Trump’s Iran war mess, ‘The Classical World’ by Robin Lane Fox, Spectrum Internet out, AT&T Fiber in, ‘No Kings’ day in Racine, and ‘Hail, Caesar!’
Another Week: Number 170
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history
Here is a list of content tagged “history” on MarkCz.com.
Another Week: Number 159
ICE executes an American mom. Also: ‘The Descendants ’(2011), ‘Molokai: The Story of Father Damien’ (1999), and the Bears beat the Packers in the playoffs.
Another Week: Number 158
Happy New Year! Trump snatches Maduro and is now running Venezuela. Also: ‘King Leopold’s Ghost,’ by Adam Hochschild, and ‘Only You’ (1994).
Another Week: Number 157
“I Saw Three Ships”: Jesus had a Lady? Daniel Lawrence O’Keefe and Festivus. Sarah Vowell’s book on Lafayette, ‘The Brothers McMullen,’ ‘The Family McMullen.’
Another Week: Number 153
Rutger Bregman: the BBC Reith Lectures, Thanksgiving football, National Guard members shot, ‘Light in August,’ and ‘The American Revolution.’
Another Week: Number 148
Blustery weather — great for testing coats and hats, Trump demolishes the East Wing in favor of his colossal and trashy ballroom, and ‘Angel Face’ (1953).
Another Week: Number 146
No Soliciting: Door-to-door is an outdated approach, American Experience: ‘Hard Hat Riot‘
Another Week: Number 144
Packers lose/Bears win, The Three Stooges run our country now, ‘American Experience: FDR,’ ‘A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599,’ Bob Odenkirk/Nobody
Another Week: Number 123
Wildlife week in my yard, ‘Donnie Two Dolls,’ ‘The Story of Medieval England,’ author Daria Burke on ‘Fresh Air,’ and ‘Paper Moon’ (1973).
Another Week: Number 118
Two hours of 70-degree weather, Trump bros’ Signal chat gets published, Coxey’s Army, stand-up comic Erin Maguire, and ‘Lili’ (1953).
Another Week: Number 100
Disappointment awaits, Larry wants my Land’s End jacket, Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Volleyball, ‘The West’ (1996 documentary miniseries), ‘Joan Baez: I Am a Noise’ (2023)
Another Week: Number 85
Picnic with Amy’s family, ‘Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes,’ Kamala Harris adds Tim Walz, ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962), ‘Rachel Maddow Presents Ultra,’ Season 2
Another Week: Number 65
A late March snowstorm triggers Christmas, Kate Middleton has cancer, ‘Winter’s Bone’ (2010), ‘Hitler,’ by Joachim Fest, ‘Detour’ (1945).
Another Week: Number 63
Joe Biden or Donald Trump? Pick one. Four years ago, Trump failed his big test badly. Plus ‘Triumph of the Will’ (1935), ‘Poor Things’ (2023), and ‘The Zone of Interest’ (2023).
Another Week: Number 58
I am the ghost who haunts this house; Ross MacDonald — Brightwood Press, American Experience: Nazi Town, USA; Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)
Another Week: Number 55
A ‘newer normal’ every day as Amy says she’s dying. ‘Lake of the Shining Arrow: A History of Brown’s Lake,’ by Carol DeMarco, ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ (2016)
Another Week: Number 5
‘Big Little Lies,’ Félix Carvajal (Cuba’s first Olympic marathoner), ‘Vida,’ As We See It,’ ‘Shrinking’ — and, of course, snow.
Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary & Arboretum in Kenosha, WI
Many people whiz down Green Bay Road between Kenosha and Racine every day, and although they may see the Hawthorn Hollow sign across from Petrifying Springs Park, most don't know about the treasure inside its gates. Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary & Arboretum is a...
Christmas with the Pilgrims, America’s earliest Christians
Pilgrims Going to Church (1867), by George Henry Boughton The Pilgrims considered Christmas an abomination The Pilgrims — the people we celebrate each Thanksgiving, who came to America on the Mayflower, signed the Mayflower Compact and founded Plymouth Colony — were...
Historical Jesus: ‘A Marginal Jew’: Volumes III & IV
As someone who's made a regular hobby of studying the Bible for about 30 years and counting, I find it hard to express how enjoyable the John P. Meier book series A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus has been to read. Chapter by chapter, Meier peels away...
SC Johnson headquarters tour, Racine, Wisconsin
The SC Johnson headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin is a peculiar little enclave. The company's heritage campus includes its iconic, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Research Tower and Administration Building, as well as the Golden Rondelle Theater, transplanted from the...
