Ned Kelly

I may have said in my previous post that I recently did a project in my history class on a based on a true story project. That I chose Ned Kelly. Wel, the reason I chose him is because Australian history has always fascinated me because if I can get the chance to learn about anything, you can bet a million dollars I'll get so into it, I'll never want to stop learning about it. Well anyway, in my history class, we had to choose a movie based on a true story. Well, I chose Ned Kelly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Kelly

Edward 'Ned' Kelly was born in June 1855 in Victoria, British Empire. He died on November 11, 1880, in Melbourne, Victoria, British Empire. He was only 25. He was an Irish-Australian outlaw who was considered a cold blooded killer by some and a folk hero by others because he was considered to be an Irish-Australian symbol of resistance against the British who were trying to take over Australia. I found out that during the Colonial times, England would dump it's prisoners off in Australia, and for some reason, The Australians or Aussies as some call them do not like or care for the English or Brits as some call them.

Crime obviously started early in the family because his father was an Irish convict, and he often had run-ins with the Victoria police. In 1878, after an unwarranted search of his home, he killed 3 policemen and after that, Kelly and his gang were considered outlaws. On June 28, 1880, in Glenrowan, Kelly was dressed in his homemade armor and helmet and was sent to jail. In November 1880, he was hanged to death at Melbourne Gaol. His reputation made him an icon in film, history, folklore.

In 1869, his life of crime started when Kelly was 14. He was arrested for assaulting a Chinese pig farmer named Ah Fook. He claimed that Kelly had robbed him and slept with his sister. He spent 10 days in jail before being labeled a juvenile bushranger. In October 1870, he was arrested once again, this time for assaulting a small business owner, Jeremiah McCormack. He sent McCormack's childless wife a disturbing letter with calves' testicles enclosed. After that, he ran into Isaiah 'Wild' Wright and they formed a gang. They started stealing horses. Kelly was had been free from jail and also 16 at the time and him and Wright were sentenced to 3 years in prison, along with brother in law Alex Gunn. In September 1877, Ned was arrested again, this time for drunkenness. While having a police escort, he broke free and ran into a shop, and when the police tried to restrain him, he just gave up and was fined. One of the police officers, Constable Lonigan, who was later shot by Kelly, supposedly blackballed him, which means he grabbed and squeezed his testicles. Kelly had made a promise, "If I ever shoot a man, Lonigan, it'll be you!" On October 28, 1878, Ned Kelly and his gang were wanted men, and there was a search for the Kellys by Constables McIntyre, Lonign and Scanlon. There was a rumor that they would be hiding in the Stringybark Creek, and there was a team of police from Mansfield, and when they approached Kelly, Lonigan pulled out his service revolver when Constable McIntyre threw his arms up and Kelly shot Lonigan, just like he said he would. When McIntyre called on them to surrender, Scanlon went for his gun and Kelly shot him too. McIntyre left uninjured.

They also robbed banks, the one in Euroa on Dec. 10, 1878, it was the National Bank. They took the employees of the bank hostage and Kelly posed as a policeman, and dressed up one of teh hostages in his clothes, claiming that he was Ned Kelly. No one was injured in the robbery and they got away with 2,260 dollars, which today is equal to $100,000. On Feb. 8, 1879, they robbed the Jerilderie bank. They broke into the local police station and put officers Richards and Devine in their own cell! They took the clothes of the officers and left, blending into the crowd, saying they were reinforcements from Sydney.

On June 26, 1880, Ned Kelly was tried in court for the crimes he committed. It was discovered a police informant had been the one to spill the beans on Kelly and his gang, so his gang stopped by the Glenrowan Inn because it was said that a vital piece of police information was there and his gang stopped all the cars on a passenger train carrying this info. The members of the gang were all heavily armored with armor that could repel bullets, but sadly left the legs vulnerable. They all ahd helmets and was said to weigh 96 pounds, and Byrne's armor was said to be the best. Byrne was a member of the gang. On the helmets there were 2 slits for the eyes and they covered the entire head. Then there was a firefight at the inn, and Kelly was hit multiple times by police, one bullet hit him in the left arm and another hit him in the foot. All because of a flaw in his armor. This armor of his left the torso unprotected and Kelly was shot repeatedly in the legs, and when he fell, a shotgun blast injured his hip and right hand. From the fight in the hotel, members of his gang died, Joe Byrne died from massive blood loss.

