The Case of the Missing Marquess: A Review
I recently finished reading The Case of the Missing Marques: Enola Holmes, #1, by Nancy Springer, and I give it three stars.
The book is engaging, and I find Enola, who narrates her story, rather charming.
I enjoyed reading about Sherlock and Mycroft from a kid sister’s point of view. It’s funny how often Sherlock Holmes is romanticized, so that most people forget that he was a drug addict and a sociopath, and Mycroft wasn’t much better. This book shows them in a less romanticized way, which I appreciated.
It’s funny how the author clearly meant this as a rah rah girl power kind of book, yet undercuts her own message from the very start. The mother rebels against society’s ideals of women by neglecting and ultimately abandoning her daughter. And yet, this makes for a more nuanced storyline, which is more compelling than a simple “girls rule, boys drool” story.
I also sympathize with Mycroft’s predicament. Enola clearly needs an education, and up to this point she’s been basically running wild. She doesn’t know anything about the world. She needs to be able to function in society, and boarding school will do the trick.
What really irritated me was all the misinformation about corsets. Basically, everything in this book about corsets is wrong. People didn’t wear them to bed. They did not damage internal organs, and they most certainly didn’t make anyone’s ribs puncture their lungs! That was absolutely ridiculous and I wish the author had done some research on historical dress. Even working class women wore corsets. If corsets made it so you couldn’t breathe or do anything, then working class women wouldn’t have worn them. Corsets aren’t painful. I’ve worn them, and so have lots of other historical reenactors like me. I’ve even told my husband to have no mercy when lacing me up, and I’ve never fainted from wearing it.
Moving on.
The titular mystery (that of the missing marquess) was a bit of a let down. It was solved way too quickly. I had also hoped for more resolution about the missing mother. The book just didn’t seem resolved.
Also, Enola was almost murdered her very first night in London. Does the author really expect me to believe she can make it on her own?
Anyway, despite my complaints, I really did enjoy the book. Just ignore everything about corsets.
Though the part about the boning blocking the knife was pretty cool.
Injecting Some Sanity into the Vaccine Debate
There’s a lot of controversy and vitriol over vaccines right now, particularly with many people panicking over the coronavirus. Many of the talking points people use are overblown and outright histrionic. I would like to take a few moments to inject (see what I did there?) some sanity into the debate.
Don’t Assume the Worst
People who get their kids vaccinated love their kids. People who don’t get their kids vaccinated love their kids. On both sides of the question, parents are doing what they think is best for their children. Whether or not someone gets a flu vaccine, or plans to get the coronavirus vaccine, that someone is doing what they think is best for their own life. A choice to get a vaccine or not isn’t an attack on someone who chooses differently.
Try to Not Be a Horrible Person
Telling someone who is anti-vaxx that you hope their child dies horribly of a preventable disease is not a great a way to start a productive discussion.
Pro-vaxx mom: I hope your children die because they didn’t get vaccinated!
Anti-vaxx mom: Oh my goodness, you are are so right! I will take my kids to their pediatrician right now!
Yeah, that isn’t going to happen. You will never change someone’s mind by being awful to them. You know what might change someone’s mind? Acting like a decent human being, being polite and respectful, trying to understand their point of view, and calmly discussing facts.
You Can Be Pro-Vaccine and Anti-Mandated Vaccines
Personally, I’m generally in favor of vaccines. I’ve rather enjoyed not getting measles, mumps, and rubella. That said, I am not in favor of every vaccine that exists, and I am dead set against government mandated vaccines.
If the government has the power to forcibly inject something into your body, then you do not own even yourself. All discussion of liberty and civil rights are mere lip service. If you can not control even your own body, then you effectively do not have any freedoms at all. You merely have privileges that the government is temporarily granting you, and that they have the power to rescind at any time. This thought should terrify everyone who values liberty.
