Libertine: On the Prowl

Vidi, vici, veni -- I saw, I conquered, I came. _______________________________________________________________

Coming Full Circle

01:09, 2009-Jan-30 .. Posted in history .. 6 comments .. Link

The other day, a lover and I were having an odd conversation about the history of women's underwear, when I learned that women didn't wear any sort of bottoms at all until the 19th century. The conversation came about when she groused about a historical novel she'd recently read. The plot took place during the American Revolution and in one chapter the author referred to a female character's bloomers, which my friend said was an anachronism.

I laughed, thinking how much easier it was for men back then to get down to business with a woman -- all he had to do was lift her skirt. And then I had to wonder what women did at certain times of the month if they were freebreezing it all the time.

My third thought was about how now, 200+ years later, we've nearly come full circle. I got the idea that this would make a funny blog entry, so I did a bit of research.

To Illustrate:

1. 1776

2. 1876

3. 1920

4. 1940

5. 1960

6. 1970

7. 1990

8. 2000

9 Some time in the near future

From the commando of the 1770s to the commando of the 21st century, we will have come full circle.

Thoughts?

Just As True Now As It Was Then

12:18, 2008-Mar-13 .. Posted in history .. 2 comments .. Link

Following are some quotes from my favorite president, Harry Truman, that are just as true now as they were at the time he said them.

"In most of my campaigns, I find it is best not to mention my opponent by name because, by doing so, it just gives him a chance to get into the headlines." 1948

Hear that, Hillary?

"It isn't important who is ahead at one time or another in either an election or horse race. It's the horse that comes in first at the finish line that counts".
1948

Both Clinton and Obama should remember the truth of this.

"Secrecy and a free, democratic government don't mix."

Obviously Bush never heard this one.

"We should resolve now that the health of this nation is a national concern; that financial barriers in the way of attaining health shall be removed; that the health of all it's citizens deserves the help of all the nation."

"Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve and to enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. And the time has now arrived for action to help them attain that opportunity and to help them get that protection."

Too bad that no one listened to him back then or we wouldn't have the mess in the health care system that we have today.

"We must remember that the test of our religious principles lies not just in what we say, not only in our prayers, not even in living blameless lives - but in what we do for others" 9-28-1951

A lesson that the Religious Right has yet to learn.

"Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke. They stand four-square for the American home--but not for housing. They are strong for labor--but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. They favor minimum wage--the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all--but they won't spend money for teachers or for schools. They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine--for people who can afford them. They consider electrical power a great blessing--but only when the private power companies get their rake-off. They think American standard of living is a fine thing--so long as it doesn't spread to all the people. And they admire of Government of the United States so much that they would like to buy it."

Nothing has changed here since Truman's time.

What's the Difference?

08:31, 2008-Feb-26 .. Posted in history .. 9 comments .. Link

Above is a photo of a street scene, taken around 1912 or so. There was one element of this photo that struck me as being quite different from a typical city street scene of today.

Can you guess what it is?

An Incomplete List of Obsolete Things

12:58, 2008-Feb-24 .. Posted in history .. 5 comments .. Link

I recently came upon a site which listed skills that are now obselete, some of them only recently so. I plucked a few of the ones I found interesting for this entry. Enjoy!

Adjusting Rabbit Ears On Top Of aTV

Adjusting Horizontal And Vertical Holds on a TV

Be Kind-Rewind

Calling A Phone Sex Line

Calling Collect On A Payphone

Cash Register Used Manually Entering The Prices

Changing The Ribbon On A Typewriter

Converting Your Albums From Vinyl To Cassette Tape

Cuff Links

Dialing A Rotary Phone

Filing Cards In A Library Card Catalog

Finding Channels On UHF

Getting Off The Couch To Change Channels On Your TV Set

Having Your Gas Pumped For You And Your Oil Checked At A Full-service Gas Station

Kick Starting A Motorcycle

Knowing What Part Of Town Someone Lives In By Their Phone Exchange

Loading A Reel To Reel Tape Drive

Making An Operator Assisted Phone Call

Making Hot Chocolate By Heating Milk in a Pan, Then Adding Cocoa Powder and Sugar (remember the "skin" on the milk?)

