There is no route to the present except through the past. Indiana’s recent history is, in a word, sordid. Its past record of “religious freedom” movements should burn in memory.
The Stain Runs Deep: Remembering Indiana and the Klan
tourism
Henry James’ muses, the bust in his dining room, and a sort of secret dynasty
“I was very strongly drawn to him and, in spite of the difference in our ages, a great attachment sprang up between us.”
The polite omissions of James Buchanan’s Wheatland tour
James Buchanan was a lousy president and probably loved another man. What does the museum at his home in Lancaster, PA, have to say?
Boston Marriage in Old Atlanta: An iPhone rings a silent Bell
A forgotten poet was resurrected by AT&T, which normally can’t raise a signal much less the dead. But with a little smartphone gumshoeing, I had deciphered an enduring lesbionic relationship hidden in plain sight in the middle of Atlanta’s staunchest Rebel cemetery. It was like a gay Da Vinci Code!
The mass grave under Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park [WATCH]
I am tremendously excited about this video that I researched and hosted for AOL On’s “What Remains” series. It takes off from my popular blog post about the mass grave in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park. I think the broadcast-quality production these guys put together is phenomenal. The short version is explained in my post, linked… Read more »
Scenes from the dedication of the FDR memorial in New York City
In a way, the monument is as much to Louis Kahn as it is to FDR, as proven by how many times each of the speakers invoked both of their names. Former President Bill Clinton, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Tom Brokaw, Ambassador William vanden Huevel, Mayor Michel Bloomberg. All nodded to Louie. It’s odd: The son’s impetus to memorialize his architect father is what led us, even enabled us, to memorialize the president. From small questions rise large deeds.
As Universal drains Jaws for the last time, I recall my time as Skipper
Sharks must keep moving or they die. What we have here is a dead shark. Universal Orlando just announced that it’s eliminating the Jaws ride at Universal Studios Florida. It was one the last of the rides that was original to the park’s 1990 opening. (Well, sort of original. It’s a retool of a hitchy… Read more »
The Empire State Building’s nightly flash of gratitude
Whenever I get fed up with living in New York City, all I have to do is look up at the Empire State Building at night, and wait a few seconds for the flash.
Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu, Peru: What you need to know
My recent silence has everything to do with travel. I was on The Golden Trudge. I took a trip to Peru, where I visited Cusco and did the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. When I tell people what I’ve been up to, many of them coo and instantly ask to hear all about it. So… Read more »
The macabre truth behind those Duck boat tourist tours
After yesterday’s appalling Ride the Ducks tragedy in Philadelphia, which killed two Hungarian tourists, the media is doing its typical post-game pig-pile, grilling operators about the safety of the land-to-water vehicles and forcing Herschend Family Entertainment, which operates Ride the Ducks, to suspend all operations across the country. The sad truth is that accidents happen…. Read more »