Cross-cultural “Stuff”
What Day Is It?
Last week a friend of mine pointed out that Rosh Hashanah comes early this year. She went on to bemoan the fact that the first day of Hanukkah falls on the day before Thanksgiving*: a result of the disjunction between a lunar and solar calendar over the long haul.** The discussion reminded me of a…
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From The Ruins of Empire–Revisited
If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ve probably figured out that I like books that look at familiar history from another point of view. (For example, here, and here, and here.) Pankaj Mishra’s From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia, is an excellent example.* Misra begins with the statement that…
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The Love of Maps
I will tell you with no apology (and only a slight wiggle of nerdy embarrassment) that I love maps. I suppose it is theoretically possible to love history and not love maps. I just can’t imagine how that would work.* After all, history happens in both time and space. A quick look at the right…
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