#200th division

[davidshawnsown]

USA BASEBALL ONE-SHOT RPF 2: Mike's Boys (chapter 2)

(AN: Given the recommendations by a fellow Tumblr writer, I have created a second chapter of this one shot story. This is dedicated to recently retired Olympic silver medal pitcher Edwin Jackson of Team USA who retired from active play by the time of this writing and in celebration of the 23rd anniversary of the USA's Olympics gold in baseball in 2000. A third chapter may be on the way. Given the fact that Patrick Mahomes II's father played for the NPB team now known as the Yokohama DeNA Baystars and was himself a MLB veteran and also due to his former participation as part of the USA Baseball high school program trials, he and his Superbowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs will be included as well beginning this chapter - making it a NFL crossover.)

Warnings: War, language, blood, battle scenes

1030H EEST

With the briefing now over, the strategy for the 1st Battalion 78th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was finally set, with the full blessing of brigade leadership and battalion command. The operation entailed the battalion following the elements of the two battalions of the lightly armed 113rd Territorial Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces in liberating the villages of Cherkas'ki Tyshky and Rus'ki Tyshky while the 2nd Battalion joins the rest of the forces from that brigade in the main road of the township. The goals are to help the brigade liberate the northern villages of Tsyrkuny from elements of the Russian 200th Motor Rifle Brigade of the Northern Fleet reinforced by a battalion of the Donetsk People's Militia's 1st Motor Rifle Regiment. They are supported by the M3 Bradleys of the armored cavalry squadron as well as the field artillery and air defense elements of the brigade. The battalion's strategy was to help defeat company or battalion sized elements of the 200th Motor Rifle Brigade and the 1st Motor Rifle Regiment as well as the 200th's T-80BVM MBTs of its tank battalion whose elements are in the village in a company formation, the rest of the companies are north of that area or on the main road alongside the rest of the SPG batteries as one battery is in the village equipped with the Msta tracked SPG. And also their additional role is to capture the village road junction located in the east of Cherkas'ki Tyshky which links it to Rus'ki Tyshky and the main road, which leads north to Borshchova and the border.

Basically the battalion's orders were to capture these two villages north of Kharkiv, pushing Russia's infantry and armor forces away from the city's suburbs, as well as artillery, as the 2nd Battalion moves on the main road alongside 3 battalions under 169th Corps' regiments (2 from 76th Infantry Division, one coming from the 901st Infantry) and word is now clear that a National Guard of Ukraine company is reinforcing the rear to help in the operation. In addition, their duty is to push away most of Russian artillery sytems futher from Kharkiv itself.

During the pre-combat brief, the company commanders were given their set orders for the day. A and B Companies would be the lead in the operation with D, E and F Companies, the latter assisted by CPT Jack Wilson, their founding commander, following them together with the battalion HQ company, with A Troop of the armored cavalry squadron and two tank companies of the armored battalion using a modernized M60 Patton and a mix of M8 AGS, M41 Walker Bulldogs and M555 Sheridans, as well as engineers helping in minesweeping and combat support ops and an air defense element mounted on Humvee platforms. The two field artillery battalions under the brigade would provide the much needed fire support using M777, M198, M108 and M109 systems and the portable Javellin system and other anti-tank systems in the anti-tank battalion, with batteries from the two assigned to the 1st Battalion set up on the rear and protected also by MANPADs and a company of TDF militias and joined by the two battalions' cannon batteries of M101 howitzers and NLAW and Javellin platoons of the heavy weapons companies. Three companies from the 1st battalions of the three regiments under 169th corps have been assigned to help 1st Battalion, the remainder to help the 2nd battalion clear the main road, as agreed upon that morning by their regimental commanders. Reinforcing them as artillery reserve are a battery of modernized M91 MLRS systems mounted on M35s - the HIMARS to be used when needed because the older M91s are similar to the BM-21 Grad systems the UGF has operated for decades.

Before their company commanders would talk about the operation, LTCOL Fenster, 1st Battalion commanding officer, spoke to his boys from the battalion and their attached elements in the presence of COL Bianco and some of the brigade staff: "Gentlemen, this morning is just the start of yet another operation for elements of the 1st Battalion, 78th BCT. But today is yet another glorious day in our unit's annals of history. This is the first task force styled-operation in our history as a brigade, with two of the battalions already fighting Russians and their allies from Donetsk with our Ukrainian brothers. We've done battlegroup styled ops before here, but now two of our infantry battalions are finally fighting together alongside the armor and artillery elements as well as support elements of the brigade present, for before this I've been given the orders from Brigadier General deRosa on his briefing call to the battalion command early today. Our task here, he said, is to remove Russians from the main highway of this township and its northern villages with the assistance of the Ukrainians of the 113rd Brigade and a company of National Guardsmen, helping to push back Russian guns from within range of the city itself and its suburbs and push these soldiers out for good away from it. In these past weeks, and even more today, all of us the men of 1st Battalion and the whole of the brigade are determined more than ever before to win this battle and the others to come for not just Ukraine but for our country and our NATO allies against the Russian aggressor threatening not just Ukrainians but ALL of us NATO countries at all fronts. In these past days, we've helped the 93rd Brigade do their jobs, now we've been helping these territorial militias as well as our fellow Americans in the International Legion. This is for their freedom and ours, boys. For the fallen in Bucha and all around this land, including those in the Kharkiv area, we will not stop our fighting with the Ukrainian people and her army, no matter what the costs. Understood gentlemen?"

"Sir yes sir" was the response of the boys.

COL Bianco then began to talk to the boys of the 6th platoon. Its commander 1LT Payton had stated that they are indeed ready once again, having perfected all they have trained for before in Irpin and Chernihiv with the rest of their company. This was the same sentiment shared by their XO and adjutant as well as its platoon sergeant. The colonel said that now would be a more better time for them to be better than ever, having shown their lot in earlier battles. "Now, gentlemen, its the time for us to show our strength once more in alliance with the Ukrainian people. I expect the best for you boys as you help the company achieve its objectives today, is that clear?"

"Sir yes sir" was the collective response. The colonel turned to the rest of the company stating his hope that the objectives of today's operations will surely be met with success.

"Captain Frazier," said the colonel, "I hope you and these personnel under your command achieve all the objectives for these operation, dead or alive. Not just America depends on this operation done. It is the Ukrainian people and our NATO partners and allies, and it will a big help for Ukraine if we flush out those Russians out of the range of Kharkiv."

"We will do our best, colonel," replied Captain Frazier.

"The same for us in B Company," then said Captain Arrietta. He said that they too will do their best to get things accomplished and the Ukrainians assisted in removing Russian soldiers from the village borders, limiting thus the Russian attacks on Kharkiv city itself. This is what captains Ober, Zimmerman and Cupp stated as well for D, E and F Companies of the 1st Battalion, detailing their readiness to follow the order of the day. Captain Wilson, now a part of A Company staff, remarked as well that what the lads of F Company did in these past weeks in Chernihiv in support of the Ukrainian forces relieving the Russian siege of the city stunned the battalion with their initiative and determination despite the young age of the boys and now they were ready to do it again.

Captain Judge then informed the colonel of his boys' preparedness for the combat ops they are about to do, saying, "Sir, given that all that the lads of the Bronx has gone thru, me and my boys are ready to fight for the nation and for the Ukraine. I have informed Colonel Boone that they are all prepared to fulfill the tasks for today."

Darren then informed him that he wishes the best as he prepares to help the 1st Battalion fulfill their objectives. He told him that they are assigned to help A Company led by his former superior, now Captain Frazier, to clear out Russians from Cherkas'ki Tyshky and support the Ukrainian offensive there.

1LT Aaron Nola of A Company 1st Battalion 83rd Philadelphia said the same. Given that they too were given the task to assist A Company, and that he has been given XO status in support of his commander 1LT Hoskins as his superior officer 1LT Harper has been called up to the colors because of his prior commitments before, he stated to COL Bianco that as part of the operation he felt proud to serve as part of the regiment raised and headquartered in Philadelphia, the birthplace of American independence, and that it was his duty to continue the city's heritage of leading in the defense of the nation in peace and in war. He also stated, "Being a New Orleans guy, I also bear in my heart the city's resistance in the War of 1812, and am ready to fight till the last with the boys from Philly."

The lieutenant from Sacramento then said, "No matter what happens today, colonel Bianco, we're ready to die carrying the arms of Philadelphia and the fighting legacy of her sons and daughters, sir. Most of all it is the American people, as well as the Ukrainian people already suffering after a few months of Russia's invasion, that we're ready to fight for at all costs. " Having served with the regiment since 2014 as an officer fresh from OCS, he became one of Bryce's deputies when he arrived in the city in 2019 on transfer from Washington. Since then he has served as one of his faithful comrades in arms. Alongside the company first sergeant 1SGT Muzziotti and his 1st platoon sergeant, SSGT Vierling, the two have carried on their duties to the company while Bryce is now at the 78th.

The same sentiments were shared by Captain Duvall of A Company from the 1st Battalion of the 72nd Atlanta. Raised in Louisville, KY, he has served as the company commander beginning late last year taking over from long time commander 1LT Freeman. He knew the importance of the cause they were fighting for and why the country has to help Ukraine now in its time of need. In his words, he felt that "missing families and friends at home, I knew I had a band of brothers ready to stand by me fighting for freedom no matter what the cost." His boys, assisted by 1LT Riley his executive officer and 1SGT Matzek the company first sergeant, are positioned to support CPT Arrietta and the B Company lads alongside SSGT Albies.

Then the colonel got a cellphone call from MG Scioscia.

"Make sure my boys from Tokyo are ready to lead the battalion for today," said the major general, confident that the men are ready to do it again in northern Kharkiv Oblast. They indeed needed that motivation badly from the overall commander of the Tokyo contingent in order to get the ball rolling for today's operations. He stated that Captain Frazier will be ready to lead the boys of 1st Battalion to the battle field once more, determined to continue on their winning ways in support of their Ukrainian brothers, who over these past few weeks have started to understand the Americans fighting with them for a singular cause.

"They will do their best, Mike. I'm confident these boys of yours together with mine, now fighting in the same unit, are committed to do their duties for the country and to obey the order given to them today to remove the remaining Russians from the Tsyrkuny area in support of the Ukrainians," replied Colonel Bianco. "I am truly amazed at what they did in past battles and am hopeful they will do it again."

"Good luck Colonel Bianco," replied the major general from Upper Darby. "Scioscia out."

After the call ended, LTC Fenster informed his operational commander that he's now ready to deploy the battalion for their operational goals for the day.

"Brigadier General DeRosa, sir, the 1st Battalion's ready to move out. We're ready to fulfill the orders for today's operation no matter what the cost, for the victory of the Ukrainian people, the very people we are fighting with today."

"Good luck gentlemen," replied the brigadier general. "Once more, America sends its prayers for your victories today and so does every Ukrainian. Do not fail this mission, boys, Ukraine needs this one and so does the USA. Move those boys now!"

"DeRosa, we will do our best, sir. We will not fail. We will not doubt all of America and Ukraine rooting for us once more," replied the commander. Then he presented his phone so that the boys will hear his order clearly to the battalion: to fulfill all objectives and help the 2nd Battalion, as well as the Ukrainians of the 113rd Brigade, clear Tsyrkuny township once and for all so that the Ukrainians will now be set to clear the areas north of Kharkiv from Russian forces with their support. Intel stated that the 1st Motor Rifles from the Donetsk People's Republic are moving out with a battalion of wheeled mechanized infantry to support the Russian 2nd Battalion of the 200th Motor Rifles, with elements of its 1st battalion and the 4th armored battalion in reserve as force multipliers. It is the duty of the Ukrainian 113rd TDB to push them out, and thus the 78th Brigade's 1st and 2nd battalions, as well as the 3 battalions from the 169th Corps regiments, have been tasked to assist them by all means. Thus the 1st Battalion must not fail in its objectives no matter what. The 3rd and 4th battalions, as well as the mortar and tank battalions of the brigade are also moving as brigade reserve to supplement and reinforce the formations as well as the Ukrainian forces fighting with them while the field artillery battalions will provide fires support and the air defense battalions will provide mobile and fixed air defense cover of the battlefield and protection of command elements.

After the call, the battalion commander replied, "We will do whatever it takes. Kharkiv's future rests on our efforts, general."

"Good luck LTC Fenster," answered the brigadier general. "And make sure these boys end the day safe and in a joint US-Ukrainian victory. DeRosa out."

"Good luck to you as well, brigadier general, sir," replied LTC Fenster. "We will continue to update via radio. Fenster out, Slava Ukraini."

"Heroyam Slava", replied the brigadier general.

"This is Major General Reagins speaking, colonel. Make sure these Russians are fucked when your boys fight them with the Ukrainians."

"We will do just that. I am confident than ever these boys will end the day with a win for Ukraine, sir", replied Darren.

