Local History Comes Alive

Over a two-day period in August 1763, the fate of the future of Pittsburgh, and of the United States, was determined. The Battle of Bushy Run took place ten miles east of present-day Monroeville, near what is now Harrison City. The battle was a pivotal moment in the French and Indian War (1754-1763), which was actually fought between the French and the British for control of North America. (In Europe and Canada, it is called The Seven Years' war.)

The North American conflict began in 1754 with the battle for Fort Duquesne, where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio River. The French, along with their Native American allies, controlled this important waterway, but the British felt they had the right to these lands and rivers. The first attempts by British troops to take control failed, but by 1758, the French would abandon the fort with the approach of General John Forbes's army. A new fort was soon built and named Fort Pitt, in honor of William Pitt, Britain's Minister of War.

In August 1763, Colonel Henry Bouquet was on his way to bring relief to Fort Pitt, which had been held under siege for two months by Indians. Bouquet and his troops set off from Fort Ligonier on August 4th. They camped along the trail that night and headed towards Bushy Run Station the following day.  After traveling seventeen miles, and only being about a mile away from Bushy Run, they were attacked by Indians.

Bushy Run Mounument

By nightfall, 60 of Bouquet's soldiers would be dead. The Colonel was unsure whether they would survive another day. He felt the only way they could defeat the Indians was by making them believe that the British were retreating. The idea was to get the enemy into the open where Bouquet's men could fight them. The next morning, August 6th, Bouquet met with his officers to inform them of his plan.

The plan worked. The Indians sustained a high number of casualties, but that didn't stop them from making one more attempt at attacking the British. However, the Indians were not successful. Despite suffering great losses, the British troops marched on towards Fort Pitt, where they were able to provide supplies and relief to the civilians and troops trapped in the fort.

To commemorate the 250th anniversary of this historical battle, the Bushy Run Battlefield Historical Site is hosting a three-day event (August 2-4), filled with activities, lectures, and a reenactment. Don't miss out on this educational and fun event.

To learn more about the Battle of Bushy Run, and other events during the French and Indian War, check out some of the books, DVDs, and websites below:


-- "Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: North America's Forgotten Conflict at Bushy Run Battlefield" (Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine)

-- "Events mark Bushy Run battle's 250th" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)


-- Bushy Run Battlefield by David Dixon

-- The Battle of Bushy Run by Niles Anderson

-- War For Empire in Western Pennsylvania Edited by J. Martin West

-- War That Made America (DVD)


-- Post by Tracy

All For One

I love The Three Musketeers.

That is to say, I love the classic novel The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas. And, if you've read or seen any version of the story, you'll know that the book is actually about four Musketeers. There's the experienced trio of Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. But there's also the headstrong, determined, quixotic D'Artagnan, who has just left home and family and is on a quest to join the Musketeers.

D'Artagnan first meets his future friends when he makes it to Paris and promptly manages to insult three different people in the space of a few minutes. Each man challenges D'Artagnan to a duel, and D'Artagnan, never one to back down from a challenge (his father told him not to!), schedules the duels back-to-back-to-back. When he arrives at the meeting place for Duel #1, he quickly realizes that the three men he's fighting in turn are all friends -- and that, moreso, they are all Musketeers.

The duels never take place; the four of them become too busy fighting off the Guards of Cardinal Richelieu (who have arrived to arrest them for illegal dueling). D'Artagnan may be young and rash, but he proves his bravery and honor when he assists the three Musketeers in overpowering the Guards. The trio decides to take D'Artagnan under their wings, and what follows is a high-rollicking adventure tale packed with action, intrigue, and broad, sweeping romance.

Dumas would go on to write two sequels to The Three Musketeers: Twenty Years After and Ten Years Later. (The third novel, Ten Years Later, is so lengthy that it's often published as three separate volumes: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.) The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask remain the most-read works from Dumas's complete "D'Artagnan Romances" cycle, and have inspired numerous stage and film adaptations.

While the D'Artagnan Romances are, of course, historical fiction, it's interesting to note that they were historical fiction even at the time of their publication. The Musketeers' tales are all set in the seventeenth century, but Dumas himself was writing them in the nineteenth, with The Three Musketeers first appearing in serialized installments in 1843. That first novel was written by Alexandre Dumas and a collaborator, Auguste Maquet, a history teacher and fellow author (if one of less acclaim, by far, than Dumas, who was already a celebrated playright when he wrote Musketeers).

Dumas and Maquet did some homework for their tale, and the D'Artagnan Romances are based on a real-life figure. Charles de Baatz d'Artagnan, born in 1623, became the capitaine lieutenant of one of King Louis XIV's two Musketeer companies. He was a lifelong soldier who would go on to be appointed governor of Lille, and he died in battle in Hollan in 1673.

