TIL about the Virtues in the Library of Congress
In the main hall of the Library of Congress, there are 8 virtues listed on the walls.
History
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Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
I picked up Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman after a weekend that included visiting the Martin Luther King…
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American Chestnut Tree Growing at Atlanta History Center
Efforts to bring back the American Chestnut have been slow but steady. And I was surprised to find a planting at none other than the Atlanta History Center! It’s not as old or as established as the ones at Allatoona Dam, but they seem healthy and strong. They are a fun little Easter Egg tucked inconspicuously in the very back of the Center’s property near The Wood Cabin.
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The Woman Behind The New Deal by Kirstin Downey
Perkins may have had more direct impact on the everyday lives of ordinary Americans than almost anyone else in the 20th century. The 40-hour work week. The minimum wage. Social Security. Child labor laws. Unemployment insurance. These aren’t abstractions — they are the literal architecture of how Americans work, save, retire, and survive hard times. Frances Perkins built most of that architecture.
That was a serious underestimate.
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A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz
A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz is a history travelogue that focuses on the nearly 300 years between Columbus’s discovery of America and the Declaration of Independence.
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TIL about the Three Hares motif
The Three Hares Motif is this weird, fun enigma -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_hares
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4 Notes on Seeing a Mature(!) American Chestnut Tree
I got to see a mature-ish American Chestnut!
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Forty News – The News Cycle from This Day, Forty Years Ago
Brilliant performance art -> Forty News. Events are important, but the daily news is not the medium to understand them.
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America’s National Historic Trails by Karen Berger
America’s National Historic Trails is a lovely coffee table book that covers some of the hidden gems of America’s recreation & preservation systems (i.e., lesser known than the National Park system or National Scenic Trails system)
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TIL How Mechanical Mail Sorting Killed US Passenger Rail
Mail processing automation killed off mailcars…a major source of revenue for US passenger rail.
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Bunker Hill Monument in Boston, Massachusetts
I got to visit Bunker Hill in Boston. Like so many other historical markers, especially in urban areas, it’s almost surreal to see the the spot that you hear about since childhood.
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How Henry David Thoreau Went Camping
It had been loaded the evening before at our door, half a mile from the river, with potatoes and melons…
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The Darkening Age by Catherine Nixey
Nixey’s “The Darkening Age” reveals how Christian zealots systematically destroyed classical civilization after gaining power – an excellent, well-researched read.
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Wikenigma – A Website of Unknowns
Ohhh…I love this -> Wikenigma – A Website of Unknowns
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How Will You Save Small Midwestern Towns without Mass Immigration?
Thoughtful post on a hot topic -> How Will You Save Small Midwestern Towns without Mass Immigration?
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3 Reasons Why Historical Landmarks Are Underrated
Historical landmarks are completely underrated. And not just historic sites, I’m talking about those random metal signs on the side…
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Bunker Hill
While visiting Boston, I got to walk up to Bunker Hill (i.e., the one battle that every American kid learns…
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‘Enshittification’ is coming for absolutely everything
It’s rare for a single word or theory to explain what is going on, especially about something as complex as…
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LLM AIs Have Turned Into a Classic Moral Panic
A “moral panic” refers to a widespread fear, often irrational, that emerges within a society over a perceived threat to…
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Berta Elder’s Interview on 92 Years of Change
In 1977, the Oconee Enterprise interviewed Berta Elder (my great-grandmother, aka, “Granny”). She was born in 1901 and died in…
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They Don’t Make Mausoleums Like They Used To
As seen at Atlanta’s Westview Cemetery.
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A Radical Pessimist’s Predictions After 10 Years
10 years ago, I bookmarked “A radical pessimist’s guide to the next 10 years” by Douglas Coupland. I’m not sure…
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Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
There has been a lot of digital ink spilled over why discourse and *waves arm at world* has been so…weird….
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The Future is Vast
Our World In Data published an incredible post visualizing the current moment in a long-term outlook. In a month where…
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The Average Duration of a World Series Game per Year
If you are a baseball fan, you know that the pace of play has been a problem for a while….
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The Case for Optimism
Kevin Kelly is one of my favorite authors, writers, and Twitter accounts. He recently wrote an excellent long-form post on…
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How Much The World Has Developed Since 1990
This fascinating map (source) was making the Internet rounds last week showing how much countries around the world have developed…
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House in Rural Oconee County Georgia, 1966
These photos show the same house in rural Oconee County Georgia. The house has had additions and renovations due to…
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1960s
My grandparents took my Dad & Uncle through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the mid-1960s. This is a…
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Exploring Scull Shoals Historic Site
I recently visited the Scull Shoals Historic Site in the Oconee National Forest*. The site is very accessible just following…
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Personal History of Oakridge, TN – The Secret City
One of my favorite YouTube channels, Half As Interesting, did an explainer about the founding of Oakridge, Tennessee. It was…
