Category: history

Posted in celebrity news, history, Women of history

In Memoriam: Elizabeth Windsor, Queen.

Posted on by sokorra

Today we learned that an era has ended and a new one has begun. Queen Elizabeth II died today in Scotland ending a 70 year reign and a life of service longer then that.

In the future I plan on giving Elizabeth her own post as a Women of History, but for now I want express my condolences to her family and to the many countries that consider her their figurehead.

As an American it’s hard to understand having a leader for that long. The closest we got was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whom she must have met when she was a young girl. He was only president for 13 years. Elizabeth has ruled long enough that most people were not old enough to remember a time when she wasn’t Queen. She was a year older then my Grandmother who died earlier this year. My parents were both born after she was Queen. With my neices and nephews that’s 3 generations during her reign.

No matter if you are a monarchist or an antimonarchist ( I know both) I’m sure this coming week will be weird adjusting to a new normal of talking about her in past tense and all the changes that take place when a new monarch is on the throne. She left a large shadow.

ELIZABETH ALEXANDRA MARY WINDSOR (Montbatten)

1926-2022

Posted in book reviews, bookit, history

Book-it Review: 22.4 Champagne:

Posted on by sokorra

Title: Champagne: How the World’s most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times.
Author: Don & Petie Kladstrup
Published: November 1, 2005
Final grade: 5/5

You are all probably surprised to see a review from me that isn’t a romance novel. Its not even a fiction novel. This is non-fiction, a walk through the history of the Champagne region. And its not only for wine drinkers, but for history lovers as well.

The couple who wrote this book, Don & Petie Kladstrup, are a pair that love the region of Champagne. They talk about their travels through out the book as it relates to the complex history of the region. They have also written several books about the history, including one about Charles Heidsieck, a man they mention briefly in this book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It talked around the actual process of champagne instead talking about the people, the area, and the rich history that they all have. I honestly learned more about French involvement in WWI & WWII from this book then my high school history classes.

The book starts with Attila the Hun, who visited the area in 451 CE/AD and continues the tale through to the Great Depression and WWII. Some of the interesting stories include that of Dom Perignon, who despite the legend did not invent sparkling champagne. The legacies of women such as Barbe-Nicole Clicquot and Louise Pommery. How George Washington and Woodrow Wilson both effected Champagne.

One of the stories that sticks with me was the chapter covering early WWI, where Reims, the capital of Champagne, was bombarded with German missiles for over 3 years. The city was utterly destroyed. The Cathedral which had stood for hundreds of years, and had been used for the coronation of French kings (including Louis XIV, perhaps their most famous), was left in ruin. People were forced to evacuate further back from the front lines, or to seek shelter underground in the limestone caves that were transformed into the storage area for champagne. Schools were taught underground, concerts were given underground. For close to 3 years the community had to use the tunnels and caverns and hope the bombs wouldn’t disable the ground and cause cave ins.

So I highly recommend this book, not just to those who want to know more about the history of the wine, but those who want to know the stories of the people who live there.

Posted in essay, history

History: The Bastille & Bastille Day

Posted on by sokorra

On July 15, France celebrated its national holiday. This day is commonly called Bastille Day outside France as it is the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, a 18th century prison in 1789. In honor of that, today I’m going to look at the Bastille, its history and why the French celebrate storming it. And if I’m listening to the band Bastille as I write, who’s going to tell?

Let’s set the scene. Medieval Paris was much smaller than it is today, even as it was still one of the most populous cities in Europe. It was based around the Seine River, and both sides of the river were walled for protection against invasion of France’s enemies. The walls had been built, torn down, and rebuilt several times over the years, but the first wall of importance to this story was the walls built by Phillip Augustus (or King Philippe II) in 1190-1215. The wall was built on both sides of the river encapsulating the city. The roads leading into Paris were greeted by towers and gates that over time went from draw bridges to fixed ones as the city grew and the country’s defensive power grew.

