David is the Editor in Chief of Postcards From the Edge. I was born on a cold November morning on the showy plains of Colorado. Like my father, before me, I am an American Nomad.
The Boii tribe gave their name to the regions of Bohemia (Modern Day Czechoslovakia), Bologna (Northern Italy) and Bavaria (Southern Germany). They were one of the most influential of the ancient Celtic tribes during the late Iron Age. They first appear in history in connection with the...
We like to think our humanity is what separates us from the other animals but is it? Perhaps that is what best describes our philological state?
The Course of Empire is a five-part series of paintings created by Thomas Cole in the years 1833-36. It is notable in part for reflecting popular American sentiments of the times, when many saw pastoralism as the ideal phase of human civilization, fearing that empire would lead to...
In Greek mythology, Saturn was called Cronus and was king of the cosmos for “untold ages”, his father was Uranus and his mother was Gaia (earth). Cronus seized power by castrating and killing his father Uranus. Like all tyrants, he too feared his demise, so Cronus had a bad habit of...
Leonardo da Vinci is probably most known for his famous paintings of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. But painting is only one of his many amazing abilities. Born in 1452, Leonardo was a polymathic person skilled in painting, sculpture, architecture, music, science, math, engineering...
She was a mathematician, philosopher and the daughter of Theon Alexandricus, the last librarian of the Alexandria Library in the Museum of Alexandria. She was educated at Athens and in Italy; at about 400 AD, she became headmistress of the Platonist school at Alexandria, where she...
An epic tale from the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology, it’s story of love, lust, broken trust, relentless passion and ultimate tragedy. Like all such stories which live a long life, and this story is at least seventeen centuries old, it concerns a love triangle. A familiar triangle, the...
Romeo and Juliet were two star-crossed lovers in William Shakespeare's most famous play. It does not make any specific moral statement about the relationships between love and society, religion, and family.
The Hubble Space Telescope has 5 cameras on it but not one of them records the colors of visible light that we see in this video. All visible light images are in the grayscale.
Did you ever wonder why we have seven days in a week? As it turns out the seven day week is based on the moon and not the sun. There are 29 days to the moons cycle which breaks down into 4 seven day periods with 1 day of what is called a New Moon (also called the Dark Moon) and is not...
The number seven has a long history of mystical and religious associations: Seven Sleepers, Seven Ages of Man, Seven Wonders of Ancient Greece, Seventh Son of the Seventh Son, Seven Sisters and Seven Days Week.
Belief in the special gifts of a Seventh Son (and Daughter) can be found in Folklore throughout the world. In France, The Seventh Son was called a ‘Marcou’ and branded with a fleur-de-lis. Captains of Merchant Ships would try, ‘often by force if necessary’ to have a Seventh Son on ship as...
The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings throughout the world. Greek mythology holds that the great hunter Orion saw the Pleiades as they walked through the Boeotian countryside, and fancied them. He...
Ancient Greece was a land of breathtaking beauty where science, math and art combined to produce some of the world’s greatest marvels of architecture and design. From prehistoric places to bold symbols of victory, the seven wonders of ancient Greece still stir hold us in awe to this day.
Seven Ages of Man is from the romantic comedy “As You Like It”, written by William Shakespeare. It is set in the forest of Arden, where the senior Duke lives in exile with a band of loyal courtiers. These lines are spoken by one of the characters, Jaques, who is given to a lot of...
The Seven Sleepers story appears to be primarily a Christian story as it also has variations in the Muslim, Arabic, Scandinavian, German, Hungarian, and Welsh mythology. The basic story goes that during the time of the Roman emperor Decius, around 250 AD, seven young men were accused of...
We Sailed from Captain's Cove Marina in Quincy Massachusetts to Olverson's Lodge Creek Marina located along the Potomac River in Virginia aboard a 1975 Irwin 30 Competition Sailboat.
My journey will be approximately 69,000 nautical miles and expected to take about 5 years to complete. The adventure will start in Seattle Washington and transit the Pacific Ocean, Coral Sea, South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea. It...
This documentary was an intellectual, thought-provoking, and worthwhile presentation. It is a powerful indictment of the American Propaganda Machine. It lays bare the inner workings of how the American Plutocracy employs media to shape and control the American populist opinion.
Christmas is celebrated around the world in many different ways. Traditions, Songs and Food are just a few of the variations from country to country, but in spite of these differences, family, friends and sharing remain a common thread regardless of the language one may speak.
The Mayan’s did not predict the end of the world and their calendar was cyclical, in other words, it never ended. There are only two mentions of 2012 in Mayan writing and they reference the end of the 13th Bak’tun (1 Bak’tun was equal to 394.26 years) which ends on the winter solstice...
T-Rex or more formally known as Tyrannosaurus Rex (meaning "tyrant lizard king", from the Greek tyrannos meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard" and the Latin rex meaning "king") was a coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur.
Easter is a Christian feast and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary as described in the New Testament. To understand how the resurrection of Jesus Christ correlates to the spring equinox, you have to understand what Jesus...
For the third time and after an eight-and-a-half-year-long occupation, the US has declared an end to the Iraq War. The United States is leaving behind a $6 billion embassy and diplomatic effort to be run by the State Department and staffed with thousands of private...
Stingy Jack, perhaps also known as Jack the Smith, Drunk Jack, and Jack of the Lantern, is a mythical character apparently associated with All Hallows Eve. It is common lore that the "jack-o'-lantern" is derived from ...
The three witches in Macbeth are present in only four scenes in the play, but Macbeth's fascination with them motivates much of the play's action. When they meet with Banquo and Macbeth, they address Macbeth with three titles: thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor, and king hereafter...
If you have been watching the news the whole world seems to be celebrating the departure of President Hosni Mubarak and the arrival of President Omar Suleiman. No elections, no vote, just an appointment by an outgoing dictator. I do not get it. If one dictator gives power to another...
Whenever I criticize conservative political ideas I am often called an Obama Zombie and when I criticize the liberal political ideas I am called a Tea-Bagger, without any consideration that there are more than just two ideas in this country. The Republican and Democratic Parties are but...