Tag Archives: history

The Vikings

Posted on March 5, 2013 by

On Sunday night, I watched episode one of The Vikings, a new dramatic series on the History Channel that begins with the ambitions of an 8th century Scandinavian warrior and farmer, Ragnar Lothbrok, who has heard rumors of wealthy places to the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Entertainment, History, Movies | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

The Walk to Paradise Garden

Posted on December 30, 2012 by

Recent events brought to mind a photograph by W. Eugene Smith (1918-1978), one of the greatest photojournalists of all time.  Forgetful of personal risk, Smith wedded “news” photographs to a powerful aesthetic sensibility, creating a body of unforgettable work. Smith … Continue reading →

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Posted in Photography | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

The Princess Mary box and the Christmas Truce

Posted on December 24, 2012 by

When I was between the ages of 15 and 17, my family lived in France. One day in the flea markets outside Paris, I found a little brass box that bore my initials, MM, as well as a woman’s head … Continue reading →

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Posted in History, Holidays and Festivals | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Lincoln: A movie review

Posted on December 22, 2012 by

Biographies and history books seldom convey how messy our lives really are as we live them or how messy our politics are in the morning papers.  We learn in grade school that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves.  Now Spielberg’s Lincoln brings … Continue reading →

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Posted in History, Movies | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

More on the Brothers Grimm bicentennial

Posted on October 29, 2012 by

Earlier this month, I posted a piece on the 200th anniversary of first edition of the Brothers Grimm’s collection of German fairytales: http://wp.me/pYql4-2sw. Yesterday the Sacramento Bee printed an article on this treasure trove of folklore and some of the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Books, Folklore, History, oral tradition | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Njal’s Saga: some concluding remarks.

Posted on October 18, 2012 by

It took me a while to get the gist of  Njal’s Saga. The first time through, I could have used a Cast of Characters; much of the effort was just keeping track of people whose names I couldn’t pronounce.  In … Continue reading →

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Posted in Books, Culture, Current Events, Folklore, History, Myth | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments