With a flip of a switch in Prudhoe Bay, crude oil from the nation's largest oil field begins flowing south down the Trans-Alaska pipeline to the ice-free port of Valdez, Alaska. The steel pipeline, 48 inches in diameter, winds through 800 miles of Alaskan wilderness, crossing three Arctic mountain ranges and hundreds of rivers and streams. Environmentalists fought to prevent its construction, saying it would destroy a pristine ecosystem, but they were ultimately overruled by Congress, who saw it as a way of lessening America's dependence on foreign oil. The Trans-Alaska pipeline was the world's largest privately funded construction project to that date, costing $8 billion and taking three years to build.

"Oil flows in Alaska." 2008. The History Channel website. 20 Jun 2008, 07:50 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=6934.

0451 - Roman and Barbarian warriors brought Attila's army to a halt at the Catalaunian Plains in eastern France.

1782 - The U.S. Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States.

1791 - King Louis XVI of France was captured while attempting to flee the country in the so-called Flight to Varennes.

1793 - Eli Whitney applied for a cotton gin patent. He received the patent on March 14. The cotton gin initiated the American mass-production concept.

1898 - The U.S. Navy seized the island of Guam enroute to the Philippines to fight the Spanish.

1923 - France announced it would seize the Rhineland to assist Germany in paying its war debts.

1941 - The U.S. Army Air Force was established, replacing the Army Air Corps.

1943 - Race-related rioting erupted in Detroit. Federal troops were sent in two days later to end the violence that left more than 30 dead.

1955 - The AFL and CIO agreed to combine names and a merge into a single group.

1967 - Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the conviction.

1997 - The tobacco industry agreed to a massive settlement in exchange for major relief from mounting lawsuits and legal bills.

West Virginia enters the Union

During the Civil War, West Virginia is admitted into the Union as the 35th U.S. state, or the 24th state if the secession of the 11 Southern states were taken into account. The same day, Arthur Boreman was inaugurated as West Virginia's first state governor.

When Virginia voted to secede after the outbreak of the Civil War, the majority of West Virginians opposed the secession. Delegates met at Wheeling, and on June 11, 1861, nullified the Virginian ordinance of secession and proclaimed "The Restored Government of Virginia," headed by Francis Pierpont. Confederate forces occupied a portion of West Virginia during the war, but West Virginian statehood was nonetheless approved in a referendum and a state constitution drawn up. In April 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the admission of West Virginia into the Union effective June 20, 1863.

"West Virginia enters the Union." 2008. The History Channel website. 20 Jun 2008, 07:52 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=5109.

United States and Soviet Union will establish a "hot line"

To lessen the threat of an accidental nuclear war, the United States and the Soviet Union agree to establish a "hot line" communication system between the two nations. The agreement was a small step in reducing tensions between the United States and the USSR following the October 1962 Missile Crisis in Cuba, which had brought the two nations to the brink of nuclear war.

"United States and Soviet Union will establish a "hot line"." 2008. The History Channel website. 20 Jun 2008, 07:53 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=2704.

Este tema pertenece al "Chimera" de 2004 y es de esas canciones que encajan perfectamente con su nombre. Canciones que musicalmente transmiten (al menos a mi) lo que indica su nombre. En traducirla ni me molesto, estoy seguro que perdería mucha fuerza. Me quedo con lo que me transmite la música, la forma de cantarla -aunque Attila no es que sea un cantante de premio-. Es impactante.

Por supuesto, la nota destable la da el señor Hellhammer, con una bateria precisa, rápida e impactante.

Peas in a heart-shaped, bloodsoaked pod, these two?

Okay, so we’re a couple days late with our response to Bo Diddley’s demise. But the National Evil has never claimed to be on top of the news. (Actually, we prefer the news to be on top; Evil has back problems.)

Truth be told, we didn’t feel compelled to comment until we read the assorted memorial pieces devoted to the Diddler. First thing we liked? That Bo wrote not one, but two songs invoking his own name: “Bo Diddley” and “Hey, Bo Diddley”. The Evil has always been enamored of the 80s band Big Country for writing a song called “In a Big Country” (from their eponymous album, to boot!); how could we fail to be impressed by Bo?

What intrigued us even more was seeing the lyrics from “Who Do You Love?” in print for the first time. Sure, we knew Bo wrote this tune, but in our consciousness it was always The Doors performing it. Therefore, the song’s bizarre, phantasmagoric lyrics seemed like nothing more than another garbled product of Jim Morrison’s mind. Our apologies, Bo.

Let’s sample those lyrics:

I got 47 miles of barbed wire

I use a cobra snake for a necktie

I got a brand new house by the roadside

Made from rattlesnake hide

I got a brand new chimney up on top

Made from a human skull

Now come on, baby, take a walk with me now

And tell me, who do you love?

This got the Evil to thinking: don’t these read like the lyrics to a song some ancient warlord or tyrant would hum to himself as he catapulted plague-ravaged corpses over the wall of a besieged city? A Tamerlane, an Attila, an Ivan the Terrible?

Or . . . given the sudden shift from “human skull” to “who do you love?” . . . the greatest killer/lover of them all: Genghis Khan.

As reported by our sister publication, the National Geographic, Genghis has an estimated 16 million male descendents in Asia. For context, that’s .5% of the entire human population. So can’t you just see him singing “Who Do You Love?” to any of his thousands of wives as he lured them into his yurt?

Perhaps, like so many of us, Bo was born into the wrong century. Perhaps we should imagine him slumped with his guitar over a sturdy Mongolian steed, composing Genghis Khan’s love ballads as the arrows sing around him . . . perhaps that is the greatest tribute we can offer dear, departed Bo.

See you on that great big steppe in the sky, Bo, drinking yak’s blood.

Das Leben Attilas könnt ihr gerne bei Wikipedia nachlesen, ich erzähle euch nur etwas über seinen Tod.
Es geschah 453 n.Chr. in seiner Hochzeitsnacht mit der Gotin Ildikó. Eine hundertprozentige Klärung des Todes gibt es nicht.

Dass Attila an einem Blutsturz starb ist nicht bewiesen, soll aber überliefert sein. Auf jeden Fall kam sein Tod sehr plötzlich. Und ein Blutsturz wäre bei seinem Lebensstil nichts Überraschendes gewesen.

Attila trank sehr viel Alkohol und könnte sich dadurch im Laufe der Zeit eine Leberzirrhose zugezogen haben. Diese könnte einen Pfortaderhochdruck bewirkt haben, eine Stauung des Blutes, sodass dieses nicht mehr den normalen Weg nehmen kann.

Ein plötzlicher Blutsturz ist somit nicht ausgeschlossen und könnte auch als Nasenbluten überliefert worden sein. Denn der Betroffene hustet oder bricht Blut. Der große Blutverlust kann zum Tod führen.

Mehr Infos: Interessantes Interview vom ZDF über die Hunnen mit einem Archäologen.

