Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht) on This Day in History

See also 200 Books on DVDROM about Satan the Devil & Witchcraft - For a list of all of my disks and digital books click here

This day in history: Today (or tonight) is Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht). The best way to think about Walpurgis Night is that is the Spring version of Halloween, and it is actually exactly 6 months before Halloween. The festival is named after Saint Walburga who lived 1300 years ago. While Saint Walpurga was known to repel the effects of witchcraft, over time the festival came to be known as a time when witches meet on Brocken mountain under the presidency of Satan, who, on such occasions, generally takes the form of a black he-goat. In the literature of old, Lilith, (Adam's first wife according to mythology), figures prominently in this festival. As the festival has strong Spring associations, it is deeply intertwined with ancient pagan Scandinavian & Germanic cults. 

Alfred Hitchcock on This Day in History

This day in history: The Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, died on this day in 1980. He directed over 50 feature films over six decades, films such as Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder etc. Hitchcock was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, but he never won an Oscar. Did you know: One of his favorite movies was the 1977 Burt Reynolds movie Smokey and the Bandit. He was afraid of the police, and fried eggs. Alfred Hitchcock liked using blonde actresses in his movies: “Blondes make the best victims. They’re like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.”

Alfred Hitchcock remains an influence on crime writers

As he wrote what has become one of the top-selling novels so far in 2018, "The Woman in the Window," the author who calls himself A.J. Finn was thinking of a certain master of suspense: Alfred Hitchcock.

http://bit.ly/2I0imMn

You can watch episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" on Youtube for free.

Pink Floyd on This Day in History

This day in history: Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon goes #1 on the US charts on this day in 1973. It stays on the charts for 741 weeks (over 14 years). ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ was the best selling album in the world for a while (it is still third best seller ever)...one in 12 people have been said to own a copy. Did you know: The names Pink and Floyd came from two of Syd Barrett’s favorite Carolina bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Oddly, Pink Floyd are not really a blues band...you could argue that they are not really a rock band either...but they were a great band. Dark Side of the Moon is said to sync perfectly with The Wizard of Oz and led to conspiracy theories that the band had written it with that purpose in mind. Despite their enormous record-breaking chart success with The Dark Side of the Moon, they've only topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart ONCE, with "Another Brick In The Wall Pt. II," hitting #1 in 1979.

Kiss Guitarist Ace Frehley on This Day in History

This day in history: Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley was born on this day in 1951. Frehley does not make the list of Rollingstone's greatest guitarists. In fact, the band Kiss does not make any list that I am aware of. In a nutshell, they were/are a fun band with mediocre musicians that had a great marketing gimmick. The makeup is genius, especially now that these guys are now old. Did you know: Paul Stanley accused Ace Frehley of being anti-semitic, and Frehley did own Nazi memorabilia. This had to be an interesting dynamic since the band's frontmen Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons are Jewish. Ace Frehley is not alone in this. Lemmy from Motorhead also had a Nazi fascination, and David Bowie was detained by customs officers on a train at the Russian/Polish Border after Nazi books and mementos were found in his luggage...on this day in 1976.

Long German Names on This Day in History

This day in history: German General Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen died on this day in 1881. I am really only mentioning him because of his ridiculously long name. But then there is also Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr, a German typesetter. Actually, that is an abbreviation of his name. The full version of his name is “Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfe­schlegel­stein­hausen­berger­dorff­welche­vor­altern­waren­gewissen­haft­schafers­wessen­schafe­waren­wohl­gepflege­und­sorg­faltig­keit­be­schutzen­vor­an­greifen­durch­ihr­raub­gierig­feinde­welche­vor­altern­zwolf­hundert­tausend­jah­res­voran­die­er­scheinen­von­der­erste­erde­mensch­der­raum­schiff­genacht­mit­tung­stein­und­sieben­iridium­elek­trisch­motors­ge­brauch­licht­als­sein­ur­sprung­von­kraft­ge­start­sein­lange­fahrt­hin­zwischen­stern­artig­raum­auf­der­suchen­nach­bar­schaft­der­stern­welche­ge­habt­be­wohn­bar­planeten­kreise­drehen­sich­und­wo­hin­der­neue­rasse­von­ver­stand­ig­mensch­lich­keit­konnte­fort­pflanzen­und­sicher­freuen­an­lebens­lang­lich­freude­und­ru­he­mit­nicht­ein­furcht­vor­an­greifen­vor­anderer­intelligent­ge­schopfs­von­hin­zwischen­stern­art­ig­raum, Senior.” There is also Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft, a name of an organization in Vienna. There is a German law named Rinderkennzeichnungs- und Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. And who can forget the chidren's song John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt?

