Clipmarks | ramsesemerson's clips

Job choice: Lawyer or King?

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:12:57 GMT

Adebayo Ogunmeno is a lawyer in Kansas City, Kan., but he is considering a second career: being a king.

Ogunmeno, 54, is a prince in the Yoruba tribe in southwest Nigeria, and when the time comes, says he thinks he has a good chance to ascend to the throne.

If his plans pan out, it would be an abrupt return to a traditional Yoruba upbringing that he left 26 years ago.

"It is a part of life," he said. "A king is the spiritual leader of the people."

Ogunmeno immigrated to the United States in his 20s, earned a degree in political science and a law degree from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka in 1990.

The current king is getting old, so Ogunmeno, who is related on his mother's side, has decided that he will throw his hat in the ring. If the king dies or steps down, one of the four ruling houses will conduct an election within it to pick the successor. A chief priest then would consult the gods on who would be best, and would report to the kingmakers.

Madeira New Year's Fireworks

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:11:45 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson

Clip Source: listverse.com

Madeira, a Portugese island, holds a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the most lavish New Year’s party. In 2007, 8,000 fireworks per minute made up the display in Funchal, the capital city, for a total of 600,000 fireworks. Visitors from around the world fill the tiny harbor, where the dazzle is reflected. In 2009, the government is spending 12,000,000 Euros to ensure the most spectacular celebration anywhere in the world. Other famous fireworks displays take place in Rio de Janeiro, Sydney harbor, and, of course, New York City, were visitors watch the descent of the giant six-foot crystal ball marking the last moments of the old year.

Clip Source: www.madeiraholidays.net

Clip Source: www.worldtravelguide.net

Clip Source: i.pbase.com

Clip Source: jos.vanleeuwen.name

Clip Source: static.orient-express.com

Clip Source: static.panoramio.com

Tags: fireworks, new years, madeira

Will O' Wisps

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:39:39 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: I got stuck on wikipedia reading about folklore, and I had to make a clip of will o' wisp pictures. Other than the first one, the quality wasn't quite what I wanted, but here it is anyway.

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

The will-o'-the-wisp, sometimes will-o'-wisp or ignis fatuus Latin, from ignis ("fire") + fatuus ("foolish"), plural ignes fatui) refers to the ghostly lights sometimes seen at night or twilight over bogs, swamps, or marshes. It looks like a flickering lamp, and is sometimes said to recede if approached.

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Clip Source: www.imperial-library.info

Clip Source: inamidst.com

Clip Source: www.wizards.com

Clip Source: images.elfwood.com

Clip Source: www.westgatenecromantic.com

Clip Source: www.elfwood.com

Tags: willowisp

Saint's tomb raided for love potion ingredient

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:04:38 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: "Saint Agapitikos -- whose name means "lover" -- is believed to have served in the German army of the Crusaders before settling as a hermit in the area."

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Unhappy lovers in Cyprus have been taking so much stone from the tomb of Saint Agapitikos to use in love potions that soon there won't be anything left.

Dust from the grave in the courtyard of the church in the village of Arodes in Paphos district has been used for centuries by the lovelorn, who are supposed to slip it into the drink of their objet d'amour.

But in recent years so many have been filching shards of stone that a quarter of the tomb has disappeared.

"A lot of people have said it works," he said. "In the last few years I don't know what's come over people, but they are flocking to the tomb for the stuff.

"Just the other day locals saw some people visiting the tomb, and they were there for a very long time, in the end they walked off with a huge chunk of stone, maybe even half a kilo of it!"

The island's antiquities department has been called in to help. "The only thing we can do is examine the damage and try to prevent any further damage,"

Tags: saint, cyprus, archaeology

Chronovision

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:47:18 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: "On his death-bed in 1994, Father Ernetti said that he attended a meeting of all the people involved in the chronovision at the Vatican during which the only existing machine was destroyed."

Clip Source: listverse.com

Father Ernetti is fascinating not just because of his work as an exorcist in the Venice region, but more especially because of his work on the “chronovision”. In the 1960s he is said to have claimed he constructed a time viewer of sorts in the 1950s, as part of a group that supposedly included Nobel Laureate Enrico Fermi and Wernher von Braun. The machine was called the Chronovisor, and could allegedly see and hear events of the past. According to an explanation by Ernetti, the luminous energy and sound that objects emanate are recorded in their environment, such that proper use of the chronovisor could reconstruct from said energy the images and sounds of a specific set of events from the past. Through the viewing screen of the chronovisor Father Ernetti claimed to have witnessed a performance in Rome in 169 BC of the now-lost tragedy, Thyestes, by the father of Latin poetry, Quintus Ennius. He also claimed to have witnessed Christ dying on the cross.

