The Curious Engineer

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Goldwag's Journal on Civilization

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Posts
253 from 20 Oct 2016 to 22 Oct 2026
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weekly (26 in the last year)
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personal blog
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2026 22

  1. Gendering Power & Rationality in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
  2. INTERVIEW: Desperation, Intrigue, & Espionage in the Glasslands
  3. The Jewish King of Easter Island
  4. Dueling Anime VTubers: Belle and Cosmic Princess Kaguya!
  5. Reconstructing the Crisis of the 21st Century (1992-2083)
  6. BOOK REVIEW: The Philosophical Strangler
  7. Did Odysseus Cause the Bronze Age Collapse?
  8. The Empresa de China & the Hapsburg Bid for World Supremacy
  9. The World of the King in Yellow
  10. Sing O Muse, of the Broship of Pallas Athena and Odysseus
  11. Visualizing the Past (Part Four)
  12. Delegitimizing the Juristocracy
  13. The Disillusionment of James McMurtry
  14. BOOK REVIEW: The Folded Sky
  15. The Government of the Star Kingdom of Manticore: A Critical Examination
  16. Into the Tower with the Boy and the Heron
  17. INTERVIEW: Archer, Shran, and the Art of Fanfiction
  18. BOOK REVIEW: Red Storm Rising
  19. The Pax Americana (Part Three)
  20. BOOK REVIEW: Chronicles of Chaos
  21. It’s Always One Battle After Another, Isn’t It?
  22. Where in the World is Enver Pasha?

2025 29

  1. INTERVIEW: The Lights are Going Out All Over the Alpha Quadrant
  2. What Liberals Can Learn from Charlie Kirk
  3. BOOK REVIEW: Ducks
  4. Exploring the Past Precedents of the Political Futures of New York Mayors
  5. BOOK REVIEW: The Shiva Option
  6. Returning to Narnia (Part Two)
  7. Returning to Narnia (Part One)
  8. Equality of Man Before His Creator
  9. The Eternal Empire
  10. BOOK REVIEW: The Raven Tower
  11. Frogs, Newts, Robots, & Family: How Amphibia Proves its Worth
  12. BOOK REVIEW: The Last Unicorn
  13. Intention Matters: The Magic of Middle-earth
  14. The Government of the Galactic Empire
  15. Ancient Globalism: Rome, India, China, & Beyond
  16. Stars Wars and the Difference Between Reverence and Respect
  17. The Young Marshal’s Long Career
  18. Frozen’s Missing Middle
  19. Frieren: The Quest is Over But the Journey has Just Begun
  20. BOOK REVIEW: Shadow of the Leviathan
  21. Did the United States Almost Support Nazi Germany in WWII?
  22. The Pax Americana (Part Two)
  23. BOOK REVIEW: Hell’s Gate
  24. What’s Wrong with the Democrats?
  25. The Pax Americana (Part One)
  26. From Undiscovered Country to Nemesis: How Star Trek Reflects Society
  27. The Second Time as Farce: Imperialism in the 21st Century
  28. Fionna and Cake: Breaking the Prison of Nostalgia
  29. Some Thoughts on Casablanca

2024 27

  1. The United Nations (2257 CE)
  2. BOOK REVIEW: War with the Newts
  3. Girls in Trouble: The Best Band You’ve Never Heard Of
  4. They Cannot Conquer For Ever
  5. Visualizing the Past (World War II)
  6. Exploring the Historiography of Mad Max: Fury Road
  7. An Apologia for Rose Quartz
  8. Make it a Good One: The Experience of Steven Universe
  9. BOOK REVIEW: Lost Stars
  10. From McMurdo Sound to Flanders Fields: The End of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration
  11. BOOK REVIEW: Piranesi
  12. The Augustinian Settlement
  13. “But Then Again, Who Does?”: Unraveling the Story of Arrival
  14. Visualizing the Past (Part Three)
  15. The Moral Economy of the Shire
  16. What Should Israel Do?
  17. The Age of Queens is Over: Star vs the Forces of Evil
  18. BOOK REVIEW: Forever Peace
  19. The World-Spirit on Wormback: What is Dune About?
  20. Carole & Tuesday Won Me Over
  21. The Fermi Paradox Doesn’t Exist
  22. You Brought Me Up
  23. BOOK REVIEW: The Guns of the South
  24. The Sauronic Empire
  25. Was Emperor Elagabalus Trans?
  26. BOOK REVIEW: The Boat of a Million Years
  27. Pluto: The Emptiness of War

