ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: aylinn, please contact us so that we can give you your IVTIAHD prize of an alternate history entry!
PS - we would really appreciate it if you nominated us for a Bloggie! Only 4 days left - and we need as many of you to nominate us as possible. And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!
January 6th, 2006
in 1066, Bishop Harold Godwineson assumes the papacy of the Holy British Empire under a cloud of illegitimacy. Bishops from the Norwegian and Norman churches both pressed a claim on the Holy See, and soon plunged the Holy Land into a war that brought Pope Harold down.
in 1412, Jehanne Darc was born in Domremy, in old France. Insane from birth, the young woman actually managed to convince French scholars that she was hearing God tell her to take command of an army to defeat the Burgundian, pro-English forces in Orleans. The inexperienced commander was killed, and the Burgundians installed in power after their English allies brought in reinforcements for them.
in 870, Moors across Espagne celebrated their victory over the Christian infidels. The city of Alhambra was strewn with flowers and Caliph Boabdil gave all Moors of the land a holiday to honor Allah’s blessing on this day.
in 1777, American rebel General George Washington establishes a winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey, and uses the winter to correspond with the nascent Canadian nationalists. Although unable to resupply or reinforce Washington's forces, the nationalists do provide a home for Washington when the American Revolution is defeated and he is forced to flee to the north.
in 4579, Lebanese author Khalil Gibran was born. In his youth, he traveled to the court at the Forbidden City and spoke to Emperor Chengzu of a new philosophy, blending the ancient religion of Islam with the more modern and robust Buddhism practiced by most of the world. Although Chengzu didn’t follow this path, he allowed Khalil to continue his writings, which did win many converts.
in 1889, Mikhail von Heflin boards the Swan Lady, a passenger boat traveling south on the Mississippi. During his voyage on this ship, he becomes embroiled in a minor mystery, and is suspected of a murder he didn’t commit. His solving of this case does nothing to endear him to the other passengers, and he exits the boat while it is still far from his destination.
in 1942, with the ongoing war in Eurasia bleeding over into the western hemisphere, President Alf Landon commits the United States to buying tens of thousands of new aircraft, guns, tanks and ships. Both the Greater Zionist Resistance and the German Underground have had representatives pleading for aid from the U.S., but the official policy of America towards the war in Eurasia has been neutrality.
in 1955, comic genius Rowan Atkinson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Atkinson’s rubbery face made him a natural for humor, and his creation of the Black Adder series in 1983 propelled him to international stardom. The series following an unscrupulous Englishman through several reincarnations was renewed six times and then made into 4 blockbuster films that cemented Atkinson’s reputation as the late twentieth century’s foremost comic talent.
in 1958, Comrade President Joel Rosenberg, in a gesture of conciliation to the European powers, reduced American troops levels by 300,000 to about 3 million. The Soviet States had maintained a large standing army since the Great Patriotic War, and Comrade Rosenberg was mainly trimming soldiers that were no longer necessary to American security. Still, the move was seen as a part of a larger overture towards peace by the S.S.A.
in 1971, the courts-martial of over a dozen officers responsible for both participating in and covering up the My Lai massacre in Vietnam begin. When the horrific details of that day's bloody deeds are revealed, two officers are sentenced to life in prison, and the others are convicted of lesser charges, serving a few years before being dishonorably discharged. Although the dead could not be brought back, the alacrity with which America punished those responsible for this war crime did elicit respect around the world.
in 2001, Senator Paul Wellstone joins with the Congressional Black Caucus in challenging the electoral votes of Florida for Governor George Bush. This throws the presidential election into the House of Representatives, where bitter partisan wrangling ends with the governor elected president, but Democrat Joe Lieberman elected vice-president by the Senate. This unusual situation, decried by both sides at first, produces a bipartisan White House that truly does unite, not divide.
Timelines in today's post: the Holy British Empire, Islam Ascendant, Canadian Independence, the Chinese Empire, von Heflin, the GZR, and Communist America.
Yet another AHN - today's post has something a little different about it. There are links to the real timeline source of 4 alternate entries, and at the bottom of the post you will find links to the ongoing timelines that are written about in this post. This is extraordinarily time-consuming, so give us some comments about it to let us know if you would like us to continue doing that.
We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support! And don't forget to nominate us for a Bloggie.
The Forum lives again! My esteemed Co-Historian has brought the forum back to life, and in spite of the issues we've had with the forum in the past, we think that this time, it'll stay up!
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
Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!
4 comments:
You probubly havn't figured this out, but what are the other two incarnations of Black Adder. I am a fan of the series myself, and I heard rumours that their may be a fifth season set in the 1960's, but what about the next one? Is it like some far-future Britain like in the one bit in the Christmas special were we saw Baldrick in a speedo?
My cunning plan for the two new incarnations would be: one, the adventures of Ebenezer Blackadder after he reverted to type in the Christmas special; two, Blackadder returns as a ruthless yuppie in 1980s Britain. This would allow scriptwriter Ben Elton relive his glory days of satirising Thatcher's policies, and would led nicely into the final time-travelling episode set in the late 1990s.
A yuppie? But that would mean his social status would have risen, and the series has shown iit doing just the opposite.
Post a Comment