The commander's Ukrainian interpreter informed him as well in English and then phoned the commander of the 113rd Territorial Defense Brigade that the 78th will soon be arriving to help reinforce their positions. He then phoned a member of the ILTD operating there to be on standby as the 78th too is helping in their combat ops.

With the order now granted to proceed, the 1st Battalion was now in battle mode once more.

"Is everything ready, sergeant major?"

"Yes sir, all systems go for this one," replied SGM Ronai.

"Has the Ukrainians of the 113rd Brigade and the International Legion been informed?"

The advisor said yes, adding that there's someone left a video message on his cellphone for the brigade. It's Malcolm Nance, the ex-US Navy SEAL turned soldier of the ILTD already fighting there with his fellow legionnaires, wishing the boys good luck. He had phoned brigade command this morning regarding their presence in the area.

"You heard the man, gentlemen," said LTC Fenster. "We have a battle to win in Tsyrkuny, to help the Ukrainians clear the Russians from this township and push them away futher from Kharkiv city, denying their artillery from firing directly at this city and thus save more lives. We must not fail this combat mission. It is imminent that we fulfill the tasks set by the brigade in conjuction with our Ukrainian brothers and the men of the International Legion fighting with them. The 2nd battalion is on the main road of the township and brigade command has told just minutes ago that the 4th and 5th battalions are being deployed as the reserve, while the tanks and artillery are ready as well to be deployed to support our main forces. Three more battalions, each from the 169th Corps, are also fighting with us. We expect heavy and tense resistance by the Russians where we are, but do not fear them, they know they will fear our guns, equipment, uniforms, everything that symbolizes our freedom, our country, and all that we stand for and that we're fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people in this the greatest hour that they are facing. Carried in our shoulders is a heavy burden of helping Ukraine defend itself from Russia and its allies. Now let's show the world our combine power once more to help defeat Russia in the lands of Ukraine and help it finally defeat this aggressor that has been terrorising this land for many years - and has been also been doing its best to obstruct and destroy ALL our freedoms around the world. For America and her people, and our newfound allies in Ukraine, we have a battle - and a war - to help win NOW no matter what. Understood, boys?"

"Sir yes sir" was the response.

"Slava Ukraini!"

"Heroyam Slava!", answered the gathered formation and the Ukrainian liasons with them.

"What's our battle cry 78th Brigade?"

"FOR GLORY!"

While this was happening someone had already arrived as well to the place: a member of the 59th Kansas City Infantry of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 610th Infantry Division, 20th Corps, nicknamed the "Chiefs" due to its Native American heritage and history, had arrived to join them: MAJ Patrick Mahomes II, whose father was a veteran of the 169th Corps and had previously been on secondment in Japan in a infantry battalion based in Yokohama, just south of Tokyo, in the late 90s. He arrived with his battalion mounted on the Stryker system as wheleed mechanized infantry - one of 4 in the regiment. The 2nd has been placed in reserve to help assist in the operation when needed. The major had radioed the 1st Battalion commander informing him of his presence. Wearing the usual red and gold armband with the heraldic arms of their home city, he informed the leadership present of his battalion's arrival.

"Lieutenant colonel sir, forces of the 59th Kansas City's 1st Battalion are ready to assist in your efforts."

"Who are you and who asked you to reinforce the 78th Brigade?" asked the commander.

"Major Patrick Mahomes II, sir, commanding officer of 1st Battalion 59th Kansas City. Been an executive officer last year since I was promoted Major, and now I'm a battalion commander. Colonel Reid, my commanding officer who's in Ukraine with his regiment stationed in Poltava, ordered me and my battalion to join the 78th north of Kharkiv out of respect for my father's service with the 169th Corps wth the regiment in Minneapolis. We've just arrived today from Kharkiv coordinate efforts to remove Russians from north of the city. I'm ready to help these boys win."

"That's Colonel Andy Reid of the 59th and his boys in Poltava?" asked MAJ Sogard.

"Yes indeed, sir, that's the colonel," Mahomes answered.

"You guys are lucky around. Tell your regimental commander the 1st Battalion will help the 78th Brigade Combat Team's elements here in Tsyrkuny. These wheeled APCs will help this brigade and the Ukrainians of the 113rd Territorial Brigade defeat those BTRs of the Russians and drive them out of the twin villages of Cherkas'ki Tyshky and Rus'ki Tyshky. We're counting on you guys to help them win," told the major.

"We will do our best today, sir. Slava Ukraini!"

"Heroyam Slava!" was the response by everyone.

"Looks like this Mahomes guy will be joining us today," said LTC Fenster. "These Strykers, also used by one of the battalions of the 78th, will be the ones that will hopefully arm the Ukrainian Army in the coming months, they will be needing them and all the other equipment we use to help them drive out the Russians. Gentlemen, I hope he will be of big help to us here. Coordinate your efforts and make sure he will be fighting with his boys on the ground as well. Is that clear boys?"

"Sir yes sir!"

The "mount up and move out" order then given, the 1st Battalion boys and those of the companies under the 1st Battalions of the 3rd NY, 83rd Philadelphia and 72nd Atlanta all mounted their vehicles. The artillery batteries of the artillery battalions and anti-tank crews of the anti-tank battalion under the brigade, the gunners of the infantry gun companies and air defense crews soon geared up to provide supporting fire and air defense cover to their formations at the right time, expecting Russian Mil and Kamov helicopters to fly in support of their comrades on the ground as the Bradleys and M113s soon sprang to life, with engines roaring, alongside the M60s and Abrams from the tank battalion and the self-propelled guns from one of the field artillery battalions getting the systems started and moving south to avoid Russian counter battery fire. At the same time MAJ Mahomes, mounted on his M1130 Commander's Vehicle's turret had finished radioing his regimental commander informing him of his battalions' readiness to lead the operation in support of 78th Brigade elements, before calling his father, retired sergeant first class Mahomes who is at Poltava with regimental command. With him are his XO, CPT Smith-Schuster, the battalion sergeant major SGM Girardi and several men under the battalion staff and the headquarters and HQ company, with the new A Company commander 1LT Kelce and his XO 1LT Buechele on their own Stykers with the rest of the formation. All 5 rifle companies and their cannon company, all told, are to join the fight of the 78th that morning with their Ukrainian counterparts, while the HHC remains with elements of the 78th's command. Following that he got a call from BG DeRosa later on regarding what his battalion would do that morning.

The 1st Battalion 78th BCT, its personnel (sans those of C Company) now mounted on their M2 Bradleys, began to prepare for battle like never before.

"Is everyone ready First Sergeant Gose?" called Captain Frazier on his M2 Bradley, on the commander's turret radioing his company first sergeant.

"We're all ready, sir," replied 1SGT Gose on his M113A3 Rise APC. "Same with my crew, we're ready to roll out."

He radioed 1LT Austin as well on his readiness to lead the platoon. He responded, "Able 1, we're ready. Captain Frazier, we're in it to win, Able 1-11's ready, including many of the Tokyo lads. Let's get this rolling now, sir."

"Able 2-11 ready," said 1LT Jackson on his radio. "When we will all dismount sir, give us the signal. The vehicle commanders and the operational armored column commander, 1LT Thames, will be ready to take over command to provide the mounted elements of the operation for Able Company under your command as the leader of the dismounted force. We will never fail you, captain, no matter what the cost. And so too, we cannot fail the American people nor the Ukrainians in which we've been grateful to stand by them these past months."

"Will do my best to signal you guys to fight with me as one against those Russians, lieutenant," Todd answered on his radio.

2LT Eddy Alvarez then replied on his radio inside the Bradley, "So am I, sir."

"Able 1-21 ready, sir, elements of 2nd Platoon ready to move out," said 1LT Alec Bohm.

"Confirmed sir, you guys will follow our lead," replied the captain. He was sure 1LT Austin knew of the readiness of his platoon to help prepare for the battle this morning.

1LT Dylan Crews then informed his commanding officer via radio, "Able 1-31 ready for the operation, captain. Expect that 3rd Platoon will be ready as well."

His deputy, 2LT Teel, informed the captain via radio of his boys' readiness to help their unit achieve all their objectives for the day.

"Able 1-41, reporting. We're ready as well at 4th Platoon," 1LT Bailey informed his company commander as well. He told the captain they too are ready to risk their lives for not just Ukraine but of their homeland as well and thus his platoon is ready to fulfill their mission.

The platoon second in command, 2LT Meyer, added, "The same for me and the other officers and NCOs assigned to our Bradley crews. They are ready since the last time they fought these bastards, captain and you known that. We're ready to fight them again to the last."

The 5th platoon commander, 1LT Brandon Crawford voiced his readiness replying: "Able 1-51 ready Captain Frazier. The men of 5th Platoon have entered battle readiness and will follow your lead."

His XO said the same sentiments of combat readiness. So did the other platoon commanders of A Company, including 6th platoon's 1LT Payton.

At the same time the platoon commanders of the other companies had reported to their company commanders of their preparedness to fight.

CPT Tulowitzki reported to his CO on his Bradley, "Captain Frazier sir, all of A Company has stated their readiness for the operation. We're all ready for the battle to start."

"Affirmative, Tulo. Let's get those boys moving, we have an operation ongoing."

"Roger that Cap."

"Captain Jake!" radioed 1LT Fowler on his Bradley. "Bravo Company is all ready for the operation."

"Affirmative Lieutenant Fowler. I hope the men are all ready for this moment. Major Gall is thinking of us as he studies his command course far away from the front right now."

The rest of the company commanders did the same.

Following the order to proceed by LTC Fenster, the infantry, mounted as usual in their M2 Bradleys, moved out of the assembly area and into the battlefield, with gunfire and artillery blasts increasing as the battalion's fighting elements moved north along Sadova Street. Their objectives are to liberate Cherkas'ki Tyshky and help the Ukrainian territorials. And joining them in their Strykers are elements of the 59th Kansas City's 1st Battalion, who are taking part as force multipliers for the operation, alongside armored elements of the brigade.

@joeybosa-aaronjudge @lightninging @homerofthebraves @dilangleywritesfanfic @auroralightsthesky @alekmanoah @ilovetheyankees @darkorderaf @highwaytothedangerzone502 @zackcollins @lukeexplorer

#usa baseball #ukraine au #baseball fanfiction #baseball rpf #usa baseball rpf #modern au #usa baseball cnt #baseball au #sports rpf #sports fic #a league of their own #usa softball #ukraine war au #mlb rpf #baseball fic #nfl rpf #nfl fic

[mistpodfics]

Podfic Stats 2022 by MistbornHero. Included some covers I liked that had no reason to be put on the Stats page.

Descriptions & Links under the Read More.

Total Works: 111

85 solo works

8 multivoices

16 multivoice roles

2 not!fics

Total Time: 40 hours with 5 minutes. (Or, one day and 16 hours with 5 minutes)

Authors Podficced: 84

Fandoms Podficced: 58

Longest Chaptered Work: Like Fire in our Bones | 12 hours | Incomplete

Longest One-Shot Work: In the arms of Morpheus | Dans les bras de Morphée. | 1hour 58 minutes

Shortest One-Shot Work: isekai’d | 47 seconds

Comparison between 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021

Total “Solo” Works: 134

2018 - 6 podfics

2019 - 21 podfics

2020 - 73 podfics

2021 - 61 podfics

2022 - 111 podfics

Total “Solo” Works Time: 97 hours and 49 minutes

2018 - 1 hour and 34 minutes

2019 - 12 hours and 59 minutes

2020 - 21 hours and 35 minutes

2021 - 20 hours and 54 minutes

2022 - 40 hours and 05 minutes

Top Ship: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi

Top 5 Fandoms:

20 | Star Wars

8 | DCU / Batman

6 | Leverage

6 | Marvel

3 | Murderbot

Rating Divisions:

40 Teen & Up

40 General

2 Mature

2 Explicit

2 Not Rated

Category:

47 Gen

39 M/M

13 F/M

7 Multi

2 F/F

2 Other

Significant Works:

First: Chit Chat

Mid: Rumor Mill

Last: The Shirt

200th: our turn to carve windows

Most Music: I will find you (In this existence or outside it)

Most SFX: First Protagonist

Most Kudos: Like Fire in our Bones - 66 | “Chivalry is Dead..” also has 66, but it’s appearing already.

Least Kudos: An Ending - 1 | other podfics that also have zero include:

First Protagonist

Team-Building

Never Gonna...

Most Voices:

Turning up the Heat

Chivalry is Dead and so is Jason Todd

Slowest [record to podfic] time: Convention Code of Conduct

Quickest [record to podfic] time: sight unseen

#podfic #stats

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

All eyes on army as Brazil heads for elections

With President Jair Bolsonaro trailing in the polls and regularly alleging Brazil's voting system is plagued by fraud, all eyes are on the military and the role it could play in the country's deeply divisive October elections.

The far-right president, an ex-army captain, has enthusiastically courted the military's support and has put it forward as a referee in the elections, raising fears he could seek an armed intervention if he loses.

However, experts say that while Bolsonaro has the backing of some in the military, it is highly unlikely the institution would get involved in anything resembling a coup.

Bolsonaro, who openly admires Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, has drawn the army into politics on an unprecedented scale, naming more than 6,000 active-duty or retired service members to jobs in his administration, all the way up to Vice President Hamilton Mourao, an army reserve general.

That mix of military and politics was on full display Wednesday as Brazil celebrated the 200th anniversary of its independence from Portugal with the 67-year-old commander in chief presiding over a combination of military parades and campaign rallies by his supporters.

"Bolsonaro believes it strengthens him to cultivate close ties with the armed forces and put on displays of military strength," said Carlos Fico, a military history expert at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Continue reading.

#brazil #politics #democracy #brazilian politics #brazilian elections #jair bolsonaro #armed forces #military #brazilian elections 2022 #mod nise da silveira #image description in alt

[dankusner]

Ex-cop wins discrimination suit

Jury awards McMiller $1.5 million

Skye Seipp | Austin American-Statesman USA TODAY NETWORK

A former Austin Police Department lieutenant who filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination and retaliation by the department’s top brass at the time – including former Police Chief Art Acevedo – won $1.5 million in a jury verdict this week.

Lt. Johnny McMiller, who is Black, was fired after a 15-year career with the Police Department in December 2015.

The lawsuit was filed in Travis County in 2017.

The trial for McMiller’s lawsuit against the city of Austin took place over the last week in Travis County’s 200th District Court.

The jury reached a decision Tuesday after hearing nearly a week’s worth of evidence.

“While we very much appreciate the jury’s time and attention to this employment retaliation lawsuit stemming from a 2015 disciplinary decision, we were surprised and disappointed with the result,” Meghan Riley, division chief of the city of Austin’s Law Department, said in a statement.

“We continue to review the jury findings and will work with our client to determine the necessary postverdict steps to take.”

The lawsuit details a June 2015 incident that led to McMiller being investigated by the department’s internal affairs division.

McMiller did off-duty work for Capital Metro through a contract with the Police Department.

During a shift in June 2015, a sergeant who was supposed to be working for CapMetro left his post for a few hours, according to the lawsuit.

This was discovered by another lieutenant who co-managed the Cap-Metro contract, along with McMiller.

The lieutenant who discovered what happened reported it to CapMetro, and the sergeant was terminated from that off-duty job, although he still worked with the Police Department, the lawsuit said.

That same sergeant then applied for a vacant position within the Police Department months later.

The lawsuit states that he was the only one to apply but was rejected.

McMiller believed this was retaliation for the incident with CapMetro and because the sergeant was Black.

McMiller reported his concerns to former Assistant Chief Patrick Ockletree, hoping it would settle the matter, the lawsuit stated.

However, this prompted the Police Department to open an investigation into McMiller for not reporting the sergeant’s disappearance during that CapMetro shift.

An internal affairs investigation was not opened against the other lieutenant who had discovered the sergeant wasn’t actually at his post, the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit notes that McMiller had never seen other officers investigated because they were let go from off-duty work, as had happened to the sergeant, because it’s a common occurrence.

While under investigation, McMiller was unable to work on off-duty assignments, something the lawsuit noted wasn’t happening to other officers who weren’t Black and had more “serious allegations” against them.

“By placing McMiller under investigation, he believes it is a continuation of former chief Acevedo’s discriminatory and retaliatory behavior against him,” the lawsuit said.

McMiller was told in December 2015 that the internal affairs investigation sustained the allegations of insubordination, neglect of duty and dishonesty, and that he could retire or be terminated, the lawsuit said.

Gary Bledsoe, a lawyer representing McMiller, said the former lieutenant chose to retire.

However, before his retirement became effective, he was “indefinitely suspended,” or fired, from the department.

McMiller appealed his termination, court records show.

In January 2016, Acevedo issued McMiller a dishonorable discharge, which he appealed.

A couple of days later, his indefinite suspension was changed to a written reprimand, which meant McMiller would not be paid for his accrued sick leave, court records show.

Weeks later, McMiller and the Austin Police Association filed a grievance for an arbitration decision related to McMiller being improperly denied his sick leave payout.

An arbitrator decided months later that McMiller had left the department in good standing and was owed 1,700 hours of sick leave.

McMiller was represented in the lawsuit by Bledsoe and Nadia Stewart.

The decision was not unanimous, with 10 of the 12 jurors being in favor of McMiller.

“After nine years, justice has finally been rendered and my name and reputation cleared thanks to the 12 men and women who sat on the jury and judged the merits of my case impartially. I feel as if a burden has been lifted,” McMiller said in a statement. “My wife and I are deeply grateful to the jurors who gave their time and efforts to righting the ship.”

353rd Civil District Court

The Honorable Madeleine Connor

FIONA FRAZELL Eligible to Practice in Texas 

Bar Card Number: 24101216 TX License Date: 10/25/2018

http://www.strikeforcause.com

D-1-GN-17-002576 Discrimination Open 353rd District Court

Plaintiff MCMILLER, JOHNNY BLEDSOE, GARY L. Retained FRAZELL, FIONA Retained

Defendant CITY OF AUSTIN BEGLE, BRIAN J. Retained

[mitchbeck]

#AHL #AmericanHockeyLeague #DylanGarand #ECHL #HartfordWolfPack #JonnyBrodzinski #LehighValleyPhantoms #LouisDomingue #NationalHockeyLeague #NewYorkRangers #NHL #OakViewGroup #UticaComets #XLCenter

[flowitch]

everyone’s saying they want shida to win the belt next week and i wish i could disagree bc i love toni but i honestly think they need to get the belt far away from the outcasts. like i’m not trying to bandwagon hate or anything but the DIFFERENCE between the outcasts just being ruby & toni and it being all 3 of them is nuts. toni and ruby need to go back to being solo competitors we need to drop this outcasts thing. and i love shida she’s a perfect person to build ur division around so honestly at this point put the belt on her, have her defend it weekly against actual talent on the roster not local talent or anything, get her in some feuds and rebuild ur division.

like you’ve been seeing people want better for the division for months and nothings happened so if it has to change on a random ass ep of dynamite (i guess not technically random it is the 200th ep) then so be it. i’d say do it at all in but i have a feeling if (and probably when) shida loses next week, britt or someone is gonna get the wembley match and i just don’t think that’s a good idea. jamie hayter’s injury honestly complicates things still bc tk hasn’t built up anyone else to be a believable opponent for the belt.

just get me in the writers room tk i will fix this

[jrsechelon]

Welcome To Week 5

Thursday Night Football

(2-2) Hyrule Empire @ Crocs (3-1)

This will be the first time these two teams face off

Both suffered losses last week

Johnathon Taylor versus Derrick Henry - should be an exciting match-up, or would have if Taylor was going to play. It'll be a tough challenge for Hyrule Empire without star back, JT

Super Bowl XIV Rematch

(0-4) Rainelo Hawks @ Evolution (2-2)

Rainelo Hawks leads the all-time series 7-5 in the regular season, 2-1 in the postseason (including Super Bowl) & defeated Evolution in Super Bowl XIV by 20

Rainelo Hawks have gone from first to tied for worst with four straight losses for the first time in franchise history

Evolution will need to find a new quarterback after Tua went down with a horrific concussion two weeks in a row - is his career in jeopardy?

Divisional Battles

(2-2) The Busy Killers @ Ultimate Savages (1-3)

Ultimate Savages leads the all-time series 1-0

Ultimate Savages defeated The Busy Killers by eight points in Week 4 last season

This is The Busy Killers & Ultimate Savage's third divisional game this season; both teams hold a 1-1 division record, both defeating Rainelo Hawks & losing to Black Hole Son

(1-3) VanillaGorillas @ LilShupeScoresBIGPoints (4-0)

LilShupeScoresBIGPoints holds a 9-4 record against VanillaGorillas

VanillaGorillas lost their 200th regular season game last week, while LilShupeScoresBIGPoints won their 130th regular season game

LilShupeScoresBIGPoints defeated VanillaGorillas in Week 5 last season by 36-points

(3-1) Yuba City Sultans @ Hahn's Hitters (1-3)

This is Hahn's Hitters first divisional game this season

Yuba City Sultans can take a commanding lead in their division with a win over Hahn's Hitters

Hahn's Hitters got the first win of their franchise last week & will look to get back in the fight for the Atlantic-Southeast division

Early Toliet Bowl?

(0-4) Balls Deep @ The Canadian Cripplers (1-3)

The Canadian Cripplers holds a 1-0 record all-time against Balls Deep as childhood friends renew their rivalry. The Canadian Cripplers defeated Balls Deep Week 7 in 2020 by 16

Balls Deep continues to suffer multiple injuries but stated in Wednesday's press conference, "I have faith still this season. Miracles have happened before." Relating to last season when they weathered the injury storm early on to rebound and make the postseason

The Canadian Cripplers got their first win last week against Hyrule Empire this season. Their schedule is the second easiest remaining as we advance

Sunday Night Football

(3-1) Straight Edge Society @ Black Mambas (2-2)

Straight Edge Society leads the series 8-1-1 against Black Mambas

Straight Edge Society has a chance to win their 100th regular season game on Sunday Night Football

Straight Edge Society defeated Black Mambas in Week 5 last year by 18-points

Monday Night Football

(3-1) Rice-A-Roni @ Black Hole Son (4-0)

This will be the first time both these top teams face off

Both teams are in first place in their respected divisions - Golden State & Cascadia-Sunbelt

This is Black Hole Son's best start since going 12-2 when they won Super Bowl XIII

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

#fantasy #fantasy football #football #nfl #nfl fantasy #fantasy nfl #footballleague #fantasy football league #nflfantasyfootball #week5

[meetyourmakar]

Sometimes I hear the leafs broadcasters call Kerf “Alex” and it makes me upset. Like would it kill them to call him Alexander like he wants to be called??

yeah :// it sucks a lot. especially cause I’ve seen some fans say they don’t call him alexander cause he hasn’t “earned” that yet or whatever and it’s just,,, :/ call people what they ask you to call them

#i certainly cant speak for kerf but calling him alexander instead of alex was important enough for the avs social media team to point out #the the avs broadcasters always called him alexander #idk #im also thinking about how kerf and jt both played their 200th game last night #but they were on different teams in different divisions in different countries and #yeah :// #i miss the roommates #ask tag #anon

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous asked: I enjoyed reading your posts about Napoleon’s death and it’s quite timely given its the 200th anniversary of his death this year in May. I was wondering, because you know a lot about military history (your served right? That’s cool to fly combat helicopters) and you live in France but aren’t French, what your take was on Napoleon and how do the French view him? Do they hail him as a hero or do they like others see him like a Hitler or a Stalin? Do you see him as a hero or a villain of history?

5 May 1821 was a memorable date because Napoleon, one of the most iconic figures in world history, died while in bitter exile on a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Napoleon Bonaparte, as you know rose from obscure soldier to a kind of new Caesar, and yet he remains a uniquely controversial figure to this day especially in France. You raise interesting questions about Napoleon and his legacy. If I may reframe your questions in another way. Should we think of him as a flawed but essentially heroic visionary who changed Europe for the better? Or was he simply a military dictator, whose cult of personality and lust for power set a template for the likes of Hitler? 

However one chooses to answer this question can we just - to get this out of the way - simply and definitively say that Napoleon was not Hitler. Not even close. No offence intended to you but this is just dumb ahistorical thinking and it’s a lazy lie. This comparison was made by some in the horrid aftermath of the Second World War but only held little currency for only a short time thereafter. Obviously that view didn’t exist before Hitler in the 19th Century and these days I don’t know any serious historian who takes that comparison seriously.

I confess I don’t have a definitive answer if he was a hero or a villain one way or the other because Napoleon has really left a very complicated legacy. It really depends on where you’re coming from.

As a staunch Brit I do take pride in Britain’s victorious war against Napoleonic France - and in a good natured way rubbing it in the noses of French friends at every opportunity I get because it’s in our cultural DNA and it’s bloody good fun (why else would we make Waterloo train station the London terminus of the Eurostar international rail service from its opening in 1994? Or why hang a huge gilded portrait of the Duke of Wellington as the first thing that greets any visitor to the residence of the British ambassador at the British Embassy?). On a personal level I take special pride in knowing my family ancestors did their bit on the battlefield to fight against Napoleon during those tumultuous times. However, as an ex-combat veteran who studied Napoleonic warfare with fan girl enthusiasm, I have huge respect for Napoleon as a brilliant military commander. And to makes things more weird, as a Francophile resident of who loves living and working in France (and my partner is French) I have a grudging but growing regard for Napoleon’s political and cultural legacy, especially when I consider the current dross of political mediocrity on both the political left and the right. So for me it’s a complicated issue how I feel about Napoleon, the man, the soldier, and the political leader.

