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 October 29, 1955, the Soviet battleship Novorossiysk struck a mine in Sevastopol Harbor and sank, taking the lives of 608 crewmen.  Even when we think a war is over, the terrible price cannot yet be calculated, because wars have ways of continuing to kill past the date History claims ended the war.  Here we list 8 of those sad ways wars continue to kill people beyond what seems to be their time frame. Digging Deeper 1. Anti-ship mines. As noted above, the former Italian battleship, Giulio Cesare, renamed by the Soviet Union the Novorossiysk after the USSR…

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A Brief History On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World), that great beacon of freedom welcoming immigrants into New York Harbor, for many, the gateway to a better life in the United States.  Today we list 10 statues that we think are the most famous, most notable, and most significant.  What artworks would you add to this list?  (Note: The order listed has no significance, and we only considered statues that still exist.) Digging Deeper 1. The Statue of Liberty, New York City. A gift to the people of the United States…

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A Brief History On October 27, 2017, Paramount Pictures releases Suburbicon, a noir-ish “dramadey” written by the Coen Brothers and directed by George Clooney.  With the star power of Matt Damon and Julianne Moore, the film is sure to make a major splash on the movie scene.  We watched a pre-screening event on October 23, 2017 and will share our thoughts on the film. Digging Deeper The Coen Brothers have brought us a string of somewhat odd, but highly successful films, such as Fargo, The Big Lebowski (one of our favorites), No Country for Old Men, and True Grit (the…

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A Brief History On October 27, 2017, tensions between the United States and North Korea put a cloud of possible nuclear conflict facing the American people.  Meanwhile, 2017 has been a year of unprecedented major wildfires, hurricanes, and who knows what the last couple months of the year can bring?  The potential for natural or man-made disaster that results in a time of no police, no government services, no utilities, no food, no water, and no civil behavior by fellow survivors is higher than at any time since the Cold War.  As we have seen in Louisiana in the aftermath…

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A Brief History On October 27, 2017, the new major motion picture, Goodbye Christopher Robin, will make its premier at theaters across the United States, bringing humanity and realism to the beloved characters associated with Winnie-the-Pooh, the characters created by author A.A. Milne based on his real life son and his son’s beloved plush animals, characters and children’s books that have become the most cherished of all children’s stories.  We had the privilege of previewing this excellent movie before release, and will try to avoid spoilers as we describe the film. Digging Deeper As the title of the British produced…

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