The Provost Marshal

The Provost Marshal of the Division of General Bosquet (Roger Fenton, Crimean War, 1855).

The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police (often called the provost). There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he/she may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire and ambulance services as well as law enforcement. A Provost Marshal may also be in charge of the execution of punishments.

next episode: Plan Green

The Scale Of The Universe

Click on picture, then click on Start. Move the scroll bar at the bottom (or use your mouse wheel)

to explore different sizes, click on items to bring up descriptive information.

 (this tool uses Flash animation, which doesn't work with all operating systems).

Cary Huang (a 14-year-old ninth grader from Moraga, California): "My seventh grade science teacher showed us a size comparison video on cells, and I thought it was fascinating. I decided to make my own interactive version that included a much larger range of sizes. It was not a school project, just for fun. My brother, Michael, helped me put it on the internet."

Cary (right) and Michael Huang (Huang family photograph) 

Asked if he thought there was a lesson to be learned from the project, Cary wrote, "I would like to say that humankind is a very small part of the universe we live in. There could be so much more out there, but we just don't know it yet." (source: abcnews).

next episode: the provost

Gene Tierney at lunch

Gene Tierney wishes you a fine lunch!

next episode: the provost

Olga Nikolaevna

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, by Christina Robertson, 1841 (Hermitage St. Petersburg) (cropped)

Olga Nikolaevna (1822–1892), later Queen Olga of Württemberg, was the second daughter of Tsar Nicholas I. In 1846 she married Charles I of Württemberg, with whom she had no children. Last month I posted a painting (by the same artist) of her sister Alexandra Nikolaevna.

next episode: lunch

Hoop Dress Sisters - part IV

I'm not sure if she is related to my previous postings of post civil war hoop dress ladies CDVs, but the background and the photographer are the same. Although she is standing intead of sitting, she has the same facial expression as the other three ladies. I bought the previous 3 CDVs together, but this one I spotted months later at Ebay. Since then I always look for similar images, but it never happened again.

next episode: Olga Nikolaevna

Pinning interesting pins on Pinterest

When you see a picture somewhere on the world wide web, and you want to store it somewhere, you can use Pinterest to easily 'pin' it and store in on one of your Pinterest boards. This is very handy compared to the cumbersome saving all kind of pictures to your hard disk, or making all kind of bookmarks.

You can also easily browse through the pins of other pinners (very addictive), and you can upload your own pictures. I use Pinterest when I see some interesting picture I want to preserve, and I use Flickr to upload pictures I posses myself and I want to share with others.

next episode: hoop dress sister no IV

Germany invades Holland

Heavy German artillery (Mörsers) probably near Ede, 14-16 May 1940. The signpost on the right shows Arnhem (left) and Amersfoort / Utrecht (right) (source). 

On the morning of May 10th, 1940 the Dutch awoke to the sound of aircraft engines roaring in the sky. Germany had commenced operation Fall Gelb and attacked the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Luxembourg, in the case of the Low Countries without a declaration of war given before hostilities.

Luckily times have changed; we are now good neighbors and we can make jokes about each other:
stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/2011/12/12/jokes-about-germans.

next episode: to pin or not to pin

Amersfoort Liberation Day

On Monday May 7th, 1945 the Canadian Allied Forces entered Amersfoort. The photo shows one of their tanks approaching the Kamperbinnenpoort. Unfortunately the tank is too large, so they have to make a turn left (source: archiefeemland.nl). Nationwide Dutch Liberation Day is celebrated on May 5th. On May 4th the victims of World War II are commemorated.

next episode: the opposite of this

Longwood House (where Napoleon died at May 5th)

Longwood House (photo by Donna Hull)

During Napoleon's exile on St. Helena the Longwood House was his residence. It is located on a windy plain about 6 km from the capital Jamestown.

Map of St. Helena (click to open large version) with in the center Diana's Peak. If you start there following the red road towards Longwood you first pass by Napoleons tomb, and then you arrive at Longwood House. 

On May 5th 1821 Napoleon died.

Longwood House's Reception Room where Napoleon died (photo by Margaret Rodenberg).

He was buried in the nearby Valley of the Geraniums. He himself had selected this beautiful location, although his first choice was to be laid to rest in Paris (in 1840 his remains were indeed transfered to Paris).

Napoleon's Burial Place on St. Helena (photo by John Tyrrell)

Since 1858, after reports of neglect reached Napoleon III, the Valley and Longwood House are in possession of and maintained by France under the name of 'French Domains of Saint-Helena'.

Napoleon had taken up gardening at St. Helena.

next episode: a joyful day

Saint Helena

St. Helena with its capital Jamestown

Saint Helena is an island of volcanic origin in the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the most isolated islands in the world. The highest point of the island is Diana's Peak at 818 m (2,684 ft).

Area: 122 km2

Population: 4255

Capital: Jamestown

It can only be reached by boat, but in 2005 the UK government announced the construction of an airport on the island. After several delays it’s expected to be completed by 2015. The main export products are stamps, coffee and Tungi Spirit.

The island, named after Helena of Constantinople, was uninhabited when it was discovered by the Portuguese at the start of the 16th century. It was usable as a stopover for ships on the route from Europe to Asia, therefore the Dutch and English dislodged the Portuguese from the area. After the Dutch decided to use Cape Town as their supply point the island was colonized by the English.

In 1676 the astronomer Edmond Halley (known for ‘his’ comet) set up an observatory on the island. From 1815 until his death in 1821 Napoleon was forced lived on Saint Helena. In 1900 and 1901 more than 5000 Boer prisoners were held captive, and in 1890-1897 the Zulu king Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo was imprisoned over here.

picture gallery

next episode: Napoleon

Queen's Day

The Museumplein (museum square), the Van Gogh Museum is visible at the left.

Today is Queen's Day in The Netherlands. At Queen's Day, or in Dutch: Koninginnedag (try to pronounce that) we celebrate the birthday of our queen Beatrix. Although in fact it's her mothers birthday, her own birthday is in January when it's way too cold to do things outdoor (except skating).

It seems like the whole nation dresses up in orange (one of the surnames of the queen is 'from Orange') and visits Amsterdam. Since I don't like large crowds, and I have no desire to witness the annual massive train congestion first hand, I stay at home with the cat.

next episode: Saint Helen