If it’s not so straightforward for me to answer the for/against Napoleon question then it It’s especially true for the French, who even after 200 years, still have fiercely divided opinions about Napoleon and his legacy - but intriguingly, not always in clear cut ways.

I only have to think about my French neighbours in my apartment building to see how divisive Napoleon the man and his legacy is. Over the past year or so of the Covid lockdown we’ve all gotten to know each other better and we help each other. Over the Covid year we’ve gathered in the inner courtyard for a buffet and just lifted each other spirits up.

One of my neighbours, a crusty old ex-general in the army who has an enviable collection of military history books that I steal, liberate, borrow, often discuss military figures in history like Napoleon over our regular games of chess and a glass of wine. He is from very old aristocracy of the ancien regime and whose family suffered at the hands of ‘madame guillotine’ during the French Revolution. They lost everything. He has mixed emotions about Napoleon himself as an old fashioned monarchist. As a military man he naturally admires the man and the military genius but he despises the secularisation that the French Revolution ushered in as well as the rise of the haute bourgeois as middle managers and bureaucrats by the displacement of the aristocracy.

Another retired widowed neighbour I am close to, and with whom I cook with often and discuss art, is an active arts patron and ex-art gallery owner from a very wealthy family that came from the new Napoleonic aristocracy - ie the aristocracy of the Napoleonic era that Napoleon put in place - but she is dismissive of such titles and baubles. She’s a staunch Republican but is happy to concede she is grateful for Napoleon in bringing order out of chaos. She recognises her own ambivalence when she says she dislikes him for reintroducing slavery in the French colonies but also praises him for firmly supporting Paris’s famed Comédie-Française of which she was a past patron.

Another French neighbour, a senior civil servant in the Elysée, is quite dismissive of Napoleon as a war monger but is grudgingly grateful for civil institutions and schools that Napoleon established and which remain in place today.

My other neighbours - whether they be French families or foreign expats like myself - have similarly divisive and complicated attitudes towards Napoleon.

In 2010 an opinion poll in France asked who was the most important man in French history. Napoleon came second, behind General Charles de Gaulle, who led France from exile during the German occupation in World War II and served as a postwar president.

The split in French opinion is closely mirrored in political circles. The divide is generally down political party lines. On the left, there's the 'black legend' of Bonaparte as an ogre. On the right, there is the 'golden legend' of a strong leader who created durable institutions.

Jacques-Olivier Boudon, a history professor at Paris-Sorbonne University and president of the Napoléon Institute, once explained at a talk I attended that French public opinion has always remained deeply divided over Napoleon, with, on the one hand, those who admire the great man, the conqueror, the military leader and, on the other, those who see him as a bloodthirsty tyrant, the gravedigger of the revolution. Politicians in France, Boudon observed, rarely refer to Napoleon for fear of being accused of authoritarian temptations, or not being good Republicans.

On the left-wing of French politics, former prime minister Lionel Jospin penned a controversial best selling book entitled “the Napoleonic Evil” in which he accused the emperor of “perverting the ideas of the Revolution” and imposing “a form of extreme domination”, “despotism” and “a police state” on the French people. He wrote Napoleon was "an obvious failure" - bad for France and the rest of Europe. When he was booted out into final exile, France was isolated, beaten, occupied, dominated, hated and smaller than before. What's more, Napoleon smothered the forces of emancipation awakened by the French and American revolutions and enabled the survival and restoration of monarchies. Some of the legacies with which Napoleon is credited, including the Civil Code, the comprehensive legal system replacing a hodgepodge of feudal laws, were proposed during the revolution, Jospin argued, though he acknowledges that Napoleon actually delivered them, but up to a point, "He guaranteed some principles of the revolution and, at the same time, changed its course, finished it and betrayed it," For instance, Napoleon reintroduced slavery in French colonies, revived a system that allowed the rich to dodge conscription in the military and did nothing to advance gender equality.

At the other end of the spectrum have been former right-wing prime minister Dominique de Villepin, an aristocrat who was once fancied as a future President, a passionate collector of Napoleonic memorabilia, and author of several works on the subject. As a Napoleonic enthusiast he tells a different story. Napoleon was a saviour of France. If there had been no Napoleon, the Republic would not have survived. Advocates like de Villepin point to Napoleon’s undoubted achievements: the Civil Code, the Council of State, the Bank of France, the National Audit office, a centralised and coherent administrative system, lycées, universities, centres of advanced learning known as école normale, chambers of commerce, the metric system, and an honours system based on merit (which France has to this day). He restored the Catholic faith as the state faith but allowed for the freedom of religion for other faiths including Protestantism and Judaism. These were ambitions unachieved during the chaos of the revolution. As it is, these Napoleonic institutions continue to function and underpin French society. Indeed, many were copied in countries conquered by Napoleon, such as Italy, Germany and Poland, and laid the foundations for the modern state.

Back in 2014, French politicians and institutions in particular were nervous in marking the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's exile. My neighbours and other French friends remember that the commemorations centred around the Chateau de Fontainebleau, the traditional home of the kings of France and was the scene where Napoleon said farewell to the Old Guard in the "White Horse Courtyard" (la cour du Cheval Blanc) at the Palace of Fontainebleau. (The courtyard has since been renamed the "Courtyard of Goodbyes".) By all accounts the occasion was very moving. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau stripped Napoleon of his powers (but not his title as Emperor of the French) and sent him into exile on Elba. The cost of the Fontainebleau "farewell" and scores of related events over those three weekends was shouldered not by the central government in Paris but by the local château, a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage site, and the town of Fontainebleau.

While the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution that toppled the monarchy and delivered thousands to death by guillotine was officially celebrated in 1989, Napoleonic anniversaries are neither officially marked nor celebrated. For example, over a decade ago, the president and prime minister - at the time, Jacques Chirac and Dominque de Villepin - boycotted a ceremony marking the 200th anniversary of the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon's greatest military victory. Both men were known admirers of Napoleon and yet political calculation and optics (as media spin doctors say) stopped them from fully honouring Napoleon’s crowning military glory.

Optics is everything. The division of opinion in France is perhaps best reflected in the fact that, in a city not shy of naming squares and streets after historical figures, there is not a single “Boulevard Napoleon” or “Place Napoleon” in Paris. On the streets of Paris, there are just two statues of Napoleon. One stands beneath the clock tower at Les Invalides (a military hospital), the other atop a column in the Place Vendôme. Napoleon's red marble tomb, in a crypt under the Invalides dome, is magnificent, perhaps because his remains were interred there during France's Second Empire, when his nephew, Napoleon III, was on the throne.

There are no squares, nor places, nor boulevards named for Napoleon but as far as I know there is one narrow street, the rue Bonaparte, running from the Luxembourg Gardens to the River Seine in the old Latin Quarter. And, that, too, is thanks to Napoleon III. For many, and I include myself, it’s a poor return by the city to the man who commissioned some of its most famous monuments, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Pont des Arts over the River Seine.

It's almost as if Napoleon Bonaparte is not part of the national story.

How Napoleon fits into that national story is something historians, French and non-French, have been grappling with ever since Napoleon died. The plain fact is Napoleon divides historians, what precisely he represents is deeply ambiguous and his political character is the subject of heated controversy. It’s hard for historians to sift through archival documents to make informed judgements and still struggle to separate the man from the myth.

One proof of this myth is in his immortality. After Hitler’s death, there was mostly an embarrassed silence; after Stalin’s, little but denunciation. But when Napoleon died on St Helena in 1821, much of Europe and the Americas could not help thinking of itself as a post-Napoleonic generation. His presence haunts the pages of Stendhal and Alfred de Vigny. In a striking and prescient phrase, Chateaubriand prophesied the “despotism of his memory”, a despotism of the fantastical that in many ways made Romanticism possible and that continues to this day.

The raw material for the future Napoleon myth was provided by one of his St Helena confidants, the Comte de las Cases, whose account of conversations with the great man came out shortly after his death and ran in repeated editions throughout the century. De las Cases somehow metamorphosed the erstwhile dictator into a herald of liberty, the emperor into a slayer of dynasties rather than the founder of his own. To the “great man” school of history Napoleon was grist to their mill, and his meteoric rise redefined the meaning of heroism in the modern world.

The Marxists, for all their dislike of great men, grappled endlessly with the meaning of the 18th Brumaire; indeed one of France’s most eminent Marxist historians, George Lefebvre, wrote what arguably remains the finest of all biographies of him.

It was on this already vast Napoleon literature, a rich terrain for the scholar of ideas, that the great Dutch historian Pieter Geyl was lecturing in 1940 when he was arrested and sent to Buchenwald. There he composed what became one of the classics of historiography, a seminal book entitled Napoleon: For and Against, which charted how generations of intellectuals had happily served up one Napoleon after another. Like those poor souls who crowded the lunatic asylums of mid-19th century France convinced that they were Napoleon, generations of historians and novelists simply could not get him out of their head.

The debate runs on today no less intensely than in the past. Post-Second World War Marxists would argue that he was not, in fact, revolutionary at all. Eric Hobsbawm, a notable British Marxist historian, argued that ‘Most-perhaps all- of his ideas were anticipated by the Revolution’ and that Napoleon’s sole legacy was to twist the ideals of the French Revolution, and make them ‘more conservative, hierarchical and authoritarian’.

This contrasts deeply with the view William Doyle holds of Napoleon. Doyle described Bonaparte as ‘the Revolution incarnate’ and saw Bonaparte’s humbling of Europe’s other powers, the ‘Ancien Regimes’, as a necessary precondition for the birth of the modern world. Whatever one thinks of Napoleon’s character, his sharp intellect is difficult to deny. Even Paul Schroeder, one of Napoleon’s most scathing critics, who condemned his conduct of foreign policy as a ‘criminal enterprise’ never denied Napoleon’s intellect. Schroder concluded that Bonaparte ‘had an extraordinary capacity for planning, decision making, memory, work, mastery of detail and leadership’.  The question of whether Napoleon used his genius for the betterment or the detriment of the world, is the heart of the debate which surrounds him.

France's foremost Napoleonic scholar, Jean Tulard, put forward the thesis that Bonaparte was the architect of modern France. "And I would say also pâtissier [a cake and pastry maker] because of the administrative millefeuille that we inherited." Oddly enough, in North America the multilayered mille-feuille cake is called ‘a napoleon.’ Tulard’s works are essential reading of how French historians have come to tackle the question of Napoleon’s legacy. He takes the view that if Napoleon had not crushed a Royalist rebellion and seized power in 1799, the French monarchy and feudalism would have returned, Tulard has written. "Like Cincinnatus in ancient Rome, Napoleon wanted a dictatorship of public salvation. He gets all the power, and, when the project is finished, he returns to his plough." In the event, the old order was never restored in France. When Louis XVIII became emperor in 1814, he served as a constitutional monarch.

In England, until recently the views on Napoleon have traditionally less charitable and more cynical. Professor Christopher Clark, the notable Cambridge University European historian, has written. "Napoleon was not a French patriot - he was first a Corsican and later an imperial figure, a journey in which he bypassed any deep affiliation with the French nation," Clark believed Napoleon’s relationship with the French Revolution is deeply ambivalent.

Did he stabilise the revolutionary state or shut it down mercilessly? Clark believes Napoleon seems to have done both. Napoleon rejected democracy, he suffocated the representative dimension of politics, and he created a culture of courtly display. A month before crowning himself emperor, Napoleon sought approval for establishing an empire from the French in a plebiscite; 3,572,329 voted in favour, 2,567 against. If that landslide resembles an election in North Korea, well, this was no secret ballot. Each ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was recorded, along with the name and address of the voter. Evidently, an overwhelming majority knew which side their baguette was buttered on.

His extravagant coronation in Notre Dame in December 1804 cost 8.5 million francs (€6.5 million or $8.5 million in today's money). He made his brothers, sisters and stepchildren kings, queens, princes and princesses and created a Napoleonic aristocracy numbering 3,500. By any measure, it was a bizarre progression for someone often described as ‘a child of the Revolution.’ By crowning himself emperor, the genuine European kings who surrounded him were not convinced. Always a warrior first, he tried to represent himself as a Caesar, and he wears a Roman toga on the bas-reliefs in his tomb. His coronation crown, a laurel wreath made of gold, sent the same message. His icon, the eagle, was also borrowed from Rome. But Caesar's legitimacy depended on military victories. Ultimately, Napoleon suffered too many defeats.

These days Napoleon the man and his times remain very much in fashion and we are living through something of a new golden age of Napoleonic literature. Those historians who over the past decade or so have had fun denouncing him as the first totalitarian dictator seem to have it all wrong: no angel, to be sure, he ended up doing far more at far less cost than any modern despot. In his widely praised 2014 biography, Napoleon the Great, Andrew Roberts writes: “The ideas that underpin our modern world - meritocracy, equality before the law, property rights, religious toleration, modern secular education, sound finances, and so on - were championed, consolidated, codified and geographically extended by Napoleon. To them he added a rational and efficient local administration, an end to rural banditry, the encouragement of science and the arts, the abolition of feudalism and the greatest codification of laws since the fall of the Roman empire.”

