The idea of the earth tearing itself apart is terrifying enough, but the devastation that earthquakes cause is only intensified by the huge waves that can follow a massive seismic disturbance in the ocean bed. Often, coastal inhabitants have just minutes to flee to higher ground, and any delay can cause shocking casualties. In the […]
Continue readingBefore everyone had a cell phone and the capacity to record video on the fly, a police beat down was, by sheer chance, caught on tape in Los Angeles on March 3, 1991. Public fury about racism and police brutality erupted when a portion of the video showing several LAPD officers Tasering, kicking, stomping and […]
Continue reading“In the theatre there are 1,500 cameras rolling at the same time- in the cinema, only one,” as quoted by Orson Welles, the prolific director of the most studied film of all time, Citizen Kane. Within the last century cinema has grown from pioneering silent films into orchestrated musicals, “spaghetti westerns” and has taken us […]
Continue readingThe 20th century was a time of great change, with devastating wars, the rise of two superpowers, and the fall of one. Demonstrations have been used throughout history to change the world, both peacefully and violently, but in the 20th century activism came into its own in an age of protest. 10. March on Washington […]
Continue readingThe cliché goes that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but some photographs eschew any such numeric limitation and go on talking to us forever; certain photo portraits have that rare power. Far more than pictorial representations of celebrated or instantly recognizable figures, they capture so much more, seeming to encapsulate not simply the […]
Continue readingWhen you run experiments, there’s inherently an element of the unknown. After all, we’re trying to figure out things we don’t know. And sometimes, things go wrong. FATALLY WRONG! Here are some of the most interesting, most intriguing, and sometimes most horrific, experimental deaths we’ve ever heard of. 15. Those magnificent men and their flying […]
Continue readingThe issue of copycat crime is a fascinating one that raises deep questions in the fields of psychology, philosophy, criminology and jurisprudence. Are filmmakers – if not legally, at least morally – responsible for their creations that motivate people to commit crime? Would these people act in such a manner but for the movie? Should […]
Continue readingThe Mafia. The name alone conjures shadowy images of underworld activity – debts and allegiances, honor and respect, family, power, and death. Add to that the popular cinematic exploits of Hollywood Mafioso as portrayed by Brando, De Niro, Pacino et al, and there is a romanticism associated with ‘the men of honor’ that is difficult […]
Continue readingPublic Stoning Iranian courts still order public stonings, and those sentenced are often severely whipped before they are stoned. Women are buried up to their necks before a stoning. If convicted of adultery, Iranian law requires the stones not be too big or too small so that the probable death is not merciful or prolonged. […]
Continue readingIn 1700, barely a decade after the invention of the modern newspaper, the first matrimonial service was created. These services ran ads on behalf of single men and women who were desperate to find a good husband or wife. At the time, being single past 21 carried with it a deep stigma and turning to […]
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