Here are links to a smattering of Texas newspapers which ran stories remembering Lady Bird Johnson. Remarks by local people are found in a number of the articles.
El Paso Times
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Southeast Texas Record
Dallas Morning News
Houston Chronicle
Brownsville Herald
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
San Antonio Express-News - with a priest's account of her last moments/last rites.
I turned six years old in Mineral Wells, Texas, in 1964. "Lady Bird" and "LBJ" became part and parcel of my vocabulary then, and there.
Lady Bird, LBJ, last rites
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Dutch Citizens Pedal About Everywhere
The Dutch bicycled an average of 1.5 miles a day for every man woman or child in the country last year. Bicycling is taken seriously there - and its not all pleasure-riding either:
bakfiet, bicycle, Holland, fuel economy, carbon dioxide
- Since 2002 Dutch citizens have been entitled a tax deduction of up to $950 for the purchase of a two-wheeler used to commute to work.
- There has been rise in the popularity of "bakfiets" - a hybrid between a wheelbarrow and a bicycle capable of hauling loads up to 175 pounds. [In this country, bakfiets have begun popping up in trendy cities like Vancouver, home of Rain City Bikes, and Portland, Oregon.][Update, 11:47 p.m. - I'm now informed that one can find/purchase Dutch bicycles and bakfiets in St. Augustine.]
- The U.S. population presently stands at just over 302,300,000. If every person in the U.S. bicycled 1.5 miles a day we'd have ridden over 453 million miles in a year.
- 453 million miles translates to about 22,672,500 gallons of gasoline (20 mpg).
- 22,672,500 gallons of gasoline produces about 453 million pounds of carbon dioxide when burned (the apparent paradox is explained here).
bakfiet, bicycle, Holland, fuel economy, carbon dioxide
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Lady Bird Johnson - Dead at 94
Claudia Alta Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson is dead.
Some of you know her as the "mother" of the 1965 Highway Beautification Bill, which she so tirelessly helped push through, establishing herself as one of the "first ladies" to take a deliberate role in legislative activities on a national scale.
Read the moving remarks made by President Lyndon Johnson at the signing of the bill here, or here.
Ever wondered how the lovely roadside wildflowers you see traveling America's byways got established? State departments of transportation have seeded roadsides since the bill was passed. The Clog Almanac commented on this topic in this post.
Sweet irony that the Honorable John W. Gardner was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare at the time of the address and bill's adoption.
Lady Bird, Lyndon Johnson, highway beautification, wildflowers
Some of you know her as the "mother" of the 1965 Highway Beautification Bill, which she so tirelessly helped push through, establishing herself as one of the "first ladies" to take a deliberate role in legislative activities on a national scale.
Read the moving remarks made by President Lyndon Johnson at the signing of the bill here, or here.
Ever wondered how the lovely roadside wildflowers you see traveling America's byways got established? State departments of transportation have seeded roadsides since the bill was passed. The Clog Almanac commented on this topic in this post.
Sweet irony that the Honorable John W. Gardner was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare at the time of the address and bill's adoption.
Lady Bird, Lyndon Johnson, highway beautification, wildflowers
2 Billion Mice Invade China Provincial Counties
Flooding in the Hunan Province of China has forced 2 billion mice from islands in Dongting Lake to seek higher ground. The mice have invaded human turf in 22 counties around the lake. Locals are building walls and ditches to stave off the assault.
Upside: People have killed more than 2 million of the rodents with clubs, garden implements, traps, poisons, and well, about any other way they can contrive.
Downside: at least 1000 cats in the town of Lujiao have made the ultimate sacrifice after eating mice that had ingested poison. [Just when the cats were needed most - Murphy's law of unintended consequences?]
Flooding and landslides have killed well over 300 people in Central China in recent weeks. Chinese officials and local residents fear disease outbreaks will result from the rodent invasion.
The BBC article linked above makes no mention of rats, snakes, spiders, ants, centipedes, monkeys, or any other creature, just in case you were wondering.
China, floods, mouse invasion, rodent, disease
Upside: People have killed more than 2 million of the rodents with clubs, garden implements, traps, poisons, and well, about any other way they can contrive.
Downside: at least 1000 cats in the town of Lujiao have made the ultimate sacrifice after eating mice that had ingested poison. [Just when the cats were needed most - Murphy's law of unintended consequences?]
