Paracultural Calendar for May 3

[Mark Thibodeau]

On this day in *1469*, Italian historian and political thinker *Niccolò
Machiavelli* - author of *The Prince* and favorite philosopher of
neoconservative Godfather *Leo Strauss* - is born.

*****

On this day in *1616*, prolifically productive wordsmith *William
Shakespeare* is alleged to have died, although some people claim he passed
away on April 23, while others claim he never even existed, at all...or at
least that he didn't write any of his plays. Francis Bacon did, or
Christopher Marlowe.

*****

On this day in *1802*, America's capital city, Washington, D.C. is
incorporated, featuring a *distinctly diabolical layout*
<http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/chapter3/>, courtesy of Master Mason
and civic planner *Pierre Charles L'Enfante*. Quite disturbing that the old
esoteric saying "as above, so below" should apply to road maps as well as
it does to... other things.

<http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lSwDuMZzKNs/T6IcGR8RBsI/AAAAAAAAAq4/WTbS7j4P-uE/s1600/image005.png>

*****

On this day in *1938*, the *Vatican* officially recognizes
Generalissimo *Francisco
Franco*'s government in Spain. In the forty years between his inauguration
and the end of his murderous, fascist reign in the 1970's, it was never
suggested that perhaps it might be a good idea to deny Franco the right to
receive Holy Communion, as a symbolic show of disapproval for his brutal
tactics. Come to think of it, they never said "peep" to *Mussolini*,
either. American Democratic politicians, on the other hand...

*****

On this day in *1963*, the Reverend Doctor *Martin Luther King Junior* delivers
his "I have a dream" speech. Meanwhile, in Birmingham, Alabama, the police
force there decide to confront the Birmingham campaign protesters with
fire-hoses, billy-clubs and vicious attack dogs. That night, newscasts
around the world are filled with King's powerful oratory juxtaposed with
scenes of brutal and violent police suppression.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://waste.org/pipermail/pynchon-l/attachments/20150503/290d6f8a/attachment.html>