Babbage's Notes Sold To U.S.; Gerald Ford Rejected As Nixon's V.P.

November 27th, 2004

in 1095, Pope William II, son of the Norman usurper of the Holy British Empire, incites all of Europe to send armies to the Holy Land to recapture it in the name of Christendom. He hopes that this will mollify those who see his line’s rule over Christianity’s most sacred throne as sacrilege, and it does serve the purpose of uniting Christianity; it fails in its stated purpose, and Muslims continue to hold the Holy Land for centuries.

in 1743, composer Freiderich Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum is performed to celebrate the victory of King George against the Bavarians that year. It makes history by using Mlosh singers to perform the parts of the Mlosh soldiers in King George’s army, the first appearance of the alien race in any human theatrical performance.

in 12-10-2-1-13, Oueztecan troops created an incident against the Masoki people on the far eastern shores of the continent, blaming them for killing soldiers during a feather war. This gave the Empire an excuse for a full-scale assault against the peninsula, with a naval blockade and ground troops soon crushing the Masoki and forcing them into the Empire.

in 1852, in order to stave off her debtors, Augusta Ada King, Lady Lovelace, sold off the notes she had taken as mathematician Charles Babbage’s assistant. The U.S. government bought the notes and gave them to the American inventing community to see what could be done with them. Thomas Edison proved the investment worthwhile in 1872 when he built the Edison Difference Engine, (or Eddie, as it was popularly known), based on the notes.

in 4636, innovative filmmaker Lee Yuen Kam was born in Hong Kong. A martial artist since his youth, Lee developed his own school of Gong Fu he called Jeet Kune Do. This fluid fighting style was featured in his films, first by himself and then by his students when Lee felt too old to properly execute his own stunts. Lee’s action films spawned a generation of action filmmakers who were martial artists/actors, such as Kong-san Chan, Yuen Chu and Li Lian Jie.

in 1942, Seattle’s most famous musician was born. James Hendrix played the guitar as a young man, and when he entered the Army in 1959, entertained his company with his music during his tour as a paratrooper in Vietnam. When he left the armed forces in 1963, he returned to the States and played backup for many other acts before going solo as an opening for The Monkees in 1967. Although the kids who were Monkees fans didn’t really get his music, their old brothers and sisters did, and Hendrix was soon a breakaway hit. This success brought drug use with it, but he was able to kick the habit with the help of his old paratrooper buddies from the Army, and has been enshrined as the first of rock ‘n’ roll’s guitar gods. And, he still has it – his latest album, Transmissions From Planet 3, went gold 4 days after it went on sale in 2002.

in 1973, arguments in the Senate forced them to postpone the approval of Representative Gerald Ford as President Nixon’s vice-president after his first V.P. was forced to resign to face bribery allegation when he was governor of Maryland. Nixon was thrown for a loss on this, and didn’t name another candidate for the office before being forced from office himself in 1974. This resulted in the elevation of Speaker of the House Carl Albert to the presidency. The Oklahoman mended fences across the aisle, helping to heal the nation by imprisoning Nixon on treason charges in 1975.

in 1978, Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk of San Francisco are killed by former Supervisor Dan White. Milk, who was openly homosexual, was mourned in a candlelight vigil by the city’s large gay community, which waited for the trial of his killer with low expectation of justice. Much to their surprise, White received life in prison for the double murder, due largely to the ludicrous “Twinkie Defense” strategy that his legal team pursued. They had blamed White’s rampage on too much sugar in his bloodstream. This conviction quelled the anger of a minority that had been ready for rioting if the verdict went against their wishes.