Flooding and landslides have killed well over 300 people in Central China in recent weeks. Chinese officials and local residents fear disease outbreaks will result from the rodent invasion.
The BBC article linked above makes no mention of rats, snakes, spiders, ants, centipedes, monkeys, or any other creature, just in case you were wondering.
China, floods, mouse invasion, rodent, disease
You Can Paint Like Jackson Pollock
You too can paint like Jackson Pollock, at this annoying little flash animation.
Tips:
Hit the space bar to start over.
Hit any key to add or subtract Miltos Manetas's signature.
Left click to change paint color.
Right click to bring up flash player controls.
Please comment to this post if you can figure out how to get the app to stop painting so you can admire your creation!
Jackson Pollock, painting, flash animation
Tips:
Hit the space bar to start over.
Hit any key to add or subtract Miltos Manetas's signature.
Left click to change paint color.
Right click to bring up flash player controls.
Please comment to this post if you can figure out how to get the app to stop painting so you can admire your creation!
Jackson Pollock, painting, flash animation
Remarkable World Statistics Presentation - TED
Swedish public health statistician Hans Rosling presents surprising world health, economic, and population statistics in an utterly dynamic fashion in a pair of amazing video clips from the now legendary TED conferences. The clips will have you smiling and maybe even cheering along with the audience, and surely correcting personal misperceptions about the developed and developing world.
These clips are "Freakonomics" writ large.
I've added a link to TED in the RED LETTER DAYS category of the sidebar to the right.
TED, TED conference, statistics, poverty, economic development, infant mortality, Hans Rosling, globalism
These clips are "Freakonomics" writ large.
I've added a link to TED in the RED LETTER DAYS category of the sidebar to the right.
TED, TED conference, statistics, poverty, economic development, infant mortality, Hans Rosling, globalism
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Another Lawnchair Balloonist
A Oregon man with the unlikely name of "Couch" recently traveled 193 miles sitting in a lawnchair tied to helium-filled balloons. Follow the link for a great photo and the amazing details at the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Oregon, helium ballon, lawn chair
Oregon, helium ballon, lawn chair
China Admits Food/Drug Safety Issues, Executes Official
People's Daily Online reports that the Chinese government admits that the developing country's food and drug safety system is inadequate and unsatisfactory.
Beset with internationally publicized incidents of shoddy production, and bribery scandals involving high-level officials within the food and drug safety system, the government has announced a 5-year plan to expand the inspection and monitoring process.
One drastic measure has just taken place. The International Herald Tribune reports that China executed Zheng Xiaoyu, the former chief of its food and drug agency, after he was convicted of taking bribes to approve untested medicines.
China exports a dizzying array of products throughout the world in ever and ever increasing quantities. Some experts are predicting that the China's global trade surplus will balloon to $400 billion dollars in 2008, or nearly 13% of the country's gross domestic product.
In the first six months of this year 34,400 instances of the production/sale of substandard food products have been uncovered. China recognizes that it must control the problem to save face and to protect its exports and standing on the world stage.
China, product safety, trade deficit, global trade
Beset with internationally publicized incidents of shoddy production, and bribery scandals involving high-level officials within the food and drug safety system, the government has announced a 5-year plan to expand the inspection and monitoring process.
One drastic measure has just taken place. The International Herald Tribune reports that China executed Zheng Xiaoyu, the former chief of its food and drug agency, after he was convicted of taking bribes to approve untested medicines.
China exports a dizzying array of products throughout the world in ever and ever increasing quantities. Some experts are predicting that the China's global trade surplus will balloon to $400 billion dollars in 2008, or nearly 13% of the country's gross domestic product.
In the first six months of this year 34,400 instances of the production/sale of substandard food products have been uncovered. China recognizes that it must control the problem to save face and to protect its exports and standing on the world stage.
China, product safety, trade deficit, global trade
Baby Mammoth Discovered
The BBC reports that a 6-month old female mammoth has been discovered in northwest Siberia.
The eyes and some of the hair are intact. Scientists are hoping that the remarkably well-preserved remains will provide intact DNA for study and possible cloning.
fossil mammoth, paleontology, cloning, Siberia, DNA
The eyes and some of the hair are intact. Scientists are hoping that the remarkably well-preserved remains will provide intact DNA for study and possible cloning.
fossil mammoth, paleontology, cloning, Siberia, DNA
Monday, July 09, 2007
Boeing 787 Dreamliner - Launch Summary
Boeing posted a blurb of its launch of the 787 Dreamliner. As of last week, the aircraft builder had received orders for 635 of the jets, the most successful aircraft roll-out ever.
