Flattery will get you everywhere... but he apparently wasn't a complete flake.
Both of the cats are on my lap, but facing opposite directions. I'm reading one of my Western Civ texts (that would be the one I have, as opposed to the one that I don't) in preparation for my Midterm at 9:25 Monday morning. Not having the other text is finally starting to freak me out a little. At least this text is interesting... it's a compilation of various primary source documents, so it's a rather different view of history than you usually get in a class, which is nice.
P.S. Thomas Hobbes writing about absolute sovereignty? Kiiiinda creepy. Because the guy's a genius, and is a very good writer and absolute sovereignty is SCARY AS HELL. And reading Thomas Hobbes and Jean Bodin totally didn't make me think about BSG. Expect that it did. But I mostly blame that on my co-worker continually saying, "That's boring. What about robots?" The rest of it I blame on the fact that it made me think about BSG anyway. >.>
I'm also learning stuff about Louis XIV! I've known about the whole bit about Versailles and the 'Sun King' thing for as long as I can remember, but finding out that he was the one to institute uniforms for the military? That he formed the Musketeers? That he revolutionized the organization of the standing military and instituted 30 regiments of militia around France? That he multiplied the number of magazines and continually kept them very well stocked? Or that he founded the Corps of Engineers which built or rehauled 150 fortresses around the country? I did not know. I didn't know that he organized a company of grenadiers for the infantry and set at least one up with each regiment. Nor that he set up companies of cadets in frontier towns where young men were taught mathematics and drills which lasted for a decade. I didn't know that he expanded the Dragoons and set up studs to keep the infantry with a regular supply of quality horses. I didn't know that he founded artillery schools, or that he was the one who instituted the widespread use of bayonets.
Another thing I didn't know? That Voltaire was such a little fanboy. ^_^
Next up? Jean Colbert and mercantilism. What is it with guys named Colbert and moneh? ::snicker::
P.S. Thomas Hobbes writing about absolute sovereignty? Kiiiinda creepy. Because the guy's a genius, and is a very good writer and absolute sovereignty is SCARY AS HELL. And reading Thomas Hobbes and Jean Bodin totally didn't make me think about BSG. Expect that it did. But I mostly blame that on my co-worker continually saying, "That's boring. What about robots?" The rest of it I blame on the fact that it made me think about BSG anyway. >.>
I'm also learning stuff about Louis XIV! I've known about the whole bit about Versailles and the 'Sun King' thing for as long as I can remember, but finding out that he was the one to institute uniforms for the military? That he formed the Musketeers? That he revolutionized the organization of the standing military and instituted 30 regiments of militia around France? That he multiplied the number of magazines and continually kept them very well stocked? Or that he founded the Corps of Engineers which built or rehauled 150 fortresses around the country? I did not know. I didn't know that he organized a company of grenadiers for the infantry and set at least one up with each regiment. Nor that he set up companies of cadets in frontier towns where young men were taught mathematics and drills which lasted for a decade. I didn't know that he expanded the Dragoons and set up studs to keep the infantry with a regular supply of quality horses. I didn't know that he founded artillery schools, or that he was the one who instituted the widespread use of bayonets.
Another thing I didn't know? That Voltaire was such a little fanboy. ^_^
Next up? Jean Colbert and mercantilism. What is it with guys named Colbert and moneh? ::snicker::