The Strange René Descartes on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: René Descartes was born on this day in 1596. You may know him for his axiom "I think therefore I am" (Cogito Ergo Sum) and his mind-body dualism, but did you know that he had a fetish for cross-eyed women? He also slept in ovens. Many philosophers had strange peccadilloes. Kant was a hypochondriac and kept an intense and prolonged obsessive daily routine. Albert Camus feared that he would die young, and he died in a car crash at the relatively young age of 46. Soren Kierkegaard believed his family was under a curse from God that seemed prophetic as most of his family died young. Nietzsche was obsessed with eating fruit — sometimes as much as 6.5 pounds per day. Voltaire would drink upwards of 40 cups of coffee a day. Arthur Schopenhauer didn't much like people, but he loved his poodles and he kept a bunch of them...and they all shared the same name: BUTZ! Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an expert on children, but he selfishly abandoned all of his 5 kids. Karl Marx wrote of capitalists that exploited their workers, yet he never paid his maid.

See also Norman Smith's Studies in the Cartesian Philosophy 1903
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2016/03/norman-smiths-studies-in-cartesian.html

Descartes, Spinoza & Philosophy - 230 Books on DVDrom (Rationalism, Hume, Kant)
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2015/10/descartes-spinoza-philosophy-230-books.html

Rene Descartes and the Soul by John Pancoast Gordy 1890
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2017/02/rene-descartes-and-soul-by-john.html

Descartes and the Pineal Gland By HP Blavatsky
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/01/descartes-and-pineal-gland-by-hp.html

The Shooting of Ronald Reagan on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr., on this day in 1981. Hinckley shot Reagan because he was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he had an obsessive fixation. Hinckley became obsessed with the 1976 film Taxi Driver, which starred Jodie Foster, in which disturbed protagonist Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) plots to assassinate a presidential candidate. 

Hinckley fantasized about conducting an aircraft hijacking or committing suicide in front of Foster to get her attention. Eventually, he settled on a scheme to impress her by assassinating President Jimmy Carter, thinking that by achieving a place in history, he would appeal to her as an equal. Hinckley trailed Carter from state to state, and was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, on a firearms charge.

Hinckley was released from institutional psychiatric care on September 10, 2016, with many conditions. He was required to live full-time at his mother's home in Williamsburg, Virginia. In addition, the following prohibitions and requirements were imposed on him: He is not allowed to drink, he is not allowed to to have weapons, he is not allowed to contact the Reagan family, or Jodie Foster or her family and agent, he is not allowed to watch violent movies or programs...or porn, he is not allowed to visit the graves of any president, and he is not allowed to erase his computer's web browser history.

Emanuel Swedenborg on This Day in History

 

See also The Wisdom of Emanuel Swedenborg - 70 Books on DVDrom

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

Swedish scientist, philosopher and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg died on this day in 1772. Considered one of the greatest mystics of all time, he accurately predicted the time and day of his death. Swedenborg also somehow knew of a fire that had broken out in Stockholm when he was at a dinner party hundreds of miles away. Swedenborg amazed the dinner guests as he spoke of the spread and eventual halt of the blaze, and when the news of it reached them a few days later, they discovered that he was correct.

Swedenborg's religion was based on the Bible and revelation, and he rejected sola fide (faith-alone) and the Trinity.

American pioneer and legend Johnny Appleseed was a follower of Emanuel Swedenborg and when not planting trees, he was spreading his Swedenborgian faith. Helen Keller was a Swedenborgian. William Blake, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jorge Luis Borges, and W. B. Yeats were all influenced by Swedenborgian ideas. The actors Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal hail from a prominent American Swedenborgian lineage. Dr. Oz has been influenced Swedenborg as well.

See also: The Mysticism of Emanuel Swedenborg by Lewis Spence 1920

Emanuel Swedenborg on the Trinity Doctrine

Emanuel Swedenborg on the Name Jehovah

The Three Mile Island Nuclear Incident on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The Three Mile Island nuclear accident happened on this day in 1979. This one incident changed the public perception of the risks of nuclear energy, seemingly forever. However, no one died. No one was injured. The other reactor on the site was still in operation until September 20 2019.

A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island's Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania led to the core overheating and a partial meltdown. Cancer fears had the Pennsylvania Department of Health track people living within a 5 mile radius of Three Mile Island until 1997, but it was determined that there had been no unusual health trends or increased cancer cases in the area immediately surrounding the accident. Petr Beckmann stated three decades ago in his classic "The Health Hazards of NOT Going Nuclear," every means of generating power has dangers and risks, but nuclear power “is far safer than any other form of large-scale energy conversion yet invented.” Beckmann observed, “dam disasters have killed thousands of people (at least 2,000 in India in August 1979); many hundreds have died in explosions and fires of gas, oil, butane, gasoline, and other fuels...”

Nuclear energy results in 99.8% fewer deaths than brown coal; 99.7% fewer than coal; 99.6% fewer than oil; and 97.5% fewer than gas. Nuclear energy is by far the safest energy source. "Emotional not rational reasons are why people have rejected nuclear energy. Looking at the basic facts, nuclear energy is the cleanest, safest, and cheapest approach to energy production. The risks of nuclear energy are greatly exaggerated by activists, politicians, and the media, which promote agendas rather than fact."~Len Calderone

Typhoid Mary on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States was put in quarantine for the second time, where she would remain for the rest of her life, on this day in 1915. Typhoid Mary, whose real name is Mary Mallon, was an Irish-born cook believed to have infected 53 people with typhoid fever, three of whom died, and she was the first person in the United States identified as an asymptomatic carrier of the disease. There were only a few others with typhoid fever in history who did not have symptoms. Mary's story is a rare example of someone who should be quarantined while exhibiting no symptoms. 

