Nostalgia Epic Win: Carmen Sandiego

The Carmen Sandiego series of shows contributed incalculably to my love of history and geography,

as I'm sure it did for many other children of the 90's. The cartoon theme song is based on a Mozart

tune from his opera "The Abduction from the Seraglio," which may be one of the easist songs ever to

get stuck in one's head. The original song is posted below.

Forgotten Realms: Empire of Austria-Hungary

The Empire of Austria-Hungary was established in 1867 as a compromise designed to satisfy the increasingly restive and independence-minded Hungarian population within the Austrian Empire, which was itself the successor to the millennium-old Holy Roman Empire dissolved in 1806.

A mottled collection of dozens of ethnicities, nationalities, languages, and religions, Austria-Hungary and its ruling Hapsburg family were increasingly seen as anachronistic medieval holdovers in the light of the nationalistic fervor that swept the states of Europe in the Nineteenth Century. Nevertheless, the empire was the largest territorial state in Europe after Russia and was considered to be one of the dozen or so great powers that dominated world affairs until the Great War broke out in 1914.

It was the assassination of the Hapsburg heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo that precipitated the First World War. The aging Emperor Franz Josef died in 1916 after a reign of nearly seven decades. As the Central Powers collapsed in the autumn of 1918, the various national groupings of the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared their independence. The various territories were gained by numerous expanded or newly-created states, including Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Italy, Poland, and Ukraine.

Civil Ensign Coat of arms
Anthem Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser
Location of Austria–Hungary in 1913
Capital	Vienna and Budapest[1] (pop: 2,239,000)
Language(s)	various: German Hungarian, Czech, Polish,Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian,Slovak, Serbian, Slovene,Rusyn, Italian
Religion	Roman Catholic (predominant & official state religion) Tolerated religions of the Empire:Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism,Sunni Islam and others
Government	Monarchy
Emperor of Austria, and King of Hungary[1]
- 1848–1916	Franz Joseph I
- 1916–1918	Karl I
Historical era	New Imperialism
- 1867 Compromise	29 May 1867
- Czecho-Slovakindep.	28 October 1918
- South Slavs indep.	29 October 1918
- Dissolution	31 October 1918
- Dissolution treaties¹	in 1919 & in 1920
Area
- 1914	676,615 km2 (261,243 sq mi)
Population
- 1914 est.	52,800,000
Density	78 /km2 (202.1 /sq mi)
Currency	Gulden Krone (from 1892)

Great Tune of the Day

I Will Never Let You Go by Jackie Green

Yes, it's from the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack, but give it a chance. It's one of the catchiest country songs I've heard in a LONG time. It's also impossible to find.

Cool Picture of the Day

Moisture, tulips, windmills... I doubt you could get more quintessentially Dutch things in picture if you tried... OK, maybe if you threw in some wooden shoes...

Source: Panoramio

Banners of Yesterday: British Indian Empire

The sun never set on the British Empire. It was the largest empire in human history, it covered a quarter of Earth's landmass and encompassed a quarter of its population. The jewel in the crown, however, was the Indian Empire.

With so many far-flung colonies, territories, and protectorates, many British Imperial flags were rather nondescript affairs, with a Union Jack in the canton and the colonial arms on the fly. The flags of British India are rather more interesting.

The flag of the British Viceroy (shown above) consists of the British flag defaced with the crest of the Order of the Indian Empire (OEI), surmounted by a Tudor Crown. The motto of the Order "Heaven's Light Our Guide" surrounds the star. Also interesting, The Indian "civil" flag, shown below, reflects more traditional British vexillological thinking, with the OEI badge in the fly.

A Modest Proposal: Presidential Question Time

The British form of government is the basis of the United States Constitution. Yet, looking across "The Pond", one sees the British government is becoming decidedly more Americanized. Most recently, the House of Lords, the Upper House of the British Parliament, lost its judicial functions, which were transferred to a brand new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The governments of the constituent countries (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) aside from England are becoming more devolved and less centralized. For better or worse, it seems the once unitary nature of the British realm is quickly becoming federalized (or fragmented).

However, one aspect of British politics that I feel needs to be imported to America is the parliamentary practice of "Prime Minister's Questions." During this weekly event, a number of questions submitted by Members of Parliament are presented. The British Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers are called to account for their actions and policies before the House of Commons.

Given the increasing power of the Executive Branch in the last 60 years and the rising inefficacy of Congressional oversight, this small change would, I feel, increase governmental accountability and transparency. The yearly State of the Union address, now full of excessive partisanship and politicized applause is simply an obscene marble soapbox that demeans the position of Head of State by relegating the President to the role of "Pundit-in-Chief."

I guarantee you a president or cabinet secretary would think twice before issuing signing statements or ignoring laws and regulations knowing that they would be held accountable for those actions. Who knows, it might even improve Congressional attendance records.

Portrait of Power

Portrait of King Louis XIV of France by Hyacinthe Rigaud.

Louis XIV (1638-1715) is my favorite historical figure. He reigned longer than any other recorded European monarch (72 years) at the zenith of French power and prestige. Often called "The Sun King", Louis made himself the center of his universe by commanding that all policy decisions had to go through him. A prodigious worker and famous lover of women, he never shrank from his duty. However the highly personal and centralized system of government he created depended largely upon his own personality, influence, and energy. His successors often found themselves unable to live up to his high standards, helping to create many of the issues that led to the French Revolution of 1789.

Forgotten Realms: The Papal States

The Papal States, or The States of the Church were a political entity ruled by the Popes for over a thousand years until they were dismantled and forcibly annexed into the newly formed Kingdom of Italy between 1860 and 1870.

In the wake of the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Bishops of Rome gradually acquired secular as well as spiritual power over a swath of central Italy. Alternately supporting and opposing the various great powers of Europe, the popes managed to gain recognition as absolute sovereign over his lands.

The power of the Catholic Church could not, however, withstand the growing currents of nationalism during the 19th century, and despite the best efforts of Pope Pius IX, the temporal power of the papacy was terminated in a brief war in September 1870. From that time until the signing of the Lateran Treaty in 1929 with Mussolini, the Popes lived as "Prisoners in the Vatican" refusing to set foot outside the Vatican, as that would be interpreted as them accepting the loss of the Papal States.

The Lateran Treaty established the Vatican City State as the world's smallest nation and recognized the sovereignty of the Pope over that territory. Thus Vatican City can be seen as the successor state to the States of the Church.

Flag Coat of arms
Anthem Noi vogliam Dio, Vergine Maria ( - 1857) (Italian) "We want God, Virgin Mary" Gran Marcia Trionfale (1857 - 1870) (Italian) "Great Triumphal March"
Map of the Papal States (green) in 1700 (around its greatest extent).
Capital	Rome
Language(s)	Latin, Italian
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Government	Theocracy
Pope
- 752	Stephen (elect)
- 1846–1878	Pius IX
History
- Establishment	752
- Codification	781
- 1st Disestablishment	February 15, 1798
- 2nd Disestablishment	September 20, 1870
- Vatican City	February 11, 1929
Currency	Papal States scudo (–1866) Papal States lira (1866–1870)

Cool Picture of the Day

Lee Lawrie's Statue of President George Washington at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Under the light of the stained glass windows, it makes for an interesting juxtaposition of the emblems of church and state.

Source: AlbinoFlea