My 5 Favourite Podcasts: Redux

A few years ago I did a list on my favourite podcasts, but a lot has changed since then, so I am updating it.  Only one podcast from the original list remains.  If you are interested in any of these topics, I highly recommend these casts. 5. The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast It amazes me […]

The Ten Most Influential People of the Early Millennium (1001-1400)

10. Su Song (1020-1101) Innovation Su Song appears to be an early “Renaissance man” from historical China. He made many advances in areas such as biology and astronomy, but his greatest influence was in the area of engineering. His surprisingly complex mechanical clock was a wonder of his time. Among many advancements this clock were […]

The Ten Most Influential People of the 15th Century

10. Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) Art As one of the founding fathers of the Italian Renaissance, Brunelleschi made a modern contribution for all painters that would follow him; the development of linear perspective. Giving Depth through linear perspective is now one of the fundamental bases of art today. Brunelleschi was also a innovative mastermind of architecture […]

The Blu-ray Files #005

Independence Day – ID4 was a film which reinvented the summer blockbuster and relied heavily on visual and sound effects.  Fifteen years later, do those visual and audio spectacles hold up on its blu-ray release? You betcha.  This is a beautiful transfer which looks and sounds almost as great as it did in the theaters […]

The Ten Most Influential People of the 16th Century

10. Hernan Cortes (1485 – 1547) Exploration Cortes can be considered to represent the whole lot of conquistadors who can be considered responsible for wiping out whole civilizations. Cortes’ conquest of Mexico lead to the downfall of the Aztecs and the devastation of Mesoamerica. The story of Cortes’ arrival in the Aztec Empire and his […]

Robin Hood

It seems inevitable these days that if there’s a beloved, well-known story out there that someone will come along and want to make a grittier and more realistic version of it. This time around, its Ridley Scott retelling the story of Robin Hood. And guess what; it doesn’t work. Of course they have to do […]

The Ten Most Influential People of the 17th Century

10. William Harvey (1578-1657) Medicine William Harvey revolutionized the field of medical science by mapping out the human circulatory system in full detail. Until then, no one had really known how blood was pumped through the body. His discoveries would lead to more detailed analysis of our bodies’ physiology and anatomy allowing for the field […]

The Ten Most Influential People of the 18th Century

10. Peter the Great Politics Peter I’s rule as Czar saw many changes in Russia in the early 1700’s which would extend over the next couple hundred years. Russia was brought into the modern realm under Peter’s hand and went through much reformation to do so. Peter the Great expanded Russia greatly and strengthened their […]

The Ten Most Influential People of the 19th Century

10. Marie Curie (1867-1934) Chemistry Marie Curie created the theory of radioactivity through her discovery of radium and also developed a process for isolating isotopes. These were huge advancements in chemical science which have been used in many applications, not the least of which are major advancements in the medical field. Unfortunately the discoveries she […]

The Ten Most Influential People of the 20th Century

10. J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) Physics One of the trademarks of the 20th century, horrible though it may be, is the creation of the atomic bomb.  This is the ultimate weapon of destruction which set our world into a state of fear for the latter half of the century with the cold war, as well […]