On November 11, 1880, he was sentenced to hang to death for the murder of Constable Lonigan at Melbourne Gaol. There was even a petition to spare Kelly's life, that had over 30,000 signatures on it! For the armor, all 4 suits consisted of a breast plate, back plate and helmet. Joe Byrne's suit was the only one without an apron to protect the genital area and thighs and  as a result of that, he died from a shot in the genitals. To keep them all together on the body, they were all strapped on using leather straps, while the helmet just sat over the head. Kelly's helmet had padding in addition to Kelly wearing a skull cap to take some of the weight off his head. His armor is now on display in the State Library of Victoria. After he died, his body and organs were removed for study, and his remains were buried in Melbourne Gaol's mass graveyard.

Modern times
On Nov. 13, 2007, Constable Fitzpatrick's service revolver was auctioned off for $70,000 in Melbourne. In Glenrowan, Victoria, one of the gaols that imprisoned Kelly has been turned into the Ned Kelly Museum.  And there were even movies made about him, like in 1906-The Story of the Kelly Gang, another with Rolling Stone Mick Jagger as the the title role of Ned Kelly(1970), and another, Ned Kelly(2003) with Geoffrey Rush, Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom. Some would consider him to be like an Australian Robin Hood, a sign of resistance against British rule in Australia.

With the movie Ned Kelly in 1970 starring Mick Jagger, people said it was unfair to use someone English as the role, but what alot of people don't know is Mick Jagger is actually half English from his father's side and half Australian from his mother's side, and also about the movie being filmed in New South Wales, instead of Victoria like the real Kelly.

In 2008, the DC comics, the Batman comics introduced a villain named Swagman with armor that strangely resembles the armor Kelly wore.

The real Ned Kelly

His armor on display at the State Library of Victoria

A wanted poster for Ned Kelly

Some pics of Mick Jagger as Ned Kelly

Heath Ledger as Ned Kelly

Inspirational Figures

Do you have anyone who inspires you? I know I may have done a previous post about who inspires me, but I love to talk about who inspires me.

Martin Luther King Jr.

How Martin Luther King Jr. inspires me is he believed in a world united, in a world where race didn't matter, where everyone could coexist peacefully and nonviolently. I say way to go Dr. King! All he believed in was a world united, and how does that end up? He is killed by a sniper in Memphis, while standing on the walkway outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. That's sad!!!! I find him to be a source of inspiration because he didn't single out just the blacks, but people from all walks of life, and for that, I salute him!!!!! He didn't have to die. But I guess that's what happens when people don't agree with things or things don't go their way! If Dr. King is looking down from heaven, he should know alot of people care about him and alot of people are trying to realize the dream that he was trying to do before he was taken from his place on earth.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

Rosa Parks

How Rosa Parks inspires me is she refused to give her seat up to a white man, thus starting the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, and as a result of this, the Montgomery Bus systems lagged in fares. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott. Most of the citizens of Montgomery, Alabama were black and most of them were the principal boycotters and also paying customers. This was not the first move towards civil rights. She was also a secretary for the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). How she basically inspires me is she stood up for what she believed in, she refused to give her seat up just because she realized that she didn't have to give up her seat just because he was white. For some reason, during the 1950s and 1960s, racial segregation and civil rights were big issues, especially down South. Not everyone was like that though, it was a few people who give all the good ones bad names.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks

Andy Warhol

How Andy Warhol inspires me is he is an artist, I'm going to school for art. When he does art, it's cool looking and also, he does pop art, which I like. The pop art he does is almost like a symbol of the 1960s. He has this unique way of making art look cool and unique and unlike other artists and I like that. He basically did stuff that no one else did, he was what seemed like an adventurous soul, doing movies, art and all kinds of things, I especially adore his pop art that he made, like the ones of celebrities and stuff. He could paint something that looks like crap to the untrained eye of regular people, but looks like $1 million worth of art to those who know how to look at it. He inspires me because he has a unique way of making art stand out among the fine art of our world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol

Bob Marley

How Bob Marley inspires me is he was a kind, loving soul. He made music that was popular, and plus it had a good Jamaican beat to it. If I were to hypothetically listen to Reggae music, it'll be his I'll listen to. He was a kind, loving person who made music people like. It was so sad how he died, acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of malignant melanoma, aka skin cancer. He basically died from skin cancer. Well, I hope he's in peace now, Reggae-ing it up in heaven for the angels up there. I hate when bad things happen to good people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Marley
Bruce Lee