So könnte der Hunnenkönig Attila ausgesehen haben. (welt-online)

If you're wondering what Strangeways is you can take a look at my previous post about Strangeways.

They have also uploaded a bunch of photoes to the Strangeways pool on Flickr, if you have some minutes to kill, take a look. Here is one of my favorites from Cecilie, the "Telephone in Kurtaisi".

When these people, who are presently known generally as Huns, first appeared in southern Asia in present day Russia, as well as the new Republics formed to the south from the old U.S.S.R., after its dissolution, they were a very distinct people, according to appearance, from all the other resident tribes which bordered upon the lands of Scythia. They were shorter in height, possessed broad, thick shoulders, and thick necks. Their faces were swarthy and described by a Roman (Priscus) as "lumpish." They had eyes which were likened by this same Roman to "pin holes." They scarred a son's face at birth, not with the intention of making them fierce-looking (which seems to be common amongst warriors), but to teach them even before their first milk that they must learn to deal with wounds. One must focus first upon killing the enemy. There will be time enough after the battle, if one survived, to tend to wounds.

Accordiing to historian Arthur Koestler in his THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE, these Huns wore their hair in long, never-cut fashion, unwashed, but sometimes colored a reddish shade, not given to baths, and using a sort of "howl" when attacking on horseback. As a matter of fact, the Huns rarely if ever changed clothes, letting the clothing wear and/or rot off. This, too, if accurate, might have been a strategy for victory, as it would be another sort of "weapon" of war to use against the enemy. One should not overlook uncleanliness as a tool of war. However, one supposes that over time, developing some relationships with Rome and Constantinople, they may have improved somewhat in the matter of toilet care and clothing.

To continue on this subject so as to demonstrate the use of uncleanliness and the utility it provides of a psychological kind, I recall a description in a text I puchased years ago, relating to prison life in Leavenworth FCI. There was an unruly inmate in his cell. I cannot recall with certainty but he may have set a mattress on fire or caused a flood besides making a noise nuisance. At any rate the decision was made to send correction officers into his cell to subdue him. According to the text, the matter was very distasteful, as the inmate was naked, armed, and had smeared his own refuse all over his body. Consider the edge that such a warrior might present if multiplied by tens of thousands.

The Huns were not the only fierce warriors in the area bordering Scythia (and everywhere else they resided), but they did appear on the scene with advantages. Not only did they appear fierce (and ugly), but they were outstanding horsemen. They seemed to exist upon spoils of warfare, eschewing farming and herding in any sort of settled fashion. For them, as a strategy for living well, their taking from others was the most sensible approach, so long as others went to the trouble of producing food and craftswork, as well as collected & tended herds. For at this time the Huns chief source of wealth were two: 1) newly born sons and 2) other peoples's property.

Attila arrived on the scene as the leader prior to 445 A.D. He was aided by his brother, Bleda, who was himself formidable, and they formed a sort tandem leadership. Sometime after 445, Attila murdered Bleda. The Huns fought with all the other tribal groups, either subjecting them or causing them to flee either to the west and north or into the Roman Empire's boundary. By 445 A.D. Attila was the undisputed leader of not only the Huns, but united all the non-Hunnish tribes in his "area of influence" under him. Generally, they paid tribute and existed in a sort of feudal relationship with Attila's Huns. Toward the end of Attila's rule, the Western Roman Empire at Rome had been reduced to virtually a slave state. It seems likely that many rich Romans may have transferred their property, as well as themselves, to the far western reaches of the Empire, such as it now was.

I suspect that Attila may have heard rumors of wealth there. That may have been his primary motivation for leading his armies westward.

Tribute was highly prized by Attila. He generally remained at peace with other kingdoms, including the Roman Empire--East and West, so long as they met Attila's demands for tribute. The immense accumulation of wealth also allowed Attila to bestow generous gifts to key people among his Huns, as well as the various tribal leaders, whose people he has subdued. Attila and the Huns did not seem too interested in cultural trappings, as was to be found in other adjacent kingdoms. He certainly seemed to "dig" power. Wealth was an aspect of power. He almost certainly preferred the pleasure of seeing the mighty kings of the world paying him tribute than the gold and silver, per se. This was a taste of sadism, which would suffice until he road again into battle.

Yet, over time, even the fierceness of the Huns may have begun a slow, barely noticeable waning. With conquest as the Hun's motivation and the gaining of spoils the "fruit" of and justification for conquest--a sort of "body count" (or "booty" count), a softening of the Hun spirit must have occurred and been noticeable particularly to the older warriors. This may have weighed on Attila's mind.

After all, Attila himself could look about and see that his army included a lot of Germanic and Slavic warriors. He had taken a wife from one of the Germanic tribes, after first killing her father, who was a tribal king. There were marriages between the Aristocratic women of the Eastern Roman Empire. Among his ordinary Hun troops, there must have been many occasions when Germanic or Slavic women were taken as one of their wives, especially as the general wealth of the Huns under Attila increased and "trickled down." After all, when a man feels that he has the money he will take a wife, If he has considerable money, he takes more than one.

However such things unfold, it does have the effect of slowly changing a people. By the standards of Rome both Slavic and Germanic tribes might well seem to be "barbarians." Yet, by this time much of the Roman fighting soldiers were of Germanic descent. Rome, itself, had changed by its diversity from the early days of the Roman Republic. Change may be good or bad, according to the eyes of the beholder. The only thing certain is that it is no more the way it was.

Consider: "But as Gibbon showed, and as Roman historians themselves recounted at the time, all this changed during the period of the Empire--and because of the Empire. In the course of building a vast multi-ethnic and multi-cultural empire the old Roman stock was wasted on the battlefield, and citizenship came to be extended by degrees to include not only freed slaves but the majority of the peoples of the conquered cities, however alien these were in blood and values. Roman armies had to be filled with mercenaries, and not only did Rome die for want of Roman stock, but it also died for want of the spirit of loyalty and sense of common values that cannot be found in multi-cultural societies."   [THE TEUTON AND THE ROMAN, abridged & condensed from Charles Kingsley's by R. Peterson, p.8]

Note: This is a truth certain and has been utilized as strategy even in our time, as seen in America's immigration policy and its negation, as well. Policy is the necessary fruit of some degree of premeditation. Likewise, the destruction of policy or the substitution of re-interpreted, antithetical policy is premeditated. It bespeaks enemies within, whether by means of a "Trojan horse" or "home grown" or a combination of the two. The peril is that these enemies rule.

The strength of the Western Roman army had passsed into German hands, but the strength of Attila remained with his Huns. Oddly enough, the "show down" between the West Roman Empire and the Hunnish Empire of Attila occurred much to the west of both. In the Hun "rainbow coalition" of forces were East Goths, Slavs, and a batch of other non-Hunnish people. These people generally admired Attila as a great warrior, and felt that they would be participating in a great victory with much spoil. It had been so in the past.

What sent them west?  To the south were inviting riches but they were in the possession of a rather powerful kingdoms. The Eastern Roman Empire was still a force to be reckoned with. Further south beyond rugged mountains were Assyrians and their allies, who sometimes put pressure themselves in northerly martial salients, which were exploratory in nature.

The paying of tribute by these kingdoms had more appeal to Attila. The west was possessed by Germanic tribes with whom Attila had many skirmishes and pitched battles. Although the East Goths were substantially annexed, subdued and tribute-paying tribes, they were not all paying. Some were trouble-makers from Attila's point of view--even cheeky. Attila had a fierce temper. He may have been angered by Goths further west, and the issue had become personal. Even the greatest generals are subject to vain imagings.

From Attila's point of view the Goths were just a batch of squabbling tribes, as likely as not to fiercely fight one another as anyone else. He may have had considerable experience manipulating this tribal trait. If so, it would have lent to him considerable confidence that he could recruit and use German against German.

The Tribes of Israel had often fought amongst themselves. For some people, it is almost a trait and marker.

Consider: "Germanic Angles and Saxons and Jutes, Danes and Norsemen pressed on the borders of the decaying, no longer truly Roman, empire, and conquered and settled the British Isles. Germanic Francs conquered Gaul, and thereby changed its name to France. Germanic Burgundians established a separate realm west of the Rhine, which later became incorporated into France. And Germanic Goths destroyed Rome, and held Italy for a while, before their place was taken by the Germanic Lombards in the north, and by Germanic Normans, as a thin ruling nobility, in the south....But one weakness particularly worked against the Germanic peoples of that day, as it has done through the generations down to this present century. Although loyal to their own individual nations, the Germanic peoples could never seem to develop a sense of racial loyalty that would span petty national jealousies. Conquering the vast multi-ethnic population of latter-day Rome and the Western part of the once-powerful Roman empire, the Germanic victors were themselves eventually destroyed by their willingness to fight each other.

"When the Goths lost Italy, it was because of the persistent readiness of German nations to war against each other...."   [THE TEUTON AND THE ROMAN, supra, p.9]

I believe that Attila saw that trait in the Goths, just as Tiglath-pileser of Assyria saw it among the Israelites, when he invaded the Northern Kingdom "in the days of Pekah," taking away Reubenites, Gadites, the half-tribe of Manasseh, as well as the tribes of "Asher, Issachar, and Zebulun, and distributed them in and on the borders of Assyria, where he built cities."  [MISSING LINKS DISCOVERED IN ASSYRIAN TABLETS, E. Raymond Capt, p.67] There were other Assyrian kings and Babylonian, too, who saw this weakness. Would the Israelite people ever have been defeated if they were united and walked in ways pleasing to the Most High? No likely. The same might have obtained for the East Goths, and certainly for all the Goths.

What the Goths were like is often issued as fancy in the guise of thoughtful speculation. "Their language has been happily preserved to us in Ulfilas' translation of the Scriptures. For these Goths, the greater number of them at least, were by this time Christians, or very nearly such...He had translated the Bible for them, and had constructed a Gothic alphabet for that purpose. He had omitted, however (prudently as he considered) the books of Kings, with their histories of the Jewish (sic) wars. The Goths, he held, were only too fond of fighting already, and 'needed in that matter the bit, rather than the spur.'"  [THE TEUTON AND THE ROMAN, supra, p.37]

I personally suspect that the real reason that Bishop Ulfilas omitted the Book of Kings is that the Roman Catholic Church realised that the parallel between Goth and Israelite would not be missed. This ignorance would serve the interests of those who desired this vast pool of people to focus their religious faith to the shaping hand of Rome. Nor is this cover up limited to Rome, but is common today, which is why one sees the Israelites described as "Jews." This is strikingly dishonest practice which calls into question the ethical and moral grounding of all religious figures who do so.

There is no anti-Christian burden born by the critic of the Roman Catholic Church. Plotting was no more uncommon in Rome then, than it is today in the "high politics" of the Federal American Empire. Consider:

"And what if he discovered (or thought that he discovered) that the Catholic Clergy, with Pope John at their head, were in the very same plot for bringing in the Emperor of Constantinople, on the grounds of religion; because he was persecuting the Arian Goths at Constantinople, and therefore would help them to persecute them in Italy?..."  [THE TEUTON AND THE ROMAN, supra,p79]

Around 450-451 A.D. Attila found himself in a puzzling state of mind. He had an urge to punish the Eastern Roman Empire at Constantinople and at the same time an urging from Honoria, Valentinian's sister, to save her at Rome. Although the Roman adventure was temptingly easy, relatively, it could wait. Almost by impulse, Attila headed west, instead. I say that only because I don't know the real reason. Yet, surely there were reasons.

Attila's army flooded into Gaul. With him were many Germanic warriors. As they headed westward, the alarum must have gone forth, carried by hundreds of couriers, rallying the various Germanic tribes to this new threat. One can imagine some housewife demanding: "Thoric! Where are you going? You promised to cure the hides, fix the roof, salt the venison," and on and on. And he replying: "I go fight Attila!"

Be that as it may, the forces gathered for the great test. Consider:

"At the great battle of Chalons, in the year AD 451, he (Attila) fought it out: Hun, Slav, Tartar, and Finn, backed by Gepid and Herule, East Goth and Lombard, against West Goth, Frank and Burgund, Roman and the Bretons of Armorica. Aetius shewed himself that day, as always, a general--the Marlborough of his time--and conquered. Attila and his hordes rolled away eastward, and into Italy for Rome.

"That is the Hunnenschlacht; 'a battle,' as Jornandes calls it, atrox, mulitplex, immane, pertinax. Antiquity, he says, tells of nothing like it. No man who had lost that sight could say that he had seen aught worth seeing.--A fight gigantic, supernatural in vastness and horror, and the legends which still hang about the place. You may see one of them in von Kaulbach's immortal design--the ghosts of the Huns and the ghosts of the Germans rising from their graves on the battlenight in every year, to fight it over again in the clouds, while the country far and wide trembles at their ghostly hurrah. No wonder men remember that Hunnenschlacht. Many consider that it saved Europe; that it was one of the decisive battles of the world."   [THE TEUTON AND THE ROMAN, supra,p.51]

Perhaps this is a bit romantic and overstated, yet it was the beginning of the end of Hunnish westward salients. There have been many massive battles fought in world history. "Who's the number one warrior" has been as big an issue for men throughout history, as it is today in college and professional sports. You got to be a "football hero" to get a date with a "beautiful doll," probably had its dim birth as a concept in the conquering warriors of old who took whatever woman they wanted. The modern version is merely a "gallantized guise" for the "spoils of war."

