A Brief History On January 31, 2022, we take a look at one of many persistent conspiracy theory type allegations that seem to permeate our society at the present time, this time going back to the ancient origins of the Olmec civilization of what is now modern Mexico. Despite ample evidence to support the conventional academic view of Olmec origins, as well as other Native American peoples’ origins, these wild theories include Nordic, African, Chinese, and Jaredite sources of the population that became the Olmecs. Digging Deeper Current serious academic scientists date the Olmec civilization from about 1500 BC and…
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.
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A Brief History On January 28, 2022, we know of a Scotland firmly entrenched in the broader United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and previously a major member of the British Empire, but of course before 1707 when Scotland became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland had been an independent kingdom since the 9th Century. With recent rumblings in Scotland of a return to independent status, increased interest in the origins of this great country and its people become relevant as modern scholars must know where you have been to determine where you are going. …
A Brief History On January 22, 2022, we take a look at an early influential European civilization headquartered on the Italian peninsula, the Etruscans. Etruria, a region on the Central Western side of the Italian peninsula, that area covered by modern Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria, was once home to a people and civilization called Etruscans. The Etruscan culture, having arisen around the 9th Century BC, flourished to become the dominant culture in Italy by 650 BC. How the origin of the Etruscans came about, and how their culture grew to out-compete other cultures on the Italian peninsula, including the Ligures…
A Brief History On January 3, 2022, we take a look at the latest movie in the Matrix movie franchise, The Matrix Resurrections that we screened shortly after its release (December 22, 2021). Having watched all 3 of the previous Matrix movies (all starring Keanu Reeves as Neo), and even going so far as to re-watch them all in succession prior to screening the latest edition, we felt prepared to make an appropriate analysis of the new edition in the film franchise. Digging Deeper Several things jump right out at you when you see this new film. First, “Neo,” aka…
A Brief History On December 31, 2021, we take a look back at the year that is just ending, with no particular reason for optimism. The pandemic continued, political division in the United States remained high, (as always) many significant people died, and some of my favorite television shows were cancelled! (Obviously we are only scratching the surface of our selected topics, so feel free to make your own comments and observations about 2021 to expand the “big picture.”) Former President Trump got booted from Twitter! Yes, and the weather sucked, too. Digging Deeper Late breaking bad news: Terrible wildfire…