Tag: history

History coming to the big screen next year

Nathaniel Philbrick is one of my favorite historians.  I especially love his superb maritime history books.  And it turns out that one of his books is being made into a movie.  Heart of the Sea is based on his book In the Heart of the Sea, in which Philbrick recounts the story of the Essex, a whaleship that was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820, far out in the Pacific Ocean.  Its crew was stranded in small boats for several months until they were rescued and in the meantime they had been forced to commit cannibalism.  The disaster served as inspiration for Herman Melville, who used it and his own experience on a whaler to help him create the novel Moby Dick.

The film, directed by Ron Howard, is set to be released sometime in 2014.   And there are at least three actors from Game of Thrones that are also in this film: Joseph Mawle (Benjen Stark); Donald Sumpter (Maester Luwin); and Jamie Sives (Jory Cassel).  Good Northmen all, and all dead, sadly.*  So that frees them up to be in this film.  I am looking forward to it.

-Geoff

*Technically, Benjen Stark is missing, but let’s just say that it isn’t looking good for him to be alive at this point.

A quick note on history and food in ASOIAF

As I mentioned before, I have been doing a lot of experimenting with medieval recipes in recent years.  And this includes trying many of the delicious-sounding foods from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.  Thanks to the diligent work of Chelsea and Sariann, we ASOIAF fans have a fantastic resource to explore our foodie sides.  Everything I have made from their website and their book has been delicious, so seriously, try making some of their recipes.

Recently, I noticed something about George’s books that I had not noticed before: an utter lack of potatoes, Irish or sweet.  Now, at first glance this would seem to make sense, because they are both “New World” foods that would have been unknown to medieval Europe, which is the historical basis of much of Martin’s writing.  Potatoes would not be introduced to Europe until the 16th century, when the Spanish brought them over.  So no potatoes in Westeros, right?  Makes sense, right?

Yes, it would… except that there are plenty of examples of other New World foods that are present in Westeros.   So why include them but not potatoes?

Continue reading “A quick note on history and food in ASOIAF”

It’s not about strength or bravery

Regular visitors around here may have noticed that it’s been quiet for a while.  Sometimes life gets in the way and we can’t post, I’m sure you all understand.  Sometimes life hands you great material for posting and the first thought one of us has it, “that’ll make such a good post!”  Then we might go days without such inspiration.

Then sometimes life kicks you in the teeth and there just isn’t anything to say.  That’s what’s been happening lately.

Continue reading “It’s not about strength or bravery”

Big egos and bad economics

The current debate over who should be replacing Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve should be a no-brainer, if you base it solely on abilities and sound judgment.  There is no good reason why President Obama shouldn’t appoint Janet Yellen.  But there is a lot of resistance to it anyway, and I imagine a lot of it is from the people who would rather see Larry Summers in the position.

Personally, I can’t believe people still take Larry Summers seriously.

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One hundred thirty years ago today – Krakatoa

The gigantic eruption that made the volcanic island of Krakatau in Indonesia (or commonly in English, Krakatoa) famous down to the present day actually began on August 26th, 1883.  But the final eruption that destroyed most of the island happened on the following day, in a series of four gigantic explosions.  Ultimately the volcano was blamed for more than 36,000 deaths, although some historians and scientists consider that number (estimated by the Dutch authorities, as it was part of the Dutch East Indies at that time) to be much too low.  Krakatoa was the first major volcanic eruption to be studied and measured with modern scientific instruments such as seismographs and barographs.

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Cooking is too much fun.

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Boiled Beef (with vegetables) with a loaf of medieval-style bread as a trencher.

I have been cooking historical recipes for many years, mostly stuff from 18th and 19th century America.  I like cooking anyway, and as a historian I find that sort of thing interesting on several levels.  More recently I have been trying to make medieval recipes, and so for the last few years I have started picking up some medieval cookbooks and reading some stuff online about it.  It seems a lot more difficult, I think.  And although I have managed to successfully make a few things  (this spinach tart turned out really well, I think), I have just not found a lot of medieval recipes that really made me want to try them.

Until a few weeks ago, when Kelly got me A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook.

Continue reading “Cooking is too much fun.”

A lesson in contrasts

I think it is safe to say that the march of human rights has made steady though inconsistent progress over the last 100+ years. In the last 48 hours some interesting stories have popped up that have reminded me not only of how far we’ve come but also of how far we have to go.

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All are welcome here

One of the pleasures of working for a church that is also a historic site is that I get to talk with a lot of very interesting people from all over the world.  Although we do get some rude people, for the most part it is a really positive experience, and today was no different.

Today, I got to have an extended conversation with a total stranger about faith, and about the commonalities of our two faiths, Christianity and Islam.

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Illumination in the oddest places

Generally speaking, I am not a fan of popular culture, but on occasion I am pleasantly surprised by it.  And on even more rare occasions, it shocks me.  Not in a bad way, but in the way that you are shocked when you experience a true windfall.

That is how I feel about A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones.  The books AND the TV show that they inspired.

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Ding, Dong! DOMA is DEAD!

I am currently at work and Teri and I are doing the happy dance.  The Supremes have struck down DOMA.  I haven’t read the decision yet, but the fact that it is now DOA is awesome.  Will June 26th be remembered as the day that all Americans received equal treatment under Federal law no matter who they marry?  We’ll see.

I’m letting the live blogging from here scroll through in the background while that venomous little hatemonger Scalia reads the dissent.  There is something nice in knowing that history will judge him and that he’ll end up on the wrong side.  Of everything.

More later,

~Kelly