2017 – Page 2 – the quick Sliver

8.18.17 95?

August 18, 2017 Mike Keeler

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Ah, August. And the drive home from the beach vacation. Which brings to mind…the epic transportation complication. If you were a visitor to the United States, you might decide to fly into Miami for some fun in the sun. After which you could head north and explore the fabric of…

7.28.17 Good Old Boys

July 28, 2017 Mike Keeler

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Congress is good. Congress is old. Congress is full of boys. May 22, 1856: Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina leaves his House office, carrying a metal-topped cane. He enters the Senate chamber and approaches Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, who is bundling up his daily papers, including copies of an…

2017

7.21.17 Good Boy

July 21, 2017 Mike Keeler

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This one is about man’s best friend. Who, as it turns out, is also man’s oldest friend. No one knows for sure when civilization first started. Scientists guess that the domestication of plants and animals first happened in the fertile crescent of the Middle East. We can say with some…

2017 dog domestication Europe history

6.30.17 Sally

June 30, 2017 Mike Keeler

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This is a true American story. There once was a man named John who married three times. Of the four children resulting from these three marriages, his eldest was named Martha. After the death of his third wife, John had six more children (out of wedlock with a fourth woman…

2017 Monticello Sally Hemings Thomas Jefferson

6.23.17 The Hunchback

June 23, 2017 Mike Keeler

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This is about how a symbol rises, tilts, and suddenly falls. It starts with a man with the epic name of Nur ad-Din Abu al-Qasim Maḥmud ibn ʿImad ad-Din Zengi. He was a member of a Turkish dynasty which ruled over Syria in the 1100’s, and history remembers him for…

2017 Hunchback Iraq ISIS Mosul Ottoman Empire

6.9.17 Double Dixie Deliciousness

June 9, 2017 Mike Keeler

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The Dixie devils of double deliciousness are at it again… Down in Salisbury, North Carolina, since 1917 they have created a bubbly cherry concoction which is aptly named “Cheerwine.” It’s a small regional soda brand that has never enjoyed the global popularity of a Coke or a Pepsi, but which…

2017 Cheerwine Krispy Kreme marketing

6.2.17 Beren and Luthien

June 2, 2017 Mike Keeler

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In the winter of 1916-17, JRR Tolkien was a shattered man. He had just returned from World War 1, suffering from trench fever. All but one of his childhood friends were dead, mauled by German machine guns at the Battle of the Somme. He was spending his time alternating between…

2017 Beren and Luthien JRR Tolkien Middle Earth Silmarillion

5.19.17 Chiming in the Band

May 19, 2017 Mike Keeler

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Forty years ago, in May of 1977, something magical happened at Cornell University. At the center of the Cornell campus stands a huge building called Barton Hall. Originally built in 1914 for the school’s Military Science Program, Barton was intended to be an armory for storing airplanes and military equipment,…

2017 Barton Hall Cornell University Grateful Dead

5.5.17 Cinco de MY! OH!

May 5, 2017 Mike Keeler

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No No No No No! (Or as they say in Spanish, ¡NO!) You MIGHT be having a Crunch Wrap Supreme from Taco Bell for lunch today. You MAY be going out to Paco Loco’s tonight. And you MAY end up enjoying too much Sauza. But, lo siento amigos, you will…

2017 Battle of Puebla Cinco de Mayo civil war Mexico

4.21.17 Summer of Stink II

April 21, 2017 Mike Keeler

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THEY’RE BAAAAACK! They are armed with shields, and suits of armor. They are in your house, and on your food. They number in the millions. And they stink. Not too long ago, farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region started noticing severe damage to their crops. In Maryland, 20% of their apples were eaten right…

2017 Oregon Samurai Wasp Stink Bug