The Boulevard Ring (Russian: Бульва́рное кольцо́) is Moscow’s second innermost ring road (the first is formed by the Central Squares of Moscow running along the former walls of Kitai-gorod). Boulevards form a semicircular chain along the western, northern and eastern sides of the historical White City of Moscow; in the south the incomplete ring is terminated by the embankments of Moskva River. The first of the boulevards, Tverskoy Boulevard, emerged in 1796, but the ring was completely developed in 1820s, after the disastrous 1812 fire. The Ring replaced the medieval walls of the White City in the 1820s. The wall itself was razed in 1760, and despite the royal decrees to keep the site clear, the area was soon built over with private and state property. The Fire of Moscow destroyed many of those buildings, allowing the city planners to replace them with wide green boulevards. In the 20th century, the width of the Boulevard Ring was expanded, as the formerly paved areas along the Pokrovsky Boulevard and Strastnoy Boulevard were planted with trees. Plans to complete the ring through Zamoskvorechye never materialized, however. These plans to properly terminate the ring through Yakimanka and Zamoskvorechye districts, proposed in 1935, periodically resurface in city planners’ discussions.

This gorilla was killed after a child fell into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, but people are still wondering what happened between them during his last moments. Behavior experts are weighing in on the spotty video of Harambe.

Harold Lamb perfectly contrasts the Islamic society of medieval times against that of the Europeans amidst the Crusades. He manages to bring out the best of both worlds at a time when they clashed violently for the control of the Holy Land. His portrayal of both sides is fair and just; I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to expand their knowledge of this era.

The Crusades of the Middle East may not have lasted for more than two centuries but the fictionalization of events and distortion of facts to prove one’s side right and the other’s wrong, continued for centuries later and is even seen in modern times. Amidst such confusion and chaos, Harold Lamb’s two-volume masterpiece on the Crusades is a welcome relief for those who yearn for as accurate a picture as possible. He used information from both Muslim and Christian sources in order to present as complete a narrative as the resources at hand allowed him to.

So gripping is Lamb’s reconstruction of the ancient times that even though I initially only wanted to go through the segments describing Saladin’s exploits, as I traversed through the pages of this uncharted odyssey, I failed to keep myself from reading on until the book shook me off with “The End.” The description of the time, places, and people may border on the fictional side but the events detailed are all historically accurate for the most part, except for minor details that may have eluded the writer when he was working on this book. Considering that the internet was not as widespread and access to knowledge was not as unabated as it is today, we can certainly expect some details missing.

The second volume, aptly named “The Flame of Islam,” picks up from the events of the year 1169 CE, when Saladin rose to prominence in Egypt and started on a decades-long struggle to fight off the Crusades from the Holy Land and reconquer Jerusalem. For a significant portion of its length, the book details Saladin’s exploits in great depth and then carries on with the state of the Muslims after his demise in 1193 CE.

All the while, Lamb continues to shift perspectives and puts his readers in the shoes of the Latin knights and their kings, showing how these men went to all extents in their bid for survival. Every instance worth mentioning from both sides is detailed to such a fine level that the book could easily put to shame some of the most talented screenplay writers who have worked in the history niche. Lamb treats the opposing sides as humans rather than friends and foes, the narrative twists and turns, takes detours deep into Europe where it shares insights about the Crusader cause, and how the idea was misused for personal vendettas, leading to the failure of the knights in the Holy Land.

“The Last Stand” ends this chapter of history by detailing the events that followed the siege of Acre in 1291 CE. But a worthwhile chunk of reading also exists further ahead in the “Afterword,” which narrates how, by treachery, the Knights Templar, who had served the European cause for years, were subjected to fate parallel to that of the Spanish Inquisition, in their own country, under the canopy of their supreme leader, the Pope.

Such a well-explained account is sure to help anyone develop a strong grip over this era of history, and while the book may fade in comparison, in some areas, to modern texts, it is still very relevant and worth your time. I highly recommend it to any history aficionado.

Chris Stuckmann reviews Samurai Cop! A film so bad it’s unimaginably good!

Chris Evans appears to have corrected reports that he is set to reprise his role of Captain America in a future Marvel movie.

On Thursday, the 39-year-old actor simply tweeted ‘News to me’ just hours after it was reported by Deadline that he was nearing a deal to once again play Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The online entertainment publication had revealed that it remains vague whether or not the deal has been closed but it is heading to the star returning in at least one Marvel project with the possibility of there being a second – so it seems Evans would beg to differ.

No doubt the news can be perplexing to many fans as Steve traveled back in time and became an old man at the very end of Avengers: Endgame.

However fans of The First Avenger should not get their hopes up for another Captain America film as insiders claim that is unlikely to be another installment of that franchise.

Apparently it will likely be closer to what Robert Downey Jr. did after Iron Man 3 as he appeared in Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The publication reported that things had changed in recent months and the idea of returning had been floated to Evans to see if there was interest and the two sides had came to an agreement at the beginning of this year.

Marvel did not respond to Deadline’s report.

The news may come as a surprise to many as he very publicly said goodbye to the character after wrapping Avengers: Endgame in October 2018.

At the time he took to Twitter to write: ‘Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor.

To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.’

Elderly Steve Rogers also gave Anthony Mackie’s character Sam Wilson AKA The Falcon the famous shield at the end of the 2019 film which was seen as a symbolic passing of the torch moment.

Evans apparently was not in the original plans for that scene as Mackie recently appeared on The Jess Cagle show on SiriusXM and made the revelation.

He said: ‘Well, it’s funny they actually wanted to cast an old dude to play Chris Evans. So they brought in like three actors. They’re like, none of these, like this, isn’t how Chris will look when he’s old. Like, he’s gonna, he’s like George Clooney. He’s going to be 95 and still like handsome, you know?

‘So they, they brought in a makeup team and prosthetics and makeup and made them into an old man. And how good of an actor Chris is it actually worked like he, he pulled it off with his voice and everything. He did a great job.’

Meanwhile, Evans has been keeping busy as he was recently announced to voice iconic Disney character Buzz Lightyear in an origin story film titled Lightyear set for release sometime next year.