November 11, 2008
Posted at: 11:17 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: History and Mythology
I have lived in the Greater Boston area my entire life and have been to Logan many times for my flights, friends and family flights and just driving by. For some reason, I never knew the full name of Logan was actually “General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport“.
Edward L. Logan was born in Boston on 20 January 1875. Except while on active duty, he was a life-long resident of South Boston. He graduated from Boston Latin School in 1893, where he received his first military training in the cadet corps, and from Harvard in 1897.
He mustered out in November 1898 and entered Harvard Law School while remaining sergeant major of the 9th Infantry. He graduated in June 1901 and was also appointed as 2d Lieutenant in Company A, 9th Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia (later Massachusetts National Guard). Logan was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in 1903 and in October 1908 he took command of Company A as a captain.
During and after service in the National Guard he was active in civic, veterans, and political posts. He was the first state commander of the American Legion, President of the National Guard Association, Boston city councilor, representative and senator in the Massachusetts General Court, as well as president of a number of charitable institutions. He was one of Boston’s leading citizens as was nationally known for his role in veterans and military affairs.
I like the history behind names and places because then it is not just another place or thing, it has a past. It has a story that can be told as a tidbit during a conversation. History can sometimes be really interesting.
September 23, 2008
Posted at: 11:55 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: History and Mythology, Rants and Randomness
Last week, newly appointed Ambassor to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch arrived in Yerevan where she will command her post.
Armenian-American groups have been seeking to force the Bush administration to change its policy on the 1915 incidents, but Yovanovitch clearly adhered to the US line of refusing to label the incidents as “genocide” at her confirmation hearing in the Senate. Last year the White House withdrew its nomination of career diplomat Richard Hoagland after one lawmaker blocked it in an objection to that policy. The post had remained vacant for two years. Armenia, with the backing of its diaspora, claims that up to 1.5 million of its kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. Turkey rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with at least as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when the Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
Washington has had no full-time ambassador in Yerevan since May 2006 and has attached great importance to sending Yovanovitch there at a time of increasing Russian influence in the region and a worsening conflict with Iran over its alleged development of nuclear arms, officials said at the time.
The last ambassador was removed by George Bush because he openly called the “killings” a genocide. Bush is an idiot.
April 30, 2008
Posted at: 11:41 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: History and Mythology
Today in 1789, George Washington takes the oath of office as the first President of the United States.
I was going to write more, but I am not feeling well, sorry it’s short, but enjoy the quick history fact 
March 22, 2008
Posted at: 11:08 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: Armenia, History and Mythology
As a Christian, Holy Saturday (day after Good Friday and the day before Easter) is the day where we remember the dead body of Christ in his tomb.
February 02, 2008
Posted at: 6:04 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: History and Mythology, Rants and Randomness
I was discussing this the other day and I thought it was weird how everything is so close. However, anyone can put two people together and find coincidences between them.
I’m not saying this is a conspiracy, but it is really interesting.
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Lincoln
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Kennedy
|
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Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846
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Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946
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He was elected President in 1860
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He was elected President in 1960
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His wife lost a child while living in the White House
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His wife lost a child while living in the White House
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He was directly concerned with Civil Rights
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He was directly concerned with Civil Rights
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Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy who told him
not to go to the theater *1
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Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln who told him
not to go to Dallas **2
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Lincoln was shot in the back of the head in the
presence of his wife
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Kennedy was shot in the back of the head in the
presence of his wife
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Lincoln shot in the Ford Theatre
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Kennedy shot in a Lincoln, made by Ford
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He was shot on a Friday
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He was shot on a Friday
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The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was known by three
names, comprised of fifteen letters
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The assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was known by three
names, comprised of fifteen letters
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Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and fled to a warehouse
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Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a
theater
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Booth was killed before being brought to trial
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Oswald was killed before being brought to trial
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There were theories that Booth was part of a greater conspiracy
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There were theories that Oswald was part of a greater conspiracy
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Lincoln’s successor was Andrew Johnson, born in 1808
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Kennedy’s successor was Lyndon Johnson, born in 1908
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*1 Note: It is an urban myth that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy. There is no record of that.
**2 Note: There is no record whether or not Kennedy’s secretary warned him.
December 14, 2007
Posted at: 11:55 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: History and Mythology, Rants and Randomness
Many people think that this song was written centuries ago and is the National Anthem of Austria. However, it turns out that the song was written by Oscar Hammerstein II for the Sound of Music in 1959.
Edelweiss is a white flower found high in the Alpine hills and the lyrics reflect its change and the effect on people. I don’t really know if that makes sense, but it’s ok.