As one doctor wrote to Walter Block last year: "As a physician I’ll allow that forced isolation and even, compulsory directly observed treatment may have a justifiable role in very limited circumstances, as for example when an actively contagious individual has been found to deliberately and repeatedly sicken other individuals with grave outcome. This may have been the case with Mary Mallon, and if so, her misconduct could have been addressed through judicial procedures. I hardly believe this to be the case with C O V I D 1 9 or any other epidemic I’ve dealt with in 40 years of practice." Thinking that something is thought to be serious "is insufficient reason to forcibly deny an individual their due process. It is widely thought that guns and bullets are the cause of civil unrest. Cars are related to thousands of deaths annually. Should we forcibly disarm the entire citizenry, or ban all motor vehicles or any number of other risky activities that may be widely thought to threaten ‘the public health'? I think not. My point is that the civil response to any threat or contagion is a matter of the degree of the danger and should be a rational nuanced response. The political response to C O V I D 1 9 including mass quarantine has been anything but rational and nuanced, and the more serious danger is the deliberate manipulation by the state of a widely feared but mostly benign infection to crush a population into submission. Curiously, the proven threat of  biological weapons research seems to rate low on the state’s danger scale. Rather than permanently quarantining this loathsome and sickening enterprise, it is surreptitiously encouraged and funded or concealed off shore."

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/typhoid-mary-2/

Buy my Kindle book on Amazon on the Strange History of Medicine for only 99 cents
See a local listing for it here

The Heaven's Gate Mass Suicides on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Thirty-nine bodies were found in the Heaven's Gate mass suicides on this day in 1997. The suicides were conducted in order to reach what they believed was an extraterrestrial spacecraft following Comet Hale–Bopp. All 39 members were dressed in identical black shirts and sweat pants, brand new black-and-white Nike Decades, and armband patches reading "Heaven's Gate Away Team."

The leaders of the Heaven's Gate group, Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, came to their beliefs by reading books on Theosophy, and the King James Bible, Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull), the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi and the science fiction works of Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. With this they concluded that they were the two witnesses described in the Book of Revelation.

This wasn't the only religiously motivated mass suicide. The most infamous was the 1978 Peoples Temple mass suicide where almost a thousand bodies were found. From 1994 to 1997, the Order of the Solar Temple's members began a series of mass suicides, which led to roughly 74 deaths. In 2007, in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, a family of nine, all members of a the "Adam's cult", committed mass suicide by hurling themselves under a train. There was also a family in Burari, India, in 2018 where all the members hanged themselves. 

On March 17, 2000, 778 members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God died in Uganda were found dead. The theory that all of the members died in a mass suicide was changed to mass murder when decomposing bodies were discovered in pits with signs of strangulation while others had stab wounds.

See also 300 Books on DVD on Christian Cults & Sects (Adventism, Mormon, Amish etc)

For a list of all of my disks and digital books click here

Elvis Tribute Singer Ronnie McDowell on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: American country music artist and songwriter Ronnie McDowell was born on this day in 1950. I really only know him for one song, "The King is Gone", a tribute to Elvis Presley, that was released shortly after Elvis' death in 1977. I was so torn up about Elvis dying that I went out and bought a 45 rpm record of this song as soon as I heard it.

The song peaked at number thirteen on Billboard's Hot 100 singles, and became a gold record. To date, "The King Is Gone" has sold more than 5 million copies. If you've ever seen the Kurt Russell Elvis movie, that was Ronnie McDowell's voice on there. McDowell also sang the Elvis vocals for the 1981 TV movie Elvis and the Beauty Queen and for the 1988 TV miniseries Elvis and Me, as well as a 1990 TV series called Elvis. McDowell also contributed to the 1997 Showtime special, Elvis Meets Nixon.

Wikipedia actually has an entry for "List of songs about or referencing Elvis Presley." There are well over 100 of them.

Mysteriarch Harry Houdini on this Day in History

 

This Day in History: Hungarian-born American illusionist, stunt performer and mysteriarch Harry Houdini was born on this day in 1874. If you're wondering what a "mysteriarch" is, it is someone who presides over mysteries. Magician Penn Jillette once said, "We look back on the 20th Century in 100 years, and look at entertainment, the only two people in the running for being remembered in the 20th Century are Elvis Presley and Houdini."

Houdini named himself after another magician, Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin whom he later attacked as a liar and a fraud. Houdini also had a brother who was also a successful magician, Theo Hardeen. 

Houdini spent much of his time debunking psychics, spirit mediums and spiritualists as phonies. He had a good friendship for a while with Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, until Doyle's wife held a seance to conjure up Houdini's beloved mother. 15 pages of automatic writing were produced in fine grammatical English. Houdini smelled a rat because his mother barely knew any English. 

There is now a wild theory that Doyle had Houdini killed because Houdini called his wife a liar.

See: Did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle kill Harry Houdini? Probably not, but their weird rivalry is fascinating

https://theovertake.com/~rivalry/doyle-vs-houdini/

See also Magic Tricks, Card Tricks plus More - 50 Books on CDrom

For a list of all of my digital books click here

"Mommie Dearest" Joan Crawford on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: American film and television actress Joan Crawford was born on this day (March 23) in 1904. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Crawford tenth on its list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema and her film career spanned 6 decades. 

