Despite the many honours bestowed upon them by the Holy Roman Empire throughout the sixteenth century, the Knights of Malta struggled on a reduced income as many European nations no longer saw the necessity in funding their continued operations after the successful defense of Malta in 1565, and the Christian victory over the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Financial matters for the Order were only compounded by changes in local exchange rates that saw their trading power diminish. Unable to use the barren island they now …

Primarily an autobiography detailing the events that would lead to Sorensen’s working for John F. Kennedy helping craft his speeches and manage the state level campaign that would lead to his presidency, how that position morphed as they entered the White House, and the life he went on to live after the assassination; the book offers a window into a contentious, yet revered period in American history.
An extremely personable yet candid account, Sorensen reveals how his personal beliefs and family upbringing informed his approach to politics and the advice he …

Over the course of the eighteenth century Spain maintained relatively close ties with France, some Spanish monarchs even going so far as to emulate their Franco-allies culturally and politically, and a likely factor contributing to Spain’s decision in supporting France during the French Revolutionary Wars at the end of the century. An immediate target thanks to its strategic location, Cadiz would weather not only a British siege through the summer of 1797, but would go on to suffer a blockade by the Royal Fleet as the Napoleonic Wars raged across …

Developed toward the end of Walt Disney’s life, the property purchased near Orlando, Florida now home to the Walt Disney World Resort, was originally intended to be a small cutting edge community showcasing, testing, and demonstrating new ideas and technologies geared toward urban living in an effort to stimulate American corporations to further innovation of this field. The architectural model originally drawn up for Walt Disney can be found still on display at the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover in the north show building that also houses Stitch’s Great Escape.
Unfortunately with …

Recently I wrote about how the UNESCO’s World Heritage program is intended to protect those sites singled out as cultural and natural treasures. Having come across this recent report Aljazeera did on the program and the impact it’s having on some of the very sites it’s meant to protect. I thought I should share, and let you weigh in on whether it is in fact doing more harm than good.

Over its long and varied history Ephesus has been home to numerous civilizations, from its role in founding the Ancient Greek Ionian League in tenth century BCE, to its prominence second only to Constantinople fourteen hundred years later under the Byzantium Empire, Ephesus was long important to the region while it was a port city.
Such accessibility to ships could only have been attractive to the Apostle Paul when he travelled with his congregation to Ephesus in 50 CE during his second missionary journey. Despite being established under a Roman Empire …

After their loss of Rhodes in 1522 CE to the Ottomans, the Order would spend seven years on the road in search of a permanent home. Travelling through the kingdoms of Europe they eventually found a home in Spain when King Charles V gave them Malta in 1530 for the paltry sum of a single Maltese falcon a year. Their fiefdom included the small island of Gozo off the coast of Malta, as well as the North African port of Tripoli. From their island fortress they returned to their duties …

The Higgs Boson Explained from PHD Comics on Vimeo.
If you’re like me and tend to follow science news and developments – especially in the realm of physics – then you’ve likely been hearing a lot about how CERN may have finally found the elusive Higgs Boson they’ve been searching for. And while we won’t have a definitive answer about what’s been discovered until the end of July, I thought I’d share this great video from PHD Comics that offers a pretty comprehensive explanation of what exactly the Higgs Boson is, …

Exclusive to the Walt Disney World Resort, Epcot has risen to the rank of third most visited theme park in the United States, and fifth most visited in the world with over ten million guests visiting annually by 2010.
Originally named the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow Center (or EPCOT Center) the park was envisioned to be a Utopian concept city of the future with a small community of twenty thousand inhabitants that would act as a test bed for city planning and organization. Unfortunately with demands that the Magic Kingdom …