No Liability for Vaccine Manufacturers is Not Acceptable
Vaccine manufacturers can not be held liable in a civil action for death or injury resulting from a vaccine. (See source here.) While I am happy to concede that vaccines are generally safe and reliable, I am not naive enough to believe that there has never been, nor will there ever be, a vaccine put out on the market that is unsafe. Sure, there are guidelines, and protocols, etc., that prevent this from happening, but the people putting them in place are human. Humans who make mistakes, and sometimes have their own agendas. We should not trust any company unilaterally. We the people should be able to hold vaccine manufacturers accountable, the same as we can for other industries.
It is my hope that with these points to contribute to sane, reasonable conversations about vaccines.
What do you think about vaccinations? Share in the comments below!
My Grandma’s Nature Photos
My grandma loved to travel. She also loved to take pictures. She never had a fancy camera; in fact I mostly saw her use one-time use cameras. But she enjoyed it wholeheartedly.
When she died, since I’m the family history person in my family, I received most of her photos. They were mostly a jumbled mess, with few labels and less organization.
I gave myself the project to digitize her photos. I haven’t organized them physically, but I’ve done my best to organize them digitally, and I’ve made a two-volume photo book history of her life.
It was definitely a labor of love, because it sure was a lot of work. But I’m so glad I did it.
The photos in the photo books were, naturally, mainly photos of family. I didn’t use many of her other photos, of her travels, and of nature. So I thought I’d showcase them here.
One of the things I admire most about my grandma was her enjoyment of life, especially the little things. I think these pictures really show that. It’s one of the things about her that I try to emulate.
Recently I was reminded of a quote from my favorite author, Terry Pratchett: “People’s whole live do pass in front of their eyes before they die. The process is called ‘living.'”
It’s a good quote for my grandma’s life, because she treasured life, and lived it on her own terms.
History and Presentism
I found this great article (link at the bottom) on avoiding presentism when we look at history. It’s so important that we understand the historical context behind what people said or did. Context explains and can even completely change the meaning. Many people did the best they could with what they had.
To really understand the past, we must really study it. A superficial understanding of a few names, dates, and random facts doesn’t do it. We have to dig deep and really get to know the people we’re studying. I’ve often found that the more I learn about a historical figure, the more I understand about their hardships, their failures, and successes, the less I want to judge them. We can learn from past mistakes without condemning people wholesale. That is a good lesson for people we encounter in the here and now, as well. When we find something truly repugnant, we should learn from it. Destroying the memory of people we find repugnant doesn’t actually fix anything.
People are complicated. Really, really complicated. People in the past were no less complicated than people today. Any portrayal of history as anything less than complicated is less than truthful. I often have to face this question when teaching history. I have to boil it down to the essentials for my students so they can understand and remember it, without making it too neat. I know I fail at it sometimes, as many other teachers have, too. Which is why we should keep learning about our history. There is too much to learn in an entire life time of study, but we can always improve our own understanding.
Word on the Street: a Review
I just finished reading Word on the Street: Debunking the Myth of a “Pure” Standard English by John McWhorter. It is another great book from my favorite linguist. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.
The book starts with an informative and fairly concise explanation of how languages in general change over time, with examples to illustrate. I love his analogy of how often we perceive language as a clockwork, with dialects as examples of language breaking down, while language is actually like a lava lamp, constantly changing. And just as you wouldn’t tell a lava lamp that its changing shapes are “wrong,” differences in dialect and language changes in general aren’t “wrong.”
At this point, I will admit that I am a recovering prescriptivist. It’s largely been through John McWhorter’s other books that I have seen the error of my ways. I long ago let go of “whom” and the injunction to never end a sentence with a preposition with relief, and fully embraced “whole nother.” Well, in this book, I was forced to come to the realization that “Billy and me went to the store” is actually correct, when I had been preaching “Bills and I went to the store.” In contemplation of this, I’m pretty sure at this point that the distinction of less and fewer falls squarely in the prescriptivist camp.