See also Long English Words from Times Past

The Use of Long Words by Arthur Fosdick

One Minute Long German Word

New York & Freedom on This Day in History

New York Ranks the Least Free State of All

This day in history: New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates on this day in 1901. My first reaction when reading this was "of course they were. New York has been the least free state in the country for a long time. Economic freedom is New York's greatest weakness, but the state has not kept up with the rest of the country on personal freedoms either. New York is also the worst state on regulatory policy, land-use freedom is very low, primarily because of the economically devastating rent control law in New York City. New York’s local tax burden is double that of the average state, and NY also suffers from a lack of “school choice.” Exorbitant prices on tobacco leads to selling cigarettes as singles, and forget about getting a gun there. More people leave New York than any other State.

America’s Most Libertarian State Is…?

The Trojan Horse on This Day in History

This day in history: The traditional date for the Greeks entering Troy using the Trojan Horse is on this day in 1184 BC. In a nutshell, the story goes as follows: After war with the walled city of Troy for ten years, the Greeks built a huge, hollow wooden horse and secretly filled it with armed warriors, and presented it to the Trojans as a gift for the Athena the goddess, and the Trojans took the horse inside the city's walls. During the night, the armed Greeks slipped out of the wooden horse and captured and then burned the city.

The Trojan Horse has since become a metaphor for "A person or thing intended to undermine or destroy from within." Examples of this are: "A Wolf in sheep's clothing." A Fifth Column (A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group.) A Poisoned Apple (a la Snow White). A Sleeper Cell. A Manchurian Candidate. A Mole, and a Poisoned Chalice (a term applied to a thing or situation which appears to be good when it is received or experienced by someone, but then is found to be bad.) There is even an example from the Bible. An "angel of light" describes someone who appears good but means to do wrong: "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 11:14 RSV

See also Over 250 Books on DVDrom on Mythology, Gods and Legends

See also Norse Mythology and Viking Legends - 115 Books on DVDrom

For a list of all of my disks click here

The Rolling Stones on This Day in History

Listen to Fool to Cry

This day in history: The Rolling Stones album "Black and Blue" was released on this day in 1976. I think this album was my first introduction to the Stones, and not because of the album (not their best effort) but mainly for the song "Fool to Cry." They released 20 albums in the 1970's (if you count compilations), and this was their last good decade when it comes to creativity. "Some Girls" was arguably their last good album.

Weird Stones fact: Keith Richards snorted his dad's ashes.

Some Stones jokes: Shocking results came in after Keith Richards went to the hospital. They found blood in his drugstream.

Every cigarette you smoke takes 7 minutes of your life...And gives it to Keith Richards.

Earth Day and Communism on This Day in History

Buy: The Folly of Socialism (40 Chapters) for 99 cents on Amazon

Visit a local listing for this here

This Day in History: The first Earth Day was held on this day in 1970. The co-founder of Earth was Ira Einhorn...also known as the Unicorn Killer. Earth Day also falls on Communist Leader Vladimir Lenin's birthday which many consider no coincidence. April 22 is actually a big day for Socialism/Communism. The Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of India formed on this day in 1969. The Paris Agreement was signed on this day in 2016. Witnesses begin testifying in the Army–McCarthy hearings began on this day in 1954. Richard Nixon died on this day in 1994 (Milton Friedman maintained that Nixon was the most Socialistic president of the 20th century). Immanuel Kant was born on this day in 1724 as well (his philosophy was the basis on which the structure of Marxism was built.)
Earth Day Co-Founder Killed, Composted His Girlfriend

