Viv(ien) la Coeur!

Vivien Theodore Thomas (August 29, 1910 – November 26, 1985)

         Vivien was born in New Iberia, Louisiana on August 29, 1910. He was the grandson of a slave. He attended high school and had wanted to attend college, but the Great Depression set in and his plans were derailed. He briefly worked as a carpenter for Fisk University, but was laid off amidst the stock market crashes. In February 1930, he secured a position as surgical research technician with Dr. Alfred Blalock of Vanderbilt University. Thomas was almost immediately assisting Blalock with experiments on animals and within a short period was doing surgeries on his own.

Though he was doing these surgeries, he was classified and paid as a janitor, and by the mid 1930s he was doing the same work as a postdoctoral researcher.

Thomas and Blalock made incredible advancements in  the field of traumatic shock, and particularly Crush syndrome ( is a medical condition characterized by major shock and renal failure after a crushing injury to skeletal muscle). During World War II, this research is believed to have saved the lives of thousands of soldiers.

When Blalock was offered the position of Chief of Surgery at John Hopkins University, he requested that Thomas go with him, and unfortunately faced a lot of racism and segregation (not that he didn’t before).
They were approached by a pediatric surgeon named Helen Taussig, who was looking for help regarding the solution to “Blue Baby Syndrome”.  Thomas sought to create the symptoms in dogs first, and correct the syndrome.

On November 29, 1944 the first corrective surgery was done on a human, an eighteen month old Eileen Saxon who could only walk a few brief steps before running out of breath. There were not proper surgical instruments for cardiac surgery yet, so Thomas modified them to suit the procedure. During the procedure, Blalock was the surgeon (even though he only performed it ONCE as Thomas’ assistant), but requested that Thomas stand on a stool overlooking and issuing instructions. The infants life was prolonged for several months, though ultimately died. However, the prolonging proved that the surgery worked.  The next operation was more successful on a 11 year old, and was able to leave the hospital a few weeks later. There were another successful surgery, and these three cases were mentioned in May 1945 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Blalock and Taussig were given credit, whereas Thomas was not mentioned.  Thomas trained and mentored many young surgeons, and was credited for teaching them the best techniques of the day.
Unfortunately for Thomas, he was disgustingly underpaid. He was sometimes forced to bar tend on the side at Blalock’s parties. Though in 1946, he became the highest paid African-American and highest paid technician at John Hopkins.

Thomas’ only lost hope at returning to school when he was refused life experience and told to fulfill freshman requirements by Morgan State University.

In 1976, he was finally granted an Honourary Doctorate of Law, not Medicine. Though it did allow him to be called Doctor. He was appointed the Instructor of Surgery. He retired in 1979, and wrote an autobiography Partners of the Heart. He died on November 26, 1985 a few days after the book was published.

Paris. We have a Hugue(not) Problem.

One of my songs of the moment is AC Newman- Prophets. This is due in part to the last scene of the season 4 finale of How I Met Your Mother. I hope that I will get a better job and will find some peace. I booked my tour to Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Turkey. It departs at the beginning of May and I am looking forward to it much. After Turkey, I am hoping to go to Romania to see my friend Diana. Before, I am hoping to go to Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. I am doing a massive European sweep in about 2 months. I am looking forward to it, and it makes my job a lot more tolerable when I have this goal. I have been at the restaurant for almost 2 months now, and when I started making myself comfortable and more homey I started feeling better about being there.

So I will continue talking about Catherine de Medici.