A year after her death, her daughter Christina Crawford released a tell-all book entitled Mommie Dearest, which was later turned into a movie starring Faye Dunaway. If you've seen it you probably remember the No Wire Hangers scene. The book contains allegations that Joan Crawford was emotionally and physically abusive to Christina and her brother Christopher because she chose fame and her career over parenthood. Some actors, like Myrna Loy denounced the book and denied any abuse. However, even Myrna Loy is on record as saying: "....if ever there was a girl who needed a good whack it was spoiled, horrible Christina. Believe me, there were many times I wanted to smack her myself."

At any rate, she explicitly disinherited the two eldest, Christina and Christopher: "It is my intention to make no provision herein for my son, Christopher, or my daughter, Christina, for reasons which are well known to them." This probably had something to do with them using wire hangers :) Faye Dunaway did so much screaming during that one scene in the Mommie Dearest movie that she lost her voice for a while.

Mommie Dearest is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony Strange Laws on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlawed the possession of cards, dice, shuffleboard and gaming tables on this day in 1630. Sleeping during church services and engaging in any number of activities on the Sabbath was also a crime. One man was ordered to spend two hours in the public stocks because he kissed his wife on the Sabbath. Smoking tobacco, abusing one's mother-in-law, profane dancing, pulling hair and celebrating Christmas was also unlawful.

The making of toasts—not drinking, just making toasts while drinking was also banned, as was the “excessive wearing of lace.”

Over the centuries, most of the Puritanical "blue laws" have been repealed or simply ignored, but in Connecticut, it is still illegal to sell alcohol on Christmas day, unless you’re in a casino.

Presently, in Boston, it is illegal to swear inside city limits. It is also illegal to eat peanuts in church, and tomatoes may not be used in the production of clam chowder. False teeth must be removed during sex, and it is illegal to play the fiddle. Goatees are illegal unless you obtain and pay for a license to wear your goatee in public.

See also American History & Mysteries, Over 200 PDF Books on DVDrom

For a list of all of my disks, with links click here 

Musical Genius Johann Sebastian Bach on this Day in History

 

This Day in History: German Baroque composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach was born on this day in 1685. Bach has generally been regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, and his name ranks as one of the top three composers of all time, alongside Mozart and Beethoven.  

Bach comes from a very musical family: "Bach’s great-grandfather was a piper. His grandfather was a court musician. His father was a violinist, organist, court trumpeter, and kettledrum player. At least two of his uncles were composers. He had five brothers—all named Johann—and the three who lived to adulthood became musicians. J.S. Bach also had 20 children, and, of those who lived past childhood, at least five became professional composers. According to the Nekrolog, an obituary written by Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, '[S]tarting with Veit Bach, the founding father of this family, all his descendants, down to the seventh generation, have dedicated themselves to the profession of music, with only a few exceptions.'" Mental Floss

Bach influenced the structure of Procol Harum's biggest hit, ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ and may be behind the Beatles songs “Penny Lane,” “In My Life,” and “Blackbird.” Nearly 300 years after his death, Johann Sebastian Bach is still the gold standard in classical music. 

“He's the teacher par excellence...His music has influenced every later generation of composers and musicians – a heritage that continues right up to our own time. My friend Krzysztof Penderecki told me that without Bach he would never have written his own St Luke Passion.”~Helmuth Rilling

"What makes Bach a true genius, is not his musical precocity, nor his virtuosity, nor his great musical output. It is his ability to communicate and to be understood by all; regardless of the age, background and knowledge. If music—and art to the extent—is a language, then geniuses are its great communicators, and Bach is one of them. He was also a great teacher, and a lot of his works are didactic and therefore find meaning for many musicians. To me, Bach is the man who organised and structured the language of Western music." Doug Thomas 

“Bach is the beginning and end of all music.” Max Reger

JS Bach named as the Greatest Composer of All Time by today’s leading composers

Genius, Insanity and Johann Sebastian Bach by J. Nisbet 1912

Air on a G String

Vanessa Mae Plays Bach

See also The Science & Appreciation of Classical Music - 175 Books on DVDROM

Today is the First Day of Spring

 

Today is the first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox. The word equinox is derived from two Latin words - aequus (equal) and nox (night). At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on the equinox, and that usually happens between March 19 to 21.

There are however countries that have Spring during different times of the year. In Australia and New Zealand, spring begins on 1 September and ends on 30 November. In Ireland, following the Gaelic calendar, spring is often defined as February, March, and April. In Sweden, meteorologists define the beginning of spring as the first occasion on which the average 24 hours temperature exceeds zero degrees Celsius for seven consecutive days, thus the date varies with latitude and elevation. In Brazil, spring months are September, October, November, and December. In Iceland, the first day of summer, a national holiday, falls on the first Thursday after April 18.

The Vikings had only two seasons: Winter and Summer. In fact, many countries don't have the 4 seasons that we do, because they lie between Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

The Pope's Anti-Communist Encyclical on This Day in History

 

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

This Day in History: Pope Pius XI issued the Divini Redemptoris, an anti-communist encyclical on this day in 1937. The encyclical describes communism as "a system full of errors and sophisms" that "subverts the social order, because it means the destruction of its foundations."

Pius XI goes on to contrast Communism with the civitas humana (ideal human civilization), which is marked by love, respect for human dignity, economic justice, and the rights of workers. He faults industrialists and employers who do not adequately support their workers for creating a climate of discontent in which people are tempted to embrace Communism. This reminds me of Willi Schlamm's refrain: “The problem with capitalism is capitalists. The problem with socialism is socialism.”

Pius XI once remarked, "No one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist."

His work expressed concern with Communism developing in the Soviet Union, Spain, and Mexico, and it condemned the Western press for its apparent "conspiracy of silence" in failing to cover such events in those countries. People forget that Mexico was one of the first Communist countries. 