A century later, the city had grown. The old walls were demolished to include the new city blocks on the northern shore. There was also the issue of a possibility of English invasion. The Kingdom had been at war with England for two decades at this point, and King John II was even a prisoner in the Tower of London. Etienne Marcel, the provost of the merchants, took advantage of his King’s absence to put forth his own plans to improve the cities defenses and started rebuilding the wall in 1357. This included two fortresses to protect the eastern gates, including the Bastille. The problem was, however, he got on the bad side of the prince Regent, the future King Charles V (not to be confused with the Holy Roman Emperor who was his great etc nephew). Marcel’s story might be a tale for another day, involving murder, taxes, and treason. He was eventually assassinated, ironically by the guards on duty at the Bastille.

Continue reading “History: The Bastille & Bastille Day” →
Posted in American History, book reviews, bookit, general, history, movie reviews, Original Writing, Rewatch, tv reviews, writing

State of the Blog 2022

Posted on by sokorra

Happy New Years Everyone!

I figured I would map out what I have planned for this blog in the coming year today.  Many of you have stopped to read for many different reasons.

If you like my rewatch series, that will continue (I’m far from finished!).  The Rewatch project started as a project to keep me focused during a lockdown where I was actually sent home from work for a whole month back in 2020.  There was no clue when they would reopen but they did after 3 or 4 weeks (depending on your status).  So, it ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated.  Its still called Rewatch 2020 even though its 2022 and I’m only 4 series in (For context there is…10 I think).   However, I am in the process of moving and redoing my budget as I am contributing to two sets of bills so it may be slower as my access to the show is behind a paywall.  I plan on trying to get ahead and post 2-3 rewatches a week but there may be delays.  I hope to be on Enterprise by the end of the Year and then I can start watching the *new* Star Trek content.

For those you who came for the book and/or movie reviews, they will be making a comeback.  I plan on trying to restart my bookit goals (50 books in a year) and getting some new movies in.  Honestly part of the reason I do my reviews is to keep writing when my fiction writing brain takes a vacation, but I find them fun to write.  You can expect a movie review in the next coming days.  These won’t all be new to everyone movies, but something new to me.  So, expect classic film movies as well as theatrical releases.

History posts will also continue, although I am currently moving them to their own blog, so they are easy to access and sort for those who want specific information.  When I get it, all set up, I’ll make an update post here to direct those of you here for that to the new blog.  I feel they got mogged down by the Reviews and rewatches, which are considerably easier to write then an essay I need to research.

Thank you all for sticking with me these last couple of years.  I hope you enjoy the content of this blog, both previous and new entries.

I hope everyone’s 2022 is uplifting, inspiring and happy.

EDIT: Just editing to add that apparently this is the 600th post on this blog.

Posted in history, movie reviews, Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows

The Rewatch 183: The Undiscovered Country

Posted on by sokorra

Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country
Rating: PG
Released: December 6, 1991

My Grade: B/3.9
Redshirt count: 2.

Notable Guest Stars:

Kim Catrall (Valaris)- Kim Catrall is probably best known as Samantha from Sex in the City.
David Warner
Christopher Plummer (Clang) – Christopher Plummer has quite a few credits to his name, both on stage and in front of a camera.  Film wise, he was Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music.
Grace Lee Whitney (Janice Rand) – I’m happy to see Whitney returning as Rand, especially as Rand has been given a life outside being eternally crushing on Kirk.
Mark Lenard (Sarak) – While he doesn’t have much to say in this film, he does round out the cast and is our view of things in the President’s office.
Brock Peters (Admiral Cartwright) – Peters will return in a much more pleasant role as Sisko’s father on DS9.  Honestly a better role for him I think.
Rosana Desoto(Azetbur) – Desoto might more recently be known from her time doing As the World Turns.
Kurtwood Smith (President) – Kurtwood Smith is a repeat guest star in StarTrek.  He will appear more times on Voyager and DS9.  However he might be more well-known his time on That 70s Show as Red Foreman.
Michael Dorn (Colonel Worf) – Michael Dorn appears here as his usual character’s (Worf) grandfather, who serves as Kirk’s defense attorney.
Christian Slater (Crewmen) – Christian Slater is well known today for many roles, but in the case of this film, he was a Trekie who happened to have a mother who was on the casting team.  It worked out for everyone in the end I think.
Rene Auberjonis (Colonel West) – Rene Aurberjonis is more well known as Odo, the security officer on DS9.  He also might be known to us 90s kids as the Little Mermaid’s chef who is determined to make Sebastian a meal.

