1
POPS Ghost towning steeped in mysteries of Old West
Other ghost towners described making a half-dozen trips before finding the town, but agreed the search is half the fun. Though their motto is to "take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints," there are gifts to be found -- literally and figuratively -- at ghost towns. David Pike, who grew up in southern New Mexico and now lives in Washington, D.C., has rated nearly 20 New Mexico ghost towns on his Web site. He says ghost towning has helped him understand how his environment affects him and taught him to live in the moment. "It's hard to ignore a metaphor when you're standing right in the middle of it," he said. "When you're standing in a building that was once something and now is slowly fading into not being anything anymore, that's a stark reminder about appreciating what you've got when you've got it." Don't Miss * New Mexico Ghost Towns * Clint Thomsen's site (click on Ghost Towns link) * Todd Underwood's ghost town site Pike said he
2
POPSTODAY IN ROTTEN HISTORY from Rotten.com NO ONE should see this as an endorsement of Rotten.com by me. This site is something that should be treated like a leper at an orgy. And on this site, that may not just be a metaphor! Some of the most terrible things are here and this is att best, the tamest portion. Seekers wishing to go further are warned....
0
POPSCrosstime Traffic: Alternate history series by Harry Turtledove Pt. 2 of 2 As I said in the notes to Part 1 of this clip, Harry Turtledove is the Master of alternate history science fiction. Some of his other series such as: World War, The Great War, and Day of Infamy should be checked out as well as his anthologies and his first novel, Agent of Byzantium. I first read that is my Senior Year of High School and though I had a love for literature already, I knew my path was set in front of me... But I write horror right? Technically, yes and no... I write alternate history with a horror theme and trappings.. Maybe not a big distinction but it is one on my part. If you want your teenagers to do better in History pick up a few alternate history novels. A writer has to develop the divergence point from "actual" history and the ramifications and butterfly effect of those. In other words, he gives you real history and then takes it and warps it and gives you a new look at it..
4
POPSCracked Magazine's 25 Historical Events (As Depicted by 5 Year Olds) OK, I am dating myself here but I remember Cracked Magazine as well as Mad, Crazy, Car-toons, and Plop from when I was a kid. Eventually all that was left on the magazine racks were Mad. I never even thought they may have switched to an online E-Zine or that they would be open to subscriber participation! Personally, I always thought Cracked was better than Mad any day!
5
POPSThe Great Train Wreck of 1918 I have always considered myself a history buff... especially when it comes to the darker side of history: i.e. disasters, wars, atrocities, crimes, etc. I was very surprised when I saw this article posted on refdesk.com, one of my favorite all-in-one reference link sites.. Reading this story gave me a chill in my bones and the article is worth much more than my paltry efforts to clip the highlights. What was NOT clipped: The procedures of the railroad and safety guidelines and how it failed here. The lax attitude of No 4's personnel and their failures to protect the passengers. The tower person and his attempt to avert the disaster but his own part in not following procedure. The Interstate Commerce Commission's findings of fault and blame for the wreck.. I encourage all to look up this story and see what happened 90 years ago today. Thank You.
0
POPSThat Wacky Millennium Part XV(1876 - 2000) The TP controversy continues... Second greatest Con Man (following P T Barnum) makes his appearance, Thomas Edison.... Esperanto is created... The Twentieth Century is covered in That Wacky Century of clips of mine...
0
POPSThat Wacky Millennium Part IV (1300 - 1409) Amazing what happens when the head of a Church is more powerful than any common monarch! Factoid: More people have died violently in the name of religion than any other type of homicide in world history... At least we now know who to blame for clock-watchers!
1
POPSThat Wacky Millennium! Part II (1206-1258) The Golden Horde, the Magna Carta, the Inquisition (best money-making scheme in history!) and Bacon develops gunpowder (first case of fried Bacon?) Makes you all wish we lived then! Well, maybe not.
1
POPSThat Wacky Millennium! Part I (1001-1206) This was too easy to decide on after seeing his Wacky 20th Century timeline. I wish I could have put some of his forward into the clip but I will put it here instead: "At the end of the First Millennium, Rome had long since fallen. The Dark Ages were drawing to a close and the Medieval Period was beginning (although the term "dark ages" wasn't actually coined until the Renaissance, as part of an effort to make the past look bad). The stirrup had changed the face of warfare. Somebody had just invented that, that thing, what do you call it, that harness that goes around a horse's neck and puts the load on the animal's shoulders? That thing. And it changed the course of history, too, believe you me! Also, the modern notion of "progress" pretty much didn't exist; the view of the future was that every day was bleaker than the next, so hurry up and end, world, we're rootin' for that Second Coming." That should set the right tone...
1
POPSThat Wacky Century - Part V (1963-1969) The half-decade of Assassinations alone is worth thinking about whether you are a conspiracy theorist or not! (I am NOT. I prefer the title "conspiracy connoisseur!") All this AND Star Trek? Wow, man, what a trip!
3
POPSAlternate History: What Ifs Best site for a thorough definition of what is and what is not "alternate history," and a nice bibliography of key stories and novels that fit the criteria. Most interesting is the fact the author separates Alternate History from Secret and Hidden History which explore more conspiratorial theories and ramifications of History by design instead of a divergent history. Not just for fans of the genre but serious Historians have written essays on "What If' as key events in history may have gone askew,,,
3
POPSHistory Channel's World History Page.. An Awesome tool of exploration for any person interested in ANY aspect of History. You do not need to be an amateur or professional historian to enjoy this site. I picked this page because the variety of info alone is worth a look see from all. Definitely check out there games page... Can not go wrong... Great for classroom studies too.