Don't let him down.
I've been thinking about this man lately. Misunderstood is all I can say.
« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »
Don't let him down.
I've been thinking about this man lately. Misunderstood is all I can say.
March 14, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Well, I was fixing to post something long-winded, self-important, and rather useless but decided not to. But its getting kind of heavy around here anyhow, so I'll post the song that currently won't leave my brain. Steve Earle singing "...goodbye guitar town..." is the saddest thing I've heard in a while.
March 13, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
[This is the presentation I made at the North Carolina Museums Conference on March 6. It is a rough synthesis of current trends in museums and Civil War interpretation, plus some "opinionating" on my part. I had about thirty slides but pared it down here to links and what I thought was necessary to actually see. So, when reading this, remember that it was meant to be read aloud, and had many more images than this version. I've picked up the evaluations for this session and in response to those, I should have some follow-up posted in the next few days.]
The 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and Reconstruction is upon us. The sesquicentennial will begin in 2011, three years from now. Some places are already in the commemorative process; for instance, Virginia is hosting programs and events related to John Brown’s Harper’s Ferry raid. This anniversary comes at a time when we in the museum and historic site field are seeing the convergence of two major trends relevant to how we interpret the American Civil War. They are:
The second trend is as much a reaction on our part as anything, because the origin of the change is within and among our visitors, not us.
Anyhow, with these two major trends in mind, how can we best take advantage of the opportunity presented by this anniversary to make a genuine impact on how we operate, and how the public remembers the Civil War and Reconstruction?
March 12, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
This whole school thing is getting serious. I just bought a copy of Geertz's, Interpretation of Cultures. Next thing you know I'll be actually reading Genovese's, The Political Economy of Slavery and Roll, Jordan, Roll from end to end without faking it. After which they should just award the damn degree.
UPDATE: Ouch. Soooooooo busted.
March 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
So some website published a list of the “Top 50 Civil War books of all time” and we are all upset because its filled with popular doggerel that epitomizes the lowbrow of CW interpretation. I’ll go ahead and share in the outrage. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Brooks Simpson, a very good historian, has responded by proposing all of us eggheads go start our own damn lists. Here is the criteria for his first list:
It’s been twenty years since the publication of James M. McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom. Tell us what you believe are the five books that have done the most to transform our understanding of the field of Civil War scholarship since that that book appeared.
Well…I’m going to make up my own rules by switching our to my… transform my understanding of the field of Civil War scholarship…
March 07, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
So my mom doesn't freak out, I'll report that I went to the doctor today and upon reviewing my numbers, she said that they're not quite as alarming as I thought, and are overall very good compared to three months ago. That's kind of a relief. My blood pressure this morning was perfectly in the normal range. I had a lot more built up in that presentation yesterday than just the presentation.
Anyhow, I've switched over from syringes and vials to an insulin "pen". One good thing about that is that when I drive over one with my car, I won't loose a whole month's supply!
Also, through the good offices of Dave C., I have acquired the second official SOC Rovers bass drum and will now be the associate principle bass drummer, as they say it in the symphony orchestra. Or, the second chair bass drum, as they say it in high school band. Or, who? Oh, yeah, that guy...whatshisname, as they probably say it in the SOC Rovers.
And in school, I'm reading about the depression known as great.
And, apparently Lizzie has an ear for Blind Joe Taggart. I had no idea.
March 07, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
If I wasn’t on prozac, I’d be a fleshy lump of quivering nerves right now. But at least I’d be getting better.
I’m serious. That stuff keeps my emotions (interior as well as exterior) on the straight and narrow. Neither too happy nor too sad. It kept my composure for me up at Walter Reed and in Virginia. In fact, I think people might have been concerned that I wasn’t emoting quite enough for someone whose beloved father died. It concerned me, too. Only then did I realize the powerful grip this new brain med has on me.
I got quite a bit of school work done up there, but my day job fell behind. And within two weeks of returning from the funeral, I had major catching up to do to prepare to lead a historic clothing workshop and a conference presentation. The workshop went well. I stayed up very late the last few nights getting this presentation in order. The nature of my topic made me concerned, to say the least, about how it would be received and in the week before my weight increased, my glucose numbers spiked upward, and my blood pressure became alarmingly high. All from accumulated stress from the last five weeks. And I fell a bit behind in school which made for discomfort in the classroom.
But I gave the presentation this morning and it seemed to have gone well. I think it went well, but I generally withhold judgment until the evaluation forms tell me what the audience thought.
The point is that I’ve got some breathing room now. Next week is spring break so I’ll have time to catch up, and maybe get ahead, at school. And I’ll relax a bit and get back to blogging more.
March 06, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)