It was a very Digital Humanities weekend for me: Friday was an Omeka workshop and the Rosenzweig forum; Saturday and Sunday was THATCamp (Prime). This was my second THATCamp, and of course I had a great time. Made new connections and new friends, got to know others better. It really is like a weekend summercamp…… Continue reading THATCamp 2010
Category: General
A little secret
I twittered this earlier and a number of people have picked it up, so I figured I’d repost it here, for posterity (even if the Library of Congress has archived it somewhere): “The secret of many historians is that we’re gossips who are too polite to talk about the living”
Home Sweet Home
I started writing this post almost a year ago, when a number of stories all came together at once. There was NPR talking about the effect of the recession on home ownership, and a promotional piece from one of the local stations about a woman who was presenting her research on the Sears homes-selling method,…… Continue reading Home Sweet Home
Thoughts from Virginia Forum
I spent the last two days at my first Virginia Forum. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed myself.One of the strengths of the Forum is the diversity of the attendees: professors, graduate students, museum types (like me), university librarians, museum librarians, library librarians, archivists, historical society staff, independent scholars, and I’m…… Continue reading Thoughts from Virginia Forum
The Man Behind the Curtain
In case you don’t recognize the source of the post title, it’s from the Wizard of Oz (the film). All four travelers are in the Emerald City, awed by the Wizard, and then Toto pulls aside a little curtain to reveal an ordinary person. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” says the…… Continue reading The Man Behind the Curtain
Quickpost: update on Wilderness
Rather than reiterate, I’ll just redirect: good update on the current court case from the NTHP on their blog.
Conincidence or Serendipity
My master’s thesis grew out of an internship at the National Museums of Scotland, checking a transcription of the only extant early 18th century Edinburgh goldsmith’s ledger and doing some digging into the goldsmith’s life. Within a few weeks of working with the ledger I knew that I wanted to study it extensively, and that…… Continue reading Conincidence or Serendipity
Important Lessons in History
In some ways, being a historian is like being a detective. Yet, where Sherlock Holmes (and his real-life counterparts) could look at many disparate clues and say “this is what must have happened!” This is not how history works. A murderer or robber will probably have one motive, but historical events are the result of…… Continue reading Important Lessons in History
Fight continues over historic battlefield
The National Trust for Historic Preservation and six individuals are suing Orange County to try and overturn the August decision to let WalMart build on Wilderness Battlefield. Fredericksburg news reports that the National Parks Conservation Association and the Civil War Preservation Trust are asking to be included.
Reading Sherlock Holmes
Preface: this was written as an entry for a contest on the blog of author Laurie R. King. I didn’t win, but thought I might post it here, with a little introduction for relevance. I grew up with mysteries as a form of entertainment: the program Mystery! on PBS, and books like the Encyclopedia Brown…… Continue reading Reading Sherlock Holmes