Motley Kamuka

In 1997 I got a book on Napoleon . It takes a plague to get me to read it. I wasn't attracted to history until I moved to NYC in 1990 and began to read some recommended history books by my uncle. I think I joined the history book club and got this book as one of the early freebies. I soon resigned once I'd fulfilled my agreement. It's written by Alan Schom . He set out to write a book that wasn't too positive like the French or too negative like the English. But if you read the reviews on Goodreads, it contains a political slant. It's not about hero worship. Indeed, this paragraph suggests comparison with a current American president. (p.30) Links: Schom on Booknotes on C-SPAN . Schom calls himself a lazy man, he put off writing the book for 2 years, but he also didn't take much time off and only slept 4-5 hours a night for 2 years. He seems to have gotten to some glossed over truths about Napoleon, and like Balzac whom he did a biography of, he m

Maine is the only state that only borders one other state. It was probably named after Maine in France. I recently reread the Henry the 6th plays by Shakespeare and they mention Maine. The first colony that tried to settle there only lasted a year. Mythical creatures of the North Maine Woods : Razor-shins was an immortal  humanoid  with sharp shin bones and a thirst for  liquor  in the  prohibition  state of Maine. New employees were encouraged to leave a jug of  Bangor   whisky  outside of the camp door on the night of the  full moon . If razor-shins emptied the jug by morning, he might use his razor-sharp  shinbones  to fell a tree for the new man. But there were tales of new employees caught in the woods by razor-shins and scalped or otherwise mutilated after failing to offer the customary tribute. Will-am-alones were  squirrel -like creatures said to roll  poisonous   lichen  into small balls and drop them onto the  eyelids  or into the ears of sleeping men. The lichen bal

Lalo narrator in Simone pretends to be from Paraguay to avoid Puerto Rican associations. It reminds me that I pretended to be Canadian once when I was in England. You just don't want the associations thrown on you some times. When I ask myself what the associations are, I think of my friend's girlfriend. She went to a prestigious college and said not everyone is poor from Puerto Rico. She was a social climber. I felt this attitude from many women in high school, so she felt right at home. Another social climber. I think that is universal in the world. People want status. She threw a drink into a woman's face at a perceived slight. I think everyone is insecure from everywhere in the world. I have often been told that I can be condescending, so I apologize to anyone who I've alienated that way, you have to know it comes from insecurity and other faults. Of course be offended by others stupidity, lack of really seeing you. I don't really judge Puerto Rico based on