Vergeltungsgeschichte
May. 4th, 2004 05:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rain_gryphonWell, payback can certainly be a bitch :) There's some fellow from New Jersey who won a bunch of Jackson Family memorabilia in a law suit a few months back. He meant to set up a business where you could pay to look at the old letters, costumes and such online. Michael Jackson sued him to keep him from doing that, apparently just being pissy because someone else was going to make money off his name. Jackson won the case.
Today it turns out that the website fellow subsequently invited the police to come sort through the trunks, and having looked over what's in there they've subpoenaed a bunch of it as evidence. Since (for my British friends) an American prosecutor can't mount 'fishing expeditions', they'd have had no way to learn what was in there except that the owner invited them to search it. I love a good tale of vengeance :)
*****
I found this accidentally today, via a banner link from 'Jack'. It's neat:
http://www.shivae.net/shivae
This has been ongoing for three years now, and I never knew it was there.
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I'm told the new issue of Linux Format comes with Mandrake 10, which uses the new 2.6.3 kernel. I may look for that.
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My formal education in Roman history stopped with the accession of Constantine. I'd always kind of half-meant to learn about the Fall and the Dark Ages, but never did in any more than a superficial fashion. I've finally started to remedy that, and I'm reading a nice outline history of Europe from 400 to 1500. I got it at the Damnation Navy for $1 :)
The author made the (to me) amazing assertion that 'der Nibelungenlied' is actually a distorted, half-remembered account of Aetius and his legions putting down the Burgundian rebellion of 436, with the aid of Rome's Hunnish allies. I'd never suspected.
Things like this fascinate me. If it's true (and a bit of googling seems to support the idea) then in just 1500 years a major historical event has turned to legend, and bears only superficial resemblance to written records of Aetius' campaign. More like 800 years, really, since the current version is based on one written down in the 13th century.
It's interesting as well that in written accounts from Aetius' time, even the Germans (by no means sissies themselves) seem appalled by the ferocity of the Huns.
Today it turns out that the website fellow subsequently invited the police to come sort through the trunks, and having looked over what's in there they've subpoenaed a bunch of it as evidence. Since (for my British friends) an American prosecutor can't mount 'fishing expeditions', they'd have had no way to learn what was in there except that the owner invited them to search it. I love a good tale of vengeance :)
*****
I found this accidentally today, via a banner link from 'Jack'. It's neat:
http://www.shivae.net/shivae
This has been ongoing for three years now, and I never knew it was there.
*****
I'm told the new issue of Linux Format comes with Mandrake 10, which uses the new 2.6.3 kernel. I may look for that.
*****
My formal education in Roman history stopped with the accession of Constantine. I'd always kind of half-meant to learn about the Fall and the Dark Ages, but never did in any more than a superficial fashion. I've finally started to remedy that, and I'm reading a nice outline history of Europe from 400 to 1500. I got it at the Damnation Navy for $1 :)
The author made the (to me) amazing assertion that 'der Nibelungenlied' is actually a distorted, half-remembered account of Aetius and his legions putting down the Burgundian rebellion of 436, with the aid of Rome's Hunnish allies. I'd never suspected.
Things like this fascinate me. If it's true (and a bit of googling seems to support the idea) then in just 1500 years a major historical event has turned to legend, and bears only superficial resemblance to written records of Aetius' campaign. More like 800 years, really, since the current version is based on one written down in the 13th century.
It's interesting as well that in written accounts from Aetius' time, even the Germans (by no means sissies themselves) seem appalled by the ferocity of the Huns.