Roberts partly bases his historical judgement on newly released historical documents about Napoleon that were only available in the past decade and has proved to be a boon for all Napoleonic scholars. Newly released 33,000 letters Napoleon wrote that still survive are now used extensively to illustrate the astonishing capacity that Napoleon had for compartmentalising his mind - he laid down the rules for a girls’ boarding school on the eve of the battle of Borodino, for example, and the regulations for Paris’s Comédie-Française while camped in the Kremlin. They also show Napoleon’s extraordinary capacity for micromanaging his empire: he would write to the prefect of Genoa telling him not to allow his mistress into his box at the theatre, and to a corporal of the 13th Line regiment warning him not to drink so much.

For me to have my own perspective on Napoleon is tough. The problem is that nothing with Napoleon is simple, and almost every aspect of his personality is a maddening paradox. He was a military genius who led disastrous campaigns. He was a liberal progressive who reinstated slavery in the French colonies. And take the French Revolution, which came just before Napoleon’s rise to power, his relationship with the French Revolution is deeply ambivalent. Did he stabilise it or shut it down? I agree with those British and French historians who now believe Napoleon seems to have done both.

On the one hand, Napoleon did bring order to a nation that had been drenched in blood in the years after the Revolution. The French people had endured the crackdown known as the 'Reign of Terror', which saw so many marched to the guillotine, as well as political instability, corruption, riots and general violence. Napoleon’s iron will managed to calm the chaos. But he also rubbished some of the core principles of the Revolution. A nation which had boldly brought down the monarchy had to watch as Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, with more power and pageantry than Louis XVI ever had. He also installed his relatives as royals across Europe, creating a new aristocracy. In the words of French politician and author Lionel Jospin, 'He guaranteed some principles of the Revolution and at the same time, changed its course, finished it and betrayed it.'

He also had a feared henchman in the form of Joseph Fouché, who ran a secret police network which instilled dread in the population. Napoleon’s spies were everywhere, stifling political opposition. Dozens of newspapers were suppressed or shut down. Books had to be submitted for approval to the Commission of Revision, which sounds like something straight out of George Orwell. Some would argue Hitler and Stalin followed this playbook perfectly. But here come the contradictions. Napoleon also championed education for all, founding a network of schools. He championed the rights of the Jews. In the territories conquered by Napoleon, laws which kept Jews cooped up in ghettos were abolished. 'I will never accept any proposals that will obligate the Jewish people to leave France,' he once said, 'because to me the Jews are the same as any other citizen in our country.'

He also, crucially, developed the Napoleonic Code, a set of laws which replaced the messy, outdated feudal laws that had been used before. The Napoleonic Code clearly laid out civil laws and due processes, establishing a society based on merit and hard work, rather than privilege. It was rolled out far beyond France, and indisputably helped to modernise Europe. While it certainly had its flaws – women were ignored by its reforms, and were essentially regarded as the property of men – the Napoleonic Code is often brandished as the key evidence for Napoleon’s progressive credentials. In the words of historian Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon the Great, 'the ideas that underpin our modern world… were championed by Napoleon'.

What about Napoleon’s battlefield exploits? If anything earns comparisons with Hitler, it’s Bonaparte’s apparent appetite for conquest. His forces tore down republics across Europe, and plundered works of art, much like the Nazis would later do. A rampant imperialist, Napoleon gleefully grabbed some of the greatest masterpieces of the Renaissance, and allegedly boasted, 'the whole of Rome is in Paris.'

Napoleon has long enjoyed a stellar reputation as a field commander – his capacities as a military strategist, his ability to read a battle, the painstaking detail with which he made sure that he cold muster a larger force than his adversary or took maximum advantage of the lie of the land – these are stuff of the military legend that has built up around him. It is not without its critics, of course, especially among those who have worked intensively on the later imperial campaigns, in the Peninsula, in Russia, or in the final days of the Empire at Waterloo.

Doubts about his judgment, and allegations of rashness, have been raised in the context of some of his victories, too, most notably, perhaps, at Marengo. But overall his reputation remains largely intact, and his military campaigns have been taught in the curricula of military academies from Saint-Cyr to Sandhurst, alongside such great tacticians as Alexander the Great and Hannibal.

Historians may query his own immodest opinion that his presence on the battlefield was worth an extra forty thousand men to his cause, but it is clear that when he was not present (as he was not for most of the campaign in Spain) the French were wont to struggle. Napoleon understood the value of speed and surprise, but also of structures and loyalties. He reformed the army by introducing the corps system, and he understood military aspirations, rewarding his men with medals and honours; all of which helped ensure that he commanded exceptional levels of personal loyalty from his troops.

Yet, I do find it hard to side with the more staunch defenders of Napoleon who say his reputation as a war monger is to some extent due to British propaganda at the time. They will point out that the Napoleonic Wars, far from being Napoleon’s fault, were just a continuation of previous conflicts that arose thanks to the French Revolution. Napoleon, according to this analysis, inherited a messy situation, and his only real crime was to be very good at defeating enemies on the battlefield. I think that is really pushing things too far. I mean deciding to invade Spain and then Russia were his decisions to invade and conquer.

He was, by any measure, a genius of war. Even his nemesis the Duke of Wellington, when asked who the greatest general of his time was, replied: 'In this age, in past ages, in any age, Napoleon.'

I will qualify all this and agree that Napoleon’s Russian campaign has been rightly held up as a fatal folly which killed so many of his men, but this blunder – epic as it was – should not be compared to Hitler’s wars of evil aggression. Most historians will agree that comparing the two men is horribly flattering to Hitler - a man fuelled by visceral, genocidal hate - and demeaning to Napoleon, who was a product of Enlightenment thinking and left a legacy that in many ways improved Europe.

Napoleon was, of course, no libertarian, and no pluralist. He would tolerate no opposition to his rule, and though it was politicians and civilians who imposed his reforms, the army was never far behind. But comparisons with twentieth-century dictators are well wide of the mark. While he insisted on obedience from those he administered, his ideology was based not on division or hatred, but on administrative efficiency and submission to the law. And the state he believed in remained stubbornly secular.

In Catholic southern Europe, of course, that was not an approach with which it was easy to acquiesce; and disorder, insurgency and partisan attacks can all be counted among the results. But these were principles on which the Emperor would not and could not give ground. If he had beliefs they were not religious or spiritual beliefs, but the secular creed of a man who never forgot that he owed both his military career and his meteoric political rise to the French Revolution, and who never quite abandoned, amidst the monarchical symbolism and the court pomp of the Empire, the republican dreams of his youth. When he claimed, somewhat ambiguously, after the coup of 18 Brumaire that `the Revolution was over’, he almost certainly meant that the principles of 1789 had at last been consummated, and that the continuous cycle of violence of the 1790s could therefore come to an end.

When the Empire was declared in 1804, the wording, again, might seem curious, the French being informed that the `Republic would henceforth be ruled by an Emperor’. Napoleon might be a dictator, but a part at least of him remained a son of the Enlightenment.

The arguments over Napoleon’s status will continue - and that in itself is a testament to the power of one of the most complex figures ever to straddle the world’s stage.

Will the fascination with Napoleon continue for another 200 years?

In France, at least, enthusiasm looks set to diminish. Napoleon and his exploits are scarcely mentioned in French schools anymore. Stéphane Guégan, curator of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, which, among other First Empire artworks, houses a plaster model of Napoleon dressed as a Roman emperor astride a horse, has described France's fascination with him as ‘a national illness.’ He believes that the people who met him were fascinated by his charm. And today, even the most hostile to Napoleon also face this charm. So there is a difficulty to apprehend the duality of this character. As he wrote, “He was born from the revolution, he extended and finished it, and after 1804 he turns into a despot, a dictator.”

In France, Guégan aptly observes, there is a kind of nostalgia, not for dictatorship but for strong leaders. "Our age is suffering a lack of imagination and political utopia,"

Here I think Guégan is onto something. Napoleon’s stock has always risen or fallen according to the vicissitudes of world events and fortunes of France itself.

In the past, history was the study of great men and women. Today the focus of teaching is on trends, issues and movements. France in 1800 is no longer about Louis XVI and Napoleon Bonaparte. It's about the industrial revolution. Man does not make history. History makes men. Or does it? The study of history makes a mug out of those with such simple ideological driven conceits.

For two hundred years on, the French still cannot agree on whether Napoleon was a hero or a villain as he has swung like a pendulum according to the gravitational pull of historical events and forces.

The question I keep asking of myself and also to French friends with whom I discuss such things is what kind of Napoleon does our generation need?

Thanks for your question.

#question #ask #napoleon #french #french history #history #military history #bonaparte #france #historiography #republic #historians #personal

[hardinrepublic]

The Comrade Kimmel Show, starring Comrade Jimmy By Stephen Guy Hardin

Have you ever stayed up half the night trying to get through Karl Marx’s treatise, Das Kapital? Were you transfixed by his powerful opium induced insights into man’s inhumanity to man? Or his stunningly articulated vision of a utopia involving men with guns, large dogs, and barbed wire? Night after night you struggle to become enlightened only to find yourself dozing off after reading the introduction in which Marx praises his mother in a way that would make Oedipus cringe. Well, comrades, your time has come, and it is all because of the crazy guys in the Chinese Communist Party. 

The state controlled Chinese animation company, Disnee, in cooperation with the party’s propaganda department and sponsored by the National Basketball Association and Nike has created an animated series on the wacky life and times of Karl Marx. Entitled The Leader, this series will be broadcast on the Chinese live-streaming platform Bilibili.

Disnee, that’s Disney without the ‘y’ and with an ‘ee’, is the creation of The Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, or CCCPCPD.  The CCCPCPD is a division of the Communist Party of China and oversees ideology-related work with an emphasis on children's brainwashing...I mean, education. It is not formally considered to be part of the Government of the People's Republic of China, but enforces media censorship similar to the way CNN is unofficially the official news arms of the Democrat Party.

But, I digress.

The animated series depicts a youthful Karl Marx as a handsome, carefree man happily cavorting in the German fields with his BFF Frederick Engels  as they discuss how horrible it is to be rich unless you are a progressive who donates heavily to the cause. Friedrich Engels, co-author of The Communist Manifesto will be featured in later episodes as Marx’ romantic … I mean muse, uh, co-revolutionary. 

The animation will also provide a brief view of Karl's relationship with his wife, Jenny von Westphalen, or das Schmalz to her friends, allowing the viewer to know Marx on a more personal level that transcends his bankrupt ideology and philosophy of class warfare.

Bankrupt ideology, indeed.

The release of the animated series coincides with a state mandated resurgence of Marxism in China. Chinese president Xi “The Yipper” Jinping delivered a speech on the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth. In his speech he declared that Marx is the “greatest thinker in human history.” He also vowed that Marxism will always be the guiding theory of both China and the Communist Party and if anyone does not agree that the state will provide you with a commemorative Karl Marx red blindfold just before they put you up against the nearest wall. 

As part of this movement to use animation to further indoctrinate young Chinese minds the Communist Party has pirated… created several different cartoons that have replicated popular Western cartoon figures. The use of look alike cartoon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Bart Simpson are being used to teach children how to squeal on their parents and other family members who are disloyal to the state.

In addition to the cartoons, the Communist Party had started development on several telecasts that closely mirror live action television shows in America while also subtly promoting the teachings of Marxism and the Chinese Communist Party. But after extensive viewing of actual American television, it was decided by the highest levels of the Party to abandon the project. It seems that the always frugal Chinese determined it was more cost efficient to just steal, redub and broadcast the actual American sitcoms.

Between The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and Saturday Night Live it became readily apparent that the programming execs at ABC, NBC and CBS were happily doing the work of the radical left.  In addition to these late-night anarchists the prime-time slate of mediocre television shows should be rebranded Commie Prime Time as they propagate and propagandize the viewpoint that capitalism and freedom only lead to societal and cultural rot. 

Though one show was so exemplary in the view of the Chinese Communist Party for denigrating and extolling the crimes and corruption of America the party felt the need to co opt it and place its official seal of approval.   The Chinese only made one small change to maximize the power and prestige of the state. Broadcast in its uncensored entirety every evening to 1.38 billion communists, the Communist Party of China did a little title tweaking as it presented their favorite anti-American American show, The Comrade Kimmel Show, starring Comrade Jimmy.

[nightowlfandom]

Kim Taehyung- Amor Fabula~Sound Of Heart (ALSO 200th POST, WEEEE)

Alrighty my friends! Let’s skip the casual talk and hop right into it! Once again this is part of the Amor Fabula Saga over on the @btswriterscorner​ blog.

Bro...life has been kicking my ass and it’s literally killing me on the inside like wow why does Earth hate me right now?...but Ima push that aside to get this deadline done.

Let’s begin. (I felt like changing it up from ‘leggo’)

...

