My apologies

I have not posted much of late.  It is because I’ve been using this tool, again and again, stringing them together and calling it “a thesis.”

Pity I’m not a political scientist.  It would totally fly for them.  Zing!

(Oh my god, what has academia done to me?)

-Willa

History Nerds Unite

OMG! I’m so excited I’m about to piss my pants. No, really. I’ve missed this museum so much! I wonder if the turn of the century ice cream parlor is still going to be there…god, I am such a nerd.

Things we would go to this week, if we lived in…

DC

“The Honor of Your Company Is Requested: President Lincoln’s Inaugural Ball” Exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Lincoln’s second inaugural ball was held in the building that now houses the museum. Cool. What? We’re American history dorks.

Wisconsin

Anyone who knows anything about State Fairs (and I like to think I can count myself in that category) knows that no one takes them more seriously than the Lake States. In fact, depending how early in the morning I can get up, and how fast I can drive across Iowa, I should hopefully make it in time to live-blog the last day of Minnesota’s legendary fair. But if you can’t wait to virtually eat cheese curds with me, then get in line and get your own at Minnesota’s strongest competitor, Wisconsin. If you can’t decide what day to get out there, I would recommend Thursday, because I’m honestly considering buying a plane ticket just so I don’t have to miss this.

Munich

Go to the BMW Museum and check out the temporary exhibit on the BMW concept cars. There are seven. All concept cars. So hot.

Counterterrorism: Duh!

I have a very nerdy family.  Yesterday my brother sent me an email with a link to Wired’s defense blog (what?  I said we were nerdy.).  And he had the courtesy to basically write this entry for me:

“Seriously?!  Somebody finally figured out how to properly “win” in a counterterrorism scenario.  What’s scary is that they actually had to research and study this data – it’s common knowledge for anyone who looks at political/military history that military might cannot, and has not, been an effective tool in destroying terrorist organizations!”

Um, yeah.  The RAND Corporation is generally acknowledged to be the very first ‘think tank’.  As such, I would expect more from them.  Having read the research brief for this study, I can say that I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know just by being a history nerd.  I mean, I did go to the “Future Dictators of the World School” as Willa likes to call it, but I knew this crap going into college. My favorite line is the opening one: