Oct 11, 2014

On This Day - Oct. 11

1899 CE - The Second Boer War erupts between the British Empire and the Dutch settlers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State in South Africa




Photo of the Day
A black mamba in a defensive posture.




In the News




Quote of the Day
"People of Substance may Sin without being expos'd for their stolen Pleasure; but Servants and the Poorer sort of Women have seldom an Opportunity of concealing a Big Belly, or at least the Consequences of it". --Bernard Mandeville




Song of the Day
Artist - Nino Rota





Film of the Day
Director - David Silverman




Wiki of the Day
Aztec is an historical fiction novel by Gary Jennings. It is the first of five novels in the Aztec series.
The book is written as a series of letters from the Bishop of the See of New Spain to King Carlos of Spain containing a transcribed biography of Mixtli (Full named Chicóme-Xochitl Tliléctic Mixtli, "Seven Flower Dark Cloud", in Nahuatl), an elderly Aztec man, by Spanish Catholic monks during the 16th century.
The novel portrays the entirety of the life of Mixtli-Dark Cloud, who is asked by Bishop Juan de Zumárraga to tell about his life, since King Carlos I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) wants a chronicle of what Aztecs were like. Born to ordinary parents and afflicted with keratoconus, Mixtli nonetheless rises quickly through the hierarchy of Mexican society, becoming a scribe, a wealthy trader, a renowned warrior, and eventually a lord of Tenochtitlan and a highly respected councilor to Moctezuma II. The novel chronicles Mixtli's many adventures, which will take them through all of the Aztec Empire ("The One World") and beyond. The 'composer' of the novel, Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, is often commented upon by the narrator, who notes when the Bishop arrives to hear generally lurid details of human sacrifice and sexual impropriety, and often leaves just as quickly in disgust. The Bishop's introductions to the various chapters of the chronicle often express his loathing for Mixtli and his weariness with recording what he considers to be the biography of a heathen and a sinner.


No comments:

Post a Comment