For fans of the BBC’s new Robin Hood series the Sheriff of Nottingham keeps a blog. The Sheriff certainly has some interesting insights in how to best remove tongues and deal with a striking peasantry. He’s clearly a smart guy, the Sheriff, but he should really tone down his moustache-twirling on his blog lest hisContinue reading “On Blogs From the Past”
Tag Archives: History
On Veteran's Day
In 1983 CBS aired a Peanuts special, What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown. In the film Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don’t Come Back) Charlie Brown, Linus, Pepperment Pattie, Marcie, and Snoopy went to France. What Have We Learned picks up shortly thereafter, with the kids visiting Flanders and the beaches of Normandy where theyContinue reading “On Veteran's Day”
On Failures
Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo makes an interesting analogy to President Bush’s Iraq policy and his insistence upon “stay[ing] the course”–Iraq is a business start-up, and President Bush knows business start-ups. Unfortunately, what Bush knows of business start-ups is how to fail at business start-ups, as Josh explains: Setting aside the vast costs inContinue reading “On Failures”
On the Vinland Map
An e-mail about the PBS program NOVA landed in my inbox yesterday. This coming Tuesday they’re showing a documentary on the Vinland Map, a map that may date from the early 15th-century and depicts the eastern coast of North America: Tuesday, October 10 at 8PM ET/PT on PBS Check your local listings as dates andContinue reading “On the Vinland Map”
On Things That Need To Be Said
In all the insanity of the week–from a scandal that could bring down a government to an appalling crime in Pennsylvania–Garrison Keillor offered some words on what our country has become that went overlooked. I would quote only excerpts, but the whole thing need to be read. So, let’s look at then–“A Shameful Retreat fromContinue reading “On Things That Need To Be Said”
On the Terror Legislation
WASHINGTON – Congress sent President Bush a bill Friday that endorses his plan to interrogate and prosecute terror suspects, legislation Republicans hope will win them political points on the campaign trail. Many Democrats opposed the legislation because they said it eliminated rights of defendants considered fundanamental to American values, such as a person’s ability toContinue reading “On the Terror Legislation”
On Saint Cedd
Last night I started pondering “Shada,” the Doctor Who serial written by Douglas Adams during Tom Baker’s era that went unfinished (due to industrial strikes) and was later remade as an audio drama with Paul McGann. In the course of the story the Doctor and Romana go to visit Professor Chronotis, who keeps rooms atContinue reading “On Saint Cedd”
On Age of Empires Fun
Whenever I find the right place, I have a poster for Age of Empires II framed and ready to hang. It was a marketing poster for the Nintendo DS version of the game that released in February, and when we were done with it at the store I brought it home, bought a frame atContinue reading “On Age of Empires Fun”
On Ending the Party
It surprises people who know my political leanings that I have a necktie that proudly celebrates the history of the Republican Party. The print is a collection of campaign buttons, stretching from the 1880s through “I Like Ike.” I wear the tie often, perhaps twice a month. I like to wear it. The surprise comesContinue reading “On Ending the Party”
More on the Bayeux Tapestry
I wrote, about six weeks ago, about the Bayeux Tapestry, specifically about a necktie I bought that reproduces some of the Tapestry’s images from the story of William the Conqueror’s conquest of England and his defeat of King Harold II in 1066. I picked up recently a history of the Tapestry and the Conquest, AndrewContinue reading “More on the Bayeux Tapestry”