One version of the unexpected death of Attila involved a "taken" wife. Maybe it is true. There certainly would be justice accorded him from his "spoil" personally, as well as being a symbol of justice due the endless number of women who fate was to be a spoil of war. Consider:

"But Attila was not ruined...Over and above his innumerable wives, he seized a beautiful German girl whose father he had killed. When his people came in the morning, the girl sat weeping; but Etzel, the scourge, lay dead in a pool of gore. She said that he had burst a blood-vessel. The Teutons whispered among themselves, that like a free-born Teuton, she had slain her tyrant..."  [THE TEUTON AND THE ROMAN, supra, p.52]

Given the alleged appearance of the Huns, it doesn't seem reasonable that a Goth would be physically attracted to him. Still, he may have had "animal magnetism" which would completely undue the average woman--Goth or otherwise. If the German lass has a cruel or brutal father, Attila might be a welcomed relief. One doesn't know. Still, on average I believe that it is unlikely that she would have had feelings for this man, who, afterall, killed her father. Faking tears of remorse and mourning may have been a precaution against sudden and merciless death at the hands of his lieutenants. Mourning becomes a woman in these circumstances.

Without the great, fierce Attila leading them, the days of grand sovereignty by the Huns over their coerced allies were numbered. He must have been a truly great general, possessed of some of the instinctual and inductively acquired battle savvy that Alexander the Great had. Was he ever tutored by Hunnish scholars, so to speak, on the art of war? No one knows. Given the culture, there seems to be limits to the possibilities. I would guess that he was a great athlete, as was Alexander the Great. No one will ever teach the battle schemes of Attila at some military college or other. He may even be held in derision. Yet, through the force of his personality and warriorship, he became a great historical figure, and briefly united under him fierce, quarrelsome and disparate tribes of people, who somehow fought as a team successfully. This is rare. That it ended soon after his death signifies the extraordinary power he wielded.

And the end? Consider: "And then the hordes broke up. Ardarich raised the Teuton Gepids and Ostrogoths. The Teutons who had followed Attila, turned on their Tartar conquerors, the only people who had ever subdued German men, and then only by force of overpowering numbers. At Netad, upon the great plain between the Drave and the Danube, they fought the second Hunnenschlacht, and the Germans conquered. Thirty thousand Huns fell on that dreadful day, and the rest streamed away into the heart of Asia, into the infinite unknown deserts from whence the foul miscreants had streamed forth, and left the Teutons masters of the world. The battle of Netad; that, and not Chalons, to my mind, was the saving battle of Europe.

"So Rome was saved; but only for a few years. The decadent Valentinian rewarded Aetius for defending Europe, by stabbing with his own hand in his own palace, the hero of Chalons;..."  [THE TEUTON AND THE ROMAN. supra, p.52]

The figure in "thirty thousand Huns fell" seems almost Biblical.

Many men love war. The thing they love in times kills not only them, perhaps, but their people's prosperity certainly. Men such as Alexander the Great and Attila start their conquering ways on the backs of their own fierce warriors. In time deaths take a toll on the original human stock which provided the great leader his victories. Substitutions must be made which are as close as possible to the originals. As this is not possible, the quality of the fighting force loses, as cohersive spirit is lost. Different people from different cultures will not think alike. In times this will result in increasing dysfunction. Internal disputes will mount. The great leader will have to spend much more time making peace within his array of soldiers, then in preparing thoughtfully where he is going next and why he is doing it and what good results should flow from the decision. In short thinking ahead becomes secondary to bandaging internal disputes. This is true then, and it is true now.

Must people are not aware that in Vietnam, the incidents of "fragging" was 100% black American troops dropping a grenade (or similar deadly weapon) into a white 2nd lieutenant's tent (or that of 1st lieutenant, captain's, or major's). No doubt white sargeants were killed the same way. Others may have been shot "accidentily" or otherwise, out in the field or jungle. In the brigs racial strife was common, resulting in more than one pitched battle within these confines. Was the defeat of the U.S. effort in Vietnam doomed by the military's diversity? Will the well-trained U.S. force which is a citadel of diversity prevail in Iraq? Hard to say. In Vietnam the enemy was homogeneous, and the U.S. lost. In Iraq the enemy is more diverse, including Kurds and other ethnic groups. This was why it was difficult to rule by anyone other than a "strongman" such as Saddam Hussein. When the U.S. then killed the agent of stability there, Saddam, and substituted a "democracy," instability was the new king.

If the U.S. can find another Attila to place over the Iraqi citizens, none will dare to complain. Attila was a man who knew how to deal with diversity. America is led by people who imagine thay do. John Lennon is their songbird. Help! I need somebody!

Downnlaced, 2008.

Alors, attention, pas l'Attila qui ravage les plaines, sinon, ma pelouse serait déjà tondue ...

non, l'Attila des blogs !

Voilà que je croise dans mes ballades un billet qui me plait. C'est toujours comme ça que ça commence.

Je laisse un commentaire et comme le texte est superbe, je fouille plus loin.
Seulement voilà, le blog en question, il existe depuis 2003 ! imaginez le boulot de fou qu'il m'a donné !

Et encore, je n'ai pas tout à fait fini ...

Et je commente. Parce que, si j'ai quelque chose à dire, je ne me gêne point n'est ce pas.
C'est bien le principe des blogs ? oui !

Parait que j'ai donc ravagé un blog et fait pêter le compteur (remise à zéro dernièrement).

Je n'en fais pas autant partout, attention !

Y'en a qui valent le détour, croyez moi. Alors, plutôt que d'allumer la TV, qui va me faire perdre quelques neurones, je surfe sur les blogs.
Je suis devenue accro des blogs. J'avoue !

Et pour me défendre, pas besoin d'avocat : si les blogs sont mauvais, je ne fais que passer. J'élimine d'office ceux des jeunes (je n'ai rien contre eux mais les photos des potes et les poêmes d'amour ...).

Je passe mon temps à m'enrichir non ? [rien trouvé de mieux à faire de mes vacances]

 «Un trésor de belles maximes est préférable à un amas de richesses.»
Socrate

A tous ceux qui pourraient être mes prochaines victimes, je vous informe que je suis cachée derrière mon écran et, qu'à part quelques pépins, la pomme n'a pas de vrais crocs.

non starò qui a dilungarmi. le immagini parlano da sole:

DR2. grande fidelik.

Ordo ad Chao was recorded 2006 in MOLLA STUDIO except the second part of"A wise birthgiver"wich was recorded at MYHOME - YOURTOMB STUDIOS,mastered by Gyikful with Attila at VAASTUDIO Europe and finnaly released at 2007 In EUROPE.

It is also the return of Atilla Csihar since the days of "De mysteriis dom Sathanas".All lyrics where made by Attila except "Anti"wich was made by Atilla & Blasphemer.The metal slipcase is limited to 3000 copies(I'm proud member of one of them!!!!heheheeh),there is also a release by "season of mist"of 1000 vynil copies in orange & 500 in marble both includes a poster.

I also have to say that Maniac was forced to leave the band.

This record has 8 tracks:

1.A wise birthgiver:Well this is kind a intro song,the constant repeating of the guitar riffs in diferent sound lines is a bit weired.The lyrics are very hardly to understand but they speak about how the birthgiver gives live and how about he becomes wise.The tubes where handled by Mr.Knut Valle.It is 3,30min long.He is the one who gives birth to the water,start of every life form.

2.Wall of water:So this is the first song of this record.It has a short intro of 42sec.It continues with lots of anger and hate for humanity,the song tempo slows down at 2,17min and it became very weired until min 3,54 reaches where all the shapless things starts to become a great song,that talks about the hate of the nature to humanity.

I think it is also talking of the unlimited power of water taht can create(like everybody knows)and destroy at his own will. Its play time is 4,40min.

3.Great work of ages:So there is also a kind of a intro thath stops at sec 0,22 with an incredible silence(remember that silence os also a musical note)just to break it at min 0,30 with an incredible fast tempo that makes you insane until min 0,59 where it slows down and Attila begins with te lirycs in a kind of whispering tone,on min 2,03 the song regains on speed and anger,also the lyrics are easier to listen to.It will keep the same line until the en of the song.

I thing the meaning of the song is to look the title in an ironic way,its more about all the mess that humanity has done till all ages(look at the great work of ages of humanity).This song is 3,52min long.

4.Deconsecrate:This song starts with a scream full of anger(even if some of you think that its just a sensless scream there is a lyric to listen),until sec 0,35 its hard to understand the lyrics but then it changes to a more comprehensible sound,on min o,59 attila changes his voice to a more clean type,on min 2,00 the song regains strenght and speed,until min 3,18 not really significative changes happen at this moment the song slows down and it sound like there is a hammer,to regain its speed on min 3,30,well the guitar dont make any change until end its kind anoying because it sound like a bee.This song is 4,07 min long.

This song is about how humanity drives into a death status of their own mind,needing of someone to tell them what has to be done,deconsecrating their own minds into a hole lot of nothing

5.Illuminate/Eliminate:This I think,is one of the darkest songs I have ever listen too,you have to listen to it at a considerable volume to hear all of the weired thing that they have put into this song,this a song that fot myself represents the true feeling of black metal.Well there is no real change until min 3,34 is reached there is where the guittar changes,and at min 4,11 begins the massacre with an incredible speed in hellhamers feet,in min 5,27 comes the calm down until min 6,55 is reached there is no great intervention of the guitar,where begins a slow riff like the one of the begining just to finish with a fast riff from 8,26 until end.

Well the lyirics of this song are meaning the way that a man gets illuminated with a false knowledge and when he discovers all the lies he just fucks up everything until he reaches nothingness in his mind.

6.Psychic horns:It starts very slowly and gains in speed and in min 1'39 it becomes a very fast drum and you can also hear the tubes to calm down a slow moment at min 2,06 and regain speed at 2,14 and keeps on til min 3,06 where Attila starts with a very gutural voice and the guitars make a slow riff to restart the power of hellhammers drums at min 3,47 there you can also hear the clasical Mayhem riffs that are alwayas holding all the notes reaching the last minute its always an up and down with the drums speed just to finish with a final assault to finish(its like its going to explode).This song is 6,32min long.

This song is the travel of the mind through the unlimited corners of our mind to reach a own conclusion,wich is very hard to find and only the ones that investigate about themselfs will find out.

7.Key to the storms: this is the kind of songs that have their own strenght,it is a song with a hard structure.Its full with anger and self exploration you can hear it when you reach min 2,28,by hearing the insane screams and laughts sounds like that the person Attila is interpreting has reached a conclusion that drove him mad.At min 3,33 there is a slow down until it reaches silence to begin at 3,39 to destroy all life form with pure black metal art.This song is 3,52 min long.

The lyrics are about the search for the meaning of existence(key to the storms)and how this search drives him to the solution but the prize of this knowledge is madness.

8.Anti:This is the most powerfull song of this record,it is an old style black metal song full of hate .It flows in a continuous tempo until min 3,00 where a sudden silence comforthwhere Attila makes gutural through a short time while,a military style,drum hits the back of the song just until it reaches the end.This sog is 4,42 min long.

This song is all about the fall of all sources of life to reach the pure nothingness.Anti everything!!

The artwork was made bywhere done by Kim Solve & Trine Paulsen(www.trineogkim.no).

Well I think this is one of their best albums if not the best.It has such a dark ambience and is so full of hate and aversion for humanity,kicking out Maniac was the best what they culd have done.

Thanks for reading this and and remember all this shit was made by listening to every song one by one.I recomend you hardly to listen to the album while reading this stuff.

I have to say that I do this just because I hate the critics out of the zines that are just a copy of one and only paper they recive with the cd, there is no really listening to the album and you can see it while reading.

Eve Rigel, a Ragyogás Városa című regény* írónője**.

Indoklás: Az RPG.HU weblapon megjelent Ragyogás Városa kritikára adott válaszreakció, mentegetőzése és bujtogatása, a blogján zajló, minősíthetetlen flémháború mind-mind segitségünkre voltak, hogy az ideális jelöltként tekinthessünk rá.

Íme egy jellegzetes idézet a flémözönből, az írónő billentyűzetéről:

"Attila, picinyem, kapaszkodj csak!
Én már legalább az óvodában vagyok, de neked még be kéne jutnod ide a bölcsiből.
Akkor talán majd olvasni is megtanulsz, és értelmezed a blogbejegyzés szövegét, melyben az általad gyakorolt fikázásról írok, mint jelenségről. Ugyanis a regényem körüli hullámok lecsillapodtak.
A gyűlölet lehet, hogy konzervál, ezért azt javaslom, szeresd felebarátaidat, nehogy a múmiádon túlórázzanak majd kétezer év múlva a régészgyakornokok."

Kapcsolódó linkek:
Attila kritikája a Ragyogás Városáról (link)
Az írónő két bejegyzésnyi reakciója, és a felszított flémáradat a saját blogján (link1, link2)

A Futottak még kategóriában Attila is szerepel, de a tény, hogy flémelésben nem sikerült alulmúlnia eddigi önmagát, elzárták tőle a jelöltséget.

* A Díj nem a regénynek, hanem az írónőnek szól! A VasOrr Díj nem az irodalmi teljesítményeket értékeli, hanem az egyes személyek megnyilvánulásait.
** A linkelt képet közben eltávolították az AVANA oldaláról. Helyette álljon itt az írónő önéletrajza. (link)

Pretty impressive, a great general [Hannibal] was. What puzzles me most is why these extraordinary gentlemen hesitated to take Rome when it was within their reach. Attila had a chance to do it, but stopped short. Was it the name, the fame of Rome? Or what was it?

Hannibal was near Rome twice with his armies and both times decided against going ahead with an attack. Why?

The first time he gave up the idea because taking Rome would have meant a siege and his strength, his safety, was in movement. He couldn't afford to let himself get stuck anywhere. He had no siege machines and no supply line back to Carthage. His larger strategic plan for Italy was to turn Rome's allies against her one by one and to form a coalition. So, though he was near Rome and had no Roman army in front of him, he turned and marched away.