See also: Thought-Provoking Quotes about Socialism
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/08/thought-provoking-quotes-about-socialism.html

Economics is the Queen of all Sciences by Henry D. Macleod M.A. 1896
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/02/economics-is-queen-of-all-sciences-by.html

See also Over 300 PDF/Acrobat Books on Socialism, Communism and Economics on DVDrom
http://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2015/10/over-300-pdfacrobat-books-on-socialism.html

See also Over 300 PDF/Acrobat Books on Socialism, Communism and Economics and 300 Books on DVDrom for Libertarians, Objectivists and Voluntaryists

For a list of all of my books on disks and other ebooks click here

Start watching at the 11:45 timeframe

British Economist John Maynard Keynes on This Day in History

Listen to: Keynesianism Flattened

This Day in History: British economist, John Maynard Keynes died on this day in 1946. His Kenyesian economic theory can perhaps be summarized in 7 words: "governments should spend money they don't have." His greatest work was "The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money." Richard M. Ebeling wrote of this book: "Few books, in so short a time, have gained such wide influence and generated so destructive an impact on public policy. What Keynes succeeded in doing was to provide a rationale for what governments always like to do: spend money and pander to special interests...Keynes’s legacy has given us paper-money inflation, government deficit spending, and more political intervention throughout the market." The trillions of dollars in debt we now find ourselves in is the legacy of John Maynard Keynes, and at some point there has to be a reckoning. Keynes was not concerned with the future consequences of his policies, because, as he says: “In the long run we are all dead.”

See also The History & Mystery of Money & Economics-250 Books on DVDrom

Visit my Econ blog at http://fredericbastiat1850.blogspot.com/

For a list of all of my disks and ebooks (PDF and Amazon) click here

Where Keynesianism Goes Wrong

The 1535 Stockholm Sundog on This Day in History

This Day in History: The sun dog phenomenon is observed over Stockholm on this day in 1535 as later depicted in the famous painting Vädersolstavlan. At the time it was considered a dark omen. A sun dog is basically an atmospheric phenomenon that is often often seen as a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun. Sundogs can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, and they are best seen when the sun is low.

The exact etymology of sun dog largely remains a mystery. The Oxford English Dictionary states it as being "of obscure origin". In Abram Palmer's 1882 book Folk-etymology: A Dictionary of Verbal Corruptions Or Words Perverted in Form Or Meaning, by False Derivation Or Mistaken Analogy, sun-dogs are defined:
"The phenomena of false suns which sometimes attend or dog the true when seen through the mist (parhelions). In Norfolk a sun-dog is a light spot near the sun, and water-dogs are the light watery clouds; dog here is no doubt the same word as dag, dew or mist as 'a little dag of rain' (Philolog. Soc. Trans. 1855, p. 80). Cf. Icel. dogg, Dan. and Swed. dug = Eng. 'dew.'"

Perhaps one of the oldest description of a sundog comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle (Meteorology III.2, 372a14) notes that “two mock suns rose with the sun and followed it all through the day until sunset.” He says that “mock suns” are always to the side, never above or below, most commonly at sunrise or sunset, more rarely in the middle of the day.

Drummer Levon Helm on This Day in History

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

This Day in History: Drummer Levon Helm died on this day in 2012. He was the only American born member of the Canadian rock group, The Band (IMO one of the greatest rock groups of all time.) If you've never seen Martin Scorcese's The Last Waltz, you really should (it's on Amazon Prime right now). The highlight of The Band for me was The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, probably one of the greatest Civil War songs ever (and it was written by a Canadian with a Mohawk mother, Robbie Robertson, who is playing guitar in this video). One reviewer said of the song: "Nothing I have read … has brought home the overwhelming human sense of history that this song does. The only thing I can relate it to at all is The Red Badge of Courage. It's a remarkable song, the rhythmic structure, the voice of Levon and the bass line with the drum accents and then the heavy close harmony of Levon, Richard and Rick in the theme, make it seem impossible that this isn't some traditional material handed down from father to son straight from that winter of 1865 to today. It has that ring of truth and the whole aura of authenticity." ~Ralph J. Gleason (in the review in Rolling Stone (U.S. edition only) of October 1969)

This song was number 245 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Elton John once said a drummer should never sing unless his name is Levon Helm.

