It was the damndest thing. There I was, just walking home from work on a rainy evening much like every other evening in Dublin, when my iPod made it snow. I was listening to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 'Pictures At An Exhibition,' and following the last song was an encore of what sounded like something from Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker' ballet.
As soon as I recognized the tune, big, heavy flakes of snow began to pour from the sky. In Dublin, this happens maybe two or three times a year. I looked down to check the name of the track, appropriately named 'Nutrocker,' and smiled like an idiot until I reached my apartment door.
About five feet from my destination, the song ended along with the snow. There was no proof of the snow on the road, but plenty on my jacket. I told this story to a few of my friends, and now to whomever reads this blog, but I don't expect anyone to believe it's true. I'm not ruling out divine intervention here, and if so, God has one hell of a sense of humor to reveal himself through weather that most people find miserable and something to do with the word nutrocker. Or maybe my iPod controls the weather.
10 March 2008
05 March 2008
The Jesus and the Slave Trade
It's very late on a Wednesday night, and I'm really supposed to be writing a paper right now. I really wanted to share a bit of research with my blog though, so here goes...
"John Hawkins made three trips to West Africa in the 1500s, and stole Africans whom he sold to the Spanish in America. On returning to England after the first trip, his profit was so handsome that Queen Elizabeth I became interested in directly participating in his next venture; and she provided for that purpose a ship named the 'Jesus.' Hawkins left with the Jesus to steal some more Africans, and he returned to England such dividends that Queen Elizabeth made him a knight. Hawkins chose as his coat of arms the representation of an African in chains."
It's from the book 'How Europe Underdevoloped Africa' by Walter Rodney. I'm really only reading it to get a quote, but it's been surprisingly entertaining with little historical nuggets such as the one mentioned above. I might just finish it for fun!
"John Hawkins made three trips to West Africa in the 1500s, and stole Africans whom he sold to the Spanish in America. On returning to England after the first trip, his profit was so handsome that Queen Elizabeth I became interested in directly participating in his next venture; and she provided for that purpose a ship named the 'Jesus.' Hawkins left with the Jesus to steal some more Africans, and he returned to England such dividends that Queen Elizabeth made him a knight. Hawkins chose as his coat of arms the representation of an African in chains."
It's from the book 'How Europe Underdevoloped Africa' by Walter Rodney. I'm really only reading it to get a quote, but it's been surprisingly entertaining with little historical nuggets such as the one mentioned above. I might just finish it for fun!
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