city life

I bused to work today. Other days this week I biked in.

This is a dream come true. No more driving. :-)

US Civil War thought

History buffs may find this interesting.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/150-years-of-misunderstanding-the-civil-war/277022/

Over the last year I've been reading more American history, particularly about the Colonial era and the Revolutionary era. I need to finish off my reads there and then I plan to move onto the Civil War.


I had an excellent US history course in my home school high school days, and I still feel that my understanding of pre-1900s US is tremendously lacking. It's not just the wars/presidents, it's the social forces that produced the wars/presidents. I think of history as a Great River, where things swell and die down nearly irrespective of a given human being (rare exceptions notwithstanding). And that's sort of my interest; the society and culture surrounding the timepoints. And I don't understand the antebellum US.

Moving in

One thing I like to do is keep an eye on the politicians that my district sends to Washington DC. So I followed them on Twitter tonight. Should be interesting watching what they have to say.

Also need to figure out the B'ham city council/mayor newsfeeds. I really having been realizing the importance of *local* government lately.