6 March: Cyrano de Bergerac Quotes

Born this date in 1619 was Cyrano de Bergerac, French dramatist and duellist best remembered for the many works of fiction about his life. 10 quotes:

1. I may climb perhaps to no great heights, but I will climb alone.

2. A large nose is the mark of a witty, courteous, affable, generous and liberal man.

3. A kiss is a rosy dot over the 'i' of loving.

4. This veridic nose arrives everywhere a quarter of an hour before its master. Ten shoemakers, good round fat ones too, go and sit down to work under it out of the rain.

5. We must believe then, that as from hence we see Saturn and Jupiter; if we were in either of the Two, we should discover a great many Worlds which we perceive not; and that the Universe extends so in infinitum.

6. A pessimist is a man who tells the truth prematurely.

7. Most men judge only by their senses and let themselves be persuaded by what they see.

8. The angel had told me in my dream that if I wanted to acquire the perfect knowledge I desired, I would have to go to the Moon.

9. You are now bearing the punishment for the shortcomings of your world. Here, as in your world, there are benighted people who cannot tolerate thinking about things they are not accustomed to.

10. The people of your world became so stupid and rude that my companions and I no longer enjoyed teaching them. You must surely have heard of us: we were called oracles, nymphs, spirits, fairies, household gods, lemures, larvas, lamias, sprites, water-nymphs, incubi, shades, spirits of the dead, specters and ghosts.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

5 March: Leila Name Day

In Finland, today is the name day for people called Leila.

Leila is a feminine given name which can be spelled multiple ways, including Leila, Layla, Laylah, Laila, Leyla, and Leylah. In Finland, the name is derived from a Sami name meaning holy. It’s also common in Arabic speaking countries where it derives from the Arabic word for night. In the Middle East often given to girls born during the night, signifying "daughter of the night". 10 famous people with this name:

1. Laila Ali: boxer and daughter of Muhammad Ali.
2. Laila Hirvisaari: Finnish author.
3. Layla Moran: British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon since 2017.
4. Leyla Harding: character in the British soap opera Emmerdale.
5. Leyla Kazim: English writer and media personality. She gained prominence through her food and travel blog before joining The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4 as a presenter.
6. Layla Anna-Lee: English television presenter, specialising in sports.
7. Laila Rouass: British actress known for her portrayals of Amber Gates in Footballers' Wives and Sahira Shah in Holby City.
8. Laila Lewin: character in the book series The Wheel of Time.
9. Leila Khan: English actress known for her role as Sahar Zahid in the coming-of-age romantic comedy drama series Heartstopper.
10. Leila Hyams (pictured): American actress whose film career began in 1924 during the era of silent films and ended in 1936.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

4 March: Julia Cameron Quotes

Born on this date in 1948 was Julia Cameron, US writer, film maker, composer, and journalist most famous for her book The Artist's Way. 10 quotes:

1. In creativity, as in running, you have to start where you are.

2. We tend to think being hard on ourselves will make us strong. But it is cherishing ourselves that gives us strength.

3. As you move toward a dream, the dream moves toward you.

4. What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do.

5. Leap, and the net appears.

6. The next time you are restless, remind yourself it is the universe asking 'Shall we dance?

7. Procrastination is not Laziness. It is fear. Call it by its right name, and forgive yourself.

8. Possibility is far more frightening than impossibility.

9. Answered prayers are scary. They imply responsibility. You asked for it. Now that you've got it, what are you going to do?

10. Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

3 March: George Pullman

George Pullman, inventor and industrialist, inventor of the railway sleeping car was born on this date in 1831.

1. Pullman was born in Brocton, New York, the son of Emily Caroline and Lewis Pullman, who was a carpenter and inventor. He was one of nine children.

2. His father had invented a machine that could move buildings onto new foundations. George took over the family business at the age of 22 when his father died.

3. Three years later, he won a contract with the State of New York to use his father’s invention to move buildings to make way for a canal.

4. His wife’s name was Harriet Sanger. She was the daughter of a construction company owner. They had four children. There was also a man named Gustave Behring who claimed he was Pullman’s illegitimate son.

5. He spent some time in Colorado during the gold rush. He saw a business opportunity catering to the needs of miners there. He opened a ranch, providing food, accommodation and supplies for the miners and a place to exchange tired teams of animals for fresh ones before ascending the mountain passes, earning the ranch the name Pullman’s Switch.

6. Pullman is most famous for inventing the railway sleeping car, which he modelled on packet boats and marketed as a luxury way to travel. After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, his body was carried in one of Pullman’s carriages from Washington DC, to Springfield, which with thousands of people lining the route, helped raise awareness of the sleeping cars.

7. He hired freed slaves to provide services to his passengers. These men served as porters, valets, entertainers and waiters. Whether this was a good job or not isn’t clear as at least one of my sources contradicted itself, saying at one point that these men had to live on the tips they got, but later saying they were well paid and got to travel and were hence well respected in their communities. They became known as Pullman porters.