You may also be interested in 220 Books on the American Civil War on DVDrom 1861-1865

For a list of all of my disks, ebooks (Amazon and PDF) click here

The Robinhood App on This Day in History

This Day in History: The stock trading app Robinhood launched on this day in 2013, and it has changed an industry in the process. The company offers a service that gives people the ability to invest in stocks, ETFs, and options without the fees. Prior to this, zero-commission stock trading was unheard of. Robinhood now has 10 million users, and as a consequence, the big boys, such as E-Trade, TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab finally bit their lip and started offering free stock trading as well. I use Robinhood primarily to trade (yup, I'm a Featherhead) but I also use the Public app to buy fractional shares, (I also have accounts with TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers [also free]). This change in the industry has allowed the little guy (like me) to take an interest in the Stock Market. Many complain that Robinhood has less research features, but that's why I use Finviz, Yahoo Finance, Chartmill, Marketwatch, Stocktwits, Stockmaster etc for that. One day, when things get back to normal and my wife and I start making money again, I will get back into this.

The 1981 Caveman Movie on This Day in History

Watch the Trailer

This Day in History: The movie Caveman was released on this day in 1981. It was one of my favorite comedy movies at the time, starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long and Barbara Bach. Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach would eventually marry. This movie opens up with "One Zillion B.C. - October 9th". The date of October 9th was John Lennon's birthday. Shelley Long said that at her audition, she didn't speak any English. She responded to everything with a series of grunts. The movie has its own language which you quickly learn: "alunda" is love; "bobo" is friend; "haraka" is fire; "macha" is monster; "nya" is no/not; "ool" is food; "pooka" is broken; "ugh" is like; "kooda" is come/follow etc.

Abraham Lincoln the Dictator on This Day in History

"Lincoln was a dictator. He was not a nice man."

This Day in History: President Abraham Lincoln outlawed business with the confederate states on this day in 1861. History has painted a sanitized picture of "Honest Abe" but he was also a ruthless tyrant. He violently shut down more than 300 newspapers, denied the rights of citizens he was sworn to protect. He suspended Habeas Corpus, closed courts by force, and arrested citizens and elected officials without cause. Lincoln gave us the first income tax and also raised troops without the consent of Congress. He also ordered the execution of thirty-eight Dakota Indians, the largest mass execution in American history.

You may also be interested in 220 Books on the American Civil War on DVDrom 1861-1865

For a list of all of my disks, ebooks (Amazon and PDF) click here

Taxes on This Day in History

This Day in History: Today is Tax Day. Well not this year, but normally it would be tax day, and this had been so since 1955. Before that it was a month earlier, and prior to 1913 there was no income tax at all. Tax Withholding started during World War II, thanks to Mr Libertarian himself Milton Friedman. The income tax may be the most hated, but other taxes can certainly be classified as stupid. 200 years ago men wore wigs. The government then imposed a tax on wigs and men stopped wearing wigs. Hats were taxed around the same time, so sellers attempted to dodge the tax by rebranding hats as “headgear.” 300 years ago there was a window tax, from which we got the term “daylight robbery.” Many then started to brick up windows. During the gin craze in the 1700's, the government imposed a tax on gin sellers, which then gave us the world’s first vending machine. "A customer approached the device and said, 'Puss!' An unlicensed vendor, hiding inside, responded, 'Mew!' Out popped a drawer into which the customer placed payment. The drawer snapped back, then out again with a dram of gin." ~Susan Adams

Oh, and many tax-exempt charities are a scam. For instance, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation raised $2.6 million in 2012, but only gave away $5,000 for grants to organizations or individuals.

Dickens Knew Taxes Started the French Revolution
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2017/06/dickens-knew-taxes-started-french.html

How They Viewed an Income Tax Over 100 Years Ago
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/04/how-they-viewed-income-tax-over-100.html

See also The History & Mystery of Money & Economics-250 Books on DVDrom

Visit my Econ blog at http://fredericbastiat1850.blogspot.com/

For a list of all of my disks and ebooks (PDF and Amazon) click here

The "1561 Celestial Phenomenon Over Nuremberg" on This Day in History

This Day in History: The "1561 celestial phenomenon over Nuremberg" happened on this day in 1561 (of course). This was a mass sighting in the sky of what appears to be UFO's.

