One of history’s greatest sculptors performed one of the finest artistic projects of all time by putting his mallet and chisel down in favor of a paint brush. The artist was Michelangelo, the project was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. About the Sistine Chapel: Called the Cappella Maggiore, the first structure was […]
MICHELANGELO’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: THE SISTINE CHAPEL Read More »
On Halloween, young and old alike dress up as witches, ghosts, monsters, and other forms of apparitions in the American traditional way of celebrating All Saints Day (November 1) on the day before (October 31). It’s all in good fun, but there was a time in this country when witches and witchcraft were taken very,
THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS Read More »
At their last supper together, Jesus Christ and his disciples shared a sip of wine from a cup in what became a communal ritual for the Christian Church. The ritual continues to this day, but whatever happened to the cup and where it currently resides remains the subject of a vast amount of (mostly) medieval
THE STORY OF THE HOLY GRAIL Read More »
At no time during the American Revolution were the American Colonies able to match the British Royal Navy at sea. However, with only a modest navy the Continental Congress resorted to commissioning private citizens to arm vessels and attack British shipping for profit. The results put a positive tilt on the war in the American
HOW PRIVATEERING AIDED THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Read More »
In September of 31 BC, Octavian defeated the naval forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. Shortly thereafter he became Caesar Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. For the next 211 years the Roman Empire enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity that became known as Pax Romana. It encompassed the
PAX ROMANA—ANCIENT ROME’S GREATEST ERA OF PROSPERITY Read More »
In September of 1973, the Chilean Army marched on the Presidential Palace in Santiago and ousted the popularly elected socialist president, Salvador Allende. What followed was brutal repression, murder and torture, as General Augusto Pinochet seized control and ruled with an iron fist for the next seventeen years. At the time democracy was lost in
THE 1973 COUP IN CHILE–FIFTY YEARS AFTER Read More »
Ten years ago, China embarked on a major effort to increase its economic power and influence across Asia, Africa, and into Europe. The name of this program came from Xi Jinping, China’s president, when he spoke of building an “economic belt” along the “silk road” that was the land route to China for many centuries
CHINA’S BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE TEN YEARS AFTER Read More »
In 1883 the small volcanic island of Krakatoa in Indonesia, exploded with a force 13,000 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II. Although not considered the deadliest eruption in recorded history, it was the first natural disaster that was felt worldwide and whose cause was known. The majority
THE 1883 ERUPTION OF KRAKATOA IN INDONESIA Read More »
Rhodes, the largest of the Greek Islands, is known today for its beach resorts, old fortresses, ancient ruins, and remnants of its occupation by the Knights of St. John during the Crusades. But during ancient times it had one of the world’s tallest statues at about 108 feet high that became known as the Colossus
THE STORY OF THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES Read More »
The so-called “Soft Landing” term that gets bantered about whenever there is some Federal Reserve monetary policy activity refers to bringing inflation down without harming economic growth. It can be visualized as landing an airplane safely with shifting winds all around it. It’s difficult to land an airplane under those circumstances, but it’s nearly impossible
IS THE U.S. ECONOMY HEADING FOR A SOFT LANDING? Read More »