Comment

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 26, 2012 at 6:42am

Aug 26, 1346:
Battle of Crecy

During the Hundred Years War, King Edward III's English army annihilates a French force under King Philip VI at the Battle of Crecy in Normandy. The battle, which saw an early use of the deadly longbow by the English, is regarded as one of the most decisive in history.

On July 12, 1346, Edward landed an invasion force of about 14,000 men on the coast of Normandy. From there, the English army marched northward, plundering the French countryside. Learning of the Englishmen's arrival, King Philip rallied an army of 12,000 men, made up of approximately 8,000 mounted knights and 4,000 hired Genoese crossbowmen. At Crecy, Edward halted his army and prepared for the French assault. Late in the afternoon of August 26, Philip's army attacked.

The Genoese crossbowmen led the assault, but they were soon overwhelmed by Edward's 10,000 longbowmen, who could reload faster and fire much further. The crossbowmen then retreated and the French mounted knights attempted to penetrate the English infantry lines. In charge after charge, the horses and riders were cut down in the merciless shower of arrows. At nightfall, the French finally withdrew. Nearly a third of their army lay slain on the field, including Philip's brother, Charles II of Alencon; his allies King John of Bohemia and Louis II of Nevers; and 1,500 other knights and esquires. Philip himself escaped with a wound. English losses were less than a hundred.

The battle marked the decline of the mounted knight in European warfare and the rise of England as a world power. From Crecy, Edward marched on to Calais, which surrendered to him in 1347.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 25, 2012 at 10:05am

"God is making use of you - you should be grateful He's found a use for you."

-- Mathew King, LAKOTA

The Creator can only create through human beings. Each human being has a purpose given to us by the Creator. We are on this earth to fulfill this purpose. Our only work is to make ourselves ready, to become a channel, to perform for the Creator. We prepare ourselves by prayer. We prepare ourselves by becoming unselfish. We prepare ourselves by seeking and choosing to walk on a spiritual path. Each morning we look to the east and we say an honor prayer to the Creator. We offer our gifts: tobacco and corn. We ask him to help us do His will for today. In this simple way, we still fulfill our purpose. It should be an honor to serve the Creator.

Great Spirit, today I am ready to serve You

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 25, 2012 at 9:48am

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Sensitive to how you are being controlled, you opt to develop talents so that no one can tell you what to do. You like the excitement that comes from making your own decisions.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have nervous energy that's hard to direct properly. Keep your spiritual ideals uppermost in mind, lest distractions make you nervous and anxious. You also need a clear goal set by yourself or by someone managing you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your inventiveness and insight are strong today. You have good perception into how to reform an organization and modernize the work flow. A drawback is being quick to advocate an unproven fad.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You're left standing alone when you expected help or a group effort. You must overcome feelings of abandonment and strive to do more than what's expected of you. You build strength of character today.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The future is your concern today; the newest tech is seen as a harbinger of things to come. Some are trying to keep up with progress, while still others can see opportunities in new technologies, whether personal or entrepreneurial.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): There are unexpected changes in income about now; personal adjustments are necessary, by being more frugal and by being inventive about job choices. When the social rules become disadvantageous, many will write their own rules.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You want to be dedicated and do excellent work, even as you want to be seen as nobody special. Thus, you do a lot of work behind the scenes and under the radar, appreciated by colleagues but unnoticed by management.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You're feeling down and out today, excluded from the type of people you want to be with. A turn of bad luck can make you feel demoted from favored status. Keep a positive attitude in order to prevent a downward spiral.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Those who are traveling long-distance have an exciting time now with thrilling sights and discoveries. You generally avoid canned routines, preferring to improvise, to go off the beaten track and discover what else is possible.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You need reliable friends to cooperate in original ventures. You want to be ahead of the curve but in a business environment you need likewise forward-looking and enthusiastic partners.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Many become attracted to or more involved with, social networking. Immediate communications and quick feedback are essential for building a critical mass of information. Share, learn, think, share some more.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A sudden loss can result in unforeseen gains. For many, the dark cloud of sadness makes it hard to be happy about the silver lining. Don't worry; deal your feelings now and pick up the pieces when you can.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 25, 2012 at 9:48am

Aug 25, 325:
Council of Nicaea concludes

The Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical debate held by the early Christian church, concludes with the establishment of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Convened by Roman Emperor Constantine I in May, the council also deemed the Arian belief of Christ as inferior to God as heretical, thus resolving an early church crisis.

The controversy began when Arius, an Alexandrian priest, questioned the full divinity of Christ because, unlike God, Christ was born and had a beginning. What began as an academic theological debate spread to Christian congregations throughout the empire, threatening a schism in the early Christian church. Roman Emperor Constantine I, who converted to Christianity in 312, called bishops from all over his empire to resolve the crisis and urged the adoption of a new creed that would resolve the ambiguities between Christ and God.

