Tag Archives: history

Rampart Perspective [Common Meter]

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From atop an old stone rampart,
   one's head within the clouds,
 one expects to see an old oxcart
   through that foggy shroud.

But down below, the modern day:
   buses, cafes, and cars.
 I turn my head the other way,
   and the world 's as it was:

Back in the times when that fortress
   was besieged and battered,
 and nothing moved freely but for
   a flag -- singed and tattered. 

There's a certain romantic view
   of long-gone days of old,
 but I think I'll be heading down
   before I catch a cold.

BOOKS: Absinthe by Tania Brasseur & Tamara Berger

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Absinthe: The Forbidden Spirit: An Intoxicating History of the Green FairyAbsinthe: The Forbidden Spirit: An Intoxicating History of the Green Fairy by Tania Brasseur
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Release Date: February 27, 2024

The biography of a beverage might not seem exhilarating, but absinthe has no ordinary history. It rose from obscurity as a regional drink indigenous to parts of France and Switzerland to international celebrity by becoming popular with artistic geniuses of the era — e.g. Oscar Wilde. Some of whom credited the drink with more than just a pleasant tipsy sensation. Then it received its own prohibition while other alcoholic beverages remained perfectly legal. Of course, as with other prohibitions, Absinthe’s legend rose and taste for it didn’t disappear. Eventually, its prohibition ended, and absinthe was freed to have a second life.

This book is primarily a history of absinthe’s rollercoaster ride existence. However, it also discusses wormwood and other prominent ingredients, the distillation process, as well as the mythology that grew up around the beverage.

If you’re curious about the beverage and its mythos, I’d recommend you give this book a look.

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BOOKS: Bohemians: A Very Short Introduction by David Weir

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Bohemians: A Very Short Introduction (VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS)Bohemians: A Very Short Introduction by David Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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This book examines the brief life of the Bohemian artistic lifestyle, exploring how it came about, what it looked like in its heyday, what led to its demise, and by what / whom it was replaced (e.g. the Beats.) It is an intriguing examination of the subject. I will say, there were points that I felt the book had become lost in the weeds, but at other points I found it fascinating. I concluded that my own calculus was to find it interesting when it discussed the lives and works of artists who are still deemed to have relevance and influence today (e.g. Baudelaire, Picasso, and Whitman,) and not so much when it was elaborating on artists and works that have fallen into obscurity among the general populace (e.g. Henry Murger’s Scenes of Bohemian Life.) So, that may be more a reflection on me than on the book.

The author touches upon the fictional influences that inspired Bohemianism, the places where the lifestyle thrived (e.g. Paris and New York,) the philosophy and – particularly – the political philosophy of the Bohemians (e.g. often Anarchists or – at least – anti-government.) One of the topics that most interested me is how the successor artistic communities differed from the Bohemians.

If you’re interested in who the Bohemians were and how they differ from other artistic communities (before and after,) this book is well worth the brief read required.

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PROMPT: Historical Event

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What historical event fascinates you the most?

It varies over time. For a long time, it was the Second World War and the Holocaust. How do you get the rise of Nazis and the horrors that sprang therefrom? Sadly, I think that question has been answered to my — for lack of a better word— satisfaction.

The execution of Socrates has spurred a great deal of thought.

In terms of what is not so much a historical event, but historical processes, I’m intrigued by the life of Buddha.

Then there are a lot of explorer / adventurer travels.

PROMPT: Historical Events

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What major historical events do you remember?

From the Iranian Hostage Crisis onward, pretty much all of them — given they were considered “major” in whatever place I was living at the time.

DAILY PHOTO: Ukrainian National Museum [Chicago]

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DAILY PHOTO: Pipó-várkastély, #2

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Columbus Limerick

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There was an explorer named Christopher Columbus
 who entered the New World to fanfare of trumpets.
   He thought the Bahamans
   were Hindu Brahmins.
 His map wasn't so good as his compass.

BOOK REVIEW: Goa Travels ed. by Manohar Shetty

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Goa Travels: Being the Accounts of Travellers from the 16th to the 21st CenturyGoa Travels: Being the Accounts of Travellers from the 16th to the 21st Century by Manohar Shetty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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I picked up this book because I’m now planning a trip to Goa — only my second trip to India’s smallest state and my first to the north beach area for which it has become such a popular destination in recent decades. It’s always good to get a literary feel for a place, perhaps receiving some insights one might otherwise miss. In a way, this is the perfect book for that purpose in that it offers outsider views of Goa across time. [In another way, it’s admittedly a skewed view.]

This book gathers written excerpts from travelers to Goa. It’s divided into three parts. The first part mostly covers the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, back when Goa was a Portuguese colony. This is the largest section and includes twenty-one pieces by priests, sailors, merchants, and adventurers. This section shows a preoccupation with a few features of Goan culture that seized travelers’ attention. One of these was the terrifying practice of sati, in which a widow would throw herself on her deceased husband’s funeral pyre and be burned alive. Another was the obsessively guarded way wives were treated, generally barred from doing anything in public or with those who weren’t blood relatives.

The second section, also the shortest, features one piece on the Goan Inquisition, which was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition and one of the major examples of horrifying behavior by the Roman Catholic church. While it’s alarming and gruesome to read about, it’s nonetheless fascinating.

The final section is about the modern era, which – for the purposes of this book – runs from about the 1950’s (after India gained independence from Britain, but while Goa was still a Portuguese colony,) through its days on the Hippie Trail, and on to more-or-less the present. I knew about Goa as a hippie hangout during that countercultural revolution, but I was less aware of what went on between Indian independence and Goa’s independence from Portugal. Among the seven pieces in this section, one also gets a feel for the challenges of having an intensely culturally conservative population packed into India’s smallest state with what is probably South Asia’s biggest party destination.

I learned a lot of fascinating facts from reading this book. It may be a bit sensationalist in some places and vaguely racist in others, but it’s not boring.


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BOOK REVIEW: Introducing the Enlightenment by Lloyd Spencer

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Introducing the Enlightenment: A Graphic GuideIntroducing the Enlightenment: A Graphic Guide by Lloyd Spencer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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This brief illustrated guide offers a history of the Age of Enlightenment with a particular focus on the changing philosophical landscape and its opposition. It does dip into the literature and arts of the time, but most intensely with respect to philosophical novels. It also discusses a burgeoning scientific scene, but mostly with respect to Isaac Newton and his influence. The Enlightenment was an age in which religion’s hold on the populace was declining and tolerance of other sects was increasing, and at the same time there was increasing liberalization, rationality, and openness to new ideas. Therefore, much of the focus is on philosophy of religion and political philosophy, and Locke, Bacon, Rousseau, Diderot, and Voltaire are the most extensively discussed personalities. (Particularly Rousseau and Voltaire as their contrasting views offered insight to the breadth of views among Enlightenment philosophers.)

I felt this book did a fine job of delivering an overview of the era and the new ideas that informed it. It drew heavily on quintessential quotes of major figures of the day (particularly the very quotable Voltaire.) It’s a fine place to begin one’s examination of the topic and includes a “Further Reading” section as a means to direct those who would like deeper insight into the subject.


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