The airliner has yet to fly. That little detail could possibly inject a little ointment into the situation. Observe the stock price during the days surrounding test flights of the plane.
Boeing 787, Dreamliner
The airliner has yet to fly. That little detail could possibly inject a little ointment into the situation. Observe the stock price during the days surrounding test flights of the plane.
Boeing 787, Dreamliner
Toxic Toothpaste from China - Update
You've likely become aware that the Food and Drug Administration so far has banned 23 brands of toothpaste produced in China from export to US markets (link contains brand names of all 23). The toothpaste contains diethylene glycol (DEG), a chemical poison that causes kidney failure and death. The chemical is used as anti-freeze and as an industrial solvent. The cheaper DEG is likely used as a substitute or cutting agent for the more expensive and entirely safe food additive glycerin.
U.S. citizens who don't try to bring tubes of toothpaste onto international airline flights, thinking they'll buy some toothpaste at their foreign destination, might might want to check the FDA list naming brands and manufacturers of the tainted products, and locations where such unsafe products are known to be available.
Summary of the FAKE COLGATE toothpaste crisis is offered at WebIntel.
FDA has advised that glycerin, used as a humectant in cosmetics, and sweetening agent in many foods, medicines or other ingestible products, be tested for presence of DEG.
The disturbing tale of tainted Chinese glycerin and its travels around the world is told by Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker in this very informative New York Times article. DEG used as an adulterant of safe/safer compounds have resulted in other mass deaths, listed in this good Wikipedia entry.
IT HAPPENED IN THE USA ONCE.--DEG added to the bacterial/strep medicine Sulfanilamide was responsible for 107 deaths in the U.S. in 1937. Read an article on the FDA website with the gruesome title "Taste of Raspberries, Taste of Death - the 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide Incident" here.
diethyl glucose, toxic toothpaste, DEG, food safety, drug safety, poison toothpaste, China, Chinese exports, Beijing Olympics, 2008 Olympics, poison, FDA, Sulfanilamide, glycerin
U.S. citizens who don't try to bring tubes of toothpaste onto international airline flights, thinking they'll buy some toothpaste at their foreign destination, might might want to check the FDA list naming brands and manufacturers of the tainted products, and locations where such unsafe products are known to be available.
Summary of the FAKE COLGATE toothpaste crisis is offered at WebIntel.
FDA has advised that glycerin, used as a humectant in cosmetics, and sweetening agent in many foods, medicines or other ingestible products, be tested for presence of DEG.
The disturbing tale of tainted Chinese glycerin and its travels around the world is told by Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker in this very informative New York Times article. DEG used as an adulterant of safe/safer compounds have resulted in other mass deaths, listed in this good Wikipedia entry.
IT HAPPENED IN THE USA ONCE.--DEG added to the bacterial/strep medicine Sulfanilamide was responsible for 107 deaths in the U.S. in 1937. Read an article on the FDA website with the gruesome title "Taste of Raspberries, Taste of Death - the 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide Incident" here.
diethyl glucose, toxic toothpaste, DEG, food safety, drug safety, poison toothpaste, China, Chinese exports, Beijing Olympics, 2008 Olympics, poison, FDA, Sulfanilamide, glycerin
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Red State/Blue State Redux
Here is a religious twist on the red state - blue state meme, shown in the low-resolution image to the left. I grew up in a mostly tan state (Idaho), but in one of the blue counties. Now I live in a blue county in Florida, immediately south of a sea of red counties and states (the whole of the South, essentially).Federal law prohibits religious tests in our electoral system, but that hasn't stopped a bunch of people from publicly stating quite recently that they would never elect a "tan candidate" like Mitt Romney for president of the US. Pretty much the same things were said about those blue Kennedies, once upon a time. Some things don't change.
technorati: U.S. elections, Mitt Romney, religion, election, presidential candidates
Your New Smurf Home in Turkey
You too can live like a Smurf, in one of these 3-story red-roofed mushroom homes just .5 km from the Aegean Sea, in Turkey.
The Clog Almanac wonders which of the little enclaves that Brainy Smurf will live in, because that over-confident Blue Boy was always messing things up for his neighbors, and I want to stay clear of him.
