Written by the inimitable Lawdog 2200 hours, D-1, one hundred and seventy-seven years ago General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna ordered that the artillery barrage which had fallen upon the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Bexar for twelve days be halted. As he suspected, the exhausted defenders soon fell into a deep sleep, for… Read More Remember the Alamo
Some people live through history. Some are touched by it. Lawdog, who I have the honor call a friend, has been one of the latter. I asked if I might share this here, and he said please do, with credit. So here’s one of Lawdog’s lessons. Language is unedited. There are times for strong language,… Read More Lawdog’s Lessons: Leaving
When they didn’t know that’s what it was. Thanks to a tip from Bustedknuckles, in a post about something else, I discovered that the entire back catalog of Popular Mechanics, back to January 1905, were available online. This is… I have no idea what I’ll use it for. But it’s entertaining just to read… Read More Look into History: Popular Mechanics
On this day, 233 years ago, a most important and revolutionary document was signed… We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,… Read More Happy Constitution Day
I suppose this love affair with museums comes from somewhere. I’m not entirely sure what that wellspring is, though, as I don’t recall many museums in my childhood. We did a lot of vacations to very remote areas – which I also love! – but virtually none into cities where you could find such refinements… Read More Paleophilia
I will admit, I don’t actually read science journals and blogs to find story ideas. It just… happens sometimes. I can usually count on historical accounts of any era to spark some evocative mysterious questions that just beg to be fleshed out. Because there’s no other way to answer some of these long-cold cases than… Read More The Case of the Viking Bodysnatching
I’ve written a while back about using archaeology as a platform for story building, and frankly part of it is that I’m constantly fascinated by anthropology and what secrets of the past we can unlock with new technology. Like this paper on how the Mayans kept jaguars and pumas in captivity for various purposes like… Read More Birds, Bees, and Jaguars
So every now and then I run across a book I would really love to read, but cannot bring myself to justify buying – not even in the name of research. Paleomicrobiology of Humans is one such. (You can read a detailed review of it here, if you’re interested) It’s a fascinating concept, and although it’s not… Read More Paleomicrobiology and Other Interests
Last month while I was travelling for work, I wound up with a few hours to kill before I needed to be at the Philadelphia airport, and I realized that Valley Forge was just off my route from Point A to Point B. It was an irresistible chance to walk on ground imbued with history.… Read More Valley Forge
This is probably the first time that the First Reader and I have done the same post, but different viewpoints. So what you’re reading is first Sanford, then Cedar. Here’s our Fourth of July thoughts. Happy Independence Day! Sanford Today is the fourth day of July in the year 2016. I am normally excited by… Read More I’m Not Feeling It/I’m Feeling It
The silk road stories fire my imagination. It was the first time in human history that markets were no longer constrained to how far a person could walk in a day or two. The sheer doggedness of the traders who opened the various routes, the stories that are long forgotten, the hidden traces archaeologists sometimes… Read More The Silk Road
Another essay I wrote for class, this one using three given source documents (I have linked them in this essay) to read, then use as a basis to compare gender issues in Ancient times. I still think that looking at the past through a lens of modern sensibilities is a fallacy that leads to erroneous… Read More History’s Women