research – It's Been Real!

Sabaton – History to Music

It was earlier this year when I first heard a song from Sabaton. My brother dragged me into his room and insisted on introducing me to a new band he had found. He pulled up a video on Youtube and pressed play. At first, I didn’t know what was going on, then I heard the bells, then, the music started. I listened to the lyrics and found myself curious as to what they meant. My brother explained that the band wrote songs about historical events. This one was about the Sack of Rome in 1527 and the last stand of the 189 Papal Swiss Guard. Here is the link to the video:

Sabaton – The Last Stand

The lyrics are moving and the melody thrums through your veins. At least it did for me. After that song, my brother showed one or two more, but others I looked up on my own. I was excited when I saw the songs they had and the historical significance they all had. Here is a list of some of their songs:

Winged Hussars – arrival of the Polish Winged Hussar heavy cavalry to the relief of the Siege of Vienna from the Turks.
Shiroyama – the last stand of the 500 samurai against the emperor, ending the days of bushido in Japan.
A Lifetime of War – a mourning for the Thirty Years War, that ravaged Europe.
Carolus Rex – the rise of fifteen-year-old Charles XII of Sweden against the opposing powers of Denmark, Poland, and Russia.
Sparta – the brave suicidal defense of the Pass of Thermopylae by the 300 Spartans against the Persian army.
The Lost Battalion – the battalion of Americans that was pinned down in the Argonne during World War I.
Lion of the North – Swedish king, Gustavas Adolphus, the man who started his country on its rise to power.

And they have plenty of others. Some of the songs are also sung in another language and it is haunting. The Ruina Imperii is an excellent example of that.

Sabaton – Ruina Imperii

It is about the return march of the Swedish soldiers from Norway after Charles XII, Carolus Rex, was mysteriously shot in the midst of a siege. It just gets into my head and I start humming and singing whenever I’m at work. I’m sure some of my co-workers see me walking around, mouthing something, and say, “What the hell is that girl saying now?”

I don’t recommend the songs if you are an older person (with hearing aids) and don’t like heavy metal. But, if you do enjoy heavy metal and learning something inside a good melody, you should listen to Sabaton. And if you live in the US, pay attention! They’ll be visiting us next year!

And on that note, it’s been real!

World War II – The Death Theater

World War II is one of the most famous wars in the history of wars. Why? Because it was a war that encompassed the globe on a grander scale than its previous counterpart, the Great War. I have always been fascinated by the wars that ravaged Europe. The complexities and the strategies always draw me in. However, World War II was a sad war, just like the one that preceded it. “But, all wars are sad,” you would say. Yes, but some more than others. I say this because World War II affected civilians in many countries, far more than most other wars. This was because of air raids, nuclear bombs, and advancing armies.

American civilians were untouched by the war; but British, French, German, Dutch, Austrian, Italian, Polish, and Russian people were affected by it every day. The Holocaust is a major topic of conversation whenever WWII is brought up. Countless people lost their lives because they were Jewish. I have read and watched many adaptations of Anne Frank and it makes me cry. It’s almost ironically funny how the Nazis incriminated themselves by taking pictures and keeping all those documents. The murderers were punished, but now, the entire country feels it needs to make reparations for the sins of the few, not the all.

However, there were other countless casualties that are glossed over because of who committed them. The advancing Russian army killed so many German civilians in brutal ways, but nobody asked them to apologize. They must have deserved it. Did little children deserve to be shot at point blank range? Did young girls deserved to be raped? Did boys deserve to be tortured, and their bodies left at the side of the road? No. Stalin was not asked to pay for his crimes because he was with the Allies, instead of the Axis.

Another factor that has been discussed is that Roosevelt knew Japan was going to attack Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, but decided against informing the military stationed there. Why? Because then they would be prepared and the attack would not have the devastating affect he wanted it to have. Men and women died so America could have a reason for entering the war.

In a way, many of the participants were villains. Not the soldiers fighting and dying, but the men above them; the politicians. Hitler tried to decimate an entire people and spread his ‘superior’ Aryan beliefs. Stalin wanted to crush the Germans, and spread his Communistic beliefs. Roosevelt wanted to make America the official world power, over the dead bodies of Europeans. All wars are terrible and come at great cost. World War II is just like the rest of them. It just seemed to leave the biggest scar.

And on that note, it’s been real!

R.I.P. – Rite in Peace

Writing books has always been easier than writing research papers. For me, at least. I hated writing English and Religion papers in high school. Just so boring! When I started writing my short stories at twelve, I found writing to also be enjoyable. Of course, story writing has certain aspects that make it similar to research papers. The story has to collect facts and present them in a tangible manner to the audience. It has an introduction (the appetizer), the body (main course), and an end (dessert). Think of writing as if you were cooking a big meal for somebody. Is it juicy? Spicy? Flavorful? Do you like your novel medium or rare? In this case, you want a well done story. A bit pun-ish, but hey, sue me.

My short stories were all like a bunch of little appetizers you get at happy hour at a restaurant. I was just getting warmed up. My first novel was the first part of a three course dinner. The next two course came out not long after that, and I started to feel good about my ‘cooking’ skills. The writing has continued; little projects here and there that just remind me that I can cook, as it were. That’s kind of one of the reasons I took up this blog. It allows me to write in a different manner than I’ve ever written before: in real time! I can endow some of my characters with my sardonic sense of humor, but, obviously for the sake of development, and individuality, not everyone of them can be like me. Here, every post can have a little bit of the real me in it, wit and all.

And on that note, it’s been real!

“Come & Tell Their Story Again”

I’ve mentioned in the past that I am working on a new novel. The last novel I wrote was completed my last year of high school, but obviously, editing needed to be done. I’ve worked on only minor projects since then. The first three novels I wrote took up a lot of my time; that’s not chump change, that’s precious seconds, minutes, hours of my time devoted to something. I knew that the next novel I did had to mean something, not just to me this time, but to other people.

A few months ago, my brother played me a song (I may have mentioned it) called “The Last Stand” by the Swiss rock band, Sabaton. It is a song about the 189 Papal Swiss Guards defending the retreat of Pope Clement VII in the 1527 Sack of Rome. 42 soldiers survived only because they went with the pope. The other 147 were all killed, but not before butchering close to a thousand enemy troops. Their brave leader was wounded, and begged to see his wife before he died. His men got him to the house where she was staying, but mercenaries followed them. His wife tried to protect him, but she was injured while his enemies hacked him to pieces before her eyes. I was moved when I looked up the whole history behind the event; what little we know. Documents were destroyed by the German and Spanish soldiers, and many relics taken. It was an utterly devastating event, that took the lives of thousands of Roman Catholic citizens.

Since I decided to do this, I have tried to find what little books I can about those Swiss Guard specifically. Not much. I had a doozy of a time trying to discover all their names. Luckily, I knew a cardinal, and sent him a letter, asking for help. He gave me viable leads, and I will use them to get the names of all the guards, as I would like to list them at the end of the book. I think it would be some justice to them to recognize what they did. They were brave men, who stood their ground against an overwhelming force. We remember Thermopylae because of what 300 men did. We recall the 194 rescued men of the Lost Battalion and their desperate attempts to get home. Why can’t we remember 189 men who fought and died on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica? I want to bring that back and tell a little known story about true honor and courage. Bravery is not men fighting a fight they know they can win. Bravery is fighting a fight you are certain to lose, but you do it anyway. Why? Because if you are fighting for a cause you believe in, then it’s the right thing to do.

And on that note, it’s been real!