Just thinking: have you ever viewed your family of co-workers as Smurf/Smurfling characters? Which would you be - Papa?, Smurfette?, Grouchy?, Hefty?, Jokey?, Dreamy?, Handy?, Baby?, Vanity? Just wondering.
[Hat-tip: Long or Short?]
technorati: smurf, mushroom house, Turkey, house, Aegean
Gulf Fritillary
Today I observed a female Gulf Frittilary laying eggs on a leaf of one of the Maypops (purple passion-flower) that I transplanted into the butterfly garden at Clog-house, Est. 1935 this past Spring. Lovely and interestingly complex, passion-flowers invite (if not beg) detailed and lengthy contemplation. Vegetative parts of the plant are an important host to at least two prominent butterfly species in north-central Florida, the Gulf Frittilary and the Zebra-longwing. In this day of butterfly gardening's popularity, I can't see why this institution or any individual would consider it a weed and try to eradicate it from their premises.I posit that the relegation of this plant to weed status is an artifact of many years of its being so-named in dated textbooks and extension circulars. Websites and articles that quote those references to this day are just perpetuating an old notion rooted in another time. Passion vines are not weeds. They're important butterfly host plants and wildflowers.
My esteemed naturalist colleague and friend "No Thneeds Needed" has superb photos of a Gulf Fritillary and a Maypop flower in his diverse and ever-expanding Flickr galleries. Click on through to his site - he'd love for you to spend some time enjoying the many fine photos of his adventures in Florida and elsewhere. In my experience, he would welcome constructive comments about his images and any kudos you might offer. You'll be well-rewarded for your time and one-finger exertions.
technorati: Gulf Frittilary, passion-flower, Thneed, Florida butterflies, butterfly garden, Lorax, nature photography, nature images
Boeing 797 Timeliner
Boeing & Company are secretly working very hard on time travel so the company can stay on track for the unveiling of the Boeing 797 Timeliner. That as yet unbuilt futuristic aircraft will be unveiled on 7/9/07.
Since that day is tomorrow, the Clog Almanac suggests that all interested parties watch for an unexpected appearance of the craft in Seattle. That event will signal to the world that the Boeing of tomorrow did indeed master time travel. Stay tuned.
technorati: time travel, Boeing 797, 797, Boeing 787
Since that day is tomorrow, the Clog Almanac suggests that all interested parties watch for an unexpected appearance of the craft in Seattle. That event will signal to the world that the Boeing of tomorrow did indeed master time travel. Stay tuned.
technorati: time travel, Boeing 797, 797, Boeing 787
It's the Little Things Will Get Ya on 7/8/7
A shortage of thumbnail-sized titanium fasteners has proven to be the mouse that tripped the elephant. Or, to be specific, the key part whose supply crunch held up the actual completion of the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which will be unveiled today anyway, sans seats and other important passenger jet accoutrements.
Tom Brokaw will host the Seattle roll-out, which Boeing is billing as a "premier". One wonders if the carbon-fiber nose section of the airplane will be blushing from the embarassment of being just a shell of an airliner, and one that still is a few months away from first-flight.
You can view the unveiling hoopla live at the company website here, at 3:30 PDT.
Aerospace Technology has a very nice piece describing internal and external design features, variants of the basic 787 design, and discussion of which companies will be supplying pieces of the navigation, electronics, piloting, positioning, and other key functions of the craft.
If you like plush interiors when you travel, you might try the 787 VIP model. It will cost you several degrees north of $150 million.
Boeing 787, Dreamliner, titanium fastener, Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw will host the Seattle roll-out, which Boeing is billing as a "premier". One wonders if the carbon-fiber nose section of the airplane will be blushing from the embarassment of being just a shell of an airliner, and one that still is a few months away from first-flight.
You can view the unveiling hoopla live at the company website here, at 3:30 PDT.
Aerospace Technology has a very nice piece describing internal and external design features, variants of the basic 787 design, and discussion of which companies will be supplying pieces of the navigation, electronics, piloting, positioning, and other key functions of the craft.
If you like plush interiors when you travel, you might try the 787 VIP model. It will cost you several degrees north of $150 million.