Jesus of Nazareth, the ‘Marginal Jew’ behind Jesus Christ
Who was Jesus of Nazareth, according to historical evidence? An ample crop of recent books on the "historical Jesus" has offered yet more answers to this perennial puzzle. Reza Aslan's Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth sounds very intriguing. Misquoting...
‘The Emperor of All Maladies’: Cancer history bestseller
I haven't blogged in months. I've been mostly absent from Twitter and Facebook as well. Initially, I wanted to spend less time in these scattered and distracted modes of thought, and more time on focused and linear avenues like reading books. But then my wife Amy was...
Hawaii missionaries: Sarah Vowell’s ‘Unfamiliar Fishes’
Unfamiliar Fishes is the product a very fortunate convergence. Author Sarah Vowell has a delicious appreciation for the peculiar coincidences and ironies produced when cultures clash and combine into the slaw of American history — and Hawaii, our 50th state, is a...
Iraq War casualties erased from ‘War on Terror’?
Today, as news organization after news organization "remembers" the September 11 attacks — and as our fellow Americans remind us not to forget September 11 — I saw something truly shocking. It was a Facebook post by WISN 12 NEWS, Milwaukee's ABC affiliate: By The...
Fighting Bob La Follette, Wisconsin State Capitol, Madison
Madison, Wisconsin — Copy of a bust of Robert M. La Follette, Sr. by sculptor Jo Davidson in the rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol building at the entrance to the capitol's east gallery. Known as "Fighting Bob," La...
Abandoned Haunted House Complex, I-94, Racine County
Sturtevant, Wisconsin — The former Vance's Bar along I-94/U.S. Route 41 at 2825 SE Frontage Road, which John D. Vance started as an auto repair garage after buying the land in 1948. An addition opened as a beer joint called...
Racine history: 1861 Joshua Pierce home
We were talking gardening with our neighbor Katie last month when she mentioned that her daughter, Mary, has an interest in Racine history and has been researching our neighborhood's past online. I handed Katie my business card and told her I would be very interested...
Historic house: Joshua Pierce House, Racine, Wisconsin
Racine, Wisconsin — The Joshua Pierce House at 2800 Taylor Ave. Built in 1860-1861 in what was then Mount Pleasant, this "large and beautiful home” is where Pierce, a "thrifty farmer" and Mount Pleasant's road commissioner,...
Joshua Pierce House from Pierce Boulevard, Racine, Wisconsin
Racine, Wisconsin — The Joshua Pierce House at 2800 Taylor Ave., viewed from Pierce Boulevard to the home's north. Built in 1860-1861 in what was then Mount Pleasant, this "large and beautiful home” is where Pierce, a...
Green Bay Packers ownership: A socialist success story
The Green Bay Packers' unique history, hometown, and ownership have been in the spotlight the past few weeks, and last night MSNBC's Rachel Maddow closed her show with an admiring look (video clip above) at the NFL's only remaining old-school team town, and the...
Chicago Blizzard of 1967: Snow storm coverage, video
While waiting for Racine to be buried by the Blizzard of 2011, many of us here in southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois are recalling the great Chicago Blizzard of 1967. That storm — on January 26, 1967 — dumped 23 inches of snow on northeast Illinois and...
Ernst Klinkert Barn, Piper Farms vineyards in Racine County
Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin — The Ernst Klinkert Barn is seen from a distance, beyond the vineyards of Piper Farms, LLC, 4615 Lathrop Ave. in Racine County. The Bluegrass style barn was built in 1889 by Racine brewery owner...
‘Death Makes a Holiday’ catalogs culture of Halloween
Because so much of my time is spent in the attention-shattering online world, I hope to restore a little balance, when possible, by getting engrossed in a good old-fashioned book. As a lover of history, mythology, traditions and...
Dick Cheney: A record of recklessness
I have mostly ignored Dick Cheney and his torrent of wrongheaded criticism over the last year. Something is obviously broken in the man — namely, any sense of humility that would prompt a rational person to shut his mouth. Reportedly, Cheney criticized the Obama...
Staffordshire, England: Metal detector finds gold treasure
(Photo courtesy of The Staffordshire Hoard website.) When the school year started a few weeks ago, I began hearing a strange beeping sound in the late afternoon. After a couple of days, I finally realized it was coming from some guy over at the school. He has been...
Apollo 11: NASA video of first moon walk resurfaces
When astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon 40 years ago this Monday (that's Buzz Aldrin pictured above), I was nine years old and absolutely transfixed by the entire mission. I had several plastic Revell models of the various spacecraft — the...
