On this day, 1009 years ago, November 30 1016, Cnut of Denmark (his name was anglicized to "Canute" somewhere along the way) claimed the throne of all of England following the death of King Edmund, known as "Ironside" for his valiant resistance against the Danes. Canute was 22 at the time, and a couple of… Continue reading Celebrating King Canute!
Resolved: Lifelong Confusion Over Ginger Fredericks
Around the beginning of the second decade of my life (for those of you in Rio Linda, that means I was eleven or so), I was told the story by Bronwyn Davies, my gifted English boarding school history teacher (The Abbey School, Malvern Wells), of “Emperor Frederick,” who–legend has it–had a nameless beggar entombed while… Continue reading Resolved: Lifelong Confusion Over Ginger Fredericks
On Men and Women, Both Growing Old
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired And gobble up… Continue reading On Men and Women, Both Growing Old
A Study in Memories: Sherlock Edition
139 years ago today, on November 20, 1886 (for God's sake check the math: it's never my strong point), British publisher Ward and Lock accepted a manuscript, for the princely sum of £25, and for which the 27-year-old author gave up any subsequent rights to the narrative, from the newly qualified Scottish Doctor of Medicine,… Continue reading A Study in Memories: Sherlock Edition
47 Years Ago Today, in Jonestown, Guyana….
What's becoming an annual tradition here, on November 18, not long before Thanksgiving in these United States. We all have our life-markers. This is one of mine. ...on November 18, 1978, I was sitting in the little snack bar in the base station of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington (a short mountain, comparatively speaking, but one… Continue reading 47 Years Ago Today, in Jonestown, Guyana….
Celebrating that Most British of Festivals: Guy Fawkes Night
Welcome to that most British of festivals–Bonfire Night–Guy Fawkes Night–the Fifth of November. The festival that, when I was a kid, was exponentially bigger than Halloween, as for a few days before, children would push around a wheelbarrow laden with a straw-stuffed effigy of Guido Fawkes, usually dressed in their father’s cast-offs or scrapings from… Continue reading Celebrating that Most British of Festivals: Guy Fawkes Night
Obamandias
I met a traveler from a Midwest Park Who said–“A vast and legless trunk of stone Stands in the city. . . . Near it, in the dark, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown Of cold contempt, and wrinkled lip, and smirk, Tell that its builder well those passions read Which yet survive,… Continue reading Obamandias
Just Correcting the Record, on the So-Called US Government Shutdown…
Because, for some unfortunate reason, it seems sadly necessary. The Republican-majority United States House of Representatives passed a bill on September 19, 2025, to continue previously-voted-upon business as usual while negotiations about future budget changes went forward. That bill subsequently went to the Senate, where it failed to pass because it didn't get 60 votes… Continue reading Just Correcting the Record, on the So-Called US Government Shutdown…
Newsflash for Meandering or Ambivalent Gentiles: Yammering at Inordinate Length about Israel Doesn’t Usually End Well for You
I can take it from the Commentary podcast people, because they're unabashed Jews. That's who they are. That's what they do. And I listen to them almost every day because--in spite of their acknowledged bias--they often have really interesting things to say. I can take it from Dan Senor, because his podcast is incredibly even-handed… Continue reading Newsflash for Meandering or Ambivalent Gentiles: Yammering at Inordinate Length about Israel Doesn’t Usually End Well for You
Architectural Originalism
I am amused by the meltdown among the Left and the legacy media (but I repeat myself) over the demolition of the White House East Wing, a building which–as far as I can see–had no particular historical or aesthetic merit, and seems to have consisted of cramped offices, the entrance and exit points for White… Continue reading Architectural Originalism