Medievalism, Recidivism, and Rebellion

An outstanding history blog just got better: Esther MacCallum-Stewart of the University of Sussex has joined the company at Revise and Dissent. Ms. MacCallum-Stewart is best known in the history blogosphere as the host at Break of Day in the Trenches, one of the most venerable history blogs on the net.

James Franklin says:"There are so many myths about the Middle Ages, it has to be suspected that the general level of ‘knowledge' about things medieval is actually negative." His"Myths about the Middle Ages" deconstructs some of the major ones. Hat tip to Patrick Porter at Oxblog.

Michael Spencer has a very thoughtful series of posts, The Gospel for AppalachiaI, II, and III, at The Internet Monk. Suspend your contempt for evangelism and missionaries momentarily. Spencer writes from Clay County, Kentucky, and he understands its culture very well. Thanks to Ben Brumfield at Horizon for the tip.

At University Diaries, Margaret Soltan drags David Brooks out from behind his Times Select firewall to explain why the U. S. fails at soccer. And, no, Niall, it has nothing to do with its early rejection of the British Empire.

On the other hand,"Report: U. S. May Have Been Abused During Formative Years," The Onion, 21 June, offers one explanation of our behavior. There's gotta be some excuse! Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.