Lessons from a Second Annual Reading of “Christmas Carol”
Everyone should read Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” once a Christmas – it is short and so well-written as to fill the brain and heart both with enough sustenance to last the holiday season. I did so for the first time last year and really loved it. Last night I repeated the act and loved…
My Plans for Yield Maxxing a Tiny Vegetable Garden
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,And live alone in the bee-loud glade. Yeats, The Lake Isle of Innisfree In the front yard of the house I rent in Los Angeles there…
Notes on Atlantic-World Painting from a Visit to the National Gallery of Art
From Joshua Reynolds to John Martin and Gilbert Stuart to David Lynch – painting!
Mandarin Idioms, Ouyang Xiu and Medieval and Modern China
Sloganeering and some literary history in China – real sightseeing stuff today.
Coming Late to McPherson’s “Battle Cry of Freedom”
Review of James McPherson’s excellent Civil War tome.
Local Notes No. 8 – The Prehistory of Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena
Now home to the NHL’s Kraken, the Climate Pledge Arena has a long history as a modernist icon. How can we tell the story of Seattle since mid-century through it?
Local Notes No. 7 – ‘Iolani Palace, the US’ Only Royal Residence
Hawaii is justly famous for its modern architecture. But what can this symbol of an independent Kingdom of Hawai’i teach us about the history of American empire in the Pacific?
Review: Niall Ferguson, “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe”
Doom ultimately fails for lack of substance. Though it attempts a history of catastrophes, it ends up more like a literature review of intellectual traditions which might be applied to understanding catastrophe. He swings from big name to big name, one field to the other, summarizing their findings and asking the reader to go “Hmm!”…
A Visitor’s Guide to A Coruña, Spain
My attempt at a proper travel guide for Spain’s Portland, a town that shouldn’t be missed!
Local Notes No. 5 – Fort Ross, the Frontier Outpost of Russian America
For thirty years, boatfuls of unlucky Russian serfs were ported thousands of miles away from their homes to grow crops on the California coast. How did they stay Russian in what would become NorCal?
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