The second time, seizing Rome had not been part of his plan and one of his rules was to avoid being forced into doing anything that he was unprepared for. The plan was wonderful enough. He had been stuck sieging the siegers around Capua. What?

When the city of Capua had declared itself an enemy of Rome and friend of Hannibal, the Roman senate sent an army to punish it. Hannibal came to their aid with HIS army and surrounded the besieging Roman force. For a long time both armies stayed camped around the starving city and their squirmishes produced no result. Hannibal realized he would have to do something fast because the city couldn't hold out much longer and the senate was preparing another army to fight him. So he came up with one of his tricks.

One night, leaving his campfires burning to fool the enemy, he marched his army secretly to Rome, which he thought was not well-defended. He knew that when it became known that his army was just outside the capital, the Roman forces everywhere, including the one at Capua, would drop what they were doing and hurry to defend it. The ruse worked.

But if Rome was so weak, why didn't Hannibal quickly take it?

As it happened, there WAS a force in Rome. The latest group of conscripts had been told to report to the city for service on that day. Seeing them, Hannibal decided taking Rome would be too risky, and went back to Capua, following his original plan.

My sources are Livy and Polybius.

As you see, erika, there was nothing spooky—the city of Rome had no mysterious power to intimidate—at least over clear-headed leaders like Hannibal and Caesar. I don't know much about Attila's reasons. I always heard it was Pope Leo who made him change his mind about taking the city.
Remember there were 650 years between Hannibal's Rome and Attila's. In 200BC the town could not have been imposing.

..

There are not very many descriptions of the Hun. The most famous was of Attila.

Priscus described Attila as:

short of stature, with a broad chest and a large head; his eyes were small, his beard thin and sprinkled with gray; and he had a flat nose and tanned skin, showing evidence of his origin.

This was written by a Roman from an empire he almost destroyed and black mailed them into succeeding land to his people, now know as Hun-gary.

Another description was this:

Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (Res Gestae 31.2) had to say about the Hunnic males who were encountered by the Romans during the last quarter of the 4th century A.D.:

"From the moment of birth they make deep gashes in their children's cheeks, so that when in due course hair appears its growth is checked by the wrinkled scars; as they grow older this gives them the unlovely appearance of beardless eunuchs. They have squat bodies, strong limbs, and thick necks, and are so prodigiously ugly and bent that they might be two-legged animals... Still, their shape, however disagreeable, is human."

and

The barbarian nation of the Huns, which was in Thrace, became so great that more than a hundred cities were captured and Constantinople almost came into danger and most men fled from it. … And there were so many murders and blood-lettings that the dead could not be numbered. Ay, for they took captive the churches and monasteries and slew the monks and maidens in great numbers.
— Callinicus, in his Life of Saint Hypatius

Many historians think the Hun were part of a federation of nomadic people who lived on the North Western border of ancient China, they were known to the Chinese as the Xiongnu,  a war-like barbaric horsemen who lacked “virtue and morals” Meaning, they did not act Chinese. Seems China and Romans had some things in common, arrogance. hehe

Overtime, due to Chinese attacks and a factional enternal conflict, atleast some of the Xiongnu likely a Northern grouping) moved west all the way to Rome across the Asian and Eastern European Steppes.  I guess they travelled through modern Ukraine southeastward, which would have put them between Rome and Greece, right in the middle of the Empire.  By this time the Xiongnu had hired, allied with, and enslaved various tribes of people along the way from early proto-Slav (?) people to Persian-speaking nomads.  The physical descriptions given by the Romans seem to imply they looked East Asian (very much like Mongolians) and  I am fairly certain they were mostly men (as nomadic warriors tended to be, and mixed with women wherever they could buy, kidnap, enslave, make treaties, etc) for them.
Here is a recreation of a skull of a Hun woman found, it appears they were into Head Elongation like some ancient Egyptian Royals and the Inca.

Obviously modern Hungarians do not look like this.   There is still some debate if mondern Hungarians are even related to the Hun or were the Magyars a neighboring people, historically it is believed that they are direct descendants though.  Their language is also from a group that originated in Asia.  Language does not prove genetic relationship, but most of the evidence seems to point in the same direction.

Atilla lived in the early to mid part of the 4th century; at the time Hungary was not empty, but was ceded to the Hun, and I’m guessing the Hun were not that many in number compared to the people they colonized. This is similar to how a very small force of Americans can overrun and restrain Afghanistan. Well armed men on horse back who are well organized can subdue a bunch of farmers pretty easily, as well as  make them speak Hunnish, which became Hungarian.

Modern Hungarians look like this:

This is easy to figure out. A Hun warrior procreates with a local girl. His son is raised as a Hun but is half hun, then his son marries a local girl.  After that, they probably look fairly similar to locals on avearge, but still retain much of their culture and language. After 200-300 years there will be no real difference between the "Hun" and their nearest neighbors, that is really notable. I looked up a MtDNA study on this issue, but this is only on the mother’s side, which is  misleading because their were not many Hun women in Euorpe, but it showed only 7% of Hungarians still have East Asian maternal markers on their female side. I’m guessing for the father's side (Y Chromosone) it will be about 10-15%. The 7% test was also quite small, only 27 people.  What I would really like to see are autosomal tests.

There are other folks who speak a language loosely related to the Hun in Europe, the Fins, Estonians, and Saami.  None of these languages are Indo-European and all come from parent languages that originated on the Asian Steppe. Out of all of those, the only people who look remotely Eaast Asian today are Saami, but they are few and scattered across Scandinavia.

Saami:

Main Article:

From Northern Britain through Europe to the Black Sea, from there to the Red Sea and across North Africa to the Atlantic coast the Limes encircled the Roman Empire. Many places were heavily fortified and especially the wall of Hadrian and the part running through Germany presents interesting places to go and get a grip of how the mighty Romans dealt with their neighbors.
This summer Trier, Koblenz and Speyer are important places to start an incursion into this frontier-area.
In Trier there are the magnificent exhibitions mounted to celebrate the coronation of Constantine in 307 and his European importance. In Koblenz an exhibition focuses more on Life along Limes,that is on the development of the frontier, the building phases of the fortresses, and daily life among the traders, the army, its officers and public servants. Finally in Speyer there is an exhibition on Attila and the Huns. This year this inventive museum has recreated the wilfully deformed head of a Hunnish female from her elongated crania. The exhibition also shows the valuable diadems of high-ranking women, and the heavy Hunnish cauldrons. The visitor may also marvel at the armament of the equestrian warrior: his bows and swords as well as the weapons of their Germanic vassals.

Not tired yet? Why not drive on to Basel and join in the fun of the Roman Feast, a festival filled with gladiators, dancing troups and other Roman fare. It takes place on the 25th and 26th of August.
It is really worth this summer to fly into Bonn, jump over to the “Strasse der Römer” beginning in Zulpich, move down to Trier, drive along Mosel to Koblenz and then follow the Rhine to Speyer, ending up in Basel.

