(meanwhile out west) —250 YEARS AGO— In 1776, a multi-ethnic group of families completed an epic, 1900-mile journey. These 240 men, women, & children—the first Spanish settlers to come overland into California—forged a path through history & laid a cultural foundation for the American West #Anza250

What is a Little Bighorn anniversary without revisiting a clip from "Little Big Man," parts of which were filmed on the battlefield itself. Archaeologist Douglas Scott, in his book "Uncovering History," wrote about the many move-related artifacts discovered on the field in the 1980s.

One of the most striking features of the Golden Gate Bridge is the way the south approach straddles a Civil War-era fort. Against all odds—in the absence of a robust historic preservation movement—this jewel still stands, thanks largely to Chief Engineer Joseph Strauss. #GoldenGateBridge #FortPoint

Richard Samet "Kinky" Friedman died OTD in 2024. Bob Dylan let Kinky record “Catfish” about James Augustus “Catfish” Hunter, who helped usher in the era of multi-million dollar free agency in MLB (Hunter got a $1 million signing bonus all the way back in 1974). #CatfishHunter #KinkyFriedman

Skull, Badlands, South Dakota Arthur Rothstein, 1936 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

1/3 — WHITE MAN RUNS HIM — Crow scout with Custer. This feather bonnet reputedly belonged to White Man Runs Him, & is on display now at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming. #LittleBighorn150

"The knoll where Custer fell" — by C. D. Gedney (btwn 1881 and 1887). The white monument in Gedney's drawing marks the mass grave of 7th Cav troopers killed with Custer at the the Little Bighorn. Gedney was participating in the Montana Boundary Survey when he made this drawing [Library of Congress]

150 years ago (June 25-26) The Battle of the Little Bighorn [a few details of "The Battle of Greasy Grass," by Allan Mardon, 1996. On exhibit at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, WY.] #LittleBighorn150 #GreasyGrass

On this date in 1842, author #AmbroseBierce was born in a log cabin in Meigs County, Ohio, to Marcus Aurelius and Laura Sherwood Bierce.

It's Ambrose Bierce's birthday (June 24) —3 entries from "The Devil's Dictionary" — tinyurl.com/3uwxpav6 DISTANCE, n. The only thing that the rich are willing for the poor to call theirs, and keep. POSITIVE, adj. Mistaken at the top of one's voice. LAWYER, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law.

can’t believe a narcissist is being so publicly humiliated by a reflecting pool

150 years ago today #Custer #LittleBighorn

OTD in 1865, Stand Watie (3/4 Cherokee) was the last Rebel general to surrender during the Civil War. His cavalry incl. Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, & Chickasaw troops. He was 1 of 2 Native Americans to rise to the rank of general (the other being Grant's secretary, Ely Parker, 3/4 Seneca).

Yes, Virginia, the Civil War really was about slavery. — — — #CivilWar #GrayGhost #slavery Meme quote over photo of Col. John Singleton Mosby from a letter at the American Civil War Museum (Richmond, VA). tinyurl.com/44kfs4nj

“About 3 oClock the wind luled, and the river became calm, 〈we〉 I had the canoes loaded in great haste and Set Out, from this dismal nitich where we have been confined for 6 days passed” — William Clark, November 15th Friday 1805 #LewisandClark #DismalNitch

Memorial to John Denver -- Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. — “at the site of the crash of John’s plane” in Monterey Bay. [Pacific Grove, California] #JohnDenver

The magnificent "Old Ironsides" is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat, dating to 1797. She has been a museum ship in Boston since 1907, & still has a crew of active-duty Navy sailors. Periodic restorations depend on a dedicated forest of white oak in Indiana #USSConstitution #OldIronsides

California's "first library," at Mission Carmel, grew to about 50 titles by the time of Junípero Serra's death in 1784, and to 302 when first cataloged in 1800. After being dispersed for many years, 229 of the original titles of the 1770-1842 library were returned to the mission. #Booksky 💙📚

“When Northern armies entered the South they became armies of emancipation. It was the last thing they planned to be.” – W. E. B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction (1935). Happy Juneteenth!

third boxcar, midnight train destination Bangor, Maine old worn out clothes and shoes I don't pay no union dues I smoke old stogies I have found short, but not too big around I'm a man of means by no means king of the road -- roger miller

What if, instead of a Birdman, there had been a CoyoteMan of Alcatraz? [In truth, the bird aficionado should properly have been called the Birdman of Leavenworth.] A lone coyote was first spotted on The Rock on January 11, and again two weeks later, but hasn't been seen since. #Alcatraz #CoyoteMan

THIS IS HOW you do unconditional surrender: ------- "Yours of this date, proposing armistice and appointment of Commissioners to settle terms of capitulation, is just received. No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works."

