The map of the Middle East, as we know it today, was shaped by the events of the first world war. Prior to that time, the Ottoman Empire controlled much of the area.
The Ottoman Empire (1300-1922) ruled a vast territory that included much of the Balkans, Anatolia, the central Middle East to the borders of Iran, and most of North Africa. It was a multiethnic, multi-religious state ruled through an extensive administration under laws derived from Islam and by the sultan’s dictates. The Ottoman Empire was a world power and a significant player in European politics. In fact, the Ottomans ruled one-quarter of Europe for hundreds of years until the 18th century.
The world knows Ty Cobb was among the best baseball players ever, and likely the fiercest. Did what happened between his parents one night when he was 18 years old contribute to both his huge success and his bitter, uncompromising style on the field and in life?
IT’S A STORY LACKING MANY HARD DETAILS, beginning as it does in the foothills of North Georgia in 1883, when Amanda Chitwood was a 12-year-old student in a class taught by one William Herschel Cobb. Cobb at age 20 was already a respected and educated member of his community – an ambitious man of strong demeanor who would go on to be an itinerant school superintendent and a state senator.
The fact that the 20-year-old teacher apparently married his 12-year-old student that same year, on the porch of the Chitwood home, despite Amanda's father's hesitations, is the beginning of a set of circumstances and events that would violently and irrevocably alter the lives of both W.H. and Amanda, as well as of their firstborn, who would nonetheless become arguably the greatest baseball player ever, and certainly the greatest pre-home-run-era player.
Picture below? Just an old but odd picture. I like it, hope you do.
‘The Taking of Christ, or The Kiss of Judas’ by Italian painter Caravaggio (1571-1610).
If you’re lucky, you’ll get to spend at least part of the holiday weekend firing up a grill and enjoying some tasty treats. Have you ever wondered where our backyard barbecue favorites got their names, though? Was the Oscar Meyer from the hot dog package a real guy or a clever marketing invention? Let’s take a look at a few etymologies and histories behind the food on your (paper) plate.
In Arizona, not everyone arrested by the police are potential illegals. Some arrested might simply be illegal because of age
Deep in the forest of Parikkala, in the easternmost part of Finland, lies one of the craziest tourist attractions on the face of the planet – the sculpture park of Veijo Rönkkönen.
Regarded by most as the most important ensemble of contemporary folk art in Finland, the sculpture park of Veijo Rönkkönen is a lot to take in, the first time you visit. Finding yourself surrounded by hundreds of creepy statues, grinning at you with their real human teeth, is enough to spook you into turning back as soon as you set foot in the park.
Veijo Rönkkönen, a former paper mill worker, completed his first sculpture in 1961, and now his yard, and the path leading to it, are filled with over 450 statues, 200 of which are self portraits of the artist in Yoga positions he has mastered so far. The statues have loudspeakers hidden inside them, and the sound effects add to the eeriness of this place.
songs for America–the 4th of July
Originally posted 2010-07-02 11:37:26. Republished by Blog Post Promoter