Category Archives: History

Wildness and Savage Majesty Reigned

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Now did the soft breezes of the south steal sweetly over the genial face of nature, tempering the panting heats of summer into genial and prolific warmth; when that miracle of hardihood and chivalric virtue, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, History | Tagged A History of New York, Hudson River, Hudson Valley, New York, Peter Stuyvesant, Washington Irving | 2 Comments

Our Favorite Things in 2017

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: As you will quickly notice, we’re a grouchy, grumpy lot, all of whom are too old to keep up with new things, so this list consists of our favorite things we encountered this year whether or not … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Bitcoin, Books Publishing and Writing, Commercial art, Food and health, History, Linkathons, Media, Movies, Music, Performers, Television, The Good Life, Theater, Trends | Tagged Abel Ferrara, Adam Sandler, Alberto Lattuada, Apple, Arthur Fremantle, Ashley Judd, Aziz Ansari, BBC, bitcoin, Bob Odenkirk, carla bruni-sarkozy, Chairlift, Chantal Delsol, Christopher Nolan, Claude Barras, Cluster, CNN, Confederate statues, Cooper Hewitt, Courtney Barnett, Curtis Harding, David Attenborough, david lynch, Derren Brown, Don Miguel Gascon, Donald Trump, Douglas Murray, Eataly NYC Flatiron, Edgar Allan Poe, fake news, Filmstruck, Francois Ozon, Harvey Weinstein, Holt McCallany, Joe Rogan, Jonathan Groff, Keri Russell, Kurt Vile, Larry David, Louis C.K., M. Night Shyamalan, Maison Pickle, Matthew Rhys, michel houellebecq, Moses Sumney, Nadia Reid, Nathan Fielder, Noah Van Sciver, Pere Ubu, Radiohead, Raphael Semmes, Russia, Seth MacFarlane, Slowdive, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tacitus, Taylor Swift, The Civil War, The Duffer Brothers, Thomas Fleming, Tim Hortons, Tom Scioli, VCV Rack, Wonder Woman, Yeoman Colt, Yumi Zouma | 10 Comments

Unillumined Corridors

Posted on November 23, 2017 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdFzMLZAXEM People live in a tiny time-slice of the present moment, which they carry forward with them. But nothing remains. And there’s nothing in their experience which reverberates down the centuries, because the centuries to them … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics and Economics | Tagged England, Granville Thorndyke, Roger Scruton | 1 Comment

“Ultrasociety” by Peter Turchin

Posted on November 22, 2017 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: The book’s complete title: “Ultrasociety: How 10,000 Years of War Made Humans the Greatest Cooperators on Earth.” A stimulating, clear, fast and provocative attempt to explain via the principles of cultural evolution and population biology how humans … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, History, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged Cliodynamics, complexity, evolution, Evolutionary Biology, history, Peter Turchin | Leave a comment

Question Du Jour: Civil War Edition

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Serious question: What does the average American know about the Civil War other than “The South was racist and in favor of slavery. The North and South went to war. The North defeated the South.”? Is a … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics and Economics | Tagged American history, The Civil War | 6 Comments

USG: A Version History

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Here’s a fun game: imagine the United States government is software. What would its version history look like? Inspired by Moldbug, Fabrizio and I were kicking the idea around and here’s what we came up with: 1776: … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics and Economics | Tagged Mencius Moldbug, USG | 1 Comment

Is the Model UN a CIA Propaganda Tool?

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Yes, I’m talking about the high school extracurricular activity but waitasecond, hear me out before you click over to the most recent Naked Lady of the Week. The GF and I were working our way through PARKS … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Movies, Politics and Economics | Tagged conspiracy theories, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Howard Koch, Jack Warner, Joseph Stalin, Michael Curtiz, tinfoil hattery, United Nations | 6 Comments

Book Notes: “The Whig Interpretation of History”

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: This short essay — which can be easily read in a weekend or even a single sitting — is a useful rejoinder to the idea that there exists a “right side of history.” Butterfield, a Cambridge don, takes … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, History | Tagged Herbert Butterfield, the right side of history, the wrong side of history, Whig history, Whigs | 4 Comments

Notes on “The True History of the American Revolution”

Posted on September 17, 2017 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: If, like me, you’ve always had a hard time squaring the narrative of the American Revolution with the requirements of common sense, you might get something out of Sydney George Fisher’s “The True History of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, History | Tagged Revolutionary War, Sydney George Fisher, The True History of the American Revolution | 5 Comments

Quote Du Jour: The Most Useless and Unproductive of All Forms of Reflection

Posted on September 16, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: It is the natural result of the whig historian’s habits of mind and his attitude to history — though it is not a necessary consequence of his actual method — that he should be interested in the promulgation … Continue reading →