<![CDATA[THE EXPERT OF SOME

<![CDATA[THE EXPERT OF SOME - Blog]]>Mon, 11 May 2026 19:57:24 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[ALGERIA]]>Tue, 12 May 2026 00:47:14 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/algeria

Today’s country takes us to the largest nation on the African continent, Algeria. The people that live in Algeria are genetically tied to the ancient Berbers and make up 99% of the population whether it is the one quarter who identify as indigenous or the remainder who are mixed Arab/Berber and identify as Amizagh. The Berbers are prominent in many North African countries including neighboring Morocco and Tunisia and their language and culture date back to the Egyptian Empire. Berbers were nomadic, practiced subsistence agriculture and were prominent in various trades like metalwork, pottery and weaving. Their creations were highly valued and traded, especially during the height of the Roman Empire.

Algeria is 2.38 million square kilometers in size and besides being the largest country on its continent, it is the 10th largest in the world. Over 85% of Algeria is the Sahara Desert with its most prosperous and historical regions being along the Mediterranean Sea with its slightly more humid climate and milder weather that is perfect for farming. While Berber is the native and most spoken language, Arab and French are also commonly spoken inside the country. Despite the coast being a little over 10% of the country’s size, 90% of Algeria’s citizens live along it. The current population of Algeria is around 47 million. Algiers, which is located on the Mediterranean, is the largest city with 3.06 million people and is the capital of the nation. Algeria is one of the richest countries in Africa due to its massive commodity wealth in oil and natural gas. The country is considered in the upper middle compared to other nations, but it does have a wide disparity in wealth like many First World industrialized nations. Algeria is a Muslim nation and 99% of its citizens practice the Sunni form of that religion. Algeria is officially called the People’s Republic of Algeria. And despite that title, it practices its own version of democracy. The executive has a lot of power over the government, which has led to many rights violations in the past. The military will often act to repress and tamp down protestors violently if necessary. Algeria falls into a similar pattern to many of its “Western” neighbors by having a semi-authoritarian system guiding many aspects of life inside the nation. One interesting tidbit about Algeria. Algiers is famous for a UNESCO heritage site called the Casbah, a word that many people probably first heard in a CLASH song. It is often considered one of the best designed cities in the world during antiquity due to its large dense population living comfortably together and was often the model for many ancient cities during the Roman Empire. Due to Phoenician, Roman and Ottoman influence, the city has added specific details like ramparts which the Ottomans installed in the 16th Century.

ALGERIAN FLAG

Because the Berbers are historically a nomadic people known more for their artistic creations and agricultural proficiency, they have been conquered many times in their history. According to historical records, seven foreign civilizations have conquered the region. In order:

The Phoenicians
The Romans
The Vandals/Alans
The Byzantines (Eastern Roman Empire)
The Umayyad/Abbasid Caliphates
The Ottomans
The French

For Bible historians, the Phoenicians were the Canaanites in the Holy Book. They traded and conquered mostly along the Mediterranean Sea. They were the first civilization to have a light impact on the nomadic Berbers. Once the Greek and then the Roman Empire began to expand, the northern part of Algeria fell under Roman control. Roman ruins litter the landscape of Algeria including probably the best-preserved known as Tipaza. When the Roman Empire began to collapse in the 400s, a Germanic Barbarian tribe known as the Vandals took control of the Algerian region and established a short lived 100-year-old Empire which also included the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica in partnership with the Indo-Iranian tribe known as the Alans. The Vandals looted along the Mediterranean for decades and infamously participated in the sacking of Rome. The Vandal Empire came undone mostly due to demographic changes. The initial Vandal Kings murdered the upstart Catholic population but eventually, later kings became tolerant of them. Eventually, Justinian, the Byzantine King who reassembled a massive chunk of the fallen Western Roman Empire declared war after Helderic who tolerated the rising Catholic population was overthrown by the Arian faction within his Royal Family. He was eventually executed in 533. Belisarius, the commander of Justinian’s army, landed ten miles from the Vandal capital of Carthage and defeated their pieced together army. The Battle of Tricamarum was the final nail in the short-lived Vandal kingdom which came to an end in 533 AD. The Byzantines ruled the Algerian region with a light hand taking control of the prosperous coastal cities while allowing the Berbers to run the interior of the country. This all ended when the Umayyad Caliphate took control of the area around 698 AD.

The Caliphate would change Algeria more than any other conqueror. Due to high taxation and many Berbers being forced into slavery, the Berbers revolted against the Umayyad Caliphate in 740. Even though many Berbers began to practice Islam, a very specific class system was established where their population was considered second class citizens as well as disagreements over foundational aspects of the religion. The Berber revolt had an incredible impact on African, Middle Eastern and European history. It led to two significant developments. The Umayyad and its predecessor, the Abbasid Caliphates never regained control of the Maghreb (Modern Day Morocco). As the Caliphate pushed north of the Pyrenees into modern day France, the Berber revolt led to the diversion of forces which allowed Charlemagne of the Franks to push the Muslims back into Spain. While the Abbasids did regain control over the Algerian region, the area of Morocco was lost forever as it split into various kingdoms. After the revolt, the Berbers ruled the region with various dynasties over the next 800 years with the most famous being the Zirids. Bringing the region into the modern day, the Spanish at the beginning of their empire conquered a few cities along the Algerian coast in the 1500s but the Ottomans expelled the Spanish in 1518 and established a regency which lasted until 1830 when it fell to the conquering French.

Most people are aware of Algeria because of the over 100-year colonization of the territory by their neighbor across the Mediterranean. Algeria was a source of commodities for the French which allowed them to continue their empire. King Charles X of France began the war against Algeria in 1827 after a diplomatic incident between the two countries. Controlled by the Ottoman Turks at the time, Algeria was blockaded and eventually surrendered to the French on July 5, 1830. The colony of Algeria is one of the most brutal on record. After the French were conquered by the Germans during WW II, many Algerians helped the French win back their nation as part of the Allies. After the war ended, the French went back on its promise of independence and began brutalizing the Algerians. The dual Setif and Geulma massacres killed anywhere between 15,000 to 20,000 people. This led to the creation of the brutal Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) which engaged in terrorist attacks and eventually started a brutal six-year war with the French. One of the best documentaries ever made, THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966) gives wonderful historical account of this era. One of the best fictional movies is called OUTSIDE THE LAW (2010 which involves three brothers wrapped up in the events of that timeframe. The Algerians eventually won the war and declared independence on July 1, 1962. The French recognized Algeria as an independent country two years later.

Next week, Yemen. A country that is playing a part in the current geo-political rift.

