down in the state. Guess what assholes, you don't know what they are there for. You don't know their situation and it's none of your damn business. You don't want an abortion? Don't have one or DO ( When anti-choice choose http://mypage.direct.ca/w/writer/anti-tales.html). These women go into use the services they railed against, they used the doctors that they personally have harassed and doctors treat them with kindness and compassion. That sounds way more Christ-like than your hateful nasty bullshit anti-choicers.

Abortions occur in the same amount where it is legal and illegal ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21255186/) There were 42 million abortions in 2003. 48 percent were deemed to have happened in un-safe conditions. 97 percent happened in developing nations. 70 000 women die a year from un-safe abortions. 5 million suffer from permanent injury. 70 000 women! Wars were started with less death than that. That figure doesn't even include the children left behind motherless. It doesn't include the families. Anti-choicers like to think that they care about families, and I sometimes think that they do. But they try to issue their condemnation on women for making their own decisions regarding their health.

I have an analogy that is similar.
Let's say a person was drunk got into a car and started driving. Let's also say that he didn't put on a seatbelt either. Double whammy. He gets into an accident. Are we going to let that person suffer the consequences of his very stupid actions? No. This fellow did TWO things that were illegal. But yet, we won't let them suffer. A woman decides to have sex (and I could venture the idea that she may have been raped but that accounts for less than 2 percent of all abortions so it's best to stay away) and could still use every protection available to her and still get pregnant. So she was responsible. Check. She wore protection. Check. She STILL got pregnant. Check. We should let the bitch suffer because obviously the only reason to have sex is to pro-create.

Makes. Total. Sense.

Yours in sisterhood,

Natassia

*By the way, abortion is birth control.

*The use of the term anti-choicer is totally appropriate. The term pro-life for the other side is a total misnomer. Pro-choicers are pro-life, it just happens to depend on whose life you value. Secondly, I don't believe a zygote or fetus is a life. It may be a potential for life yes, but life? No.

Interesting Historical Figure of the Week!

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204)

We often hear that medieval Queens were subservient and completely devoted to their husbands. Not entirely valid. A Queen of a nation had special rights not given to most "ordinary" married women (sometimes to widows). Some Queens made use of their powers, other did not.

Eleanor was one of those women who took control.

As the heir to the duchy of Aquitaine, Eleanor grew up in a very vibrant and cosmopolitan court in Aquitaine. Her family had a great love for troubadours, courtly love and entertainments. Eleanor would adopt these for her own courts.

When she was 15, her father died and as was custom left here to the custody of the French King Louis VI (1081-1137). As her custodian, he had rights to her lands in Aquitaine and to arrange her future marriage. He married her to his son Louis VII (1120-1180), who was originally destined for the church, as his older brother had recently passed.

Eleanor was deemed too high spirited for the solemnity and stoicism of the court, especially in comparison with her monkish husband. Though, her husband adored her.

Eleanor and Louis became King and Queen soon after their wedding, and set off to the Holy Lands on a crusade. Legends tell a story of Eleanor and her entourage of ladies riding into battle as though she were an Amazon. *The legend is highly unlikely, but contributes to the great myth surrounding this formidable woman*

After the disastrous campaigns of the Crusades, Louis and Eleanor grew apart and after having 2 daughters, had their marriage annulled. The two daughters remained in custody of their father.

Less than 5 weeks after her annulment, she swiftly married Henry of Anjou, a claimant to the throne of England through his mother Matilda, who as a woman was unable to keep the throne of England to herself. While Eleanor would have had more control over her lands had she remained single, her person was at risk. Given that one simply could kidnap a woman and force her to marry you, Eleanor felt that her marriage to Henry would guarantee her safety.

Long story short, she gave birth to 4 sons, all of whom were constantly fighting for the throne. Uprisings were held against their father, Eleanor supported her sons (possibly because of her husband trying to replace her with a mistress, Rosamund Clifford*). During Henry's liaison with Rosamund, he was trying to pressure Eleanor with an annulment knowing full well that she'd have to release her lands to him, as he would likely force her into a convent. She used her gifts of williness to keep him at bay.

She was kept as a prisoner for many years due to her support, and while Henry would grant her leave for special holidays, she was moved around from castle to castle under rigorous surveillance. Henry died in 1189 and she was released from prison soon after, her favourite son, Richard I the Lionheart was the new King. He had no interest in remaining in England and follow the rigorous schedules of pomp and ceremony, he wanted a Crusade. He spent very little time in England during his reign of 10 years. Richard was captured, it was his MOTHER that arranged his ransom.

Richard was succeeded by his brother, John, which caused a bit of a dynastic crisis because John's older brother Geoffrey had a son, Arthur, who technically had a better claim to the throne than John. However, Arthur's mother was intensely disliked by the English. Arthur beseiged his grandmothers home and she was kept hostage until John ended it and kept his throne. Arthur fell into obscurity and disappeared.

After these incidents, Eleanor retreated to her favourite convent of Fontevrault, where she died at a remarkably old age.


* It is highly unlikely that Eleanor poisoned Rosamund.

Inaugural Post

Today started as per usual, I got up, brushed my teeth, went downstairs to watch television before I begin my long start to the day.

The inglorious suburbs ... there's no work here, just homes, strip malls and plenty of space for kidlets to play. I loathe Mississauga. Its lack of culture is astounding to the wannabee culture aficionado. The extreme planning of these communities leave no room for spontaneity. Rigorous planning rarely breeds character.

I start my morning commute on the Mississauga Chanceit (aptly nicknamed for its unpredictability at times). I got the friendly bus driver this morning, who I greeted with a cheery "Good Morning!" I do this with all bus drivers, in hopes that the days where I may be running for the bus they may wait for me. I sit down opposite the sun, I am grumpy in the mornings and a speck of sunshine is not conducive to my mood.

The bus drops us off at the GO Transit, where I catch the train into downtown Toronto. My bias is obvious, as I love the hustling, bustling city life. I believe there is beauty in chaos, and that is epitomized in the downtown core. Union Station a beacon of organized chaos reaches epic proportions of commuters at rush hours. There is only one direction you may go, safely that is.

I manage to avoid this by taking a shortcut. I walk from Union Station to my workplace. Ahhh, there has been major construction going on as of late. I see a construction worker with Bass Pro Shops hoodie, and giggle to myself.

Day at work goes as normal.

Nothing special, nothing too bad. Just a whole lot of meh.

The day ends with a quick retreat from the office. I am not alone in this, I am sure. As with most suburbanites, our desire to get home as soon as possible prevails. I've seen people jump into the train at the very last moment, even with a train leaving a mere 15 minutes later. Some people see their jobs as not a joy in their life, but a necessity in order to have the two cars and the suburban "dream".

I hasten my normal pace to get to the train station. I too wish to get home as soon as possible if only so I can do what I wish I could paid to do. That is write a bit, learn about history and surf the internet for time consuming websites.

I jump on the train with a few minutes to spare and pop open my recent book, a gift from a dear friend. The book, Medieval Queens by Lisa Hilton, has me enraptured and intrigued. Since my distaste for commuting has grown even stronger as of late, I force myself to only read that book only during those times. Thankfully, my commuting will not continue for much longer as I will be moving downtown for the summer, where an adventure begins.

I come home to the sound of the television blaring, the smell of dinner cooking, a warm smile and a dog wagging her tail. These are warm thoughts, and will be something greatly missed.

Until next time, keep fit and have fun!

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