history

The Crusades (Videos)

This three part series is hosted by Dr Thomas Asbridge. Episode one details the origin of the crusades and tracks the journey of the first crusaders as they attempt to recapture Jerusalem. Episode two covers the epic clash between Britain’s Richard the Lionheart, and the legendary sultan Saladin, unifier of Islam. The final episode concludes with the arrival of the Mongol hordes and the end of the crusades.

Platform: DailyMotion
Channel: Llayster
Episode 1 Run Time: 58:53
Episode 2 Run Time: 58:59
Episode 3 Run Time: 58:55

The Merovingians (Video)

This video by Ryan M. Reeves (PhD Cambridge), Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, briefly outlines the rise of the Merovingians, from Pepin the Short and Charles Martel until Charlemagne’s Carolingian Rennaissance.

Channel: Ryan Reeves
Run Time: 29:51

Lost World of the Maya (Video)

This video is a National Geographic documentary about ‘pre-classic’ Mayan civilisation and the 800-900s AD collapse. Fair warning for non-subscribers — this is packed with ads!

Channel: National Geographic
Run Time: 44.24

Rationing References

When researching my rationing challenge, I used the following websites: New Point Ration Chart Remember When… Food Investigators Episode 5: The WWII Diet 1301.0 – Year Book, Australia, 1944 – 45, Australian Bureau of Statistics John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library… Read More ›

Arrack and Sympathy

During the second world war two Aussie soldiers were in Damascus on leave from a camp nearby. During their perambulations around the city they sampled quite a number of noggins of the local brew, arrack, and eventually they became hopelessly… Read More ›

The Chemist’s War

It was Christmas Eve 1926, the streets aglitter with snow and lights, when the man afraid of Santa Claus stumbled into the emergency room at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital. He was flushed, gasping with fear: Santa Claus, he kept… Read More ›

Books I Read in May 2010

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden The Tower by Valerio Massimo Manfredi The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent Violent Crimes by Hugh Holton Hour Game by David Baldacci Darkness Creeping by Neal Shusterman Related articles Best-selling author David… Read More ›

Mnemonics

Every Good Boy Deserves Fun (lines on a treble clef; the spaces are remembered as FACE) Mites Grow Up, Tights Come Down (Difference between Stalagmites & Stalactites) Spring Forward, Fall Back (Which way to turn clocks for daylight savings) My… Read More ›