A major conservation donor of my acquaintance now describes his world as being on fire. It is hard for him, at the epicenter of this great economic upheaval, to imagine how those of us on the periphery of the Wall......

If Jesus can appear in the tinted glass of a hardware store, why not the name of Allah in boiled beef? "Diners have been flocking to a restaurant in northern Nigeria to see pieces of meat which the owner says......

I re-watched Jaws yesterday, and once again was struck by the brilliance of Robert Shaw's delivery of Captain Quint's Indianapolis Soliloquy.  "Eleven hundred men went into the water..." It is a defining moment, made even more remarkable for its human interest in a film whose star is ...

There are so many memories of the French and Indian War Grand Encampment at Fort Ticonderoga last weekend, and great images to go with many of them.  This mixed file and drum corps includes both French and British musicians and came down the road to welcome us on our arrival.  Musicians ha...

The African National Congress, South Africa's ruling party, has issued a strongly worded statement condemning repression of democratic rights in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe.  Meanwhile, the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeke, who lost control of his own party last December, has remained si...

[Map: George Buchel, from Thomas Fleming (1975) The Battle of Springfield. Click to enlarge ] At the core, even the set piece battles of the American Revolution were often a matter of limited engagements.  Only a portion of Gates' and Burgoyne's men, for instance, clashed at Freeman's Farm and ...

Americans have a longstanding fondness for David and Goliath stories, particularly those in which our scrappy homegrown underdogs beard the oppressing giant.  They are an established part of our national myth and cultural heritage.  Longfellow captivates his readers with tales of "......

In 1955, the President of the United States enjoyed a base salary of $100,000.  Today he is paid $400,000.  We have experienced annual inflation averaging 3.98% between then and now.  Strictly speaking, Ike made more than W, who would need a salary of $791,000 today for parity with 19...

This 7th edition of Cabinet of Curiosities draws its inspiration from the artistic vision of zoologist Ernst Haeckel. A staunch Darwinist, Haeckel established The Phyletical Museum for the theory of evolution in Jena, Germany.   His 1899-1904 Kunstformen von der Natur (Art Forms in Nature)...

Perhaps you have encountered "The Prisoner's Dilemma."  This mainstay of Game Theory offers individuals the opportunity to maximize the chances of personal reward through cooperation in a non-zero-sum outcome.  Two prisoners, the scenario goes, are picked up and charged with the ...