“Merc”’ is also short for “mercenary”.
The British government employed soldiers primarily from the German state of Hesse-Cassel, whom they called “Hessians.” Although the act of plundering was forbidden, many Hessians engaged in it, to the point of the The Declaration of Independence condemning King George for “transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat [sic] the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.” During the war, Hessian plundering often pushed neutral or indifferent Americans to the Patriot side.
In spite of such hostility, some 3,000 Hessians decided they liked the country well enough to make it their new home after the war, and they declined returning to Europe.
The Declaration of Independence became official on July 4, 1776, when it was signed by John Hancock, President of the Congress. (Many of the other signatories signed it at other times, even late into August).
Hancock’s massive and flamboyant signature earned the nickname “John Hancock” as a synonym for people’s signatures in general.
John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.
The building at 875 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago was known, until 2018, as the John Hancock Center. It is a 100-story skyscraper, and when it was completed in 1968, it was the second-tallest building in the United States, behind only the Empire State Building; having been surpassed by a number of other buildings in the past decades, it is now the 14th-tallest.
It took its name from the John Hancock Life Insurance Company, which financed its original construction, and which was one of its original tenants. John Hancock eventually moved out of the building, and in 2018, asked that the company’s name no longer be affixed to it; the building’s owners have yet to find a new “name” tenant, but Chicagoans continue to refer to it as the “John Hancock Building.”
The “Curse of the Billy Goat” in Major League Baseball was allegedly placed on the Chicago Cubs in 1945 by the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, William Sianis, during Game 4 of the World Series.
Sianis’s pet goat, named Murphy, was bothering other fans, and both were asked to leave. Sianis said on his way out, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.”
The Cubs lost that series and didn’t return to the World Series until 2016, clinching the National League pennant on the 46th anniversary of Sianis’s death. They proceeded to beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games to win their first World Series since 1908.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff is a tale that comes from Norway, from the Norske Folkeeventyr (or, Norwegian Folktales). The tale was collected by Norwegian scholars Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, a teacher, and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, a minister, in the 1840s. Asbjørnsen and Moe were inspired by the German folktale collectors, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm, who lived in the late 18th century and early 19th century.
Wilhelm Grimm (left) and Jacob Grimm (right), portrayed by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann (1855)
American cartoonist Mike Peters is known for his political cartoons (for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1981), and for his syndicated daily comic strip, Mother Goose & Grimm, which premiered in 1984.
Thomas Nast (1840-1902) was a German-born political cartoonist. Nast, who emigrated to the United States with his family at age 6, is widely considered to be the “Father of the American Cartoon”. Nast, who created the political symbol of the elephant for the GOP, was influential in bringing down Boss Tweed, the corrupt commissioner of public works for New York City
Maj. Gen. George Henry Thomas was a Virginian who remained loyal to the Union at the outbreak of the the Civil War. A “practical” and not an idealistic abolitionist, one biographer wrote, Thomas became one of the top advocates for the use of U.S. Colored Troops, unlike William T. Sherman. When a captured Confederate officer turned up his nose at his USCT guards, saying, “I’d rather die than be taken into custody by n----r troops,” Thomas snapped, “Well, then, you’d better get ready to die, because these are the best men I’ve got!”
Henry Thomas is an American actor, who is best-known for his leading role as Elliott in *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," which was filmed when he was 11 years old. Thomas successfully transitioned from a child actor to an acting career as an adult; in recent years, he has become known for his collaborations with horror director Mike Flanagan, appearing in a number of Flanagan’s films and television series, including Gerald’s Game, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Fall of the House of Usher.
Henry Thomas, born in 1971, is now 53. As an adult actor he was, at age 23, also in Legends of the Fall which was set in the wilderness and plains of Montana in the early 1900s but was primarily filmed in Alberta and British Columbia, including near Morley AB, and the Ghost River Wilderness Area, also in Alberta, and at the Bow River near Banff National Park, and the harbor area in Vancouver BC called Gastown and also Maple Tree Square in Gastown. Hotel scenes were shot at the Hotel Europe at 43 Powell Street in Vancouver.
The Cabin in the Woods is a 2012 horror/comedy movie, written by Joss Whedon and directed by Drew Goddard. It was shot mostly in a soundstage in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a 2008 comedy-drama musical miniseries, created by Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack and Jed, and Maurissa Tancharoen. The group developed and produced the series during the 2007-8 Writers Guild of America strike (producing it independently so as not to violate the strike), and initially distributed it online.
The miniseries, which consists of three short acts (roughly 14 minutes each) tells the story of aspiring supervillain Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris), his nemesis, the superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), and their mutual love interest Penny (Felicia Day). It was critically acclaimed, and won a Hugo Award, a People’s Choice Award, and a Creative Arts Emmy Award.
Notable captains in American pop culture include Kirk, America, Crunch, Marvel, Picard, Underpants, Beefheart, Midnight and Kangaroo.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the current Captain America is portrayed by Anthony Mackie playing Sam Wilson, previously codenamed The Falcon. He first donned the Captain America outfit and shield at the end of the miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Bob Mackie is an acclaimed costume designer. Mackie first studied under designers Edith Head and Jean Louis, before being hired by Mitzi Gaynor in 1966 to design costumes for her Las Vegas stage show. He went on to be the costumer for The Carol Burnett Show, is known for the numerous costumes and outfits he has created for Cher, Elton John, and Diana Ross (among many other celebrities), and has collaborated with Mattel on outfits for collectible Barbie dolls. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Tony Award, and been nominated for three Academy Awards.
Elton John’s song “Your Song” is about an innocent person trying to tell his lover how he feels about them. At times, he stumbles over his words in an adorable fashion, and even forgets the color of his lover’s eyes.
In Elton John’s song Levon, Levon means lion. It’s a translation of the Greek name Leon which means lion. In some interpretations of the song, Levon could be an allegory for God, and Levon’s son Jesus struggles to live up to his father’s expectations. This could be a reference to lyricist Bernie Taupin’s own questions about his place in the family structure, and about religion itself.
Comment: I love the opening piano in that song.
@Elendil_s_Heir You left out Obvious.
(In play)
Elton John and Bernie Taupin met after answering an ad placed by Liberty Records, seeking new songwriters for their staff. Neither were hired by the company, but John was given an envelope of poems by Taupin, which he took home and composed music to accompany them.