Times change and now the present pope is often labelled a Socialist.

https://spectator.org/pope-franciss-communist-mentor/

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

The New London School Explosion on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The New London School explosion occurred on this day in 1937, when a natural gas leak caused an explosion, destroying the London School of New London, Texas, a community in Rusk County previously known as "London". The disaster killed more than 295 students and teachers. This event is the third deadliest disaster in the history of Texas, after the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the 1947 Texas City disaster (one of history's largest non-nuclear explosions). This story is what happens when school officials make bad decisions. To save money on heating the school building, the trustees had authorized workers to tap into a pipeline carrying “waste” natural gas produced by a gasoline refinery. The explosion led to laws that now require gas companies to add the familiar pungent odor. 

This was such big news at the time that even Adolf Hitler paid his respects in the form of a telegram, a copy of which is on display at the London Museum.

There was also another large school disaster in 1908 (the Collinwood school fire) that killed 172 students, two teachers and one rescuer. 1958 saw the "Our Lady of the Angels School" fire in Chicago that killed 92 pupils and 3 nuns.

https://www.amazon.com/Gone-Untold-Disaster-American-History-ebook/dp/B006Z9JXPS

Executions in North Carolina on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Patrick Lane Moody, a convicted murderer, was executed in Raleigh, North Carolina on this day in 2006 for killing the husband of his girlfriend. 2006 was the last year executions were held in North Carolina. From 1984 to 2006, 43 people were executed in my state of North Carolina, only one being a woman. Most of the men were white, with 13 being black. Most executions are done by lethal injection...two were by Gas chamber. Death row for males is located at the Central Prison. Female death row prisoners are housed at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women. Both prisons are located in Raleigh. 

The infamous Black Widow, Blanche Taylor Moore, is still on death row in North Carolina. She is 88 years old.

The death penalty has been a part of North Carolina law since the state was a British colony. The first known execution by colonial authorities was the hanging of a Native American man in 1726.

 

As of 2018, there were 141 people on death row in North Carolina (North Carolina has the sixth largest death row in the USA)...a few end up dying of natural causes while awaiting execution. There have been nine people in North Carolina sentenced to death who turned out to be innocent.

The Thunderbird and the Toronado on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The Ford Motor Company produced its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird on this day in 1958. The Ford Thunderbird was introduced in February 1953 as a response to Chevrolet's new sports car, the Corvette, so it initially was only a 2-seater. The last Thunderbird was manufactured on July 1, 2005.

Today also marks the day when General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado on this day in 1968. The last Toronado rolled off the assembly line on May 28, 1992. The last Oldsmobile was made on April 29, 2004. The Toronado was actually made into a limousine in the late 60's. 

Like the T-Bird, the Toronado also made its way into the movies and TV, in shows like Mannix, Charlie's Angels, Adam-12 and Mad Men. 

The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado was the first U.S. front-wheel-drive car since the Cord 810 from the 1930's. There is also a Canadian version of the Toronado called the 67 X (also Toronado 67X, Esso 67X). Only four of these vehicles were ever made, but they included swiveling seats, a sofa, and even a refrigeration unit.

Like many other cars (Pontiac, Seneca, Firebird, Dakota) the Thunderbird derives its name from the Native American legend of a mythic bird that created thunder and lightning. The Toronado however had no prior meaning. 

Freemasonry and Other Secret Societies - Over 120 PDF Books to Download

Only $5.00 -  You can pay using the Cash App by sending money to $HeinzSchmitz and send me an email at theoldcdbookshop@gmail.com with your email for the download. You can also pay using Facebook Pay in Messenger

Books Scanned from the Originals into PDF format - For a list of all of my digital books click here

Join my Facebook Group - Contact theoldcdbookshop@gmail.com for questions

Books are in the public domain. I will take checks or money orders as well.

Contents of Disk (created on a Windows computer):

The Supression of the Templars, article in The American Catholic quarterly review 1891 ("these abominable beasts, endowed with human forms, these brothers—or rather enemies—armed with the sign of the cross, long ago devoted their souls to Satan in their reception into the Order, by a denial of Christ, by a spitting on the cross, and by other things not to be mentioned for the sake of human shame."

An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences, Volume 1, by Albert Gallatin Mackey 1912

An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences, Volume 2, by Albert Gallatin Mackey 1912

George Washington's Relations to Freemasonry, article in the Catholic Fortnightly review 1908

The Crime of the Templars, article in The Gentleman's magazine 1893

Washington the Freemason, article in The American Catholic historical researches 1902

The Mysteries of Freemasonry by John Fellows 1860

The Catholic Church and Secret Societies by Peter Rosen 1902

The Occult Side of Freemasonry, article in Borderland 1895

Luciferianism or Satanism in English Freemasonry, Volume 1 by L. Fouquet 1898

Luciferianism or Satanism in English Freemasonry, Volume 2 by L. Fouquet 1898

The Secret Warfare of Freemasonry against Church and State by Georg Pachtler 1875

Traditions of Freemasonry and its coincidences with the ancient mysteries by Azaraiah Pierson 1870*

The Ancient Mysteries and Modern Masonry by Charles Vail 1908

The Rosicrucian Philosophy in Questions and Answers by Max Steindel 1922

The Knight's Templars, the Trial and Condemnation of the Templars, article in The Library Magazine 1886

The Mysteries of Masonry being the Outline of a Universal Philosophy founded upon the ritual and degrees of ancient freemasonry by LE Reynolds 1870

Freemasonry and Catholicism - An Exposition of the Cosmic Facts Underlying these 2 Great Institutions as Determined by Occult Investigations by Max Heindel 1919