Lorraine Motel in Memphis: Martin Luther King’s last days
As I have written here previously, we visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis back in 1999. The museum is housed within the former Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down 41 years ago tomorrow evening. This morning, I heard on the...
George W. Bush legacy: 8 years in 8 minutes, by Keith Olbermann
On Thursday evening, before President Bush's farewell address, I spent some time searching YouTube for an apt retrospective of his eight years leading our nation. There were some possibilities, but nothing really summed up the George...
George W. Bush library pays $35,000 for Web domain name
The web domain name for the George W. Bush library was in the news today on NPR's Morning Edition: The name is www.GeorgeWBushLibrary.com. A Florida firm was handling Web services for the presidential library. The Dallas Morning News reports that the company's rights...
Election Day 2008: Live blog
9:17 a.m. — I've got some leftover sauce reheating in the microwave. I'll mix it with the egg noodles boiling on the stove and call it breakfast. MSNBC is on my TV, and I can see my local polling place from my living room window. It's 61 sunny and clear degrees...
National Civil Rights Museum at Lorraine Motel in Memphis
Today, on the national holiday celebrating the birth of the Martin Luther King, Jr., there's a news story about how King has been simplified into an icon and a catchphrase, and the details of his life and work have been softened, blurred, and appropriated. Being seven...
History of Christmas in America: ‘The Battle for Christmas’
Now that Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, we can look forward to a full month of Christmas ads in the newspapers, Christmas commercials and specials on TV, Christmas music on the radio and in every retail store, and Christmas decorations throughout our...
‘The War’ (Ken Burns World War 2 documentary, PBS)
Thanks to the miracle of the video recorder, Amy and I have been wading into The War, the seven-part, 14-and-a-half hour documentary on World War II from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that has been airing on PBS since Sunday night. It is excellent. [includeme...
Joseph Campbell: Hero’s Journey, Power of Myth
Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field...
Keith Olbermann’s ‘Special Comment’ on Condoleezza Rice
I continue to enjoy Countdown with Keith Olbermann every weeknight. There are a few bugs in the show that I would fix — for example, there's way too much talk about American Idol — but overall, it's a very refreshing hour and an entertaining downshift from the...
Bart D. Ehrman: ‘Misquoting Jesus: Who changed the Bible and why’
I first saw Bart D. Ehrman last March 14 when he was interviewed on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Prior to that, he guested on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. The cover of Ehrman's book proclaims it a "New York Times Bestseller." There's even another book refuting his...
Piazza del Popolo and town hall, Montalcino, Italy
Montalcino (Siena), Italy — The day winds down at the Piazza del Popolo, Montalcino's main square. At left is the town hall, built in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....
Giotto’s Campanile at dusk, Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy — The west side of Giotto's Campanile (bell tower) is seen at dusk from street level on the Via de' Pecori. Obscured at left is the Battistero di San Giovanni, and behind that is the dome of Florence...
Florence, Italy: Duomo view to Santa Croce, Bargello
Florence, Italy — View from the cupola atop Florence's Duomo toward the southeast. The church at left is the Basilica of Santa Croce. The tower near the lower right edge is the Bargello. Running along the foot of the hills...
Florence, Italy: Duomo view to Bargello, Palazzo Vecchio
Florence, Italy — View from the cupola atop Florence's Duomo over rooftops toward the southeast. Running along the foot of the hills in the distance is the River Arno. Just across the river near the photo's left edge is the...
Michelangelo’s tomb, Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence
Florence, Italy — The tomb of Michelangelo Buonarroti in the Basilica of Santa Croce, designed by Giorgio Vasari. Above the tomb are three sculptures representing the personifications of Painting, Sculpture, and...
Dante Alighieri cenotaph, Santa Croce, Florence
Florence, Italy — The cenotaph (empty tomb) for Dante Alighieri in the Basilica of Santa Croce, erected in 1829. The Italian poet was exiled from Florence (that sentence was rescinded in 2008) and residing in Ravenna when he...
Siena Cathedral with bell tower, Siena, Italy
Siena, Tuscany, Italy — Siena Cathedral, designed and completed between 1215 and 1263, with its façade and the bell tower of black and white marble....
Torre del Mangia and Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy
Siena, Italy — The Torre del Mangia ("Tower of the Eater," left) and the Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) on the Piazza del Campo. Built between 1338 and 1348, the 289-foot tower was designed to be of equal height to Siena...