The Memoirs of Charles D'Artagnan were written by another real-life Musketeer (though not, unfortunately, by Charles D'Artagnan himself), and it was these memoirs that served as much of the inspiration for Dumas's novels. The other three Musketeers -- Athos, Porthos, and Aramis -- were also all real-life figures, who receive mention in the D'Artagnan memoirs. How much of these "memoirs" are factual is a matter of some debate, but what's certain is that both D'Artagnan and the Musketeers were figures who really existed.

The Musketeers themselves were formed by King Louis XIII of France, a combination of soldier and personal royal bodyguard. Louis armed his personal guards with a newly developed flintlock, muzzle-loading riffle -- the musket (hence the company's name). The Musketeers of history were variously disbanded and reassembled throughout the next two hundred years by various members of French royalty, before finally being permanently dissolved in the time of Napoleon.

A monument to the Four Musketeers in Southern France

Of course, in the end, the lasting appeal of D'Artagnan and the three Musketeers lies not in their factual history, but rather in what they've come to represent.

From the beginning, the Musketeers have had a glamorous appeal. King Louis XIII was something of a romantic, and he had a fondness for the by-gone days of chivalry. (It's what made him so reluctant to actually enforce any of those anti-dueling laws he kept enacting -- seeing as dueling itself was, in theory at least, a method of "defending one's honor.") The Musketeers themselves were career soldiers who did not include noble blood as an entry requirement to their ranks; you became a Musketeer through your own actions and merits, not by merit of your birth.

Dumas himself seemed entranced by the romantic chivalry of the Musketeers, writing about them two hundred years after their real-life creation. Audiences since then have responded to his books in kind, taking the stories to heart for their action, adventure, and chivalry.

Even in medieval times (where we think of the concept originating), chivalry was generally far more of a theory than a practice. There wasn't much more of it in the seventeenth century. So rather than harkening back to a better, nobler past, D'Artagnan and his friends represent a world of bravery, courtesy, and honor that's never really existed outside the pages of a book.

Or, at least, one that has not existed yet. It's true that the fun and adventure of Dumas's Musketeer tales is undoubtably a primary reason for the stories' staying power. And yet, the ability of story to inspire should never be overlooked. People would not keep reading these books if they did not see some appeal in the ideals of courage, honor, and friendship that Dumas wove throughout his stories. Hopefully, that appeal will prove inspirational to Dumas's readers. The honorable world of the Musketeers may not be in our past -- but perhaps it may be in our future.

Alexandre Dumas, born on July 24, 1802

From the Catalog:

-- The Three Musketeers
-- Twenty Years After
-- Ten Years Later
* The Vicomte de Bragelonne
* Louise de la Valliere
* The Man in the Iron Mask

-- All books by Alexandre Dumas
-- Film adaptations of The Three Musketeers
-- Film adaptations of The Man in the Iron Mask


(non-fiction)

-- D'Artagnan, The Ultimate Musketeer: A Biography by Geoffrey F. Hall and Joan Sanders.
-- Éminence: Cardinal Richelieu and the Rise of France by Jean-Vincent Blanchard.
-- Books on King Louis XIII
-- Books on King Louis XIV



-- Post by Ms. B

Leading Ladies

Sandra Bullock                                                  Helen Mirren

Okay, this seems like an unlikely pairing for our blog. What do these two women have in common that would have me devote an entry to them? The only thing that they really have in common is that they were both born on the same date, July 26th. But they are both women who have created successful careers for themselves with style, grace, and quite a bit of humor!


Helen Mirren, born in London, began her career at the age of 19 with the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she stayed for several years before exploring other acting opportunities. This led her to parts of Africa and even to a Native American reservation.

After a few years of wandering, she decided to pursue film work. Some of her early film roles were in The Long Good Friday with Bob Hoskins, and as Morgana in Excalibur. Her first big Hollywood role came in 1985, when she starred with Mikhail Baryshnikov in White Nights. There were also a quite a few very forgettable films, which she acknowledges were bad, but were great learning opportunities.

In 1992, she took a part that is, perhaps, one of her most iconic roles -- Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect. This BBC series ran for a total of seven seasons (it also was a smash hit in America on PBS). In the first season, Tennison is in charge of a serial murder case. She is also dealing with her male colleagues' gender biases as well. The show ran from 1992 until 1996, and then returned again in 2003 and 2006.

Also in 2006, she appeared as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen. Her portrayal of the the Queen during the complicated and very emotional time following the death of Princess Diana won her many accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Actress.

While mostly known for her very dramatic roles, she is not one to shy away from comedy or even action films. She starred in Red in 2010 alongside Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovich, as one of group of retired undercover agents who come out of retirement to help one of their own. This was so successful that a sequel, Red 2, is currently playing in theaters.