John Lennon

How John Lennon inspires me is he believed in giving peace a chance, in fact I think it was even a song! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_lennon. He was a nonviolent man, he believed in peace and love and I'm all for that! And for some reason, people seem to think it was a big deal when he started seeing Yoko  Ono, and they make it seem like he should not have fallen in love with her and that she was the reason the Beatles broke up. I personally don' see Yoko Ono as the reason the Beatles broke up and I don't see Yoko as a person to hate or a threat. I mean, you look at John and all you can see is a good musician and a kind, sweet, loviong soul. I bet he was a very loving man, and how was he repaid for his love to Yoko and life of nonviolence? He was brutally murdered by Mark David Chapman outside his apartment at the Dakota in front of his wife Yoko. Can you imagine how hard it is to be outside and be the only witness to your husband's murder? Can you imagine being the doctor or coroner who had to perform the autopsy on Lennon? If I was in that job and someone told me that I had to perform an autopsy on Lennon, I'd be throwing up because I'd be so physically ill, I couldn't do it, I'd be sp physically racked with crying I couldn't do it!! I don't see why he had to die, all he believed in was giving peace a chance and some, pardon my French, asshole had to kill him with 4 bullets to the head? The asshole didn't even have the guts to face Lennon as he killed him. But Lennon is at peace now, singing Imagine for a different crowd now. RIP John Lennon, you are sorely missed by all!!!

Charlie Watts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Watts. How Charlie Watts inspires me is he gives me hope that even though people become famous, they don't forget where they came from and that marriages in Hollywood and in the world of fame last longer than 10 years. He's been married to the same woman for over 40 years, that's a pretty strong marriage. He married his sweetheart Shirley Shepard on October 14, 1964 and on March 18, 1968, their one and only child, a daughter they named Seraphina, was born. They have been married for over 46 years!! It seems like marriages in the world of fame are not supposed to last long, someone gets married and they either cheat on that person after a few years or they divorce and move on. But thank God for Charlie Watts and his beautiful wife Shirley Shepard. They prove that marriage can be based on love and last forever! I hope they stay in love 4 ever because they are a most beautiful couple. And unlike the rest of the band who usually end up screwing roadies and/or other women, Charlie has never done this, he's been completely faithful to his wife and I respect that most about him, plus he never tries to get his face in the papers, he's the quietest one in the Stones and that's probably why along with the fact that he likes to keep his personal life private and I mean PRIVATE! And the only public thing that ever involved him was an incident in the mid 1980s, when an intoxicated Jagger called up Watts in the middle of the night to say "Where's my drummer?" So he got up, shaved, put on a nice, clean suit and tie and went down the stairs and punched Mick Jagger in the face saying "Don't ever call me your drummer again. You're my f***ing singer!" That's the most violent that Charlie has ever gotten!

Sad, Sad Losses

Have you ever noticed that alot of people have been passing away recently? Oe maybe not recently, maybe a long time ago and people may not get ovet the loss of them? Well, I've noticed alot of people, whether it be historical figures, people in the entertainment industry or others, have had some pass away unexpectedly, or from other reasons. Here are some of those people.......

Ritchie Valens. May 13, 1941-February 3, 1959. He was the first ever noted Latino rocker. He was the one behind was is known as Chicano rock, meaning rock music performed by American people of Mexican ancestry. It's so sad that Ritchie died in a plane crash, but that cold night, he wasn't the only one to die, The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly also died that cold night. They all died on February 2, 1959, Ritchie was the youngest to die, at 17 years old. Their passing is what inspired folk singer Don McLean's 1971 hit American Pie. and now forever February 3 will be known as the day music died.



John Lennon. October 9, 1940-December 8, 1980. For all who listen to The Beatles, he was the one who was sometimes called a troublemaker by some, but ended up being a very loving person. He was the one who married the artist Yoko Ono and they had a son from Lennon's previous marriage to Cynthia, named Julian. For some reason, some might say he had a thing for Asian women because he dated May Pang, who was an assistant for ABKCO records. But there was no reason for John Lennon to die. On Dec. 8, 1980, he was brutally and fatally shot in the head 4 times outside his apartment in New York, by a crazed gunman named Mark David Chapman. Sadly, he was already dead before he hit the ground. The man behind his murder will be lucky if he ever gets out. I look up to John Lennon because he wasn't afraid to be himself, and he believed in giving peace a chance. I say, right on John! Yeah, give peace a chance!



Princess Diana. July 1, 1961-August 31, 1997. It's so sad that this beautiful woman is gone. Her wedding to Prince Charles actually made news headlines and everyone tuned in to watch this beautful woman walk down the aisle with her beautiful dress. It was so nice to see someone as pretty as her getting married. You want to know something sort of strange? One of her sons, William, recently got married too, to a beautiful woman named Kate Middleton. She's a beautiful woman, it's so nice to see someone getting married and not having it look so dramatic, what I mean by this is when celebs get marrie over here, it's such a big deal. But when people heard about the marriage of this man and this woman, it was big news in England and it was refreshing to hear about 2 good souls spending time together like this. I bet it must have been hard for both of Diana's sons, William and Harry, to be there at their mother's funeral. It's always hard for a child to be at their paren't funeral. But she's free of any pain or suffering, she's up in the beautiful land above, being the beautiful soul she always was. The saddest thing is that she died in a car crash, and you want to know why the crash happened? Princess Diana was trying to escape the nutso paparazzi, I swear, those jackasses always do whatever they can to terrorize someone, and now the world lost a beautful woman to these, pardon my French, assholes! That's what paparazzi are, assholes!

         

Jim Croce. January 10, 1943-September 20, 1973. This folk singer was 30 years old when he died and best known for hits like time in a Bottle and Bad, Bad Leroy Brown. Him, musician Maury Muehleisen and 4 others died in a plane crash that happened on Sept. 20, 1973. After finishing a concert at Northwestern State University's Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches Louisiana, the crew was flying to Austin Texas for a concert, when despite good visibility, the plane did not gain enough altitude to clear a pecan tree near the runway and the plane crashed, killing all 3 on impact
.


John Denver. December 31, 1943-Oct. 12, 1997. He was a country singer, and an avid pilot and photographer. He was most popular in the 1970s, and when he was flying his Rutan Long EZ plane, it crashed in to the Pacific Ocean, taking him with it and taking one of the best known country singers with it, despite having over 2700 hours of flying experience.



Martin Luther King Jr. January 5, 1929- April 4, 1968. This man was best known for his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington D.C. This speech talked about uniting everyone together and about a world where skin color, race, religion, sexuality, etc didn't matter and about everyone coming together as one, which is a lyric from the song Imagine by John Lennon. Martin Luther King Jr was a nonviolent man, using the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi to spread the word about coming together as one, and he fought ever so desperately to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil means. He was staying in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel when he was standing on the balcony and he was shot. Nowadays, you can visit the motel where he was killed, but you can visit it today and see how the room looked before his murder. There was a man convicted of his death, James Earl Ray, he was charged and found guilty of his murder.



The reason I did a blog about those who have passed is we should never forget those who passed. Sometimes people take life for granted and before they know it, someone they love very dearly is passed away and they don't know it. We should live every day like it's our last and we should cherish the precious gift called life.

Music and more!

Ah, sweet glorious music, an international language everyone can connect on. I'm not really into any certain type of music, but I will absolutely not listen to rap. It doesn't make any sense to me, and sometimes I hear lyrics for these rap songs and sometimes they are about raping/killing someone, someone stealing a girlfriend, stealing or something bad. No one wants to hear a song that has to do with drugs, rape/murder, or something like that, and no one definitely wants to hear a song that uses racial/ethnic slurs and bad words.


I also must say something important-- Today is the anniversary of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat to a white man. It's the anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. I say to Rosa Parks, way to go! I love hearing and learning about people like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, etc. All they wanted was equality, and look what happens- Martin Luther King Jr, gets assassinated for believing in a world where blacks people and white people and everyone live together in perfect harmony, Rosa Parks gets arrested for refusing to give her seat to a white man, Nelson Mandela gets convicted of political treason just because he believed in a world united and almost spends half his life in prison for what he believes in, I say it's high time for a change. I say that people need to stop the hate before it gets out of control. I know this blog is supposed to be about music, but I think this is a reason for celebrating. Rosa Parks is a wonderful person, she did what she believed in, and she gets arrested? No way, totally unfair.


Here are some links to some music videos of Aerosmith, a band I listen to:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--2138674-Aerosmith: Rag Doll
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--2165470-Aerosmith: The Other Side
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--2164165-Aerosmith: Eat the Rich. This video starts out a little weird, and some of the lyrics have bad words, but it's an overall good song
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--2138672-Aerosmith: Fallin' in Love(Is Hard on the Knees). It's a suggestive song, and some of the lyrics are gross, but it's a good song
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--2138669-Aerosmith: I Don't Want to Miss a Thing. This is PERFECT for couples because it talks about being romantic


Here are some Rolling Stones music videos:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--23166918-The Rolling Stones:Shattered
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--9151332-The Rolling Stones: It's Only Rock and Roll(Live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdJzLpWFYJ4-The Rolling Stones:Mixed Emotions


Here is a video of the song Try Again by Aaliyah:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--2138592


Here are some Rihanna videos:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--218717037-Rihanna: Only Girl in the World, from her new Loud album
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--159484907-Rihanna:Disturbia
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--45562928-Rihanna:Don't Stop the Music, definite party song




Here are some Shakira videos:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--217265600-She Wolf
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--30658140-Hips Don't Lie
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--2154744-Whenever, Wherever




If it seems like alot of links and stuff, I do apologize. I think the links to the music videos will show what kind of music I'm into. And music seems to be an international language almost, everyone somehow connects with music. And I usually figure music is something everyone can connect to.