Il mio cane invece è fantastico, è da ieri, da quando sono tornata a casa, che non mi si scolla da dosso e rimango sempre sbalordita da come lui, un "semplice" animale, sia in grado di trasmettere il proprio affetto e la propria felicità in modi che nemmeno immaginavo... ma Attila non è mai stato un cane normale semplicemente perché è dotato di un'intelligenza e di una sensibilità che finora non avevo mai trovato nei miei precedenti amici pelosi... a volte mi sembra quasi che sia la reincarnazione di qualcuno che è stato messo al mio fianco e a quello dei miei per vegliare su di noi..

Giusto per la cronaca, oggi ho inaugurato subito il diario delle cefalee... ah che culo! mah vedremo se questa cura cambierà qualcosa...

: Welcome friends. We are rapidly approaching that special time of year when hearts are warmed in the presence of friends and family. I am of course talking about Christmas, that magical time of year when we all enchanted and let our Christmas spirit come out. Peace on Earth and goodwill towards men. We didn't have Christmas in Dimension X, but I suppose if we did it would probably be called Dimension X-Mas. Anyway, since my time on Earth I have grown to love Christmas and the season surrounding it. Won't you join us as my heterosexual life mate Mumm-Ra and I prepare our home and fill it with Joy?

: Right. Deck the Halls and all that jazz!

: This year we will be hosting Christmas at our place. I have invited Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michaelangelo (cause he's a party dude), Hamato Yoshi (he hates being called Splinter these days), April O'Neil, Bebop and Rocksteady, General Traag, Casey Jones, Baxter Stockman, The Rat King, Leatherhead, Usagi Yojimbo, Slash, Attila, Ganghis, Napoleon, Rasputin, The Neutrinos, Metalhead, the guys from H.A.V.O.C. and Dirk Savage. But not Shredder. Fuck that guy. I guess he thought he was too good to return my calls after 1993.

: Yes and I have summoned Lion-o, Jaga, Tygra, Panthro, Cheetara, Pumyra, Lynx-o, Wilykit and Wilykat, Jaguara, Snarf and Snarfer, Slithe, Monkian, Vultureman, Ratr-oLuna, Amuk, Tug Mug, Chilla, Red-Eye, Alluro, Hammerhand ans Topspinner (Since they had their "commitment ceremony" they have been inseparable), Ram Bam, Cruncher, Safari Joe and my mummy...get it. I am sooooooo looking forward to this!

: So we started off by hanging our stockings by the fire place. We knitted them ourselves last year and then decorated them with glue and glitter. It took me a little while to get used to the concept of stockings since they are basically socks and I have no feet. Or even legs.

: Don't sweat it buddy. It doesn't make you any less of a man! So after Krang put up the stockings I hung the mistletoe. This is going to be the year I get to lock lips with Cheetara.

: Mumm-Ra, can I bother you a second? Would you take the Module and drive to the store to get me some more candles.

: We have candles in the drawer in the kitchen.

: No, I need more Christmas candles. Ones with cute little figures on them like Santa and stuff if you can find them.

: Fine...but I am turning on the big drill on the front.

: Good, we're alone. I had to get him out of here so I could wrap his present. This year I got him an Eye of Thundera tie...and an I-Phone. We will be very excited. I can't wait to see the look on his face. I mean the I-Phone was a little pricey, but hell he's worth it. He has been such a good friend. He was there for me when my marriage to Amy Belcher ended. She was SUCH a dragon lady. On top of all that Mumm-Ra has had a pretty tough year this year. His good friend Jackaman passed away over the summer, and he had a really tough time with it. I guess he realized that you can go at any time and he just got very depressed. He was so upset he...

: Hey, I'm back. So what are you guys talking about?

: Oh nothing much buddy. I was just explaining to everyone that we got our tree from Lowes this year.

: Oh yeah, it's an artificial 9' Just Cut Norwegian Spruce Pre-lit Tree and even without decorations on it yet it just lights up the room.

: Just like your smile.

: What?

: Nothing!

: O....K.... Alright. So anyway, we have some gorgeous red and gold tinsel garland here which I am going to wrap the tree with. Krang can you start hanging the candy canes?

<Eyes tear up>: Sure. <sniff sniff>

: What's the matter little buddy?
: Candy canes were Amy's favorite.
: I'm sorry, do you want to stop for a while? Have some hot cocoa?

: No...<begins bawling> I just don't know why she left me!!!!

:Um....Aren't you gay? Like really blatantly homosexual? Flaming even?

: No!!! Why would you say such horrible things???

: Look, I'm sorry. I just thought...well I mean didn't you spend like 8 years walking around INSIDE a man?
: IT WAS AN EXOSUIT!!!

: Alright fine. I thought it was a metaphor. Well what about those pictures you keep in the bottom of your underwear drawer?

: WHAT PICTURES???

: You know the ones of you and Panda Kahn, and Mondo Gecko during your "retreat" in the Poconos. You're pinching Panda's nipples while Mondo is caressing you!!!

: We were just experimenting. I'm not gay!!!

: Look, its o.k. I am always going to be your friend. Hell I have been your friend this whole time and I thought you were gay already.

: Alright, fine. I admit it. The crook in this candy cane is straighter than I am. I'm addicted to dick. I can't help it. I'm an alien brain with no body. I don't have one of my own and since there are no females of my race here the only way I could experience sexual stimulation was to take it in the mouth from Shredder. It was fine when I had him convinced I wasn't gay and we were just getting our rocks off like cell mates...then, one day he caught me watching..."To Wong Foo" and enjoying it. He told me to get out and we haven't spoken since....oh god it's like a giant weight has been lifted off my chest.

: You do know you don't have a chest right?

: Oh yeah. Well you know what I mean. Let's just get back to decorating.

: O.k. You know... my friend Snarf is gay. I could probably get you two together for a date if you want.

: Really? He seems so butch. He's got that wild beard and all.

: Nope. He's a total queen. He followed Cher to 11 different shows during her farewell tour in '03.

: OH MY GOD!!! I LOVE CHER!!!

:I know. That was my first clue. Anyhow, canyou hand me the star for the top of the tree?

: Yup. Here you go. Let me just put this last ornament on and...voila. We are all done and it looks amazing. I can't wait for Christmas to get here.

: Me either. In the meantime, here's a poem.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, except Krang in a blouse;
The stockings we knitted were ready to hang,
and the tree was put up by me and ol' Krang;

We were both sleeping in our separate beds,
While visions of greased up Chip N' Dales danced in Krang's head;
I got a hankerin for booze and had a night cap,
and I thought about that whore who gave me the clap,
When out on the lawn I heard a terrible sound,
I stumbled out the door and fell on the ground.
I went back inside and puked in the trash,
then ran to the toilet where I blew out my ass.
I sat on the shitter after I was done,
It took me a minute because i was physically stunned,
then I looked outside and I saw so clear,

What looked like a drunk fat man trying to steal our plastic reindeer,
The guy was a thief, an old drunken dick,
I couldn't figure out why he was dressed like St. Nick.
I went out to beat him but his rollin' crew, they came,
and as they beat my ass he called them by name;
"Now, Basher! now, Smasher! now, Vinnie and Chuck!
On, Steve-o! on Danny! on, Psyco and Buck!
bloody his nose, break his damn jaw!
Now beat on him beat on hime beat on him all!"
As I lie there bleeding from my mouth, nose and ears,
he went in the house to steel what was there,
but Krang heard the ruckus and he quickly awoke,
Krang pulled out his gat, this shit was no joke.