June 25-26 marks the 150 anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Greasy Grass. Greasy Grass Premonition, #2 David Paul Bradley American (Chippewa), born 1954 1995 Mixed media on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Taos Pueblo (Smokes) by Howard Norton Cook 14.313. mid-20th century. Tulsa: Gilcrease Museum, collections.gilcrease.org/object/14313

House and Tree Oscar Bluemner, 1917 Whitney Museum of American Art whitney.org/collection/w...

Exhibit at the American Civil War Museum, Richmond, VA — CARTRIDGE BOX worn by Sgt. Charles English, 108th U.S. Colored Infantry — KNIFE (c. 1863) Carried by a soldier with the initials "W.L." in the 54th Mass Vol Infantry — TINTYPE of unidentified African-American soldier #USCT #AmericanCivilWar

150th Anniversary commemoration schedule #LittleBighorn #GreasyGrass

It was great joining Njideka Akunyili Crosby—a gifted Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based artist—to unveil our first portrait together. This piece reflects so many chapters of Michelle and my story, and we’re thrilled that it will be on display at the Obama Presidential Center starting this Juneteenth.

The Rio Grande Yields Its Surplus to the Sea, by Laura Gilpin, 1947, (Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas) #RioGrande

"This sketch by Guy Howard depicts a scene from the surrender of #NezPerce Indians (Nimi’ipuu) to the U.S. Army in early October 1877. Guy Howard was the son and aide-de-camp of General Oliver Otis Howard." Join us in August for bus tour of The Flight of the Nez Perce: whtours.org/flight-of-th...

REDACTED ! #KennedyCenter

If only Iran would make opening the Strait of Hormuz contingent on the full release of the Epstein files.

“You shouldnt worry about what people think of you because they don't do it that often” —Cormac McCarthy (1933-2023) Painting by Andrew Tift, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. #Booksky 💙📚

REVOLUTIONARY VETS 8 decades after the close of the Revolutionary War (during the Amer Civil War) 2 brothers photographed the last known living veterans on the Rev War pension rolls (there were others, it turned out). The rumor that 2 of these men are currently serving in the U.S. Senate is NOT true

— CALIFORNIA STARS — I’d like to lay my weary bones tonight On a bed of California stars I’d love to feel your hand touching mine And tell me why I must keep working on Yes, I’d give my life to lay my head tonight On a bed of California stars — #WoodyGuthrie #Wilco #BillyBragg

— I am a man of constant sorrow — (six renditions) 1. Roscoe Holcomb #ManofConstantSorrow

Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze And listen to the murmur of the [redwood] trees Send me off forever, but I ask you please Don't fence me in #SequoiaSempervirens #CoastRedwood

150th anniversary #LittleBighorn #GreasyGrass

#Pocahontas Memorial Statue at Historic Jamestowne.

It's Frank Lloyd Wright's birthday (159 years ago). Though he designed a number of buildings in the SF Bay Area, there is only one in San Francisco proper, at 140 Maiden Lane. It is one of only a few #FrankLloydWright retail spaces that survive. Photo by Carol Highsmith, Library of Congress)

Fighting for their freedom — a letter home. . . "A new recruit I had issued a gun to the day before the fight was found dead, with a firm grasp on his gun, the bayonet of which was broken in three pieces So they fought and died defending the cause that we revere. They met death coolly, bravely"

OTD in 1863, at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, around 1,300 newly-minted United States Colored Troops—the "African Brigade"—fiercely fought off a veteran Confederate force from Texas, and suffered heavy casualties in the battle.

“People say there are no atheists in foxholes. A lot of people think this is a good argument against atheism. Personally, I think it's a much better argument against foxholes.” ― Kurt Vonnegut Photo: #KurtVonnegut, Jr., 11 Nov 1922 - 11 Apr 2007, by Yousuf Karsh, 1990. National Portrait Gallery.

On D-Day, the future Pope Leo XIV's dad landed troops on Omaha Beach. The Antifa spirit lives on in the Vatican today. [By contrast, the future 47th president's dad was stateside, leveraging FHA loans & exploiting housing subsidies. The spirit of war profiteering lives on in the White House] #D-Day

82 years ago #D-Day "These objects are more than physical remnants of war, they represent painful and triumphant memories, and they carry the emotional residue of one of history’s most storied battlefields."

OTD 82 years ago During the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, U.S. Army Rangers scaled these 100-foot cliffs and seized German artillery pieces that could have fired on the American troops at Omaha and Utah beaches [Images: vintage poster by French artist DOZ; photo from Google Earth]. #D-Day

Well deserved! And the cherry on top is that Dozy Don will have a 72-hour conniption fit www.jfklibrary.org/events-and-a...

books, and more books #booksky📚💙

"I could not have dreamed that my book itself would be censored—by the U.S. Government, the side that supposedly won the Civil War." —Tom Zoellner, author of "The Road Was Full of Thorns" #Booksky📚💙