I am a historian and I used to tell people I wanted to teach. Sometimes when I told people this (especially older people), I would get asked, "you're going to teach the REAL history, right?"

I've often chuckled with Brooklynne about what these people might think is the REAL history.

Now, thank goodness for Mike Huckabee, I have the answer. First, watch the video linked below and then go here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30QDd3ROTkA

I can't wait to get home and clean all those other, biased history books off my bookshelf.

I'm currently working on a history project that has led me to an interesting mystery in Durham lore: what ever happened to the Patterson Mill?

Historic maps, like the one here, show the mill near where Old Chapel Hill Road crosses New Hope Creek (near the current site of Githens Middle School), but according to the folks at the Patterson Country Store, there have been efforts to locate the ruins/wheel, which have all been unsuccessful.

Here's where the Inidana Jones in me comes out.... I think I'm going to take an expedition through the woods along the creek between Old Chapel Hill Road and 15-501. But I need some partners in the venture. Any volunteers to be the Starbuck to my Ahab?

As many of you know already, my interest in history has recently turned more toward historic preservation. in the past few years, I've worked on a couple projects in that vein, and more and more I feel like that's what I want to do with my degree.

Which brings me to an article that a co-worker loaned me from the DAR magazine. Apparently, Benjamin Rush's country estate (which he called Cottage Farm) was denied inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission because "even if Rush did build or occupy the house.... what did he do at this property that contributes to his importance?"

The article points out that the house was promised to his wife as a wedding gift, and when he was forced to sell the property to settle bad debts, he destoyed all records of owning it and refused to talk about the house ever again. The article also notes that the 12 years in which Rush occupied the property correspond with his most important professional publishing efforts.

So what is historic? What deserves preservation and what doesn't? The issue raises other questions also, like whether a potential restoration should preserve or reverse an 1830s-era addition to the front (seen in the pictures above), which has no connection to Rush at all. I haven't decided what I think. Just points to ponder.... 

I haven't heard or read the transcript of Obama's Peace Prize speech, but I did listen to a commentator talk about it the morning after, and since then, I've been meaning to dig up a copy and read it for myself. The two things that piqued my interest were the commentator's assertion that it was Obama's best speech so far as president, and his analysis of the way the speech was structured as a reply to MLK's Peace Prize speech.

So here are the two speeches. I would love if you read them both and told me what you think. As I said before, I have not read them yet, but I will, and I will post my feelings either in the comments here, or in a separate post later.

MLK-Nobel-Speech.pdf

Obama_Nobel_Speech.pdf

I should have posted about the World Cup as soon as the draw came out, because I love watching/following international soccer and I wish it got more attention in the media. I feel like soccer is constantly stuck in a self-perpetuating cycle in which lack of mainstream interest breeds lack of coverage, which breeds lack of mainstream interest, which breeds lack of coverage, etc. etc. etc. The only hope for a change in this pattern is some sustained success, especially in the only event that does draw some wider public interest: the World Cup.

That's why the favorable draw in the upcoming tournament could be really important to making soccer a little more consumable here. The openning game against England will be hyped beyond anything US soccer has ever seen because of the history, and you better believe Engalnd won't be caught sleeping again. But a respectable showing in the openner followed by a push through to the knockout rounds could do alot of good in raising the sport's profile in America.

On a side note, if I were Bob Bradley, I would secretly put in an order now, and have the team dress in the old 1950 jerseys for the openner as a tribute to that team's effort, and to get in a jab at England before the first whistle.

TWJ is not moving--at least not for now. I ran into some speedbumps moving my entries to WordPress, so I'll have to live with MT for a little longer. TWJ will still move eventually, but it will probably be more like October before that happens. Since I've wanted to start blogging again for a long while, I'm not going to wait for the switch.

Today's topic: ten thoughts for the day.

1. Reading Rainbow aired it's last show. I always hated RR as a kid, but I felt something sad while I was listening to the NPR story on why the show was being cancelled. It turns out that a big reason was that the Dept. of Ed. put pressure on programers to focus on shows that actually teach fonics and other reading skills, and not on shows that teach the enjoyment of or reasons for reading. What a sadly practical world we live in.
2. I am pulling for Greg Paulus at Syracuse. I know we (tarheels) are supposed to hate him, but I don't. I don't hate most Duke players once they're through, especially not the ones that seem to be generally disliked by their own fans. That's why I also pull for Jeff Capel at Oklahoma (besides that both have brothers who are part of the tarheel family).
3. Small group has been particularly good for the past few weeks. Last night we discussed the balance between expecting in faith that our prayers can change the world around us, and knowing that our prayers are not always in line with God's will and should thus change us instead. Thoughts?
4. Beau is as long and heavy at 4 months as Halleigh was at 8.
5. We're headed to New Orleans to visit Ben Sept. 4-8. Here's the list of things I hope to do (in no particular order):
• Eat muffuletta.
• Eat beignets.
• Eat crawfish.
• Eat gumbo.
• Eat jambalaya.
• Eat etouffee.
• Eat fried shrimp po' boy.
6. My favorite sports season is coming--the college football/baseball playoff season. The Dodgers are limping toward the playoffs and Carolina is looking good. I'm cautiously optimistic about the Heels because I'm hearing the right things from the coaches, and I think we're just enough of a darkhorse to play with a chip on our shoulder. The key to the season will be the O-line, which everyone says is a weakness. From what I can tell, the O-line is fine, but thin. If we avoid injuries, the young receivers will be good enough to keep defenses honest and Shaun Draughn should rush for 1,000 yards.
7. I bought a jointer off Craig's List and I'm ready to start churning out some hurricane furniture.
8. I have been running 4 miles 2 or 3 times per week this summer and I've brought my time down to a respectable 29 minutes. I plan to run in some road races this fall. Anyone up for training/running with me?
9. I've joined an African American history working group based at UNC.
10. The Mountain Cabin is coming along.

By tracking search terms like "flu symptoms," Google can predict increased flu activity, and by approximating likely IP address locations, Goolge can track the spread of the flu across regions of the world. Impressive.

 This reminds me of a historian I once met who had traced the likely path of small pox infections by mapping Catholic death and burrial records in the American southwest. I'll never cease to be amazed at the creative ways people can use information when they can get it in large doses.

(Via JoHO)

Brooklynne has been neglecting her blog, and I can't wait any longer to share a picture from our election night celebration.

Five thoughts from election night:

1. McCain' concession speech was one of the best things I've heard coming out of that man's mouth since his convention bump dissolved and he decided to go negative. The guy is an upright citizen who lost his way for a bit, but I believe he will truely put this election behind him and work constructively with Obama in the future.
2. Elizabeth Doles' concession speech, on the other hand, was nasty and uncalled for. (Kay Hagan got in some digs too, though, characterizing the tone of the entire campaign.)
3. I was hoping to stay up until NC was called, but I ran out of gas at about 1am. When I got up and the state was still too close to call, I was glad I gave up when I did.
4. I hope Obama gets his daughters an airedale.
5. One man does not a nation make. I think Obama knows this, but I'll be interested to see whether Obama can (or even tries) to turn his overwhelming ground game into sustained grassroots community action. That's the only way real change will happen.

I'm also curious to read Voices without Votes to see how the world is reacting.