And then, in a moment the fighting began
my little buddy stab that bastard right in the hand.
Krang tied him up and tied him up fast,
Then strapped on a dildo and raped out his ass.
then came the time it was getting to hot,
Krang was ready, for the money shot;
The fat man just laid there crying like a bitch,
then we drove him out to the country and left him in a ditch.
His eyes -- they glazed over his lips turning blue!
He was gonna die right there, what should we do?!
we decided it was best to leave him for dead,
we put him out of his misery with two in the head;
then we busted out all of his teeth,
then cut of his fingers and wrapped him in a sheet;
we soaked him with gas and with fired he fried,
the charred remains couldn't be identified.
On the way home Krang had to ralph,
"We killed that old bastard" I laughed to myself;
we got back home and cleaned out the car,
then picked up the mess and went to the bar;
we got hammered so hammered right out of our minds,
we laughed and we joked about our big crime,
Murder on Christmas, who would have thought,
Police found the body but we never got caught;
We went home late and fell asleep quick,
and woke up the next morning hung over and sick.

But I'll remember the rush and the fright,
of murder on Christmas, Christmas Eve Night.

: That was...horrifying. Horrifying.

: Well, good night folks. Merry Christmas.

Go see what the guys did for Halloween

The hottest man in Hollywood is a Scot! Oh, how I wish I were a professional writer who was on assignment to meet and write about Gerard Butler. How I wish I could capture every little nuance, every little gesture, every little twinkle from his soul-stirring grayish-green eyes first hand as I asked him questions about his life and career and just communicate to my audience the real man behind the 6'2 tower of male masculinity...oh heck! Who am I kidding? I just want to sit there and drool and ask him to pretend to be my friend so all my friends would think I'm cool. I'd even pay him. Who wouldn't? But the sad reality is that I'm not a professional writer. I'm just a dweeb with a blog -"Sigh"

Everything that's written about the man, the myth, the only one who was born to play King Leonidas in the blockbuster hit "300", tells me that this actor from humble beginnings would dismiss my musings and girlish fantasies as shallow. I can only assume from my research that his goal as an actor is not to be looked at as some Hollywood sex symbol to be lusted and adored by many women all over the world but rather to be taken seriously as a good actor. The lusting and adoring, has already come with the territory though, and I'm quite positive that Mr. Butler has his priorities in order. Let's take a closer look at a bit of his life and his career, from "Mrs. Brown" to "300", the movie that put him on the map.

Mr. Butler's career was not an overnight success story. He's had the acting bug since he was a child and even convinced his mother to enroll him in the Scottish Youth Theatre in which he made a few appearances on stage. Gerard was an outstanding student in school, who excelled to the top of his class. His academic prowess prompted his teachers and family to encourage a career in law. He enrolled in Glasgow University's Law program and graduated with honors but his following stint as a solicitor left him feeling miserable because law was not his true calling and he was eventually fired from his firm. It's moments like this when you either "do" or "die", and Gerard "did" when he met actor/director Steven Berkoff in a coffee shop. Berkoff was directing a play called "Corioloanus" and Gerard, convinced the director to let him read for a part and this was the start of something beautiful.

Having established himself as a stage actor Gerard soon transitioned to film. His screen debut was "Mrs. Brown" starring Judy Dench and Billy Connolly; followed by "Tomorrow Never Dies"; "Shooters"; "Harrison's Flowers"; "Wes Craven's Dracula 2000"; and the made for TV movie "Attila". Now, "Attila" is the first movie in which I noticed Gerard Butler. Funnily enough I only caught the tail end of the movie where he was poisoned on his wedding night and my first thought was: "now if the wife was really smart, she would have consummated the wedding and then poisoned him", because as you know, it's all about the priorities but I digress, after "Attila", Gerard returned to British TV and then we see him again in "Dear Frankie", a must see; and "Timeline", based on the novel by Michael Crichton. "Timeline" is what happens when a good director, Richard Donner, does a bad thing. The story was a great idea but the movie just left you feeling empty and nowhere, but there was a bright spot - Gerard Butler. You wanted to see more of him at this time and even if we didn't get to see more of him in this paltry movie, we got a good dose of him in "Lara Croft Tombraider: The Cradle of Life". Even though Gerard could have evoked the action hero caricature, his performance as Terry Sheridan worked because it wasn't over-the-top. He was calm he was cool, he just knew what the hell he was doing and what was most intriguing about his performance was that there was something behind the 'eyes' that sort of set-off the 'warning bells'. You just didn't know if he was going to turn until the end.

I will admit that I was blown away by his performance in "Phantom Of The Opera". I didn't particularly care for the movie but I spent most of the time trying desperately to figure out who was playing this tortured and lonely soul. While some people canned his singing ability, I loved it. It was different, it resonated that soulful raspiness that tickled, titillated, and touched. It was in this movie where I began to admire Butler for being a chameleon. I didn't recognize who this "Phantom" was until I saw his name in the ending credits. One of the biggest assets an actor can have is the gift of the chameleon. Gerard has the ability to change his appearance by becoming the character and yet still remaining Gerard, if that makes any sense, he retains a bit of himself with each character.

Next up were roles in "The Game Of Their Lives" and "Beouwulf & Grendel", both I can't comment on because I've seen neither. However, I will say that up until this point, the world still didn't know much about Gerard. He had already proven that he had the "it" factor but none of the movies he starred in were successful at the box office. Well as the old saying goes, you have to learn to crawl before you walk and if anything could be said, let it be known that even though his movies weren't hits, Gerard did prove that he was an actor to be reckoned with. He'd taken some hard knocks in stride only to earn the right to be King Leonidas in the movie that put his name in lights, "300". Again, Gerard the chameleon with beard, braided hair and tunic, plays the fearless warrior King who sacrifices his life to save his beloved Sparta from the pillaging of the pesky Persians. And if you think you saw Gerard before, I'm sure you hadn't seen anything until you saw him in all his Kingly glory complete with muscled arms, abs, legs, and fiery red cloak. To date, "300" has grossed over $450,000,000 worldwide. Gerard is here and he's here to stay.

Next up we'll see him in "P.S. I Love You"; "Shattered"; "Nim's Island"; "RockNRolla"; "The Untouchables: Capone Rising"; "Game"; and possibly, "Escape From New York".

Just think about what would have happened if he had become a lawyer instead? OH, perish the thought...!

Cheers,

Deni