History Lessons from the Tokugawa Matriarchy: Ôoku: The Inner Chambers By: Leah Zoller In 1716, Tokugawa Yoshimune, the great-granddaughter of the first Tokugawa shogun, become shogun herself, despite being the third daughter of a branch family and having a low-ranking concubine as a father. During her reign as Shogun, Yoshimune enacted a number of reforms, […]
Tag Archives: history
July 26
The Evolution of the Social Networking Site
posted by terraolsen
The Evolution of the Social Networking Site By: Andrea Cole In the beginning there was the Internet, a vast and lonely space occupied only by computer science majors and Trekkies. Then came IRC, ICQ, instant messaging, and email. And AOL saw that it was good. But man and woman were lonely and needed to interact […]
April 29
EMP’s Fantasy Exhibit
posted by terraolsen
EMP’s Fantasy Exhibit: A Must-See for Fantasy Fans By: Terra Clarke Olsen Washingtonians are a lucky bunch. We have great seafood, great coffee, great people, but also a great collection of unique museums, including the EMP Museum. For those who haven’t been, or for those who are about to visit Seattle, now would be the […]
April 24
The Story Behind Bram Stoker’s Dracula
posted by terraolsen
The Story Behind Bram Stoker’s Dracula By: Alexis Fabricius During my undergrad, I took a course on Gothic Literature that was taught by a professor who was obsessed with vampires; in fact, he was one of only three people in Canada to have received his doctorate in “vampirology”. Throughout the course he gave us more […]
March 14
The Story of Gilles de Rais in Non-Academic-Speak
posted by terraolsen
The Story of Gilles de Rais in Non-Academic-Speak By: Alexis Fabricius So, I’m a nerd. This is a long-established and well-known fact. So are you; that’s why you’re reading this blog. Now that we’re best friends, it’s time to get to the nitty gritty – what kind of nerd am I? Good question. I’m a […]
February 06
A Classicist’s Reading of the Mass Effect Trilogy
posted by terraolsen
A Classicist’s Reading of the Mass Effect Trilogy By: Madison Abshire As a nerd for classics and history, as well as Sci-Fi and videogames, I am always excited to see those passions intersect. I am lucky that, in the process of effective world building within a game, templates from the past are often the starting […]
January 09
History of Gaming: Dice
posted by terraolsen
History of Gaming: Dice By: Terra Clarke Olsen Gaming is a natural human pursuit. It fulfills our innate desire to outwit our foes and rewards us with the same victorious feeling of yore. More importantly, though, through gaming we challenge ourselves and improve our cognitive development. So it is both understandable and astounding that as […]
October 17
Happy Birthday, St. Yves
posted by terraolsen
Happy Birthday, St. Yves By: Terra Olsen This has been quite the year for me, but the absolute highlight was marrying my better half, followed by a trip of a lifetime to Brittany, France. It was during our time in France that I experienced a moment in my life that will stay with me […]
October 01
History of “Nerd”
posted by terraolsen
History of “Nerd” By: Terra Olsen To kick-start Have You Nerd, it is only appropriate to look into the origin of “nerd”- the inspiration for this Blog. The word “nerd” has had an interesting evolution in pop culture. Many have credited Dr.Seuss for creating the term ‘nerd,’ since it first appeared published in If […]