Month: August 2020
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Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (Netflix)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich: I needed a shower after this. Quick synopsis: The story of Jeffrey Epstein and yeah we all know who he is. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Dude got murdered. Fun Fact for History Nerds: See previous fact. MUR-DURRRRRED. My Take on Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich: I’m…
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Musing: And Now for Something Completely Different – Art!
I had a flight of fancy and approached a co-worker who I knew had amazing art skills. Ethan is a jovial guy and seemed excited about the project. I came up with a scene: A knight standing in front of a medieval castle with a queen looking out over ramparts. Ethan had a lot more…
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The Crown (Neflix, Seasons 1 and 2)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Crown: Moving for the English, hilarious for Americans. Quick synopsis: The story of Elizabeth II coming to power. Fictional but depends upon who you ask just how fictional it is. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: It’s Downton Abbey, only real. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Elizabeth II is kind…
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Island of the Lost by Joan Druett
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Island of the Lost: Seriously, stories like this are why I didn’t go in the navy. Quick synopsis: The story of the shipwreck of the Grafton on the Auckland Islands in 1864. Oh, it’s also the story of the shipwreck of the Invercauld on those same islands just a few months…
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Timely History: The Halifax Explosion
On August 4th of this year, a gigantic explosion ripped through Beirut in Lebanon. Final numbers on the destruction are not fully understood, but it looks like at least 220 people were killed and 7,000 injured. The blast was approximately 2.75 kilotons of ammonium nitrate. Nerd that I am, I immediately thought of the Halifax…
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Hamilton (The Musical)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hamilton: I am…. whelmed. Quick synopsis: The biography of Alexander Hamilton in musical form. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Yeah, Hamilton wanted to sex up his sister in law. Fun Fact for History Nerds: The whole thing is more accurate than it isn’t. My Take on Hamilton: I mean, it’s…
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The Nuns of Sant’Ambrogio by Hubert Wolf
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Nuns of Sant’Ambrogio: Lesbian nuns. Don’t give me a dirty look. It’s literally true. Quick synopsis: It’s 1858 at a convent in Rome. Stuff is about to go down. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Lesbian nuns. Am I appealing to the lowest common denominator? Yes. It’s still true. Fun…
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Grand Avenues by Scott Berg
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Grand Avenues: This is why Washington, D.C. traffic sucks. Quick synopsis: The story of Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s efforts to plan out Washington, D.C. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: L’Enfant got hired to plan D.C. and got fired before completing it because of bureaucracy. Yes, D.C.’s problems preceded D.C. itself! Fun…