Dunluce Castle

While researching my mom's Irish side of the family for my digital presentation, I found out that they were once in possession of a castle in Northern Ireland. This castle is called Dunluce Castle, and was held by the McQuillans (my relatives) from the 13th century until the late 16th century.

Dunluce Castle is located in on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is now in ruins, but it is open to the public. The basalt outcropping is very steep, and drops off on all sides of the castle, which was helpful in defending the castle from attacks.

The castle was built by Richard de Burgh, the second Earl of Ulster, sometime in the 13th century. It was held by my family while they were the Lords of the Route. In the late 16th century, they lost two major battles to the MacDonalds, and were displaced from the castle. However, the earliest features of the castle, two 9-meter drum towers, are still standing from the McQuillan stronghold.

At one point, part of the kitchen next to the cliff face collapsed into the sea, after which the wife of the owner refused to live in the castle any longer. According to a legend, when the kitchen fell into the sea only a kitchen boy survived, as he was sitting in the corner of the kitchen which did not collapse (Wikipedia). The castle was the seat of the Earl of Antrim until 1690, when the MacDonalds became impoverished. It has deteriorated since that time.

Dunluce Castle has made several appearances in popular culture, from being featured as album art for bands such as Led Zeppelin and Jandek, to appearing in movies such as The Medallion, starring Jackie Chan.

I was fascinated that there were members of my family, however distant, who once lived in a castle. I have always wanted to visit Ireland, and someday if I get that chance, I hope to visit and explore Dunluce Castle.

Dunluce Castle

#APEUROGPNWRONG

Throughout history, there have been many attempts to imperialize and gain control of other lands or countries. Just in recent history, there are many examples: Germany in World War I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, The Soviet-Afghan War, The Persian Gulf War, and The Six-Day War in the Middle East (as well as the never ending wars between the Middle Eastern countries). These attempts have almost all ended in failure, and are almost always based on changing the defenders way of life through change of government and/or religion as well as the taking of land and natural resources. Basically, the conquering country tries to change the society and way of life of the country it is attempting to conquer. For example, in World War II, Hitler tried to force the world to believe what he believed in and do what he wanted them to do.  He had the dominant Arian race and form of government and he would destroy all other races and in the process destroy their religions and take their land and natural resources. Another attempt at imperializing is the British Empire of the late 19^th and early 20^th century.

In this case, the British wanted to take control of India and Ireland, and make both countries as British as possible. They wanted to teach the Irish and the Indians about democracy and self-reliance, and when their work was finished, to return to England and leave them with their knowledge. In both cases, the British plan backfired.

The British considered Hinduism an absurdity, and therefore, they tried to teach the Indians about Christianity. India was supposed to become an ally, not a subject. However, while the British viceroys were living in their palaces, the Indian sepoys were planning a rebellion. They mutinied because of the ingratitude brought upon them by the British, and marched on and burned Delhi. A plague of cholera and dysentery swept through India, along with a population explosion and famine. The British retribution was very bloody, and India was no longer the crown gem of the British Empire.

The events in Ireland mirrored those in India. In Ireland there were too many people on not enough fertile land, and the potato famine and Britain Corn Laws did nothing to help their cause. Relief projects to enable the purchase of food went nowhere, and the only places to go were the workhouses, but those only made the situation worse, due to disease and starvation. The Irish were forced to immigrate to other countries, such as America and Australia.

Through their failed good intentions of civilization, the British saw the greatest peacetime calamity of European history. All of the above attempted conquests involve long range control of other populations to change them to a different lifestyle, religion, government and customs.  Most civilizations sustain a way of life that is satisfactory to their people, and that is why they are living as a group. Any attempt to change that is very difficult, especially when it is attempted from hundreds or thousands of miles away.  Apparently the British did not learn that lesson very well in American Revolutionary War.

American Meat Industry

Lately, there has been a lot of talk going around about Pink Slime. Pink Slime is an ammonia-treated ground beef filler. It is actually still meat, but in order to save money and use 100% of the meat from the animal, it has to be treated with ammonia in order to remove the fat and kill bacteria. As a result of the ammonia treatments, the meat has to be artificially flavored, and is frowned upon by school districts it is served in, even though federal officials say it is safe.
In Europe, American meat is not allowed to be imported or served, because of all the pesticides and treatments our livestock undergoes, and the various procedures done on the meat itself, such as the procedure that creates Pink Slime. It is no surprise the Europeans only eat their own meat, but there are some downsides to their ban on the American meat industry.
For example, Pink Slime does not reflect our agricultural industry as a whole. Personally, I have family members and friends who are farmers and ranchers, and they make sure the products from their livestock, whether it is beef or milk, are natural.
Although it is easy to see where the European opinion on American meat comes from, it should not impact our agricultural industry as a whole.

Pink Slime

The Ides of March

Today was a very important day in European history: the Ides of March. Julius Caesar was assassinated.
Roman Senators and politicians plotted against their "Dictator", Julius Caesar, in hopes of restoring Constitutional power to the Roman Republic.  They stabbed him multiple times in the Roman Senate in 44 BC. Some 60 people plotted against Caesar, including his closest friends, Brutus and Cassius.  A seer had foreseen the event and predicted that Caesar would come to harm by The Ides of March.  By the time the day arrived and nothing had happened, Caesar thought he was home free, but he didn't make it through the day. The goal of the assasnination was not accomplished as several civil wars broke out and Caesar's heirs took over the Roman Empire.

American vs. European Movies

With a French movie, The Artist, winning so many awards at the Oscars this past weekend, it got me thinking about how our film industry does overseas. I looked it up and found some interesting information.

A lot of times, foreign awards shows don't allow American movies to be nominated for Best Picture, but have a separate Best Foreign Film category, like ours, which Iran's A Separation won this year. American movies are a big hit in Asia, with The King’s Speech, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Moneyball, The Social Network, and Black Swan nominated at the Japanese Academy Awards, while the only American movies nominated at the French Césars were Drive and Black Swan. However, Gran Torino has won Best Picture at the French Césars.

Only eight completely foreign-language films have been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, but foreign-directed and produced films are more regularly nominated, and three of the last four have gone to foreign-produced films.

It is interesting that other countries, particularly European countries, have strict rules regarding American films, while our Academy is more open to foreign movies.

Softball in Europe

In January, I went to Europe to play for the North American Select softball team in Cup 2012. The tournament was held in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

It was a lot different playing in Europe, but mainly all of the differences were because we played inside instead of outside. The floor was really slippery, so you had to slide early or else you would miss the base and get tagged out. There was a rule that if the ball touched the ceiling, it was a foul ball unless it was caught, then it was an out. It was a 3-2 count instead of a regular 4-3 count. Also, if the ball was hit on one side of a cone, it was a double, and there were no triples or home runs.

Even though there were a lot of differences, most of the game was played the same as it is here. About half of the umpires were from the United States, and they called the game the same way they would at home.

It was a lot of fun getting to play softball in another country. The most interesting part was playing against girls who didn't even speak the same language as you, but played the game by the same rules.