The History of the Knights Templars, the Temple Church, and the Temple by CG Addison 1842

The Rosicrucians, their Rites and Mysteries with chapters on the Ancient Fire- and Serpent-Worshipers, and explanations of the mystic symbols represented in the monuments and talismans of the primeval philosophers by Hargrave Jennings 1870

The History of Freemasonry - its Antiquities, Symbols, Constitutions, Customs by RF Gould, Volume 1, 1882 *

The History of Freemasonry - its Antiquities, Symbols, Constitutions, Customs by RF Gould, Volume 2, 1882

The History of Freemasonry - its Antiquities, Symbols, Constitutions, Customs by RF Gould, Volume 3, 1882

The History of Freemasonry - its Antiquities, Symbols, Constitutions, Customs by RF Gould, Volume 4, 1882

The History of Freemasonry - its Antiquities, Symbols, Constitutions, Customs by RF Gould, Volume 6, 1882

Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail by Alfred Nutt 1888

A Defence of Freemasonry by A Woodford 1874

Mysteries of the Rosie Cross - The History of that Curious Sect of the Middle Ages, known as the Rosicrucians 1891

The Arcana of Freemasonry by Albert Churchward 1915

A Concise History of Freemasonry by RF Gould 1904

What is Freemasonry by Norman Frederick De Clifford 1915

The Theocratic Philosophy of Freemasonry by George Oliver 1856

The Origin and Evolution of Freemasonry connected with the origin and evolution of the human race by Albert Churchward 1920

The Origin of Freemasonry and Knights Templar by John R Bennett 1907

Freemasonry in America prior to 1750 by MM Johnson 1917

A General History of Freemasonry in Europe by Emmanuel Rebold 1888

The Secret Societies of all Ages and Countries, embracing the Mysteries of Ancient India, China, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Greece, and Scandinavia, the Cabbalists, early Christians, Heretics, Assassins, Thugs, Templars, the Vehm and Inquisition, Mystics, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Freemasons, Skopzi, Camorristi, Carbonari, Nihilists, and other sects by Charles Heckethorn 1875, Volume 1

The Secret Societies of all Ages and Countries, embracing the Mysteries of Ancient India, China, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Greece, and Scandinavia, the Cabbalists, early Christians, Heretics, Assassins, Thugs, Templars, the Vehm and Inquisition, Mystics, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Freemasons, Skopzi, Camorristi, Carbonari, Nihilists, and other sects by Charles Heckethorn 1875, Volume 2

Who are the Jesuits by the Rev. Charles Coppens 1911

A Candid History of the Jesuits by Joseph McCabe 1913

Analyses of Fraternal Societies and illustrations of premium computations by Abb Landis 1906

Mysteria - History of the Secret Doctrines and mystic rites of ancient religions and medieval and modern secret orders by Otto Henne am Rhyn 1895

World Revolution - the Plot against Civilization by Nesta Webster 1921 (Socialism. Illuminism etc)

The Historical Landmarks and other Evidences of Freemasonry, Volume 1, by George Oliver 1846 (some pages unreadable)

The Historical Landmarks and other Evidences of Freemasonry, Volume 2, by George Oliver 1846

Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, carried on in the secret meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati and reading societies by John Robison 1798

An Essay on the Druids by Richard Smiddy 1871

A Lexicon of Freemasonry by Albert Mackey 1860

Social science and freemasonry by Edouard Blitz 1896

Collected essays and papers relating to Freemasonry by Robert Freke Gould, 1913

Legal Episodes in the History of Freemasonry by WJ Crawley 1899

The History of the Holy War by Thomas Fuller 1840 (lots of info on the Templars)

Traces of a Hidden Tradition in Masonry and and Medieval Mysticism (Theosophy, Templars, Holy Grail) by Isabel Cooper-Oakley 1900

The Book of the Epic, the World's Great Epics told in Story 1913 (Story of the Holy Grail) by Hélène Adeline Guerber 1913

The Legend of the Holy Grail by Sylvester Baxter 1904

In Quest of the Holy Grail by Sebastian Evans 1898

Curious Myths of the Middle Ages by S Baring Gould 1868

Legends of the Middle Ages by HA Guerber 1896

The Great Epics of Medieval Germany by George Dippold 1884

About Fictitious and Forged Masonic MSS, article in the Masonic Review 1890

So-Called Henry 5th or John Locke Masonic MSS, article in the Masonic Review 1892

About 3 Original Orders of Knights Templars, article in the Masonic Review 1892

How Masonic Writers Perverted Masonic History, article in the Masonic Review 1892

How Bigots Undermined Masonic Universality, article in the Masonic Review 1892

Astrology of the Old Testament, article in the Masonic Review 1894

The San Greal by Frederic Guillaume Bergmann 1870

Epics and Romances of the Middle Ages by W Wagner 1887

The Lights and Shadows of Freemasonry Consisting of Masonic Tales, Songs, and Sketches by Robert Morris 1852 (poor quality)

A Conspiracy of the Carbonari by L Muhlbach 1896

New England and the Bavarian Illuminati by Vernon Stauffer 1918

Freemasonry in the Holy Land - Handmarks of Hiram's builders by Robert Morris 1876

Masonic Biography and Dictionary by Augustus Row 1868

Legends of the Virgin and Christ by Helene Adeline Guerber 1896

Dangers of Jesuit Instruction, article in Brownson's Quarterly Review 1846

Footprints of Satan, The Pope, Jesuits against the Bible and Public Schools 1890

The Black Pope - History of the Jesuits by Mary Francis Cusack - 1896

Fourteen years a Jesuit, Volume 1, by Paul Hoensbroech 1911

Fourteen years a Jesuit, Volume 2, by Paul Hoensbroech 1911

A Catalogue Raisonné of Works on the Occult Sciences, Volume 1 (Rosicrucians) by F Leigh Gardiner 1903

