Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Dec 14, 2009, 3:32 am
... we learn in school does not always reflect this. That alone is a major epiphany: realizing much of the early American history I learned in school left so much unsaid. Yet I have undergone r...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 30, 2009, 12:52 pm
As recounted from We Make History’s Victorian Christmas Ball by Private Christopher Francis of the 1st Virginia Volunteer Infantry. Photos by Mr. Michael C. (Click any picture for a larger view.) ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 27, 2009, 12:50 am
Are you sufficiently stoked yet for the Victorian Christmas Ball? You will recall in A Christmas Carol the mention of a dance named Sir Roger de Coverley. Of course, us Yanks (and Confederates) know...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 26, 2009, 12:57 am
Practice time is over. As we await the Victorian Christmas Ball, let's hit the floor with the Social Daunce Irregulars: (Facebook viewers, you know the moves: Click "View Original Post" to see ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 25, 2009, 12:31 pm
My Dearest Readers, this is adapted from a presentation I recently gave to the Casas Adobes Optimist Club in Puritan attire. As we sit down to the table of gratitude once more, I feel compelled to cl...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 25, 2009, 12:52 am
Dearest Friends, one of the wonderful things about the Victorian Christmas Ball -- coming this weekend -- is that you don't need to know a single solitary step to have a wonderful time! My friend...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 24, 2009, 12:45 am
Dearest Dancing Friends, the Victorian Christmas Ball is this weekend, so let us prepare with treats for the feet! If I could change one thing about my youth, I would've found a way to learn more...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 21, 2009, 1:47 pm
Memorable and miracle moments from the 2009 American Heritage Festival, as presented by We Make History From the journal of Private Christopher Francis, soldier of the Continental Line, recruit of th...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 20, 2009, 1:40 pm
Memorable and miracle moments from the 2009 American Heritage Festival, as presented by We Make History From the journal of Private Christopher Francis, soldier of the Continental Line, recruit of th...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 20, 2009, 10:22 am
The end of Oprah Winfrey's talk show in 2011 may mean more relief than TV stations are willing to admit. It's because the show, while delivering solid ratings and reliable lead-ins for early ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 19, 2009, 1:24 pm
Memorable and miracle moments from the 2009 American Heritage Festival, as presented by We Make History From the journal of Private Christopher Francis, soldier of the Continental Line, recruit of th...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 9, 2009, 12:33 pm
Make love and war -- at the same time! Going Rate: Worth matinee price. Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey Rated: R Red Flags: Language, war violence, brief casual nu...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Nov 3, 2009, 11:48 am
A lot of you were euphoric one year ago upon the election of President Barack Obama. And even if you didn't agree with his politics, you couldn't deny it marked a turning point in history: ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 29, 2009, 3:02 am
The British authority on etiquette, Debrett's, is out with a short guide on tasteful trick-or-treating. While all of us could stand to raise our bar higher in the name of a better society, some s...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 19, 2009, 1:32 pm
For the .01 percent of those who care how I feel about the Rush/Rams drama, I can tell you this: for a person who admits he likes to "yank the media's chain," he seems to have an awfully hard tim...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 17, 2009, 4:14 pm
Arthouse cinema for the young and those who remember youth. Going Rate: Worth a full-priced admission. Too deep for very young children but fine for teens and tweens. Starring: Max Records, Voices O...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 12, 2009, 1:53 am
Convincing recollections of honourable people at the Pride & Prejudice Ball as presented by We Make History. From the journal of Lt. Christopher Francis, HMS Victory (Click any picture for a larger v...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 9, 2009, 9:00 pm
My Dear Friends, I have given you tastes all week long of a night in the Regency life. Now, how about a main course? Here is a montage of the 2005 Jane Austen Evening, presented by the Society for M...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 9, 2009, 1:30 pm
One week after President Obama lost his bid to bring the Olympics to Chicago, he's getting a heckuva consolation prize: The Nobel Peace Prize. According to Reuters:The Norwegian Nobel Committee ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 9, 2009, 1:15 am
Dearest Friends, I am hopeful that some of our Spanish friends from the Old Pueblo might be joining us at the Pride & Prejudice Ball. If they do, I certainly desire this dance be called in their hono...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 8, 2009, 1:20 am
Dearest Capering Friends, I gather many impressions of Regency dancing come from the Pride & Prejudice features, but they are a pittance compared to this: a great hall filled with happy ladies and ge...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 7, 2009, 1:30 am
Dearest Friends, I believe we must have some conversation about the dancing in the BBC Pride And Prejudice miniseries. No doubt the DVD will be viewed many times this week by those anticipating the u...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 6, 2009, 1:35 am
