American History timeline: 1810-1819

1810: Beethoven's Fur Elise
    Macon's Bill #2

1811: Battle of Tippecanoe

1812: New Madrid Earthquake
    U.S. declares war on Britain
    U.S. Invades Canada
    Detroit surrenders
    Constitution vs. Guerriere
    Battle of Borodino
    Napoleon invades Russia
    Battle of Queenston Heights
    James Madison re-elected President

1813: Battle of Lake Erie
    Battle of the Thames
    Battle of Leipzig
    Battle of Crysler's Farm

1814: Battle of Horseshoe Bend
    Bourbon Restoration/Napoleon's abdication
    Battle of Lundy's Lane
    British burn Washington D.C
    Battle of Lake Champlain
    Fort McHenry & The Star Spangled Banner
    Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812

1815: Battle of New Orleans
    Hartford Convention
    Napoleon's 100 Days
    Waterloo
    Mt. Tambura explodes leading to the Year without summer
    Congress of Vienna
    Napoleon exiled to St. Helena

1816: James Monroe elected President

1817: Rush-Bagot Treaty
    First Seminole War begins

1818: Frankenstein published
    Jackson invades Florida
    "Silent Night" written

1819: Panic of 1819
    Dartmouth College vs Woodward
    Adams-Onis Treaty
    McCullough vs Maryland
    Peterloo Massacre
    Missouri Crisis begins

History Shorts: Charlemagne is crowned Roman Emperor (800 A.D.)

Charlemagne is considered the “Father of Europe.” His reign ushered in a cultural renaissance in the midst of the Dark Ages. During his tenure, Charlemagne fought the Muslims in Spain, protected the Papacy, and united Western Europe for the first time since Rome’s collapse. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned him the Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day. The act culminated Charlemagne’s life and career. At the same time, it helped establish religious authority and control over secular governments. 1000 years later, Napoleon crowned himself in the pope’s presence to avoid any possibility that religious leaders could claim dominance over his empire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGkUNK8kmDw

Greatest Movie Heroes: #1-10

10. Spartacus (Kirk Douglas)
9. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)
8. Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood)
7. Moses (Charlton Heston)
6. George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart)
5. Superman (Christopher Reeves)
4. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)
3. James Bond (Sean Connery, Roger Moore, et al)
2. Will Kane (Gary Cooper)
1. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart)

1980s Movies Top 10

There are the ones I think were the best done...not necessarily my favorites (although some are).

The Empire Strikes Back

The Wrath of Khan

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Full Metal Jacket

Gandhi

A Christmas Story

Glory

A Soldier’s Story

Field of Dreams

Caddyshack

The Greatest TV Episodes #1-10

1. MASH: Abyssinia Henry (1975): “Lieutenant Colonel... Henry Blake's plane... was shot down... over the Sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors."


2. Newhart: The Last Newhart (1990): The ending is now legendary. Bob wakes up next to Suzanne Pleshette and mentions his dream about being a Vermont innkeeper.

3. Monty Python’s Flying Circus: The Spanish Inquisition (1970): Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! The inquisition ran amok appearing seven times throughout the episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uprjmoSMJ-o

4. I Love Lucy: Lucy Does a TV Commercial (1952): Lucy is recruited to do a commercial for Vitameatavegamin. It’s a health elixir filled with 23% alcohol. After several takes, Lucy becomes Homer Simpson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1Nubw8XJw

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): Charlie Brown searches for the meaning Christmas in the midst of modern commercialism. In the meantime, Snoopy wins money, money, money.

6. The Bob Newhart Show: Over the River and Through the Woods (1975): What happens when the guys are left alone on Thanksgiving? Lots of drinking!! A drunk Bob is a must see and you can’t cook a turkey at 5000 degrees. Somehow, it ends up in the dishwasher as opposed to the stove. In the end, it’s time for Moo Goo Gai Pan!

7. Cheers: Thanksgiving Orphans (1986): No one has Thanksgiving plans except Diane (which involves a Pilgrim costume). Carla invites the gang to dinner and disaster follows. Vera even shows!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgZjqa4RrLE

8. Seinfeld: The Boyfriend (1992): Keith Hernandez joins the gang. The episode contains the infamous magic loogey scene in which Newman and Kramer are spat on by a second spitter (Roger McDowell).

9. I Love Lucy: Job Switching (The Candy Factory): (1952): Anyone that has ever worked can relate to Lucy and Ethel’s predicament.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wp3m1vg06Q

10. The Civil War (1990): For five nights in 1990, people watched PBS! No one knows for sure if anyone has watched PBS since.

Merry Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8qE6WQmNus

Christmas vs. Mithras

Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25 when we do not know the exact date of Jesus' birth? Public Relations!

The early Christians did not celebrate Christmas. However, some religions and cults did have winter festivals and holidays around the winter solstice. As a result, the early church was worried about losing followers to the cults.

One of the competitors was the Cult of Mithra. The Mithradic Cult was a growing Persian religion that celebrated at the winter solstice. They'd have a party and sacrifice a bull to their god.

Early Church officials then decided to have their own celebration around the solstice and decided Christ's birthday would be the focus.

Merry Christmas! ho-ho-ho