What is the Ides of March, and Why Should I Beware of It?

by Lindsay Shapka in , ,


Before we get to the "beware" part, let's start with the basics.

The Ideas of March, or Idus Martiae in Latin, is the day in the Roman calendar that corresponds with March 15.

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Visiting The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

by Lindsay Shapka in , , ,


We've all heard of Pearl Harbor.

Usually in the context of WWII history and the bombing that took place there ushering the US into the war and (depending on what textbook you read), giving the Allies the leg up they needed to defeat the Nazis.

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What is the "Memory of the World"?

by Lindsay Shapka in ,


The Memory of The World sounds like something out of a movie (when I first heard the term, I pictured never-ending rows of mahogany bookshelves stretching for miles under elaborately painted ceilings) but it is actually very real and absolutely fascinating.

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Reads For The Road: "Mossad" by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal

by Lindsay Shapka in , , ,


You can't turn on the TV without coming across fictional shows about the FBI, CIA, NCIS, MI6 or some other covert organization operating somewhere in the world. I have to admit that I am definitely a sucker for these shows (who doesn't love Homeland?), and while I have managed to figure out generally what these organizations do in the real world, the one that I have always been a bit confused about is the Mossad.

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Exploring The Queen's Royal Yacht "Britannia" in Edinburgh, Scotland

by Lindsay Shapka in , ,


I have to admit, the last tourist site that I was interested in visiting when I was in Edinburgh, was the former Royal Yacht Britannia.

It was well off the beaten path, and as far as I knew was just a boat.

What was the big deal?

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Drinking Champagne Out of Marie Antoinette's Breast (or, the history of champagne glasses)

by Lindsay Shapka in , ,


The small bowl, or saucer-shaped champagne glass (called a coupe) is often claimed to be modeled on the left breast of the famed French aristocrat Marie Antoinette (1721-1793).

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Stephenson, William Stephenson: Did you know that James Bond was based on a real person?

by Lindsay Shapka in , ,


Often considered to be the inspiration for the romanticized, over-sexed spy, and credited with being a key player in the creation of the CIA, Sir William Samuel Stephenson was an inventor, real-life master spy, and businessman.

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