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POPSExploring the powerful history of Gdansk This lovely street wasn't always so lively and carefree. On Sept. 1, 1939 — nearly 70 years ago to this date — Adolf Hitler invaded this once-German city, sparking World War II. By the end of the war, nearly 80 percent of the city had been destroyed, and the main street lay in ruins. Locals stubbornly rebuilt their town with the help of detailed drawings and photographs, mostly using the original brick. Today, excursion boats ferry history buffs through shipyards to Westerplatte point, where the war's first shots were fired.
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POPSAbout eggs "Eggs have been known to, and enjoyed by, humans for many centuries. Jungle fowl were domesticated in India by 3200 B.C.E. Record from China and Egypt show that fowl were domesticated and laying eggs for human consumption around 1400 B.C.E., and there is archaeoligical evidence for egg consumption dating back to the Neolithic age. The Romans found egg-laying hens in England, Gaul, and among the Germans. The first domesticated fowl reached North America with the second voyage of Columbus in 1493." ---Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor, William Woys Weaver, associate editor 2003, Volume 1 (p. 558)
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POPS The Triumph of Mischief "Of Irish/English and Cree ancestry, raised in Manitoba and now living in Toronto, Monkman uses video, photography, painting, installation, and performance art to construct new stories that take into account the missing narratives and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples. His work re-invents the past as a way of challenging one-dimensional representations of First Nations people and changing the way we think, not only about specific histories, but about the construction and authority of capital “H” history itself."
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POPSDisasters Go to site. Its really quite interesting to discover just what happened during the year of your birth, or any arbitrary year . Grab a tiny bit of history
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POPSMontsegur And The Cathars The history and injustice of this horrendous saga, as well a many other of similar brutality and lack of simple compassion, has, I must admit, greatly affected my lack of esteem for religion in general.
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POPSEmma Goldman One gutsy lady ..... dripping with integrity,empathy, and compassion.
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POPSGod-Drunk vs. Godless From the Atlantic Monthly's article "The American Idea" - Scholars, novelists, politicians, artists, and others look ahead to the future of the American idea. I thought the juxtaposition of these two pieces in particular was interesting. Sam Harris is the author of The End of Faith (2004) and Letter to a Christian Nation (2006). Tim LaHaye is a minister and the author of more than 50 books, including the best-selling Left Behind series. I have clipped both pieces below because Atlantic Monthly won't let you view the entire article.
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POPSA Brief History of Economic Time The underlying expectation -- that the present is supposed to be better than the past -- is a new phenomenon in history. No 18th-century politician would have asked "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" because it never would have occurred to anyone that they ought to be better off than they were four years ago. (Also see Living in the Age of Abundance .)
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POPSA pronunciation guide for everything Wisconsin! How names of Wisconsin-related people and places are pronounced. Fun and informative! Clicking on a word to pronounce will not only let you hear the word, it will also provide links to maps, travel, history, biographical sketches and other information as applicable. Really something!
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POPSThe truth about recycling Far too much valuable info here to fit in a clip, so go to the source for interesting discussions of the history of recycling, current status, innovations and concerns about what happens to recyclables being shipped to China and other developing nations. China is now the largest importer of recyclable materials in the world! The explanation of how single stream collection of recyclables works is fascinating. I was not aware of all the new technology being employed to sort and separate recyclable materials. The section on the future of recycling discusses the need for product design to take into account recycling of the product materials to create "closed-loop" cycles where there is no waste. Sustainable packaging emphasizes the use of renewable, recycled and non-toxic source materials to benefit the environment and cut costs. Wal-Mart is jumping on this bandwagon. "Waste is really a design flaw."
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POPSA tangled web we weave, when practice to deceive! How sad is this... Our mainstream news would probably spin this like a benevolent story of HELP for the families who are struggling to become American citizens in this wonderful land of opportunity and advantages for the few. But the truth of the matter is... THEY NEED MORE BOOTS TO CONTINUE THIS OUTRAGEOUS WAR IN THE HOPE TO SAVE FACE!! It's hard to believe, all the efforts to continue sending troops to Iraq are only to help this president's place in history because of a war that never should have been waged. A war of lies, no matter the spin, it seems this is the only truth. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive!" - Sir Walter Scott Once again, how sad. thinkingblue.blogspot.com
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POPSGay for Today A remarkable website, revealing the lives and works of fascinating gay or bisexual men from "recent" history (19th C to present day). Featured by birthday, but also categorized by personal characteristics and/or work. "Some of the people featured are highly significant figures to the gay community for their creativity or activism." "Some are highly significant figures in their fields - art, music, science, literature, politics, whatever - who happened to be gay. Sometimes their homosexuality is irrelevant; often it has a part to play in creating that sense of difference or 'otherness' that marks out the genius, the maverick, the innovator. Sometimes, the friendships created by shared homosexuality have created or been significant in whole movements - dance , poetry, writing, art and music all have examples of this." "If you are gay, know your culture. If you are not, know that your world would not be the same without us." Kudos to Peter Rivendell for creating Gay For Today
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POPSLearning from history: the British pullout from Iraq, 1932 Maj. Joel Rayburn, a historian and officer now posted to CENTCOM, writes about the dangers of a too-hasty exit from Iraq, drawing on the British experience post-WWI. I need to read this more carefully, but it seems his ideas present a pretty strong rebuke to both Republican and Democratic positions on the war right now. He says: a purely military approach, which is what the administration is pushing (though they claim not to be) will probably make things worse, but leaving now would probably be just as bad. From Foreign Affairs; a cached version.
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