Mirren has recently made some waves in the pop culture world with her comments concerning who should be the next Doctor in Doctor Who. Many sci-fi critics have suggested she would make an excellent Doctor. While Mirren has declined an interest in the part, she does thinks it's time for a female Doctor. We'll see later this year whether the producers of Doctor Who have taken her suggestion!

----------------

Sandra Bullock has had a shorter career than Helen Mirren, although just as successful. Bullock was born in Virginia to an American father and a German mother. Her father was a voice teacher and her mother was an opera singer. As a young child, Bullock spent quite a lot of time in Germany visiting with her grandmother, and became fluent in German.

Bullock's acting career started in New York City, working as an actress in the theater. A few successful appearances helped her get an agent, which led to movie roles. Many of these early films were supporting parts in television movies and direct-to-video releases. Like Mirren, Bullock does not apologize for these early career choices, seeing them as all part of the learning process for an actor.

Her big break came in 1994 with the release of Speed, starring Keanu Reeves. Her portrayal of plucky Annie, who is forced into driving the bus, won the hearts of movie-goers around the world. This success landed her the leading role in While You Were Sleeping, a romantic comedy in 1995.

The following years saw Bullock make many more films. Several were hits and some were misses. But even with the misses, Bullock is still one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood. Fans seem drawn to her down-to-earth nature and unpretentious personality. A few of these films were even turns at more dramatic fare. One of these was 28 Days, where she plays a woman struggling to overcome her alcohol addiction in a rehab program.

In 2004, she appeared in the Academy-Award-winning Best Picture Crash. Her small role won her rave reviews, which allowed her to continue her desire to not be typecast as the girl next door. Also during this time, she began her own production company, Fortis Films, which produced George Lopez (2002-2007) for ABC television. She even had a small, recurring part on the show.

The role that finally got her major recognition for her acting was as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side (2009). The film is based on the true story of Michael Oher, a young, black high school football player being taken in by the wealthy, white Tuohy family. Her strong and moving performance as a woman trying to take care of her family and this troubled young man made The Blind Side a box office smash.

Bullock's latest box office success is the comedy The Heat co-starring Melissa McCarthy.


Click here to check out Helen Mirren DVDs at the library.

Click here to check out Sandra Bullock DVDs at the library.


-- Post by Tracy

The Secretive Life

Premiering in 2004, the TV series Veronica Mars is not, at first look, that incredibly unusual. The mystery series starred actress Kristen Bell in the title role, a high school student and Nancy-Drew-esque sleuth who was the daughter off a county sheriff. The show followed Veronica's adventures as she began her career as a private investigator, while also trying to uncover the truth behind the murder of her best friend. Cancelled after a three-season run, the show had a devoted cult following that never quite translated into the ratings.

But Veronica Mars recently made internet history, when an online campaign for the show raised nearly $6 million in fan donations and, in doing so, guaranteed a Veronica Mars movie release. With Kristen Bell's 33rd birthday on the horizon (July 18), and a Veronica Mars movie on the way, it seemed like a great time to check out some of our other favorite TV gumshoes:

- Nancy Drew

from The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977-1979) and Nancy Drew (2002)

Created by publisher Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy Drew -- amateur teenage sleuth -- first appeared in 1930 as the star of her own book series. Her adventures were written by a variety of a different authors, all who took on the pen name "Carolyn Keene" for the series. Hugely popular, the Nancy Drew books have remained popular to this day, and have resulted in spin-off offerings such as video games, films -- and television.

In the 1970s, Nancy started in the ABC series The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, played by Pamela Sue Martin and Janet Louise Johnson. There was another, short-lived series in 1995 (which lasted only half a season) ... and then, in 2002, ABC aired the TV movie Nancy Drew. In the title role as Nancy was Maggie Lawson -- who would go on to play another TV sleuth, Detective Juliette O'Hara in the hit show Psych.


-  Laura Holt 

Remington Steele is probably best remembered as the series that launched Pierce Brosnan's career. But credit must also go to Stephanie Zimbalist, who played licensed private detective Laura Holt. Setting up shop as a private eye, Holt discovers that clients are reluctant to hire a female detective.

So Holt hatches a scheme. She creates a fake (male) business partner for herself: Remington Steele, the man in charge who Holt "works" for. She always intended to keep Steele an unseen, fictitious business partner -- until she gets tangled up with a former con man (played by Brosnan) who ultimately ends up assuming the identity of Remington Steele. The two start working together -- but it's Holt, not "Steele," who remains the P.I. in charge.


