And Those Bloody English: Yes, Abq Jew is now keenly aware that the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics started last Erev Shabbat. And because of the France-to-NM time difference (8 hours plus innumerable eons), we New MexiJews were able to watch the Opening Ceremonies before candle lighting.
LIVE! Sort of.
Yes, Celine Dion was terrific, but that was at the end. It was the singing, headless Marie Antionette that really got the viewing audience going.
Wikipedia explains for those who missed World History in high school.
Marie Antoinette (2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen consort of France prior to the French Revolution as the wife of King Louis XVI. Born Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, she was the penultimate child and youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I.
She married Louis, Dauphin of France, in May 1770 at age 14. She then became the Dauphine of France. On 10 May 1774, her husband ascended the throne and she became queen.
And after the French Revolution:
On 21 September 1793, the monarchy was abolished. Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793.
Marie Antoinette's trial began on 14 October; two days later, she was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and executed by beheading by guillotine on 16 October 1793 at the Place de la Révolution.
The bloody (it is, you know) guillotining of Marie Antionette brought to what's left of Abq Jew's mind the bloody death of Anne Boleyn, the second of the six wives of King Henry VIII, about two and a half centuries earlier. Shown smiling in the photo above - as they looked before they met Henry.
Once again, Wikipedia explains for those who missed (wasn't it mandatory?) World History in high school.
Anne Boleyn (c. 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII.
Henry had Anne investigated for high treason in April 1536. On 2 May, she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London, where she was tried before a jury .... She was convicted on 15 May and beheaded four days later.
After her daughter, Elizabeth, became queen in 1558, Anne became venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, particularly through the works of George Wyatt.
She has inspired, or been mentioned in, many cultural works and retained her hold on the popular imagination.
Here is one of Abq Jew's favorite cultural works relating to Anne Boleyn.
Abq Jew refers, of course to the classic English hymn "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm," which World History in high school never mentioned (at least, not in California).
Wikipedia explains for all of us.
"With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm" is a darkly humorous song, written in 1934 with lyrics by R. P. Weston and Bert Lee and music by Harris Weston.
It tells of how the ghost of Anne Boleyn haunts the Tower of London, seeking revenge on Henry VIII for having her beheaded.
It was originally performed by Stanley Holloway. [Who you must, must remember from the 1964 film My Fair Lady, in which he famously and unforgettably portrayed Alfred P Doolittle, Eliza Doolittle's father.]
But here, for all ye olde folkies out there, Abq Jew cheerfully presents The Kingston Trio's version, from their 1960 album Sold Out.
The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus with the Twelve Apostles, as it is told in the Gospel of John – specifically the moment after Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him.
Its handling of space, mastery of perspective, treatment of motion and complex display of human emotion has made it one of the Western world's most recognizable paintings and among Leonardo's most celebrated works.
- The Last Supper was NOT a Passover Seder. Click here.
- Leonardo da Vinci was a MOT. Click here.
It must also be noted (and Abq Jew will thusly note) that there have been parodies of artworks in general and The Last Supper in particular throughout history. Among the more recent and famous:
Thank God, It's Doomsday
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