Next he comes to Shakespeare. I freely admit that I love the Bard, and am particularly fond of his comedies. This is the only time I have ever really disagreed with McWhorter. He advocates for translating Shakespeare’s plays into current English for current theatergoers, so more people can truly enjoy Shakespeare. If someone really wants to tackle this task, have at it, but, let’s be real; it won’t be Shakespeare anymore. Its the same reason poetry is devilishly difficult to translate. You will always lose something in translation. Furthermore, McWhorter grossly overstates the difficulty of Shakespeare. Even the examples he gives of the opacity of Shakespeare’s plays were not that difficult for me to understand. I’ll freely admit that I am not a Shakespeare expert, and there are plenty of words and phrases I don’t understand, but I do get the gist of everything Shakespeare I have read and heard without having to resort to annotations, and I don’t think I’m in any way uniquely capable at this.
But it’s all right; the next chapter addresses plural use of they, them, and their. I feel so vindicated! There is no reason why they, them, and their can not be both singular and plural. After all, “you” is both singular and plural, and “you” used to be only singular.
After that comes the bulk of the text, a discussion of Black English. Unfortunately, Black English is often associated with poverty, and its speakers are characterized as uneducated and unintelligent. McWhorter gives excellent examples and comparisons to show that Black English is a full-fledged dialect of English and is in no way inferior to standard English. It’s also important for our understanding to note that Black English did not evolve from standard English. Rather, it developed alongside standard English. In fact, (and I kind of knew this, but hadn’t really thought of it this way), there has never, at any point in the history of English, been just one thing that we could call “English.” English has always been a collection of dialects. Anyway, I really enjoyed McWhorter’s discussion of how Black English evolved from nonstandard British dialects, and the comparison between Black English and the English creoles found primarily in the Caribbean.
Then John McWhorter fearlessly wades into the controversy over Black English in schools, and let me tell you, he pulls no punches. He has no patience for race-baiting, glorification of victimhood, or teaching false history in the name of instilling pride in young African American students. He is also very frank in how schools are failing these students and what they can do to improve. His suggestions include teaching teachers about Black English, so they don’t look down on it, celebrating African American history and culture in the curricula, and not correcting students when they speak in Black English. It’s easy to see how being corrected on every other word would cause young African American students to shut down and decide that school is not for them.
This book was really interesting and informative to read. I also hope to use what I learned in my teaching. Word on the Street is a great read for linguistics enthusiasts and educators alike.
The Immortal Irishman: A Review
I recently finished reading The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero by Timothy Egan. I wish I could give it a higher rating, but in all honesty, I have to give it 2 out of 5 stars.
Timothy Egan is a reporter and a writer. He has received a Pulitzer Prize, an Andrew Carnegie Medal in non-fiction, and a a National Book Award. Other books by him include Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher and The Worst Hard Time, the latter of which was given the National Book Award.
I saw The Immortal Irishman book at the library in a display about Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day, and was intrigued. I had a feeling I knew who the titular Irishman was, and I was right: Thomas Francis Meagher, who was a general in the American Civil War. Since I love to learn about Ireland and the Civil War, this seemed like a good book for me.
The book was going great until it came to the Civil War. Egan’s description of the beginning of the Civil War was rushed and simplistic, which is in sharp contrast to the detail and context he gives of other historical events. From there it only gets worse, with simplistic explanations and outright falsehoods about the Civil War. Here are a few examples, along with the correct information:
- There was absolutely no reference to the avowed reason for the North to go to war with the South, which was to preserve the Union. This was Lincoln’s entire motivation at the beginning of the war. And yet, Egan doesn’t even mention it until he gets to the Emancipation Proclamation.
- Egan implies that the Confederacy was, with the exception of Bull Run, losing the war from the start, but in fact in the early days of the war that the South was winning many of the battles.
- Egan makes a point of mentioning that Jefferson Davis suspended the write of Habeas Corpus, but makes no mention of the fact that so did Abraham Lincoln.
- Egan claims that McClellan did nothing with the plans of Robert E. Lee that were discovered by Union soldier, when that is in fact how McClellan knew where the Confederate troops would be, resulting in the Battle of Antietam. (Some classify this as a Northern victory, some as a stalemate, but it was enough in the Union’s favor for Lincoln to feel confident in unveiling the Emancipation Proclamation shortly thereafter.)