]]><![CDATA[Zambia]]>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 23:27:57 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/zambia

Apologies for the delay. Due to some personal circumstances and some financial strain because of a thirty-day escrow, I have been unable to post. This is coming to an end today. Now that the house is mine, the furniture is moved in and Feng Shui’d, and life has regained some aspect of stability, my nation-state project continues with the African nation of Zambia. A month back, I did a quick summary of one of this Southeastern African nation’s neighbors, Zimbabwe. Zambia border Zimbabwe to the north and there is an aspect of “shared” history between the two even though both countries, due to colonial interests, have a separate history despite sharing one of the most beautiful regions on the planet. Zambia is the official home of Victoria Falls along the Zampezi River which also borders Zimbabwe to the south. The river acts as the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe through most of its length including flowing into Lake Kariba which is the largest artificial lake in the world. It was formed when the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland completed the Kariba Dam in 1960 on behalf of the British Empire. The Zampezi River flows through one of the most scenic and heavily touristy sections of Africa. National Parks near the river include Sioma Ngwezi, Kafue, Lower Zambezi, and its most famous, the Mosi-Oa-Tunya. This area of high elevated plains, grasslands, wetlands mixed into the river valley and beautiful forests is infamous for being one of the best locations to see the amazingly large creatures of Africa. Counting Zimbabwe, this area has national parks, forest reserves, safari areas, wildlife preservation areas and conservancies. Almost the entire region along the Zambezi is protected in some form or another.

Zambia has one of the more interesting flags in the world. The flag was green even during colonization but after independence, each stripe on the flag in the lower right-hand corner had a meaning. The vertical red stripe stands for freedom, the black stripe for the African people of the region, and the orange is for copper, the mineral that attracted the British colonists in the 19th Century. The gold eagle symbolizes the people of the nation soaring above all the nation’s problems. Zambia has a population of almost 22 million people. Its capital city of Lusaka is often considered one of the nicest capitals in the entirety of Africa. With just over three million people, it is the cultural and political hub of the nation and a short distance from all the natural beauty to the south. Most of the people of the nation are genetically linked to their Bantu ancestors and various versions of that language are spoken inside the country. The biggest tribes are the Bemba, Tonga, and the Lozi currently with over seventy different tribes being represented inside the borders. The national language is English and 95% of the country is Christian with a very small Muslim minority. Zambia is middle of the road in terms of wealth. It currently ranks 110th in the world with an economy that is booming due to its large amount of copper exports and friendly tourism. Due to the nation being located on an elevated plain, almost the entirety of Zambia resides at 3300 to 5200 feet in elevation. Its capital city is 4196 feet.

The history of Zambia is not that different from Zimbabwe. The Bantu moved into the region from the Congo and Eastern Africa around 300 AD and introduced agriculture, ironworks, and the first forms of governmental organization. Copper was discovered around 600 AD and became a central aspect of the region’s economy. Copper ingots have been found in the region dating back to the years 900-1000. The currency of the area was often made from copper until recently when the Kwacha adopted paper banknotes. Like much of African history, tribes began competing and the conquered individuals became slaves often traded on the open market. There were four empires that broke out of Zambia between 1500-1900, the Chewa to the East near Mozambique, the Bemba to the northeast, the Luapula to the south, and the Lunda along the upper Zambezi (Now called the Lozi). Because of the incredible amount of land on the plains and the dense, rich valley, many of these kingdoms were spread out which did lead to the creation of an early form of central government to tie all the kingdoms’ regions together. Trade with the industrialized nations began in the 18th Century with the Portuguese who set up colonial outposts along the Zambezi River to trade cotton and cloth for ivory and copper. Later, the Portuguese became the first colonists to start hunting elephants due to the high value of ivory in the European market. The slave trade began shortly after in Western Zambia as African traders from Angola and other nearby nations brought slaves into the Lozi Kingdom who would sell them to the Portuguese who would then ship their purchases to its Brazilian colony. Due to the economic growth and competition between the various empires, raiders, traders and invaders became part of Zambian life in the 19th Century. The value of ivory and slaves led to often violent competition but helped introduce crops like tobacco, peanuts and corn into the nation. Due to its decentralized and internal competitiveness, the country easily fell to the British in the late 19th Century. Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company (BSAC) staked claims to the region and began administration of the territory. Rhodes deals with neighboring tribes and other colonizers are what led to the unique shape of the nation including the deep penetration of the Democratic Republic of Congo to its north. Like most colonial outposts, the British looted the copper out of the nation while treating the natives as mostly second-class citizens including introducing an income tax in 1920. The class situation in the nation often led to small scale rebellions and riots inside the colony. Unlike Zimbabwe and South Africa to the south, Zambia never had a large increase in British settlers leaving the administration with a little over fifty thousand people taking care of tens of millions of native Bantus. The Great Depression put a lot of economic pressure on the colony. Despite developing the nation, most Zambians remained uneducated. Poverty began to spread as more 20th Century wars began and the Copper Belt became a key and important source of minerals for the British war effort. This led to massive strikes and labor protests. The British consolidated its Rhodesian and Nyasaland into the Central African Federation in 1953. But nothing could save the decline of this British colony despite an increase in the development of infrastructure including the building of the Kariba Dam and the carving out of roads along its high-altitude topography. Kenneth Kaunda in 1958 inspired by Ghana achieving statehood in 1957 formed the United National Independence Party (UNIP). Civil disobedience eventually allowed the Zambians to take majority control of their Congress in 1963 and on October 24, 1964, the Republic of Zambia was born (16 years sooner than its neighbor to the south, Zimbabwe). Kenneth Kaunda would be the first president of the country lasting 27 years into 1991 when his long rule led to increased corruption and authoritarianism. The National Assembly abolished Kaunda’s one-party rule due to massive student protests and Zambia became a multiparty Democratic Republic which is where it stands currently. Zambia is one of the more stable nations on the African continent and like many of its neighbors, building infrastructure continues to be one of its biggest problems due to the extreme environments of the region. But with the incredible wild animals and diverse scenery that Zambia has been blessed with, maybe keeping the nation “wild” will benefit it in the long run.

Next week: Another Muslim and African nation often tied to the French, Algeria. Until then.

