Magic Of Your Touch

November 29th, 2004

in 1540, Archbishop Wolsey of York is burned at the stake for heresy after he questions the decision of Pope Henry VIII to divorce yet another wife. The execution of a close and trusted advisor on a whim sends a message across the Holy British Empire that the young pope is unstable, and the other cardinals and archbishops treat Pope Henry very gingerly for the remainder of this reign.

in 1803, scientist Christian Doppler is born in Salzburg, Austria. Doppler was accepted at the Mlosh Science Academy in Germany as a young man of 14, and excelled in his studies. He was particularly adept at defining the properties of light, and the Doppler Effect is named after him; this is the shift in color that light-waves make when approached at differing speed and direction.

in 12-12-9-14-2, Oueztecan troops commit another atrocity in their war in the north of the continent as they slaughter helpless Cheyenne and Arapaho people who were attempting to surrender. As news of the slaughter spreads among the northern people, resistance against Ouezteca stiffens; the people of the north feel that they have nothing to gain by giving up to the southern empire, and everything to lose.

in 1944, New Reich forces conquer the eastern Adriatic coast on their way southeast to Greece and the Ottoman Republic. Muslim forces fell for the first time in struggle against the New Reich when Muslim Albanians joined the Greater Zionist Resistance in their struggle against the Reich’s onslaught.

in 1948, Australia auto manufacturer Holden Automotive met the challenge issued it by the government to produce a car entirely in Australia. The Holden FX was a tremendous success, not only in Australia, but around the world. The models that followed, the Torana and Commodore, proved that the FX was no fluke. By the 1960’s, Australia’s cars were outperforming American cars in the lucrative American market. This led many Michiganders to urge boycotts and stiff trade barriers against Australian cars, but the nation continued to buy them. When the Japanese entered the auto ring in the 1970’s, America’s automotive industry fell into its final collapse.

in 1962, Comrade President Gus Hall appoints Coleman Young as head of a committee to investigate the assassination of Comrade President Joel Rosenberg the week before. Comrade Young establishes conclusively that the lone counter-revolutionary, Lee Oswald, was responsible for the murder, but lunatic conspiracy theorists have questioned this conclusion for decades.

in 1963, Pete Best releases his love song, Magic Of Your Touch, which sends his young female fans into paroxysms of delight across Great Britain and Europe. His star is well and truly on the rise at this point, as the song reaches the top of the European charts and even crosses over into the American charts and hits the top there.

in 1986, Archie Leach, a musical comedy favorite from the 1930’s through the 1960’s, died at his home in Davenport, Iowa. Leach had entered the U.S. as a teen when he was part of a group of acrobatic performers. He stayed and soon his dashing good looks and singing ability landed him parts on Broadway, where he became noticed by movie studios. He made his first film in 1932 in This is the Night, and before long he was starring opposite such leading ladies as Marie von Losch, Mary West and Katharine Hepburn. He had retired from filmmaking twenty years earlier, adhering to the old theater adage, “always leave ‘em wanting more.”