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Welcome to the New Historium
First of all, and above all else, this is a web log, a blog, an online journal, online diary, etc. That
said, this is a blog devoted to the reporting and analysing of historical information, or just about anything related to history.
The posts can vary and do. I encourage all visitors to give comments, corrections, suggestions, thoughts, criticisms, or anything
else you have to say about this site.
Thank you for visiting, now you can go ahead and acutally read the posts.
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2005.09.01
2005.08.01
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Sunday, September 11, 2005
Sorry, but Site Rerelocation
For some reason I just lost almost all my space in Verizon. I had to delete the music and the picture to free some
more space again. Since I now no longer trust Verizon, I have decided to move Historium for the last time, hopefully,
to it's next site.
The new Historium website is here. The Historium blog is here.
Sunday, September 4, 2005
New series: Outline of History of Mesopotamia
I will start today my first Epic, titled Outline of History of Mesopotamia. This will be located in the Hall of the Epics
link in the sidebar navigation.
Just remember, not all updates will happen on the home page, so look around now and then.
Friday, September 2, 2005
Currency and Value
Every thing that is paid for, used to pay, traded, worked for, or in any way acquired with by expending something or
paid with something has a value. While the modern basis of valuating currency simply based on trust may seem complicated,
things were a lot simpler in the barter days.
If farmer A had more cows than he needed for selling products at the market, but not enough chickens, he could simply exchange
cows for chickens with farmer B, who did need cows.
This whole thing was fine until someday, the value of chickens rose. Since farmer A did not have enough cows to pay
the added expense, he aggreed to pay in clay instead. Now all of a sudden a disease wipes out half the cows and farmer B sues
A. A now pays this off in clay. But it turns out B doesn't need or want clay, so A uses fish. Soon, A ends up needing lawyers
to figure everything out, and the world enters the dark Legal Age. Umm, actually forget that last sentence.
As you can see, it would be a heck of a lot easier to just use one thing to pay for everything. Some standard. To do
that though, people would have to change their ideas on currency in general. A standard would have to be something that can
only have trade or buy/sell purposes, anything else could jumble the value. It should also be able to buy the same amount
and worth of goods, no matter who's using it. Example: A and B would both pay $5 each for a pen.
That's it for now, I'll try to continue it a few days from now, but right now it's getting late.
Thursday, September 1, 2005
American Dream
A video I saw recently in class talked about the American Dream. According to it, it had three parts common through
all times: people have often viewed America as a bountiful Eden-like place with unlimited resources, the ideal American is
an independent hard-working one, and all Americans can rightfullly be optimistic on the future.
One must remember, it is still a dream.
When the Dream took hold, most of America consisted of rural areas, in fact virtually all of 18th century Americans practiced
some type of gardening or agriculture. If the future would be like this, one could imagine a land where small independent
farms dot the countryside, the resources of such a vast country would never be used up, thus the future was good.
Whoever came up with this forgot one last thing, America has a history of leading in innovation and technology. In the
first part of the 19th century farmers increased their numbers by settling across ever-expanding territories. Eventually though,
the dream of the independent rural life ended when the last bit of good land was bought up. Now, the harsh rules of economics
came in.
After the Civil War agriculture took a turn for the worst, and since then subsidies have become more and more important.
Now the great industries appeared, briging with them great booms of wealth and a rising new upper class. Hard work was still
part of the game. Money, if not a part, was the tool needed. Independence took a different meaning, now it was pulling
yourself up "by your own bootstraps". The future became more and more shaky, as events could radically twist things in a day.
Over the 20th century America became a superpower, and the speed of events accelerated. The idealist notions of before
were replaced by realism as life challenged day after day after day. Risks had greated consequences that could hit you very
soon. Perhaps the new American Dream is a blend of "survive and rise", community, and fluctuating futures.
Now though it's still to early, we might have to wait another 20 years and see what it says in the textbooks then.
Note: I apologise for the vague, hazy, and philosophical writing of mine recently, I am working on a solid historical
series, a biography of Benjamin Franklin looks good, I will also look around to get some kind of compilation on Chinese/Middle
Eastern/South Asian history. Again, suggestion encouraged.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Site Update Info.