A Catalogue Raisonné of Works on the Occult Sciences, Volume 2 by F Leigh Gardiner 1903

A Catalogue Raisonné of Works on the Occult Sciences, Volume 3 (Freemasons) by F Leigh Gardiner 1903

The Murder of Abraham Lincoln planned and Executed by Jesuit Priests 1893

The Jesuits unveiled by JC Pitrat 1851

Christian Brotherhoods by FD Leete 1912

The Deeper Mysteries by Edward Clarence Farnsworth - 1921

Manual of Universal Church History, Volume 1, REV. DR. John Alzog - 1878

Manual of Universal Church History, Volume 2, REV. DR. John Alzog - 1878

Manual of Universal Church History, Volume 3, REV. DR. John Alzog - 1878

Jesuit Juggling by Richard Baxter 1835

A Glimpse of the Great Secret Society by Charles Newdigate 1872

The Jesuits in Great Britain- an historical inquiry into their Political Influence 1903 by Walter Walsh

Secret Societies and the French revolution by Una Pope-Hennessy 1911

Philosophical history of Freemasonry and other Secret Societies - The secret societies of all ages considered in their relations with, and influence on, the moral, social, and intellectual progress of man by ACL Arnold 1854

The Knights Templars by CG Addison 1852

The Rosicrucian Mysteries by Max Heindel 1916

History of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons and Concordant Orders 1895

Gleanings of a Mystic by Max Heindel 1922

The Rosicrucian Philosophy in Questions and Answers by Max Heindel 1922

The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception - Mystic Christianity by Max Heindel 1911

The Temple of the Rosy Cross - The Soul: its Powers, Migration, and Transmigrations by FB Dowd 1882

The Rosicrucians, their Rites and Mysteries with chapters on the ancient fire and serpent-worshipers and explanations of the mystic symbols represented in the monuments and talismans of the primeval philosophers by Hargrave Jennings 1870

Rosicrucian Symbology by George W Plummer 1916

The Holy Guide Leading the Way to the Wonder of the World - a Complete Physician teaching the knowledge of all things, past, present, and to come with RosiCrucian Medicines by John Heydon 1662

Rosicrucian Fundamentals - an Exposition of the Rosicrucian Synthesis of Religion, Science and Philosophy by George W Plummer 1920

Evolution of Immortality by FB Dowd 1900

Dark Scenes of History, Volume 1 by GPR James 1849

Dark Scenes of History, Volume 2 by GPR James 1849

The Hallowed Spots of Ancient London by Eliza Meteyard 1870

Abbeys, Castles, and Ancient Halls of England and Wales - their Legendary Lore and Popular History, Volume 1 by John Timbs 1872

Abbeys, Castles, and Ancient Halls of England and Wales - their Legendary Lore and Popular History, Volume 2 by John Timbs 1872

Abbeys, Castles, and Ancient Halls of England and Wales - their Legendary Lore and Popular History, Volume 3 by John Timbs 1872

The Round Towers of Ireland - The Mysteries of Freemasonry, of Sabaism, and of Budhism for the First Time Unveiled by Henry O'Brien 1834

A Study of Freemasonry by Félix Dupanloup 1876

For a list of all of my digital books and disks click here
 gdixierose

Horror Master H.P. Lovecraft on This Day in History

Supernatural Horror in Literature by Lovecraft

This Day in History: H.P. Lovecraft died on this day in 1937. He is one of the most significant and influential authors of all time, and certainly one of my favorites. However, like Edgar Allan Poe, he was under-appreciated in his time and died in poverty. He had an amazing way with words: "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."

As an atheist, he had good words for the Bible: "An excellent habit to cultivate is the analytical study of the King James Bible. For simple yet rich and forceful English, this masterly production is hard to equal; and even though its Saxon vocabulary and poetic rhythm be unsuited to general composition, it is an invaluable model for writers on quaint or imaginative themes."

See also: Is there a connection between H.P. Lovecraft & Aleister Crowley? Dr. Robert M. Price

Quotes by Howard Phillips Lovecraft: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”

“I couldn't live a week without a private library - indeed, I'd part with all my furniture and squat and sleep on the floor before I'd let go of the 1500 or so books I possess.”

“To be bitter is to attribute intent and personality to the formless, infinite, unchanging and unchangeable void. We drift on a chartless, resistless sea. Let us sing when we can, and forget the rest..”

“If I am mad, it is mercy! May the gods pity the man who in his callousness can remain sane to the hideous end!”

“I never ask a man what his business is, for it never interests me. What I ask him about are his thoughts and dreams.”

“Contrary to what you may assume, I am not a pessimist but an indifferentist- that is, I don't make the mistake of thinking that the... cosmos... gives a damn one way or the other about the especial wants and ultimate welfare of mosquitoes, rats, lice, dogs, men, horses, pterodactyls, trees, fungi, dodos, or other forms of biological energy.”

“Unhappy is he to whom the memories of childhood bring only fear and sadness.”

“I felt myself on the edge of the world; peering over the rim into a fathomless chaos of eternal night.”

If you like audiobooks like I do, make sure you listen to the Lovecraft library with Wayne June as the narrator.