Ronald Reagan house side yard, Dixon, Illinois
Dixon, Illinois — President Ronald Reagan spent hours during his boyhood playing football with his brother Neil and their friends in this yard on the north side of the Reagan family's 2-story, Queen Anne-style house at 816...
Reagan Way sign, Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, Dixon
Dixon, Illinois — The brass historical marker sign at Reagan Memorial Park describing "Reagan Way." It reads: REAGAN WAY Hennepin Avenue was often walked by a young Ronald Reagan from home to downtown and back. The street...
Ronald Reagan statue, Boyhood Home, Dixon, Illinois
Dixon, Illinois — The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, at 816 S. Hennepin Avenue, adjoins this small park, centered around a bronze statue of Ronald Reagan holding corn kernels in his hand. The sculpture was a gift from Dwayne...
Ronald Reagan boyhood kitchen, Dixon, Illinois
Dixon, Illinois — The kitchen of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home at 816 S. Hennepin Ave., with kitchen cabinets, Detroit Jewel ("They bake better") gas stove and oven, tea kettle, and coffee pot. The Reagan family moved here...
Ronald Reagan boyhood fireplace, loose tile
Dixon, Illinois — The fireplace in the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home at 816 S. Hennepin Ave. The Reagan family moved here in 1920 when Ronald Reagan was 9 years old. The Reagans moved from here to another Dixon home in 1923....
Ronald Reagan boyhood fireplace, hidden pennies
Dixon, Illinois — The fireplace in the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home at 816 S. Hennepin Ave. The Reagan family lived here for about 2 years beginning in 1920 when Ronald Reagan was 9 years old. After decades of neglect, the...
Ronald Reagan boyhood bedroom, Dixon, Illinois
Dixon, Illinois — Boys' bedroom at the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan. Neil Reagan and his younger brother Ronald shared the smallest bedroom in this house at 816 S. Hennepin Avenue from late 1920, when Ronald was 9...
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, Dixon, Illinois
Dixon, Illinois — This 2-story, Queen Anne-style house at 816 S. Hennepin Avenue was the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan's parents, Jack and Nelle, moved to Dixon in 1920 when Ronald was 9 years old. The home...
Makawao Union Church, Maui, Hawaii
Paia, Maui, Hawaii — Makawao Union Church, at 1445 Baldwin Ave., designed by architect Charles William Dickey and dedicated September 2, 1917, on the site of the former Paliuli Sugar Mill, donated by Maui businessman and...
Father Damien of Molokai, Holy Rosary Parish, Maui
Paia, Maui, Hawaii — Statue at the shrine honoring Father Damien of Molokai, who spent over 16 years ministering to victims of leprosy (Hansen's disease) at the leper colony on Molokaʻi, and ultimately contracted and died...
Julien Dubuque, Chief Peosta graves, Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque, Iowa — The Julien Dubuque Monument stands above the Mississippi River at the Mines of Spain Recreation Area. The monument, built in 1897, marks the site where Dubuque was buried by the Meskwaki (or Mesquakie) with...
Iolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii — ʻIolani Palace, completed in November 1882. The official residence of King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani, it is the only royal palace to have been used by a reigning monarch in the United States....
Father Damien Statue, Hawaii State Capitol
Honolulu, Hawaii — The bronze Father Damien Statue by sculptor Marisol Escobar at the Hawaii State Capitol. $variable({"type":"content","value":{"name":"post_tags","settings":{"before":"See other posts...
Heiau oracle: Pu’u o Mahuka Heiau, Oahu
Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii — Offerings including pineapple, apples, and flowers are left on the oracle tower at Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau State Historic Site on Oahu's North Shore overlooking Waimea Bay and Waimea Valley. A heiau is...
Moana Surfrider hotel history display, Honolulu
Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii — Memorabilia of 1930s and 1940s Hawaii displayed in the historic room on the second floor of the Moana Surfrider hotel. Built in 1901, the Moana Hotel is often called "The First Lady of...
Old Hawaii memorabilia at Moana Surfrider hotel
Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii — Memorabilia of old Hawaii, displayed in the historic room on the second floor of the Moana Surfrider hotel. Built in 1901, the Moana Hotel is often called "The First Lady of Waikiki" and...
Dog teeth: Hula ankle rattle, Bishop Museum, Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii — Dog teeth — perhaps 250 dog canines — made into a hula ankle rattle in the early 1800s. Displayed in the Bishop Museum, the description reads as follows: Hula Ankle Rattle (kūpe’e niho īlio)Dog...