Boeing 787, Dreamliner, titanium fastener, Tom Brokaw
Saturday, July 07, 2007
To Poe Springs and Back
This evening the Clog-wife, our weekend guest, and I ate at Floyd's Diner in High Springs. Talk was mostly about Irish dance, and of course about the first day of the Colin Dunne workshop.
After dinner we spent a little time at Poe Springs -- just long enough to walk the boardwalk, dip our feet in the cold spring water, and stand at the end of the spring run to watch the mullet which always congregate at the line where the clear spring water flows alongside the tannin-stained water of the Santa Fe River. It was dusk and the park was nearly deserted. At the spring we heard a couple of barred owls calling to one another from the dark bottomland forest. Photos and call recordings of the barred owl are here.
We also observed a turtle that had journeyed up out of a slough to linger on a grassy slope, and two deer grazing in grassy uplands in the park. We'd hoped to see otters and perhaps an alligator.
barred owl, Poe Springs, Florida, mullet
After dinner we spent a little time at Poe Springs -- just long enough to walk the boardwalk, dip our feet in the cold spring water, and stand at the end of the spring run to watch the mullet which always congregate at the line where the clear spring water flows alongside the tannin-stained water of the Santa Fe River. It was dusk and the park was nearly deserted. At the spring we heard a couple of barred owls calling to one another from the dark bottomland forest. Photos and call recordings of the barred owl are here.
We also observed a turtle that had journeyed up out of a slough to linger on a grassy slope, and two deer grazing in grassy uplands in the park. We'd hoped to see otters and perhaps an alligator.
barred owl, Poe Springs, Florida, mullet
Lucky 777 Deconstructed
No doubt you've heard that today, 7/7/07, is supposed to be lucky. Because we're a bunch of superstitious sillies. I'll warrant that the world's gambling houses will be taking lots of unlucky folks' money by the fistfulls today. Still, 777 is a handy rubric that invites a little investigation.
The "all sevens" bicycle tour of 7 cities and 777 miles ends today, 7/7/7. The tour began in Basel and ends in London.
Consider Boeing's jetliner, the 777. Here are some scaled drawings, if you're into the technical stuff (22-page .pdf file).
The British airship R101 was 777 feet long. Like the Hindenberg, this zeppelin met with mishap--48 people died on its maiden voyage. 36 died when the Hindenberg went up in flames and crashed. That about did it for commercial airship travel.
Islay Hill, elevation 777 feet, is the southernmost of the "Nine Sisters", a chain of extinct volcanos near San Luis Obispo, California.
Bordeaux, Zurich, and Laussane each lie 777 miles from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Finally, a nod to one of those skyscrapers with a number for a name. The 777 Tower in Los Angeles.
Now go buy that lotto ticket before time runs out.
technorati: 777, all sevens, bicycle tour, zeppelin, Hindenberg
The "all sevens" bicycle tour of 7 cities and 777 miles ends today, 7/7/7. The tour began in Basel and ends in London.
Consider Boeing's jetliner, the 777. Here are some scaled drawings, if you're into the technical stuff (22-page .pdf file).
The British airship R101 was 777 feet long. Like the Hindenberg, this zeppelin met with mishap--48 people died on its maiden voyage. 36 died when the Hindenberg went up in flames and crashed. That about did it for commercial airship travel.
Islay Hill, elevation 777 feet, is the southernmost of the "Nine Sisters", a chain of extinct volcanos near San Luis Obispo, California.
Bordeaux, Zurich, and Laussane each lie 777 miles from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Finally, a nod to one of those skyscrapers with a number for a name. The 777 Tower in Los Angeles.
Now go buy that lotto ticket before time runs out.
technorati: 777, all sevens, bicycle tour, zeppelin, Hindenberg
Sister Hazel Rocks Gainesville
Sister Hazel had a huge clothing giveaway today in Gainesville, Florida. Not this Sister Hazel, but Sister Hazel Williams, who runs a shelter and ministry for the homeless and otherwise downtrodden in Gainesville. Sister Hazel is, of course, the namesake and inspiration of the band. She has for years labored tirelessly and with compassion, and has achieved a measure of well-earned local celebrity.
The en plein air event was held under the shade of a couple of old laurel oak trees on Gainesville's NW 6th Street, next to the grounds of an abandoned church.
Sister Hazel, Gainesville Florida, homeless, plein air
The en plein air event was held under the shade of a couple of old laurel oak trees on Gainesville's NW 6th Street, next to the grounds of an abandoned church.
Sister Hazel, Gainesville Florida, homeless, plein air
Friday, July 06, 2007
United In Death - July 6th
Herewith the Clog Almanac revives a personal favorite, the Friday Mashup. Below are an eclectic juxtaposition of notables who left this world on a July 6th.
1998 Roy Rogers - American cowboy star
Known to his friends as Leonard Slye, Rogers' life is a story of success. He progressed from a Grapes of Wrath existence picking fruits and living in worker camps during the Great Depression to his status as a great Western-American music/film idol. Roy's famous golden palomino horse Trigger (stuffed), is the prime exhibit at the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans museum in Branson, Missouri.
1971 Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong - Legendary American jazz trumpeter and singer
I remember my dad cried when Satchmo died and the strains of "What a Wonderful World" were aired. A boy remembers the times his father weeps. Next time you're in Queens, you might visit Satchmo's house.
1962 William Faulkner - One of the America's greatest Southern authors
Here's an essay on Faulkner your cheating high-school student might be submitting. See a photograph of Faulkner as a baby here. In case you were wondering, Yes, there is/was a Faulkner Society of Japan, and they publish/ed a journal. Like so few of us who are disenchanted with their family names, Faulkner added a "u" to his name, after the "a".
July 6, it seems, was also a bad day for high nobility:
1762 Pyotr III Fyodorovitch - Peter III, Tsar of Russia
Unfortunately, he only reigned for half a year. According to the 1911 Encyclopaedia Brittanica, "Nature had made him mean, the smallpox had made him hideous, and his degraded habits made him loathsome." Sounds like some folks you've hung out with in your time, right? Don't lie.
1553 Edward VI Tudor - King of England
King at the age of ten. Associated Lord Protectors, Lord Admirals, and the convulsions of the riff-raff grownups surrounding him. Dead just 6 years later. Grown-ups had other holy plans for the throne and its successors.
1189 Henry II - King of England
First Angevin King. He was a Frenchie, but most definitely not this one. His last name was Curtmantle, which really doesn't translate to "miniskirt" [not work safe], despite the rumors, even though it really might help him in the legacy department.
Roy Rogers, Satchmo, Louis Armstrong, William Faulkner, Peter III, Edward VI, Henry II, King, Tsar, Russia, England, Angevin, miniskirt, mashup
1998 Roy Rogers - American cowboy star
Known to his friends as Leonard Slye, Rogers' life is a story of success. He progressed from a Grapes of Wrath existence picking fruits and living in worker camps during the Great Depression to his status as a great Western-American music/film idol. Roy's famous golden palomino horse Trigger (stuffed), is the prime exhibit at the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans museum in Branson, Missouri.
1971 Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong - Legendary American jazz trumpeter and singer
I remember my dad cried when Satchmo died and the strains of "What a Wonderful World" were aired. A boy remembers the times his father weeps. Next time you're in Queens, you might visit Satchmo's house.
1962 William Faulkner - One of the America's greatest Southern authors
Here's an essay on Faulkner your cheating high-school student might be submitting. See a photograph of Faulkner as a baby here. In case you were wondering, Yes, there is/was a Faulkner Society of Japan, and they publish/ed a journal. Like so few of us who are disenchanted with their family names, Faulkner added a "u" to his name, after the "a".
July 6, it seems, was also a bad day for high nobility:
1762 Pyotr III Fyodorovitch - Peter III, Tsar of Russia
Unfortunately, he only reigned for half a year. According to the 1911 Encyclopaedia Brittanica, "Nature had made him mean, the smallpox had made him hideous, and his degraded habits made him loathsome." Sounds like some folks you've hung out with in your time, right? Don't lie.
1553 Edward VI Tudor - King of England
King at the age of ten. Associated Lord Protectors, Lord Admirals, and the convulsions of the riff-raff grownups surrounding him. Dead just 6 years later. Grown-ups had other holy plans for the throne and its successors.
1189 Henry II - King of England
First Angevin King. He was a Frenchie, but most definitely not this one. His last name was Curtmantle, which really doesn't translate to "miniskirt" [not work safe], despite the rumors, even though it really might help him in the legacy department.
Roy Rogers, Satchmo, Louis Armstrong, William Faulkner, Peter III, Edward VI, Henry II, King, Tsar, Russia, England, Angevin, miniskirt, mashup
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