]]><![CDATA[ALBANIA: THE FORGOTTEN COUNTRY OF SOUTHERN EUROPE]]>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:23:38 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/albania-the-forgotten-country-of-southern-europeOctober 27, 2024: Thus began my five-hour Albanian journey. In late October into early November of 2024, my partner and I did our much-delayed Mediterranean cruise through four nations (Which we increased to six through strategic planning). After spending two days touring Athens, we ended up on a cruise ship seeing two of the most popular Greek islands (Santorini and Mykonos with a side trip to fascinating Delos which was more interesting than these tourist traps) followed by stopovers in Zakynthos and Corfu. There will be more on Greece and these five islands that we visited when Greece gets its inevitable turn in this project. But I bring this Greek adventure up because of the final Ionian island that we visited, Corfu. When visiting Southern Europe, which is the historical cradle of the political West, there are a million old towns to visit in the region over many countries. Corfu has a famous Old Town that is the heart of their tourist experience. But knowing that Croatia, Montenegro and Italy were coming up soon on our vacation which had more famous historic and scenic Medieval Old Towns, we decided to try something different. Enter Albania.
Researching the surrounding area, I discovered Finikas Lines which allows you to take a ferry from Corfu to multiple different islands and nations including Albania. Finikas use high speed hydrofoils that can take you across the Adriatic Sea in half an hour. Always wanting to ride a hydrofoill, understanding that Saranda would be in its offseason, and that the ferry takes off 45 minutes after docking in Corfu, I booked a hydrofoil to Albania. Little did I know that this trip would be one of the highlights of our Southern European tour. Upon reaching Albania, we had five hours. Too little time to see the capital of Tirana. But plenty of time to enjoy the Albanian Riviera town of Saranda, experience the town and beaches of Ksamil (Go before it is destroyed by tourists) and the UNESCO heritage site of Butrint Historical Park (A quieter medieval castle experience than Corfu). Upon getting through customs, we were approached by a Russian cab driver who asked for 15 Euro for a cab ride to Butrint. This was the best cab experience of my life. Not only did he drive us down to that site which took about 40 minutes, he gave us a tour of the area including its history with a drive by of St. George’s Monastery in Ksamil, an explanation of Albanian culture, the appeal and problems with Saranda, a deep dive discussion about the mussel farming in the ocean, how to grow the beautiful olive trees that littered the landscape, and every detail that you would pay a tour guide 100 Euros for. He spoke perfect English and even explained his complicated journey from the Soviet Union to becoming an Albanian citizen. The entire five-hour experience was perfect including the self-guided tour of Butrint along the inlet of Lake Butrint with Albanian fisherman fishing the same way that people have in the region for thousands of years. The Butrint ferry across the Lake was a flat wooden boat that could only take two vehicles at a time and dumps you into the outskirts of the Venetian Triangular Castle which you can see from Butrint across the inlet. We also got off the bus to take a picture at the HAND OF KSAMIL on Ksamil Beach which is normally a busy tourist attraction but was DEAD on this day. We finished the day in Saranda walking along the beautiful riviera, taking a photo of a Hillary Clinton statue that existed inside the city square (More on this later), and eating a wonderful seafood lunch at Marini’s with the cook cleaning his grill specifically to cook us his version of calamari. Right after, we had to head back to the port at 2:00 pm (Albania is an hour behind Corfu despite lying east) to make it back to the hydrofoil and dock in Corfu at 3:30 pm, pass through Greek customs (Which required waving my passport in the air and the immigration official acknowledging it while sitting in a chair), and a short walk back to our ship to board by 5:00 pm. When discussing this fantastic day that we had with family members and friends, I often rave about my day in Albania.

“Really, Albania?” is the reply.

But I will die defending this day as one of the best of my middle-aged life so far. So, what is Albania? How does this small, Muslim-majority country exist in this part of Europe? How did it become Muslim? And based on my experience, why is it filled with some of the nicest, sweetest people I met on the entirety of my European adventure?

Albania is the definition of a middle tier country. Size wise, its area is around 11,100 square miles, making it the 140th largest nation in the world and one of the smallest in the region. Its population is a little over 2.4 million with a GDP of around 24,840 Euros placing it 80th in the World economically. The local currency is the Lek and it was exchanged while we were there at a nearly perfect 100 to 1 rate with the Euro (A 200-dollar lek note is about 2 Euros). Compared to Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, and Italy, Albania was the cheapest country that we visited except for tax free San Marino. While Saranda is more diverse, the population of Albania is 97% native with a very small Greek minority that lives in the Southern part of the nation.

Discussing Albania’s history can not be accurately explained without bringing up the people that settled in this region 4000 years ago. The Illyrians were often described as “barbarians” by the more 'civilized' Greeks. They inhabited the land of Illyria which extended into the Southern Slavic lands that used to form Yugoslavia. They were recognized as one of the three ancient tribes of the region along with the Greeks and Thracians. The Macedonians had a love/hate relationship with the Illyrians trading with them openly while also dealing with their chronic piracy. After the Greek era, the history of Illyria gets difficult to track. The region became the hub of empires for the next thousand years. Living in relative isolation as a tribal people, the Illyrians faced invasions from Romans, Greeks, Visigoths, Huns, Bulgars, and Slavs throughout its Middle Age history. Despite all of this, the Illyrians preserved what became the modern-day Albanian language and their unique culture through multiple conquests. The Romans were the first to conquer the Illyrians during the 2nd Century, and the Byzantines took over control of the region in the 4th Century. Eventually, the Ottomans captured the current territory of modern-day Albania in the 15th Century which cut the country off from the “Western” powers for over 400 years. Albania became the first fully European nation to embrace Islam slowly starting in the 14th Century which gradually became the majority religion of the nation. Even though the country is still majority Muslim (Around 51%), the independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire in 1912 was largely driven by its diverse population of Christians and Orthodox (About 20% of the population) and other individuals not affiliated with any religion at all (Another 20%). About a year later, the empires of Europe took about half of Albania’s land and declared those citizens as part of different nation states including the region known as Kosovo. Albania respects “freedom of religion” and the nation has been secular since being under monarchist rule between the World Wars and a proudly nationalist communist state through the remainder of the 20th Century. Communism ruled the country from 1946 to 1991, which brought about modernization of what was the poorest nation in Europe but also repression along with close ties with the Soviets. Like the Soviet Union, Albanian Communism fell in 1991 and now has a Western style parliamentary republic that rules with an elected president.

Two more facts about Albania. First, a group that was once considered a terrorist organization by the West but has now gotten protection due to its opposition to the current Iranian regime is MEK (Mujaheeden E-Khalq) who have around 3000 members and live on the outskirts of Tirana. Second, why does Albania have a Hillary Clinton statue and apparently a large Bill Clinton statue inside its capital city? Because when Albania was divided up by the European powers in 1913, Kosovo was part of its landmass. Due to the Yugoslav War in the 1990s, support for the Kosovars who have ethnic ties to the Albanian people by the West allowed Kosovo to break off from Serbia and regain national ties with Albania. Because of this, Albanians consider the Clintons as national heroes.

The more you know.

Next blog, Zambia. Until then.
]]><![CDATA[THE GULF STATE OF BAHRAIN]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 23:08:26 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/the-gulf-state-of-bahrainI was going to write a nice, detailed, historical blog about the Southern European nation of Albania. A small little Muslim-majority country nestled between the Southern Slavic nations and Greece along the Adriatic Sea, Albania will be the first of 20 nations (As of the end of 2026) that I have a personal experience with via a day long visitation in October of 2024. But upon finishing my previous article on Zimbabwe, a war broke out between the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States, and Israel. As part of this war, Iran has been lobbing missiles at various Gulf States that are close allies with the West. Specifically, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the oil rich small, city-state like nations of Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The fourth nation, Bahrain, will be the focus of this nation state evaluation. Bahrain is currently the headquarters for the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet and has come under ballistic missile attack with apparent significant damage being done to the base since the war began. This article will evaluate the history of the area, its current economic and political structure and what the future may look like for this tiny island in the Persian Gulf.

Bahrain is one of the tiniest countries in the world. Totaling anywhere between 304 to 309 square miles depending on factors related to water reclamation and natural ocean movement, Bahrain is an archipelago of around 30 islands in which 7/8th of the country is Bahrain Island, the largest of the 30 and the majority of the nation’s landmass. The country has a unique history dating back over 2500 years and like today, was often seen as the jewel of the Persian Gulf. A place where economics reigned through international trade and its natural beauty has kept the island’s population protected from the horrors of war. Manama became the nation’s capital in 1971. The population of the capital is approximately 769,000. Being a small island, it is densely populated with a total population approximating 1.67 million.