It was foreign to him. He didn’t know what it meant let alone how to feel it. He walls were so high up, they could rival the gates of heaven. No one knew why. What had hurt him to the point where he was so angry at the very idea of love, or even companionship?

You were the opposite. Not only were you in love with the idea of love, but you seemed to attract it in more ways than one. Whether from your friends, or even random strangers. Even if you had none of those things, the word just seemed to radiate off you like heat radiated off the sun.

With all that being said, make no mistake. You weren’t interested in trying to fix a broken man. You already had yourself to worry about. Who were you to try to love a man who hated the word almost as much as he seemed to hate himself? Who was he to fool himself into thinking anyone could care for him?

These are the questions that need to be answered in today’s world.

...

You were walking down the halls of the office building, staring down at your phone. Deleting emails required a whole other level of focus. You could barely muster an audible hello to the front desk woman who seemed to be in her own little world as well.

“Y/N! “ your work friend, Yuna rushed to your side.

“Hm?” you mumbled, looking up from your phone. You lowered the device and put it in your pocket. “What’s up?” You were on your way to the lounge room when she ran up. She looked a hot mess. Hair sticking up in strange places, sweating bullets, and you were sure she had hauled herself over traffic by foot just to tell you the news.

“It’s The chairman’s son!” she managed to get out.

“What about the chairman’s son?” You curiously raised an eyebrow. “Is he in town to tell us that we’re all trash and should be fired?”

“No, not Duke. The youngest one!”

“You mean...Taehyung? His adoptive son, right??” you raised an eyebrow, just to make sure you and her were on the same page. “The chairman has so many children I don’t even keep count.”

“Yes! He’s the new CEO!” she looked both pissed off and absolutely mortified. “ I just saw him fire Rai and Sera in front of everybody!”

“I would think you’d be excited for that. You hate them. “ You huffed, not really seeing what she was on about. “Like last week you were talking about how you wished Sera would literally get hit by a train.”

“Okay but he sent the both of them out crying! Like he was so harsh it wasn’t even funny enough for me to crack a smile.” she explained.

That was when you realized she was absolutely serious. “Wait...The chairman really stepped down?” you paused. “The original chairman, I mean. I thought he was going into-”

“Change of plans.” she knew exactly what you were going to say. “The chairman insisted. Apparently he’s an old man and all his companies need someone to watch over them while he focuses on his retirement. Taehyung was the first person to offer.”

“Yuna, are you for real?” you grabbed her shoulders. “Be serious.”

“Yes!” she nodded quickly. “Taehyung just sent an email that he’s making cuts to every department!” she looked like she was about to freak out. “I can’t get fired! I’ve worked so hard Y/N!”  She looked like she was about to cry and you didn’t like that at all.

“Yuna, calm down! I’m sure the chairman wouldn’t allow that.” you shook your head. “Just because he’s boss now doesn’t mean he can get rid of us.”

“Y/N I love your optimism but you don’t know that for sure.” Yuna looked unsure. “I mean look at us, he’s probably gonna turn this place into a warehouse and just work us all to death! I’m not some kind of puppet! WE’RE GONNA TURN INTO SLUDGE. SLUDGE DOES NOT LOOK GOOD IN HIGH HEELS.”

“Listen, Yuna. I’m not gonna let that daddy’s boy fire you or me. He’ll have to say it to my face before I let him say it to yours.” you seethed.

“Is that so?”

You and Yuna both froze in place.

‘He behind me isn’t he?’ You whispered. She slowly nodded, which made you grumble profanities under your breath. You whipped around and saw the daddy’s boy himself.

“You must be Y/N...you were always my father’s favorite.” he crossed his arms. “I can’t see why.”

“Excuse me?” you put a hand on your hip. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly how it sounds Miss. L/N. My father speaks highly of both you and your friend but from what I’ve seen, those accolades are undeserved and could very much be replaced by those who are more qualified, wouldn’t you say?”

Now you were aware of what was going on. He was trying to rile you up. It was working...but not well enough.

“Well..Mr.Kim.” you sighed, straightening out your shoulders. “ I’m sorry you feel that way.” you bowed respectfully. “I’ll make sure to do better to prove to you that I’m a worthy member of the new team you end up building...Yuna, are you coming?” you went to walk past him, Yuna on your tail.

“I think you made him mad!”

“Good, people like him are better off that way anyways. He might be the new boss but as long we we’re in the same age group, he has no power over me. Fuck his rules.”

“Y/N, you don’t know who Taehyung is do you? Like what he does?”

“Not really and I can’t say I care too much.” you scoffed. ‘Why?”

“Kim Taehyung is the current president of the Lottery division for the government.” Yuna stopped you two from walking. “You know that thing where your parents are in charge of giving you a new husband?”

“Yeah? But I haven’t spoken to my parents in 3 years...you know this.” you narrowed your eyebrows at her. Your parents were a touchy subject and you hated talking about them. “What does that have to do with the anything?”

“If your parents don’t decide...HE does.” she emphasized. “Seriously do you even watch the news?”

“No.” you shook your head. “It’s depressing and stupid.” you huffed. “I don’t exactly follow politic either.”

“Well you need to start. Police officers, corrupt politicians...they got nothing on that guy. He’s the most feared man in this government because the population depends on him. I heard he made his ex who cheated on him marry a convicted felon.”

“Then why would he take the role of CEO for a company that has nothing to do with the government?”

“...So he can see whose life he wants to ruin first...either that, or he’s planning something big and needs a time waster like working for a small company like this one.”

You didn’t flinch...at least not on the outside. Yeah you knew about the Sweep Lottery, you just hated thinking about it. You were hoping you could avoid it until the time came. Guess that plan wasn’t going to work.

...

It wasn’t even half a year with Taehyung as the new head of the company and everyone was already miserable! You all were being worked to the bone and you were positive a few team members had quit. 5 months of being yelled at and ridiculed for no reason other than the fact that he was your boss.

“Who does he think he is!” Yuna snapped. “And we can’t even talk to the chairman! He’s in Hawaii for the weekend.”

“He’s literally going to run what Mr. Kim had worked so hard to build into the ground. I can’t stand him!” another friend, Rina kicked back another shot of who knew what. It definitely wasn’t soju. “I swear if I was allowed to, I’d run him over.”

“You guys I don’t like this anymore than you do but-”

“YOU JERK!” You were cut off when a high-pitched scream ripped through the small restaurant. You, Rina, and Yuna all turned to the commotion. A girl was getting ready to throw a drink at someone, but not just anyone.

“Is that Taehyung?!” Rina managed to get the words out through her drunken hiccups. Rina was right, Taehyung was at the receiving end of all that commotion. He just stood there with a partially amused look on his face as the girl ran off screaming at the top of her lungs.

“How much you guys wanna bet he steals baby kittens in his freetime?” you mumbled. Taehyung must have heard your laughing because he turned towards your group. While you and Rina laughed amongst yourselves, Yuna held up her glass in a ‘cheers’ motion as she also held up the middle finger with her free hand.  He looked as if he genuinely couldn’t care less until his eyes landed on yours. All you could do was make a heartbreak motion with your hands as your turned back towards your friends. Serves him right.

As the night carried on, you and your friends carried on too. You decided you all drank enough for the night as just made time to enjoy yourselves. You couldn’t help but think of what happened earlier with Taehyung though. That girl just technically embarrassed him and he brushed it off. It made you wonder exactly what he was hiding. Or why he didn’t care.

...

You were now sitting at the bar by yourself. Yuna had taken Rina’s drunk ass home and you hung behind just to gather your thoughts to yourself. If Yuna was right. It just made him look like a huge jerk.

“Bet you thought that was funny, did you?”

You turned around and saw Taehyung standing behind you.

“Absolutely.” you replied honestly. “Side splittingly hilarious.” you said in monotone, lifting your drink to your lips. “Let me guess...a girlfriend of yours?”

“I don’t exactly see you here with a boyfriend.” he rolled his eyes. “Can I sit?”

“Relationships are useless in this country. Go ahead.” you sighed. “...sucks doesn’t it?” you giggled.

“Yeah.” he grumbled. “Mind if I drink?”

You figured since you weren’t at work, you could hold off on hating his guts for a while. You handed your full glass over to him. You stared at him as he took a sip of the liquor.  

“Fuck...” he groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Be honest with me, am I an asshole?”

“Yes.” you answered quickly. “A huge festering, fissuring, painfully obvious asshole.”

“Right.” he sighed, sliding the glass over to you. “Figured as such. I can set people up but can’t seem to find myself a mate.”

“Well are you looking for a wife or a baby-maker.” you scoffed, causing him to laugh. “Whatever works for you, I guess.” you shrugged. “You are the one who calls the shots. Someone else could always do it for you.”

“Don’t remind me.” he glared. “Really, don’t.” he hiccuped. “I can’t even talk to a woman without her wanting to kill me. Half the time I’m not even the one doing the Sweep.”

“Like that girl from earlier?”

“No...and she wasn’t my girlfriend either. She threw her drink at me because I appointed her sister to marry boyfriend that apparently was hers.”

“Harsh.” you laughed. “Well, you only have yourself to blame. Taking love and happiness from others must be so tiring you joked.”

You suddenly noticed a lot of people in the bar were glaring potholes into Taehyung’s head. The looks they gave you varied on the pity spectrum. It was easy to see that Taehyung wasn’t the most popular man in town. It must have gave them pleasure seeing that girl throw a drink in his face.

“Well if the people of this country know the rules on government mandated marriage, then they should know what they’re getting themselves into before hand.” he rebutted. “....I overheard you and Yuna talking. You said something about your parents.”

“And the fact that I hate them?” you questioned. “Why?”

“Just wondering why you hate them so much.” he shrugged. “If you want to talk about it.

“...I caught my l mother cheating on my father with a younger man when I was young. My mother cheated on him every week and to an extent I even found her with one of my old high school classmates.” you huffed. “My father ran off with his accountant.” you explained. “Then again they hated each other when they got together.” you laughed. “So much for a loving household. That’s just what the lottery sweep does, right?” you jumped to your feet. “Well, I’m out of here.”

“You’re leaving?” he turned to look at you.

“I don’t exactly have a reason to stay here.” you tilted your head the side.

“The bar or...something else.” he trailed off.

“...Yes.” you replied, not really telling him what you were talking about.

...

To say that you were surprised to see Rina blazing mad. She walked up to you, a red envelope in her hand. However she instantly went from being pissed to absolutely defeated.

“He’s done it.” she quivered in her shoes. She thrust the envelope in your hands. “Read it.” she couldn’t even look at you.

“Um...Okay?” you trailed off, growing very concerned.  “Did he fire you?”

“Even worse...just read.”

“ Rina Hiroka, the government is pleased to announce that you have been chosen from the random computer generated list of all the women in the country. You will be engaged to marry...Sung Robin by this time next year?!- Rina you’re kidding me!”

“It’s right there! I got the envelope at my door this morning!” she began to freak out. “I’m only 22! They can’t do that can they?” she asked, taking the envelope back from you.

“....I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out..” you seethed, suddenly recalling what Yuna had told you about Taehyung. “I’m gonna kill that little daddy’s boy executive.” you turned around, walking away from Rina.

“Y/N?....Where are you going!”

“To take the trash out.”

...

You didn’t even knock on the door before entering the office. 

“Y/N L/N what makes you think you think you can just burst into my office without knocking first?”

“What makes YOU think you can just marry off Rina like she’s a piece of meat to some random?!” you spat. 

“You don’t understand my line of work.” he casually turned back towards his computer. “Go back to work L/N.”

“Well guess what, I DO know your line of work. I understand real fucking well.” you scoffed, shutting the door behind you. “You are reeaalllly fucking sad, you know that?”

You insult caused him to stand to his feet. “What did you just say to me?”

“You heard me! YOU. ARE. SAD. Rina’s 22, she isn’t even out of college yet!” you pointed accusingly. “Yet you’re gonna marry her off? What is wrong with you old ass government creeps. Do you people get off to basically selling young women?”

“Would you be saying this is Rina wasn’t your close friend?” Taehyung laughed harshly. “Hypocrisy is a bad look on you, Y/N.”

“You’re one to talk!” you snapped. “I bet you make sure your friends end up with the girls on their dreams.” you scoffed. 

“Even if I had friends....rules are rules.”

“One, that doesn’t answer my question, and Two, has it ever occured to you that the reason you don’t have friends is because you...hm I don’t know...ruin lives?”

“Like you’re any better!” Taehyung raised his voice even louder. “I bet some of your beliefs are just as fucked up and wrong.”

“...Oh you wanna go there?” you said lowly. “We can go there if you want...I am so ready to go there.”

“Y/N, just listen to me.”

"Don't you understand what you've done!? You've ruined so many lives in the past and you can't even bear to look at yourself because you know just exactly who the hell you are! I'd rather be delusional than a monster who just takes happiness from others despite everyone...and I DO MEAN EVERYONE stating just how fucked up this stupid lotto is! You want to talk about me and my beliefs...at least my beliefs don't come with emotional baggage."

