Down the Avenue

Walking down the history avenue. Talking about the past.

Down the Avenue News Stories

Every war is the result of stupidity – The Thoughts of Martial Philosopher Bruno Orozco León

Bruno Orozco León has been following the martial path for twenty seven years. The former bodyguard and security adviser is now an experienced martial artist and philosopher, the founder of CMBTVS Self Protection System. He shared with The History Avenue his thoughts on martial arts, history, war, writing…

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Down the Avenue News

Spy Artist Against the System: George Tomaziu’s Life in Communist Romania

George (Gheorghe) Tomaziu was a Romanian painter, illustrator, memoirist  and poet. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest. During World War II, he operated as an MI6 agent. As an agent of the British Intelligence Service, he organized a secret group of collaborators that included Alexandru Balaci, Romanian italianist, literary critic and historian. During 1944, Tomaziu was arrested, beaten and placed under investigation under suspicion of espionage. The same year he was released from Malmaison prison in Bucharest.

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Dangerous Middle East Adventure led him to Writing Desk: The Story of a Former Cold War Spy

“I didn’t have a writing career and didn’t think in those terms. I still don’t. I’ve never really wanted a career in anything. Life’s too short and sweet for that grim, mortgage-in-the suburbs approach”, says John Fullerton, the former spy and journalist who lived and worked in 40 countries and covered a dozen wars.

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The Mind Creates the Beauty: The Editor’s Commentary on Neoclassicism

Rococo, or in French Rocaille, ended the period of baroque in grand style. Asymmetry, numerous decorations, diverse motifs – they were all parts of this style whose purpose was to impress and evoke fascination, awe and admiration. The generation that grew up in the mid- 18th century had different interests. These were the artists and students who went on a Grand Tour through Greece and especially Italy where they acquired experience and knowledge about the antiquities of Ancient Greece and Rome. The period of neoclassicism that commenced during the mid-century coincided with the scientific discoveries and the Age of Enlightenment that also marked this period.

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Down the Avenue News

[Gallery] Ancient Weapons

Blowgun, meteor hammer, dagger-axe… Check some of the most interesting examples of ancient weapons.

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