The Stars My Destination!

Gully  Foyle talks to a loquacious robot addled by radiation:“Why? Why reach out to the stars and galaxies? What for?”“Because  you’re alive, sir.  You might as well ask, why is life? Don’t ask about it. Live  it!”“There’s got to be more to life than just living.”“Then find it yourself, sir. Don’t ask the world to  stop because you have doubts.”“Why can’t...

Better -- and authoritative -- news from Tiimbuctu

Excerpt of a statement from the international scholarly  organization most concerned with manuscript preservation: From Tombouctou Manuscripts Project(http://www.tombouctoumanuscripts.org)Huma (Institute for humanities in Africa)University of Cape TownSince the start of this week there are reports about the destruction of library buildings and book collections in Timbuktu....

Mali -- a peaceful scene on the River Niger

From the Big Picture.  Click to make it b...

Online intellectual content – the real thing!

Two interesting posts from long time correspondents (what do you call a person whose blog you read on a regular basis?).Over at Hammered Out Bits, Darrell Markewitz, the Norse reenactor and craftsman, brings his own perspective to the question of interpreting small objects. This...

The uncertain fate of Timbuktu's manuscripts

http://world.time.com/2013/01/28/mali-timbuktu-locals-saved-some-of-their-citys-ancient-manuscripts-from-islamists/The original report was much worse, saying that tens  of thousands of the most historic manuscripts had been burned by retreating Islamist rebels.  We'll see....

Prisoners and ransom in the HYW -- a new book

Prisoners of War in the Hundred Years WarRansom Culture in the Late Middle AgesRémy Ambühl, University of SouthamptonHardbackCambridge UPISBN:9781107010949Publication date:January 2013313pages1 b/w illus.Dimensions: 228 x 152 mmWeight: 0.6kgIn stock£60...

Gillian McCann speaks: "Occultism and Utopianism in early 20th century Canada

From Anne Clendinning:Just a quick reminder that the Department of History at Nipissing University continues its Seminar Series with our first talk of the new year, this coming Friday January 25.Dr. Gillian McCann, from the Department of Religions and Cultures at Nipissing will speak on "Occultism and Utopianism in early 20th century Canada: an exploration of Canadian history from...

Winter in Afghanistan

Taking your goat for a walk!From the Big Pictu...

How to arm knights for a tournament

Latin text and English translation by Will McLean.You have to wonder who this was written f...

The threat to Malian music – and everything else worthwhile

From the Independent:The image of Mali has long been a gentle one. It is a land of magical music and mouth-watering mangoes, of mud mosques and medieval manuscripts. A country dripping with history and culture that was slowly forcing its way on to the tourist map for Western visitors. Now, following the intervention of French warplanes nine days ago, it will be more associated...

Tuareg music

The group Tinariwen performing in 20...

Fun with old alphabets

Up on the old Roman frontier, roughly on the English – Scottish border, there used to be a fort called Vindolanda. Way back when, its military significance was its most important feature, but today it is known as the site of the biggest cache of Roman correspondence, written on pieces...

Conflict between Islamist movements

Translation provided by Arabist.net: War against the Muslim Brotherhood Divides the Gulf Abdel Bari Atwan, al-Quds al-Arabi, 11 January 2013 Whoever has been following the media in the Gulf – and the Saudi media in particular – has probably gotten a sense of the fierce campaign being waged against the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist currents more broadly, as well as the major...

Linda Greenhouse on Robert Bork

If you have access to the New York Times, you may want to read about Robert Bork, one of the most controversial failed nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States; he recently died. I have included an excerpt, but you should read the whole thing and the very interesting comments that follow. It will teach you a lot about the ideological development of American politics....

It's time again for the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival!

Harbin is in northeastern China (Manchuria). It is so cold there that the only logical thing is to make situation an advantage. Every year, too, the Big Picture showcases the best of the festival. Here are two photos to motivate you have a look.Click on the pics for a good vi...

Phil Paine reflects on Iceland and democracy, 1

An excerpt: But, to begin with, I’ll call up the mem­ory of my ear­li­est expe­ri­ence of democracy. When I was a small child, in North­ern Ontario, there was a game played by the local chil­dren. It was a com­pli­cated ver­sion of “hide-and-go-seek”. Two teams of chil­dren...

Favorite blog posts of 2012 fixed.

Go he...

Stalemate in Syria

NYT:A multilingual former military officer, he says he is among many friends and colleagues who feel trapped: disenchanted with President Bashar al-Assad, disgusted by the violence engulfing Syria and equally afraid of the government and the rebels, with both sides, as he puts it, ready to sacrifice “the innocents.”  Mr. Assad remains in power in part because two...

The Bonfire of the Vanities

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Afghanistan's Jewish community a thousand years ago

A trove of Jewish writings in various languages indicates how big a Jewish community once existed in Afghanistan. From CBS/AP:A trove of ancient manuscripts in Hebrew characters rescued from caves in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan is providing the first physical evidence...

Favorite blog posts of 2012

This is a rather haphazard selection, rather than rigorous listing of the best I was able to put together this year. I was struck that despite the fact I'm working very hard on the Middle Ages, not much of it leaked through into blogging. Also, I included far fewer Arab spring/Arab uprising posts than I might have, but I felt that only a few had lasting value on their o...

Le spectacle des joutes Sport et courtoisie à la fin du Moyen Âge, by Sebastien Nadot

A friend sends news of this French academic book on jousting. I haven't seen the book so will just copy the description off its publisher's webpage:Le spectacle des joutes Sport et courtoisie à la fin du Moyen ÂgeLes pas d’armes sont des jeux corporels où la dépense physique,...

Kevin Kelly says: "Nobody ever suggested that Picasso should spend fewer hours painting per picture in order to boost his wealth or improve the economy."

Want to bet?Despite the snark, I think this is one of the most interesting articles I've read on the web this year or maybe even last year! (smile)  Some years back I came to the conclusion that the general availability of safe clean water was the measure of civilization....

Modern nomads in Mongolia

Using a solar panel to run a flat-screen TV.Thanks to the Big Picture at boston.com....