H.P. Lovecraft - The Shunned House - Read by Wayne June

At the Mountains of Madness

The Tomb

The Lurking Fear

The Thing on the Doorstep

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

This Kindle book, 70 Forgotten Ghost Stories is now available on Amazon by clicking here...and it is only 99 cents and Edgar Allan Poe - An Exhumation is available on Amazon by clicking here...and it is only 99 cents

See also: Great Quotes by H.P. Lovecraft
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/10/great-quotes-by-hp-lovecraft.html

See also Supernatural Horror in Fiction Literature - 350 Books on DVDrom (Lovecraft)
http://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2015/09/supernatural-horror-in-fiction.html

Read H.P. Lovecraft for FREE Here

Buy : Halloween and the Strange in Story and History for 99 cents (50 Chapters) and Buy this Kindle book on Amazon on Vampires and Werewolves for only 1.99

Copyright Troll Eli Whitney on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin on this day in 1794. A cotton gin – meaning "cotton engine" – is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.

The book "Against Intellectual Monopoly" by Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine has an interesting story about the cotton gin and Eli Whitney: "the cotton gin was enormously valuable in the South of the United States, where it made Southern cotton a profitable crop for the first time...Eli Whitney also had a business partner, Phineas Miller, and the two opted for a monopolistic pricing scheme...They would install their machines throughout Georgia and the South and charge farmers a fee to do the ginning for them. Their charge was two-fifths of the profit, paid to them in cotton. Not surprisingly, farmers did not like this pricing scheme very much and started to 'pirate' the machine. Whitney and Miller spent a lot of time and money trying to enforce their patent on the cotton gin, but with little success. Between 1794 and 1807, they went around the South bringing to court everyone in sight, yet received little compensation for their strenuous efforts. In the meanwhile, and thanks also to all that 'pirating', the Southern cotton-growing and cotton-ginning sector grew at a healthy pace."

https://www.amazon.com/Against-Intellectual-Monopoly-Michele-Boldrin-ebook/dp/B001E9731A

Eli Whitney did eventually become wealthy with muskets without enforcing copyright.

American Lawyer Clarence Darrow on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: American lawyer Clarence Darrow died on this day in 1938. Considered on of the greatest American lawyers, he became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. I know him better for some of his opinions on crime and government. 

Consider: "War is a profound and rapid maker of mental attitudes and of complexes that are quick to develop and slow to pass away. Both the quick development and slow decay are probably due to the fact that war meets a decided response in the primitive nature of man."

https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-influence-of-war-upon-crime-by.html

"The beginnings of the state can be traced back to the early history of the human race when the strongest savage seized the largest club and with this weapon enforced his rule upon the other members of the tribe. By means of strength and cunning he became the chief and exercised this power, not to protect the weak but to take the good things of the earth for himself and his. One man by his unaided strength could not long keep the tribe in subjection to his will, so he chose lieutenants and aids, and these too were taken for their strength and prowess, and were given a goodly portion of the fruits of power for the loyalty and help they lent their chief. No plans for the general good ever formed a portion of the scheme of government evolved by these barbarous chiefs. The great mass were slaves, and their lives and liberty held at the absolute disposal of the strong."

https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-nature-of-government-by-clarence.html

He also had a sense of humor: "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."

"When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it."

See also 500 Books on 2 DVDROMs for Libertarians and Objectivists

For a list of all of my disks, with links click here

Today is World Day Against Cyber Censorship

 

This Day in History: Today is World Day Against Cyber Censorship, which is  an online event held each year on March 12 to rally support for a single, unrestricted Internet that is accessible to all and to draw attention to the ways that governments around the world are deterring and censoring free speech online. Of course many governments now no longer have to censor speech as the giant tech companies are more than willing to do it for them. We used to say proudly that "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" but now we hear, "I support free speech...BUT." The BUT usually includes something about "hate speech." But who gets to decide what is hateful? I see hateful speech against white people all the time, and this seems to not only be allowed, but encouraged. Also,  freedom of speech is meaningless unless it means the freedom of the person who thinks differently...that's the entire reason to have free speech.

Christopher Hitchens once said of the holocaust denier: "That person doesn't just have a right to speak, that person's right to speak must be given extra protection because what he has to say must have taken him some effort to come up with." He follows this with: "One of the proudest moments of my life, that's to say in the recent past, has been defending the British historian David Irving who is now in prison in Austria for nothing more than the potential of uttering an unwelcomed thought on Austrian soil."

George Orwell once noted: "The point is that the relative freedom which we enjoy depends of public opinion. The law is no protection. Governments make laws, but whether they are carried out, and how the police behave, depends on the general temper in the country. If large numbers of people are interested in freedom of speech, there will be freedom of speech, even if the law forbids it; if public opinion is sluggish, inconvenient minorities will be persecuted, even if laws exist to protect them… The notion that certain opinions cannot safely be allowed a hearing is growing. It is given currency by intellectuals who confuse the issue by not distinguishing between democratic opposition and open rebellion, and it is reflected in our growing indifference to tyranny and injustice abroad. And even those who declare themselves to be in favour of freedom of opinion generally drop their claim when it is their own adversaries who are being prosecuted." George Orwell, “Freedom of the Park,” Tribune (Dec. 7, 1945)

See also: Free Speech IS the Speech You Hate - Quotations on Freedom of Expression

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet on This Day in History

This Day in History: The characters Romeo and Juliet were married this day in 1302 according to William Shakespeare. Many of Shakespeare's plays have been accused of plagiarism. Take Romeo and Juliet for instance. This is a variation of the several older stories from Italy, which are also reworkings of the ancient tale of Pyramus and Thisbe in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Pyramus and Thisbe's parents refused to consent to their union, so the lovers at last resolved to flee together and agreed to meet under a mulberry tree. Thisbe was the first to arrive but was terrified by the roar of a lioness and took to flight. In so doing she dropped her veil, which the lioness tore to pieces with jaws stained with the blood of an ox. Pyramus, believing that Thisbe had been devoured by the lioness, stabbed himself. When Thisbe returned and found her lover mortally wounded under the mulberry tree, she put an end to her own life. 

Also, the Montagues and Capulets in R&J were first mentioned in Dante's Inferno. There was also an earlier 1562 poem by Arthur Brooke called “The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet.”

Perhaps Mark Twain was right when he said: “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations."

Did you know: Juliet was only 13 years old.

See also Who Really Wrote Shakespeare's Plays? 50 Books on CDrom

For a list of all of my disks, ebooks and downloads, with links click here - Join my Facebook Group

 

The Orwellian Eugen Richter on This Day in History

 

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

This Day in History: German politician and journalist Eugen Richter died on this day in 1906. Richter was a fervent anti-Socialist, and his 1891 novel "Pictures of the Socialistic Future" was the 19th century equivalent of George Orwell's 1984. In "Pictures of the Socialistic Future" he predicts what would happen if socialism was put into practice. He showed that government ownership of the means of production and central planning of the economy would lead to shortages, and he drew attention to the problem of incentives in the absence of profits. He also anticipated the Berlin Wall where he showed that it would be necessary to kill people to prevent them from leaving. His work has been described as "prophetic" of what socialism would mean.

"What inspired Richter to make these grim—yet uncannily accurate—predictions about the 'socialistic future'? The most plausible hypothesis is that Richter personally knew the leading socialists from the German Reichstag, and saw them for what they were. I submit that he repeatedly peppered the socialists with unpleasant hypotheticals, from 'Under socialism, who will take out the garbage?' to 'What will you do if skilled workers flee the country?' When socialist politicians responded with hysteria and evasion, Richter drew the natural inference: 'If this is how these ‘idealists’ deal with critical questions before they have power, just imagine how they’ll deal with critical actions after they have power!'" Bryan Kaplan 

The Dystopian Novel that Foresaw the Nightmares of Socialism

Pictures of the Socialistic Future: An Interview with Bryan Caplan

 

The Barbie Doll on This Day in History

 

Real Life Barbie Valeria Lukyanova 

This Day in History: The Barbie doll debuted on this day in 1959, making her 62 years old. Barbie is fashioned after a German doll called Bild Lilli which stopped being produced after Mattel bought them out. Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making it the company's largest and most profitable line. The first Barbie sold for $3 each, and if you still have one you may be able to sell it at auction for $25,000.

Barbie has come under some controversy over the years because of her unrealistic body image and for a lack of diversity. Imagine being these people. However, that hasn't stopped a few people from trying to look like her. The most famous of these is Ukrainian model Valeria Lukyanova who maintains her Barbie look using makeup, contact lenses, breast implants and strange diets.  

Remember the 1997 Barbie Girl song by Aqua? Mattel sued MCA records over trademark violation. Mattel lost. 

Female Pirate Anne Bonny on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: One of the most famous female pirates of all time, Anne Bonny, was born on this day in 1697. She worked alongside Calico Jack Rackham who became her pirate partner and lover. She was captured with Rackham and Mary Read in October 1720. All three were sentenced to death, but Bonny and Read had their executions stayed because both of them were pregnant. 

There were quite a few female pirates in history, such as Lady Mary Killigrew, Lady Elizabeth Killigrew, Elizabetha Patrickson, Christina Anna Skytte (Swedish), Maria Lindsey, Maria Cobham, Ingela Gathenhielm (also Swedish), Mary Farley (Carolina coast), Mary Crickett (Virginia), Flora Burn, Rachel Wall, Charlotte de Berry, Ching Shih, Charlotte Badger (aka Catherine Hagerty, the first Australian female pirate), Margaret Croke (aka Margaret Jordan, a Canadian), Johanna Hård, and Sadie the Goat. All of the 20th century female pirates that I know about were Chinese. There were also quite a few female pirates during the Viking Age.

See also: Pirates and Buccaneers of the High Seas, 50 Books on CDrom

Aquinas and Aristotle on This Day in History

This Day in History: Aristotle died on this day in 322 BC, and Thomas Aquinas died on this day in 1274, however both are linked together. The Dark Ages began to see light again when Aquinas discovered Aristotle's writings which were  translated into Latin in his time. Plato was the dominant philosopher in the early Church while Aristotle was rejected. As one writer put it: "Abandoning Aristotelianism was the single greatest mistake ever made in the entire history of Western thought." - Edward Feser

The writings of Aristotle, their errors notwithstanding, preserved a huge intellectual storehouse of knowledge and argument in Logic, Metaphysics, Ethics, Biology, Politics, Rhetoric, Poetics, and so on, to give the western world a firm basis to re-establish itself, and put certain key ideas at the forefront of that re-birth, particularly the emphasis on Reason.

According to the philosopher Bryan Magee, "it is doubtful whether any human being has ever known as much as he did". Taneli Kukkonen, writing in The Classical Tradition, observes that his achievement in founding two sciences is unmatched, and his reach in influencing "every branch of intellectual enterprise" including Western ethical and political theory, theology, rhetoric and literary analysis is equally long. As a result, Kukkonen argues, any analysis of reality today "will almost certainly carry Aristotelian overtones ... evidence of an exceptionally forceful mind." Jonathan Barnes wrote that "an account of Aristotle's intellectual afterlife would be little less than a history of European thought".

Aquinas brought Aristotle’s genius to Christendom and to the Western World which would eventually lead to Western enlightenment.

How Aristotle Created the Computer

See also The Philosophy of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle -200 Books on DVDrom