“You don’t think I know that!?” he suddenly snapped. “I know, trust me I do!”

“Then why. you let me know because I’m having trouble seeing your reasoning.” you crossed your arms.

“I do this because my lottery makes sure that infidelity, adultery, all of that bullshit is obliterated.” he responded. “Times had changed since your parent’s lotto rules. My rules establish that all forms of adultery are to be punished.”

“Oh really, adultery? Adultery! There are a lot more things to think about other than adultery.” you mocked. “Does it end there? What about abuse, what about rules that enable child protection,what about rules about the death of a spouse? Did you think about that?”

Taehyung was silent.

“Has it ever occured to you that maybe you are so cynical that the thought of other people’s free will just pisses you off?” you challenged. “You think you’re helping people but in reality you just can’t bear to realize happy marriages exist.”

“Like you’re any better than me? You think you’re so great and pure? Your squeaky clean image with your can-do-no wrong attitude, Y/N.”

“Please.” you scoffed. “If you’re trying to rile me up you’re failing miserably.” you huffed. “You know what, whatever. I’m gonna get your father, also known as the REAL chairman of this company, on the phone and see what he has to say..” you rolled your eyes, beginning to walk past him.

“Y/N wait!” The voice was pleading. It was surprising enough to make you stop. “Please....I’m sorry. But...I just don’t get it...what the hell even is love? Are people just happy? 60% of marriages ended in divorce so obviously whatever was there before...isn’t there five to ten years down the line.”

“That’s a lie.” you looked away.

“....Look at how your parent’s turned out.” he dared to say. You’re glare was harsh, if even possible at this point.

“Listen...You don’t believe in love. I get that. However, is your selfishness really a determining factor in other people’s lives? My family was broken from the beginning.”

“What I want know is why do YOU believe in love. What about this fucking word- this concept is so important to you..” he sighed, walking up to you.

“Why don’t you” you refused to look at him. “Being told who I’m supposed to end up with...tell me Taehyung...would you want that?”

“I’m not the one who has to worry about it.” he said lowly. 

“That doesn’t answer my question.” you found the wits about you to turn around to face him. “Yes or no?”

“...I can’t answer that.”

“Of course you fucking can’t. My parents hated me...they couldn’t stand me, how I was brought into the world. With all of that hate, and resentment in my heart, Love is the only thing I can turn to to keep me sane. My friends love me, my aunts and uncles love me...and yet-” you paused to laugh harshly. “Yet I can’t seek authentic love from someone else? Especially someone who I’m bound to have an ENTIRE ASS CHILD WITH. Love to me...is the closest thing I have to freedom.” you crossed your arms. “And this isn’t freedom...it’s suffocating.” 

“Well good for you...you done?” he feigned boredom, which pissed you off even more. 

“You don’t get it do you?” you said lowly. “And you never will.” you shook your head. “...You know what? I quit!” you yanked off your nametag. You threw it at him, which bounced off his head.

“Y/N! Y/N get back here!” he called after you. 

When you got into the main hallway, you grabbed your purse and made haste for the lobby. Yuna was comforting Rina at the front desk.

“Y/N? Y/N?! Where are you going?” Yuna called after you. 

“I quit.” you mumbled in response, stopping in place. “I can’t work here with him. I just can’t.” you reasoned. 

“So you’re just gonna quit? What are you gonna do?” Rina paused her sobbing session. “I hope you didn’t quit because of me.”

“It isn’t just you.” you shook your head. “It’s him, and his ways on thinking and he-”

“Is walking up right behind you.” Yuna finished. 

“What what I was gonna say, but-AAH!”

You felt something grab your arm and begin to pull you along. Taehyung was walking back in the direction of his office where you came from. 

“Hey! Let me go! This is kidnap! Who do you think you are!?” 

Just like that, you were taken back to his office. You were practically thrown into a chair. “Y’know this defeats the purpose of my quitting if I’m just gonna come right back!” you protested. “What do you want...”

“Teach me how to love.” were his only words. 

“Excuse me?” you raised an eyebrow. “Teach you.”

“Y-yes! Since I’m so heartless and cruel like you think I am so...you’re gonna show me what love is...and how to do it.” his words made you laugh.

“Y-you want me..to show you what love is.” you burst into a fit of laughter. You quickly stopped when you saw he was dead serious. “Oh...you’re being serious?”

“I never kid, Y/N.” he raised an eyebrow. “ Since you seem so intent that I’m just some broken man-”

“I never said you were broken.” you cut him off. 

“You didn’t have to...so you’re going to teach me what love is and if people can really survive with it.” 

“How exactly are we gonna get you to believe in love?”

“We’re gonna get married.”

His words almost made you choke on air. “W-wait! Me and you?! Get married?!” you widened your eyes at his literal proposal. “Hold on a second!”

“We’re gonna live together, sleep in the same bed, and do all the things you’re supposed to do in a marriage and if you can get me to fall in love...and fall hard...then ‘ll get rid of the Sweep Lottery.” 

Now you were interested, not only because you were surprised he had the power to even do that, but because of the deal he was making.

“You have a year.” he didn’t give you time to verify or deny his proposition. “Do you accept?”

“So you really expect to understand the concept of love in 12 months?” you asked honestly. 

“Fine...we’ll be married for two years.” the expression never left his face. “Do you accept?”

You had to marinate on the subject. You have to prove to Taehyung that love was real, in two years. You had to get married to this guy in order to prove a point. Were you that stubborn? Call it selfish, but you were really so desperate to go against this man to prove something. Were you ready to rub such a thing in his face.

“....Bring it on.”

(I meant to post this around 3PM...then life got in the way so you’re getting it at 4:15 as I finish typing)

#btswriters corner #kim taehyung #taehyung imagines #kim taehyung imagines #kpop imagines #kpop scnearios #kpop au #bts #bts imagines #bts au #taehyung x reader #yoongi imagines #namjoon imagines #seokjin imagines #jimin imagines #jungkook imagines #kim taehyung x reader #amor fabula #nightowlfandom

[worms-wav]

Inhabiting The Body

I began this essay wanting to write a structured, academic piece about the body as a home. Habitat. But the more I searched, the more I realised academia is not the framework within which I can best unpack and understand my (or anyone’s) relationship to the body. I grew up being told that Western forms of knowing were the only ones that were correct. You cannot write an essay without citing sources. It is not enough to just know something, or to inherit knowledge passed down in whispers. Real knowledge is double-spaced, Times New Roman, and cold. This is not to say that I don’t think that kind of research and knowledge is valid. I think there are certainly situations where I want to understand something through the lens of academia, through other people’s research, through a bright, naked paper trail.

But trying to write this essay has taught me that that can’t be the only kind of essay I try to write when I want to understand. Which has been a difficult thing to unlearn, especially when the body has always felt like a site of public discourse. Even more so when the body is femme, grew up as a cis girl, of mixed heritage. Less so because the body is able-bodied, light-skinned, Chinese-passing, and cis-passing. The body -- and I say ‘the’ body instead of ‘my’ body because in analysing it, it rarely feels like my own -- is a crazed intersection of privileges, learned behaviours, unlearned truths and internalised value systems. Who owns the body? Who has a right to the body? When do these people have a right to the body? What is the body in the context of the self? What is the body in the context of society? What is the body in the context of other bodies? These are questions that, perhaps, can be trudged through in Scopus and JSTOR, but are really, honestly, best understood through turning inwards, thinking, and speaking quietly to the people who don’t necessarily wish to filter their experiences through the pipes of academia. Western academia feeds into the myth that the mind thinks, and the body follows. The genesis of an idea can never be in the doing -- it is in the conceptualising, the theorising, the thinking. So when we think about the body, we think of it as primal and lesser and full of instincts we must evaluate before following.

And even as I write this, I know that this essay is not exactly the anarchist anti-academia piece it wishes it was. Perhaps I am Southeast Asian, but I have been so colonised that my regional awareness is clinical, not cultural. I come from Singapore, which has been dubbed ‘the imperialist of Southeast Asia’ because of how passionately we suck the empire’s cock and try to distinguish ourselves from the rest of Southeast Asia. Last year, we celebrated the ‘Singapore Bicentennial’. What is that? It was a nationwide commemoration marking the 200th anniversary of Stamford Raffles’ arrival in Singapore. Raffles was the British son of a slave trader, whose arrival on our shores marked the beginning of our colonisation. So when I speak about the body outside an academic understanding of it, as much as I want it to be an ode to local, indigenous ways of understanding the body, I know it never will be.

So here is the first marker of my body: colonised, but also, coloniser. Literate, in someone else’s tongue. Literate in someone else’s tongue that, for most of my growing-up years, was indistinguishable from my own. 

This essay is self-serving. It’s not meant to be a great essay. There are millions of great essays out there by much more qualified people than I. All I want through this essay is a space in which my thoughts and feelings can visibly exist. I speak about my own body and my own feelings, and I understand that academia does not always enjoy these things. We are meant to be rational and disconnected, a voice displaced from personality. But again, perhaps academia is not the entity that needs to read this, and perhaps there is merit in writing about my own experiences and those of the people around me. If art is about externalising the internal, then here is my contribution.

The genesis of this project lay in my own tangled relationship with my body. I used to believe it was normal to be unable to perceive my body accurately -- after all, we drown in images of other people’s bodies on the daily, and we’re constantly told what our body should and shouldn’t look like. It was unsurprising to eleven-year-old me that the sight of my body in mirrors and photographs repulsed me. But the nonchalance turned to concern when the repulsion morphed into vivid hallucinations, also often centred on my body. They ranged from the mild (the body grows old, then it is a man, then it is my father) to the terrible (the skin on the body melts off flesh, exposing neon maggots within).

I wish I could package that discomfort neatly within my relationship with my gender. I wish I could make a broad, sweeping statement like, “once I acknowledged I was non-binary, the hallucinations stopped, and I felt more connected to my body” but this is wholly untrue. I’m sure, deep down, there is some connection between my gender trouble and my disconcerting grip on reality, but on the surface at least, the only thing they have in common is my body. And so this is where we begin - at the body. At my colonised, coloniser, dissociating, disconnected, immaterial, tangible, hallucinogenic, Queer body.

I think most of us begin to conceptualise the body as a space long before we find the words for it. We explore our bodies, trace topography, memorise shortcuts, collapse geography, navigate terrain. We know what goes where, what feels good, what hurts, what is part of our body and what is outside it. We create a distinction between our own bodies and other people’s bodies. Just as geography is not simply a matter of cartographic divisions, the borders between bodies are not simply physical. Our bodies and what they mean, where they are, bleed into each other in meaning and solidarity and sex and pain. How do we group some bodies together, decide the societal value of bodies based on similarities and differences? A friend named Ants points out that the body is not truly separate from the world around us - we are a microcosm of organisms and other things, the “edges” that cut us off from the air around us do not truly exist. Art teachers tell you to look at the world and recognise there are no lines -- this is true on a bodily level as well. This friend points out, ‘the notion of a “home” relies on the ability to invite in and to refuse entry - but actually wow humans are more permeable than we like to admit.’

This permeability goes beyond the physical entanglement of us and our surroundings. We are not the only ones residing in our bodies - we share the room with a thousand other people’s opinions of us, some more dangerous than others. Some bodies, the system has decided, do not belong to themselves. There is a lot to be said about the colonisation of the bodies of Black and Indigenous People of Colour (BIPOC) by the violence of white systems of power within which much of the world operates. There is also a lot to be said about the gentrification of our bodies to fit in, the policing of femme bodies by a patriarchal system, the cheapening and exploitation of some bodies, and the way some bodies must mortgage themselves to imposed power structures in order to survive.

If the body is a space, then capitalism wants to cut us all up into little bitty pieces and make sure each of our components is most efficiently and clinically used. And, as dystopic as this idea is, it has already been achieved. We all labour under capitalism, our bodies are broken and exploited (again, some more than others. Some much more than others.), and we all go to sleep only to wake up to do it again. When the world is constructed such that nothing belongs to you without capital, the body feels like precious real estate (or, conversely - the body feels incredibly fucking distant). We want agency over it, we want control over it, we want it back. We want to feel comfortable in our skin, so we pay a premium to make sure our physical, spiritual and emotional selves line up with the identity we have created for ourselves in our minds. We find ways to slide ourselves into our bodies, we look for things like connection and authenticity. We want our bodies to feel like home. And yet, the language we are given to talk about habitation of body, of space, corner us to think about our agency in very specific terms.

When we think about habitation, we think about the home. ‘Where do you live?’ is the same question as ‘where is your home?’ or, more transparently, ‘where is your house?’ Although the concept of home is arguably intangible, we find ways to ground it in a very material context. Linguistically, we position ‘home’ through idioms like ‘home is where the heart is’, ‘a man’s home is his castle’, ‘home ground’... The English language has developed a very extensive range of phrases that link ‘home’ to a sense of permanence, ownership and identity. This conceptual positioning of the home is mirrored in very tangible ways. We want to buy a house, not rent one. We have landlords who own our houses but do not live in them. We deliberately build walls, doors and locks to demarcate ‘our’ space. And ‘our’ space is defined mostly by the fact that it is not anybody else’s. 