"On a seemingly normal morning on April 14th, 1561, chaos broke loose in the skies over Nuremberg. In the sky, seemingly out of nowhere, crosses, tubes, wheels and other strangely shaped multi-colored objects appeared over the city. They were said to number in the hundreds and appeared to be smoking. In fact, some even crashed into the ground (although their remains were never discovered). One thing that was noticeable? The smoke, which was apparently visible for miles. After the battle and the skies had somewhat cleared, it was said a large black, spear-like object was seen in the sky. Almost every witness that observed this strange event categorized it as a ‘battle’ or in some way aggressive." https://www.astonishinglegends.com/astonishing-legends/2019/2/25/nuremberg-1561

This is not even the oldest UFO event. Livy in 218 BC recorded "phantom ships" that were "gleaming in the sky."

See also Over 100 of the Freakiest, Creepiest and Scariest Books on DVDrom

For a list of all of my digital books (Amazon & PDF) and disks click here

Buy: The Mysterious Book of Genesis - Lilith, Enoch & Other Strange Studies: An Anthology on Amazon and The Companion Guide to Death, is now available on Amazon by clicking here...and it is only $1.99

Thomas Jefferson on This Day in History

This day in history: Today is a big day for Thomas Jefferson. He was born on this day in 1743. The Jefferson Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson's birth on this day in 1943, and the United States Treasury Department reintroduced the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson's 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration on this day in 1976.

TJ was a Deist Freethinker with a Unitarian bent. His politics were classical liberal (Libertarian). A political rival, James Callender, started the rumor that Jefferson inpregnated one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. This rumor has since persisted, though incorrect. DNA testing in 1998 proved that Jefferson was not the father, but that someone who had the Jefferson Y chromosome fathered her youngest child, Eston. The trouble is, there were 26 men who carried that chromosome and who could have been the father. This includes members of Jefferson's extended family. Thomas Jefferson was 64 at the time and in bad health, in his second term as president...an unlikely candidate.

See also Miscegenation at Monticello? 

See also Thomas Jefferson on Religion & the Doctrine of the Trinity

Thomas Jefferson's Bible by James Rusling 1905

American History & Mysteries, Over 200 PDF Books on DVDrom
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2015/09/american-history-mysteries-over-200-pdf.html

For a list of all of my digital books on disk click here
http://gdixierose.blogspot.com/2015/10/book-collections-on-cdrom-and-dvdrom.html

Quotes from Thomas Jefferson:

“What more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people?...a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.”

"The pillars of our prosperity are the most thriving when left most free to individual enterprise.”

“The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits.”

“To take from one because it is thought that his own industry and that of his father’s has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association—the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.”

“Our wish is that...[there may be] maintained that state of property, equal or unequal, which results to every man from his own industry or that of this fathers.”

The Union Jack on This Day in History

This day in history: The Union Flag was adopted as the flag of English and Scottish ships on this day in 1606. The Union Jack incorporates both St George's Cross and St Andrews Cross (saltire), or if you will: The flags of England, Scotland and N. Ireland. King James gave us this flag (when he wasn't battling witches, fighting off a gunpowder plot and sanctioning the Bible that bears his name). Many Southerners were of Scottish heritage and this explains the reason why St Andrews Cross was used as the design for the Southern (Confederate) Battle flag. Growing up in Canada, the Star and Bars were very popular. In fact, if you watch the Martin Scorcese directed documentary The Last Waltz (about the Canadian group called The Band [great movie BTW]) you can see the Confederate flag hanging in the background in one scene.

