Finally! A good book on early Estonian nationalism...

[rockymountaindem]

Just what I need to fill in the gaps in my upcoming paper.

Chime in with your other nerdy achievements here B-)

[Aristus]

1. I attended the very first midnight screening of "The Phantom Menace" in 1999.

It was at the invitation of a nerd friend of mine. I went with my brand-new wife. (We'd been married less than two months). My wife is a Trekker and has only the most rudimentary knowledge of "Star Wars."

The screening event was great. Much better than the actual movie. Lots of people came in costumes of every conceivable character. I said to my wife: "Look over there; it's Boba Fett!"

She asked "Who's Bobo Fett?"

You could almost hear every head in the place whirring around to face her, aghast. You could almost see the thought balloon beside every nerdy head: "Who let the civilian in here?"

It was a hoot.

So was "The Phantom Menace". Just not intentionally.

[Swede]

2. I knew the capital of Estonia is Tallin.

That it is one of the three baltic states of the former USSR. It's language is related to Finnish,just across the border. They have a large restive Russian minority. Why do I know this? I don't friggin' know.

[rockymountaindem]

5. You forgot that they were ruled by Sweden until the end of the Great Northern War in 1721

Otherwise, you're correct.

Did you also know, as I learned about five minutes ago, that a campaign for the Germanization of Estonian culture in the 1860s backfired on the nobility and watered the first seeds of Estonian nationalism? Fascinating....

[Critters2]

3. I'm up to my eyeballs in mimetic rivalry...

and this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Girard

[Adsos Letter]

4. I finally managed to find a n ORIGINAL copy of ...

"Antichrist Legend: a Chapter in Christian and Jewish Folklore" by Wilhelm Bousset (1890) One of the scholars of the 19th century German school of higher criticism...

and, at the same time, an ORIGINAL copy of "Alexander's Gate, Gog, Magog, and the Inclosed Nations" by Alan Runni Anderson (1931)

Man...I looked EVERYWHERE for those books... B-)
:hi:

[rockymountaindem]

6. That does sound cool

Particularly the first one, since I'm Jewish and we don't believe in anything about the anti-Christ.

[Adsos Letter]

9. It's a very interesting study...

the antichrist figure is only referred to in the Christian canon a couple of times, and then only very vaguely, and usually in terms of an idea, not a person (although there is an "individual" referred to at in Revelation; anywayyyy...

Bousset's work covers the development and evolution of the whole figure which, by medieval times, had developed into a complete physical description (quite bizarre) and itnerary of events.

2 GREAT books which include a lot of primary sources are by an Emeritus Historian at the University of Chicago, Bernard McGinn:

"Antichrist" and "Visions of the End" both are great reading... :hi:

[BreweryYardRat]

7. I've got three primary-source works I'm trying to find time to read. For fun.

Livy's "The War With Hannibal," (Books 21-30, I think), Arrian's "Campaigns of Alexander," and -- I can't find my copy right now, so the name is almost certainly misspelled -- al-Qalanisi's "Damascus Chronicle." (of the Crusades)

And I just picked up a biography of Cyrus the Great on Tuesday. (If you know the original, non-Anglicized form of Cyrus, please tell me.)

[Adsos Letter]

8. I read the one on the crusades for a university class on ...

"The Crusades" oddly enough... :D Isn't that the only arab account of the crusades? or am I confused...it's been about 15 years.

[BreweryYardRat]

14. I think there are a few more, but I can't say for sure off the top of my head. n/t

[JVS]

10. Fucking collaborators!

[rockymountaindem]

11. I'm talking pre-statehood

1721-1920.

[JVS]

12. Ohhh. Proto-collaborators!

;-)

[rockymountaindem]

13. Butter-producers?