Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

Here are a few famous quotations from the novel:

• "It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it."
  - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
  
  
• "If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends."
  - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
  
  
• "A Christmas frost had come at midsummer; a white December storm had whirled over June; ice glazed the ripe apples, drifts crushed the blowing roses; on hayfield and cornfield lay a frozen shroud: lanes which last night blushed full of flowers, to-day were pathless with untrodden snow; and the woods, which twelve hours since waved leafy and flagrant as groves between the tropics, now spread, waste, wild, and white as pine-forests in wintry Norway."
  - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
  
  
• "Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones."
  - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
  
  
• "Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs."
  - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
  
  
• "So much has religion done for me; turning the original materials to the best account; pruning and training nature. But she could not eradicate nature: nor will it be eradicated 'till this mortal shall put on immortality."
  - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
  
  
• "Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last."
  - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
  
  
• "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will."
  - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

Note to self: I've seen the movie adaptation starring Zelah Clarke, Timothy Dalton, Sian Pattenden, et al. Next time, watch the version starring William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Joan Plowright, et al.

Researching UFOs

First alleged sighting of UFOs: June 1947, in Central Washington State. Kenneth A. Arnold, an American aviator and businessman, claimed to have seen nine unusual objects flying in a chain near Mount Rainier, Washington. 

Famous UFO crash site: Roswell, New Mexico (December 1947). Authorities in Roswell claimed having found the proof of alien life. When they later retracted their story, Jesse Marcel, the original military investigator, declared that there was a government-ordered cover-up and pointed at the top-secret Area 51.

Quote from

http://www.roswellfiles.com/Witnesses/MarcelMyths.htm

"From 1979 until his death, Jesse Marcel's story went through many evolutions.  In particular, Jesse's military  career in the Army Air Force seems to have improved over time. It should be noted that Jesse Marcel's military career was entirely honorable.  His descent into mythomania apparently occurred after his departure from the military."

What is RAAF?

The London Bridge

About the London Bridge:

• A.D. 43. Claudius and his roman soldiers built a bridge on the River Thames.
• 1209: First stone bridge. City on a bridge. Narrow arches and low height rendered it difficult for some boats to go through.
• 1831: The Tower Bridge replaced the old bridge. It took 8 years to build it.

The Salem Witch Hunt

In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, the Salem Witch Hunt took place. 150 people were put in prison, after being coerced to admit guilt. 23 people were sentenced to death, including Rev. Georges Burroughs, the only member of the clergy to be hung. Burroughs opposed the war with the Indians, and the other Puritans ganged up against him.
It all started with the Paris children who accused Indian slave Tituba (the "Black Witch of Salem") of black magic. The Puritans believed that the Wabanaki Indians (Americans were at war with them) worshiped the Devil.

Yellowstone National Park

The Yellowstone National Park is located in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. It's the home of Old Faithful, an old geyser. At the Yellowstone National Park, there are hot springs and active geysers. 

Edgar Allan Poe

ABOUT Edgar Allan Poe:

• Born in Boston.
• Poverty
• Alcoholic father (David Poe) abandons the family, leaving his wife with two small children (William and Edgar) and pregnant with another (Rosely). William is adopted by another family.
  
• Mother (Eliza) dies at 24 of tuberculosis. Edgar is 3.
• Rosely is adopted, and so is Edgar (two different families). Edgar moves to Richmond, Virginia, with the Allan family.
• The Allan family moves to England, where Edgar attends the best school, despite the financial setbacks.
• The family returns to the U.S. Difficult relationship between John Allan and Edgar who resents the fact that he was never formally adopted.
• Poe attends the University of Virginia, where he gets a reputation as a drunkard. He also attends West Point. He is dismissed because of his drinking.
  
• Foster mother (Frances Allan) also dies of tuberculosis when Edgar is 20. Frances Allan never formally adopted him.
• Poe sees himself as a curse figure and is haunted by death.
• John Allan breaks off all relationship with Poe. When he dies, he doesn't leave anything to Poe.
  
• Poe moves to Baltimore and works for "The Messenger."
• At 27, he marries a 13 y.o. first cousin, Virginia, against the wishes of the family.
• On 1837, Poe is dismissed from The Messenger. He moves to Greenwich in New York, where he tries his own publication: The Pen. The project never sees light. He is employed by Gentleman's Magazine and gains a better financial situation. He also gains respect in the literary world, befriending Dickens.
• When Virginia gets sick, Poe's erratic behavior returns. He loses his job.
• Poe is hired by the New York Mirror, and is stable again. He publishes "The Raven," his most famous poem.
• Poe works for the Broadway General, which he later buys, then loses.
  
• Virginia dies of tuberculosis at 24. Poe takes on drinking again. He is found dead in someone elses's clothes.
  
• Famous short stories: The Pit and the Pendulum. The Tell-Tale Heart.
  
• Videos watched on Discovery Education: 1) Great Books: Tales of Edgar Allan Poe. 2) Famous Authors: Edgar Allan Poe: 1809-1849. 3) The Oval Portrait. 4) Responding to Edgar Allan Poe.

Ramses

Ramses, the Egyptian ruler, married as a teenager. He became pharaoh at the age of 20 and had about 100 children. He was a great builder, and he's the one who moved Egypt's capital from Memphis to an area in the Delta: Rameses. This was a military move, which brought his solid army (more than 20,000 men in the infantry) closer to Syria and Libya, Egypt's historical enemies. Ramses had a reputation as a fearless warrior. His body is in the Valley of the Kings.