Review:

Continue reading “The Rewatch 183: The Undiscovered Country” →
Posted in history, Politics, Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 170: The Drumhead

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: TNG
Episode: 4.21 The Drumhead (04/29/1991)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 0/1/34

Notable Guest Stars:
Jean Simmons (Norah Satie) – Jean Simmons is a classic film actress and has quite a respectiable list of credits.  She also worked with Jonathan Frakes in North and South which he was filming before and during the first couple seasons of TNG.  They enjoyed working together and apparently, she was also a Trekkie so this was a good episode for both of them.

Bruce French (Sabin Genestra) – He is known for his role as Father Lonigan on Passions.

Spencer Garrett (Simon Tarses)– Garrett appears on Trek several times and will appear again on Voyager.  He has also been in projects involving Star Wars, MCU (Iron Man 3), and Avatar.  He is also the son of actor Kathleen Nolan.

Earl Billings (Thomas Henry)– Billings is a character actor who has appeared in several television shows over the years, including Cold Case and How I met Your Mother

Ann Shea (Nellen Tore)- This was Shea’s first credited role according ti IMDB.  She would also star as Valarie on ER for several episodes as Valarie, a caretaker in the hospital day care.

Henry Woronicz (J’Dan)–  Woronicz will appear on Trek again in Voyager.

Review:

Continue reading “The Rewatch 170: The Drumhead” →
Posted in American History, book reviews, bookit, fanfiction, general, history, Original Writing, writing

Writing Analysis Update (among others)

Posted on by sokorra

Back in 2009 (gosh, was that really 12 years ago??) I wrote a summery of my history in the world of fanfiction. Today I was going through my old posts, trying to make sure that the categories/tags were correct and deleting some minor posts that really never felt like they fit on this blog. It made me think of how I was doing in the fandom world today.

I’m not going to do an as in depth timeline of fanfics. I have over 100 fics on AO3 now (and I haven’t moved over all my FF.net ones. I should, and probably will sometime soon). There are way too many to do that for, and I doubt anyone is interested anyway.

I haven’t had any more award nominations for my fanfic, but I don’t sense alot of fandom awards anymore, at least not for the fandoms I write, which are getting older. I still write many fandoms (Too many as some of my friends say). Currently my major project is finishing ‘”Looking After You”, an Avengers AU story I started to write back in 2012. Its clearly AU now, because that is what happens when it takes you a decade to write a fic on a series of films that keeps pumping out movies every year. But I am determined to finish it. Its probably one of my longest fics, and I’m kinda of proud of it, despite my embarrisment that I’ve taken so long.

I’ve tried to switch over to some original work as well. For Camp NAno this July, I will be working not only on LAY but on an original story based off a Marvel fanfic I started to write in my head but will no longer work in canon. But I still like the idea, and since many of the characters are not based on actual Marvel characters it is not that hard to transfer them to the original realm. And the two characters that are are not that hard to change either. Hopefully one day I’ll be saying that one is complete and getting published.

I plan on getting things together before the end of this year to make changes to my writing (better organization etc) and to this blog. Right now it has become mostly a review blog, as I work through my pandemic project of a complete watch of Star Trek. However, I will be posting periodic posts about my writing, and book reviews as well as I get things better organized in my personal life so I have the time to meet deadlines when it comes to the blog and writing.

