Author: Dr. Zar

A Brief History On this day, July 25, 2014, Universal Pictures releases Lucy in theaters in the United States of America.  The film stars 29-year-old superstar Scarlett Johansson in the titular role.  Here is the first edition of what could be an annual list of the current hottest young actresses gracing big and small screens alike.  For the purpose of this list, by “young”, I am including women who portrayed girls.  Also, as a 34-year-old myself, anyone who is younger than I am is considered “young” by me!  Moreover, by “hottest”, I do not necessarily mean “most attractive”.  Yes, these are all…

A Brief History This article presents key events in the life of Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years’ War. Digging Deeper On August 2, 1343, Olivier Clisson, a French nobleman from Brittany, was convicted of treason in Paris and beheaded.  He had been fighting the British in the Hundred Years War, and when his success tapered off, he was criticized and accused of treason, perhaps to deflect blame from French losses. On August 26, 1346, at the battle of Crecy, English archers proved the superiority of the English Longbow over the combination of armored knights and crossbowmen fielded by the…

A Brief History On this day, July 6, 1893, the town of Pomeroy, Iowa, was almost completely destroyed by a massive tornado! Digging Deeper Named for landowner and congressman Charles W. Pomeroy (September 3, 1825 – February 11, 1891), the town’s history dates back to at least the 1870s when a railroad was planned to be built through the Iowa settlement.  As the town’s official website notes, this railroad “bridged the gap between small rural towns and larger cities” by taking “passengers to Fort Dodge and” hauling “cattle to Chicago.” After a couple decades of prosperity, tragedy descended upon the town on July 6, 1893.  In the heat…

A Brief History May 1st marks two critical events in the history of the American Civil War.  The first occurred in 1862.  On May 1st of that year, The Union Army completed the Capture of New Orleans.  A year later, in 1863, The Battle of Chancellorsville began, ultimately resulting in a Confederate victory, although the confederates lost one of their most celebrated generals (Stonewall Jackson) as a result of injuries sustained in the week long battle.  In a bizarre twist, on the second night of the battle, Jackson was shot by fellow Southern soldiers who mistook him for a Union…

A Brief History From 1945 to 1991, two superpowers (the capitalist United States of America versus the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) challenged each other for dominance on the world stage.  This article presents a chronological timeline of some of the more bizarre events of the Cold War! Digging Deeper On March 5, 1946, while speaking at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, uttered the term “Iron Curtain” in reference to the divide between the Soviet led Communist Bloc and the democratic/capitalist Western group of nations led by the United States. On May 10,…