Not many traces of ancient civilizations can be found inside Bahrain. So much of its history has been notated by foreign nations or empires that lived nearby. The first traces of its occupation were notated by the Sumerians who linked the island to an ancient civilization known as the Dilmun. It was known as an important trading hub that linked Mesopotamia with the Indus Valley specializing in important commodities at the time like copper and wool. Dilmun was recognized as a Holy Place by the Sumerians and the Indus:

“Dilmun was particularly noted for cleanliness and purity, and it was a water god who played a leading role in the religion of the two lands.”

Bahrain in ancient times had multiple rulers from the Bible’s infamous Babylonians to the Sumerians, to the Assyrians, and eventually, to the Achaemenid Persians (Who Alexander the Great conquered). The Greeks called the island Tylos and it was known to them as a mercantile center specializing in pearls and clothing. Per the notations of Nearchus, one of Alexander’s military commanders on ancient Bahrain and its impressive trading markets:

“On the island of Tylos, situated in the Persian Gulf, are large plantations of cotton tree, from which are manufactured clothes called sindones, with very different degrees of value, some being costly, others less expensive. The use of these is not confined to India but extends to Arabia.”

From 3rd BC onto the 7th Century AD, Bahrain was a key hub for multiple Persian empires. During the 7th Century, the Islamic Caliphate inspired by Mohammed’s teachings took control of Bahrain and conquered Persia. According to the history of the Island up to this point, the island was occupied by a combination of “Christianized Arabs, Aramaic-speaking farmers, Persian Zoroastrians and a small number of Jews.” Islamic texts claim the island was filled with Zoroastrians and Mohammed taxed them via the system of “Jizya” at the time. The island became Islamic during this Century.

Being an island nation, Bahrain has not been isolated from the often-crazy utopian ideals of human beings. The Qarmatians created a small empire on the island of Bahrain in the 9th Century. This group was a radical sect of the Shi’a Muslim religion that rejected many of the ideas behind Sharia Law. Their society had an anarchist feel being very egalitarian with no taxes, the promotion of social equality, and made worshiping at a mosque an optional activity which attracted many Muslims from the lower sects. During the height of this proto-anarcho-communist society, they raided Mecca and killed many devout pilgrims. The Qarmatians stole the holy black stone of Kabaa that resided in Mecca often considered one of the holiest trinkets in Islamic culture and owned it for over 20 years before returning it in the mid-10th Century by throwing it into the Great Mosque of Kufa and shattering it into seven pieces. This unique civilization thrived until 976 AD when the Abbasid Caliphate defeated them, beginning a decline where their civilization was wiped from the island by the 11th Century.

As various caliphates hung onto the island until the 16th Century, Bahrain also became famous for being the first non-European colony that was fully conquered by a European nation. In 1521, Antonia Correia conquered the island and the Portuguese effectively hung onto it until 1602 when an uprising effectively kicked the Portuguese off the island. The island went through multiple invasions and different conquerors in the 1600 to 1700s leading to its darkest historical period. In 1783, the Bani Utbah tribe led by Ahmed Al-Fateh, conquered the island. Under constant Iranian and Omani bombardment for decades, the Al-Khalifa family signed a treaty with the British for control over the island in 1820. At the time, the British had complete maritime control over the Persian Gulf. Despite various issues with the colonizing Brits inside of Bahrain, the Al-Khalifa family remained the kings of the land (And still are at present) including guiding the nation to independence in 1971. One of the biggest political problems inside Bahrain is the ruling family of dictators are Sunni Muslims while a large majority of the population is Shi’a which has led to accusations of discrimination by the people, often brutal and violent repression by the government especially during the Arab Spring, and constant political unrest due to the large disparity of wealth in the nation. Iran has claimed the island as their territory for over a century, but no one has recognized their historical claim. After the British left the region, the Al-Khalifa’s maintained close ties with the Saudis and the United States who based their Naval Fifth Fleet there. Bahrain is a current member of the Gulf Cooperation Council formed in 1981 and helped the United States attack Iraq in the early 1990s and 2003 during both those wars.

Bahrain is considered a high-income, wealthy nation, frequently ranking within the top 30-40 richest economies globally per capita based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), with a 2025 estimated GDP (PPP) per capita of approximately 69,270. It is a top-ranking Arab nation, often cited as one of the tops in the region for financial attractiveness.

Next week: Back to Albania!
]]><![CDATA[ZIMBABWE]]>Tue, 03 Mar 2026 03:44:03 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/zimbabweOn our journey through the discussion about every nation on this planet, the one continent that will be discussed most will be Africa. Africa has the most sovereign nations of any continent totaling between 54 or 55 depending on the status of Western Sahara. Since my birth in 1974, 12 new nations have been created inside Africa. In the 20th Century, many nations broke away from their colonizers and declared independence, including 17 during the 1960s. Africa has always been a very interesting contradiction. Often considered the breadbasket for the foundation of the first humans in recorded history and home to the first massive and powerful empire (Egypt), Africa remains the most underdeveloped continent on the planet due to various factors including its reliance on mining and agriculture, difficult ecosystems that make connecting the entire continent into a solitary grid impossible, and massive political corruption. Africa is also home to the largest land animals on the planet due to its lack of development. Today, a quick summary regarding our first of the 54 African nations, Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is in southern Africa on the eastern side of the continent. Landlocked and bordering neighboring states Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa, it’s probably most famous for sharing Victoria Falls with its neighbor Zambia on its western edge inside of Zambezi National Park. Western Zimbabwe is known for its extreme beauty, National Parks, and being one of the best locations to see the large mammals that roam the African countryside with many designated safari areas. Discussing the history of Zimbabwe can not be done without talking about the British Empire. A topic that will be repeated hundreds of times as we analyze recent history. Zimbabwe was colonized by the British in the late 19th Century. Signing a deal with King Lobengula of the native Ndebele people, Cecil Rhodes began extraction of the minerals inside the country under the incorporated British South Africa Company (BSAC). In the present day through mergers, the BSAC is now part of a company called Charter Consolidated. By 1890, Zimbabwe was colonized and the British changed the name of their new territory to Rhodesia. Like its neighbor to the south (South Africa) which will be discussed in much greater detail later, laws passed inside Rhodesia allowed land to be expropriated from the native populations and the white settlers from England were given priority for the best land. A couple of uprisings by the Ndebele people and the Shona were put down by the Brits in the late 1800s. In 1923, the settlers who moved to Rhodesia not wanting to be part of South Africa became their own functioning British colony known as Southern Rhodesia. Beginning in 1965, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) united in a successful war against the British. The war ended in December 1979 with the Lancaster House Agreement which set the table for independence. On April 18, 1980, Robert Mugabe won the election and Zimbabwe declared themselves an independent sovereign nation.

Robert Mugabe is an interesting historical character. Helping to liberate and free Zimbabwe from the reign of the British, his Marxist tendencies allowed him to consolidate power, and he became sole ruler and dictator of the nation for almost 40 years. Due to his own corruption and destruction of the currency inside his country, Mugabe eventually resigned in 2017 in his 90s. He died two years later in 2019 at the age of 95. Emmerson Mnangagwa is only the 2nd president in the history of this nation since independence and has done his best to bring some aspect of stability to the nation. Due to its Marxist nature, the country still struggles with high inflation and massive corruption and ranks usually around 150 in GDP regarding its economic fortunes.