We think of habitation in terms of property. It is not really surprising that England declared the legal definition of property in the 17th century, around the same time the colonial empire was established. Theorists like John Locke tried to naturalise the concept of ownership -- in the process, also cementing who was viewed as a person and who was not. Property is an inherently racist, sexist and problematic idea. And yet, we don’t view home ownership as the selfish offspring of imperialism (see: mass deaths and poverty). The home, by all means, is a warm, comforting concept. The home is where the heart is! The home is where we take off our bras, put on a stained shirt and dance arrhythmically to Diana Ross. It is a safe space, where we unfurl, exist without fear of being watched, exist without concern about acing the performance. The home is apolitical - you don’t have to have the right opinion when you are at home. You can just be.

Before thinkers like Proudhon, Marx, Lenin and Mao called for the abolition of private property, there were indigenous peoples who viewed the land as sacred, as living, as relatives and ancestors, who continue to view the land in this way. We do not own the land - we exist alongside it. In many ways, we owe our existence to it. In 2017, New Zealand’s Whanganui Maori iwi won a 140-year-long legal battle to give their ancestral Whanganui river the same legal rights as human beings. India’s Uttarakhand high court cited this case when it ruled that the Ganges River and the Yamuna River have the legal statuses of people. I’m going off on a tangent. The point is that before we dive into thinking that abolishing private property is a radical new thought, it is important we remember it is the age-old thought of the voices we have drowned out.

The relationships between land and humanity, between property and agency, between capitalism and the individual, are complex and political. So when I speak about the body as a site of habitation, there are thousands of unavoidable histories inherent. When I refer to the body as a home, that claim does not exist in a vacuum of happy thoughts and first-world identity crises. Bodies and land are both sites of violence and ownership - historically, they have been, and presently, they continue to be. I move away from describing the body as a ‘home’ because of the way I’ve unpacked it in this essay - but I also want to be clear that I am not trying to police the language we use to discuss our bodies, our relationship to the land, the spaces between us.

In my work, I spoke of the body as a habitat. A space, landmark, geographical love letter. The home is not a habitat, and vice versa. While ‘home’ conjures images of place and ownership, ‘habitat’ alludes to something more natural, more accidental. The space we end up in because it is best for us. The space that feeds us, shelters us and places us within a larger ecosystem of which we are an essential part. When I ask ‘how do we inhabit the body?’ I am not asking ‘how do we make the body a home?’ because the home has already been made for us. It is a question, then, not of altering the body to a point of marketability, but of peeling it back and returning to the state that feels the most comfortable.

So what does it mean to inhabit the body? What does it mean for Queer people whose bodies often feel inherently hostile? How do you slide into a body that, for one, does not feel like the body you want to slide into, and for another, does not feel like it belongs to you? How do you exist as a transgender and/or non-binary person whose body doesn’t feel like the habitat it is naturally supposed to be?

At this point in the essay, I got stuck. I messaged a friend saying, ‘I forgot what my point was.’ And was promptly reminded that I started this essay to de-intellectualise the relationship I have with my body. To feel my way through the words, rub out this idea that I have to have sources and academic knowledge to discuss my primary site of existence. If that was the point of this essay, then you and I both know I have failed. I’ve intellectualised the hell out of the body. And I realise a lot of us Queer people do this - we see the body as distant, so it is much easier to evaluate it without engaging directly with the sense of loss that comes with putting ourselves inside our bodies (not to mention the fact that most of us are rarely, if at all, inside our bodies). But perhaps this, too, is a Western approach to Queerness. I think of the thousands of indigenous cultures that treated Queerness as the norm until their land was colonised and their beliefs stamped out to make way for Western laws. Singapore’s ‘main’ ethnic groups and our indigenous peoples all have long histories of non-binary genders: from the five genders of the Bugis people to the gay Hainanese sex workers to the Malay sida-sida. Was gender ever supposed to be this complicated? Or are the complications a Western import? You can understand my rage with Western LGBTQIA+ activists who view Southeast Asian countries as ‘behind’. ‘Behind’ is a flaccid word coming from those who tread on us until we could no longer walk forward.

And yet, ‘behind’ is such an important position to us -- in Singapore, we want to be ahead. Myself, in my body, wants to be better, as if better is an absolute point that can be reached if I just do the right things, am the right type of person. ‘Better’ is a weird thing to want for a body that does not really feel like it belongs to you. Early in the morning, my mama chides me: ‘you’ll never know what it’s like to fight until you have your own children.’ and I think about the life that I fight to live and I wonder if that’s not real fighting because the body I am fighting for is so far removed from my soul, the soul that is trying its best to inhabit it. And again, what does it mean to try our best to inhabit a body? At what point have we succeeded in being?

This essay is maybe useless academically, but it is useful spiritually. Writing this piece has felt like detangling a very long clump of hair in a drain, spreading them out on wet tile bathed in sunlight and watching them dry til they curl back in on themselves. I am no longer interested in coherence. I am interested in this dissonance, the words I say versus the words I learned, the land I walk on versus the land taken away from me versus the land that was never really mine to begin with. The body as its own agent but so bounded by words and language and bullshit that I have to write an entire essay just to arrive at the point of: oh. Perhaps it is okay for all these feelings to be messy, to be just loosely strung together. Perhaps it is okay that the only thing that they have in common, is my body.

[handeaux]

How Can 2019 Be UC’s Bicentennial If UC Didn’t Exist Until 1870?

Scattered around the University of Cincinnati campus – and decorating a handful of buildings elsewhere in Cincinnati – you can still find UC seals in stone and stained glass bearing the date of 1870. This date marks the legal incorporation of the University of Cincinnati.

If that is the case, how can UC celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2019? The celebration appears to fall about 51 years too soon. To solve this riddle, we must dive into an arcane codicil of higher education etiquette known as the academic procession.

The academic procession originated as an actual procession. In fact, academic processions take place even today. Whenever a college or university inaugurates a new president, for example, it is expected that every other college in the region and many from throughout the world will send a representative to demonstrate, you know . . .  collegiality.

Here is where etiquette enters the calculation. In what order shall all of these august representatives stroll to the hallowed strains of “Pomp & Circumstance” while flaunting their multicolored academic gowns? Alphabetical order? By color? Shortest to tallest? By tradition, the institutions line up in order of the founding date of the institution they represent, with the oldest universities at the front and the newest bringing up the rear.

In the United States, that generally means Harvard (1636) marches first, followed by the College of William & Mary (1693) and so on. If the ceremony is prestigious enough to draw international participation, Harvard can fall back in the ranks as the universities of Bologna (1088) and Oxford (1096) take the vanguard.

As you might imagine, this led some universities to embellish their origin stories into some fairly tortuous rationales to support the earliest founding date possible. For example, George E. Thomas writes in the Pennsylvania Gazette [Sept-Oct. 2002] about the University of Pennsylvania's efforts to document an earlier founding date:

“...debate over the founding date of the University . . . began in 1896 when The Alumni Register promoted the story that the University’s origins lay in George Whitefield’s Charity School that was ostensibly founded in 1740. Because this school was to be located in the church building later acquired by the board founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1749 to house his new Academy, it could be claimed as the beginning of the University... this mergers-and-acquisitions model of institutional history had the desired effect of placing Penn ahead of Princeton in academic processions that in turn represented, in highly schematized form, the pecking order of American higher education.”

While exemplifying this grand tradition, the University of Cincinnati’s promotion of 1819 as its founding date is far more straightforward and far less convoluted. The rules of academic procession allow a university to legitimately claim the founding date of its earliest division.

So, although the legal entity known as the University of Cincinnati was not chartered until 1870, UC can trace its founding to 1819 based on the charters issued in January of that year by the Ohio General Assembly to the Medical College of Ohio and to Cincinnati College. The Medical College of Ohio later merged with UC’s medical school and Cincinnati College’s law school later merged with UC’s College of Law.

In UC’s case, there is more to the story than a simple “mergers and acquisitions” explanation, because Cincinnati College – the organization founded in 1819 – continues to exist as a functioning legal entity. When the Cincinnati Law School merged with UC’s Law Department in 1918, it brought with it the endowment funds of the Cincinnati College of which it was a subsidiary. To oversee and administer this endowment, the president of the University of Cincinnati must annually preside over a meeting of the shareholders of the “President, Trustees and Faculty of the Cincinnati College,” founded in 1819.

Every year, UC’s president is re-elected as president of the Cincinnati College. The dean of the UC College of Law and the members of the UC President’s Cabinet serve as trustees of Cincinnati College. The meetings of this august body rarely last more than five minutes, but this annual mandatory ritual allows UC to enjoy the financial benefits of the Cincinnati College endowments that now total around $10 million.

Back to those stone University of Cincinnati seals. You can calculate the age of the seal from the date shown. From 1904 through the 1930s, UC’s official seal showed an 1870 founding date. If you see a seal with two dates – 1870 and 1819 – it was probably made or published in the 1940s or 1950s. The exclusive use of 1819 was not official until the late 1950s.

The true champion of UC’s 1819 founding date was Walter C. Langsam, who served as UC president from 1955 to 1971. Shortly after he was appointed UC president, Langsam learned that his wife, Julia, was a descendent of the family of John Hough James, who was among the first graduates of Cincinnati College. This family connection, along with Langsam’s undoubted inclination to march ahead of a parvenu like The Ohio State University (1870) in the academic procession, led him to codify the earlier founding date.

By embracing the 1819 charters of Cincinnati College and the Medical College of Ohio, the University of Cincinnati shares a bicentennial with the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson.

Oldest United States Public Universities: 1) College of William & Mary 1693 2) University of Delaware 1743 3) Rutgers University 1766 4) University of Georgia 1785 5) University of Pittsburgh 1787 6) University of North Carolina 1789 7) University of Vermont 1791 8) University of Tennessee 1794 9) University of South Carolina 1801 10) West Point 1802 11) Ohio University 1804 12) Miami University 1809 13) University of Michigan 1817 14) University of Cincinnati 1819 14) University of Virginia 1819 16) Indiana University 1820

#University of Cincinnati #Cincinnati College #medical college of ohio #academic procession #UC bicentennial

[planecrazyreenactor1812]

Not sure how I almost forgot to post about this. 204 years ago today (July 5th), the Battle of Chippawa was fought in what is now the province of Ontario. The Left Division of the US army fought and won a battle against the Right Division of the British army. 4 years ago, I had the privilege of taking part in the 200th anniversary reenactment of the battle... on the very field that the actual battle was fought on. War reenactors - no matter what era they're representing- always talk about "the moment." At that particular reenactment there had to have been about 1,000 reenactors between the two sides. I was dressed as militia private in what was representing Porter's brigade on the American left flank. The weeds and grass were tall- just like they were back in 1814. As we came within firing range of the British, I could just make out the green uniforms of the Glengarry Light infantry. As we fired our muskets and smoke lingered in that hot summer air, those green uniforms seemed to blend in to the grass around us, and the treeline beyond. I shouted out to the guys next to me "damn I can barely see em'!" My heart started to race, and I couldn't seem to load my Springfield fast enough. I couldn't see the audience off in the distance, or the parking lot full of cars beyond. All I could see were the flash of muskets in front of me. All I could hear were the thuds of muskets and the booms of cannon....mixed with the ringing sound in my ears that before I only got from punk rock shows. In that moment, it wasn't 2014. Punk rock didn't exist, wifi wasn't a thing, and neither was the Peace Bridge that I had came across. It was 1814, James Madison was president, America was at war with the Great Britain, and I was determined to help turn the British right flank. That was my "moment". It's a side effect of this hobby. A powerful one at that. For a few moments, you're pulled back in time. You'll never know what it was really like for those who fought there. But you'll get an idea. And it gives you a greater appreciation for history, and for those who made history. #warof1812 #reenacting

#warof1812 #reenacting

[sportofusalacrosse]

Top lacrosse video today: Arizona vs. West Virginia | Club Lacrosse Highlights 2022

Top lacrosse news

„Women’s lacrosse: Drexel topples Penn State for the first tine in school history” – phillylacrosse

„Men’s lacrosse: Closterman (ANC) sparks Vermont past Penn State; Gucwa (Bishop Shanahan) leads Manhattan to win” – phillylacrosse

„Women’s lacrosse: Temple downs Villanova, 12-7; Rosen claims 200th career win” – phillylacrosse

„Temple goalie Carroll (Hill School) named IWLCA National Division I Defender of the Week” – phillylacrosse

„ACC + Big Ten Dominance: Ryan’s Rundown Week 1” – laxallstars

Best tweets – 2022.02.17.

#MLL #Lacrosse #NLL #lax #sport #news #sportvideo