Meeting at Nicaea in present-day Turkey, the council established the equality of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the Holy Trinity and asserted that only the Son became incarnate as Jesus Christ. The Arian leaders were subsequently banished from their churches for heresy. The Emperor Constantine presided over the opening of the council and contributed to the discussion.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 24, 2012 at 8:06am

ARIES (March 21-April 19): An unexpected development disturbs your peace at home. There can be problems for you to be productive, to break routine; you cannot relax. There can be resistance to efforts to control you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You're thrown into an emotional frenzy today. There is anxiety about being to provide for your family, to have a legacy to pass to your children. For most people, this involves immediate solvency, which may be unraveling.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your attention is placed on managing both job and home. While your domestic issues seem mostly under control, what's happening at work threatens to undo everything. Some may undergo public humiliation now.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You are prone to be vain in some way, mostly in a philosophic or spiritual fashion. It's very important to remain humble, as any intuition or understanding you have is likely to be provisional, so keep searching.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You are earnestly trying to help people today. You enjoy the personal contact but you may not be able to see what you don't want to. Your preoccupations shouldn't make you oblivious.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You're very sensitive to events today and may be prone to make more of them than is warranted. Don't make matters worse by over-reacting. Get control of your emotions. This self-mastery will help you cope better.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): An important person can foster your interests in learning more in higher education. Personal good feelings with managers are important for professional success. Emphasize improving your level of proficiency.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It's important to rely on your own efforts. Promises of help should be accepted but not entirely relied upon. You should always have a back-up plan in case you are the only person left to do a project.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Pay close attention to improving family relationships. The more you put emotional investment in spouse and children, the more they can feel they can rely on you. Pay attention also to defects in your physical dwelling.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You are easily impressionable today. You need to awaken your skepticism and ask hard questions. You can be afraid that by challenging someone, you can appear aggressive or offensive but you must overcome this fear.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Your challenge is to communicate everything in proper perspective. You're liable to make understatements, to say things so people don't get alarmed. You need to be able to tactful and convey the right importance.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Your self-doubt is strong so you are prone to back down when someone presents a more confident face. You need to think analytically and critically in order to meet bravado with questions and critiques.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 24, 2012 at 8:05am

Aug 24, 1572:
Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre

King Charles IX of France, under the sway of his mother, Catherine de Medici, orders the assassination of Huguenot Protestant leaders in Paris, setting off an orgy of killing that results in the massacre of tens of thousands of Huguenots all across France.

Two days earlier, Catherine had ordered the murder of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, a Huguenot leader whom she felt was leading her son into war with Spain. However, Coligny was only wounded, and Charles promised to investigate the assassination in order to placate the angry Huguenots. Catherine then convinced the young king that the Huguenots were on the brink of rebellion, and he authorized the murder of their leaders by the Catholic authorities. Most of these Huguenots were in Paris at the time, celebrating the marriage of their leader, Henry of Navarre, to the king's sister, Margaret.

A list of those to be killed was drawn up, headed by Coligny, who was brutally beaten and thrown out of his bedroom window just before dawn on August 24. Once the killing started, mobs of Catholic Parisians, apparently overcome with bloodlust, began a general massacre of Huguenots. Charles issued a royal order on August 25 to halt the killing, but his pleas went unheeded as the massacres spread. Mass slaughters continued into October, reaching the provinces of Rouen, Lyon, Bourges, Bourdeaux, and Orleans. An estimated 3,000 French Protestants were killed in Paris, and as many as 70,000 in all of France. The massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day marked the resumption of religious civil war in France.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 24, 2012 at 8:05am

Aug 24, 79:
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius begins

Mount Vesuvius near Pompeii, Italy, begins to erupt on this day in the year 79; within the next 25 hours, it wipes out the entire town. Hundreds of years later, archaeologists excavated Pompeii and found everything and everyone that had been there that day perfectly preserved by the volcano's ash.

Pompeii, about 90 miles south of Rome, was established in 600 B.C.E. in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, which stood approximately 6,500 feet high. Apparently, no one was aware that Vesuvius was an active volcano, even after an earthquake in February of the year 63.

The preserved remains of Pompeii are not the only evidence of the disaster. Two authors who witnessed the eruption also recorded their observations. Pliny the Elder was across the bay from Vesuvius on the morning of August 24 when a large cloud was noticed emanating from the volcano. He dispatched several ships to the coastal town of Resina to investigate, but the ships could not land because they were pelted by flaming rocks from the volcano. Pliny the Elder headed toward the town of Stabiae, where ash continued to fall through the night. By the following morning, the ash even obscured the sun from view. On August 25, Pliny the Elder died, apparently overtaken by sulfur gases released from the volcano.

Pliny the Younger, just 18 years old at the time, was also a witness to the eruption. He reported people climbing through waves of ash to escape. His account of the tons of pumice, rock and ash that Vesuvius pumped out over a 25-hour period, combined with the evidence left in Pompeii, indicates that about 2,000 residents of Pompeii survived the initial eruption of Vesuvius on August 24. It was the following morning when another, more powerful eruption killed everyone in an instant. When rain mixed with the ash, it formed a sort of concrete, preserving the city. The town of Herculaneum was also buried on August 25, but by a mudslide set off by the eruption and accompanying tremors. It is estimated that 13,000 people in total died from the eruption.