- Cagney & Lacey

This long-running 80s police procedural took the unique step of making its two leads female detectives. Sharon Gless played Christine Cagney, a single woman intent on her career; Tyne Daly played Mary Beth Lacey, a working wife and mother. Set in Manhattan, the show followed the cases and lives of its star characters.

With an unusual and bumpy ride to the screen (the show was cancelled twice, being renewed in the end both times), Cagney and Lacey ultimately ran for seven seasons.

- Sergeant Lucy Bates 

The seven-season police drama Hill Street Blues is remembered by fans as one of the first police shows to carry multi-episode story arcs and long-ranging plotlines throughout its seasons. Dealing with real-life issues -- and shot in a more documentary-like style than the average series -- the show first aired in 1981 and quickly became beloved by critics and fans alike.

Betty Thomas starred as Sgt. Lucy Bates -- as gritty, tough, and real as all the other cop characters on the show. Committed to the police force, with her own personal struggles to overcome, Bates was capable at her job and a force to be reckoned with.

- Jessica Fletcher

Long before Richard Castle, there was Jessica Fletcher, star of the long-running series Murder, She Wrote. Played to perfection by Angela Lansbury, Jessica Fletcher is a murder mystery author who ultimately becomes an amateur detective. A former English teacher, the now-retired (and widowed) Fletcher has become a best-selling mystery writer. Living in a small town on the coast of Maine, Jessica Fletcher becomes a Miss-Marple-like figure to the local police, picking up clues they miss and always solving the crime.

With a 12-season run, Lansbury was nominated for 10 Golden Globes and 12 Emmys, holding the record to this day for the most Best Dramatic Actress Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.


- Special Agent Dana Scully

This no-nonsense FBI agent had her work cut out for her when she got partnered with fellow agent Fox Mulder. The two are assigned to X-Files cases (hence the name of their nine-season television series): those unsolved cases that may or may not have a paranormal cause behind them.

The practical, skeptical Scully was often at odds with her more intuitively-minded partner, who believed in such phenomena as aliens and the paranormal. Like all iconic partnerships, however, their opposing viewpoints were often precisely what made them such a great team.


- Catherine Willows & Sara Sidle

When it premiered in 2000, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation reinvented the crime procedural. With a unique emphasis on physical evidence and the science behind solving crimes, the show was a unique and instant hit.

Catherine Willows, who ultimately becomes head supervisor of the CSI night shift, originally made her living as a Vegas showgirl until a friend encouraged her to return to school. Sharp and intelligent, Willows became interested in crime-solving and earned a degree in Medical Science before joining the CSIs. And Sara Sidle, a materials and elements analyst, is perhaps the CSI most devoted to the job, her determined and skeptical nature making her a natural fit for the position. As long-standing characters in the show, Willows and Sidle have both had plenty of time to become some of the most layered and memorable characters in the series.


- Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson

Heading up the Major Crimes Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson is known as "The Closer" due to her ability to deduce the facts and compel confessions -- closing out her cases.

The daughter of a captain in the U.S. Army, Brenda has worked for the CIA, the Metropolitan Police Department in D.C., and the Atlanta Police Department. Portrayed by actress Kyra Sedgwick, Brenda -- with her Southern accent, sloppy habits, and obsessive commitment to her job -- is a complex, complicated character that makes her both engaging and relatable.


- Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan

Dr. Temperance Brennan and her FBI partner Special Agent Seeley Booth have always put me in mind of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (at least until the romance starts!). But despite some similarities between Holmes and Bones, Dr. Brennan is actually based loosely on real-life forensic anthropologist (and best-selling author) Kathy Reichs.

Nicknamed "Bones" by her new partner, Brennan holds three doctorates and has the brain power to match. Detached, clinical, and with genius-level intelligence, Bones speaks seven languages, is trained in three martial arts, is a bestselling author -- and is somewhat socially inept. Her partnership and friendship with Agent Booth go a long way towards helping her discover how to identify and share her emotions.

Fun fact: Temperance Brennan gets her name from real-life author Kathy Reichs's best-selling mystery novels (which feature a character named Temperance Brennan). In the show Bones, however, Brennan has her own best-selling series of mystery novels, starring a forensic anthropologist character named ... Kathy Reichs.


- Rizzoli & Isles

Another show coming from a series of novels (these by author Tess Gerritsen), the show stars Angie Harmon as Detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Dr. Maura Isles. Set in Boston, the series follows the practical, street-savvy Rizzoli and the book-smart Isles, best friends despite their polar-opposite personalities.

From highly different backgrounds -- and with different approaches to solving crimes -- this modern-day Cagney & Lacey duo have gone on to be original characters in their own right.


