Author Archives: shirty

American Ulysses

There’s a new Grant biography for us all to enjoy. American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant is here reviewed very favourably by the Chicago Tribune. Given the fuss and fury of this year’s election campaign, it might be nice to spend 850 pages immersed in the company of a genuinely nice man. (Though […]

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The New Yorker Endorses Hillary Clinton

The New Yorker sums up in one paragraph why I believe Hillary Clinton is the right choice for America’s future. It’s been hard to be openly supportive of Hillary; propaganda from both left and right make a centrist look unappealing. But she’s “a liberal incrementalist”. She will be able to work with both sides to […]

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The Majesty of Nature

Not every photo taken by the professionals turns out how they expect. This series of goofy nature photos is well worth a look. 2016 Finalists Source: 2016 Finalists :: Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards – Conservation through Competition

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Hamilton’s America

I am obsessed with Hamilton. Two of the things I love most are history and music with intelligent lyrics, so Hamilton has blown into my life and given me the best of both worlds. Here’s a fantastic documentary by PBS that covers both the historical Hamilton and Lin Manuel Miranda’s process of transferring the history […]

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And Always After That It Grew Much Worse

I present, as official slogan of 2016: Source: And Always After That It Grew Much Worse

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Randy Rainbow

This entire election cycle has been a mess at best, and an absolute cesspit of awfulness at worst, but there has been one very bright light in the darkness: Randy Rainbow’s videos. I finally loaded up his Braggadocious vid after everyone on my Facebook feed had forwarded it along, then the rest of that night […]

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Before You Let a Man Sweep You Off Your Feet

This is a really lovely little prose poem by Ace Metaphor. Source: (1) Ace Metaphor – Timeline

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Silver Linings

This election has been repulsive on so many counts, but Gail Collins presents us with at least one happy thought: Ted Cruz — who insulted Trump by failing to endorse him at the convention, then panicked and gave him a nod just before the trash-talk tape went public — must be having the worst week […]

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The Colorful Stories of 5 Obsolete Art Pigments

As an artist, I think a lot about colour. As a historian, I don’t. This is an interesting look at where some of our colours came from, and why they aren’t used anymore. The colors of art change not just with trends, but availability as well. For reasons of being incredibly poisonous, expensive, or just […]

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Scott Adams is a Troll

Dilbert stopped being funny or relevant a long time ago, but Scott Adams seems to believe he’s still funny and relevant.  He should get out more, or just get out.

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