Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋 @bibliolater@qoto.org
Not a bot, just a rather corpulent male fifty years of age; a very, very slow ignoramus who reads occasionally.
Toots are #humanities, #science, #nonfiction, #book, #map, #chart and #graph related. Some toots containing #videos may also find their way into the timeline.
Toots or follows or boosts or mentions ≠ endorsements of any particular notion or notions.
Expect numerous typing errors and copious amounts of nonsensical commentary from my personal formulations.
Toots automatically delete after two weeks.
Finis
Joined Nov 2022
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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During the #ThirtyYearsWar she turned into an officially accredited #emdiplomat – an absolute exceptional case because most female #earlymodern #diplomats were acting informally. In 1638 Renée du Bec-Crespin was offically entrusted to hand over instructions regarding the negotiations on #Breisach fortress to her husband.
In 1645 she was dispatched to #Poland as ambassadrice extraordinare in the context of the marriage between Maria de Gonzaga and Polish king Wladyslaw IV. Although it was quite normal that (experienced) ladies-in-waiting accompanied a princely bride when she moved to her new #dynasty, these missions usually were led by men. Renée Bec-Crespin was made head of the embassy and thus the first and most distinguished representative of the royal family. This once more emphasises her exceptional standing as one of only a very few #womeninmalefields. (2/3)
#emdiplomacy #adventCalendar #history #histodons #AdventCalendar2024
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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#emdiplomat of the day: Renée du Bec-Crespin (ca. 1614-1659)
Renée du Bec-Crespin descended from an old noble family in #Normandy. In 1632 she married Jean-Baptiste de Guébriand, the later Marshal of France. Like many other #earlyModern married couples, the Guébriands formed a working couple, a term established by German historian Heide Wunder. Despite distinct gendered roles, norms and duties within a household, married couples complemented each other and worked together. However, a wife’s activities and scope of action could usually be characterised as more informal as her husbands.
This was not the case with Renée Du Bec-Crespin who from 1638 officially was authorized to conduct his husband’s businesses, act as a representative for his interests at the #court of #France, maintain relations to ministers as well as to take the role of the financial manager of his troops. (1/3)
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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New post: The politics of stupid
https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-politics-of-stupid.html
The politics of stupid is believing that the way to deal with Farage or Trump type populism is to do what Farage or Trump happens to be shouting about at the time.
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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ymb-gān, v: to go round (a circular course or an object), orbit. (umb-GAHN / ymb-ˈgaːn)
Image: Cosmography; England, late 12th century; Walters Art Museum, W.73, f. 2v.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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11 December 1917:
British proclaim martial law but “General Allenby, in front of the Tower of David which was standing when Christ was in #Jerusalem, promised that all holy places of Christians, Jews, & Moslems would be maintained according to existing customs.”
3/7
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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"I entered the city officially at noon, December 11th, with a few of my staff, the commanders of the French & Italian detachments"
General Allenby quite deliberately chose to enter on foot: Jesus had ridden donkey, whereas the German Kaiser had arrogantly ridden in on a horse
2/7
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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Catching up on the week's historical anniversaries:
11 December 1917: British General Allenby enters #Jerusalem (Collier's New Photographic History of the World War)
The Damascus Gate #WWI #Palestine
1/7
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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Over 30 prominent scientists call for a ban on the creation of a "mirror cell"--a microbe made of molecules that are mirror images of their natural forms. It could cause a mind-boggling global disaster. Here's my story [gift link] https://nyti.ms/3OUCXp6
🔴 📖 **The New Roman Empire**
Reviewed by Peggy Kurkowski
_“ Historian Anthony Kaldellis simply awes in The New Roman Empire, a massive undertaking that captures the large, small, and quotidian events, lives, and oh-so-many intrigues of Byzantium from the age of Constantine to its fall in 1453.”_
🔗 https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/the-new-roman-empire.
#NonFiction #BookReview #Book #Bookstodon #History #Histodon #Histodons #Byzantium #Empire @histodon @histodons @bookstodon
🔴 **Publisher reviews national IQ research by British ‘race scientist’ Richard Lynn**
Hannah Devlin and David Pegg
_“There have been repeated calls for publishers to retract Lynn’s papers or flag concerns about their reliability with warning notices. Academics who have evaluated his papers allege that Lynn, who died last year, systematically biased data to produce implausibly low IQ scores for sub-Saharan nations.”_
🔴 📖 🎥 **Modern Iliad vs 500-Year-Old Iliad!**
Tom Ayling
#Video length: fifty-six seconds.
