It’s Not Love, Actually: Watch me do an about-face on the world’s worst Christmas movie.
A dozen years ago, I passionately defended this film. In 2025, I'm ashamed of myself.
Latest
Expulsion from paradise: The civilian evacuees from Hawaii after Pearl Harbor.
Interiors: The “Commodore Club” aboard the ocean liner Queen Mary 2.
A thousand points of denial: The global warming legacy of George H.W. Bush.
Thanksgiving 2025: Best wishes to all of you.
Willkommen, again: “Cabaret” and its renewed relevance.
Historic Painting: “Napoleon and his General Staff” by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1867.
The Verge
Interiors: The “Commodore Club” aboard the ocean liner Queen Mary 2.
What does an Art Deco bar aboard a modern ocean liner have to do with Star Trek? Possibly a lot.
A thousand points of denial: The global warming legacy of George H.W. Bush.
Willkommen, again: “Cabaret” and its renewed relevance.
While I was gone: Some images, and history, from my trip. (Part II)
The second comers: the Moon mission of Apollo 12.
While I was gone: Some images, and history, from my trip. (Part I)
The “Immense Portent”: the Ensisheim Meteorite of 1492.
The Outer Garden
Expulsion from paradise: The civilian evacuees from Hawaii after Pearl Harbor.
Thirty thousand people fled Hawaii in the wake of Pearl Harbor. Many never returned.
Thanksgiving 2025: Best wishes to all of you.
Historic Painting: “Napoleon and his General Staff” by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1867.
Blog hiatus: Gone to sea.
LinkedIn, the bleakest social network: An anatomy of its failure.
The mysterious “Othrys”: My encounter with an unsuccessful social media startup.
Remembering Dr. Jonathan Porter: The flame of historical inspiration.
The Inner Garden
It’s Not Love, Actually: Watch me do an about-face on the world’s worst Christmas movie.
A dozen years ago, I passionately defended this film. In 2025, I'm ashamed of myself.
Behind the Scenes: China’s Long Revolution, 1900-1950.
Behind the Scenes: Brazil in the World Wars.
Searching for a story: A look at my chaotic writing process.
Behind the Scenes: The American Revolution, In Its Own Words.
The book(s) I’m working on: “Faraway Star” and “Wild Among the Moons.”
