arcana imperii :: the book of j

Sam Harris: The ‘Salon’ Interview

The last thing Sam Harris was ever likely to do was to grant an interview to Salon.com. Mr Harris has made an exception and the FULL TEXT of the conversation is now a must-read article on his blog. It's vital that you read the article there since Salon.com edited out the deservedly derogatory comments he made about the website's content.

Labels: Atheism, Christianity, Current Events, Extremism, History, ISIS, Islam, Israel, Jihad, Malala, Must-read, Palestine, Regressive Left, Religion, Sam Harris, Taliban, Terrorism, War

The Seven Dwarfs Revamped

This cartoon seems to be passing the test of time. It is now 2011 and «The Seven Dwarfs Revamped for the 1990s...» still rings true! Of course we may now use more Zoloft and Effexor XR and Xanax than Prozac but the result is still the same, ha ha!

Labels: Cartoon, Commentary, History, Life, Snow White, The Seven Dwarfs

Fête Nationale (Bastille Day)

«Grand Dieu, sauve le Roi!
Long jours à notre Roi!
Vive le Roi
A lui la victoire
Bonheur et gloire
Qu’il ait un règne heureux
Et l'appui des cieux.»

Labels: History, Holidays, Monarchy

Classic Google Search

Takk, Remi Kallset!

Labels: Art, Google, History, Internet, Search Engine

On this day...

1844 The first telegraphed news dispatch is published in the Baltimore Patriot
1878 Gilbert & Sullivan's opera «HMS Pinafore» premieres in London
1887 Gas lamp at Paris Opera catches fire; 200 die
1895 Oscar Wilde sentenced to 2 years hard labor for being a sodomite
1922 Babe Ruth suspended 1 day & fined $200 for throwing dirt on an umpire
1928 Amelia Earhart (as a passenger) is the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean
1941 5,000 drown in a storm at Ganges Delta region in India
1955 Series of 19 twisters destroy Udall, KS and most of Blackwell, OK
1962 US unions AFL-CIO starts campaign for 35-hour work week
1964 Supreme Court rules closing schools to avoid desegregation unconstitutional
1966 Peru & Argentina soccer fans fight in Lima; 248 die
1985 Cyclone ravages Bangladesh; 11,000 killed
1986 Ferry boat Shamia sinks on Maghna River, Bangladesh; 600 killed

Labels: History

The 1895 US Eighth-grade Test

Noting the disastrous results of the test recently administered to American college and university students (see blog entry below), a high-school classmate sent me an article describing the test required to graduate the eighth grade in Salina, KS, back in 1895. The original document can be found at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salinas. The exam is divided into five sections. Five hours were allocated for the test. Do you think you could pass? Do you know anybody that could? Have a look!

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,' 'play,' and 'run'.
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 to 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs, what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs for tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7percent per annum.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft long at $20 per metre?
8. Find the bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

US History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which US History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco .
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the US. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Labels: Commentary, Education, History

Mubarak: Leave Now

Mubarak: Egyptians have spoken. You must leave. World: Pay attention and provide guidance, support and assistance to prevent a repetition of the Iranian Revolution when islamists returned from exile and the planet ended up with what is today an islamic republic which could soon have the bomb.

Labels: History, International Affairs, Politics

Mozart may have died of strep throat complications

«So ill he could not move, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart supposedly sang parts of his final masterpiece, the Requiem, from his deathbed. Two centuries later, the exact cause of the Austrian composer's premature death, in December 1791 at age 35, is still a mystery.

Theories abound. It's known that his entire body was so swollen he couldn't turn over in bed; some say jealous rivals poisoned him, while others suggest scarlet fever, tuberculosis, or lethal trichinosis from undercooked pork.

Now, new evidence points to an altogether different conclusion: Mozart may have died from kidney damage caused by a strep infection, possibly strep throat».

Labels: Culture, History, Music, Science

ignant Sherri Sheppard's ignorance hit new depths

Since starting her co-hosting role on The View, Sherri Shepherd has had her share of «Huh?» moments. Most famously, the actress said she wasn't quite convinced that the earth was round.

A new quote burning up the viral world may become even more infamous, as Shepherd on Monday's «View» got into a discussion about religion timelines with her fellow hosts. The ensuing discussion went in a head-scratching direction.

While talking about religion, Whoopi Goldberg suggests that ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus didn't have Jesus Christ or christianity.

«They still had Christians back then», Shepherd retorts, claiming that the religion existed 300 years before Jesus Christ was born. «They had Christians and they threw them to the lions», she continues.

«I think this might predate that», Goldberg added.

«I don't think anything predated Christians», Shepherd replied. [Excuse me, but how ignorant must one be to make such a statement. This baffles, enrages and troubles me greatly].

In September, during a similar discussion about religious and scientific beliefs, Goldberg asked Shepherd if she thought that the world was flat.

«I don't know», Shepherd answered, adding that if her son asked her whether the world was flat or round, she'd «go look it up».

source: aol.

So again, we see an ignorant theist and celebrity, earning thousands if not millions of dollars, lacking even basic education in history and science, co-hosting a show that influences the thoughts of millions of females and certainly a male or two almost daily. It also legitimises bad manners as all hosts speak at the same time and stifle proper communication and discussion. I find it stunning that the live audience did not boo Ms Shepherd off the stage. I would sack her and force her to attend junior and high school as well as university (again?) before ever allowing her to utter another word in public. She should also loose custody of her children to prevent them from growing up in the sea of ignorance that must be their theist home.

