Jan
16
2013

by James
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The Origins of Mankind: Basic Human Evolutionary History

When we attempt to comprehend the whole scope of evolution and the history of our Universe, we realize that humankind has only existed for a minuscule portion of an immense timeline reaching into the past nearly 13.75 Billion years. If we were to imaging the Earth’s history as a 24-Hour clock, our genus (Homo) has only existed for the last 1 minute, 17 seconds on that clock and our species (Homo Sapiens) would only have existed for the last 3.1 seconds.

Our species is the pinnacle of a phenomenal chain of causality reaching all the way back to the theorized singularity exploding in the big bang. Since then, cosmological events have formed our galaxy, the Milky Way and our home Star, Sol, our solar system, and our planet, Earth, which is the only known life-sustaining planet to our knowledge.

On this tiny blue and green planet, over billions of years life began to emerge, rising out of the oceans in a myriad forms. Over time through the remarkable process of evolution, our species was ultimately formed. Continue reading

Dec
15
2012

by James
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Lincoln (2012)

Lincoln is a historical drama about American president, Abraham Lincoln. The Civil War continues to rage in its fourth year and the president struggles to justify the continuing carnage on the battlefield and fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves. In 1865, with the American Civil War winding down, president Lincoln strives to gain support for the constitutional amendment to ban slavery from the United States. It is a race against time since peace before the amendment is passed will quash … Continue reading

Dec
10
2012

by James
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The Antikythera Mechanism: An ancient hellenistic computer

The Antikythera Mechanism was an ancient analog computer-like device used to calculate the movements of stars and planets created by a Greek genius (possibly Archimedes) between 150 and 100 BCE. In October 1900, a Greek sponge diver happened upon one of the greatest discovers in modern history on the Mediterranean sea bed. Captain Dimitrios Kondos ran into some wild weather to the north of Crete when returning to Greece from a diving expedition around Northern Africa. He decided to shelter from the storm near the small island of … Continue reading

Sep
20
2012

by James
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4th century piece of papyrus references Jesus’ wife and a female disciple.

A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a papyrus fragment, written in Coptic in the fourth century, containing the first known explicit statement that Jesus was married and further refers to a female disciple. The faded papyrus fragment is just a few inches wide, with eight ink lines, written in Coptic, on one side. The text is only legible under a magnifying glass and translates as: Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …’ The fragment of papyrus also includes another provocative clause that saying: … Continue reading

Aug
24
2012

by James
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J. Edgar (2011)

This biographical drama film focuses on the powerful director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover as he reflects on 50 years of his professional and personal life. J. Edgar Hoover, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is a single-minded individual fixated on eradicating Communists, anarchists and other revolutionaries taking action against the U.S. government. Early in his career, Hoover, builds the agency’s reputation, becoming the sole arbiter of who is hired and fired. One of his employees, Clyde Tolson, quickly becomes Assistant Director and remains be Hoover’s confidant and companion … Continue reading

Aug
08
2012

by James
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Mind Status = Blown.

From technological advancements to some bizzare natural phenomena, check out these mind blowing facts. I read astounding facts and needed to confirm them because they are just so completely unbelievable… Turns out they really are true for the most part. I had heard of Moore’s Law being broken a while back and it turns out this little mind blowing fact is just slightly out of date. See below for details. The time difference between when Tyrannosaurus and Stegosaurus lived is greater than the time difference between Tyrannosaurus and … Continue reading

May
11
2012

by James
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Reagan (2011)

I watched a documentary on Ronald Reagan last night. I only knew some very basic things about his life and presidency before last night. The film showed a pretty accurate scope of his private life, off-camera. He was the first President to effectively use an on-screen persona to communicate via the mass media while protecting his private image from scrutiny. It was really intriguing to see some rare footage of his early life. He has been attributed qualities and values he did not truly posses and the legend … Continue reading

Apr
30
2012

by James
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Photos from 100 years ago in New York City.

It’s always interesting to look at old photographs. Even though the quality doesn’t hold a candle to the modern ultra crisp HD images we can capture digitally, older photographs have such character. The people are fascinating as well. We can get a glimpse into the lives of ordinary Americans around the turn of the century. While some things never change, looking back on the culture of that time is incredible. There is such a vast difference in behavior and trends it makes me wonder if we could possibly … Continue reading