Marriage (NOTE: This was actually on the list -- it isn't my addition)

Meeting People By Answering Personal Ads In A Newspaper Or Magazine

Opening A Can Of Beer Or Soda With A Church Key

Peeling The Developer Layer Off A Polaroid

Percolating Coffee

Placing A Coin On A Tonearm To Prevent Skipping

Popping Corn In A Pot With Oil

Porn Not From The Internet

Putting A Needle On A Vinyl Record

Rewinding An Audio Cassette Using A Bic Pen

Selling Something In The Classified Ads

Shave With A Straight Razor

Shorthand

Smelling A Freshly Mimeographed Test Paper

Switching To High Beams By Stomping On A Button In The Floor

Taking The Tape Out Of An Answering Machine

Testing TV Tubes At the Drugstore

Using Carbon Paper To Make Copies

Using Correction Fluid

Using A Party-line Telephone

Using A Pay Toilet

Feel free to add some of your own.

In Memory on Veteran's Day

12:04, 2007-Nov-11 .. Posted in history .. 7 comments .. Link

Chief Yeoman, USN
1941-1947
USS Ranger

Remembering my late father, who served our country honorably during World War II. Many thanks to him and all others who served to protect our country from the Revolutionary War to the present.

Ads You'd Never See Today

09:10, 2007-Sep-1 .. Posted in history .. 0 comments .. Link

Can you imagine seeing either of these ads in a current magazine?

Fantasy Dinner Companions

01:26, 2007-Jul-3 .. Posted in history .. Link

A few days ago, I read about someone winning an Ebay auction for $650,100 to have dinner with investor Warren Buffett. After thinking to myself about the myriad better ways I'd have to spend that amount of money, I considered who I would like to have dinner with. But instead of choosing someone currently alive, I thought of who in history interested me enough to sit down to dinner with.

Instead of choosing a single person or making a long list, I limited my choices to three. Below are my choices and why I chose them. List your choices and reasons in the comment box.

1. Ben Franklin

2. Thomas Jefferson

3. Giacomo Casanova

I chose Franklin and Jefferson for similar reasons. As Founding Fathers of our country, I'd be fascinated to hear what they thought of our current President and the world of 2007 in general. As both men were Deists who believed in the separation of church and state, I'd be especially interested in their comments about the Religious Right. Because they were probably the most forward thinkers of all the Founding Fathers, both interested in technology, I'd also bring them up to date on technological advances since their time to the present. I imagine they'd have quite a lot to say about our world, both good and bad.

I'd also like to have a chat with Casanova, whose surname is itself a synonym for libertinism. I'd like to hear the stories about his seductions and his ideas about how he'd go about living the life of a libertine in the 21st century.

I could have chosen several more people as fantasy dinner companions, but these are the three who immediately popped into my mind. Let's hear yours.

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

01:42, 2005-Dec-7 .. Posted in history .. 0 comments .. Link

President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of American was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan...
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Though I was not born until 17 years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, my parents, members of what Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation", remembered it well.

On this day, they were both 17, and it would be six months before they would meet, when my father's ship was in port at Quonset Point, RI. My father had joined the Navy in July of 1941, shortly after graduating from high school. After undergoing basic training that summer, he was assigned to the USS Ranger(CV4) in the fall of 1941. On the morning that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the Ranger was one day from making port at Norfolk, VA after a routine patrol. My father was a month from his eighteenth birthday.

My mother saved the newspaper from December 8th, 1941, as she always did with events of major importance. Many years later, when I was old enough to understand what had happened on that day, she showed me the now-yellowed newspaper with its huge headlines, and had me to read the article, which spurred my interest in history..
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