Zimbabwe has a very elaborate history due to its land being very fertile with some of the best natural clean water in the African continent. They have been able to track human activity inside the nation going back 100,000 years. Like most of Africa and until 1980, there was no defined borders for Zimbabwe as many different tribes passed through the region and settled different regions. The San people were the first to settle the area and left various rock paintings in the area that confirmed their presence. The San spoke a variation of the Bantu language. Zimbabwe first became known for the Zhizo people settling in the area and creating a lucrative ivory trade that was popular in ancient Persia and India. They centralized the area and created its first great settlement known as Great Zimbabwe. This settlement became home to the Kingdom of Zimbabwe which thrived from the 12th Century into the 14th. Around 1430, Nyatsimba Mutota, a prince from Great Zimbabwe, settled in the beautiful Zambezi Valley and conquered the tribal Tawara people. He created the Mutapa Kingdom. Having its own army to force people into paying tributes, this Kingdom thrived for another 200 years before wars with the Portuguese and migration to the plateaus to the south began its decline. Due to a civil war between ruling Great Zimbabwe families, another competing kingdom called the Torwa was born in the late 15th Century. Another cattle owner fractured the existing kingdoms even further setting up the Rovzi Kingdom inside of its new hub city, Danangombe. The Rovzi Kingdom due to its superior military tactics eventually took control over most of the region until the Ndebele people who were descendants of the Khumalo people who were in alignment with Shaka Zulu’s powerful Zulu kingdom went to war with the Rovzi in 1854 and conquered them by 1857.

A few basic facts about Zimbabwe. The population is approaching 17 million. The country is 99% indigenous African and 84% Christian (A legacy of the British). The capital of the country with about 1.8 million inhabitants is Harare.

Hope you enjoyed part two of this ongoing series. Next will be an evaluation of the first country on this list that I have spent time inside even if it was for part of a single day, Albania. Until then.]]><![CDATA[AN APPRECIATION OF SAM RAIMI]]>Sun, 22 Feb 2026 05:51:13 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/an-appreciation-of-sam-raimiWhile I engage in this multi-year, hundreds of entries project regarding nation states (Next: Zimbabwe) and their history, I sometimes will take detours to discuss something that has crossed my mind recently. Think of this as a mind worm that just needs to be written down for my personal wellbeing.

My partner is a massive horror movie fan. She has watched probably twice as many over the last twenty years as I have. On Valentine’s Day, instead of doing the full date night with dinner, we went to see SEND HELP, the latest “horror-themed” film from director Sam Raimi. The movie has grossed over 75 million so far and has surprisingly turned a profit for risk averse Hollywood that has lost billions of dollars on films in the 2020s. Since COVID, the traditional public theater experience has started to get replaced by in-home streaming and rentals. Movie theaters are starting to become like the hundreds of empty retail malls that litter our landscape. So, any film that is this creative that turns a profit should be a sign to Hollywood about what the future for their industry should be if they want to turn their present-day fortunes around.

Raimi has been around since my early youth. He became famous for making a brutal independent film called THE EVIL DEAD that quickly became a cult classic and was promoted by public figures like Stephen King. That franchise has spun off into video games, comic books and even its own reboot. But since becoming famous with THE EVIL DEAD trilogy (The next two films, EVIL DEAD II is a masterpiece and ARMY OF DARKNESS is a crazy, comedic conclusion to the series), Raimi has really spread his wings into different genres from doing small, low budget, indie classics to the biggest high budget comic book films. A career that is good enough to be declared an auteur. But Raimi will be remembered for two specific things. First, for bringing his childhood friend Bruce Campbell into the public domain. Campbell has a massive nerd-like following and has created a very interesting career for himself including doing seven seasons on one of the most respected television shows of the 2000s, BURN NOTICE. But Raimi also invented and perfected a new genre that he can call his own, COMEDY HORROR. No director can show you such well-produced gore pieces while bringing a smile to your face. Plus, like Hitchcock, he loves to put Easter Eggs into his films. Every single film including his fantasy and western movies has his trademark 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass in it whether as a key part of the story (EVIL DEAD and SPIDERMAN) or dismantled into parts and spread around the set (OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL and THE QUICK AND THE DEAD). As Bruce Campbell likes to joke, that car has been in more scenes than he has. Raimi is also known for directing scenes that create discomfort for his lead actors/actresses usually involving something being splattered onto their various body parts for comedic reasons. Raimi is also a massive fan of the THREE STOOGES shorts that used to air on television on Saturday afternoons and many of his film scenes have that slapstick aura to them. Raimi has even created his own job in a film called a FAKE SHEMP inspired by Shemp Howard who died at 60 of a heart attack while The Stooges still needed to deliver four more short films to the studio. Per Raimi and Wikipedia:

A fake Shemp is a type of body double who appears in a film to replace another actor or person, usually when the original actor has died or is otherwise unable or unwilling to reprise their role.

This evaluation of Raimi will be broken down into only the films he directed and the three main categories they fall under:

Horror Films with a Sprinkle of Comedy
Other Genre Films
Big Budget Films

Going over his television production efforts, like helping to create the famous syndicated shows HERCULES and XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS in the 90s is a topic for another debate.

Horror Films with a Sprinkle of Comedy

When Raimi passes over into the Great Divide in the future and a career retrospective will be given in his honor, these films are the ones that will cement his legacy. Besides the incredibly influential EVIL DEAD trilogy discussed above that changed how people view gore in movies while also making the movies incredibly fun and entertaining to watch, he has done three other horror movies that were quite good.

2000’s THE GIFT with Cate Blanchett
2009’s DRAG ME TO HELL with Alison Lohman
And a return to form, 2026’s SEND HELP with a career defining performance from Rachel McAdams.

These films are all very stylistic. Raimi is an expert at blending comedic elements with a sense of underlying dread that builds into a third act that usually turns out batshit crazy. The formula has worked over six films and whenever he decides to make another horror film in the future, I have no doubt it will be just as entertaining as his previous films. Like Michael Bay with action films or Stanley Kubrick with artistic films, this is what Raimi will be remembered for. Let’s hope he has another three or four left in him.

OTHER GENRE FILMS

This category is something that I wish Raimi would return to. But since Hollywood is in a state of perpetual decline, this aspect of Sam Raimi’s career may be lost to time. After ARMY OF DARKNESS was released in 1992, Raimi decided to do three films outside of the horror genre from 1995-1999. All three are spectacular.

1995’s THE QUICK AND THE DEAD with Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and Gene Hackman
1998’s A SIMPLE PLAN with Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton (Who would be Academy nominated for this role.)
And finally, 1999’s FOR LOVE OF THE GAME with Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston.

The former is an incredibly creative and rich Western revolving around a tournament to determine who is the best sharpshooter. The movie has a surprisingly emotional story, a wonderful villain turn by Gene Hackman and some of the best cinematography in a Western (The shot from behind someone’s head as it pops open from one of DiCaprio’s bullets is pure perfection.).

A SIMPLE PLAN is arguably his best movie, a complex heist movie that is Raimi’s best directed script with wonderful acting performances from the three leads.

