Short Takes

One of the most famous Civil War cemeteries gets a facelift. Well, not really—it’s the Sad Hill cemetery from the epic Spaghetti Western The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Given that the movie is set during Sibley’s 1862 campaign in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, it’s probably “Confederate.”

Sad Hill cemetery is the setting for the climax of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, when Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach face off against each other to the strains of Ennio Morricone.

Having dispatched the Bad and left the Ugly defenceless and furious, the Good lays out his simple credo: “You see, in this world, there’s two kinds of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.”

Inspired by Eastwood’s words, a group of film fans spent two years restoring the cemetery to its former glories.

Oh yes, it’s in Spain.

A funny article from around 1865 by a young Maine farmer looking for a wife. Can’t vouch for its authenticity, but it’s a fun read.

A fascinating look at the age distributions yesterday to today. The chart goes from 1860 to 2010. In 1860 only 2.7% of the population was 65 or older versus 13% in 2010, and it continues to rise. For the age group 20-44 it’s 35.7%, and even with the enormous casualties from the Civil War the figure drops only slightly to 35.4% in 1870. Lots of good info for comparisons here, including race and place of birth.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, ISIS is at it again, this time blowing up a historic 12th Century mosque.

The Iraqi military said in a statement that ISIS “committed another historical crime by blowing up the al-Nuri mosque and its historical al-Hadba minaret.”

Historical crime, or just some activists removing something they found offensive?

You decide.


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3 responses to “Short Takes”

  1. Ted Savas Avatar

    That would be the latter.

  2. Josh Liller Avatar
    Josh Liller

    “Historical crime, or just some activists removing something they found offensive?”

    Blowing up a historic church is not the same as moving or removing a statue.

  3. Fred Ray Avatar

    No, but the intent is the same. Stalin did not destroy the photographs with his enemies in them, he just had them airbushed out.

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