Tag: violence

Donald Trump is more of a symptom than the cause of our political mess

I don’t like to talk about politics too much on our blog, because frankly I need more positivity in my life, and these days it is really difficult to find anything whatsoever in politics that gives me cause for optimism.  Still, I am a historian, and I can’t help but think that we are currently experiencing one of those watershed Presidential elections, like the election of 1860 or the election of 1932 or the election of 1968, in which those of us who experience it will talk about in terms of what things were like before, and what they were like after.

Continue reading “Donald Trump is more of a symptom than the cause of our political mess”

GoT, ASOIAF, and the two paths to the end

Well, one of the things that happens when you don’t do a lot of blog posting is that you fall WAY behind on your GoT/ASOIAF commentaries.  My bad.  Our friend and fellow GRRM fan Patrick is way ahead of me on all things Season Six, and frankly he has helped motivate me a bit (thanks man!).

So, now that life seems to be getting a bit more under control, it’s time for me to start catching up on all that.  After all, Season Six starts six weeks from this Sunday.  And there is all sorts of stuff to talk about.

Continue reading “GoT, ASOIAF, and the two paths to the end”

The Pats, our Mini, and absurdity taken to new heights

Anyone who knows me well knows that when it comes to football, I am decidedly… meh.  I just never got into the sport the way that so many other people (like Kelly) have.  Baseball is another story.  I love it.  Even hockey and soccer are sports I care WAY more about than football.  But still, I look forward to whenever the Pats go the Superbowl, because that inevitably means people I know will be throwing great parties with lots of beer, wings, and general awesomeness.

So this year the upcoming wingstravaganza Superbowl party seems to be dominated by talk about this mess regarding the slight under-inflation of footballs.  And frankly, I am a bit puzzled by the whole thing.

Continue reading “The Pats, our Mini, and absurdity taken to new heights”

MLK and cultural appropriation

As a historian, and as someone who grew up in the South, I can’t help but shake my head at how a generation after the tumult of the 1950s and 1960s, we as a society are still struggling with virtually all of the issues that Dr. King fought against.  Don’t get me wrong, we have come a long way, even in my lifetime, but that progress still doesn’t mean that we live in a “post-racial” society.

Continue reading “MLK and cultural appropriation”

Winter is here

Last night the temperature dropped well into the teens, and it hardly felt any warmer this morning when I got up and went to work.  So it’s safe to say that winter is no longer just coming, it’s here, and we got our new hot water heater just in time.  Hot water is essential for winter survival – just ask the Starks of Winterfell.

Every winter is a new adventure here in Cambridge.  Not for us, really, because we have seen New England winters, but for so many of the students around here that hail from sunnier climes.  Many of them tend to not know what to make of serious winter weather, especially when they are driving.

Continue reading “Winter is here”

Please, please read this Arthur Chu piece on “misogyny, entitlement and nerds”

Any of you people reading this blog, please go read this magnificent commentary in the Daily Beast by Arthur Chu (a fellow geek and historian famous for his Jeopardy appearances).  It says so much that I could not possibly put into words myself, especially touching on the horrible event on that college campus in California and some of the strikingly awful responses to it generated by people who are overwhelmingly white, male, and angry, not to mention misogynistic on a scale that is literally hard for me to even comprehend.

If you are a nerd, and especially if you are a male nerd, you really must read it.

Continue reading “Please, please read this Arthur Chu piece on “misogyny, entitlement and nerds””