Full beards are in these days, it seems. Especially for those twenty-somethings who cycle past on their designer bikes, sipping designer coffee in a designer take-away cup with one hand while steering with the other. This is the hip way of the future; urbanised, up to the minute, millennial, mobile-enabled. And bearded, if you happen … More Let’s beard like it’s 1849
I figured I should do another Q&A or something, what with my latest history book being out this week . So here are a few things people might not know about me. I’ve had formal training in music, writing, martial arts, anthropology, history, various sciences and some other stuff. Some of it got me university … More Ten things people might not know about me
Announcing The History of Hawke’s Bay. My latest book. Out today. It’s an all new volume about my home district’s past – 260 pages in large format, with over 120 photographs and maps covering the full sweep of the region’s past, from its geological origins through to its Maori history, the rumbustious cowboy world of … More The history of Hawke’s Bay
I’ve been writing fairly regularly, of late, for a US website, Navy General Board. It’s dedicated – as you might expect – to naval matters, a field I’ve been interested in for many years, largely because of people such as Admiral Sir John Fisher (1841-1919), inventor of the phrase ‘OMG’ – and also because of … More A glimpse into naval history
I’m a huge fan of all sorts of music. Maybe not surprising given that I formally studied it for longer than anything else, including history and writing. I like almost everything – especially jazz of all genres, but also classical (meaning medieval, baroque, classical, romantic, modern orchestral and so on), all styles of rock, metal, … More Katy Perry vs Taylor Swift vs Tove Lo vs Lorde
This week’s really obscure English word is factotum. It’s from Latin, and means ‘someone who does everything’. I’ve seen it used in a derogatory sense in nineteenth century manuscripts. Your challenge? Write a sentence (or two) in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2017
Has anybody seen much 1950s-era Hollywood sci-fi? By 1950s I mean more than just 1950-59 (or 1951-60, depending on how you count) – I mean a mind-set that broadly kicked off at the end of the 1940s, which lasted at least until the early 1960s – and which spawned a whole era of amazingly silly … More Hollywood fifties sci-fi – a tribute to the golden age of cheesiness