Edelweiss Lyrics
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever
November 23, 2007
Posted at: 3:22 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: History and Mythology, Sports and Leisure
Doug Flutie is one of the most notable names in college football (and that whole pro thing he did). In 1984, he had one of the best years any quarterback had in college football history.
He had the Heisman trophy won since before his famous game since voting took place prior to November 23rd even though some people think that the final game locked it up. Flutie left school as the NCAA’s all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards and was a consensus All-America as a senior. He earned Player of the Year awards from UPI, Kodak, The Sporting News and the Maxwell Football Club.
November 23, 1984 was voted the greatest college sports game in history. Flutie’s BC Eagles beat Miami Hurricanes 47-45 in a back and forth game which ended in a last second hail mary pass to Gerard Phelan.
At the time, I was almost 3 months old and my father was holding me in his hands. When they caught the ball, my father jumped up and I almost hit my head on the ceiling. Luckily for me I didn’t, but it is still a good story.
September 21, 2007
Posted at: 1:04 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: Armenia, History and Mythology
Note: This obviously only applies to the USA because if you live in Armenia, you can get your permit at the age of 15, but that is besides the point.
On this day in Armenian History 1991, the Republic of Armenia declared it’s freedom from the (former) Soviet Union to be apart of the New Independent States which later became the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). Along with Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, they freed themselves from the control of the Soviet Union and communism.
In Armenia’s first years as a sovereign state, they had to deal with many problems that prevented them from thriving as a country. An earthquake that killed ten’s of thousands of people and the new President banning the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Once Robert Kocharian became President in 1998, the country started to turn around and is doing very well for a *moderately developed country*.
Happy Independence Day Armenia!!!
armenia, freedom, soviet union, NIS, CIS, independence
September 06, 2007
Posted at: 11:55 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: Armenia, History and Mythology
This is an image from a satellite in space of Mount Ararat.
| Elevation |
5,137 meters (16,854 ft) |
| Location |
Iğdır Province, Turkey |
| Coordinates |
39°42.26′N 44°17.5′E |
| Type |
Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption |
1840 |
Mount Ararat (Armenian: Արարատ) is the highest mountain in Turkey. Ararat was a part of Armenia until the Armenian Genocide in 1915 when Turkey took over that section of Armenia. Mount Ararat is an important landmark to Armenian’s because it shows the beauty of the sister mountains that were taken away from Armenia. It is a symbol in most paintings, songs, movies and mostly anything else to do with Armenia. It is also the background to my header image on my blog. In 2001, I stood at Khor Virab, which is the closest you can get to Ararat while still in Armenia, and watched the mountain for so long. I sat there thinking about the history and watched the amazing view of the twin peaks. The above image is not rendered in any way, it actually looks like that.
At some point in my life, one of my goals is to climb Ararat, but the Turkish government has issues with that. The climb is long, but there is a fairly easy route from the south in late summer for climbers who are familiar with the use of axe and crampons. Snow covers the last 400 m (¼ mile) year-round. There are two possible campsites on the mountain, and the glacier begins around 4,800 m (15,750 ft). The Turkish government requires a climbing permit and use of a certified Turkish guide. I found a company out of Turkey who will do everything for you and it only costs $1,500. I know that might be a lot to spend, but I will if it means completing a lifelong goal. If I do end up going, I will be documenting the entire trip.
Most people say they have never heard of Mount Ararat, but when you mention Noah’s Ark, they know that. One thing that they never realized though was the mountain that the Ark landed on after the 150 days was Mount Ararat. In the Bible, the book of Genesis, Chapter 8 1-5 reads:
“But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen”
Facts:
- In November 2004, Mt. Ararat and its surrounding area was considered a National Park
- Ararat (film) is a 2002 film by Atom Egoyan about the Armenian Genocide. I saw it on it’s release date in Harvard Square and it was really a great movie.
- The Armenian-American Metal Band System of a Down wrote the song “Holy Mountains” about Mt. Ararat and its significance to Armenians with regard to the Armenian Genocide.
- Mount Ararat is referenced in the plot of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Bluebeard.
Ararat, Armenia, Armenian border, genocide, mountain, mt. Ararat, turkey
July 03, 2007
Posted at: 11:37 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: History and Mythology
On the third day and final day of the battle, fighting resumed on Culp’s Hill, and cavalry raged to the east and south, but the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederates against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Pickett’s Charge was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire at great losses to the Confederate army. Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 Americans were casualties in the three-day battle.
Here is a website that shows you an interactive battle of Gettysburg
1863, gettysburg, civil war, abraham lincoln, battle, final day, july 3
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