After the death of the Duc of Guise, Catherine issued the Edict of Amboise which gave some freedoms to Huguenots, though not as much as the Edict of Saint Germain. Nobles could have Protestant services in their private residences, and in certain places in certain cities.
Philip II, her daughter's husband, urged Catherine to rescind the Edict and punish and seek out heretics.
There were plans to place all Huguenots and German Lutherans in the Ottoman controlled Moldavia, which was to no avail.
Unfortunately, the Huguenot forces made plans to ambush the King, the Surprise of Meaux, and Catherine's tolerance of the Huguenots ended. They retreated to La Rochelle on the coast, where they were joined by Jeanne, Queen of Navarre and her son, Henry of Bourbon (future Henry IV of France).
Though, Catherine sought a marriage between Henry and her daughter, Margaret. It was agreed so long as Henry may remain a Huguenot. When Jeanne arrived in Paris, she fell ill and died at the age of forty four, many accusations of poisoning were flung about. However, unexpected noble deaths were frequently received with the same suspicions of poisoning. The wedding finally took place on August 18, 1572.
Three days after the wedding, a highly ranked Huguenot leader, Gaspard Coligny, was shot and needed a finger amputated. The queen visited him, and promised to punish the attacker.
Predictably, the King and Queen knew there was going to be a massive retaliation from the Huguenots against the Catholics. They struck against the Huguenot leaders first, as many were still in Paris for the wedding (including Coligny). It is estimated that about 5,000- 30,000 people were killed as a result of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. The new groom converted to Catholicism to avoid being killed. This incident had tainted the reputation of Catherine de Medici.
Two years later, Charles IX died at the age of twenty three and was succeeded by his brother Henry III. His marriage choice, Louise of Lorraine, thwarted Catherine's desire to marry him to another foreign princess.
Unfortunately this was just the beginning of Catherine's problems with controlling the behaviour of her children. Margaret returned to the French court without her husband, and frequently took lovers. Her last son, Francis of Alencon, was seen to ally with Protestant princes against the crown. He forced the hand of his brother to issue the Edict of Beaulieu, which gave Huguenots the right to public worship. He died in 1584, which left Margaret's husband, Henry the heir to the throne. She also had less influence with her son Henry III, than her other sons. He wanted to rule the country and she was left as a diplomat. She traveled around France to get support for her son, and frequently gave him advice.
Catherine de Medici, mother of three kings, died on January 5, 1589 of pleurisy. Eight months after her death, her son was killed by a friar and Henry IV was proclaimed King of France. One of the more kindly things said about her, after her death was by her son in law Henry IV.
`I ask you, what could a woman do, left by the death of her husband with five little children on her arms, and two families of France who were thinking of grasping the crown—our own [the Bourbons] and the Guises? Was she not compelled to play strange parts to deceive first one and then the other, in order to guard, as she did, her sons, who successively reigned through the wise conduct of that shrewd woman? I am surprised that she never did worse.`

Some people are just a (S)pain in the Ass!

This past week has passed in a blur. Everyday is similar, only the tips are different. Good waitresses are seen and not heard, however, I do not know whose food belongs to who so I (a mere plebeian amongst bourgeoisie) must interrupt their ever so important conversation to ask. I chagrin to be a tad subservient to these twits, but money talks (or doesn't).

We had a staff party and there was much pearl clutching. Some of the waitresses at the other restaurants/pubs were wearing skirts so short that you could be a wildlife photographer. I try to not judge someone based upon sartorial choices, but it is inappropriate to dress like that at any work event no? I chalk up this lack of oversight to the age of most of these people (18-19). I somehow feel like a grandmother in comparison. Oh WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!

Today is the day that Philip II was proclaimed King of Spain in 1556, upon the abdication of his father, Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor. In this section, I am merely going to focus upon his familial relationships as to talk about his reign would cause me in talking forever, and you know how much I loathe that :P

Philip II of Spain, Portugal, Naples, and Sicily

Philip II was the first son born to Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and Isabella of Portugal in Valladoid, Spain. His father was emperor of one of the largest dominions in the contemporary world, and after years of ruling he abdicated in 1556. He reigned over Spain for over 42 years and thus had a large legacy.