2023 25

  1. Defining European Colonialism
  2. Stories Need Endings
  3. Did Tintin Prevent World War II?
  4. This is Going to Happen Again
  5. Treaties & Interstellar Agreements Ending the Dominion War
  6. BOOK REVIEW: Inkheart
  7. The Cherokee Civil War
  8. Nimona: Sincerity, Fear, & Power
  9. How Well Did the Concert of Europe Work?
  10. “Peeps’ll Never Starve in My Eternal Empire”: Princess Bubblegum and Marceline
  11. Writing the History of Star Trek
  12. BOOK REVIEW: Tour of the Merrimack
  13. Austriae Est Imperare Orbi Universo
  14. Are Dwarves Jewish?
  15. Gravity Falls is Great!
  16. Visualizing the Past (Part Two)
  17. The Owl House: It’s Got Gays, it’s Got Witches, it’s Got Gay Witches
  18. Atlantropa: The New Continent
  19. A Historical Reevaluation of the Banishment of Prince Zuko
  20. Were the Atomic Bombings of Japan Justified?
  21. The United States, Ukraine, and the Question of Escalation
  22. BOOK REVIEW: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
  23. Deconstructing the Domination of Draka
  24. Evaluating Avatar
  25. A Tour Through Twentieth Century Imperialism

2022 25

  1. Andor and the Art of Building a Universe
  2. My Five Favorite Moments in Lord of the Rings
  3. Lower Decks is a Masterclass in Star Trek Storytelling
  4. When did the Roman Empire Fall?
  5. Compare & Contrast: Gul Dukat and G’Kar
  6. The Rise & Fall of the Roosevelt Dynasty
  7. BOOK REVIEW: The Bartimaeus Trilogy
  8. How Many Transgender Children are there, Actually?
  9. Alternate History Review Roundup
  10. Cancel Culture & the Free Marketplace of Ideas
  11. Imperial Federations: 1945-1962
  12. The Battles of the Barrages
  13. Castlevania Falls Short
  14. The United Federation of Democratic States
  15. What a Strange and Lovely Story
  16. Wildest True Stories of the Napoleonic Wars
  17. The Dueling Flags of Deutschland
  18. The Dark is Rising and it’s Terrifying
  19. BOOK REVIEW: Cowboy Angels
  20. Visualizing the Past (Part One)
  21. The Century of Czarinas (Part Two)
  22. Solidarity with Ukraine
  23. Where are the Air Nomads?
  24. The Century of Czarinas (Part One)
  25. Such is the Life of an Adventurer: The Joy of Hilda

2021 24

  1. The Canadians Will Greet Us as Liberators
  2. Life, Death, & Time in the Vorkosigan Saga
  3. Dune Fulfills its Destiny
  4. What Went Wrong with Honor Harrington?
  5. BOOK REVIEW: Old Man’s War
  6. Qin Dynasty Follies
  7. The Confluence of Creation
  8. Forever We Marvel at the Walls of Uruk
  9. BOOK REVIEW: The Memoirs of Lady Trent
  10. The Golden Age of Submarines
  11. Lord of the Rings, Queerness, and the Nature of Great Art
  12. The Witcher’s Wasted Ending
  13. Would it Have Been Better if the Persians Had Won?
  14. Treaties Ending the Great War (1914-1918)
  15. What’s the Deal with Voltron: Legendary Defender?
  16. The War on Children: Historical Context for the Assault on Trans Rights
  17. BOOK REVIEW: Mistress Masham’s Repose
  18. The Glorious Stupidity of Fomenko’s New Chronology
  19. The War Aims of the Lesser Axis Powers
  20. The Purpose of Power: Satsuki Kiryuin in Kill la Kill
  21. Succession Crisis: The Roman Empire’s Hidden Weakness
  22. Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Storytelling on a Historical Scale
  23. Canadian Provincial Flags Ranked from Best to Worst
  24. Let’s Talk About Sakamoto Ryōma

2020 30

  1. The Definitive Ranking of Star Trek Movies
  2. The Treaty of Sèvres & the Middle East that Wasn’t
  3. What Makes Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts So Wonderful?
  4. BOOK REVIEW: The Castle Federation Series
  5. Graceling & the Legacy of Evil
  6. The Saga of the Seeadler: The World’s Last Sailing Warship
  7. History Repeats: Comparing Molotov-Ribbentrop & the Treaties of Tilsit
  8. BOOK REVIEW: The Goblin Emperor
  9. Avatar, She-Ra, & Defying the Dead Hand of the Past
  10. Star Wars & the Entropic Spiral
  11. Exploring Scale, Size, & Scope in Science Fiction Worldbuilding
  12. Tolkien’s Enigmatic Approach to Lore
  13. J.K. Rowling, TERFs, & Trans Rights: You Are Not Entitled to My Opinion
  14. Do We All Live On Campus Now?
  15. My Top Ten Favorite Fictional Characters
  16. Singapore 1942: The Fall of the British Empire
  17. BOOK REVIEW: The King of Attolia
  18. The Spectacular Conclusion Of She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power
  19. Captain Nemo & The World Revolution of 1875
  20. If the Great Game Went Hot: Speculation on an Alternate Great War
  21. This is a Wrongness
  22. The War of the Triple Alliance & the Destruction of Paraguay
  23. Top Five Best and Top Five Worst National Flags
  24. Hideyoshi to Hirobumi: Japanese Ambition in Korea, 1592 and 1904
  25. Happy International Women’s Day!
  26. Saruman Should Have Won: An Analysis of Rohirrim Cavalry Tactics in the War of the Ring
  27. BOOK REVIEW: The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club
  28. The Irony of June 1940
  29. Dar Al-Islam Ascendant: Visions of an Islamic Present
  30. The Emptiness of Conservative Nostalgia

