While both Geoff and I have spent a ton of time at work lately (this is my first day off in 11 days I think) I’m in the middle of a fascinating book and I’ve been emailed some really fascinating blog links. Now it’s my turn to share them with you.
Tag: history
Easter photos
Easter is a special time of year at King’s Chapel, as it is the only time that the stained glass window is visible. So Saturday night I opened up the shutters, and then Easter morning I got a picture when the morning sun was shining through it.
I took some pictures of all the Easter flowers too. You can see them below the cut.
Possible blizzard coming
The possibility of snow this weekend went from possible snow earlier in the week to winter storm watch to blizzard watch today as the weather forecast for Thursday through Saturday was refined by meteorologists. And all this on the 35th Anniversary of one of the biggest snow events of my generation – the Blizzard of 1978.
Good research and archaeology pay off
One of the great things about history and archaeology is when things that are known in the historic record can be verified by actual physical evidence. But often the evidence simply cannot be found for historic events, even as historians and archaeologists have searched for years.
But sometimes, careful research (with a bit of luck) pays off.
Researchers in Britain have found the long-lost grave of King Richard III, the Plantagenet monarch long slandered by his Tudor successors (and by none other than William Shakespeare as well).
Modern marine archaeology
The continual adaptation of modern technology to the discovery of shipwrecks, especially historically significant shipwrecks, is something that fascinates me. So when I saw this story in Salon about the use of a 3-D sonar to reveal hidden features of a Civil War shipwreck off the coast of Texas, I just had to read it. And if that sort of thing interests you, go check it out, because I am going to babble about history geek stuff for a little while and you might as well understand what I am talking about.
Remembering the Blizzard of ’78
Tonight I was hanging out with my friend Patricio, and we went over to Micro Center to do some shopping and browsing. Man, I love that store. Anyway, the course of the conversation led to me talking about my grandparents’ farm in Somerset, and also led to me talking about the big blizzard of 1978. That event is one that everyone around here remembers quite well. My family here in Massachusetts certainly experienced it, especially my grandparents and other family members who lived in Somerset, which was in the area where it hit the hardest, down near the Rhode Island border. I think my grandparents got about 30 inches of snow in less than 36 hours.
Somebody read my mind
I’m sure it’s not unusual to dream of having a house with secret passages in it. I know that I had that dream all the time when I was a little girl. Apparently there are other people who did as well.
Now some of them actually live in them.
Now THAT is cold
Normally, cold does not affect me the way it affects many other people. It must be the French-Canadian side of me, because it sure isn’t the Portuguese side that loves cold. But tonight it is going to get really, really, really cold here in Greater Boston.
I need a distraction
Some things are just too terrible to process quickly, and I am still processing the horrific events of Friday. So in honor of escapism, and also just because, I bring you the beautiful architecture of King’s Chapel here in Boston, decorated for Christmas just this weekend. I work there as the primary verger* so I am a little biased, but I do think it is one of the most beautiful old churches around.
Sometimes, it’s nice to be reminded that there is still some beauty to find in this world. Please enjoy.
Work and modern pop culture
There is a bit of a running joke about the subway vent in the King’s Chapel Burial Ground. Tourists ask about it on a fairly frequent basis. And one response that is sometimes given (but not by me) is that it is a zombie pit. It certainly does look as if someone is trying to keep everyone out, because they are. Or perhaps… keep something in. Heh, heh, heh.