See also 220 Books on the American Civil War on DVDrom 1861-1865
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2015/07/220-books-on-american-civil-war-on.html

Apple Computer on This Day in History

This Day in History: The Apple Computer 1, originally released as the Apple Computer, also known later as the Apple I, or Apple-1, is a desktop computer released by the Apple Computer in 1976. It was designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak. The idea of selling the computer came from Woz's friend Steve Jobs. This computer has now become a collector's item. On September 25, 2018, an Apple I was purchased at a Dallas auction for $375,000 and on January 23, 2020, an Apple I was listed on eBay for $1,750,000.

Did you know: Samsung makes the processors for iPhones.

Before Apple's iPhone, Cisco Systems originally patented the name iPhone for its VoIP phone and later on, it sued Apple for calling its smartphone an iPhone.

If you use iTunes, you have agreed to not use Apple’s products to create nuclear weapons.

34 year old Aaron Chervenak married his smartphone at The Little Vegas Chapel in 2016. I'm pretty sure he dumped that phone 18 months later for an upgrade.

Something you never hear...but should: "I don't believe anything really revolutionary has ever been invented by committee… I'm going to give you some advice that might be hard to take. That advice is: Work alone… Not on a committee. Not on a team." Steve Wozniak

"By the way, if you get mad at your Mac laptop and wonder who designed this demonic device, notice the manufacturer's icon on top: an apple with a bite out of it." Peter Kreeft (Roman Catholic philosopher)

"Good artists copy, great artists steal." Pirates of Silicon Valley

Robert E. Lee On This Day in History

This Day in History: Civil War General Robert E. Lee addressed his troops for the last time on this day in 1865, a day after surrendering to Union Forces. While it is popular to portray Lee as a racist figure, a closer look him reveals a gentleman and a true American. "Lee was cut from Virginia aristocracy. His extended family members included a president, a chief justice of the United States, and signers of the Declaration of Independence. His father, Colonel Henry Lee, also known as 'Light-Horse Harry,' had served as a cavalry leader during the Revolutionary War and gone on to become one of the war’s heroes, winning praise from General George Washington."
https://www.biography.com/military-figure/robert-e-lee

Robert E. Lee had a distaste for slavery. "There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil. It is idle to expatiate on its disadvantages. I think it is a greater evil to the white than to the colored race."

Lee freed his slaves early on. "In fact, it is a curious commentary on the motives connected with the war, that while Lee had set his slaves free, [Union General Ulysses S] Grant is said to have continued in the ownership of slaves until they were emancipated by the government of the United States." ~Thomas Nelson Page
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2017/08/robert-e-lees-views-on-slavery.html

See also When Blacks Owned Slaves, by Calvin Dill Wilson 1905
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2017/02/when-blacks-owned-slaves-by-calvin-dill.html

You may also be interested in 220 Books on the American Civil War on DVDrom 1861-1865

For a list of all of my disks, ebooks (Amazon and PDF) click here

The Great Robert E. Lee

Unicorns on This Day in History

This Day in History: Today is National Unicorn Day. Apparently there are people that really do believe in unicorns. Perhaps the reason we may have never seen one is that enticing one out of hiding requires a female virgin and there are too few nubile virgins in existence. The horn of a unicorn (an alicorn) is said to have healing powers and were often sold in pharmacies in the 1700's, though they were probably narwhal tusks. It is said that a unicorn can live for hundreds of years, and they are born with both male and female genitalia (which makes me think of frogs). A Unicorn ‘horn’ was once sold to the pope for big money in 1560. Legend has it that Genghis Khan’s encountered a unicorn which is said to have prevented the invasion of India. The story goes that the unicorn bowed to Khan, who took it as a sign that he should retreat. Marco Polo believed he encountered unicorns in his travels. He wrote, “They are very ugly brutes to look at. They are not at all such as we describe unicorns.” I'm going to say that he was probably looking at rhinoceroses.

Unicorns Mentioned in the Bible by Henry C. Hart 1888
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2017/10/unicorns-mentioned-in-bible-by-henry-c.html

Study Proves Unicorns Are Real

Margaret Thatcher on This Day in History

Margaret Thatcher's Last Stand Against Socialism

This Day in History: British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died on this day in 2013. The Iron Lady and I shared the same reading list. The books that had a major impact on shaping her world view included Friedrich Hayek’s “The Road to Serfdom,” Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations,” John Stuart Mill’s “On Liberty,” and perhaps even Ayn Rand. Her favorite poet was Rudyard Kipling. Did you know that Sir Laurence Olivier was partially responsible for her rise to power?

