geeklizzard's New Writeups

Akazome Emon (person)

2004-04-02T05:06:03Z

Akazome Emon was a poet and historian in 11th century Japan. She was a lady in waiting with Lady Izumi, Murasaki Shikibu, and Sei Shonagon, part of a group of famous Heian period court poets. She wrote a history of the Fujiwara clan's rise to power. In 1012 she became a Buddhist nun, but remained active in court politics until her death in 1028.

tÃ¡bano (thing)

2001-11-22T23:36:03Z

The tÃ¡bano is a biting insect of South and Central America. It's like a gadfly or horsefly with a particularly painful bite. And they are determined; once a tÃ¡bano has you in its sights, you can't get away; you have to kill it quick.

Most other biting insects have a syringe-like proboscis, but the tÃ¡bano has a serrated one. They are vectors for various blood-borne illnesses like encephalitis.

Helldorado (place)

2001-11-21T23:25:58Z

Deputy Sheriff William Breakenridge gave Tombstone, Arizona the name Helldorado in his 1928 autobiography.

It's a reference to the quest of the early Spanish explorers for El Dorado, the city, or country, of gold. The "Hell" part of the name refers to the lawless character of the boom mining town in its heyday, the late 1870s and early 1880s.

The town of Tombstone calls its annual Old West festival "Helldorado Days".

There is a Western movie from 1935 called Helldorado, and another version from 1946, starring Roy Rogers.

John Paul Jones (person)

2001-07-23T00:45:59Z

John Paul Jones was born John Paul, named after his father, who was a Scottish gardener on the estate of a Mr. Craik.

In 1773, while he was merchant captain of the Betsy, selling wine and butter on the island of Tobago, John Paul killed a mutinous sailor. Exactly what happened is unclear, but John Paul was advised by his friend the Governor of Tobago to flee and remain incognito. At some point during the next two years, John Paul adopted the surname "Jones", calling himself John Jones, and then adding back his former name of Paul.

Paul Jones served in the Continental Navy and then in the new United States Navy. He is famous for conducting raids on shipping around Ireland, Scotland, and England, and for actually landing a party on British soil -- something that had not happened since the Dutch invaded in the 1600's.

His most famous battle, in the Bonhomme Richard, was fought off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, against the…

Enrique de Malacca (person)

2001-07-10T17:29:01Z

Enrique de Malacca, also known as Enrique Negro, Black Henry, or Panglima Awang, was possibly the first person to circumnavigate the earth.

When he was a 13 year old boy, in Malacca on the Malaysian peninsula, he was captured and enslaved by Ferdinand Magellan, at some point around the year 1500. Enrique travelled with Magellan for years as his close personal servant.

In 1519 Magellan's expedition set out to discover a route sailing west from Spain to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands.

When the expedition reached the Visayan islands of the Philippines, Enrique was able to communicate with the islanders. Magellan was killed on the island of Mactan, betrayed by the Spanish officers in his service. Enrique then betrayed the officers to Humabon, Rajah of the neighboring island of Cebu, and jumped ship.

The question is, did Enrique know the language of the islanders, or did they know Malay, a popular trade language? The…

pelucas (thing)

2001-07-02T22:33:24Z

"Pelucas" or "lucas" is a Mexican candy powder in a little plastic jar; it's salt and powdered sugar and hot chili spice and some kind of sour or acid stuff too, like lime flavoring. Kids buy it from ice cream trucks and eat it plain, but it is also meant to be dusted onto vegetables or fruit.

The word literally means "wigs" but I have no idea why the sweet/sour/hot powder is called that.