Just a reminder, not all my posts will be on this page, check the links to the other pages, "Epic Works" and "Discussion
Forums" will also have updates.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Famous Last words
gotten from: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/6537/real-a.htm
John Adams: Thomas Jefferson still survives. One of the founding fathers of America,
also second president of the United States. He had a letter correspondence with Jefferson. Adams died on the Fourth of July,
1826, in reality Jefferson had died only few hours before Adams.
John Brown: I, John Brown, am now quite certain
that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood! Fanatical abolitionist who fought fervently
for the cause. Tried to steal some weapons from the armory at Harpers' Ferry to arm a slave revolt, failed and tried for treason.
His words are prophetic of the more than 500,000 Americans who died in a war just a few years later.
Genghis
Khan: Let not my end disarm you, and on no account weep or keen for me, let the enemy be warned of my death. The
Mongol ruler who conquered half the known world and united almost all of Northern Asia. His acts would revolutionize the world
and his descendants would continue to expand the empire.
John Henry (Doc) Holiday: This is funny.
Famous western gunfighter who fought with Wyatt Earp. Died of Tubercolosis in bed.
Thomas
Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson: Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front rapidly! Tell Major Hawks.
. . . Let us cross over the river and sit under the shade of the trees. Confederate General during the Civil War,
one of Lee's best soldiers. Was accidentally shot by his own troops who mistook him for Union cavalry. Eventually died from
pneumonia, his last hours were spent in delerium.
URL redirect and comments
2:21 pm
Friday, August 26, 2005
A Message to all Grammar Freaks (and food for thought for others)
This message is particularly
directed for all grammar freaks, but anyone can read it just for entertainment or as something to spark thought on the subject.
Why, o why do so many people spasm, convulse, and become insane whenever someone says “me too”, instead “I also”? Why do they
insist that you follow the rules some board or committee picked? What gives a few people the right to establish rules for
a language that has roots going back thousands of years, to its earliest ancestral tongues?
Language is a means of
communication, that said, if somebody can understand you, it is enough.
Anybody can understand me if
I make some grammar mistake, the point is whether I can get the message across. Yet the freaks insist you get everything right.
Why do we insist on regulating a language that has always and always will change? I have a teacher who is a zealot in maintaining
strict use of correct grammar, even in spoken language. This is the idea of language: when someone listens to another, they
don’t think of the exact definition of each word heard and then try to put it together; they get a feeling for the tone and
subject matter, and then apply a general meaning to the words that makes sense. Whether you say “me too” or “I also” won’t
make a difference. Others will still understand what you are saying in general.
Just keep in mind, every change
ever in language started out as a difference from the norm. If you say something that is very difficult or impossible to understand,
then someone should correct you. But if someone corrects you even when most people would understand you, then that’s their
problem.
Monday, August 22, 2005
What if: The Battle of New York
Throughout history there have been countless close calls where things could have easily gone the other way. In this weekly
series I will post on a particular moment in time and ask readers to give their thoughts and opinions on what would have happened
if things went differently. This week's what if will be during the Battle of New York. The setting: it is September
of 1776, in New York City. The fledgling new American nation has recently declared independence but is far from winning a
victory over the British. The army has almost no experience and training. Recently the British have just routed and pushed
back many of the Americans to their fortifications at Brooklyn Heights, in Long Island. All the British have to do is bring
together all their troops and artillery and make one final assault. Given their superior training, equipment, and morale,
they probably would have succeeded. Yet their general, Howe, has decided to enjoy the day's victory and pull back his troops
to camp. Later at night, there is a second close call. The wind is coming from a northerly direction, which
prevents the British ships from sailing up and blocking any hope of Washington's troops escaping across the river. This allows
the Americans to silently slip into their boats and withdraw to Manhattan. My questions are these: what would have
happened if the British army had continued their assault and stormed Brooklyn Heights, if the wind was different and the British
ships could sailed up, thus completely surrounding the Americans. I am not just talking about the American army or Washington,
but also of the United States' situation, and maybe even the world too. Tell me whatever you think, any feedback related to
this would be good. This question will be open until next Monday, when I will post another what if. Note: don't forget
to visit the other historium at http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeqkaxu.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
First Scrolls
Welcome to the new and (hopefully) improved Historium. I have only just started to edit and change things, so for the
first 1 or 2 weeks the site may seem a little rough. If there are certain things that seem to go wrong, please tell me of
them, so I can fix it.
If you have any sort of questions, please tell me. You may have noticed the background music, tell me what you think
of it. For now I need all the feedback and comments I can get, and don't forget to update the links!
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