A Brief History On November 15, 2024, we take pleasure in reviewing a new book about some of the less well known and popular ancient civilizations, aptly titled The Other Ancient Civilisations by renowned scholar and archaeologist Raven Todd DaSilva of London, England, which is hinted at by the British spelling of “civilization” in the title. Digging Deeper A book suitable for the casual reader or college classroom, the author blends academic information with an eminently readable style that does not bore or confuse the reader. Each of the 20 chapters about one of the title civilizations starts with a…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
Read More
A Brief History On October 22, 1910, a murderer named Hawley Crippen became the first person captured via the help of radio to be convicted of a crime. A sort of quack doctor, Crippen worked in homeopathic medicine in the US but was not allowed to practice medicine in England when he moved to London. Digging Deeper Authorities in Canada were alerted via radio that the fugitive was on board an ocean liner and Crippen was arrested on arrival in Canada, the first known instance of an arrest facilitated by radio. Other notable crime fighting firsts include: The first use…
A Brief History On October 18, 2024, we trucked off to our local cinema to watch a re-release of a cult classic stop-motion animated film that has delighted adults and children since 1993. This time around, the clarity and visual treat of RealD 3D made the movie even better. Digging Deeper Featuring the iconic music of Danny Elfman, the soundtrack complements the story line and action rather well. Things move along quickly enough that the audience does not have time to drift off and the relatively short running time of 76 minutes goes by quickly. Voice acting is spot on…
A Brief History On September 29, 2024, we celebrate another National Coffee Day, reveling in our appreciation for that “Cup of Joe,” “Shot of Caffeine,” “Java,” “Go Juice,” or whatever you want to call it. Hot or cold, coffee keeps America going to the tune of 400 million cups a day! Digging Deeper Nearly half of all Americans drink coffee, and the US is the largest consumer of coffee among all countries. On the other hand, per capita coffee consumption leaves the US back at #25, while Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden lead the per capita race,…
A Brief History On September 6, 2024, we scurried to our local theater to watch the remastered RealD version of the 2009 blockbuster stop motion film, Coraline. The original film was not only mega-successful when released in 2009, it also became the third highest grossing stop motion movie of all time with a box office of $172.8 million against a budget of $60 million Digging Deeper While the original version is of course great, according to various viewers, this new version, put together with incredible painstaking detail by the original animators, is absolutely extraordinary. Colorful, fast paced, and combining comedy…
