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Norman Rockwell’s iconic painting “The Problem We All Live With” was on my mind as I started out to write this post. You know the one. It depicts six year-old Ruby Bridges, escorted by US Marshals as she arrived at the formerly all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Rockwell explained the structural injustice of public school segregation through a harrowingly intimate depiction of Bridges, schoolbooks in hand, dodging tomatoes and racist slurs.
When I was a kid, my love for baseball manifested itself in a love for baseball card collecting. I had just about every Topps set between 1985 and 1992 or so, and have fond memories of biking up to the drugstore to buy 4 or 5 packs at a time.  Back then, my parents used to tell me to hang onto the cards, because they’d be worth something someday, and because my dad’s mother had thrown out his cards, that I shouldn’t make the same mistake.
There’s one situation that comes up quite frequently that reminds me I am still not Jewish. And that’s Holocaust jokes. (Bear with me.) I had not realized this before, but these are a major feature of Jewish humor. The first time I’d ever heard a Holocaust joke in my life was at a dinner with a group of Jewish friends right after I started dating Bar. The kitchen was closing and a member of the party stood up and said, “Last train to Bergen-Belsen, let’s order more tacos.
Currently WorkshoppingCece Xie Join Cece as she works through the perils and frisson of being alive. Part extremely online investigation and part niche liberal arts class discussion section, Currently Workshopping is a thoughtful and analytical foray into ourselves, society, and the ties that bind all of us together (whether we like it or not). ncG1vNJzZmirpZfAta3CpGWcp51kw6qwxKg%3D
Welcome to the Homeric Epic Podcast (Substack)! Here you'll find my podcast on reading the Iliad and Odyssey, and anything else I find interesting on Homer. So let's climb into our well-balanced ships and set sail across Homers wine-dark literary sea! By Anthony · Launched a year agoNo thanksncG1vNJzZmign6Kys7XCnqeim6CksaSt0q1lrK2SqMGir8pnmqilXw%3D%3D
Making sense of science, policy and politics By Roger Pielke Jr. · Over 24,000 subscribersNo thanks“Always interesting newsletter with great clarity of thought and style. ” Natasha Loder, Overmatter“Roger always makes me think” Todd Moss, Eat More Electrons“Essential reading” Karim Zidan, Sports Politika ncG1vNJzZmiqn5yys7zInqOknZqne7TBwayrmpubY7CwuY4%3D
Hello All, I thought I would write the midweek update this week on a subject close to my heart—the relative importance of a ‘Battle’ mixed in with the value (or really complete lack of value) of counterfactual discussions at battles. Its motivated by a fascinating counterfactual scenario that has erupted regularly since the Russian full-scale invasion. That is a discussion about the importance of the Russian assault on Hostomel Airport, the attempt of which failed quite spectacularly at the very start of the full-scale invasion.
The narrative of Bartholomew's life reads like a medieval saga, ripe with adventure and pivotal turns of fate. Originating from the noble bloodlines of Hungary, his life was destined for greatness, but it was a greatness that would find its truest expression far from his native land. The year 1067 marked the beginning of Bartholomew's remarkable journey, a journey that would intertwine his destiny with that of Scotland, a land as rugged and spirited as the man himself.
This wasn’t the easiest interview I’ve ever done. During the 1980s I was so used to Liverpool bands who wanted to talk about politics – it was such a huge part of the culture of the time – that I was a bit taken aback by a band who didn’t want to have that conversation. The line about “juvenile slogans in downmarket rags” still stands though. Just replace “downmarket rags” with “social media”.