Suellen Ocean's Blog
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Aug.09.2012
Where exactly is "The Promised Land"? And what's all the singing about the River Jordan? Isn't it interesting that the River Jordan is sung about by so many people from such diverse backgrounds? It was over three-thousand-years-ago above the River Jordan that Moses looked down upon the promised...
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Aug.08.2012
Canaan (Kenaan in Hebrew, pronounced Ka-nan/Kan-yan) was the land of milk and honey for the ancient Israelites. It was promised to "them" through biblical prophecy. The English dictionary defines "ken" as a verb meaning "to recognize, discern or admit". "Ken" also refers to "Scots Law" meaning "to...
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Aug.07.2012
Yes, you read that right. Three hundred and forty six years ago, that's how long it's been, since both Christians and Jews believed that 1666 would be the year "in which great things would occur". In the fall of 1665 rumors began circulating throughout Europe about the lost tribes of Israel...
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Aug.06.2012
"Jim Crow" is an expression used to refer to customs and laws that oppress African Americans. Jim Crow was a down on his luck black man who may not have been a real character. Songs were written about Jim Crow and white entertainers with blackface appeared in minstrel shows depicting him.
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Aug.06.2012
Gold occurs in iron ore and also in veins of quartz. The veins are called lodes. Some of these veins are huge. Think of the vein as a layer in the rock or a layer of quartz in the rock mountain. Gold miners chip, stamp, blast, blow up or spray powerful water guns onto the veins to break up the gold...
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Aug.03.2012
You'd be cryptic too if you were uprooted wherever you went. You can't blame your ancestors for keeping quiet about their Hebrew origins, they wanted to live. And so today, we live, because our ancestors said "enough already" and were eventually convinced into joining the Christian belief system....
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Aug.01.2012
The French Revolution had two things in common with America today. One, there was a resentment toward the wealthy and two; at the time there were tremendous changes and discoveries in science and technology. By 1789 the peasants had been miserable for ages and there was a lot of jealousy over the...
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Aug.01.2012
During the Inquisitional era, the Law of the Pure Blood was a prohibition against migrating to Mexico unless one could prove that the last three generations of their family had been "Old Christians". This law was enacted as an attempt to keep out Jews who had fled Spain and Portugal's Inquisitions...
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Aug.01.2012
Honeybees have made the news. American Agriculturalists are alarmed at the disappearance of the ancient flying insects that pollinate blossoms on fruit and nut trees and fruit and vegetable crops throughout the world. Years ago researchers discovered that when cats were removed from fields of...
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Aug.01.2012
Crypto means, "hidden, covered, secret" and a Crypto-Jew is one who practices Judaism in secret while professing another religious faith, usually Christianity. People throughout the world are finding that their ancestors were Crypto-Jews. During Spain, Portugal and Mexico's Inquisitions, many Jews...
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Aug.01.2012
William the Conqueror was quite proud of his successful invasion of England in 1066. Upon the hillside where England's King Harold was defeated and died, William began making plans to build "Battle Abbey" and dedicate it to Saint Martin. The Latin meaning for the name Martin is "Of Mars" ... "...
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Aug.01.2012
"Of course the handlebar moustache of the day before yesterday was a far more formidable affair than the hemstitched line on the upper lip of our own motion-picture idols or the little brush copied from Charlie Chaplin by the late, unlamented Adolf Hitler." Historian John Tasker Howard.
I...
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Jul.27.2012
When one is trying to understand history, countries and geography, especially not one's native land, it's confusing as is the case with Breton, Brittany and Britain. Who, what, when and where did you say it is? Briton (or Breton) is the name of one of the tribes who invaded Britain before the Anglo...
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Jul.26.2012
You might not think of a Caucasian as a minority but I often feel like one and today I understand why. When my mother's ancestors came to New Amsterdam they called themselves the "Low Dutch." They came from the lowlands of Holland and wanted to distinguish themselves from those of Germanic heritage...
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Jul.26.2012
"Some jobs of a few years ago no longer exist. A good example is blacksmithing. There are very few blacksmiths left. The reason is clear. Since the automobile was invented the general use of horses and mules has been greatly reduced. Trucks, buses, and pleasure cars have taken the place of wagons...
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About Suellen
Historical fiction writer Suellen Ocean has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sonoma State University. The former radio personality has a "knack for storytelling and for making characters come alive." Although the stories are rather sexy and string romances...
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Suellen’s Favorite Books
"Rembrandt’s Jews", by Steven Nadler, "Clan of the Cave Bear", by Jean M. Auel, "The Red Tent", by Anita Diamant