- Joan Watson

When it comes to shaking up the original Sherlock Holmes stories, modern-day adaptation Elementary didn't really break the mold so much by making Dr. John Watson into Joan. (After all, a female Watson has been done before.) What really makes Joan Watson stand out from her fellow onscreen Watsons is her character journey. This Watson may have started out as a surgeon, but as the show progresses, so does she, moving from a second career as a sober companion to recovering addicts to another new profession: detective.

Hired as a sober companion to recovering addict Sherlock Holmes, it isn't long before Sherlock notices that his Watson has an aptitude for solving mysteries. Holmes promptly takes her under his wing, and by the end of the first season, Watson has become both apprentice and partner to Sherlock himself. It's a unique take on the Holmes-Watson friendship that has left this Sherlockian eager for Season Two.

-- Post by Ms. B

The Mystery of Anastasia

For close to 100 years the fate of Czar Nicholas II and his family have fascinated the world. Their deaths at the hands of Bolshevik soldiers, is the stuff of legend. For decades no one knew exactly what had happened to them. It was assumed that they had all been murdered but since no one could find their bodies, speculation grew about had happened to them.

For almost 25 years Nicholas II was the Emperor of all Russia, but it was not a role he was prepared for or suited for. His father, Alexander III, died suddenly in 1894 having never exposed Nicholas to affairs of state. While, very educated, the subtleties of politics escaped him.

But where he failed as a leader, he made up for as a family man. He was very happily married to Alexandra and they had five children -- Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei, heir to the throne. The only dark spot on the family was Alexei's hemophilia.

During Nicholas' reign, a general unrest was beginning among his subjects. This, along with Russia's involvement in World War I would lead to his downfall. In 1905 Nicholas was forced to allow a parliament and a constitution to be created, which he did not want. This settled things for awhile, but it was not to last. By 1917 Nicholas abdicated his throne. A civil war ensued.

The family hoped to make their way to England, but this did not happen. Even though both Nicholas and his wife were related to the House of Windsor, England was reluctant to take sides and lose the alliance they had developed with post-war Russia. They became prisoners of the Bolshevik army.

For seventy eight days Nicholas and his family were held in the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. They seemed to have settled into a rather ordinary life while there. Whether they truly believed that they would eventually make there way to some kind of freedom is hard to say.

But with a civil war raging within Russia their chances of survival were not good. The White Army, who opposed the Bolsheviks, were on their way to Ekaterinburg. The Bolsheviks knew this and once word came from Vladimir Lenin, the plan to execute the family was put into place. In the early hours of July 17, 1918 the entire family was gunned downed and buried in a coal mine. The remains of all seven family members would not be found for many years to come.

Grand Duchess Anastasia

With no definitive proof that the family had been murdered, even though it's what everyone suspected, rumors began of possible escape. That is when the stories began and when the impostors started presenting themselves. The most famous of these was Anna Anderson.

Anderson showed up in a Berlin hospital in 1920. While initially she would not speak to anyone, she eventually started talking. She was transferred to a mental asylum where she asked a nurse if she noticed a resemblance between her, Anderson, and the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas. The nurse agreed and then the word began to spread of this young woman who might be Anastasia.

A steady stream of Russian emigres began to question her. Some strongly believed she was Anastasia and some were just as strongly opposed to the idea. For the next sixty years, until her death in 1984, Anderson claimed to be the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas.

Ten years after Anderson's death, DNA tests proved that she was not related to the Romanov family. In fact, it proved she was related to a missing Polish factory worker.

The story of Anna Anderson, along with the many other impostors has been a source of interest to writers and film makers throughout the years. Check out a few of the films that have been made below:

-- Anastasia (1997)

From the director of An American Tail, this animated feature tells a story of Anya desperately trying to reunite with her grandmother. Two Russian henchman and the not dead Rasputin, however, have other plans for her. This film starred Meg Ryan and John Cusack.

-- Northern Exposure (1994)

In a season six episode of this popular show, "Zarya", we learn of the negotiations that went on between Grand Duchess Anastasia and Vladmir Lenin in the town of Cicely, Alaska that would return Anastasia's family to power.

-- Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986)

This made for TV mini-series starred Amy Irving as Anna Anderson. Based on a book by Peter Kurth, it follows the live of Anna Anderson who fights to be recognized as the Grand Duchess.

-- Anastasia (1956)

This is probably the most famous of all the films made about the subject. Ingrid Bergman stars as Anna Koreff, who may or may not be, Anastasia. Yul Brynner is her handler who works very hard to convince the Russian emigres and the Dowager Empress, Anastasia's grandmother.


-- Clothes Make the Woman (1928)

The first known film to take on the story was a silent film starring Eve Southern and Walter Pidgeon. After being saved by a Russian soldier, Anastasia finds her way to Hollywood where she is cast as the Grand Duchess in a film. And who plays her savior - the very same Russian soldier who saved her life!


