Miscellany

I have a whole list of random things I was going to write about, but never finished. So I'll give you a bit of weekend randomness, miscellaneous materials, indiscriminate items, unsystematic observations – stuff. Enjoy.

Item 1 

Tolkien didn't want The Hobbit published in Nazi Germany: Though he was popular in Germany for his academic writing on old Germanic and Norse cultures, Tolkien was disgusted by Nazi Germany, and called Adolf Hitler a "ruddy little ignoramus." When it came time for a German edition of The Hobbit, a German official asked Tolkien to prove that he was "Aryan" enough, in accordance with Nazi law. Tolkien instead wrote a letter back expressing regret that he didn't have Jewish ancestors. (Link embedded to original article).

Item 2
This summer we went to the place where General Stonewall Jackson died. He was shot by his own men, and killed by his own doctors (not purposefully mind you, but does that really make it any better?). They spent all efforts to save him, but what was "good medical treatment" at the time actually killed him. Had he not been on the receiving end of the priority treatment, he would have probably survived.

This is the bed that General Jackson died in. The blanket at the foot of the bed also was the same blanket that covered him.











The clock on the wall also was original to the room.  The daughter of the home was 11 years old when Stonewall died. She kept the bed, the blanket, and the clock for 70 years. She donated them to the National Park services, and came into the home and arranged the furniture exactly how she remembered it when Stonewall passed away.


Item 3
The King James Bible shaped our language. You won't say that about modern translations.