Monthly Archives: June 2005

Book Notes: Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation

Posted on June 28, 2005 by Timothy Burke

There was a good deal of discussion back in May about David Greenberg’s Slate article, “That Barnes and Noble Dream”, about whether academic historians should aspire to be “populizers”. I thought Greenberg had some interesting observations that I didn’t always … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Books | 9 Comments

No Less Than I Expected…

Posted on June 27, 2005 by Timothy Burke

…but when my daughter insisted that we try a “Wonka” candy today (we haven’t read the book aloud, but I’ve given her the bare outlines of the story, as the commercials for the Burton-Depp version have caught her eye), it … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany | 2 Comments

A Last Straw

Posted on June 25, 2005 by Timothy Burke

I think most people understand why making hundreds of thousands of people homeless overnight is a humanitarian disaster. (As an aside: I’m seeing wildly varying numbers of people involved, no doubt a consequence of the near-closure of the country to … Continue reading →

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More on the AU

Posted on June 25, 2005 by Timothy Burke

In the comments on my AU post, Bradley Reuhs asks what I think is going on with the AU/South African position on Zimbabwe. My frustration with the AU on this and many other issues is fairly terminal, but obviously there … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa | 1 Comment

My Daughter on Blogging

Posted on June 24, 2005 by Timothy Burke

“I think you have a disease called blog. It’s very slimy and it makes your arms tired. Maybe it’s called flog. I hear it collects on your shoulders.”

Posted in Blogging | 1 Comment

The African Union’s New Political Platform: Whatever Pisses Off Whitey

Posted on June 24, 2005 by Timothy Burke

Ah, the African Union has “many more serious problems to consider than Zimbabwe”. Plus South Africa’s government finds it irritating that they’re expected to say something about Zimbabwe. Bheki Khumalo says that South Africa will do things that are “correct … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa | 2 Comments

Take a Ride on the Meme Train

Posted on June 24, 2005 by Timothy Burke

Ok, so Laura inflicted this one on me. Do you ever read those stuffy book lists you see circulating, like ‘List your five most important books,’ and think to yourself- no wonder these people are so damned boring. Some of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Books | 9 Comments

I’m So Old-Fashioned

Posted on June 24, 2005 by Timothy Burke

It’s quaint of me. While I normally wouldn’t spare a thought about Tom Cruise, the fact that he’s going around claiming to know the history of psychology and psychiatry, and that said knowledge appears to consist of bullshit distortions straight … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany, Popular Culture | 1 Comment

Batman Begins

Posted on June 23, 2005 by Timothy Burke

The only bad thing about seeing Batman Begins in Vancouver before the DiGRA conference was reading the silly assholes in some Canadian newspaper do some dialogue thing about the film where they talked about how insanely great the Burton films … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture | 1 Comment

African-American History and the Philadelphia Schools

Posted on June 23, 2005 by Timothy Burke

[cross-posted at Cliopatria] Back from a long trip, I read with interest in yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer of a debate over the plan to make African-American history a requirement in Philadelphia’s high school curriculum. The debate has been particularly ignited by … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Africa | Comments Off on African-American History and the Philadelphia Schools