Tags: occult, time, time travel, invention, lists

Bizarre Death: "Suicide Courtesy of MacGuyver Skills"

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:45:28 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: If he could come up with that, how did he get caught?

Clip Source: listverse.com

William Kogut

1930

William Kogut was an inmate on death row at San Quentin, decided to commit suicide using only the rudimentary tools available to him in his prison cell. He began by tearing up several packs of playing cards, giving particular focus to obtaining pieces with red ink (at the time, the ink in red playing cards contained nitrocellulose, which is flammable and when wet can create an explosive mixture), and stuffed them into a pipe. He then plugged one end of the pipe firmly with a broom handle and poured water into the other end to soak the card pieces. He then placed the pipe on a kerosene heater next to his bed and placed the open end firmly against his head. The heater turned the water into steam and eventually enough pressure built up inside the pipe so that when it burst, the explosion shot out bits of playing cards with enough force to penetrate Kogut’s skull, killing him. In a suicide note, Kogut stated that he and he alone should punish himself for his crimes

Tags: death, bizarre, death row, suicide

Bizarre Death of Sigurd the Mighty

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:43:32 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: I guess this is what's called poetic justice. Of course it happened so long ago, who knows if it actually happened.

Clip Source: listverse.com

Sigurd the Mighty

892 AD

Sigurd Eysteinsson (aka Sigurd I The Mighty, ruled 875-92) was the second Viking Earl of Orkney, who succeeded his brother Ragnald the Wise. He was a leader in the Viking conquest of what is now northern Scotland. He died as a result of one of the native rulers he killed, Maelbrigte, moramer of Moray. He beheaded Maelbrigte and strapped his head to his saddle. As he rode, Maelbrigte’s teeth grazed against his leg, causing a wound that became infected and killed him.

Tags: history, death, bizarre, vikings, dark ages

Burg Hertzburg

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:46:53 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: This is from an interview with the Baron of the castle.

Clip Source: www.archaeology.org

The stones that make up the castle's 16.5-foot-thick walls, built between 1472 and 1500, were so precisely cut that no mortar was used between them. They were designed so that the more they were pounded by attacks from the outside, the stronger they held together. (Jens Muller)

To prevent fires, medieval cooks used coals that were heated in a separate area of the castle. They later placed the coals in multiple stoves to prepare big banquets. The castle's kitchen is still used today during medieval festivals. (Courtesy Freiherr Jüergen von Dörnberg)

we had two hours to leave. We practically had to leave everything inside and this American company went in and destroyed it all. They burned everything, including the really beautiful furniture, for heating--they were too lazy to chop wood!

There were plates, for example, that were worth 2,000 Euros each. They used them once, but then they didn't want to wash the dishes, so they just threw the dirty plates out over the wall behind the house!

Tags: castle, germany, wwii, medieval

Great Strategy Games

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:41:55 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: Instead of writing these interesting lists, I just post them on clipmarks...

Clip Source: listverse.com

Dominoes

12th Century

Checkers/Draughts

3000 BCE Persia

Monopoly

1935 Darrow/Parker Brothers

Scrabble

1938 various manufacturers

Kensington

1979 Forbes-Taylor

Backgammon

Risk

1957 Parker Brothers

Diplomacy

1959 Games Research

Before each round players go off in pairs with each other making deals. “If you send troops to attack him here I will attack him here”.

Mah Jong

Tactics II

1958 Avalon Hill

Bridge

Civilization

1981 Avalon Hill

Dungeons and Dragons

Settlers of Catan

1995 Klaus Teuber/Mayfair Games

Carcassonne

2000 Hans Im Gluck/Rio Grande Games

Axis and Allies

c 1980 Nova Games. 1984 Milton Bradley

Illuminati

1982 Steve Jackson Games

The ultimate game for conspiracy theorists and just silly fun for others.

From about 2000 BCE Japan and China.

Chess

Poker

Tags: games, strategy, chess, lists, list

Ignorance is Bliss

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:32:46 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: Well, I would've thought this was obvious.

Clip Source: hnn.us

Ignorance of history creates patriotic bliss (Canada)

It's a familiar lament in Canada: Declining public knowledge about the country's history is leading to a diminished sense of national pride.

Studies suggests the long-held assumption may not be true, and relative ignorance about Canada's past may actually foster a certain patriotic bliss.

The telephone survey of 1,500 Canadians, conducted Oct. 5-8 by Léger Marketing, showed that 73 per cent of those with just elementary-level schooling strongly agreed with the statement: "I am proud of the history of Canada."

