A Brief History On July 30, 1419, The First Defenestration of Prague took place, which of course, means there was a second Defenestration! Prague, the capital in what was then called Bohemia and today the capital of the Czech Republic, is a vibrant city as the seat of government today, just as it was back in 1419. Why would such a beautiful city be the scene of violence? Digging Deeper First of all, we must let you know what “defenestration” means. Not a word you hear every day although the action described by it is not all that unusual. (Drum…
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 July 29, 2019, we celebrate National Lasagna Day, a day to revel in the wonderfulness of Italian style cooking. We love the layered pasta, cheese, meat and tomato sauce baked deliciousness of lasagna, with or without a nice Chianti. A highly versatile dish, lasagna can be made with different cheeses, different spice combinations, different sauces and different meats, including ground beef, ground turkey or pork, slices of chicken or sausage (Italian, Chorizo, or Hot), or even with no meat at all! Your imagination and personal tastes dictate how you choose to enjoy this family favorite food. …
A Brief History On July 27, 2019, while enjoying Sirius/XM Radio, the subject of one-word-title songs was the theme, giving this author the inspiration to compile a list of the 6 Best Songs wherein the title is a person’s name, just a one word name. Obviously, since the list is not based on scientific data such as record sales, it is necessarily subjective and based only on my humble opinion. You are welcome to criticize the choices on the list and to nominate your own choices for songs that should be named on such a list. To be fair, we…
A Brief History On July 26, 2016, a bizarre mass killing near Tokyo was reported in which a 26 year old man, a former employee of a facility for disabled people, went to that facility at 2:30 am local time on July 26, 2016 (still July 25 in Eastern Daylight Time) and killed 19 people with a knife and wounded about 26 more. Police arrived too late to stop the mayhem, and the perpetrator turned himself in at the local police department. Once again, we have tragic proof that a deranged person does not need a gun to commit mass…
A Brief History On July 24, 1935, the heat wave aspect of the Great Dust Bowl hit its high point, with temperatures soaring in the Midwest and on the Great Plains, cities such as Chicago reaching 109 °F and Milwaukee hitting 104 °F. Striking the central United States during the Great Depression (1929 to 1939-1941, depending on interpretation) made the environmental catastrophe of drought and heat all the worse. The enormous increase in the use of motorized tractors plowing the prairie, replacing tough prairie grasses with roots that held the soil together with loosely plowed earth and food crops, the…