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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Finland is winning the war on #fakenews. Other nations want the blueprint https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/05/europe/finland-fake-news-intl/ “The course is part of an anti-fake news initiative launched by Finland’s government in 2014 – two years before Russia meddled in the US elections – aimed at teaching residents, students, journalists and politicians how to counter false information designed to sow division.” #misinformation #disinformation
🔴 🎞️ **In The Heart Of The Sea**
Earlier today, I watched '_In The Heart Of The Sea_' which was directed and co-produced by Ron Howard. The film was recommended by an acquaintance as one of his personal favourites. Having now watched the film, I can see why it was considered one of the leading cinematic flops of 2015.
I am not a film buff nor a cinema critic; however, I did not find it captivating. I believe CGI may have been used in it's production, which from a personal perspective, I find irritating. Although CGI has progressed greatly in recent years, I do not think it is good enough yet to represent reality in a film production. Furthermore, I do not think that CGI can add anything to storytelling in a film that cannot be added by other means; sometimes, CGI is used to cover up lack of talent in other areas such as acting or direction.
Another irritating aspect of the film was how the camera kept jumping from shot to shot. I assume this was done to portray excitement and as a show of a fast-paced story. It had the opposite effect upon me, as I found it difficult to keep up with what was being said and the constant changing of camera shot left me bemused.
Do you have any favourite recommendations of films set in the past?
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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@christinkallama The Germany Discovery of the World is excellent
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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Hello! 👋 New instance, so official #introduction.
I'm a #history professor who researches and writes on the German lands (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, a bit of what is now France) in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. I'm interested in how people made sense of a changing world, and how their choices affected those changes.
My first book, _The German Discovery of the World: Renaissance Encounters with the Strange and Marvelous_ (UVA Press, 2008) examined the how humanists, mapmakers, merchants, and moralists responded to Portuguese and Spanish overseas empires.
My current research investigates what it meant to be German in the context of the multiethnic, transnational Holy Roman Empire.
I post about history (all kinds) and the place and point of universities (mostly US). I'm a sucker for a well-researched policy analysis.
I boost posts about protests, unions, Bandcamp Friday, and other collective efforts to improve people's lives. And, of course, cats.
🔴 📖 **Reading Motivation**
Finally found the motivation to sit down and read on a Saturday.
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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AI Wants More Data. More Chips. More Real Estate. More Power. More Water. More Everything
"The resource-intensive nature of AI will create winners and losers. Those with the most resources will have the most advanced AI systems. It’s leading to clashes over increasingly scarce commodities, as well as access to chips."
Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋
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YouTube “Enhances” Comment Section With AI-Generated Nonsense
YouTube’s rollout of AI tools shows nonsensical AI-generated audience engagement and AI slop thumbnails.
https://www.404media.co/youtube-enhances-comment-section-with-ai-generated-nonsense/
🔴 📖 **Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes**
_“Leviathan” by Thomas Hobbes is a philosophical treatise written in the mid-17th century. The book explores the structure of society and legitimate government and creates an objective science of morality. Hobbes argues for a strong central authority to avoid chaos and civil war, emphasizing the social contract and the necessity of a sovereign power to maintain order and protect citizens._
🔗 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3207.
#Philosophy #Book #Books #Ebook #Ebooks #Bookstodon @bookstodon @philosophy
🔴 🇯🇵 **Japan’s birth rate dropped sharply in 1966, influenced by cultural beliefs**
Tuna Acisu
_“The reason behind this drop is unusual. Children born in 1966 had the “fire horse” as their birth sign. According to astrological predictions, women born that year would bring bad fortune, especially for their future husbands.”_
Not a bot, just a rather corpulent male fifty years of age; a very, very slow ignoramus who reads occasionally.
Toots are #humanities, #science, #nonfiction, #book, #map, #chart and #graph related. Some toots containing #videos may also find their way into the timeline.
Toots or follows or boosts or mentions ≠ endorsements of any particular notion or notions.
Expect numerous typing errors and copious amounts of nonsensical commentary from my personal formulations.
Toots automatically delete after two weeks.
Finis
Joined Nov 2022