Finally, FOR LOVE OF THE GAME is arguably better than Costner’s other baseball gem BULL DURHAM. It is about a retired pitcher throwing a perfect game at the end of his career while it juggles his life in flashbacks that brought him to this point.

After ARMY OF DARKNESS, Raimi began working with composer Danny Elfman for all his scores and that collaboration pays off with these three movies. Since 1999, Raimi has not returned to trying out different genres and based on the quality of these three movies above, this has been a tragedy.

NOTE: There is a 4th genre movie that he did after THE EVIL DEAD in 1985 called CRIMEWAVE. Have you heard of it? Of course not. He was not ready for this film as a young director, and it is a terrible mess.

2ND NOTE: CRIMEWAVE was written by Raimi friends Joel and Ethan Coen who eventually moved onto bigger and better things. Raimi cowrote one of the Coen’s best early works, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, and directed the famous hula hoop sequence which is one of the funniest scenes in any 90s movie. They supported each other early in their careers when both began in independent films.

BIG BUDGET SUPERHERO AND COMIC BOOK FILMS

Here is where we see the flaws of Raimi’s directing style and it almost makes you wish that he would just continue to make smaller budget movies like SEND HELP. Raimi was given the SPIDERMAN franchise by Sony in the late 90s during his “genre” run. Raimi was an avid reader of SPIDERMAN comics growing up so I was enthusiastic that his style of filmmaking would convert over to big screen success. And for two films, Raimi did not disappoint the comic book Nerds. While not a great film, the first SPIDERMAN is iconic with memorable scenes like the upside-down kiss with Kirsten Dunst and a wonderful, maniacal villain turn by Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin. The tone of the movie was perfect. Then, he made SPIDERMAN 2. Still on my Top 3 list of all-time comic book movies. I have nothing negative to say about the movie. It just worked from the first shot till the end. So why am I only praising his big budget films? Because after SPIDERMAN 3, something changed. Due to a dispute with the producer of the SPIDERMAN franchise, Raimi was forced to put Venom into the film, a character that came later in the comic books that Raimi openly admitted he did not understand. When you watch SPIDERMAN 3, you can see his lack of connection to that character. While the Sandman played by the always wonderful Thomas Haden Church worked, the addition of Venom and the black suited Spiderman did not. The movie is disjointed and looks like a movie with two different visions trying to come together as one. Raimi got out of big budget movies for a while. But he came back and directed the incredibly mediocre OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL and a few years ago, Raimi was again hired by Marvel to direct the 2nd DR. STRANGE movie, which is very mediocre despite having a fun scene near the end that felt like it came from a Sam Raimi horror film. According to IMDB, Raimi is returning to big budget movies for an upcoming project called World War III. I am not looking forward to this.

NOTE: Raimi is known for being the only director to direct three superheroes on screen. Who was the third? In 1990, he created his own named DARKMAN, an underrated movie that does not hold up that well with time, starring Liam Neeson. DARKMAN was very well made and an enjoyable watch for my teenage self in the early 90s when I was getting swamped with NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK and ICE, ICE BABY daily.

I hope you enjoyed this career retrospective. Hollywood needs more people that come from nowhere like Sam Raimi. Having now directed 16 films and having established quite a catalog of memorable films, let’s hope that Sam can still give us quite a few more before retirement.
]]><![CDATA[AFGHANISTAN]]>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 03:24:00 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/afghanistanPer my latest project, this will be the first entry of hundreds regarding a current nation state. Each blog entry will dive into the notable history of the area, the people, and the timeline for the official statehood of the country being discussed. If any country peaks your interest, I will try to link a couple of resources for anyone interested to do a deeper dive. Now, onto our first nation, the current Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Everyone in the western world and Russia are aware of Afghanistan. Due to the country being constantly at war since the late 1970s, Afghanistan has been the headquarters of imperial activity due to its centralized location and plentiful natural resources. Afghanistan is known for its agricultural and mining economy with many key elements needed for our present-day technological world that can be found deep in the Hindu Kush mountain range that litters the north and northeastern section of the country. Due to its incredibly inhospitable terrain, Afghanistan has gotten the nickname, “The Graveyard of Empires.” Going back to antiquity, the Sikhs and the Safavids of Persia were repelled by the Afghani tribes. The only two imperial entities to capture Afghanistan are two of the most famous historical figures, Alexander the Great and the Mongols ruled by Genghis Khan. After the Mongol Empire broke apart into four regions, Afghanistan became part of the Chagatai Khanate but quickly rebelled against their new overlords. The Khanate was gone by the mid-14th Century. Alexander took the region known as Bactria back in 327 BC during a brutal campaign and faced increased resistance during the Greek rule there. The Greco-Bastrian Kingdom lasted over 200 years before collapsing around 120 BC. In recent times, the British were kicked out of the country once and for all in 1919 followed by the Soviets in 1989 and finally, the United States in 2021. Afghanistan can be conquered as each of these nations can attest. The problem which even Alexander the Great understood is the difficulty of hanging onto this desolate region. Eventually, the local tribes do succeed over time.

A few key events that have occurred in Afghan history. Afghanistan does not have a dominant tribe that rules the nation. Even though the nation is 99% Islamic, the Pashtun tribe is the largest minority representing about 40% of the population. The Tajiks (Who will be discussed later) and the Hazara are also well represented. Before the Islamic religion became prominent in the region during the 7th Century, Afghanistan due to its decentralization and local tribal communities had dozens of ancient religions such as Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, other ancient Iranian religions, and Hinduism as just a few examples of the diverse amount of beliefs that populated the countryside. The capture of Afghanistan by the Muslims took 400 years when Mahmud of Ghanzi eliminated the last remaining Hindus and essentially Islamized the country permanently and became the first Sultan. After Mahmud, Afghanistan had a few short-lived empires during the medieval era. The most famous was the Timurid Empire established in the late 14th Century after the Mongols were repelled. Under this empire, there was a Timurid Renaissance which became the hub for arts and science inside the Islamic world from the 14th to 16th Century. The Timurid Renaissance is considered one of the Golden Ages of Islamic thought and invention and is often compared to the Italian Renaissance for its importance.

Probably the most famous export of Afghanistan are Afghan rugs. Going back to the time before Christ, the people of the region took pride in their incredibly well-designed and handcrafted rugs. Here is a summary of their history.

Afghan rugs have a very long history, with their roots in the hand-woven traditions of Central Asian nomadic tribes dating back over 2,000 years. Developed by the Bactrian and Sogdian people that were native to this region, these ancient, handcrafted textiles evolved over centuries and began being exported to other parts of the world beginning around the 1600s.

Export Era: The rugs became recognized internationally by the 1600s for their, Nomads Loom notes, intricate designs and vibrant colors.
Modern Era: While traditional weaving continued, modern variations like "war rugs" appeared in the late 20th century, specifically after the 1979 Soviet invasion.