I have also decided to create a second blog for my history posts. I feel they get a little lost on here, so if you have been waiting for more of those posts, I will be announcing the new blog soon, and I welcome you to come read them over there. I will be revising my old posts as I transfer them over so they should be fresh and perhaps have more content then the original. Any posts that have comments will be kept, but if there are no comments I may delete the originals on this blog just to tidy up and kept it from being double posted.

Thank you all for sticking around for whatever topic you came for – be it my writing stories, fandom posts, book reviews or history essays. As always, I welcome your comments.

Good luck to anyone writing in Camp Nano.

Posted in American History, book reviews, bookit, essay, general, history, Original Writing, Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews, Women of history, writing

August News

Posted on by sokorra

I would like to thank all of you who continue to check here for updates.  I know this year has been a bit spotty in the posts, but i plan on changing that. I hope everyone is doing well, and staying safe. I know I’m definately not the only one having a really weird year.

Starting in August there will be the daily Trek post, but i will also be reintroducing Women of History and Writing Wednesday along with some old features.  I also plan a few civic history posts. So there will be a post daily that is a review, plus a sprinkle of a variety of topics. The WOH and the history posts may be here only temporarily. I’m still debating putting those on their own blog solely (and proudly) dedicated to being a history nerd. Depends on fiancies and other factors, as is many things these days.

For those of you new to the blog (or those who want a refresher), here’s a rundown

Writing Wednesday

Starting the first Wednesday of August I will be posting short writing exercises and updates on my writing.  I have not been writing much this year.  As I’m sure is the case with many of you, its been a stressful year overall.  I’m hoping these posts will help me get back into something I love.  I am accepting prompts, if you have a suggestion. Just leave a comment on this post, or any of the writing wednesday posts. I’m also on Twitter.

Women of History

For those of you new to my blog I used to regularly write short essays on various women in history. History is one of my favorite subjects, and I love learning about the women who have shaped our world. I plan on writing one or two posts a month for this. I plan on lengthening my posts for nanowrimo this year, as well. So perhaps for 2021 I will be able to present a book version of this series.

I hope to feature various cultures and be diverse as possible. I have an ongoing selection list but am always glad to add more names if you think there is a woman of history I should feature. The only rule I have at the moment is that it not include women who are currently shaping history. So no Hillary, AOC or Beyonce. Not for a while yet we all hope.

The Rewatch

This started as a fun way to spend my unknown amount in Quarantine. I’m back at work (we only were closed a month) and so i’m not binging my way through it as much as I started. At the moment I have a month of reviews ahead to post and ill try to keep ahead of that. There are over 700 episodes so there is a long way to go. Some days I may post two, particularly on Weekends. I always enjoy comments and once and awhile may live tweet my rewatch.

Bookit

I have taken a pause on writing reviews this year, but dont be surprised if one or two pop up. I’m hoping my Trek reviews will make my book reviews better as well. My goal this year is different as I’m not working towards my normal 50 (I may reinstate that next year) but I’m trying to finally finish some long unfinished books, such as Fiery Cross (the Outlander book the recent season was based on), A Storm of Swords (Game of Thrones), Anne of Green Gables, and the newest Hunger Games novels,

History Essays

I used to write random history essays on American government (and early American history as thats what my minor focused on) and also random “This happened today in the past” entries. I plan on starting that again because those were fun, and as with the writing exercises I really want to get back into my writing. Might as well enjoy the material I’m writing about.

On my main page is my past essays, although I still need to go back and catalog some of them. I may revisit some of the topics. I also don’t plan on sticking strictly to US History, although that is my main base of knowledge. Learning about other countries is always fun too. But for the first couple, I’m pretty sure its going to be US bound.