-- Post by Tracy

The Lizard King

In the mid 60s popular music was changing, as was the culture of the United States. The Vietnam war was going on, the struggle for civil rights and the Kennedy assassination lead the U.S. out of it's post World War II "high". Much of the change in music started with the British Invasion, led by the Beatles in 1964. By 1967 the country was teetering on the brink with anti-war demonstrations and race riots in many large cities.

One band that epitomized the changes was The Doors, led by frontman Jim Morrison. They were a band like no other at the time and quite possibly since. Morrison's lyrics (along with guitarist Robby Krieger's lyrics) set to a unique sound, sent them to the top of the charts.

The band was formed when Morrison met fellow UCLA film student and organist Ray Manzarek on Venice Beach in 1965. Morrison shared some of his lyrics with Manzarek and the rest, as they say, is history. Drummer John Densmore and guitarist Krieger rounded out the band. They started playing gigs around Los Angeles in 1966 and in January 1967 they released their first album The Doors. This is considered, by many, to be their best album. It featured the hit "Light My Fire".

Over the next several years the popularity of the band soared. They had a sound like no other. They did not have a bass as a part of their sound; Manzarak provided that through the organ. Along with Jim Morrison's soulful voice and good looks, fans flocked to their concerts. These concerts began to take on a more chaotic nature since Morrison often times showed up drunk and high. This combination got him into trouble in a few cities for his alleged lewd and obscene behavior on stage.

After The Doors, their next several albums sold well but were not as well received by the critics. In 1970, they released Morrison Hotel which found them back at the top of their game. This was followed by L.A. Woman in 1971, which included the hits "Love Her Madly" and "L.A. Woman".

During this time Morrison was also writing poetry. Two books were privately published in 1969, which were later published as one, The Lords and The New Creatures, in 1970. Also in 1970, Morrison recorded some of his poetry, An American Prayer, which was released in 1978.

In March 1971, Morrison moved to Paris with his long time girlfriend Pamela Courson. His plan was to  get out of the lime light and concentrate on his writing. Unfortunately, only a few months later he died. On July 3, Courson found him dead in the bathtub.

The circumstances of his death have created an almost mythic quality. No one who knew Morrison saw his body other than Coulson, there was no autopsy and he was buried in Paris. This has lead to much speculation. For many years it was common for fans of The Doors to claim that Jim Morrison was alive and well and living in _______ (insert country of choice). Fans still flock to Pere-Lachaise cemetery to pay their respects.

In the early 1980s there was a resurgence in the popularity of The Doors and Jim Morrison, much of that was due to the release of No One Here Gets Out Alive by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman. I have to admit that I was one of those young people who "discovered" The Doors while in high school in the 80s mostly due to the Hopkins' and Sugarman's book. I may not listen to them like I did then, but I find that I still enjoy their music.


The Doors Discography:

The Doors (1967)

Strange Days (1967)

Waiting for the Sun (1968)

The Soft Parade (1969)

Absolutely Live (1970)

Morrison Hotel (1970)

L.A. Woman (1971)

Books about Jim Morrison:

No One Here Gets Out Alive by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman

Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison by James Riordan and Jerry Prochnicky

Angels Dance and Angels Die: The Tragic Romance of Pamela and Jim Morrison by Patricia Butler



-- Post by Tracy

I Scream, You Scream

Hope you aren't reading this entry right before your lunch break

July has been National Ice Cream Month since Ronald Reagan made it official in 1984. But before you leave for the nearest ice cream parlor to celebrate, check out some fun facts are the history, manufacturing, and flavors of everybody's favorite tasty, summertime treat.

HISTORY:

-- Ice cream has a long and distinguished history. Shaved ice flavored with nectar was said to be a favorite dessert of Alexander the Great. (Snow was shipped in from the mountaintops.) Marco Polo brought back a recipe from the Orient for ice cream. And King Charles I served ice creams at his court in 17th century England (at least until he was executed).

-- George Washington once spent more than $200 on ice cream as a summertime treat.

-- Thomas Jefferson, also a fan of ice cream, introduced the "French" way of making ice cream: with eggs.

-- Modern ice cream as we know it today started showing up in the 1800s -- with the advent of commercial refrigeration.

-- "I scream, you scream: we all scream for ice cream!"  This well-known playground song actually had its roots on a college campus. The song was written originally recorded by Waring's Pennsylvanians, a choral group that was most popular on campuses. FUN FACT: the bandleader of the group was Fred Waring, who would go on to financially back the Waring Blendor -- the first modern electric blender on the market.

-- Multiple people can be credited with the invention of the ice cream cone. At least one of those is Ernest Hamwi, a waffle vendor at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair. The summer was hot and Hamwi was looking for a way to make his product more appealing. He promptly joined forces with the ice cream vendor in the next stall over, wrapping his waffles into a loose cone to hold a scoop of ice cream.

