Today’s survey lecture on the 1850s (and the widespread nature of political violence, how awfully relevant), borrowed from Mark Peterson’s new book on the Constitution… the Mississippi declaration of secession is a list of grievances against—not a king, not a government, but—“It.” What is it?…

An accidental poem, by Samuel Bayard and his successor Elias Caldwell, first clerks of the US Supreme Court, in attempting to decide the proper title for their handwritten “Formulary.”

Feelings About Democracy (Or: Feelings? About Democracy?) I've made a first attempt to write my way through our democratic collapse. More to come.

Charles Alexandre Lasueur, “Half of a New Bedford Meeting House Being Removed to a New Site as the Result of a Church Quarrel—1816”

“Expensive Pets, All These County Governments”, 1938

With the end of the semester I have had the chance to work on my office, which means I can frame and rejoice in my latest artworks from @mattkish.bsky.social

amazing how the cyber attack on the British Library still means that all recently published work (and that's a definition that stretches back several years) is completely unavailable to researchers, since they only acquired ebooks and that system is still down

Excited for the next golden age of piracy

Me, grad school, 2008-2013: I want to know how everything actually works, why are all these books just about vibes? Me, 2025: ah.

Every parent in June: I'm at the end-of-year concert. I'm at the end-of-year concert fundraiser. I'm at the end-of-year concert fundraiser teacher appreciation (Venmo edition). I'm at the end-of-year concert fundraiser teacher appreciation picnic.

Kentucky, get the swear jar.

No

Connecticut: land of fun

New museum idea just dropped, no charge yall

Jack London short stories: 2. Bedtimes of 10yo completed on schedule: 0

💔

Someone tagged me into this as, in Drach's absence, the person on BlueSky most likely to know (without guessing) how navies handled cat poo. I am VERY offended. But they're also right. 😆 Indeed Drach/Dr Alex and I were comparing notes on this back in November. So thread: How cats shat on ships /1

sigh

"Charged of drinking Damnation to Gen'l Washington + all his Army," docket book of justice of the peace Benjamin Paschall, July 24, 1778, Phila., Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Afternoon nap of 2011 was actually second book project summarized, it turns out.