TNNWC Publications: Edgar Allen Poe

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

BLUE THING #3: Amazing New Facts and Statistics (Got One? SHARE it with Us!)

BLUE THING #3: Amazing New Facts and Statistics

NOW FEATURING READER PARTICIPATION!

IF YOU have an amazing fact, statistic or hysterical story to share with out readership, tell us right now. Don't be selfish. Share if you care. Just click:

HERE'S MY AMAZING FACT, STATISTIC OR STORY!

You are invited to submit your favorite amazing fact or little-known statistic and get it published here, boldly showcased in the perfectly rectangular enclosure of BLUE THING #3. But be advised that you must be a Subscriber in order to participate. If you're not already a subscriber, click on the following link before you read on: http://twitlik.com/IN. If you are already a Subscriber, please proceed to the next paragraph for "the elevator pitch."

HEY YOU! Yes you. Since you are now a Subscriber to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER NEWSLETTER, you are invited to submit your own favorite amazing fact or statistic. If you’d like, we’ll even publish your name (or your organization’s name) if you'd like and give you credit for your contribution. Note: Unless you are particularly dense, you will recognize that we are actually offering you FREE PUBLICITY in exchange for a mere tidbit of information.

Simply click on the hyperlink below to submit your gem:

*I/WE HAVE AN AMAZING NEW FACT OR STATISTIC!*

If the hyperlink above isn’t working, first you must first blame your browser (Internet Explorer 8 seems to be an exceptionally popular source of consumer dissatisfaction), then your ISP Provider, then Bill Gates (or Steve Jobs), and mutter a rapid string of profanities under your breath. Kick furniture if you feel it necessary. [feel better?] Then, just click on this one, and get direct access.

https://ciof.wufoo.com/forms/iwe-have-an-amazing-new-fact-or-statistic/

AND NOW...

A compilation of utterly useless information brought to you by The Internationalist Page, History.com and THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER™.

Following is a veritable cesspool teeming with trivial items to use in pick-up lines in bars, to fill awkward silences in credit committee meetings, and to forward (via email) to the spam filters of Oprah, Bill O’Reilly, Bono, Paris Hilton, Harry Potter [either one], any member of the board of directors of Bank Of America, the president or prime minister of your home nation, or one or more of your many friends, family members and people who have far too much time on their hands.

Here goes:

To commemorate the founding of Australia, on January 26, 1788 and Australia Day we bring you:

Amazing Facts about Australia

On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guides a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. After overcoming a period of hardship, the fledgling colony began to celebrate the anniversary of this date with great fanfare.
Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony. In October 1786, the British government appointed Arthur Phillip captain of the HMS Sirius, and commissioned him to establish an agricultural work camp there for British convicts. With little idea of what he could expect from the mysterious and distant land, Phillip had great difficulty assembling the fleet that was to make the journey. His requests for more experienced farmers to assist the penal colony were repeatedly denied, and he was both poorly funded and outfitted. Nonetheless, accompanied by a small contingent of Marines and other officers, Phillip led his 1,000-strong party, of whom more than 700 were convicts, around Africa to the eastern side of Australia. In all, the voyage lasted eight months, claiming the deaths of some 30 men.

The first years of settlement were nearly disastrous. Cursed with poor soil, an unfamiliar climate and workers who were ignorant of farming, Phillip had great difficulty keeping the men alive. The colony was on the verge of outright starvation for several years, and the marines sent to keep order were not up to the task. Phillip, who proved to be a tough but fair-minded leader, persevered by appointing convicts to positions of responsibility and oversight. Floggings and hangings were commonplace, but so was egalitarianism. As Phillip said before leaving England: "In a new country there will be no slavery and hence no slaves."
Though Phillip returned to England in 1792, the colony became prosperous by the turn of the 19th century. Feeling a new sense of patriotism, the men began to rally around January 26 as their founding day. Historian Manning Clarke noted that in 1808 the men observed the "anniversary of the foundation of the colony" with "drinking and merriment."
Finally, in 1818, January 26 became an official holiday, marking the 30th anniversary of British settlement in Australia. And, as Australia became a sovereign nation, it became the national holiday known as Australia Day. Today, Australia Day serves both as a day of celebration for the founding of the white British settlement, and as a day of mourning for the Aborigines who were slowly dispossessed of their land as white colonization spread across the continent.
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Comment: Human Beings never seem to learn from a "zero sum game." Instead of sharing, we all too often take. In the longer run, we generally win through sharing -- it brings out the best in our nature, and encourages cooperation and reciprocation in others. Sometimes it is best to combine instead of conquer.
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On a much lighter note...

The song, which follows, was originally performed by Rolf Harris. If the YouTube Viewer fails to appear right beneath this bit of writing, or shows up as a big stupid gray square with the word "object" in the center of it (after you've cursed Bill Gates, your Browser, Internet Explorer 8, A vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, A high-tech Left-Wing Conspiracy, your cable provider, and your imbecilic cousin Frankie [who poured an entire Starbucks Frappucino over your keyboard while waving his thick, hairy forearms to describe the size of the fish he caught while surf casting in the Hudson]) , simply click on this link to enjoy the music, despite it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D-LmRNdQiQ

Actually, my personal favorite Aussie tune has always been "Waltzing Matilda." - Douglas Castle

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Sunday, January 17, 2010

BLUE THING #3: Amazing New Facts and Statistics

HERE'S MY AMAZING FACT, STATISTIC OR STORY!

Simply click on the hyperlink below to submit your gem:

*I/WE HAVE AN AMAZING NEW FACT OR STATISTIC!*

https://ciof.wufoo.com/forms/iwe-have-an-amazing-new-fact-or-statistic/

AND NOW...

A compilation of utterly useless information brought to you by The Internationalist Page, enotes.com , nndb.com and THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER™.

Here goes:

In honor of the birth of American poet and author Edgar Allen Poe on January 19th, 1809, we proudly present:

Amazing Facts about Edgar Allen Poe

Poe was born in Boston, MA
His father David Poe was bred as a lawyer, but deeply offended his family by marrying an actress of English birth, Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins, neé Arnold, and by himself going on the stage. In 1811 he and his wife died, leaving three children -- William, Edgar, and a daughter Rosalie -- wholly destitute.
Edgar was adopted by John Allan, a tobacco merchant of Scottish extraction, seemingly at the request of his wife, who was childless.
Poe attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1826...until he had to drop out due to lack of money. It seems that Poe had a gambling problem, and his foster father got tired of bailing him out.
Broke, Poe lied about his age and joined the army. He served two years...and then got himself dismissed by court martial.
His life immediately after he left West Point is very obscure, but in 1833 he was living at Baltimore with his paternal aunt, Mrs. Clemm, who was throughout life his protector, and, in so far as extreme poverty permitted, his support.
In 1827 Poe had published his first volume of poetry, Tamerlane and other Poems, at Boston. He did not publish under his name, but as "A Bostonian." In 1831 he published a volume of Poems under his name at New York.
In 1833 he won a prize of $100 offered for the best story by the Baltimore Saturday Visitor. He would have won the prize for the best poem if the judges had not thought it wrong to give both rewards to one competitor.
The story, MS. found in a Bottle, is one of the most mediocre of his tales, but his success gave him an introduction to editors and publishers, who were attracted by his striking personal appearance and his fine manners, and were also touched by his manifest poverty.
His famous poem "The Raven" was published first in 1845, and soon became extraordinarily popular; but Poe only got $10 or $15 for it (the exact amount is often debated.)
Poe’s short stories featuring C. Auguste Dupin shaped the modern mystery story so much that Arthur Conan Doyle compared Sherlock Holmes to Dupin, and the Mystery Writers of America give an award named the Edgar—after Poe, of course.
Among his masterpieces are the short stories The Pit and the Pendulum, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Masque of the Red Death, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Gold Bug.
In 1835 he married his cousin, Virginia Clemm, a beautiful girl of fourteen years of age. A false statement as to her age was made at the time of the marriage. She died after a long decline in 1847.
Poe made two attempts to marry women of fortune -- Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Shelton. The first of these engagements was broken off. The second was terminated by his death.
Poe died of tuberculosis on October 7th, 1849 in Baltimore, MD
Poe’s bizarre life didn’t stop just because he died in 1849. He was buried in an unmarked grave, and when gossip finally led to a stone being ordered, it was destroyed in a train accident.
Ever since 1949, someone has left a bottle of cognac and some roses on Poe’s grave. Who is leaving these things? And why?
Edgar Allen Poe is one of the featured images on the cover of the 1967 Beatles' album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.