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…
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 September 9, 337, almost four months after the death of Emperor Constantine the Great, his three sons inherited the throne as co-emperors, a situation that seems unworkable. Digging Deeper Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans inherited a Roman Empire in which Constantine had ended the persecution of Christians and made Christianity a lawful Roman religion. Constantine also unified the Church and State as a single entity and disestablished the old pagan religion. Constantine made the city of Byzantium the “New Rome,” and renamed it Constantinople after himself. Despite his intent to divide the Empire among his…
A Brief History On September 8, 1952, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, having been broadcasting radio since 1936, made its first TV broadcast on a subject seldom associated with The Great White North, the second escape from jail by the notorious Boyd Gang of criminals operating out of Toronto. Digging Deeper Canada has a reputation for being a country of nice folks, many of whom have gone on to great success in the United States, but there is more to Canada than poutine and snow, including some nasty criminals. Named for Edwin Boyd who cut his criminal teeth in Saskatchewan and…
A Brief History On September 7, 1978, a Bulgarian secret agent assassinated Bulgarian dissident, Georgi Markov, as the unfortunate man was strolling across the Waterloo Bridge in London. The novel means of committing this murder was firing or jabbing a poison Ricin pellet from a specially adapted umbrella. Markov thought little of the minor sting at the time but died four days later. Digging Deeper Some other unusual methods or weapons used in assassinations include: Edward II, King of England, had a red hot fireplace poker shoved up his butt in 1327. Alexander Litvinenko was the first ever murder victim…
A Brief History On September 7, 1876, the infamous James-Younger gang attempted to pull off a bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, but an alert and irate group of citizens quickly armed themselves and foiled the robbery, killing three of the robbers and wounding others. Digging Deeper Frank and Jesse James eluded capture, but two Younger brothers were caught and sent to prison. The gang had previously served the Confederate States during the American Civil War as “bushwhackers,” basically land based pirates attacking and robbing Union forces and anyone believed to be Union sympathizers. Infamous bank robber Willie Sutton explained why…