It was not until 1595, during the construction of an aqueduct, that Pompeii was rediscovered. Unfortunately, what can be viewed today is only a small fraction of what was found then, as looting and pillaging over the years has greatly reduced the archaeological value of the site. Some scientists believe that there may still be other villages buried by Vesuvius that have yet to be discovered.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 23, 2012 at 10:40am

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You tend to live in your imagination today, which is why people think that real-world events aren't affecting your attitude. Actually they are but you're too busy interpreting and reframing them in your mind.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You're trying to match up organizational rules with what you want to do. Many will find it easier to evade the rules than to obey them. You shade meanings, look for loopholes. You could come under scrutiny if you go too far.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You find it hard to fit into a rigid hierarchy today. You become aware of how much you are becoming out of step with authoritarian pressure. If you want to introduce a change, do so carefully and be alert to reactions.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You're prone to show your emotions openly but in fits and starts. People can be startled when you're quiet one moment, then exploding with some dramatic reaction. You should moderate this so people don't get upset.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Chaos can erupt at home. You need to address it immediately not ignore or delay it. This at least will let the people involved know you care and this alone can help to improve the situation. Build confidence with your family.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Issues of mutual support become important to you. Mostly because you're sensitive to the ways you can't do everything all by yourself. You feel you are best at coming up with ideas but someone else is better at implementing them.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You begin to be aware how your current job should be a stepping stone to something more fulfilling. Let yourself become aware of your personal strong points, which can be advertised, and your weak points, which need to be worked on.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Exercise your inventiveness and quick thinking today Situations can be your opportunity to shine and become noticed. An original approach can be your ticket to something even better and fulfilling.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your way of thinking emphasizes the theoretical but you are challenged to bring your ideas down to earth and apply them in your own life. Make no mistake: your ideas are for you, not for others.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You don't want a lot of attention now. You feel as though you have been, or could be, blamed for something. If you're afraid to ask for help from people in charge, you have to move past the fear and open everything up.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You are open to new insights about relationships today, both with specific individuals and in general. Your view of people shifts from their typical roles around you toward their unique personalities, lives and talents.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You are of a more imaginative turn of mind today. You see things philosophically, interpreting what happens to you in more abstract terms than in how you're being personally affected right now. You need to address pressing situations.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 23, 2012 at 10:39am

"They also learned, and perhaps this was the most important thing, how to look at things through the eyes of the Higher Powers."

-- Fools Crow, LAKOTA

Our eyes can only see our beliefs. Our beliefs cause us to make assumptions, draw conclusions, and cause confusion. Our five senses are very limiting. The Creator has a way of allowing us to see or know in the spiritual world. This is called the Sixth Sense. The Sixth Sense is like a radar system; our personal radar system. It will help us "see" opportunities and help us avoid disaster. This Sixth Sense is controlled by God. We must learn to listen to it. We must learn to trust it. We must learn to act on it even if our head says differently. We must learn to look at things through the eyes of God.

My Creator, guide me today. If my eyes cause confusion, let me close them and see through Your eyes. If my ears hear confusion, let me listen to my heart. Let me let You guide me

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on August 22, 2012 at 8:40am

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You are heavily involved in the expression and exchange of ideas today, yet you shouldn't make snap judgments. Think through the information you get. Sort fact from opinion and interpretation. Use practical reason.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The answer to a current dilemma is probably in your past. What does the current situation remind you of? Allow a reverie or even a current dream, speak to you. Once you understand your feelings, you can react reasonably.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You are eager to engage in dialog today. Whatever you're interested in, whenever you have questions, you can be bold enough to get in contact with the principle people involved. Start or join the conversation.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Situations require nerves of steel today. You can be resolute in facing them now. It's important that you focus on resolution, not blame; where person is at fault, focus on education instead of punishment.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Teaching others is a task you should take seriously. Many have a wealth of experience and this is something you should try to pass on. Your accumulation of right and wrong moves can be valuable lessons to benefit others.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Make public the results of your research now. Be sure also to continue investigations, as new leads can develop when more people know what you're doing. You may need to hold back key information that's not fully developed.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You believe in making your own luck. You prefer to be in the lead and so you set the agenda instead of waiting for instructions. You're serious, yet earnest, approach is something the people you want will find appealing.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your job requires you to create a procedure, or to follow a prescribed series of steps exactly. A predictable routine is necessary for the work to flow smoothly and for everyone to know what needs to be done next.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You are in a key position to learn the perspectives of many people. There is something to learn from everyone and it's your task to bring the information out of them. You can put their pieces together into a coherent narrative.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A task on the job, or a career opportunity, can open up. In certain cases, it may be necessary to keep part of what you're doing a secret. You don't have to be completely open to everyone about your career or finances.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Your analytic abilities are valuable and earn you a place in important discussions. It's important to maintain an overview, and advocate not only your position, but synthesize all the information brought to the table.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Organizational skills learned on the job can be beneficially applied at home now. Vice-versa, the ways you make your home safe and cozy can be brought to work to make it less stressful and more comfortable.

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