There is a debate on when Afghanistan officially became a nation state. Currently, the nation has over 36 million people. Its capital is Kabul. The local currency is called the Afghani. The most common language is spoken by the Pashtun people, Pashto. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani established the Durrani Empire. This is often considered the precursor to the present-day borders of the Afghan State. The Durrani Empire lasted almost one hundred years till it fell to the Barakzai Dynasty and eventually, to the British. The “official Western” recognition of Afghanistan occurred with the Treaty of Rawalpindi which formed the country on August 8, 1919, while also signing a treaty of friendship with the new Bolshevik regime in Russia (Which they would violate sixty years later). From the time of independence to its present-day war era and capture by the Taliban, Afghanistan balanced the religious zealotry of the Pashtuns to create a functional economic power. But as Islamic law encroached on the leadership, the reigning Prime Minister Daud Khan in the 1950s turned to the Soviets for economic support. This action began the nation’s gradual decline into the dysfunctional tribal emirate that it is presently.

I hope you enjoyed this short summary about the complex nation of Afghanistan. I intend to do these posts in an alternating alphabetic order. Next, will be the last country alphabetically, Zimbabwe before we jump back into the “A’s.”

Here are a few resources if you want to learn more about this country including its most famous novel.
THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini.

Historically, there are a few fascinating books.
Amazon.com: Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present, Expanded and Updated Edition: 9781789145885: Lee, Jonathan L.: Books
Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History, Second Edition: Barfield, Thomas J.: 9780691238562: Amazon.com: Books

And of course, Western involvement in the country
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001: Coll, Steve: 9780143034667: Amazon.com: Books
Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan: Ansary, Tamim: 9781610393195: Amazon.com: Books]]><![CDATA[ANNOUNCING MY NEW PROJECT: THE NATION STATE]]>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 03:11:33 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/announcing-my-new-project-the-nation-stateDue to my recent interest in political history and geography, I began to wonder about the current state of the world. Why is it that we have six continents carved up with defined borders that contain almost two hundred unique nations? How did we arrive at that number? According to the countries that are recognized by the UN, we have 193 states. But per the UN’s own recognition of additional states, we have 195 (Two UN dependency states: Vatican City and Palestine). Some countries recognize more. For instance, the United States recognizes 196 nations including Kosovo (Claimed by Serbia), Niue and the Cook Islands (Often claimed by New Zealand). Besides these nation states, there are either 58 according to WorldAtlas or 71 according to Visual Capitalist dependencies and territories that are part of larger, imperial nations scattered around the globe. Any of these dependencies could become a new nation state upon declaring independence. In all, these nation-state/dependencies total over 17,500 global ethnicities. Since I was brought onto this Earth in 1974, we have added 57 nations to this planet net total losing some massive countries and empires (Like the Soviet Union) and gaining many others like the remnants of the collapsed Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, the end of the British Empire, along with the end of all colonization in Africa. Despite historical studies that often focus on famous empires like the Egyptians, Romans and Mongolians, the nation state is new to the human experience. The Peace of Westphalia signed in 1648 that ended the dual THIRTY YEARS WAR (Often referred to by historians as the first actual world war) and EIGHTY YEARS WAR (The War for Dutch Independence that started their empire and began the decline of the Spanish) which caused approximately eight million deaths helped create a new geo-political reality called the Westphalian system. This new political system was based around the idea of respecting individual nation state sovereignty. The Peace of Westphalia, which is often taught as a historical afterthought, remains as important as any other era like the Renaissance or the Middle Ages due to the changes it created. The idea was formulated by the natural law theorist Hugo Grotius and the state theorist Jean Bodin and is still engrained into the UN Charter,

“Nothing shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.”

This international system was practiced by civilized nations until the dual World Wars in the 20th Century where new ideologies revolving around class conflict and new financial ideas clashed for supremacy. Even though peace was temporarily created inside Europe, all the Westphalian nations continued fighting wars on a regular basis into the mid-19th Century, often expanding their borders to gain more territorial sovereignty over a larger chunk of the planet.

These essays will dive into each nation’s history, founding, and current political system practiced whether a Republic, a Kingdom, a Federation, etc. When a territory or exception to the rule is discussed based on the current global order, this will also get its own essay explaining its circumstances.

I hope you enjoy this project. Have a good 2026 everyone.]]><![CDATA[A PERSONAL REFLECTION ABOUT 2025]]>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 18:39:13 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/a-personal-refliection-about-2025Before beginning my big project in 2026 (Which may include a Rumble channel), I want to reflect on the year that just ended. 2025 feels like the fastest year from start to finish in my lifetime. If reaching middle age is a race to the end, than the sweet taste of death will be upon me much faster than anticipated. In 2025, I traveled more outside of the country than ever before. Due to being unemployed for a large chunk of the year, the family decided to spend some of our hard-earned savings on experiencing the different nation states and cultures of this planet. Back in March, we spent ten days in Mexico, a country I have always loved. In September, we spent fourteen days in South Korea and Japan. And during Thanksgiving weekend, we spent a few days on two Caribbean islands (Cozumel in Mexico and Roatan in Honduras) as well as experiencing Mayan ruins on a boat ride in Belize. Throwing in my Southern European adventure in late October/early November of 2023, I have visited eleven nations in a little over 14 months. I will admit to being fatigued and exhausted by all of this. Since I am starting a new higher paying job in Texas during the first week of 2026, I am looking forward to a slower, more boring life researching cultures and spending more time on the couch reading historical novels in my free time while helping my son get through high school.

As this will be my last blog of 2025, I want to make a few recommendations for entertainment that was released over this current year. 2025 may go down historically as one of the worst years of American culture in history. There is so much garbage in video games, television, and the film worlds. Hollywood is on its last legs and deservedly so. Video games which had their apex in the 2000s/early 2010s began their terminal decline to the eventual reality of super mergers and less creativity. And television’s golden age ended when the COVID lockdowns struck. But there were a few gems if you look hard enough.

Films

My two favorite movies this year are EDDINGTON and THE LIFE OF CHUCK. I have written about EDDINGTON here. THE LIFE OF CHUCK directed by arguably this decade’s best director Mike Flanagan (Especially for his television content) is a sci-fi ghost story with a large dose of philosophy that hits all the right notes. One of the most positive films I have seen in a very long time. WAKE UP DEAD MAN or KNIVES OUT 3 directed by the ever-dependable Rian Johnson is the best of the trilogy and a solid third place for the year. He somehow blends a murder mystery with a story about faith. Highly recommended for those who have not seen it. If you notice the pattern above, if a film has a good director (And in this case, all three directors of these films are highly respected), Hollywood still puts out some good content. You must look for it through all the political bullshit.

In terms of video games, I have nothing to recommend. I have downloaded a very popular, highly rated game called CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 for future play which I will review if the game is life changing in any way.

Finally, television really begun its descent to the bottom. The two best shows were both from the science fiction genre. Everything else while good either felt underwhelming or disappointing compared to previous seasons. SEVERANCE Season 2 was one of the few fantastic shows with a continued star making turn by Adam Scott. The other show which has not completed its first season is PLUR1BUS which is the new show from creator Vince Gilligan. The first season of all his shows are the weakest before they evolve into must watch television. This first season has been amazing. Both these shows happen to be on Apple TV. So either you already have the membership, or buy the subscription for one month and power watch these shows (The other great sci fi show on Apple TV is DARK MATTER. Don’t miss that one either.)