8. He founded a company town in Chicago for the workers in his factory, which sounds like a good thing to do, but he turned out to be as big an asshole as many of the super rich people today. In 1894, when the demand died down, Pullman cut jobs and wages but still charged the same rent and didn’t cut utility costs in his town, which led to violent strike action by the residents for which federal troops were called in.

9. On October 19, 1897, Pullman died of a heart attack in Chicago, Illinois. He was 66 years old.

10. He was buried in a mahogany coffin lined with lead, which was then encased in a block of concrete. This was because his family feared that his disgruntled employees might try to dig him up and desecrate the body.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

2 March: Helena Name Day

In Poland, today is the name day for people called Helena. 10 famous Helenas:

1. St Helena: mother of Emperor Constantine the Great.

2. Helena Bonham Carter: English actress known for her portrayals of eccentric women in films, particularly period dramas.

3. Helena Rubinstein: businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorporated cosmetics company.

4. Helena Russell: character in the television series Space: 1999.

5. Helena Christensen: Danish fashion model.

6. Princess Helena: third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

7. Helena Kennedy: Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, Scottish barrister, broadcaster, and Labour member of the House of Lords.

8. Helena Blavatsky: mystic and writer who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875.

9. Helena Ravenclaw: also known as the Grey Lady, character in the Harry Potter series.

10. Lady Helena Gleichen: British painter of landscapes, flowers, and animals, with a particular passion for horses. During World War I, she served as an ambulance driver and radiographer in France and Italy, where she was given the rank of major in the army.

Helena is also the name of the female protagonist in my novel Killing Me Softly.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

Available on Amazon:

Paperback

E-book

1 March: 60

1 March is the 60^th day of any non-leap year. Here are 10 fun facts about the number 60.

1. The ancient Babylonian number system had a base of 60 inherited from the Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations. It’s speculated that part of the reason for that is 60 has a lot of divisors.

2. This is the reason why there are 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute.

3. The same is true of angles: there are 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutes in a degree.

4. In older literature, 60 may be called threescore, meaning three times 20 (a score).

5. It’s the atomic number of Neodymium, a chemical element with the symbol Nd. It is the fourth member of the lanthanide series and is considered to be one of the rare-earth metals.

6. A Hindu man who turns 60 celebrates a ceremony called Sashti (60) Abda (years) Poorthi (completed) in Sanskrit.

7. In the west, a couple who have been married for 60 years celebrate their Diamond wedding anniversary.

8. Gone in 60 Seconds is a 2000 film starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie, in which a reformed car thief has to steal 50 supercars in less than three days in order to save his brother’s life.

9. Talking of cars, the number of miles per hour a car can accelerate to from rest (0-60) is one of the standard measurements of performance.

10. London bus 60 runs from Oasis Academy to Streatham Station.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

28 February: Spades

In the French Revolutionary calendar, today is Bêche (Day of the Spade). Given the nature of the French Revolutionary calendar, celebrating plants, animals and tools, we must be talking here about the garden implements rather than the Playing card suit. So here are 10 facts about spades.

1. The word comes from the Old English "spadu", which, like similar words in other languages, meant a digging implement.

2. Before the advent of metalworking, people used spades made from riven wood or the shoulder blades of animals.

3. Parts of a spade are the metal blade, which is sometimes referred to as the spit, the shaft shaft, which is usually made of wood, and a handle.

4. Is it a spade or a shovel? The words are often used interchangeably but a spade and a shovel are actually two different things, with different uses. Spades are usually straight and push force directly down, making them good for digging, while a shovel often has a curved or scooped blade, because its function is to move stuff around, like Snow or sand or loose dirt.

5. Hence, when you’re at the seaside and buy a bucket and spade, you are actually buying a bucket and shovel. In North America, these are called shovels with pails.

6. Spade blades were used as currency in ancient China.

7. Some Ice cream scoops are also called spades, because of their shape.

8. The English expression, to call a spade a spade means saying something “as it is”, speaking directly and often to the point of rudeness. The expression ultimately comes from a line in a work in ancient Greece by Plutarch. Who actually said "calling a Fig a fig, and a trough a trough". It’s thought this expression in itself was made up of double entendres and therefore quite rude. Later, Erasmus translated Plutarch’s text and it was he who altered it to be about spades. It’s thought it was a deliberate choice for dramatic effect rather than a mistake in translation. Nicholas Udall translated Erasmus in 1542 and the phrase entered the English language, and was used by many famous writers including Charles Dickens, W Somerset Maugham, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Browning, Jonathan Swift, and Oscar Wilde.

9. The phrase has also been seen as borderline racist, as in the late 1920s “spade” became an insulting term for a black person.

10. Spades today usually have footrests on both sides of the blade so both left and right footed people can use the same tool. This wasn’t always the case, however. Traditionally, a spade only had a footrest on one side. This was notably the case in rural Ireland. In due course, the English introduced spades with two footrests to the north of Ireland while farmers in the south retained the old type. This is the origin of a slur which you may have heard on Downton Abbey: the Protestants in the North would say that a person “dug with the wrong foot” or was “left-footer” meaning a Catholic person who still used the old style of spade.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/