StanleyWheeler

 Fun Fact: Najm al-Din Ilghazi Ibn Artuq was a daring general, competent emir, and co-ruler of Jerusalem under the Seljuk Empire of Sultan Malik-Shah, of the Sunni Muslim persuasion. His weakness for wine or fermented mare's milk was matched only by his penchant for cruel violence. Ilghazi and his brother Sokmen became co-rulers of Jerusalem after their father's death.  Antioch had fallen, and the Fatimids of Egypt, Ismaili Shi'ite Muslims, sent and army with 40 trebuchets under vizier Malik al-Afdal to attack Jerusalem in August of 1098, following the death of Malik-Shah. The barrage of stones brought down a portion of the walls. Ilghazi and Sokmen surrendered, turning over the business of running Jerusalem to al-Afdal, who released them and their supporters. The brothers went to Damascus and al-Afdal went back to Egypt after placing Iftikhar al-Dawla in charge of the holy city. Meanwhile, the crusaders experienced division and strife after the fall of Antioch as Bohemond ...

  I wasn't in Miami when I took that photo; Don Ameche and Betty Grable were no where in sight. I've never seen the movie, but I plan to do so. Spent my first week in Byzantium. Is the incumbent's withdrawal from the race inexplicably tied to my change of residence? It doesn't seem likely as he probably isn't aware of either circumstance. The real adventure here was the quest for cool. I know what you're thinking: Aren't I the High Prince of Cool? (what with Dean Martin being the King of Cool). You're not wrong. Nevertheless, we discovered that the new digs can best be described as an oven stuck on broil. After multiple sweaty and sleepless nights, we determined to bag a window unit. A questing we did go to the land of Octsoc where the AC herds are known to roam. We stalked the aisles in camouflage specially designed to blend in with wandering denizens of the place, yet the quarry eluded us. We at last learned that the big herds that once darkened the ai...

  Blog post for July 14, 2024 Is Byzantium a place or is it a state of mind? If you ask that question of those who study poetry seriously, they’re apt to inform you that Byzantium in the poem, “Sailing to Byzantium” is indeed a state of mind, a place of spiritual rebirth for a scarecrow of a man, “a tattered coat upon a stick,” who begs the sages of that city to be the singing-masters of his soul, to gather him “into the artifice of eternity.” I’m sure there’s more, but that’s the nutshell version. Byzantium, for my purposes, may be a state of mind, but it’s also a place. The place to which I have arrove arriven , arrived. I nailed my 95 theses to the wall, in the form of a polite notice that my days over there in that "no country for old men" had reached an ending point. I had already received the invitation from the sages at Byzantium bidding me welcome to that holy city. We loaded the four-wheeled transport ‘neath the blaze of western sunshine and slipped the moo...

  The weary miles betwixt Le Chateau du Chat Gris and the UCC prevented me from posting last week. Today I'll recount what I can remember with help from my recent newsletter. What I can't remember, I'll fabricate to the best of my recollection. I made certain not to arrive exceedingly early. I learned my lesson last year with the hauling of ice and comestibles with Jana, John, et al. I arrived less than a half hour before the starting gun sounded and got checked in, collected my two shirts, and caught up with Colby and Rick. I then visited the rooms and decided which presentation I would first attend. The local constabulary made an appearance and brought some strong opinions regarding our choice of vehicular positioning. Although we were a full tome of writers with our poetic licenses at the ready, we declined to throw down the gauntlet of semantics and the complete lack of prohibitory signage, and instead moved our cars to the graveled area. A noticeable improvement over l...