Sunday, November 23, 2025

Geo (part 3 ): JFK and America in England

 


November 22, 1963

That day in history, President John F Kennedy was assassinated. 

And the first our nation heard it was mid-day when normal broadcasts were interrupted.



https://youtu.be/6PXORQE5-CY?si=yLqjLhWdUab58saf


The JFK assassination was a shock to our nation as well as the world. And the news hit the peoples, on both side of the Atlantic, hard. 

Our strongest ally overseas was the late Queen Elizabeth II. To pay her respects, the Queen bequeathed an acre of land of English soil near London in perpetuity to the American people:

The Kennedy Memorial. 

This acre was in Runnymede Park where King John of England signed the Magna Carta over 800 years ago in 1215. That document was significant in that it limited the king's absolute power, establishing a precedent that even a king was not above the law. The act began a movement toward elected governments, universal rights, and freedom. 


https://youtu.be/iQOZUaSoy90?si=O7Djv-PCcVp4FjbO

Later, England spawned America. Then in 1964, the longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, signed the JFK Memorial Act, which expanded the US global territory by one acre. Now a piece of America is encompassed by England. 

How far it from the UK to the US?

Technically, one step. 

But that's one giant step in good Anglo-American relations.

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Thursday, October 23, 2025

Write Stuff (part 8) - You are the audience

 


Writers. Who is your target audience?

Lee Child, the bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series, has a profound, yet simple answer to this question.

You are the audience!

*
https://youtu.be/njKnTjCLwpM?si=u3U4MvByd3MRefq7


If you have the passion and the time, go for it. 

Published or not, here are some great reasons to take the journey and write your book:

1. Self-Discovery

2. Self-Confidence

3. A Change of Pace

4. Writing Skills

5. It Starts Conversations

6. It Can Inspire Others



https://youtu.be/y8tvLLU0P1c?si=Ba5MFWwGqscsbz3C


So, writer friends, tell your stories.

Write on!


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Photo: audience/wikipedia





Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Physics (part 10) - The Gravity of Poker

 


Star Trek - Next Generation (1987 - 1994) has among the crew Lieutenant Commander Data, an android, who strives to be like humans.

On this quest, Data is introduced to poker, an ongoing game with senior officers. Then later, on the ship's holodeck, Data engages in a game with renowned physicists of the past, whose work contributed to the theories of gravity:

* Sir Isaac Newton:  classical theory of gravity

* Albert Einstein: general theory of relativity

* Steven Hawking: black holes

Video below from Season 6, episode 26: Descent (1993)


https://youtu.be/mg8_cKxJZJY?si=XNHQmz_MfA4_bhNn

Poker with the masters.

It's an engaging experiment, not only in the laws of nature, but in human nature.

In these days of AI, this experiment is closer than we think.

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Friday, August 22, 2025

Space (part 7) - James Lovell

 



August 7, 2025, we lost a legend and great American hero, pioneering astronaut, James Lovell.


He was best known to be on the three man crew that first orbited the moon during Christmas Eve of 1968. 



And in April 1970, on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission--the most successful failure.



Here is a tribute to his life:




We do not know what we have on earth until we leave it.
Jim Lovell

Rest in peace in the heavens.

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Other posts in the series: 

Space

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Saturday, July 12, 2025

bti (part 1) - Bring Them In!

 
cover by DAVIS Creative

Bring Them In!

This 19th century hymn was written by Alexcenah Thomas with music by William Augustine Ogden.

Check out: Bring Them In

And this old timey hymn is sung in the video below:



Also, this old timey hymn is the theme song of the fictional New Testament Fundamentalist Temple in my latest historical novel in The Sam Matijevic Series.

Bring Them In! : College, Churches, Cults

It’s the 1970s: Vietnam. Watergate. Energy crisis. War in the Middle East. Comet Kohoutek—the Comet of the Century. Doomsday prophets. 

During these times, Pastor Bill Renfrew returns to his hometown of Colter, Montana. Fresh from Bible college, he’s confident that he knows more than anyone else, he’s smarter than anyone else, and he’s better than anyone else. And this college town is a target rich recruiting ground to build his Bible believing, Bible preaching, Bible teaching, fundamental, evangelical, pre-millennial, New Testament church. 

Bring Them In!

After Samantha Matijevic enters Colter College, Pastor Renfrew snares this disoriented girl from a small town as well as vulnerable and naïve souls. Will Sam wise up and extract herself from this cult of pastor without destroying her faith?

The novel is available at amazon.com as paperback, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited:

Bring Them In! by S. K. Smith

Your readership is most appreciated.

Cheers.

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STC - for S*T*C

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Photo: DAVIS Creative 


Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Geo (part 2) - UK geology facts: extremes and legends

 



Wyoming, my current residence, is the 10th largest state (out of 50) in the union.

Not the biggest--that's Alaska--but in the upper 20%.

And Wyoming spans 97,093.14 square miles, which is larger than the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) of 94,354 square miles.

Not surprising as many states are larger than countries in Europe.

But the geography of the UK, the size of Wyoming, is fascinating:



https://youtu.be/GKZSJlwXwQw?si=QzGhbTBSAphw9Nt5


* Legends and extremes
* Seismic activity
* Diverse wildlife
* Islands and coastline shaped by the North Atlantic 
* The standard for the world's time zones centered on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Geography shapes this kingdom, its history, and its effects are felt around the world.

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Sunday, May 25, 2025

Geo (part 1) - Geography: Nations of the World (with movies)

 



Can you name a country?

Any country?

Sadly, many can't....


One kid was on fire and knew his stuff.

Way to go, kid!

He must have watched trip around the world....with Yakko!




And here is a new spin around the world...with movies!




So begins a new thread...

Geography

We are all stuck on this earth, at least in this life. So, we may want to know where we're at...

Or do we?

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