MANUFACTURING:

-- Based on overall sales, America's favorite flavor of ice cream is ... vanilla. (As a chocolate-lover, I don't understand this at all!)

-- How much ice cream do we eat every year?  1.5 gallons are produced in the U.S. alone.

-- Ice cream accounts for two-thirds of all of America's dairy sales.

-- It takes twelve pounds of whole milk to produce a gallon of ice cream.

FLAVORS: 

-- Gilroy, California prides itself on being the garlic-producing capital of the world ... and they serve the garlic-flavored ice cream to prove it!

-- Germany and Italy both serve cheese-flavored ice cream, which comes with ground-up spaghetti. (The Philippines also has many fans of cheese ice cream, albeit without the pasta.)

-- Many restaurants in France will flavor their plain ice cream with ... caviar. You can also buy foie gras-flavored at ice cream; the restaurant that serves it starts the price at about $150 a dish.

-- Goat-milk ice cream is very popular in Asia, sometimes complete with tiny pieces of goat meat.

-- In Japan, available flavors include squid ink, chewy octopus, horse meat, crab, sweet potato, curry, ox tongue, and chicken wing.

-- We've got our own unique flavors here in the USA, too. Sweetcorn has become a popular ice cream flavor in America., with people enjoying the crunchy corn kernels as toppings or by blending the corn in with the milk as the ice cream is prepared.

LINKS:

The History of Ice Cream -- from the Old Farmer's Almanac.

Ice Cream Trivia -- courtesy of the Meadows, Ms. B's hometown ice cream joint.

National Ice Cream Month -- headline news from the the International Dairy Foods Association.

Ben & Jerry's List of Flavors -- they've got everything from Cake Batter to Cherry Garcia.

Baskin-Robbins List of Flavors -- from baseball nut to watermelon chip.

-- Post by Ms. B

Conspiracy Theory

This May saw the release of the fourth book in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series, Inferno. Set in Italy, the novel centers around Langdon, a Harvard professor of symbology (a fictional academic discipline, but go with it -- it's part of the fun). Langdon's in town to stop the release of a newly-developed strain of bubonic plague; while he's there, he finds himself drawn into a mystery at the heart of Dante's famous literary masterpiece. Surrounded by artistic, secret passageways, and cutting-edge science, Langdon must figure out who to trust even as he works to solve the mysteries of Dante's Inferno.

Like its predecessors -- Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and The Lost Symbol -- Brown's latest entry in the Robert Langdon series is all about puzzles, secrets, and historical conspiracies. When Brown burst onto the bestseller list with The Da Vinci Code, it was neither his first novel nor his first entry in the Langdon series -- but it was the novel that catapulted him to national attention. The Da Vinci Code, with its blend of thriller intrigue and alternate history, offered up the idea of a secret conspiracy, millennia old, that captivated and thrilled fans with its unique twists on conspiracy theories.

Since then, there have been plenty of other titles released in the Da Vinci Code vein, leaving readers who are fans of Brown with more "historical conspiracy" fiction to whet their appetites. So if you're one of those fans of Brown's latest, check out these other conspiracy thrillers:

-- The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry.

Ex–Justice Department agent Cotton Malone has just found out that his father didn't die in 1971 on a nuclear submarine in the Mid-Atlantic. His father was, instead, on a top-secret mission to the Antarctic. On a quest to find out the truth, Malone is joined by twin sisters Dorothea and Christl (whose own father also disappeared on the same mission). The answers take them to Charlemagne’s tomb, where they uncover clues about a horrifying Nazi conspiracy.

-- The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper.

Instead of symbology, Professor David Ullman studies "demonic literature" -- which includes such tomes as Milton's Paradise Lost. Still, Ullman himself is a non-believer -- at least until a trip with his twelve-year-old daughter to Venice. Now Ullman is on a quest to find and rescue his daughter ... from the Underworld itself.

-- Sanctus by Simon Toyne.

Reporter Liv Adamsen -- along with the rest of the world -- has just seen a man climb the mountain called Citadel, the oldest inhabited place on the planet. On a quest to discover what happened to her long-lost brother, Adamsen journeys to Turkey, only to discover that the mysterious climb has touched off an unstoppable chain of events. It's something that the Sancti, a group of secretive monks, will stop at nothing to keep hidden.

-- The Breath of God by Jeffrey Small.

Grad student Grant Matthews is on a quest to discover the hidden roots of early Christianity. He never expected a 2,000-year-old story of one pilgrim's journey through India, to ignite a controversy that will put his own life in danger.

-- Relic by Tom Egeland.

