J. L. BELL is a Massachusetts writer who specializes in (among other things) the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. He is particularly interested in the experiences of children in 1765-75. He has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults. He was consultant for an episode of History Detectives, and contributed to a display at Minute Man National Historic Park.

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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Twitter Feed, 9-16 Apr 2010

  • Correcting a gravestone in 1773, via Vast Public Indifference: bit.ly/d1rl3d #
  • Starred PUBLISHERS WEEKLY review for Jack Rakove's REVOLUTIONARIES: bit.ly/cMrGpY #
  • RT @JBD1: Whoohoo! Panel proposal accepted for Society of Early Americanists conf in Philly next March - Libraries of Early US! // Cool #
  • Volokh Conspiracy on Georgia attempt to legislate state as republican, not democratic: bit.ly/a0Es5C #
  • Back from walking tour on Revolutionary mythmakers at Mt Auburn Cemetery. Cool, sunny weather—excellent for a Victorian stroll. #
  • RT @HeritageMuse: I am thinking of using the Toilet Paper Incident from April 1721 in my presentation tomorrow. bit.ly/bwbxC2 #
  • Supper entertainment tonight was the Haggerty School 2nd grade's "Constitution Rap." My generation's offer to sing the preamble ignored. #
  • House of Boston-born artillerist John Crane as it appeared in 1898, linked to modern map: bit.ly/9V6FlA #
  • Last US President to have served in Revolutionary War was first to inspire assassination attempt: bit.ly/9j0aCz #
  • Excitement over the arrival of Congressmen from Massachusetts—in May 1775, via @RagLinen: bit.ly/aT9QF4 #
  • RT @ToddHouse: #genealogy, chronology of Hichborn family 1673-1891 by Philip Hichborn bit.ly/aDUxFm #
  • RT @RagLinen: New Rag Linen collection: The Battle of Lexington and Concord - tinyurl.com/yycpkkx #
  • RT @gordonbelt: Curators at @TJMonticello use historical detective work to authenticate Jefferson's Artifacts: bit.ly/afRAuE #
  • Home from Charles Bahne's standing-room-only talk about Paul Revere and H W Longfellow at Cyrus Dallin Museum: bit.ly/anmp7z #
  • By end of this month, hope to tackle the 19 Apr 1775 stories of Asahel Porter, Hezekiah Wyman, and Israel Bissell. #
  • Mercy! Gravestone of Mehuman Hinsdell of Deerfield, Mass, twice a war captive: bit.ly/94cutn #
  • Vast Pub Indiff points out the doll in Copley family portrait: bit.ly/aSHOaa Also, child getting Mama's attention is future viscount #
  • New website on Jefferson's NOTES ON STATE OF VIRGINIA, so complex it comes with a tutorial: bit.ly/cTlEzw #
  • RT @librarycongress: True Story Behind Stevenson's "Kidnapped" discussed with Author A. Roger Ekirch bit.ly/biYfju #
  • RT @TJMonticello: RT @NatlParkService: The Man of Monticello: Remembering Jefferson on his Birthday: ow.ly/1y3Dw #
  • RT @BBCHistoryMag: Will the British monarchy survive? bit.ly/9Youmd // This essayist says yes. #
  • RT @historyfaculty: Historian links homicide rates to the way people feel about their government: bit.ly/b5jvz9 #
  • RT @gordonbelt: story about the original Tea Party in 1773 on @NPR this morning: n.pr/ciu1vV #
  • From the desk for "duh" news—RT @CanadasHistory: Buffalo News: US way behind Canada in War of 1812 observance funding. ow.ly/1ypk2 #
  • RT @librarycongress Library to acquire ENTIRE Twitter archive—ALL public tweets since Mar 2006! // Future historians will shake their heads. #
  • @historynerd55 One opportunity/temptation will be to analyze huge blocks of text mathematically: e.g., changing usage of key words. #
  • @historynerd55 Historians started to miss important discussions after telephone established; email actually redocuments stuff. #
  • @historynerd55 In a couple of decades biographers will be writing about subjects' credit-card bills in lieu of personal letters. #
  • RT @lynneguist: Some of Noah Webster's spelling reforms changed AmE, some didn't. Happy anniversary of his dictionary. bit.ly/9rlubH #
  • New word of the day: tenoroon. Like a bassoon, but higher. #
  • Curious spelling on a 1756 Duxbury gravestone. Or perhaps it's just a curious name. bit.ly/975Ou3 #
  • Were pocket diaries from 1700s like Twitter updates? bit.ly/aEndYG Actually, very few diarists recorded their breakfasts. #
  • Report on auction of Americana via @JBD1: bit.ly/bhbN8T #
  • Quirks of inheritance and emancipation mean there's scant evidence John Hancock owned slaves. But this is SOLID: bit.ly/9PXDSu #
  • Plus, I was there when Caitlin Hopkins took this gravestone photo: bit.ly/9PXDSu #
  • KIRKUS lambastes historical romance for teens about Nathanael Greene's wife and daughter: bit.ly/9l6mPt #
  • Oscar-nominated short from 1950 preserves a mostly all-white, all-male, Cold War view of US history: bit.ly/9m3gYg #
  • Vast Public Indifference asks why did Judge Samuel Sewell erect a "Connecticut stone post" for his late wife in 1721? bit.ly/aF967W #
  • RT @MilestoneDocs: Declaration of Independence best reflects the character of America: bit.ly/9cBPqs // Nation of high-ideal whiners? #
  • RT @gordonbelt: Why Isn't History More Interesting? A history professor tells a story that is both compelling and true: bit.ly/bYuFsX #

1 comment:

Kyle Dalton said...

That last post there reminds me of the excuse so often used by film makers for butchering history to turn it into film. It's hard to pin much on the writers, when practically ready to film non-fiction stories like John Paul Jones are passed over for Battleship:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118008608.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562

It's good to see others advocating the fascinating core of history!