While not being a chess junkie –yes, despite the ‘Bjorn’ connection— I nevertheless find learning various variants and cousins of chess to be interesting, from the traditional shogi to the fantastical tridimensional chess. One variant I haven’t played in an age is Hnefatafl or “Viking Chess” which, to my mind, is very thematic for an abstract game and enjoyably asymmetrical. So, to prepare you the next time some wandering Viking challenges you to a tabletop…
My last Roman history post appears to be from last August, but I admit I haven’t seen any Roman-related TV or movies since Gladiator II: Unexpected Sequel Boogaloo. So, if you, like me, want to check out some TV shows of films set in Roman times, here’s some insight as to what to pick: Granted, this might be especially for those of you who want to get your Roman war on. But if you just…
While I continue to spend less time on Facebook and more time on Bluesky (or reading or, gasp, walking in the outside world), there’s a couple elements of connectivity I find still useful. One is remembering birthdays, which I did used to do via a treeware calendar designed for the purpose (specifically one with artwork by international treasure Sandra Boynton). But let’s face it, some electronic and digital reminders help us. And so I often…
I’ve found myself looking up previous read books and old videos that speak to bigger pictures and “the vision thing” as we all continue to trundle through these interesting times. One video I revisited was a lecture Carl Sagan at his 60th birthday symposium at Cornell (he regrettably died just two years later). Evidently, the lecture was unavailable to the public at large for decades, but through a course of events, was recovered from its…
Just dropped earlier today. I have a mixture of emotions that is most un-Vulcan-like.
So, in case you hadn’t heard, the United States Postal Service has decided to glow up Mr. ZIP for a new generation (see image above). And in case you forgot, “ZIP” stands for Zone Improvement Plan, but perhaps you’re wondering how ZIP codes really work. Enter the inimitable CGP Grey: Mind you, there are funnel people who will happily expound on some of the nuances the video above doesn’t get precise, but it’s still wonkily…
One of the last times I talked about pirates, I referenced a couple videos with pirate experts. Truth be told, I love these sorts of videos where historians review films and explain how accurate or, frequently, how wildly inaccurate the films are. It’s especially fun when the historians are clearly having fun with it. Historian Roel Konijnendijk clearly has fun talking about ancient and medieval warfare, even though he’s clearly pained by certain cinematic tropes.…
I’m always up for looking for interesting public domain works we might adapt for Jabberwocky Audio Theater, and as you may imagine, that’s meant various science fiction, fantasy, and horror works from the 1920s. But apparently, I haven’t been looking back far enough because there’s a space opera from [checks notes] Ancient Greece?!? I’ll let Austin McConnell take it from here: Now, I will disagree with the title of the video because I absolutely will…
I know how it is. We live in excessively ‘interesting times.’ Many organizations are asking people to do “more with less.” Most importantly, despite you, like my family, being very interested in Mongolian history especially the Mongol Empire, you simply haven’t had time to brush up on the main points of this consequential, multicultural empire whose echoes have been felt ever since in world history. Well, luckily, the internet abounds in concise, informative, and entertaining…
I’ve been thinking about leadership over the past couple weeks in terms of how one may rise to the challenge of inspiring and motivating their teams… as well as how to avoid the Peter Principle of being promoted to a level of, well, incompetence. And when you read about leaders who were so very incompetent, you wonder why they’re often more studied than leaders who succeed… because not all of these studies come from the…