To show you where my head is at for the future, I have become fascinated with the religion of Zoroastrianism. This religion was the foundation of multiple Persian Empires before the time of Christ until the Islamic takeover of that area by the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th Century which evolved into the Abassid Caliphate which lasted into the 1500s and was more heavily influenced by Persian culture. Zoroastrianism has an interesting back story. It was the foundation of the early Persian Empires, the Achaemenid, the Parthian and finally, the Sasanian which fell to the Caliphate. This religion was monotheistic and very similar to Christianity and Buddhism in many ways. Zoroastrianism was a very positive religion revolving around a God-like entity named Ahura Mazda who is in an eternal battle with the evil Angra Mainyu who creates destructive thoughts. Historians are still torn about how much influence Zoroastrians had on the Christian church and Buddhist spirituality. Without a doubt, Zoroastrians have the best place of worship (Fire temples) on the planet. There is one located near Houston that I will likely attend soon for curiosity’s sake.

Anyway, Merry Christmas and a Happy 2026 to everyone. See you next year.
]]><![CDATA[WHAT IF EVERYTHING YOU BELIEVED OR PERCEIVED AS REALITY IS A LIE?]]>Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:21:07 GMThttps://www.expertofsome.com/blog/december-10th-2025Before beginning my long-term project (Which I will mention at the end of this rant), I wanted to write a blog that was pure speculation with questions. Since the COVID lockdowns in March of 2020, many of my core beliefs have been ripped out of my brain and flushed down the proverbial mental toilet. I have always leaned politically libertarian with my beliefs and have always perceived that an administrative government inside any nation state inflicts more harm than good on its population. As it increases in size and power, it becomes even more tyrannical, inefficient, and distant from the common voter. Despite seeing this in various government agencies throughout my life, the United States government still seemed like it was a necessary evil and manageable in size. It engages in more harm than good most of the time. Oe so I thought. With the degradation of our culture witnessed during COVID, it became very clear that almost all our institutions outside of our massive, corrupt government were also broken including banks, employers, the education system, the medical industry, charities, etc. This revelation has completely revamped my naivety about how society is supposed to function. When you do a deep dive into the people who are the most successful, especially at the management/administration level, you quickly realize that orthodoxy and a dogmatic belief in a broken system is the quickest path to an upper middle-class lifestyle. Questioning orthodoxies is not the path to success in a world that is heavily controlled by the interests of billionaire tyrants. Here are a couple of questions that have been banging around inside my brain over the last half decade.

1) During a period of collective orthodoxy with a good majority of individuals believing in false ideals, does this explain religious beliefs and some of the interesting questions asked by people like Elon Musk? Do we live in a simulation? Is there a God-like figure manipulating our lives with an Xbox controller and pressing buttons just to see how humanity reacts? Were the Wachowski Brothers right and our lives are also simulated while we are being harvested for our bio-energy?

The answers to these questions are unknowable. But ask yourself this? If our world wasn’t filled with so much bullshit propaganda, tyrannical leaders, and political and tribal divisions, would we really be asking ourselves these questions? Back during the Roman Empire before the rise of Christianity, the Roman people used Gods as symbols to explain concepts that were outside the norm of understanding. The chaos of the world was unpredictable. If the island of Cyprus got hit with a hurricane, it meant that Neptune (Or in Greek, Poseidon) was likely angry with humanity. Living inside this bizarre 21st Century world, I understand these beliefs and why the Romans embraced this. Regarding Christianity, the thriving Roman Empire saw this religious sect as a cult during its heyday. As the Western Roman Empire began to crumble in the 3rd Century, more people turned to this new religion. It provided a form of mental comfort and meaning in a world bombarded with barbarian raiders striking all over Europe. When radical and often violent events don’t make sense and originate outside of a person’s reality, it may appear that supernatural forces are impacting your life. It may feel like the devil (Hades) has come to take your soul away to the underworld. For those who do pay attention and can perceive how insane the world has gotten, it makes sense that young people are flocking to religion since the COVID era. Individuals need some form of guidance, and the Gods of technology and government administration have turned out to be false prophets. So, religion is once again becoming the guiding principle for many youthful lives.

2) Has democracy failed? In a capitalist system where money leads to influence and power, is “reality” the world that the people with the most wealth and power inflict upon us through various psychological means? Is the “truth” whatever the most powerful people say it is?

These questions have made me remember the infamous GRAND INQUISITOR poem from THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV by Dostoyevsky. After capturing Jesus during the Inquisition, the Grand Inquisitor explains to Him how the world works. For humanity to unite, have success, and to get three meals a day, people need to allow the forces of the Devil to control them. Even the Church Jesus’s followers helped create to spread His message used the exact same tactics of control to gain its influence. The Inquisitor’s entire speech is given to demoralize Jesus and inform Him that his faith in humanity was misguided. On this note, it does appear we live inside a world loaded with fake science, false beliefs and false prophets, and even a form of monetary exchange that can be manipulated and counterfeited at will. Nothing feels honest or real in this world anymore. Every single truth can be questioned and likely considered a fabrication if “studies” were allowed to take place. And what we often believe is exactly what people with the influence want us to believe. Whether the constant dogmatic opinions and advertising propaganda is true is insignificant. A wealthy individual with influence can achieve his self-interested goals and continue to attain personal wealth and power at our expense. With any democracy, propaganda will always be present and controlled by the people with the most influence over our culture. Corporations spend billions of dollars on advertising to influence your mind even if what they are promoting is a lie. Per this wonderful quote from an article discussing our present-day cowardice regarding COVID:

“The language used wasn’t scientific; it was religious. “Do your part,” “Protect the vulnerable,” “Follow the science.” Dogmas, not method. Questioning became heresy. “Denier,” “anti-science,” “murderer.” Moral accusations, not scientific disagreement.
Experts as priests. Young people as sacrificial offerings. Obedience as virtue. All for a “greater good” that never existed, that was a deception.
In the Cold War, the military-industrial lobby controlled fear. During Covid, the pharmaceutical lobby was the one running the show. Decisions favored record profits while 160 million people were pushed into extreme poverty. Not a coincidence.
We are, in fact, the most cowardly society of all time. It wasn’t cowardice to be afraid of Covid. The fear was legitimate. The disease was real. The deaths were real. The cowardice was something else. It was accepting the moral inversion — old people sacrificing the young — without anyone raising a voice.
It was obeying misleading propaganda from corporations with a $33 billion history of fraud fines. It was creating nothing — no art, no movement, no meaningful culture — from the greatest collective trauma in decades. It was forgetting quickly when remembering became inconvenient.
The Cold War gave us “Born to Be Wild” and the slogan “Make love, not war.” Covid gave us vaccine passports and delivery apps. No transformative art. No revolution of thought.”

Maybe the Grand Inquisitor was correct.

3) What is there to believe in?

The most important of all these questions asked above. Living in a world where the truth seems to be in flux depending on which president or political party rules, the answer lies within yourself. A person with a healthy sense of personal morality and integrity will know how to live their life inside a world that feels like a construct created inside a virtual reality program. For every individual, they need to discover their purpose outside of the constant and persistent noise forced upon us that exists to destroy our individuality. Without gaining this insight, you may end up lost in the woods forever.

IN TWO WEEKS: I will begin writing blogs about the origin of every nation state on the Earth with an introduction. Until then, I wish everyone a peaceful Holiday season.]]>