London in the good old days - before everyone's feet pointed forwards.

Why stop with the news? When the mythical "average American" needs a heart bypass, forget the experts, just find an "average American" to do it. It'll cut recuperation time to about zero.

Couldn't help thinking about what Mamdani's incisive comment about decorum and the "good grammar of civility" masking "agendas of cruelty" shares with Augustine's reflections (Confessions) on rhetorical style and grammatical correctness obscuring the base content and dangerous consequences of words.

Local Xerox machine arrested for indecent exposure at office party

Business owner, five children, in the USA over 35 years, and suffering (at 63 years old) from ill health. Deported to Pakistan, from which so many successful migrants have come.

Hard to see why @nytimes.com coverage of "New York's New Mayor" is headlined by the opinion of one foreign gov't on one action. Israel's gov't is elected by and represents citizens of Israel and no one else. I'm sure New Yorkers are more focused on their city. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/n...

Lucien Levy Dhurmer, Constantinople (The Harbour) - Evening. Pastel on paper, undated

Can we count childhood spelling bees?

🗃️ The US attracted more foreign-born people from more places than any other nation in history. We need language to acknowledge that central fact of American history. But we also need language that goes beyond the idea that the United States is, or ever was, simply a “nation of immigrants.” 🧵1/10

Storks and grey clouds over palaces and churches in Jerez #stork #greyclouds #winterscenes

Couscous in Marsala: The Long History of Sicilians and Tunisians For centuries the two communities exchanged populations, cultures and traditions that have left an imprint on both shores. Stefania D'Ignoti newlinesmag.com/essays/a-cen...

For #FridayFragments, Mary's funeral, among the early 15c frescoes by Lorenzo di Bicci in the Cappella Nucci-Salutati, San Francesco, Pescia. Jesus holds Mary's soul. John kneels, holding her hand to his cheek. Among apostles and angels, Andrew (left), Peter and James (rt) flank Jesus. #FrescoFriday

Chapelle de la Trinité à #PrunetetBelpuig (#PyrénéesOrientales) La chapelle est un lieu de pélerinage. Selon la tradition, elle re... Suite 👉 https://monumentum.fr/monument-historique/pa00104104/prunet-et-belpuig-chapelle-de-la-trinite

Well worth following the links for the buildings @monumentum.fr posts. The web pages are richly informative with maps, descriptions, photos (historic and new, with views, architectural details and furnishings), links to pages on art objects and nearby sites, and, in this case, even old postcards!

Mustafa Aksakal's The War That Made the Middle East tells the story of how European imperial ambitions destroyed the Ottoman Empire during the Great War & created a divided & unstable Middle East. Out Jan 13 (10 Mar UK pub). Read a free preview: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... #History

1/ Headline and emphasis are misleading. These two orders were part of a revocation of all executive orders Mayor Adams issued after being indicted on federal corruption charges in Sept 24. The @nytimes.com and allies are predictable, and the public will be watching www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/n...

War memorial in the village of Walton #Warwickshire

I'm still processing that 90 minutes of the Livestream of the NYC inaugurations. A whole alternative universe of what could be, everything about it. It was like walking through some magic door. Good way to start a New Year. Thanks, NY City.

zohran quoting and then rejecting "the era of big government is over," the line that captured the zenith of clintonian neoliberalism, is highly symbolic

Mamdani: I have been told that this is the occasion to reset expectations, that I should use this opportunity to encourage the people of New York to ask for little and expect even less. I will do no such thing. The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.

One of the very best of many lines.

Eglise Saint-Christophe à #OurouerlesBourdelins (#Cher) Edifice comprenant nef, transept avec absidioles et abside demi-circulaire... Suite 👉 https://monumentum.fr/monument-historique/pa00096864/ourouer-les-bourdelins-eglise-saint-christophe

River Cam, #Cambridge #Cambridgeshire #IronworkThursday #Reflections

"This is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime." -New York City Mayor Mamdani What a refreshingly "old-school", simple, and inspiring way to describe public office. Something you might even want your kids to hear, and hold up to them as an example and aspiration.

