Millennium - Tom Holland

(Abacus, 2009)
It's been probably ten years since I wrote a book review, so I've decided to start attempting to do so. This first effort is on the latest offering from popular historian Tom Holland, a wide-ranging overview of what is commonly known as the 'Dark Ages'.
'Millennium' attempts to illustrate the emergence of unified, Christian, kingdoms in the time period surrounding the first Millennium AD. The general tone of the book lends itself to narrative, as Holland portrays each historical figure, be they king, Pope or emperor, as a character in the overall scheme of things, and how each character shaped the future of the world as they knew it. The major overarching theme of the book focuses on the doom and gloom felt by European Christians in the lead-up to the first Millennium, when many people started looking at the world around them, and seeing signs of decay, violence and death, feared the Day of Judgement was at hand. The conviction of this that many people felt was set in stone by the Church, and each particular failure of Armageddon to arrive was followed by disappointment, then excuses, and finally a new 'Day of Judgement' would be seized upon. I personally enjoyed the way Holland closes the book with a sort of closure upon this theme. He has, early in the text, set the dates which he will deal with between AD 900 and AD 1100. In the final chapter, he deals with the immediate lead-up to the First Crusade, yet does not go into detail on the Crusade itself. Instead he merely states, in a succint summary, that "Antichrist did not appear."
At first I found this to be an anticlimax, after the rather rushed final chapter (in which he deals with about 20 years of pan-European history in 80 pages), but upon reflection, realized that this one short line summed up the entire book. Despite detailing the evolution of the Holy Roman Empire, France, England, Scandinavia and Kievan Rus in the course of the book, the major theme of the book is closed with that final line, and the reader can move on, because the author had given them enough information to understand much more about these 'Dark Ages'.
This review is only partial, but Mr. Holland has also added a detailed timeline, notes section, and index, which provide a LOT of further in-depth reading. I enjoyed the book very much. I suppose that's probably the best review I could have written at all...

Oh Lordy

well there are mutants and zombies. I would personally prefer to be a mutant, as long as it wasn't one of those crazy mutations like the guy from the Fantastic Four. an extra finger or toe wouldn't be so bad. pointless, perhaps, but could possibly make life easier. in other news, I really like living on a bus. sometimes. even though it makes 'normal' life seem like something alien, I've gotten quite fond of my bunk rocking me to sleep at night. I finished reading my latest book recently, and will probably dedicate a blog to that in the next few days. In other news, my sunburnt elbows have finally gone back to normal after Puerto Rico, and I have had a very positive week. I'm not sure why that is, but I have an idea. Anyway, my bandmates have described me as a 'new Dermo' and the whole positive mental attitude is as infectious on the bus as harp player no. 1's sore throat. So we're all feeling a bit under the weather, but also are all in a really good mood (mostly) which is a total sea-change from some of the previous tours we have done together. as they say, the band that coughs together... umm I don't know where that was going, but you get my drift. Lucky for us then, since we are playing gigs almost 5 nights a week from now until April! Overall, this whole touring thing has its ups and downs, but currently spirits are up. This pleases me.
until next time: peace and love.
Dermo.

Here's to new friends.. and ships.

I'm on my second-last day in Puerto Rico, a fun little island, and what can I say? I'm going to be cheesy but honest and say that, like most journeys I've made, it has been the people here who have made my stay so good. my travelling companion is a diminutive blonde firecracker, whose utter disparity with my own personality has made for constant entertainment on both of our parts, and we have Definitely learned a lot about each other. from day one, moving into the newly-opened San Juan International Hostel we met open, entertaining, contrasting and fascinating people. their website is http://sjihostel.wordpress.com/ and if you follow me on Twitter, their tag is @SJiHostel. I'm hereby recommending all weary travellers to book in advance for this hidden gem. having not booked in advance, we have stayed at various places, but ended up coming back, almost every evening, whether it be for poker, rum, or just good old-fashioned witty banter. As a nerd of all things historical, I made a point of taking some time to myself to ogle over the extensive fortifications in the old town. The weather- and salt-stained masonry of the Spanish colonial period, intermingled with more recent US militaristic concrete creates a shocking contrast, but a fitting example of what makes this the 'Gateway to the Caribbean'. as you enter the old town proper, down by Plaza Colón, the sprawling fortress of San Cristobal looms large to seaward, while the plaza itself is a nice place to chill and people-watch, especially on those days when the local rum has left a void between the ears. the 'Gateway' tag is especially deserved when you realize the amount of cruise ships which dock here, almost every day. there have been at least four different floating cities docked there in the last week. Crazy, right? Well, maybe not. I like the idea of a cruise, probably more than I might enjoy the actual journey. Being aboard ship makes me feel great. As soon as i feel the craft pitching and tossing on the waves beneath my feet I get a sense of excitement, of discovery, even, that flying in an aeroplane can just not compare. But the sheer size of these ships makes me wonder if anything but a storm-tossed sea would create that same feeling, and maybe I would not achieve that sense of adventure that makes me love being on the sea. I think the only way is to attempt it. And when I do, I shall be certain to record the experience right here. In a side note, while on the island here, we took a ferry to the smaller island of Vieques, off the eastern coast. It reminded me very much of the ferry to the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway. That, I suppose, is where I get my romantic notion of seafaring from. Another companion, early in our trip, was a medical officer on board a sailing vessel, and confirmed to me that my notion of sailing is quite probably a serious misconception.
On a totally unrelated topic, we also visited Arecibo Observatory, which is where they filmed the closing sequence of the James Bond movie 'Goldeneye' which was one of the first James Bond movies I think I had ever seen, and still remains a firm favourite. I know what you're thinking: "doesn't he know that Arecibo observatory has the largest reflecting telescope in the world, and is also home to the SETI foundation.. ?" well, I do know that, but as I'm an avid consumer of popular movie culture, the James Bond reference is what I first picked up on. And do you know what? I was very surprised that more people didn't get it straight away, some people I mentioned it to HAD NEVER SEEN THE MOVIE!!!! crazy? damn straight.
peace and love brothers and sisters
Dermo

Caffeination

not all coffee is good. by no means. In fact I have drank a large amount of bad coffee recently. Normally, at home in Ireland I don't tend to drink coffee at all, but on the road in the US, coffee is more readily available than tea, and since I still need my caffeine fix, will suffice to fill a gap. Anyhow, whether or not I'm drinking good coffee, I still think that it doesn't have the same psychological effect that tea can have, especially on myself, a veteran tea drinker. I apologise to those who expect something a little deeper from my blog. I'm just a little bit homesick, and would love a nice cup of Lyon's right now. preferably with some nice biscuits. I personally like Chocolate Polos, but really, I have no major preference. except for Fig Rolls. I really don't like Fig Rolls. speaking of which, I ate my first actual fig at Christmas, thanks to the wide-ranging tastes of Sister the Elder. I actually quite liked it. I have not expanded my palate much recently, so the addition of a new fruit/vegetable is, I suppose, an event to be remembered. Here's to the humble fig! I also like dates. The sticky fruit kind. I'm not very experienced with the other kind. Although the kind that you find in a history book I am familiar with. Anyhow, that's the extent of my thoughts on stuff right now.
Peace and Prosperity.
Dermo