Philip I was first married to Maria Manuela of Portugal, his double first cousin, who gave him his first son, Don Carlos of Asturias, but she died in childbirth in 1445. Carlos was a very unstable child, which is possibly a resultant of the inbreeding that would plague the Spanish Hapsburgs for proceeding centuries. His exploits were stuff of legend, and his father feared for the Spanish crown. He was proposed to marry Elisabeth of Valois, but due to his issues, she was married to Philip II instead. His sadism even shocked the rather austere Spanish court, whom considered auto de fe entertainment. He was known to burn animals alive and tried to rape courtier women. His father had him imprisoned, ostensibly because he was trying to escape to the Netherlands, and he died six months later in confinement. It was oft said that his father arranged to have him poisoned, but it was a frequent accusation thrown in that time. Carlos had particularly bad mood swings, and would wage hunger strikes and then binge on food.

In 1553, Mary Tudor was crowned the Queen of England and a proper husband was sought for the thirty seven year old Catholic virgin. She had remained unmarried until this point through no fault of her own, her father had bastardized her and refused to acknowledge her rights and claims until 1547, however her position was still tenuous due to her rabidly Protestant half-brothers reign. Mary Tudor reportedly fell in love with Philip at the sight of his portrait. Philip, a young twenty six year old, was less than enthused, and this marriage was purely political for him. To elevate Philip to his wife's rank, Charles V relinquished the crown of Sicily and claims to Jerusalem. So upon his marriage, Philip was a king of Sicily. This marriage lasted less than four years, and more time was spent apart ruling their own domains. Philip was seen to treat Mary rather callously, and as a result Mary was heartbroken and upon her death it was said that you will find "(the loss of) Calais and Philip engraved upon her heart".

In 1559, Philip married Elisabeth of Valois, the daughter of Henry II and Catherine de Medici. Elisabeth was originally intended for his son, Don Carlos, but due to his apparent instability and the death of his own wife, Philip married her for himself. Despite the age difference of 18 years, Philip was enamoured with his young wife, and had reportedly given up his mistresses. She had given birth to five children, only which two survived to adulthood, Isabella Clara of Spain (1566-1633) and Catherine Michele of Spain (1567-1597). Unfortunately, her last pregnancy ended in miscarriage and the baby and Elisabeth died in 1568.

Philip's fourth and last wife was his niece, Anna of Austria. This marital relation would become a bit of a habit for future descendants resulting in Charles II. By most accounts, Anna and Philip had a very good marriage and were reportedly were very happy with one another. She gave birth to five children, and died when giving birth to the last one in 1580. Unfortunately, only one of her children reached adulthood, Philip III (1578-1621). Though Philip did not die until 1598, he did not remarry.

Your Argument is inValois!

For most of the past evening and morning, the wind has been howling like a banshee, shaking my windows and doors, causing me to awaken with a start several times. I am sitting in Starbucks yet again, a rather depressing beacon of hope and a sign of normalcy amidst uncertainty. 

Lately, I have good days and bad days, days where I just want to scream and shout and go home, and days where I just dance and cannot wait to travel. A lot of days though are filled with monotony, which is a rather welcome beast. It gives me much time to dream, ponder and think about where my life is headed. It sounds a lot more philosophical than it really is. But working in this dead-end job has caused me to re-think my life, and wonder about where I need to be to settle into a life with a husband and possible children. I find that people are rather surprised to find out that while I lack in some common sense, that when it comes to intellectual intelligence that I am not exactly a freshman. Though, in this job, intellectual intelligence is not necessary, but a lot of common sense is.  Catherine de Medici is evidence of this factoid.

Catherine de' Medici

(13 April 1519- 5 January 1589)

Catherine de`Medici was born in Florence, to Madeleine de La Tour Auvergne and Lorenzo de Medici, the Duke of Urbino, a member of the very powerful de Medici family on April 13, 1519. She was the only child born of this union. The de Medici family had grown very powerful and wealthy via their banking interests and therefore, bankrolling monarchies. In fact a frequent insult thrown at Catherine in her reign was to call her the fat banker.  However, both of her parents died within a few weeks of her birth and she was raised by her paternal grandmother, Alfonsina Orsini and then her aunt, Clarice Strozzi.

