Tom Jones; Beyond The Fringe

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: we have our second anniversary coming up on May 27th, and we would like to have another contest. For our second anniversary, send us up to three of your own alternate histories, and we will publish the best - no limit on how many will end up on the final page! We would like to see as many of you enter this as possible, so please - think 'em up, write 'em down, and send 'em on to us at rat4cat@gmail.com! Help us celebrate our 2nd year of existence in style! Oh, and if you're like Sean and we owe you an appearance in TIAH - email us! SEAN - EMAIL - NOW!

May 10th, 2006

in 1749, Henry Fielding published his final volume of Tom Jones adventures, Tom Jones Amongst The Stars. It tells the tale of Jones hopping aboard a Mlosh transport ship for many bawdy adventures in space.

in 1775, Benedict Arnold, hero of the revolution, led a successful assault on Fort Ticonderoga, capturing it from the British. Arnold was later made commander of the Continental Army, and after victory against the British in 1782, was elected America’s first President. Historians still generally rank him among the top 5 presidents for his accomplishments in founding this nation.

in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln of the Union was captured by Confederate troops as they pushed northward into New Hampshire. Lincoln had been hoping to find a base in the northern states to rally support and push back the southern advance, but with his capture the Union collapsed and fell into the hands of the Confederacy. Refugees flooded Canada as Americans fled the harsh rule of slave states.

in 1924, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s acting director, J. Edgar Hoover, was replaced by Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, who ran the bureau until President Franklin Roosevelt replaced him in 1933. This began the tradition of the FBI director being replaced by every incoming president. Landis' successor, Frank Stone, holds the record for having served the longest as director, owing to Roosevelt's unprecedented 12 years as president.

in 1940, as the German Underground captures more and more of continental Europe, Great Britain appoints Oswald Mosley as its new Prime Minister. Although a sizeable majority of the British population is still supportive of the Greater Zionist Resistance, the elite in society have been swayed by Mosley’s Union of Fascists, and he has gained power without a popular vote.

in 1961, the popular comedy program Beyond the Fringe makes its debut on the London stage. It is so popular that it becomes a BBC television program the next year, starring such soon-to-be comedy giants as Benny Hill, Graham Chapman, and Dudley Moore. Although it was canceled in Britain in 1968, when American public television channels began showing reruns of it in 1970, the series experienced a revival and new comedians put together more episodes for trans-Atlantic consumption.

in 1963, Decca Records signs the Gathering Moss after international superstar Pete Best tells them that he likes the band’s blues-inspired sound. They go on to become the greatest rock and roll band in the world, still touring and making albums into the 21st century.

in 1985, Chelsea Perkins and Debra Morris are summoned to the Council of Wisdom, and Patience Redding manages to follow them and hide while they speak to the venerable elders of the witch community. “You shall be sent back to your own time,” the Council tells the two girls. “There is much you must do there.” The Council begins the spell of return, and just as they reach the spell's completion, Redding leaps forward and is sent into the future with Perkins and Morris.

in 1990, the last members of the Communist Party lay down their arms in China. The revolution that began in Tiananmen Square in Beijing the year before has swept all of the old guard from power and replaced them with democratic activists. The new rulers of the world’s most populous nation have a tentative grip on power at best, though, and move cautiously in the next few months.

in 2000, the provisional government of South Africa established by the allies to replace former President Terreblanche’s National Front is replaced by the elected government headed by Nelson Mandela. With the election of Mandela, a black activist who had escaped from prison to lead the resistance's struggle against the National Front, South Africa sees a new future of freedom and democracy.

Timelines in today's post: the Mlosh, the GZR, Pete Best, the Chelsea Perkins timeline and the Ralph Shephard timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect Tom Jones to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

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