- Egan claims General Stonewall Jackson died of his wounds, but he actually died of pneumonia. Egan wanted to call Jackson’s death “ironic,” since Jackson strongly believed God was on the Confederacy’s side and he was shot by his own troops. Too bad historical accuracy gets in the way of Egan’s rhetoric.
- Egan refers to all southerners (particularly the residents of Atlanta) as slaveholders, but slaveholders were not a majority in any of the southern states.
As I’m sure many of you will agree, in order to be accurate, history needs to be as complete as possible. Omitting or obscuring details in order to support the point you want to make is dishonest and calls all your other assertions into question.
And, just for fun, here are some Civil War songs featuring Thomas Francis Meagher and the 69th New York:
- The Fighting 69th
- Opinions of Paddy McGee (also refers to the Great Hunger and other historical events)
- The Irish Volunteer (also note the reference to McClellan)
Then, of course, there were the completely unnecessary jabs at Mormons. Meagher merely passed through Utah on his way to Montana, and as far as we know, never had a significant interaction with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
A history writer needs to focus on the facts, and get off his soapbox.
No to No-Knock Warrants
Under normal circumstances, police can not enter your home without obtaining a search warrant or have probable cause. When they come to your home, they have to knock on the door or ring the doorbell. When you answer the door, they have to identify themselves as police officers and, if you ask for it, show you the warrant.
A no-knock warrant is when a judge allows police officers to enter a home or other location without announcing their presence in any way. They don’t knock on the door, ring the door bell, or even identify themselves as police officers. Supposedly, this is to prevent a suspect from destroying evidence and/or to protect the police from a dangerous individual.
Imagine someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night, and threatens you with a firearm. Naturally, your response will likely be to fight back. People who have never committed an act of violence in their lives will fight back against an intruder.
Now imagine those intruders are actually police officers. They can kill you with no repercussions, and if you harm them, you can be charged with assaulting a police officer.
This doesn’t sound like something that would happen in a free country. This sounds like a police state. This sounds like something out of Nazi Germany, that the SS or Gestapo would do.
Duncan Lemp was asleep in his bed in Maryland, when police with a search warrant shot him in his sleep at 4:30 in the morning. He was killed and his girlfriend was injured. The warrant, apparently, said absolutely nothing about an imminent threat. Additionally, what threat could a sleeping man be to armed police officers?
Breonna Taylor was in her home in Kentucky, when she and her boyfriend were awakened by a loud banging on the door. Apparently, they didn’t get to the door fast enough, because police officers with a no-knock warrant broke the door down. Her boyfriend, a legal gun owner, seeing armed intruders, fired at them. Breonna was shot eight times and killed by the plain-clothes police officers and was dead within 5 minutes.
This is not what happens in a free country. In a free country, people suspected of crimes are informed of the charges against them, can see the evidence, and face their accusers. They can defend themselves. Their homes are not invaded at night by police officers who have become judge, jury, and executioner.
That is what happens in a police state.
Coloring My Way Through Quarantine
Many of us struggled with finding things to do during the lock down. I was fortunate to still be working from home, but still needed something to distract myself from the insanity that is the world right now. So I turned to a relaxing hobby that I’ve indulged off and on: coloring.
I won’t make any pretense of being a great artist, but it keeps my hands busy and it’s relaxing.
Often I color while watching t.v., so I feel better about spending so much time watching t.v.
The school year is over now, giving me even more time to fill. I have a summer gig teaching online, but it isn’t very time consuming.
Where I am, the shelter in place has been mostly lifted, though libraries, museums, similar establishments, and some restaurants are still closed.
All in all, I know I’ve been fortunate to still have a home, my career, and my health.
Overall, my interests in coloring run towards the whimsical.
What have you been doing during the lock down?
On the Current Riots
I am horrified by what is happening to my country. Government officials seized unconstitutional authority to put their citizens out of work and under house arrest. Then police officers murdered a man on camera. Then rioters started destroying businesses, looting, setting fire to buildings, and beating and murdering people in the name of justice.
It’s sickening to see people defending these rioters. “They had no other options” and “You need to value people over property.” