On the 8th of February, 1950, the secret police of East Germany were established. They were called the Stasi. Having recently read the George Smiley series by John Le Carré, I feel I know a fair amount about the Stasi, but I’m sure there must be more to learn. The...

I heard the term Barbenheimer for the first time yesterday. I haven’t seen Barbie but I watched Oppenheimer on the flight to Lima in 2024. I thought it was absolutely brilliant, and a very worthy Oscar winner. In a rare cultural moment dubbed “Barbenheimer,” Barbie...

I posted yesterday about Singapore. It seems to me that Raffles gets rather too much credit in Singapore’s story, because the day after signing the treaty, Raffles took his leave and left Singapore in the hands of William Farquhar. William Farquhar (1774–1839) was a...

On the 6th of February, 1819, the Treaty of Singapore was signed. I have nothing against Singapore, I’ve never been there, it isn’t on our bucket list, but I would like to visit. If I’m sounding at all negative it’s simply that it has been quite a while since I’ve...

On the 5th of February, 1852, the New Hermitage Museum opened to the public in Saint Petersburg. Claire visited it on a school trip. Perhaps when Russia comes to its senses, I might get a chance too. The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg is one of the world’s...

Well Venezuela has been in the news recently, and on the 4th of February, 1992, Hugo Chávez led a coup against Venezuelan President, Carlos Andrés Pérez. Claire and I have visited several South American countries including Chile (en-route to Antarctica), Peru,...

On the 3rd of February, 1637, Tulip Mania collapsed in the Dutch Republic. I have recently been asked for investment advice by a friend who had invested heavily in various crackpot investment schemes, followed by rental properties which didn’t work for him. He is now...

Grand Central Terminal in New York City opened on the 2nd of February, 1913. Claire and I want to cross the Atlantic on the Queen Mary II. In fact we bought tickets to do the round trip with an afternoon in New York, but then Covid struck and we got a refund. We still...

History need not be defined by battles, leaders, exploration, or adventure. I choose as my topic today, the Oxford English Dictionary, of which the first volume (A - Ant) was first published on the 1st of February, 1884. Claire gave me the two volume Shorter Oxford...

On the 8th of February, 1950, the secret police of East Germany were established. They were called the Stasi. Having recently read the George Smiley series by John Le Carré, I feel I know a fair amount about the Stasi, but I’m sure there must be more to learn. The...

I heard the term Barbenheimer for the first time yesterday. I haven’t seen Barbie but I watched Oppenheimer on the flight to Lima in 2024. I thought it was absolutely brilliant, and a very worthy Oscar winner. In a rare cultural moment dubbed “Barbenheimer,” Barbie...

I posted yesterday about Singapore. It seems to me that Raffles gets rather too much credit in Singapore’s story, because the day after signing the treaty, Raffles took his leave and left Singapore in the hands of William Farquhar. William Farquhar (1774–1839) was a...

On the 6th of February, 1819, the Treaty of Singapore was signed. I have nothing against Singapore, I’ve never been there, it isn’t on our bucket list, but I would like to visit. If I’m sounding at all negative it’s simply that it has been quite a while since I’ve...

On the 5th of February, 1852, the New Hermitage Museum opened to the public in Saint Petersburg. Claire visited it on a school trip. Perhaps when Russia comes to its senses, I might get a chance too. The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg is one of the world’s...

Well Venezuela has been in the news recently, and on the 4th of February, 1992, Hugo Chávez led a coup against Venezuelan President, Carlos Andrés Pérez. Claire and I have visited several South American countries including Chile (en-route to Antarctica), Peru,...

On the 3rd of February, 1637, Tulip Mania collapsed in the Dutch Republic. I have recently been asked for investment advice by a friend who had invested heavily in various crackpot investment schemes, followed by rental properties which didn’t work for him. He is now...

Grand Central Terminal in New York City opened on the 2nd of February, 1913. Claire and I want to cross the Atlantic on the Queen Mary II. In fact we bought tickets to do the round trip with an afternoon in New York, but then Covid struck and we got a refund. We still...

History need not be defined by battles, leaders, exploration, or adventure. I choose as my topic today, the Oxford English Dictionary, of which the first volume (A - Ant) was first published on the 1st of February, 1884. Claire gave me the two volume Shorter Oxford...