"The Norwegian Da Vinci Code?" Translated from the original Norwegian, the book features albino archaeologist Bjørn Beltø, determined to get to the truth of the ancient document unearthed in a golden tomb. While the plot will be familiar to Da Vinci Code fans, Beltø's quirks makes him a fresh and unique character in his own right.

-- The Last Ember by Daniel Levin.

Once a doctoral candidate in classic literature, Jonathan Marcus ultimately became a lawyer. When an upcoming case takes him to Rome, he never expected to stumble across a hidden message that had been previously lost in a fragment of an ancient tomb. His discovery takes him on a mission to stop the efforts of those who would rewrite history.

-- 12.21 by Dustin Thomason.

Okay, the world didn't end on December 12, 2012 after all. Still, the premise of this novel makes for a fun conspiracy read. Two weeks before the fateful date, researcher Chel Manu is handed a codex from a mysterious stranger that purports to explain what happened to the Mayan civilization. And, if the discovery is to be believed, that catastrophe is about to happen a second time.

-- The School of Night by Louis Bayard.

The School of Night was a secret gathering of five brilliant scholars during the time of Queen Elizabeth I. Four centuries later, disgraced scholar Henry Cavendish has been sent on a mission to recover a stolen letter. But whatever the letter contains -- the secret formula for alchemy, the path to a hidden treasure, or merely the truth about the School of Night -- there are others who will stop at nothing to gain the letter for themselves.

-- Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell.

It's every Shakespearean's dream: an uncovered lost work of Shakespeare's. But the night when the reconstructed Globe Theater is burnt to the ground, Shakespearean scholar Kate Stanley is given a piece of an unexpected puzzle by her mentor, Rosalind Howard. Then Howard winds up dead. Soon, Stanley is running across the world as she struggles to unlock the clues in Shakespeare's plays and uncover the answer to one of the greatest secrets in history.

-- The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury.

Despite the building's rich history, FBI agent Sean Reilly never expected to see four Knights Templar -- on horseback! -- charge into the Metropolitan Museum. The "Knights" broke in to steal an unusual medieval artifact, an ancient decoder. Joined by archaeologist Tess Chaykin, Reilly finds himself caught in the center of a deadly race to recover the lost artifact -- and undercover the truth behind a mystery that's been centuries in the making.



-- Post by Ms. B

Remembering The Battle of Gettysburg - 150th Anniversary

The battle of Gettysburg, PA, July 3, 1863(hand-colored lithograph by Currier and Ives)

Everyone probably learned about the Battle of Gettysburg while they were in school. What everyone remembers depends upon your interest in history and the Civil War. I happen to be quite interested in both (albeit being far from an expert).

This week marks the 150th anniversary of one of the most pivotal (and bloodiest) battles fought during the Civil War. On July 1, 1863, the Union and Confederate armies met by accident just west of Gettysburg, PA. This was the first of three days of fighting. Union General George R. Mead's 85,000 troops eventually defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee's 65,000 troops.

General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia managed to escape Pennsylvania on July 4th. President Lincoln had wanted General Meade to pursue Gen. Lee, but Meade was unable to make an attempt until July 13. Even then, Meade held off due to unreliable information. Gen. Lee crossed the Potomac, and reached the safety of Virginia, on July 14th.

Over 23,000 Union soldiers and over 28,000 Confederate soldiers died during this epic battle. With the loss of so many lives, the South was all but dismantled. They were never able to recover. If the Union Army would have been able to stop General Lee from returning to Virginia, it most likely would have marked the end of the war. As it was, it marked the beginning of the end.

Many activities in Gettysburg, as well as locally, will be marking the anniversary of this important event in the history of the United States. Follow the links below to find out more about those activities, and to find out more about the Battle of Gettysburg.

-- Gettysburg National Military Park

You'll find information about anniversary events, and more about visiting the park, at this official National Park Service site.

-- Gettysburg 150th National Civil War Battle Reenactment

With 15,000 re-enactors, 400 horses, and 100 cannons.

-- Civil War Traveler

Other anniversary events happening this July throughout Pennsylvania (and across the country).

-- Senator John Heinz History Center

The History Center is having a special exhibit that takes a look at the role that Pennsylvania played in the Civil War.  It runs through January 4, 2014. Be sure to check out the Events listing.

-- Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau

A list of events around the town of Gettysburg, marking the anniversary.

Here are some films and books to take a look at:

-- Gettysburg: The Final Fury by Bruce Catton

-- The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command by Edwin B. Coddington

-- The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
    (fictionalized account of the battle)

-- Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo

-- A Field Guide to Gettysburg by Carol Reardon

-- Gettysburg 

This 1993 film was adapted from Michael Shaara's book The Killer Angels.

-- Post by Tracy