Day 72: Play ‘Em In The Dark – The Banned Video Games

originally published March 12, 2012 Those who know me know that I am not easily shocked or offended. Perhaps this is because I’ve been desensitized by our permissive culture. Maybe it’s because I am more offensive than most anyone I know (I often tell jokes in which the punchline features the word ‘poop’, so yeah, […]

Day 69: Get Out Your Magic Sticks – The Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn

originally published March 9, 2012 So you’re looking for a new religion to follow, but the old standbys seem so last Thursday, and you can’t afford a sci-fi religion that requires monetary input to achieve higher awareness (I’m looking at you, Scientology). You want some magic and mysticism, but without a dreary back-story of sacrifice […]

Day 68: Pukepoto, Smellietown & A Trip Through Northern New Zealand

originally published March 8, 2012 Somewhere in the northern corner of New Zealand, things are a little screwy. I was set to dismiss this topic right away: geography stubs are generally as thrilling and inspirational as stubs about professional soccer players (and believe me, any human who has ever been paid so much as a […]

Day 39: Crap-Bucket Of History – President John Tyler

originally published February 8, 2012 Ask most people who John Tyler was – especially people in my corner of the non-American world, you’ll get a tiny minority who will know the answer. Congratulations, if you’re reading this article, you get to be part of that tiny minority. We meet on Thursdays; orange drink will not […]

Day 33: Milly Witkop Named Her Son ‘Fermin’, Yet She’s Actually Kind Of Cool

originally published February 2, 2012 To quote Wikipedia, that fair maiden who imbues me with a zesty yolk of seemingly meaningless information every day, Milly Witkop was “a Ukranian-born Jewish anarcho-syndicalist.” So why should we care? In her lifetime, Milly was not only the reigning queen of Wrong-Place-Wrong-Time, she was also a pretty sharp rebellious […]

Day 29: Colt’s Revolving Rifle & Numerous Other Ways To Die

originally published January 29, 2012 Around 1838, the Colt Manufacturing Company came up with a brilliant design: they blended a rifle with a six-shooter pistol, creating the world’s first six-shooter revolving rifle. It was like when chocolate met peanut butter, when Caesar salad met croutons, when Hall chanced upon the sweet mustache of Oates. The […]