"Months before the 1979 general election, Thatcher adviser Gordon Reece was worried that voters would find his candidate’s natural speaking voice too shrill. By chance, he encountered Sir Laurence Olivier on a train, and the master thespian recommended his voice coach from London’s National Theater. Thatcher underwent intensive training with the coach to lower her pitch and perfect a calm, authoritative tone that served her well in her political career."
https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-margaret-thatcher

Buy: The Folly of Socialism (40 Chapters) for 99 cents on Amazon

Visit a local listing for this here

See also 300 Books on DVDrom for Libertarians, Objectivists and Voluntaryists

For a list of all of my books on disks and other ebooks click here

Henry Ford on This Day in History

April 7: Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford died on this day in 1947. Before he dabbled in automobiles, Ford repaired watches for his friends, and he made his own tools to do it. He was also the Chief Engineer of the Edison Illuminating Company's main plant in 1893. Woodrow Wilson wanted Ford to run for the Senate as a Democrat, and he almost won, without any investment on his behalf. If you remember Kingsford charcoal, the name came from Ford. Using wood scraps from his plants, Henry Ford found he could make charcoal briquettes. Oh, and the movie Ford vs Ferrari (despite the bad name) is a great movie.

Ford vs Ferrari Trailer

Have you noticed that the new Fords, or any other new car really, still have map lights, though we don't really need them since most cars now have built in GPS?

1966 Ford GT40 Mk I. Awesome SOUND - Starts, Accelerations & Fly Bys

Isaac Asimov on This Day in History

The Gods Themselves Audiobook

This Day in History: American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov died on this day in 1992. Known for writing "I Robot" and the Foundation series, he coined the term "Robotics." Interestingly, the only work of his I ever owned was a 1300 page, two-volume “Asimov’s Guide to the Bible“ covering the Old and the New Testament which made for an interesting read. Asimov was very prolific: he wrote or edited over 500 volumes. There is an asteroid named after him and Honda also has a robot named after him (Asimo). Asimov died from AIDS related complications after he contracted HIV from a blood transfusion in 1983. The cause for his death was kept secret by his widow for over a decade after his death.
Download the Foundation at http://www.angelfire.com/un/corosus/books/Asimov_the_foundation.pdf
Download I Robot at http://ekladata.com/-Byix64G_NtE0xI4A6PA1--o1Hc/Asimov-Isaac-I-Robot.pdf
Download his Guide to the Bible at https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Asimovs-Guide-to-the-Bible-The-Old-and-New-Testaments.pdf

The Return of the Black Widowers

I, Robot

Nightfall by Isaac Asimov Audiobook

ABBA's Agnetha Fältskog on This Day in History

I still remember having this Agnetha Fältskog song on cassette back in the 80's.

This Day in History: ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog was born on this day in 1950. Abba sold over 380 million albums and singles worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists in history. Led Zeppelin recorded their last album "In Through the Out Door" at ABBA’s Polar Music Studios, in Stockholm (great album BTW). ABBA was quite popular in the Soviet Communist countries during the cold war, so to perform there they received royalty payments from the Soviet Union in oil commodities instead of Rubles due to the embargo. ABBA’s greatest hits album, Gold, is one of the best-selling records of all time. In the UK it outsold the Beatles’s "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band."  The band's first American television appearance came on The Mike Douglas Show. I completely forgot about the The Mike Douglas Show.

When a friend and I were unable to attend their concert, we went to the theater to see Abba: The Movie instead. The group has reportedly turned down $1 billion to reform and tour again. Other memorable Swedish groups are Ace of Base, Roxette, Europe, Ghost, Blue Swede, Neneh Cherry, The Cardigans and a lot of Heavy Metal.