Posted in book reviews, bookit, history

Bookit Review: #22 Voyager

Posted on by sokorra

Title:  Voyager (Outlander #3)
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publication Date: October 2004 (Originally 1993
Genre:  Historical Romance/Science Fiction/Time Travel
My Final Grade:A

So far, Voyager is my favorite of the Outlander books.  This is for several reasons.  One, it has multiple point of views, even though Claire’s POV is still told in first person while everyone else is told in third person which can be a bit awkward at times.  It gives us a better sense of how Jamie views things, as well as Roger and Brianna who play major roles in this story, and even more so in the next book, Drums of Autumn.  It also varies away from some of the troublesome aspects of the first two books, although not completely.

Voyager begins in the 1960s with Brianna, Roger and Claire searching for the truth about Jamie.  They found out he survived Culloden, and follow the trail down to finding him as a printer under an alias.  As they search, we get to see the story from Jamie’s point of view of the missing years.   We also wrap up a few lingering questions from the first book, and get a few flashbacks to Claire’s life with Frank and Brianna over the last 20 years.

Brianna eventually convinces her mother to go back, and the bulk of the book is Claire’s adventures in the mid 1760s, including traveling from Edinburgh, to Lallybroch to eventually Jamaica and the American Colonies.  This book also explores several different types of relationships.  It brings back Lord John Grey, who was featured as a teenager in Dragonfly but now is a Major in the British Army. He is in love with Jamie (as it appears most of the characters are – another criticism I have of this series), but unlike the previous two homosexual characters isn’t portrayed as a horrible person.

I was slightly uncomfortable with the portrayal of Yi Tien Cho, in a related notion.  I couldn’t tell if it was the character himself or the fact that it was a portrayal of the first major minority character for the series (outside of Joe Abernathy who is barely seen).  However, from what I have found out, he is loosely based on a real person and perhaps some of that comes from that.  Still, I wasn’t sure if the portrayal was fair or not.

The relationships in this book that are explored are the several different types of family.  It explores the idea of adoption/step-parenting (Jamie & Claire with Fergus, Frank with Brianna,  Jamie with the McKimmie girls. Roger Wakefield & his great-Uncle, John Grey & Willie), Multigenerational (Jenny, Ian and the Murrys), separation (Jamie & Brianna as well as Jamie & Willie) amongst some.  It also takes into consideration the aftereffects on Claire’s relationships outside Jamie – like with Jenny and Geillis.

While this book is still full of misadventures, and Jamie & Claire are rarely in a moment of calm, it does seem to be happier (outside of Ian) and some issues are addressed instead of either of the main characters pushing it aside like has happened in previous books.  It also has a decrease in the amount of sexual violence that seemed to be prevalent in the previous two books.  There is one scene towards the end with Yi Tien Cho that was concerning in regards to sexual violence but in comparison to the other novels this book is quite an improvement.

My final grade is A.

Posted in American History, essay, film, history, music, Nelson & Jeanette, Women of history

Women of History: Jeanette MacDonald

Posted on by sokorra

Author’s Note:  This was originally meant for two weeks ago but I had trouble writing it.  I’m still not very happy with the outcome, but it is complete.  I may revisit Jeanette in the future and rewrite this better.

In the United States, we celebrate our Independence Day on July 4th.  This month’s theme is going to be American women of history.    While Canada also celebrates Canada Day in the month of July, I’ll be doing Canadian women of history another month.

Our first WHO is Jeanette MacDonald.  Jeanette MacDonald is an American Actress from the 1930s.  About a decade ago, my grandmother and I, who liked to watch old classic films together, started watching operettas, in particular the ones done by Jeanette and her frequent Co-star Nelson Eddy.  We collected movies, stills and other things relating to Jeanette and Nelson.

Jeannette Anna MacDonald was born on June 18th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The year of her birth is somewhat of a mystery as different records say different things.  According to a baptismal record, the year of her birth was in 1903.  However, later in life Jeanette would change her name (dropping an n), and her year of birth (Saying it was 1907).  Even her gravestone lists the 1907 date, and her widower, Gene Raymond, would continue to insist it was 1907.  However, several sources now list the 1903 date as accurate. Continue reading “Women of History: Jeanette MacDonald” →