These are the latest two films I’ve check out in recent days. Both of them are very good, if somewhat maddening in not resolving some plot twists I would have liked to see resolved.
The Lazarus Taxon: Something “Raised From The Dead”
There is a concept in biology called the Lazarus taxon. The word taxon (plural taxa) means a taxonomic category, as a species or genus. The term is used to describe animals or plants that vanish from the fossil record for long periods of time, only to “reappear” at a different point in history. Organisms long thought to be extinct suddenly appear on the scene. Why does this happen? The biologists tell us it can be for many reasons: the fossil record is sporadic, and not all species are preserved in it. Some are; and some are not. The reason why the word Lazarus is used is because it refers to the New Testament story of Lazarus being “raised from the dead.”
Revisiting the Simpson Case: Netflix’s “The People Vs. O.J. Simpson”
I was a first-year law student in 1995. When the whole O.J. drama broke, I followed it (off and on) in the media like everyone else. I don’t remember exactly what my feelings were about the case at that time, other than the fact that I didn’t think things were going to turn out well for the prosecution. Not because of any legal issues or evidentiary technicalities, but simply because it was a celebrity trial. Things always get distorted when it comes to celebrities in American culture.
Why Every Man Should Read “Robinson Crusoe”
By any standard Daniel Defoe (1659?-1731) is one of the most remarkable authors in English history. In versatility, energy, and practical wisdom, few can claim to be his peer in life experiences or in skill with the pen. He came to writing by a circuitous route. After fathering seven children, he threw himself into business and politics; bankruptcy was the result in 1692, but his repayment plan would eventually compensate his creditors almost in full with an amount of 17,000 pounds.
Six Ethical Principles To Rejuvenate Societal Health
I read recently that a very rare animal was observed in the wild in the state of Iowa for the first time in over one hundred fifty years. It is called a fisher; I had never heard of it before, but the biologists tell us that it is a predatory mammal related distantly to the mink and the otter. The story reminded me of a similar one I had heard about some years ago, when a bird believed to have been long extinct was spotted in Arkansas.
Some Questions From An Ex-Military Reader (Podcast)
I received a great email the other day from an accomplished ex-military man who is currently enrolled in a higher degree program at a major US university. He wanted to know my thoughts on these questions:
How Benito Mussolini Took Power
Stalin biographer Stephen Kotkin spends several pages of his book discussing the lessons to be learned from Mussolini’s seizure of power in Italy in the early 1920s. It was something that happened gradually, in stages, when institutions that should have been able to bring him to heel did nothing, either due to their own lack of resolution or tacit support of his power grab.
Dirk Benedict’s “Lost In Castration”
By some miracle I stumbled on this incredible article written in 2006 by actor Dirk Benedict. For those unfamiliar with his name, he is an American film and stage actor with a career that dates back to the 1970s. His “big break” came in the late 1970s when he won a lead role on the television series Battlestar Galactica. When the news came in 2006 that the series would be “re-imagined” (i.e., feminized) with a woman playing his old role, he was moved to write the following essay.
Quintus Curtius 
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