Category Archives: General
I Beg of You… Don’t Hate History
Let the following numbers sink in and then I’ll explain why they’re horrifying… – A mere 20% of American fourth-graders (~10-11 years old) passed a National Assessment of Educational Progress U.S. history test with a “proficient” knowledge of their country’s … Continue reading
Life goes on… and so does History!
History is like that. One day you can’t get enough of WWII culinary skills, Ancient Greek composting, or the Thirty Years War and the next day… nothing! Historical curiosity travels in phases. While a particular subject can really never be … Continue reading
Filed under American, Culinary, Daily Life, General, WWII
The Book: History or Religion?
Today at sunset begins Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement for the Jews, followers of Judaism, and for a few Christians who recognize the call to convene on certain feast days found in the Old Testament scriptures – texts … Continue reading
Filed under Ancient Near East, Book Reviews, General
Book Me: Keeping History Real
Some days history comes alive and some days it stays comatose. Why is that? Why does one subject or exhibit or picture, etc, spur a curiosity in the past and another makes voluntary dental work sound like fun? I had one … Continue reading
Collecting History: Old Sayings
Some people collect antiques. Some collect old cars. Many collect old books. There are innumerable items to collect and most often we associate certain things with history, like antiquities. As exciting as ancient pieces of statuary may be, they are … Continue reading
Filed under American, Culinary, Daily Life, General
The Clive Cussler Effect: More Gateways to History
A while back I wrote a post about gateways to history. These are sneaky ways to get interested in history if you weren’t blessed with splendid history teachers. It’s time to revisit. Specifically, fiction books. How can fiction and history … Continue reading
Filed under Book Reviews, General
Ignorance Is Disaster: Why It Pays To Know History
“Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it.” – variation of a quote by George Santayana Those ignorant of this quote are doomed to hear it repeated also. I’ve heard history professionals praise and condemn this concept. Those who … Continue reading
Filed under General
And I quote… Paine, A. Adams, and Longfellow
A web-log on history has many avenues available to the author and as I explore them I find that sometimes the thoughtful exploration of a quote* from an historical document can give enlightenment to history as a whole. A few … Continue reading
The Paul Bunyans and Me
Sometimes you get the chance to draw near to your family history and often in the most unexpected ways. Yesterday I watched a tree trimming crew dispatch some overgrown pine trees from a neighbor’s yard. As the cutter scaled the … Continue reading
Making Your Own Keeps You in Stitches
- Sewing as an Historical Exercise – When you think of a sewing machine do you imagine the hum of an electrical unit or the rhythmic thum-thum-thum of a treadle machine that is powered by foot and coordination? No, I … Continue reading
Filed under Daily Life, General
