Quotulatiousness

December 2, 2017

History of the Gun – Part 4: The Flintlock

Filed under: History, Technology, Weapons — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 02:00

RugerFirearms
Published on 1 Jan 2010

The “History of the Gun” online video series produced by Ruger is a unique look at the progression of firearms technology throughout the years, hosted by Senior Editor of Guns & Ammo Garry James. Part 4 examines the Flintlock.

QotD: Why mid-20th century Americans ate what they did – 1

Filed under: Economics, Food, Health, History, Quotations, USA — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 01:00

Most people are not that adventurous; they like what’s familiar. American adults ate what they did in the 1950s because of what their parents had served them in the 1920s: bland, and heavy on preserved foods like canned pineapple and mayonnaise.

Megan McArdle, “Friday Food Post: The Economics Behind Grandma’s Tuna Casseroles”, Bloomberg View, 2015-10-30.

December 1, 2017

All Quiet On The Eastern Front – Action in East Africa I THE GREAT WAR Week 175

Filed under: Africa, Germany, History, Italy, Military, Russia, WW1 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

The Great War
Published on 30 Nov 2017

This week in the Great War, the Battle of the Ngomano was fought in East Africa between the Germans and Portuguese, which was a decisive win for Lettow-Vorbeck’s men. On the Eastern Front, the fighting stops and Trotsky published the secret treaties that Russia and the other Allies had signed. The Battle of Cambrai continued, with attacks and counterattacks from both sides, including the implementation of the new Hutier assault tactics. Armando Diaz was making changes for the better on the Italian Front, with the express aim of improving the morale among his men.

History of the Gun – Part 3: The Wheellock

Filed under: History, Technology — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 02:00

RugerFirearms
Published on 16 Dec 2009

The “History of the Gun” online video series produced by Ruger is a unique look at the progression of firearms technology throughout the years, hosted by Senior Editor of Guns & Ammo Garry James. Part 3 examines the Wheellock.

November 30, 2017

History of the Gun – Part 2: The Matchlock

Filed under: History, Technology, Weapons — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 02:00

RugerFirearms
Published on 10 Dec 2009

The “History of the Gun” online video series produced by Ruger is a unique look at the progression of firearms technology throughout the years, hosted by Senior Editor of Guns & Ammo Garry James. Part 2 examines the Matchlock.

November 29, 2017

Frankenstein: Paradise Lost – Extra Sci Fi – #5

Filed under: Books, History, Media — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Extra Credits
Published on 28 Nov 2017

Paradise Lost told the story of Satan, a creation who rejected his creator just like Frankenstein’s monster did. But even Satan had a loving creator, beauty, and friends. The monster had nothing, and his life in Mary Shelley’s eyes was not a horror story, but a tragedy.

History of the Gun – Part 1: The Hand Cannon

Filed under: History, Military, Technology, Weapons — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

RugerFirearms
Published on 10 Dec 2009

The “History of the Gun” online video series produced by Ruger is a unique look at the progression of firearms technology throughout the years, hosted by Senior Editor of Guns & Ammo Garry James. Part 1 examines the Hand Cannon.

November 28, 2017

Invasions, Naval Battles and German Raiders – WW1 in the Pacific I THE GREAT WAR Special

Filed under: Australia, Germany, History, Military, Pacific, WW1 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

The Great War
Published on 27 Nov 2017

New Zealand: A Society At War: http://amzn.to/2A7Ojz0

One of the theatres of war that’s often overlooked, the Pacific saw some of the earliest military actions of the Great War. On top of this, there were many naval engagements in this particular ocean, including some famous German merchant raiders. We cover all this and more in today’s special episode.

November 27, 2017

Sea Peoples: The 1200 BC System Collapse

Space And Intelligence
Published on 7 May 2017

In the 12th century B.C., after centuries of brilliance, the civilized and globalized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. The thriving economies and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. Could it happen again?

November 26, 2017

Dropping Bombs on Germany – WW1 in Heavy Metal I OUT OF THE TRENCHES

Filed under: Europe, History, Media, Military, WW1 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

The Great War
Published on 25 Nov 2017

Indy’s back in his Chair of Wisdom, and ready to answer more of your questions. This week we discuss Allied bombings on Germany and the influence of WW1 on Metal, including on the power-metal band Sabaton.

