Every schoolchild once knew the story by heart: how a beleaguered George Washington became one of the sole surviving officers in a massacre that killed most of his army, but left him unscathed. How he took command when his general fell, rallied his troops as two horses were shot out from under him, and walked…
Protected by Providence: Did You Know Young George Washington Once Survived a Rain of Bullets Unscathed?
July 18, 2022
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American EssenceAmerican RevolutionArts & CultureBrightFrench and Indian WarGeneral BraddockGeorge WashingtonHistory
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The 19th-Century Woman Who Simplified Our Shopping Trips By Inventing the Paper Grocery Bag
If you’ve ever carried your groceries home in a paper bag, you can thank Margaret E. Knight. It is a name that you have almost certainly never heard of, associated with an invention that seems too obvious to notice. But the brown paper bag is one of many useful modern conveniences that, trivial in hindsight,…
James J. Hill, the Ambitious 19th-Century Railroad Tycoon Who Helped Bring Prosperous Trade to America’s Northwest
July 18, 2022
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American EssenceArts & CultureBrightEmpire-builderGreat Northern RailroadHistoryJames J. Hillrailroad
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Of Irish heritage, James J. Hill grew up on the Canadian frontier. Despite the loss of vision in his right eye after a hunting accident at age 9, little “Jim” was a savvy fisherman and expert hunter, both with his handmade bow and his rifle. Raised by a Catholic mother and a Baptist father, Hill…
Erie Canal: How a Team of Self-Taught Engineers Constructed the Longest Artificial Waterway of the 19th Century
Boom! Canon fire echoed across the state of New York on October 26, 1825. Men listened carefully at their posts, firing their canon once they heard the distant sound of another. This relay stretched from Buffalo to Manhattan, where the final canon proclaimed that the Seneca Chief had departed Buffalo and was making its way…
Will Rogers: Remembering the Charismatic ‘Cowboy Philosopher’ Comedian Who Won the Hearts of America
There isn’t just one word that can describe famed American folk hero Will Rogers. Born on a ranch in Indian Territory in 1879, he became a cowboy, a ranch hand, a rodeo rider, a vaudeville performer, a film star, a columnist, an author, a public speaker, a humorist, a radio personality, and a social commentator….
TV Series Review: ‘The Old Man’: Decrepit, Deadly, and Downright Watchable
TV-MA | TV Series, 5 episodes, 1h 1m | Thriller, Drama | June 16, 2022 There are dead-zones of un-hire-ability that actors need to navigate in order to extend a career that’s inherently, constantly in jeopardy of drying up and blowing away. For example, a particularly difficult age is 28: too old to be the teen heartthrob, but…
Book Review: ‘Rising Tiger’: Keeping You Informed and Thrilled
If you are a Brad Thor fan, you won’t be disappointed with his latest thriller released earlier this month. If you don’t know who Brad Thor is and are lured by the brilliant cover design or curious about picking up one of his books for the first time, you are in for a riveting, roller…
TV Docuseries Review: ‘The Last Movie Stars’: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward Get the Deserved Royal Treatment
TV-14 | 5h 58min | Documentary, Biography, Film History | 21 July 2022 (USA) In the mid-1980s Paul Newman recorded over 100 interviews with his friends, family, film industry associates (and even his ex-wife Jackie Witte) for the purpose of preparing a memoir to be co-penned by Stewart Stern (the screenwriter of “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Rachel, Rachel” among others)….
Rewind, Review, and Re-Rate: ‘The Ox-Bow Incident’: A Sobering Look at Mob Rule
Not Rated| 1h 15min | Drama, Western | 1942 Director William A. Wellman (“Yellow Sky,” “Battleground”) based this thought-provoking Western, “The Ox-Box Incident,” on a book about mob justice (of the same name) authored by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. Coming in at a mere 75 minutes, this tautly-paced film was adapted for the screen by…
Ancient Queens in French Academic Paintings
July 17, 2022
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Arts & CultureArts & TraditionBrightFrench Academic ArtLife & TraditionPierre-Narcisse GuérinQueen DidoWilliam-Adolphe Bouguereau
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French Academic art encompasses numerous traditional genres, from portraiture to still-life, but Grand Histories may be among the most noteworthy of the period. These paintings take inspiration from the past, as the name implies, but artists elaborated on source materials to create nobler, more compelling narratives. Ancient, legendary queens, along with the captivating stories surrounding…
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