Yay, so the recording is out and what fun it was. You can see the full recording here. All free, not even a subscribe-me harassment popup. (At least, I don't think so. 🤭) What fun, Thank you @tadmaster.bsky.social (Sorry to goof-up the name below.) open.substack.com/pub/projectk...

After Wednesday's post, I wanted to think about something a little more lighthearted. Have you got an app for figuring out your cousin-count?

Sometimes the damage that people do to each other isn't something visible. And no one owes you their story - especially if it hurts them. As hard as it is for a family historian to leave things alone, that is sometimes the only compassionate choice.

We are often left with tenuous scraps and hints about the people in our family trees. Speculation can only take us a little way, but it can often be worth exploring.

Spoiler: I am talking up @escapeartists.net @archive.org @wikipedia.org and @pbs.org for your consideration. I think they've earned the money we thoughtlessly feed to the tech industry

Everybody needs a little more help this year - here are some things to think about as you consider where you want to put your money.

Hagueseth

Me (in 2017): What do we do if we are given an unlawful order? OGC: What unlawful orders? We can't deal in hypothetical situations! Me (2025): How about that one? Hypothetical OGC: ..... #profilesincowardice

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by how much more there is to learn every time we run into an obstacle. These are some examples, and a few tips for maintaining your patience!

This is what Senator Cornyn calls "crushing the cartels" in his campaign materials.

My senators are John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. Both are cowards with the moral compass of Christopher Columbus, but at least Cornyn is on the ballot this year.

All of those old local histories and genealogies out there are interesting, but what do you do with them once you find them?

Like you, I'm heading into a busy holiday season and thinking "What next?" I'm pretending this post is advice for you, but it's really just me, talking myself into a sort of plan. I hope you get some benefit from that!

Andrew Johnson was impeached for making speeches “with a loud voice, certain intemperate, inflammatory, and scandalous harangues” intended to smear and debase Congress. Which sure seems like a precedent. @nberlat.bsky.social Just sayin'

The tools we have for tracking what we know (or think we know) about our ancestors can be great - but when we don't have information that can be fully supported with evidence, adding a new hypothetical relationship can be tricky. Like this lead on a newly identified sister for my Witter family...

We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community. The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution. Don’t give up the ship.

I can't stress this enough: we are still fighting this same battle. And I, for one, am on Douglass's side. Remembering and Forgetting in Gettysburg open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

Americans celebrate 4 Jul 1776 as if we won Independence that day, but it really began an 8-year war that divided families and neighbors. Our "more perfect Union" began on June 21, 1788. Meanwhile... The Coffin Family Through Line in the American Revolutionary War open.substack.com/pub/projectk...

A major addition to the Callin Family History project stemmed from the thinnest of clues. Thanks to random strangers on the Internet, I was able to build those clues into a tree with hundreds more cousins.

This story is part of the Projectkin Stories250 timeline, celebrating America's 250th birthday.

Married after the end of the Second World war, my maternal grandparents embarked on a lengthy 50-year journey. Here's a taste of it!

A simple system upgrade leads to a meditation on technological disruption, and consideration of ancestors who farmed, invented, and "improved" their way to our modern world.

🎃👻 PseudoPod 1001: A Coven of Cats Under the Light of the Moon & The Halloween Parade "On this night, we escaped from our homes" Authors: M. Halstead & Alasdair Stuart Narrators: Laura Pearlman & Alasdair Stuart Host: Alasdair Stuart Audio: Chelsea Davis These pieces are PseudoPod originals

Learning about the beliefs of previous generations is never as easy as we want to think it is - and sometimes your ancestors' beliefs are critical to understanding them.

My friend Emlyn has a new album up - I am going to listen to it today. You can, too: emlynellisaddison.bandcamp.com/album/sunwar...

There are good people amongst us. If you are a furloughed government worker In the Baltimore area This popular restaurant EKIBEN is offering free meals just bring your government I.D. Thank you We're all in this together

Thinking a lot recently about the outrage over Lizzo playing James Madison's flute

Another case of chasing the records for a family that turns out not to be who I was looking for. But this time, I am left with a tiny sliver of progress, too!

The No Kings event last Saturday wasn't just a demonstration of anger or outrage; it was a statement that, like our ancestors before us, we are not willing to have our power taken away by bullies.

WELL HOW ABOUT THAT "A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Despite unexpected time on my hands, I ran out of material! A bit about why, and some tips for not landing in this situation.

contrary to redhats, no kings event is going on because we love our communities & country so much, we can't keep watching it get destroyed. bring joy & love & hope along with signs & noisemakers. find 1 of the 2k+ events near you. see you @ travis park satx from 4-6 pm. we have friends everywhere!!

In which I announce the title of my next album, which I head to Anchorage next week to work on. You can see the basics without having to pay, you can listen to some secret preview tracks and read fresh written-tonight lyrics if you're a backer. www.patreon.com/posts/secret...

I know Mike Johnson says there is nothing for the House to do but there is. You see by law a budget was supposed to be in place by Sept 30th, but Rs haven’t passed one. The reason? There isn’t a GOP budget. They haven’t even started working on one. This is what the House should be doing FFS!

It’s about time some red state governors said this!

Looking at the generation before The Ballad of Mrs. Steele - piecing together clues to answer the question, "Why?"

Whether it’s Donald Trump saying J.B. Pritzker should be in jail or Donald Trump being convicted of 36 felonies but not going to jail because the American people re-elected him as president, both sides have been linked to jail time.

The brain is an amazing instrument, capable of using imagination to learn new things. Understanding how we think and why we tell stories can help us do a better job of sharing that new knowledge. But sometimes, our powerful imaginations can also get in our way...

Sometimes the story is as much about the process as it is about the people. And a good soundtrack, too.

Let's continue to build solidarity by peacefully opposing our tyrant-in-chief at No Kings Day 2.0 on October 18. There are currently over 2,000 events planned nationwide. More details here: https://www.nokings.org

They technically aren't lying - they're just telling you that they consider peasants who need Medicaid or Medicare to BE illegal aliens.

I know somebody who still hasn't gotten over getting punked in high school when i see it.

We interrupt our regular missives with a note about current events: I don't like them. I'd rather deal with ancestors.

We aren't emphasizing this enough to our young service members #SupportandDefend

Wasn't this the premise of a Tom Clancy novel? How did that end?

Today a group of us took to the streets to tell San Antonio what we see currently happening and what could come. People have power! We will not stop fighting to continue being a free nation! Reach out and join us!

Taking a moment to lay out my children's "Great Eight" - with links and snapshots for their trees!

John H. Callin, a Union artillery soldier, left behind a book of poems "written in the Army" when he died in 1913. One hundred years later, his words were transcribed and published online for the world to see!

The last of four installments where we read the transcript of Grandma Merle's Travelogue!