The “fall” of the Roman Empire

Filed under: Europe, History — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

If you haven’t read much history, you may be aware that the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD. If you have read a bit more history, you’ll be fully aware that the Western Roman Empire fell then … the rest of it lasted nearly another thousand years. Richard Blake, who has a very readable series of novels set in the “blind spot” of history between the collapse of the West and the revival of the Eastern Empire, offers a quick thumbnail sketch of the historical background to his fiction:

In 395 AD, following a century of experiment, the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western administrative zones, with joint Emperors in Rome and in Constantinople. The purpose was to let each Emperor deal with the pressure on his own critical frontiers – the barbarians along the Rhine and Danube frontiers in the West, and the Persians along the Euphrates and desert frontiers in the East.

In theory, each Emperor was equal. In practice, the Eastern Emperor, ruling from Constantinople, was soon the senior partner. During the next two hundred years, becoming increasingly Greek in language in culture, the Eastern Empire flourished, and Constantinople became one of the largest and most opulent cities in the world.

The Western Empire went into immediate and rapid decline. In 406 AD, barbarians crossed the Rhine in large numbers, and broke into Italy. In 410 AD, they sacked Rome. By then, the Western Capital had been moved to Ravenna, a city in North Eastern Italy, impregnable behind marshes, and within easier reach of the frontiers – and within easier reach of Constantinople.

During the next seventy years, the Barbarians took France and Spain and North Africa from the Empire. Britain remained in the Empire, but its people were told to look to their own defence. In 476 AD, the last Western Emperor was deposed. By 500 AD, the whole of the Western Empire had been replaced by a patchwork of barbarian kingdoms.

After 527 AD, the Emperor Justinian began to reach out from Constantinople to reconquer the lost Western provinces. He recovered North Africa and Italy and part of Spain. However, the effort was exhausting. After his death in 568, the Empire lost much of Italy to the Lombard barbarians, and Rome itself fell under papal domination. Slavic and Avar barbarians crossed the Danube and conquered and burned all the way to Athens and the walls of Constantinople. After 602, the Persians began a war of destruction against the Empire. Though they ultimately lost, they did briefly take Egypt and Syria.

Fire-arrows!

Filed under: History, Media, Technology, Weapons — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Lindybeige
Published on 10 Jun 2016

Fire-arrows – did archers really use them in battles? We see them in the movies, so presumably not.

This is the most-anticipated video of all for this channel, which naturally makes me a bit nervous. Will people be hideously disappointed? I mentioned two and a half years ago that I would make a video on this topic, and this video shows that I am as good as my word, and not over-hasty either.

My thanks to the three people who pointed out quite correctly that when I said ‘Francis Bacon’ (1561-1626) I meant Roger Bacon (1219-1292).

November 25, 2017

Cambrai Tank Chats Special: The Mark IV Tank

Filed under: Britain, History, Military, Technology, WW1 — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 05:00

Tank Museum
Published on 24 Nov 2017

The Mark IV tank was the most numerous of the First World War and went in to battle en masse at the Battle of Cambrai, 20 November 1917. In this special edition of Tank Chats, Curator David Willey explains how the Mark IV tank functions and how it was used to break through the World War One German defences.

November 24, 2017

Tank Corps Unleashed – The Battle of Cambrai I THE GREAT WAR Week 174

Filed under: Britain, Germany, History, Middle East, Military, Technology, WW1 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

The Great War
Published on 23 Nov 2017

After stopping the offensive at Passchendaele, the British Army launches another, albeit more limited, offensive. Almost 500 tanks are put into place and the initial success is remarkable. But the Germans had been training in anti-tank warfare and are supported by fresh troops from the Eastern Front.

Not Guided by Policy: Hunter S. Thompson and the Birth of Gonzo Journalism

Filed under: History, Media, Politics, Sports, USA — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Today I Found Out
Published on 6 Nov 2017

In this video:

“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold.” This is the opening line from the highly acclaimed roman à clef Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream written by Hunter S. Thompson, one of America’s most countercultural and anti-authoritarian writers. The untamed master of his own self-titled genre, “gonzo journalism,” Thompson set ablaze the American standards for journalism during the 1960s and 70s with a cornucopia of drugs, alcohol, gun toting, and most notably, his exemplary writing.

Want the text version?: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2015/07/not-guided-policy-act-gonzo/

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