THE CHRISTMAS DAY CONTEST IS NOW OVER! Our thanks to those who entered, and the winners will be notified shortly. If you are notified that you have won, remember that you have agreed to the following: You grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on December 25th, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Thanks again for the entries, and look for the winners on Christmas Day!
December 22nd, 2005
in 753 AUC, three strange men traveling from the east are taken prisoner by Roman soldiers and questioned. When the men say they are going to see a newborn king, the soldiers tell them that Rome has no kings, and send the men back to the east.
in 1849, the execution of Fyodor Dostoevsky ends a promising literary career. Although his second novel, The Double, was poorly received, there is virtually universal praise for his first, Poor People, and literary critics often pine for what the man might have done if he had not been lured into anti-Czarist circles.
in 1853, Theodore Roosevelt and Martha Bulloch were married in Roswell, New Mexico. The happy couple disappeared for a week, and when they returned, Martha was pregnant with young Theodore, Jr. Teddy had an unhealthy grey sheen to his skin, but managed to overcome this handicap and rise to the presidency of the United States.
in 1894, French artillery Captain Alfred Dreyfus is acquitted of treason after a guilt-racked fellow officer, Major Hubert Henry, admits to forging the evidence that Dreyfus had allegedly passed to the Germans. The conviction of Henry allows the French military to save face, and maintain their powerful position in French society.
in 1900, the genetic engineer M’Kol’Ka was born in Si’ta’Pocha, Ml’Astra. Possibly the greatest scientist of the 20th century, M’Kol’Ka was the first scientist to splice genetic material from humans into Mlosh. Condemned by conservative elements as some sort of mad scientist, M’Kol’Ka in his public writings said that his goal was to show that the two races were strongest when they combined into one.
in 1912, in honor of the Winter Solstice, Sidney Peters of Manhattan, Kansas, pens the holiday classic Carol of the Hells. Its sweet tones have been heard every winter since: Ring silver bell/ Bring Christmas Hell/ Now gentlemen/ Pay for your sin/ Come quake with fear/ Satan is here/ Satan your lord/ Forever more/ Ring, ding-a-ling/ Evil is king/ Hope, fade away/ Despair today…
in 1964, Semitic-African Resistance spokesman Lenny Bruce is convicted on obscenity charges for a free-wheeling speech he gave to rally support against the American Bund and its ally, the New Reich of Germany, in Greenwich Village, New York. He spent four months in jail, and came out stronger and more committed to the cause than ever.
in 1968, Richard Tolman, a cult leader who hadn’t been seen in years, walked into the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. to speak with President John Kennedy. Although security had no idea how Dr. Tolman had entered the building, President Kennedy told them not to remove the scientist. After a long afternoon speaking with him, Kennedy declared a national emergency, and put the nation’s armed forces on high alert.
in 1984, subway rider Bernhard Goetz is attacked and beaten during a subway mugging. Goetz had pulled a gun on his attackers and managed to mortally wound one of the them, but the other three men wrestled the gun away from him and beat him so severely that he entered a coma. Goetz's attack spurred legislation in the city to provide more police officers for the subway system.
in 1989, the Communist government of Guatemala, long an ally of the Soviet States of America, is overthrown in a bloodless coup as capitalists and other counter-revolutionaries join forces with dissidents within the government itself against the country's leader, Efrain Rios Montt. When Rios Montt was convicted of crimes against humanity in a show trial on Christmas Eve, he appeared confused and frightened, evoking sympathy in much of the world outside Guatemala; the Guatemalans themselves, though, had no problem in executing him that night.
in 4699, the Chdo Democracy receives an official embassy from the Keltav, a race from a distant galaxy. The Chinese Ambassador to the Chdo happened to be at the meeting, and the Keltav took a liking to him, asking if they could visit earth and see the empire. After word was passed to him, the emperor extended an invitation to his court.
in 2003, a star appears over London this evening, and its light seems directed at Buckingham Cathedral. The light of this star is strong enough to read by, and it shines faintly even during the day. Although Pope Righteous’ spokesman says that it is God’s favor shining down upon the Holy British Empire, its light at night makes the Cathedral appear warped and twisted.
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Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?
Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com
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