A Brief History On September 16, 2001, 83 year old B-movie producer Samuel Z. Arkoff died, bringing an end to an era of movies so bad they were good. Born in Iowa in 1918 to a Russian -Jewish family did not seem to lead to Hollywood, especially with an initial direction toward studying law (graduating from Loyola of LA with a law degree). Digging Deeper Still, Arkoff managed to find his way into the movie business, where he produced low budget, slapped together movies that almost invariably succeeded in making money. Responsible for starting the genre of outlaw biker movie…
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 10, 1960, the final event of the Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy, was the scene of the first Sub-Saharan African (Black) to win an Olympic Gold Medal. Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the prestigious Olympic Marathon race (about 26.2 miles long) and won it in high fashion, that is, barefoot! Digging Deeper Only 126 lbs, this slim 5’11” runner was 28 years old when he ran his historic race, and for good measure he won the Olympic Gold Medal in the Marathon in the 1964 Olympics as well. The course of events that led…
A Brief History On August 17, 1966, the US Congress passed the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, which in conjunction with the Highway Safety Act has greatly reduced traffic injuries and deaths in the United States. Digging Deeper In 1966, traffic deaths in the US reached a staggering 50,894, or 25.9 traffic deaths per 100,000 population, both records at the time. The creation of the National Highway Safety Bureau (later changed to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and implementation of safety measures concerning the building and marking of roads, the performance and safety features of cars, and…
A Brief History On September 8, 1923, the biggest peacetime disaster in U.S. Navy history occurred when commodore Captain Edward Watson of Destroyer Squadron 11 (abbreviated as Desron 11) ignored his radio navigation device and led 9 of his 14 ships to run aground at Honda Point in the Santa Barbara Channel in California, with 7 of the Clemson-class destroyers sinking. Not only were 7 ships wrecked, the remaining 2 were left damaged, and 23 men lost their lives, with many more injured. Capt. Watson accepted blame for the disaster and was punished with the removal of his seniority. …
A Brief History On September 5, 1798, France instituted the Jourdan Law making military conscription the law of the land. Military drafts have never been popular with the masses that supply the cannon fodder and it is likely this law was no exception. Like the American and other national military drafts, this one discriminated against the poor and lower classes, leaving various exemptions available for the privileged. On September 5 and August 5 of 2014 we published lists of unpopular laws, and this time we are doing it again, with no significance to the order listed. Digging Deeper 10. Right…