Cannibal fork, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii — Cannibal fork displayed at Honolulu's Bishop Museum. The extent of cannibalism in Hawaii and Polynesia, in general, is a sketchy subject, greatly exaggerated by sensationalistic European and American...
Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, Paris, France
Paris, France — West façade of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. One of the finest examples of French Gothic church architecture, the cathedral is located on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité, in the fourth...
Louis XVI Salon bleu, Carnavalet Museum, Paris
Paris, France — The Salon bleu Louis XVI at the Carnavalet Museum, with its collection of circa-1780 furnishings — chairs and table, cabinetry, trim, mirrors, rugs, crystal chandelier, and paintings. Furniture in this room...
Victory statue, Carnavalet Museum, Paris
Paris, France — Victory statue by sculptor Louis-Simon Boizot in the Victory Courtyard Garden (Cour de la Victoire Jardin) at the Carnavalet Museum. It is his original version of the gilded Victory statue which tops the...
Carnavalet Museum, Paris: Garden & Victory statue
Paris, France — The Victory courtyard garden (Cour de la Victoire Jardin) at the Carnavalet Museum. Four beds of patterned boxwoods occupy the courtyard's four corners, and a statue of Victory stands atop a pedestal centered...
Place des Vosges, Paris, France
Paris, France — Dan Falato stands in the Place des Vosges, the centerpiece of the Marais district built by Henri IV from 1605 to 1612. Originally known as the Place Royale, it was the exclusive residence of the rich and...
Place de la Bastille, Paris, France
Paris, France — The Place de la Bastille and its July Column, on the site of the former Bastille prison (Bastille Saint-Antoine), which was stormed on the morning of July 14, 1789. Although revolutionaries discovered only...
Witch hunt victims memorial, Idstein, Germany
Idstein, Germany — Marble plaque listing the names of the victims of the witch hunts conducted by John, Count of Nassau-Idstein between February 3, 1676, and March 31, 1677. A total of 31 women and 8 men were executed for...
Kemper Center, Kenosha: Main office / Ambrose Hall
Kenosha, Wisconsin — North end of Kemper Center, the former Kemper Hall Episcopal girls' school located on the Lake Michigan shore: Main office / Ambrose Hall....
Spanish-American War cannon, Kenosha
Kenosha, Wisconsin — This M1898 7-inch Siege Howitzer cannon was built for coastal use in the Spanish-American War (1898) and actually used in World War I. It was placed in Eichelman Park in 1920, and points out toward Lake...
Chicago Water Tower
Chicago, Illinois — The Chicago Water Tower on Michigan Avenue — the only public building in the burned zone of the Great Chicago Fire to survive that catastrophe....
Founder of Chicago: Point du Sable’s front yard
Chicago, Illinois — View from approximately the location where Jean Baptiste Point du Sable — "The Founder of Chicago" — built the city's first permanent nonindigenous settlement sometime in the 1780s....
Elvis Presley microphone, Sun Studio, Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee — Pictured above is the Shure 55 microphone said to have been used by Elvis Presley, and beyond it, the control room window at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service (now known as Sun Studio), the...
Sun Studio recording studio, Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee — The recording studio at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service (now known as Sun Studio) where some of the greatest records in music history were recorded. Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny...
Sun Studio main room, acoustic tile ceiling
Memphis, Tennessee — The main room of Sam Phillips' Sun Studio (originally Memphis Recording Service), where many hit records by Elvis Presley, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee...
Sun Studio control room window, Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee — The control room at Sun Studio (Memphis Recording Service), the recording studio where Sam Phillips recorded some of the most famous records in music history — including hits by Elvis Presley, Johnny...
Johnny Cash dollar bill guitar trick at Sun Studio
Memphis, Tennessee — A Sun Studio tour guide demonstrates how Johnny Cash used a dollar bill slipped between his guitar strings to dampen them, producing a soft, rhythmic sound instead of harmonic chords....
Sun Studio: Sam Phillips’ Memphis Recording Service
Memphis, Tennessee — Sun Studio at 706 Union Avenue, opened by Sam Phillips as "Memphis Recording Service" on January 3, 1950. Sun Studio, a U.S. National Historic Landmark, is the birthplace of rock and roll music. Ike...
First cabin in Kenosha County: Jacob Montgomery
A bronze plaque set in stone and caged for protection along a trail in Petrifying Springs Park, Kenosha, Wisconsin. It reads: HISTORICAL LANDMARK Site of log cabin built in March 1835 by Jacob Montgomery, a trapper, and his...