Top 10 Swedish Metal

The News Media on This Day in History

This Day in History: Today is National Hug a Newsperson Day. The News Media is so full of themselves they actually have such a day. Hatred of the media goes back centuries. As one book noted, "It doesn't matter whether it's true, only that it's believable." Yellow journalism, the Lugenpresse (lying press), fake news, call it what you will, the news media has been deservedly under suspicion for many. "The news media and the government are entwined in a vicious circle of mutual manipulation, mythmaking, and self-interest. Journalists need crises to dramatize news, and government officials need to appear to be responding to crises. Too often, the crises are not really crises but joint fabrications. The two institutions have become so ensnared in a symbiotic web of lies that the news media are unable to tell the public what is true and the government is unable to govern effectively."
https://hbr.org/1995/05/why-the-news-is-not-the-truth

Even Mark Twain(?) chimed in he said “If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.” The news media is now one of the least trusted institutions in the world. So, when you hug a newsperson today, remember the social distancing guidelines.

See also The Yellow Press, the Fake News of 100 Years Ago (1907 Article)
http://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-yellow-press-fake-news-of-100-years.html

The Yellow Press - The Fake News of the Past by Sydney Brooks 1911
http://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-yellow-press-fake-news-of-past-by.html

Josef Stalin on This Day in History

Buy my book: The Folly of Socialism (40 Chapters) for 99 cents on Amazon

Visit a local listing for this here

This Day in History: Joseph Stalin became the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on this day in 1922. It is fascinating to think that many in the West, including America, were enamored by Stalin, even to the point of calling him "Uncle Joe." One "intellectual" Lincoln Steffens said after a visit to the Soviet Union “I have seen the future and it works.” He just didn't know that everyone there was ordered to "look busy" when visitors came. To get a snapshot of a Socialist economy like the one that Russia had, the workers there had a saying, “They pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work.”

Communists and socialists don’t like the economic rules a market economy demands, however, the implementation of their system requires force and always devolves into the use of violence.  Demographer Rudolph Rummel, estimated the human toll of twentieth-century socialism to be about 61 million in the Soviet Union, 78 million in China, and roughly 200 million worldwide. The term for it is Democide.

See also Over 300 PDF/Acrobat Books on Socialism, Communism and Economics on DVDrom

Hans Christian Andersen on This Day in History

Watch The Snow Queen

This Day in History: Danish author Hans Christian Andersen was born on this day in 1805. You may know him for writing "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Little Mermaid," "The Princess and the Pea," "The Snow Queen," "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Match Girl," and "Thumbelina." Like many other writers HCA was an odd sort. He was probably celibate his entire life, though he paid a prostitute just to talk. He was afraid of dogs. He didn’t eat pork because he thought eating pigs would make him sick. He travelled with a long rope in case he needed to escape a fire. He also had a fear of being buried alive, so before bed each night, he propped up a note that read, “I only appear to be dead.” His original "Little Mermaid" was a bit grimmer than the popular Disney version. A mermaid who falls in love with the Prince is offered the chance to take on a human form, though she'll live in perpetual agony with her tongue cut out. The mermaid also wants immortality, which can only be attained if the prince falls in love with her and they marry. The prince marries another however and the mermaid contemplates murdering him.

See also: The World of Hans Christian Andersen

See also The Grimmest & Gloomiest Fairy Tales - 50 Books on CDrom

https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-grimmest-gloomiest-fairy-tales-50.html

Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen

https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/09/charles-dickens-and-hans-christian.html

Frederick Muhlenberg and Otto von Bismarck on This Day in History

This Day in History: Frederick Muhlenberg was elected the first speaker of the United States House of Representatives on this day in 1789. I'm German so it's nice to know that the first Speaker of the House was a German. His father, Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg was an immigrant from Germany who was considered the founder of the Lutheran Church in America. Also on this day in 1815, Otto von Bismarck was born on this day in 1815 and he eventually became the 1st Chancellor of the German Empire. The "Iron Chancellor" was instrumental in uniting Germany. He was a Conservative who hated Socialists, but in order to sway people away from the Socialism, he ended up creating the world first Welfare State in the modern world. His rule came to be known as the Second Reich.

Great Quote by OVB:

"Americans are the luckiest people on earth. They are surrounded by weak neighbors and fish." ~Otto von Bismarck