Category Archives: History

The Judgment of Paris

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Jeff Mather

I’ve been a bit busy ’round these parts, trying to tie up loose ends. Yesterday I finished Ross King’s The Judgment of Paris (2006). The tome chronicles the end of the Second Empire in France, the career of Édouard Manet, … Continue reading →

Posted in 101 in 1001, Book Notes, City of Light, From the Yellow Notepad, History | Leave a comment

Catching Up

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Jeff Mather

I — I finished off the bottle of sugar-free Robitussin DM yesterday. That must mean I’m well now, right? II — Yesterday morning, I went for a long run around Milford, Hopkinton, and Holliston. The 12.5 miles were a bit slower than they might … Continue reading →

Posted in Cycling, General, History, Running, Video | Leave a comment

Before There Was Facebook: A Short, Subjective, Incomplete Insider’s History of PlanetAll

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Jeff Mather

This is one of the posts that I wrote on Wednesday during the great NaBloPoMo purge of 2011. My first job out of college was as a “Customer Service Ambassador” at PlanetAll, a startup in Cambridge, Mass. Before there was … Continue reading →

Posted in General, History, Life Lessons, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 1 Comment

Some Patriots’ Day Thoughts on Militias and Tyrants

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Jeff Mather

Sometimes, things happen that almost immediately crystallize an aspect of one’s life, splitting it into a time before the event and after. Your parent takes a job in a sparsely populated Western state and moves the whole family. A plane … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Record, History, Life Lessons, This is who we are, USA, Western Adventure | 2 Comments

Photography Podcasts

Posted on September 8, 2008 by Jeff Mather

I am a serious podcast junkie. I currently have over 16 days of unheard podcasts. News, arts and culture take up most of my bandwidth. Recently — and by that I mean the last few months — I’ve been working … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Fodder for Techno-weenies, History, Photography, Software Engineering, This is who we are, Worthy Feeds | 1 Comment

In the shadow of Major Long

Posted on July 8, 2008 by Jeff Mather

Longs Peak – Rocky Mountain NP (Click for larger) The early part of our travels led us to the northwestern-most point of the first federally funded expedition to the west which included professionally trained scientists and artists. Unlike the Lewis … Continue reading →

Posted in History, This is who we are, Travel, USA, Western Adventure | Leave a comment

Denver: Gateway to the West

Posted on July 1, 2008 by Jeff Mather

First off, to all my Canadian brethren and sistren, happy Canada Day. I’m still not 100% sure what you’re celebrating, but I’m glad that our Civil War scared you into confederation. Sorry if you thought we were gunning for you … Continue reading →

Posted in History, This is who we are, Travel, USA, Western Adventure | 2 Comments

Bibliography of Early National Period and Western History

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Jeff Mather

I just realized I have this biggish, vaguely-annotated bibliography of almost 400 works on early American and Western American history. It’s neither current nor authoritative and only goes through 2002, but it’s free and might have a hidden gem or … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Leave a comment

Worcester v. Georgia, or what I read on the beach in the Bahamas

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Jeff Mather

It’s time for me to own up to something: I possess a much larger than average collection of books and notes about the Indian Removal Act, the Early National Period, and the Nullification Crisis. Like Louis P. Masur, I think … Continue reading →

Posted in History, This is who we are, Travel | Leave a comment

Afghan history since 1978

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Jeff Mather

If you can believe it, I once made a serious go at becoming a historian. I wanted to go to history grad school, but I hadn’t taken any coursework as an undergrad. Feeling extremely self-conscious and very far behind, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Central Asia, General, History, This is who we are | Leave a comment