Friday, July 15, 2011

how to storm a bastille without really trying

So, it was Bastille Day a few days ago and I completely forgot about it. I drew a comic last minute. In before midnight so it still counts. I posted it on my tumblr and soon realized almost no one knows what Bastille Day is, let alone what a huguenot is. 
Gather 'round children, and you shall receive a brief lesson in the meaning of Bastille Day. 
For starters, every year on the 14th of July Bastille Day or French National Day is celebrated across France. Think of it as their 4th of July. It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération which was celebrated on the one year anniversary of the storming of the Bastille. 
The storming of the Bastille was important for several reasons, but first we must explain the Bastille itself. It was a medieval fortress and prison in Paris. When it was stormed it only housed 7 inmates, (Marquis de Sade had been there only 10 days before, but was transferred. so close...so close)  but the people were not after the inmates, they were after the gunpowder and weapons housed there. (here in modern times we know not to house our deadly, deadly weapons with our deadly, deadly criminals) The reason for this was because there had been a serious of rumors that put the public on edge due to their major economic crisis, since France had intervened in the American Revolution and put on quite a fiscal strain. 8,800 people gathered and subsequently stormed the Bastille successfully. This event marked a very important point of the French Revolution. This lead to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, a veeeerrrry important document. 
Maybe these events do not matter to the american people, we tend to be a self-centered bunch. While this isn't a very broad lesson on why Bastille Day is important, it gives a little insight. 
btw: the huguenots were Calvinists, or the Protestant Reformed Church of France. They were harsh ciritics of the catholic church and broke away from it. If you look up the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre you will get an idea of how tense these relations were. The Edict of Nantes made protestants legal, but it was revoked by Louis XIV. Many of them were put in prison during the time of the French Revolution, some in the Bastille. 


Also, here is my comic:

Monday, July 11, 2011

updating with helpful information? now you're just spoiling us.

It has been far too long since I have blogged. I ended up getting a Tumblr that I tend to update more since it's always a quick phrase or photograph. I reserve this for more lengthy posts. Though, this one won't be much of anything.
Earlier today I was perusing the internet and I found this site; giant germs, you say?
I, honestly, cannot help myself. I want to have a bunch of little stuffed germs. I have determined that whenever I have children they will have stuffed germs, and germ paraphernalia. Just look at that adorable, common cold hand soap dispenser.
I would, most assuredly, cuddle with the flu knowing I would not become ill the following morning.
I have determined my future parenting tactics might result in unusual children, but that doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother them. Silly, little ovums; they have no idea what's coming.
Anyway, that is not the only thing I found. I also stumbled upon this site on how to be green without being an annoying hippie about it.  I have resolved that with our next apartment we will be more organized and less wasteful. Also going to get Joshua to eat a little healthier, don't want him to leave me a widow. He promised to come back as ghost, but if I can't annoyingly tussle his hair then what's the point?
But I digress, this site has a lot of interesting items and things that will definitely result in us saving money over time. Plus the added bonus of not punching the earth in the face with all my plastic bags and other non-biodegradable globe-killing implements.
I mean, this reusable replacement for a sandwich bag is genius and cute. Can you really ask for more?