2019 27

  1. “Better a Pig than a Fascist”: Porco Rosso & the Biennio Rosso
  2. Top Ten Wildest Moments in Paradise Lost
  3. The Russo-Japanese War: A Mutilated Victory?
  4. In Appreciation of Darius the Great
  5. BOOK REVIEW: Succession
  6. Did Immigration Destroy the Roman Empire?
  7. A Strategic Analysis of Federation Defense Policy Immediately Prior to the Dominion War
  8. The Extraordinary Life of Alexander Parvus
  9. German Victory in the West: A Retrospective
  10. BOOK REVIEW: Dealing with Dragons
  11. Deconstructing the Castle: Revolutionary Girl Utena
  12. An Age of Gods and Demons: The Greatness of Princess Mononoke
  13. Opium Dealer of the East: Japan and the Failure of the Civilizing Mission
  14. Reflections On The Economy Of The United Federation Of Planets
  15. Deliberate Amnesia: The Media, Mike Pence, & LGBT Rights
  16. Nineteenth Century Hapsburg Family Melodrama
  17. Avengers: Endgame Is Really Quite Good
  18. BOOK REVIEW: The Curse of Chalion
  19. How I Would Fix The Star Wars Prequels
  20. The Second American Empire: 1898-1934
  21. Cruelty Well Used: The Hester Shaw Problem
  22. The Lord Of The Rings As Metafiction
  23. A Peace Deal Without Peace
  24. The Perennial Failure of Greek Imperialism
  25. BOOK REVIEW: X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar
  26. Rogue State: Was Serbia Responsible For World War One?
  27. The Bonapartes: Where Are They Now? (Part Four)

2018 19

  1. Streamlined Storytelling & Baroque Visuals In Mad Max: Fury Road
  2. The Emotional Complexity Of She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power
  3. BOOK REVIEW: Nimona
  4. Accidental Queerness In The Safehold Series
  5. Top Five Best and Top Five Worst U.S. State Flags
  6. Ross Douthat’s Ultramontanist Adventures
  7. BOOK REVIEW: The Will Of The Empress
  8. Who Elected Adolf Hitler?
  9. The Long War: Japanese Victory 1941-1942
  10. The Bonapartes: Where Are They Now? (Part Three)
  11. In Defense Of The Kaiserliche Marine
  12. BOOK REVIEW: The Ballad Of Sir Dinadan
  13. Nelson’s Last Ride: The Battle Of Tsushima
  14. Anxiety In Kiki’s Delivery Service
  15. Bring Back Anti-Clericalism!
  16. Megan McArdle Is Wrong
  17. BOOK REVIEW: The Mirage
  18. The Bonapartes: Where Are They Now? (Part Two)
  19. The Myth of Small Government

2017 18

  1. The Bonapartes: Where Are They Now? (Part One)
  2. BOOK REVIEW: Sparrow Hill Road
  3. Reevaluating The Treaty Of Versailles
  4. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Is The Best
  5. BOOK REVIEW: The Chosen
  6. The American Légitimistes
  7. How I Would Fix America
  8. Napoleon Bonaparte Is History’s Only True Supervillain
  9. Abraham Lincoln Was Not A Third Party President
  10. Wonder Woman And The Mythology Of The First World War
  11. Visualizing The Great War
  12. Feminist Folk Music: Does It Exist?
  13. “There is no Tsar! There is no God!”
  14. Woodrow Wilson Was The Absolute Worst
  15. The Roads Not Taken: Part Two
  16. The Greater War
  17. The New Eighteenth Century
  18. Napoleonic Victory Fragments

2016 7

  1. The Roads Not Taken: Part One
  2. The Final Definitive Ranking Of All U.S Presidents
  3. Don’t Turn Your Back On A Bureaucrat
  4. Port of Call: The Revolution Will Be Critiqued. A Guest Post.
  5. You’re Probably Not Smarter Than A Château General
  6. Miyazaki And The Intersection of Marxism and Feminism
  7. Are We In 1860 Or 1912?