Labels: Commentary, History, Ignorance, Politics, Religion, Science, Television, The View

in memoriam

New Yorker covers editor Françoise Mouly repositioned Art Spiegelman’s silhouettes, inspired by Ad Reinhardt's black-on-black paintings, so that the north tower's antenna breaks the «W» of the magazine's logo. Spiegelman wanted to see the emptiness, and find the awful/awe-filled image of all that disappeared the on 11 september. the silhouetted Twin Towers were printed in a fifth, black ink, on a field of black made up of the standard four colour printing inks. an overprinted clear varnish helps create the ghost images that linger, insisting on their presence through the blackness.

Labels: Art, History, Memorial, Photography, Politics

Exhumed remains may be Tsar's son, Alexei and a daughter

Guardian Unlimited reported today that almost 90 years after imperial Russia's last tsar was executed with his wife and children by a Bolshevik firing squad, the family may be reunited once more.

Archaeologists believe the newly discovered remains of a boy and a young woman are those of Nicholas II's only son, Alexei, and a daughter, Maria.

Read Fred Attewill's article.

Labels: History, Politics, Royalty

fourth of july two thousand seven

happy birthday, America!

«I am certainly not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and constitutions. I think moderate imperfections had better be borne with; because, when once known, we accommodate ourselves to them, and find practical means of correcting their ill effects. But I know also, that laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the same coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilised society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.»

~Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 12 July 1810

and

as it appears on the fourth panel at the Jefferson Memorial:

«I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.»

Labels: History, Politics

the fourth of july

i've previously written (also here) to indeed celebrate this day in history, but this year, with politics as they are here in the US (you've heard, the libby commutation and talk of pardon, the continued and flawed involvement in iraq's RELIGIOUS wars and the like), i'd rather sing to the United Kingdom, as they've just been under terrorist attack and remember a time when we were not quite free yet and Founding Brothers and Sisters invented a nation based on principles now often dismissed by government and citizenry alike.

Rule, Britannia!

When Britain first, at Heaven's command
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sung this strain:
«Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
«Britons never will be slaves.»

The nations, not so blest as thee,
Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall;
While thou shalt flourish great and free,
The dread and envy of them all.
«Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
«Britons never will be slaves.»

Still more majestic shalt thou rise,
More dreadful, from each foreign stroke;
As the loud blast that tears the skies,
Serves but to root thy native oak.
«Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
«Britons never will be slaves.»

Thee haughty tyrants ne'er shall tame:
All their attempts to bend thee down,
Will but arouse thy generous flame;
But work their woe, and thy renown.
«Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
«Britons never will be slaves.»

To thee belongs the rural reign;
Thy cities shall with commerce shine:
All thine shall be the subject main,
And every shore it circles thine.
«Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
«Britons never will be slaves.»

The Muses, still with freedom found,
Shall to thy happy coast repair;
Blest Isle! With matchless beauty crown'd,
And manly hearts to guard the fair.
«Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
«Britons never will be slaves.»

note: please observe that «Rule, Britannia! rule the waves» is a COMMAND and so the verb is in the imperative and to sing, «Britannia, rules the waves» is a mistake. and one sings «never, never, never shall be slaves».

this version is taken from The Works of James Thomson by James Thomson, published 1763, Volume II, page 191.

Labels: Commentary, History, Politics

arrivederci, pluto!

pluto, considered a planet since its discovery in 1930 by the american clyde tombaugh will now effectively be airbrushed out of school and university textbooks.

the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) general assembly has passed a resolution following a week of stormy debate declaring that the eight planets are mercury, earth, venus, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus and neptune.


to qualify, a celestial body must be in orbit around a star while not itself being a star. it must also be large enough in mass «for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit».

pluto was automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with neptune's.

it will now join a new category of «dwarf planets» (no disrespect intended, surely).

Labels: History, Science

Marie-Antoinette's oak tree is cut down, aged 324 years.

a bit of palpable, tangible history gone forever...

le chêne de Marie-Antoinette, le doyen des arbres du parc du château de versailles (yvelines) planté il y a 324 ans, a été abattu aujourd'hui mercredi, le 09 février, peu après 12h30. tiré par deux tracteurs, l'arbre, victime de la canicule de l'été 2003, est tombé au sol en moins de deux minutes dans un dernier craquement et un bruit sourd.

haut de 35 mètres, avec une circonférence du tronc de 5,5 mètres, le chêne planté en 1681 était l'un des rares arbres à avoir échappé à la régénération du parc ordonnée par louis xvi en 1776. planté à proximité de l'allée de la Reine, entre le grand canal et le grand trianon, il a ainsi été dénommé car la reine Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) aimait profiter de son ombrage lorsqu'elle séjournait à trianon.

ce chêne tricentenaire se trouvait dans un bosquet de grands arbres qui a été dévasté par la tempête de 1999. il s'est ainsi trouvé davantage exposé aux rayons du soleil et a perdu de sa vigueur. au printemps 2003, il n'avait produit que quelques feuilles et n'a pas survécu à la canicule de l'été.

le chêne de marie-antoinette sera remplacé en mars par un nouvel arbre, un quercus robur, espèce réputée pour sa résistance et sa vigueur, installé exactement à la même place.

afp via yahoo! france: actualités.

Labels: History