Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated

The school year is finally coming to an end!  I can guarantee that the exhausted instructors are far happier about this than the exhausted students. Still, as I start to emerge from the black hole of school to look around at the world, all I see is TRUMP/HILLARY/BREXIT panic-mongering and media madness, and I'm tempted to dive right back into the black hole.

Anyway, as proof of life, here is a hilarious ad that I got from a friend of a friend. Let's have some fun with stereotypes and sport rivalries, shall we?

St. Crispin's Day 6 Centuries After Agincourt

It is the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt that was immortalized in Shakespeare's Henry V.  Here's that famous speech delivered by Kenneth Branagh:

800 Years of Magna Carta

June 15, 1215 at Runnymede: King John agreed to the terms of the Magna Carta and acknowledged that no one is above the law, not even the king.  The document has become a powerful symbol of liberty and resistance to the arbitrary - and therefore tyrannical - (ab)use of power by rulers.

The celebrations are in full swing!  Yes, bells and all!

Need a refresher about the Magna Carta?  Here is the text.  Here is a fun little video from the British Library. (Recognize the voice?  It's Terry Jones from Monty Python!)


Want more?  Take a look at the resources of the Magna Carta Project.  Go on a field trip to the US National Archives and visit one of the few remaining copies of the charter!

Monday Therapy: For All of You/Us No Hopers, Jokers, and Rogues

From a little fishing village on the coast of Cornwall, England, comes this group of Cornishmen who made their mark singing sea shanties:

Proposed Euro Coin Design Spawns Fight Over Napoleon's Legacy

The design is intended to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.  The French are objecting.  At least there's no doubt where this op-ed writer's sympathies lie.

Oh, since we're on the topic ...

Nerd News: A Brit-Bashing Portuguese Professor

Dude's got a position at Imperial College, London, so I personally think it's just a little rich that he's turned right round and published a Brit-bashing book back in Portugal.  For extra entertainment, check out this take by a Frenchwoman:

Brit-bashing is a French pursuit, thank you very much – a national sport that we enjoy safe in the knowledge that whatever we throw at Les Rosbifs, they are more than capable of lobbing back at us Frogs. From Joan of Arc to Waterloo and Mers-el-Kébir, we have long known where our most beloved enemy stands: 20 miles and a world away from Calais (never to be surrendered again), in lockstep with us in a love-hate dance . Not for nothing is Wellington’s bust at the British Embassy in Paris displayed next to that of Napoleon . Not for nothing is the inscription on your coat of arms in French; or the fact that we celebrate 1066 (and all that) at Bayeux with the finest and oldest of all tapestries.

So who’s this upstart, insinuating himself right at the heart of our family quarrels?

Not Quite the Queen's English

World Cup 2014 Prelude: What If England Actually Wins It?

The biggest sporting event in the world Universe begins tomorrow, so here's a humorous what-if.

"This Day Is Called The Feast of Crispian"

It's October 25, Saint Crispin's Day!  This of course means that it's the perfect excuse to talk about the Battle of Agincourt of 1415, Henry V, and Shakespeare!

Here's that famous battle speech as performed by Kenneth Branagh, and here is the BBC's glorious 2012 production of Henry V, streaming online now at PBS until November 7.

Friday Fun Video: An American Coach in London

Check out this hilarious ad for the Premier League on NBC.  

They See Me Rollin'; They Hatin'

Say cheese!  It's the annual dairy-inspired dementia in Gloucester, England!

Friday Fun: Turnabout Is Fair Play In Snowball Fights

Yes, it is!

MM in the Kitchen: Traditional Roast Christmas Goose

Golly, the whole thing makes me want to wear hoopskirts and bonnets and go full Victorian Christmas!

Friday Fun Video: The British Monarchy In Song

After all the hoopla this week about the royal bun in the oven, let's take a look at the line of monarchs that Baby Cambridge will join as third in line to the throne (it's Queen Elizabeth II now, then Prince Charles, then Prince William, and then Baby Cambridge).  The song starts with William the Conqueror.  Sorry, Anglo-Saxons!  Too bad about that whole Battle of Hastings thing, guys.

Nerd News: Meet This WWI History Buff

This Brit takes being a history buff to a different level entirely.  Amazing.

Blast From the Past (Literally)

Hurricane Sandy is a history-making storm.  Take a look at 6 other tempests that changed history, from the "divine wind" typhoon that saved Japan from a Mongol invasion fleet in 1281 to the storm that wrecked the Spanish Armada and thus saved England in 1588 and more.

Monday Therapy: Bus Station Sonata

Making your commute a little classier in Newcastle, England:

The French City of Angers Has a Demand

For this story, I introduce the "good luck with that" tag.

Niall Ferguson on "London's Last Waltz."

Pessimism.

Awesome: the Best-Dressed, Most Polite Protest Ever

Brilliant!  Stay classy, everyone!