Nearly 60 per cent of those with only a high school education expressed strong agreement with the statement. But fewer than half the respondents with college or university credentials - ranging from 40 to 49 per cent - voiced such a strong sense of pride in our history.

"More awareness of Canada's history may reduce pride in the country rather than augment it."

Tags: history, canada, knowledge, patriotism

12 Most Impressive Medieval Soldiers

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:52:44 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: I think the Mamluks are cool--the Islamic version of Knights Templar.

Clip Source: listverse.com

War was a common pastime in the middle ages. Nations battled nations, cities battled cities, and villages battled villages. It is no wonder that it is the period that generated some of the greatest soldiers and military units in history. This is a list of the best of the best - the 12 most impressive soldiers of the middle ages.

Mamluks

Janissary

Billmen

Boyar

Knights Templar

Crossbowmen

created in the Mediterranean and in China separately.

used effectively after a week of training, while a comparable single-shot skill with a longbow could take years of practice.

Housecarls

Varangian Guard

So many Scandinavians left to enlist in the guard that a medieval Swedish law stated that no one could inherit while staying in Greece.

Swiss Mercenaries

Cataphract

Halberdiers

Longbowmen

Young boys were often employed to run additional arrows to longbow archers while in their positions on the battlefield.

Skeletons of longbow archers are recognizably deformed, with enlarged left arms

Tags: medieval, soldiers, war

Synod Asked to Restore Deleted Biblical Women

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:58:50 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: ...I'm really not sure what to say about this, except that the Catholic Church is very far behind the times.

Clip Source: hnn.us

Nearly 20,000 Catholics from around the world have sent paper and electronic postcards to Vatican organizers of the Synod on the Word and to their Bishop delegates, asking them to restore women leaders such as Mary of Magdala and Phoebe to lectionary texts from which they have been deleted. The Synod begins October 5 in Rome, and will be in session until October 27.

Spearheaded by the Cleveland based FutureChurch, the two year project also asks synod leaders to invite women biblical scholars, devote greater pastoral attention to the inclusive practice of Jesus and St. Paul and expand preaching opportunities for women.

A fascinating 1996 analysis by Sr. Ruth Fox OSB found a disproportionate number of passages about women were deleted from the lectionary, a book of biblical passages carefully chosen for church proclamation.

Tags: religion, catholic church, synod on the word, women

10 Most Powerful Women in History

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:59:08 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: I wish I had room to give attention to all of these, but since I don't, I picked Eleanor to highlight.

Clip Source: listverse.com

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe and the world during the High Middle Ages. Eleanor inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine and Poitiers after her father’s death when she was only 15. As a result, Eleanor became an independent ruler in her own right receiving the titles of Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitiers. Aquitaine was the largest and wealthiest province of France during the 12th century. Unlike many other monarchs and women of the Middle Ages, Eleanor and her family were very well educated. Eleanor is credited for having transformed Aquitaine into one of the largest intellectual and cultural centers in Medieval Western Europe.

Hatshepsut

Maria Theresa of Austria

Empress Theodora

Empress Wu Zetian

Isabella I of Castile

Elizabeth I of England

Empress Dowager Cixi

Catherine II of Russia

Queen Victoria

Tags: history, women, list, lists, top 10

The Origin of the Red and White Barber's Pole

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:30:17 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: Who knew they had such an interesting history.

Clip Source: listverse.com

The Barber’s pole symbolizes blood and bandages, as most barbers also performed the roles of surgeons and dentists in their towns. Bandages stained with blood would be washed and hung from a pole outside the barber’s shop - these would then twist in the wind to form the spiral pattern we are all familiar with today. Macabre but true.

Tags: medieval, middle ages, barbers, origins

New Ramses II Statue

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:11:33 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: Yay!! Egypt!!

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Ancient statue of Ramses II found near Cairo

Egyptian archaeologists located the pink, granite monument at a site in Tell Basta, once the capital of the ancient state 50 miles north of Cairo.

Ramses, also known by his Greek name Ozymandias, commanded a mighty empire during Egypt's new kingdom from 1279-1213 BC.

"The head is 76 cm high (around 30 inches), the nose is broken, and the false beard that was once attached to the king's chin is missing," Mr Hawass said.

"The discovery is important because it may indicate that the excavators are close to the ruins of a major temple of Ramses II in the area".

Archaeologists are still excavating the Tell Basta site in the hopes of discovering the rest of the statue.

Ramses was buried in the valley of the kings at Luxor, but was discovered last century and his mummified remains are now displayed in a Cairo museum.

Tags: archaeology, egyptology, egypt, statue