Though, unfortunately for Catherine, the de`Medicis were hated for their massive power and wealth and there were frequent struggles amongst powerful families for Florence and other parts of Italy. One of her cousins became Pope in 1523, Clement VII and one of her greatest champions. The de Medici were overthrown in 1527 in Florence, and Clement VII offered to crown Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor in exchange for the return of the city. During the siege, Catherine`s life was in danger and there were those who called for her death. In 1530, the city finally surrendered and Catherine was called to Rome, to be under the care of her cousin, who made it a goal of his to find Catherine a spectacular match. 

Due to her wealth, Catherine was coveted bride, and one of her suitors included King James V of Scotland, and Francis I of France offered his second son, Henry of Orleans as a groom. Clement accepted the French groom and organized an extravagant wedding in Marseille in 1533, when both the bride and groom were fourteen. As the Queen, she was treated fairly well by courtiers and her husband, though that was changed when her cousin died in 1534, and was replaced by Paul III who broke his alliance with France and had no intention on paying Catherine`s dowry. In 1536, Catherine became the Dauphine of France upon the death of her brother-in-law, and the pressure was on for her to produce heirs to the throne. In her desperation to produce, she used every contemporary cure, such as drinking mule`s urine, and placing cow dung on her vagina. A rather horrifying prospect to this author. Finally, she produced an heir, the future Francis II, in 1544. Then a flurry of children followed. A grand total of nine births, with seven surviving to adulthood. 

During her time of infertility, Henry II openly took mistresses and frequently claimed the illegitimate children as his own. Though, most were passing infatuations except for Diane de Poitiers, a woman who was twenty years older than her lover, but a reputed beauty and a woman of great intellect. Henry pointedly ignored Catherine in favour of Diane, and gave her gifts that Catherine wanted for herself. Diane wielded spectacular amount of power and dispensed favours with aplomb whilst Catherine was limited in her power and often were mere tokens. Diane`s power came to an abrupt end, when Henry II died of his injuries caused by a jousting accident. 

None of the Queen`s children were old enough to rule without a regent, and upon the death of Henry, she was the regent of France for her child, Francis II, who was married to Marie of Guise's daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. One of her first acts was to force Diane to hand over the crown jewels and give back the Chateau of Chenonceau, which Catherine had wanted for herself. Furthermore, he tried to erase the existence of Diane in the house replacing the monograms of HD with HC. 

The Guises were a powerful family in France, without whose support Catherine would have had a very shaky regency. Though, it wasn`t a marriage made in heaven, but of mere necessity. It was during her regency that the Huguenots and Catholic were fighting and the country was brought to Civil War. Many of her problems were due to the fact that many said that she failed to see religious conviction as something other than a political issue.

Catherine`s regency was extended due to the unfortunate early death of her son, Francis II, and his brother Charles IX was crowned soon after at the age of nine. She wielded immense power over her adolescent son, but not necessarily the nation, where nobles of the locales in different parts tended to rule their respective areas. Even when declared of age, Charles IX did not show much interest in government and preferred to have his mother run most of the government for him. 


Catherine issued the Edict of Saint-Germain in January 1562, which reiterated Roman Catholicism as the primary worship, but gave Protestants rights to PRIVATE worship provided it wasn't in any towns.  But it was to no avail for on March 1, 1562,  Francis the Duke of Guise massacred 72 Huguenots and injured 100 others when he came across them worshiping in a barn. This incident sparked the 30 years of French Wars of Religion. 


Catherine made attempts to appease the revenge seeking (though rightly), which received much disdain from her Catholic League members.

Like most mothers, Catherine sought to further the interests of her children. Her daughter, Elisabeth, married Philip II of Spain. Francis II was married to the future queen, Mary of Scots. Charles IX married Elisabeth of Austria, a daughter of emperor Maximilian I of Holy Roman Empire. Margaret married Henry of Navarre, the future king of France. She sought a match for her son, Francis of Anjou to the Queen Elizabeth I of England, who affectionately referred to him as her "little frog", but that match never materialized.