While you size up that pair of leggings, we continue our countdown to the Pride & Prejudice Ball with another of my favourites, "The Black Nag," danced by Regency Rejigged at the 2009 Chippenham Folk ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 5, 2009, 1:15 am
Greetings once again, my friends! The Pride & Prejudice Ball is less than half a fortnight away, and faithful readers of this continuing epistle know what that means: time once again to immerse you ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 2, 2009, 2:18 pm
Before the spin doctors completely fold and mutilate the analysis of why Chicago lost the 2016 Olympics bid, here's my analysis: * This isn't about Chicago losing as much as Rio winning. I b...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 27, 2009, 10:46 pm
To all the teenage girls: it is high time you demand to be treated like ladies. I kept thinking that as I read through Rhonda Bodfield and Carmen Duarte's story in the Arizona Daily Star outlini...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 22, 2009, 1:35 pm
What is a Missouri boatman doing in Arizona? What is he doing as a marshal? And why is he doing a Highland Fling? All is explained at We Make History’s Tucson Barn Dance… more or less. From the...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 18, 2009, 9:25 pm
He can expose bad all by himself. Going Rate: Not more than matinee price, even if you like director Stephen Soderbergh's films. Starring: Matt Damon Rated: R Red Flags: Language It's puzzli...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 16, 2009, 1:34 pm
The U.S. House voted 240-179 along party lines to formally admonish Republican congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina for his "You lie!" outburst during President Obama's health care speech last...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 15, 2009, 1:37 pm
From the Long-time-in-the-making Department comes a proposal to create a new interstate highway linking Phoenix and Las Vegas, tentatively called I-11. It would be made up of new and upgraded highway...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 14, 2009, 2:26 pm
Record numbers of people say they don't trust the news media, according to a fresh survey by the Pew Research Center. From the survey:Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally g...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 12, 2009, 5:12 pm
This is just what Arizona needs: Fife Symington saying he's seriously thinking about running for governor again. Yes, yes, an appeals court cleared him of bank and wire fraud. His record is cle...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 8, 2009, 1:45 pm
So now we find that President Obama's speech to students is very much non-political, and that preemptive claim of indoctrination from the Florida GOP's chairman -- who hadn't read a word o...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 7, 2009, 12:18 am
A big-name school pays a small school gobs of money to bring in their football team. Said team is clobbered to the delight of thousands of fans. In pro wrestling, you call that "jobbing." In colleg...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 3, 2009, 2:22 am
Wow, what a preemptive hissy fit from the right over President Obama's planned address to the nation's kids in classrooms next week on the importance of staying in school and working hard. Se...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 28, 2009, 1:06 pm
Two local teenage boys face misdemeanor charges for "sexting." Tucson Police tell us a girlfriend willingly sent them a naked picture, which they proceeded to share, hence the charge of "intimidation...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 25, 2009, 1:36 pm
Sexual abuse is a magnitude 7 earthquake that destroys lives. Dial that up to a 10 when it happens inside a church. The Arizona Republic reports on the case of a former pastor who made a plea deal i...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 23, 2009, 8:02 pm
Kill Bill? No, Kill Adoph! Going Rate: A must for film geeks and Tarantino buffs. Everybody else: stick to Saving Private Ryan Starring: Brad Pitt Rated: R Red Flags: Intense Graphic War Violence a...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 16, 2009, 6:57 pm
One year to the day after shattering my right arm, I have finally looked at the initial x-ray. This is the one my friends passed around the morning after the accident, the one my father took the the ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 12, 2009, 12:34 pm
Memories of the We Make History 2009 Highland Ball From the Journal of Christopher the Highland Nobleman Photos by M. Cynecki "We need eight brave volunteers to step to the centre," the Bonnie Princ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 10, 2009, 10:34 pm
Republicans, we gotta talk. Not to all of you, but to certain select bunches of you. Uh, then again, everybody needs to stay in the room. Here's the deal: one of your goals -- at least I think...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 8, 2009, 2:01 am
I've got my ghillies laced up. The Highland Ball is before me. And I leave you with some of the all stars of Scottish dancing. Here's the Corryvrechan Scottish Dance Display Team at the Mon...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 7, 2009, 2:02 am
This is it. This is the dance that led to that horrifying slip at last year's Highland Ball, doing some serious damage to my right arm. Truth be told, it wasn't a true Highland Fling I dance...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 6, 2009, 3:02 am
I've just read (via ABCNews.com) the blog of George Sodoni, the man who shot and killed four women at a fitness club and injured several more before shooting and killing himself. I have a hard ti...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 6, 2009, 2:01 am
I've done a few Scottish reels at the Highland Ball. But nothing like this, as demonstrated at the 2007 Lorient Festival Interceltique: Here's another reel, from the Auftritt des Royal Scott...
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