His Struggle

July 18th, 2007

Digg this

The Announcement

“I'm just trying to be as boring as I can,” Andrea said. “You know, the type of person the newspeople hate to cover.”
“Yeah, that's you, all right.” She punched him in the arm. “Hey, now, don't make me spill my food.” He looked over at the reporter and said, “He's talking to your daughter.”
“Oh, lord, what has she got to say?” She followed Marvin's gaze over to where Monica and one of her cousins were talking animatedly about something to the reporter while the cameraman captured their conversation. “Think I should go check?”
“Nah. Just ground her for it later.” They both laughed, and Andrea relaxed a little bit. Marvin was always good at calming her down. After they ate a little bit more from their plates, he said, “So, the signal back'll take, what, 8 years to reach Wolf 359?”
“About that, yeah.”
“Then another 8 years for a signal to get here.”
“Provided there's still anybody to send one.”
“Right, I get that. But what if they've got some automated station, waiting for the signal? They built a probe that'll last a few thousand or million years and still be able to call back home – why not make a receiver that'll sit in their solar system and wait to respond.”
“I always knew there was a reason I liked you,” Andrea said, putting down her plate and pulling her phone out of her pocket. She flipped the function over to notepad and jotted down what Marvin had just said. “You want credit for the idea?”
He shrugged, smiling. “That's OK. Just say Hi, Marv at the press conference, and I'll be happy.”
“You got it.”

In 2009, TV networks ran Decisive Moments in Black History. The narrow escape from assassins of the iconic President of Nigeria, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed on February 13, 1976 was unquestionably a tipping point. The fourth President frustrated an abortive coup attempt when his car was ambushed in traffic in Lagos. He had already taken the early steps to lift Nigeria out of the abyss it was threatening to descend into. Top federal and state officials were removed to break links with the Gowon regime and to restore public confidence in the federal government. More than 10,000 public officials and employees were dismissed without benefits, on account of age, health, incompetence, or malpractice. The purge affected the civil service, judiciary, police and armed forces, diplomatic service, public corporations, and universities. Some officials were brought to trial on charges of corruption. He also began the demobilization of 100,000 troops from the swollen ranks of the armed forces. Matters moved forward with apace after the failed coup. After all, Nigeria experienced the same level of literacy and per capita income as Malaysia in 1960, a record it has sustained to this day to the fierce joy of the diaspora.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1969, Senator Edward M Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne were pursued across Martha's Vineyard after the lovers had unwisely chosen to drive through vampire country after sunset. Forced to brake at a narrow bridge, the Master landed on the roof of the 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88 and ripped the lovers from the vehicle. Using inhuman, undead strength the Master threw the vehicle into the strong currents of Poucha Pond and set about feeding on his prey...

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2007, A. Breeg wrote ~ born in London on September 3rd, 1939, both of his parent died in a mysterious house fire aged eight. A solitary and troubled child, Benjamim Breeg was sent to an orphanage in the East End where his carer observed: "[the] demeanour of a child who seems to bear more weight upon his shoulders than any person should. What goes on behind his eyes makes one wonder what's troubling him."
Artwork	From aged ten he began to experience "the most vile and tortuous nightmares." My cousin's first job was as an undertaker. From this time he also pursued interests in paranormal activity and painting. A close friend who saw some of Breeg's painting said: "He says he paints what he sees. If this is true, I can only thank God I have no window into his mind."

Painting by B BREEG

The visitor from Romania presented me with my Cousin's journal. The last entry was dated 18th June 1978, the date of his recorded death. That was when the long-suffering life of Benjamin Breeg ended. Yet it was only the beginning of this wild child's release from the captivity of his twisted mind.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the genius of Iron Maiden's "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg".

In 2009, TV networks ran episode nine of So What If?. Prince Harry is seized on a tour of duty and beheaded on Al-Jazeera TV. British Prime Minister Tony orders a surge in the British Protectorate of Mesopotamia.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2032, Trillionnaire Buford Rogerson III purchased the world's fastest network router, a custom device that delivered an incredible 2 petabit per second data transfer rates anywhere this side of the Rings of Saturn. Mostly he used the router to bully and cajole the long-suffering executives of his business empire. Actually, he had done this since he acquired a Blackberry in the early twenty-first century, but words – even angry words – could be easily ignored, diminishing the pleasure of his dictatorship. Super-modern visualisation techniques enabled this monstrous so-called “business leader” to now transmit his displeasure in the form of intense picts. It was fear and loathing over the Internet, which was a great step forward. NOT.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Paul III	In 1536, the authority of Pope Paul III in the specific, and the papacy in general, was declared void in England. This highly provocative statement united the nations of Catholic Europe who immediately set about achieving the collapse of English Power. During the State Visit of 32nd US President Winston Churchill to the ..
.. Irish Isles in 1942, Taoiseach Éamon de Valera declared the proclamation to be a self-inflicted wound, he was famously to say “The English must now move forward from 1536 and stop arguing about the past”.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1925, Adolf Hitler authored his personal manifesto Mein Kampf (My Struggles). A description of his battle with lycanthropy, the book was hidden until the mid 1980s when it was given to British Historian Hugh Trevor-Roper by fellow shape-shifter Martin Bormann.	Mein Kampf
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1969, after a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts drove an Oldsmobile off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond and both he and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, died.
Oldsmobile Delm..	Officially the family claimed that Ted was simply returning one of the “Boiler Room Girls” (helpers at the 68 election) ..
.. back to the Edgartown Ferry. The incident itself and the Kennedy family philandering in general became a national scandal, and may well have affected the decision by his brother Robert not to run for re-election to the Presidency in 1972. “The long national nightmare was over”, in the words of the incoming President, Richard M Nixon.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1969, Senator Edward M Kennedy from Massachusetts being a gentleman, gallantly agreed to escort “Boiler Room Girl” Mary Jo Kopechne to the Edgartown Ferry. They had both attended a modest thanksgiving function for party workers and assistants of the 1968 Presidential Election. Known to be a cautious driver, a freak accident ..	Senator Edward ..
.. caused Senator Kennedy to swerve off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond. Having escaped from the vehicle himself, he bravely returned to rescue his passenger, saving her from certain death. The following year his exploits were featured in the blockbuster novel and movie “Profiles in Courage 2”. The incident may well have affected his decision to run for election to the Presidency in 1972, which he won handsomely.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Cool stuff - Let us know where you are on Frappr! and We've been Dugg

We have links again! Yay, us. Check them out on the side of the page, and if you have some suggestions, send them to us!

Visit the Co-Historian's store -