It is hard to relate to things that happened a century ago, even though they very much shape our societies today. The present, not that which precedes our birth, presses against us and feels alive. For Forrest Hayden of Kentucky, whose grave is seen in the above photo, the year 1918 surely started out feeling […]
The Grave Of Wladyslaw Szpilman, “The Pianist”
Władysław Szpilman (December 5, 1911 – July 6, 2000) was a Polish pianist, a classical composer, and a Jew who survived the Holocaust. He was also the subject of one of my favorite films, The Pianist. Directed by Roman Polanski, the 2002 film is based on Szpilman’s autobiography and shows us his life in Warsaw […]
Thoughts On How To Use Ballistic Missiles
In a more perfect world, more countries would have ballistic missiles, but they’d only use them to send meaningful messages written on biodegradable confetti paper to the population of other nations. So, for example, on Eid al-Adha, Saudi Arabia might fire one at Dearborn, Michigan with a bunch of messages that say things like, “May […]
The Most Pro-American Country In The World: Kosovo
From 1998 to 1999, war raged in Kosovo, and 13,000 people, most of them ethnic Albanians, were killed. Thousands were raped, and well over a million displaced from their homes. In response, President Bill Clinton led the NATO airstrikes that targeted Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic’s military, bringing an end to the conflict. The above is a […]