A happy new year, indeed. All the best to the new mayor and all he represents www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Just making sure that 2025 is definitely over

“Gone are the days when companies like Instacart and DoorDash can bully their way into record profits on the backs of workers and consumers," said Sam Levine, the incoming head of the Dept. of Consumer and Worker Protection under Mayor Mamdani.

They're literally throwing stuff out.

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld produced his picture Bible in installments between 1852–60 and his illustrations were taken up by stained glass makers. Burlison & Grylls use his Jonathan & David here. 📷 Ruth Moore Holy Trinity, Southall

Rare Ancient Greek Kore Head Discovered in Etruscan City of Vulci greekcitytimes.com/2025/12/31/v...

Beautiful thread, glad you reposted it!

Congress should stop this. Also, if Trump wants to enjoy an imitation of the Arc de Triomphe done in a style and at a place congenial to him, he can visit the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, completed in 1982. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

A beautiful poem by the lovely James Crews. #poem #poetry #JamesCrews #NewYear

Museo delle armi Luigi Marzoli / castello di #Brescia

Looking for recommendations for a proofreader with experience in academic art history. Any leads much appreciated!

#OnThisDay in AD 192, Emperor Commodus was murdered in his bath by a wrestler named Narcissus after an attempt to poison him failed. Commodus’s death ended his tyrannical rule and ushered in the so-called Year of the Five Emperors, a period of chaos and power struggles in the Roman Empire.

HMU: What's the best article or chapter you've read in the last five years that involves women and charters in pre-Conquest England? #medievalsky

An angel leads Peter out of prison. Filippino Lippi, Brancacci Chapel, Florence This is one of the frescoes painted or completed by Lippi in the late 15th century to finish the work done by Masolino and Masaccio in the Chapel in the 1420s. What a "face-to-face"! #ArtHistory #Renaissance #Painting

"Don't be afraid of the clocks, they are our time, the time has been so generous to us. We imprinted time with the sweet taste of victory.... We are a product of the time, therefore we give back credit where it is due: time. We are synchronized, now & forever. I love you." -Felix Gonzalez-Torres

And if you've ever thought about pitching #AHAPerspectives, the AHA annual meeting is the perfect time to come chat about it. So many great articles over the years have started as conversations at the conference! #AHA26

Kamar Samuels is Mamdani's pick to lead the DOE, three sources with knowledge of the plan tell City & State. Big city team scoop by @hollypret.bsky.social, @anniemcdonough.bsky.social and @sahalied.bsky.social www.cityandstateny.com/personality/...

#ToucanTuesday : Hunt Slonem (USA, b. 1951) Toco #Toucans, c.2001 Oil on canvas, 108 by 107 in. (274.3 by 271.8 cm) www.sothebys.com/en/buy/aucti... #BirdsInArt

Don't want to be pessimistic about 2026, but it's good to know competent professionals are prepared.

Eastern Europe has lost heaps of its population since the USSR fell apart.

The Sacrifice of Abraham BnF MS Grec 20; Fragmentary Psalter; Second half of the 9th century; ?Constantinople; f.13r @gallicabnf.bsky.social

History, myth-making, and just plain lies... Fascinating piece on George Washington's supposed prayer in the woods

Nothing like a wiggly worm for Twixmas. Here's Ralph Hamsterley d.1518, late Rector of St Andrew, Oddington, Oxon, in all his cadaverous glory.

Excessive modernism - departments unbalanced towards the study of modern history - is the crop-blight of history departments and has long been so. Modern history and modernists are valuable and important, of course, but the ratios have long since skewed absurdly in favor of modern history.

I associate Ghirlandaio with the well-known frescoes in the Sassetti and Tornabuoni chapels full of portraits of contemporary Florentine elites in elegant and fashionable dress. By contrast, this relatively early Pietá (c. 1472) in the Ognissanti, done for the Vespucci family, is stark and moving.

As we were out in the garden for most of the day, we have watched the geese heading out from the Marshes to graze and then return...