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.

A Brief History On September 13, 2019, we “celebrate” another Friday the 13th, the legendary bad luck spooky day, a day so scary an iconic motion picture franchise is based on its name!  Just a note to make this year’s edition of Friday the 13th a little scarier, tonight we will experience a “Harvest Moon,” an event that has not coincided with a Friday the 13th since the year 2000.  Oh boy, does this mean we have to deal with werewolves and vampires as well as general bad luck?  At least we will be able to see with the light…

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A Brief History On September 11, 2001, the fanatical Islamist terror group, al-Qaeda, carried out coordinated attacks against the United States, resulting in the crashing of a fully occupied jetliner into the Pentagon, the hijacking and subsequent crash of another jetliner, and the crashing of yet another two jetliners into the World Trade Center, taking down two of the tallest buildings in the world.  Lost were nearly 3000 innocent lives with another 6000 people injured.  About $10 billion worth of property and infrastructure was also destroyed.  For what? Digging Deeper Apparently misguided Islamists see the United States as an enemy…

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A Brief History On September 10, 2019, we have the pleasure of reviewing a children’s book for our readers, one themed toward our favorite holiday, Halloween!  Written by TJ Ski and titled The Spook Skelly Crew, you can preview the story by checking out their YouTube trailer. Digging Deeper Lavishly illustrated by the author (in black and white ink drawings), the book gives you moderately rhymed lines and visual back up for the story.  While not what we would call a little kids’ book, the story includes a certain amount of (mild) violence toward the monsters contained within, so the…

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A Brief History On September 9, 1991, the Tajik SSR declared its independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as part of the disintegration of the USSR and became the sovereign nation of Tajikistan.  The first part of the name of the new nation is no mystery, it reflects the majority ethnicity of the people in that region, people calling themselves Tajiks.  The ending part of the name of the country, and the names of so many other countries in the region, “stan,” derives from the Persian word for “place.”  Thus, Tajikistan pretty much means “Place of the…

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A Brief History On September 7, 1997, the latest and greatest of America’s jet fighter air superiority fighter planes first took to the sky.  Incredibly complex, sophisticated, and of course, expensive, the Lockheed F-22 Raptor was designed to be a stealthy fighter that could take down enemy fighters and bombers without even being detected.  Despite its steep price, the fighter would be worth the cost if it could deliver on its promises.  Could it deliver?  Read on… Digging Deeper Back in World War II, several nations attempted to produce fighter aircraft specifically designed to out fight other fighters and provide…

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