Noted Here and There ...

At his best, Christopher Hitchens is just an extraordinarily good writer and he's at his best in"Susan Sontag: Remembering an Intellectual Heroine," at Slate. For a predictably negative reprise on Sontag, see Roger Kimball's"Susan Sontag: a Prediction" at the New Criterion's blog.

Joseph Ellis has a good op-ed in today's Los Angeles Times,"From George W. to George W." Second term presidencies, says Ellis,"are seldom as successful as first, often disappointing, sometimes disastrous."

At Ghost in the Machine, Kevin Murphy has a roundup of the best and the worst in 2004 film. This"elder statesman" among history bloggers has just turned thirty, btw. Belated happy birthday, Kevin.

At Early Modern Material Culture, Claire is hosting the Early Modern Carnival, Part I and Part II. It features both Cliopatriarchs and some of our best friends: Jonathan Dresner, Sharon Howard, Rob MacDougall, Nathanael Robinson, Sepoy, Claire, Greg, Natalie Bennett, Scribbling Woman, and Brandon Watson. Oh, and if you've been tempted to tell Claire off, here's your invitation. Temptation, get thee behind me!