A Mom’s Sabbatical and Finding Ellicott’s Rock
Andrew Ellicott’s expedition in Georgia took a year. I left my house that morning at 7am and was home by 5pm.
Category: History
Thomas Dewey: The Titanic Little Man Beyond Just “Dewey Defeats Truman”
Thomas Dewey’s legendary battles helped to shape the Republican Party for the duration of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first.
History and Literature’s Complaint Against a Modern: A J.K Rowling Poem
Would Steinbeck’s Grapes have passed this Rowling Test? Or George & Lenny’s discov’ry that the best Laid plans of mice & men gang aft agley?
OT Advent Calendar Bonus Content: St Stephen’s Day
St. Stephen’s Day is celebrated on December 26th. Or the 27th. Or January 9th. Look, it depends on the variety of Christianity one practices, okay?
I, Tiberius: Robert Graves on Caligula
Graves attributed to Tiberius this: “I am nursing a viper for the Roman people, and Phaethon for the whole world.” Graves meant Caligula.
Thursday Throughputs: Captains in Ships Columbus Edition
People didn’t think Columbus was nuts because the Earth was flat. They thought he was nuts because … well, Columbus *was* nuts.
Rage Against the Machine: The 1906 New York Gubernatorial Race
1906 would prove to be a year where the votes were decided on a clash between the old machine politics and the new power of media
The Declassified 9/11 Documents: Read Them For Yourself
As per an executive order by President Biden, the FBI has released some still-redacted but declassified 9/11 documents on the September 11th 20th anniversary.
On the Changing of Narratives 10 Years After 10 Years After 9/11
In 2011, we had a bunch of essays written about 9/11. Mine was “On the Changing of Narratives“. I look back at that now and shake my head.
9/11: A Day Like Any Other, Until
Like all other Americans, 9/11 had a direct effect on my life starting with what I saw that morning.
OT Contributor Podcast: Chris Mackowski on Civil War and Civil Rights on En Route w/ Dennis Sanders
Chris Mackowski of the Emerging Civil War Blog joins Dennis Sanders on the latest episode of his En Route Podcast.
Wherefore Art Thou, Leadership? Lessons From Eisenhower and Polio On The Covid-19 Crisis
When Eisenhower spoke on the polio vaccine it wasn’t just his words but his reputation and application of leadership that would be needed to carry the day.
Wednesday Writs: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Star in The People vs. Levi Weeks
Before the singing, dancing, rapping, and shooting, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr starred as co-counsels in The People vs. Levi Weeks
Video Throughput: The Science of Navigation
I take little moments of astronomy in the films Moana and Master and Commander to talk about how our ancestors navigated using the stars.
Wistful for War: The Flawed Nostalgia of the Steel Playground Slide
Those playgrounds and slides were built in the near memory of one of the worst things that has ever happened to the world
Charlottesville Removes Statues of Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson
Charlottesville removes statues of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson at the center of the deadly 2017 “Unite The Right” rally
750 Unmarked Graves Found At Second Canadian Residential School
Residential school survivors have shared horrific accounts of abuse, neglect, and difficulties getting documents from the Catholic Church
Hong Kong Crackdown To Prevent Tiananmen Square Vigil
The annual Hong Kong public vigil for the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre is looking like the original event’s aftermath.
The Not-So-Subtle Last Ride of Nathan Bedford Forrest
The years-long effort to remove the visage of Nathan Bedford Forrest from Memphis is progressing in fact, if not fully in spirit.
Planting Trees Whose Shade They’ll Never See: A War and Memorial Day Reflection
We are blessed. Not because they went to war far away and sometimes never came home, but as General Patton said, because they lived.
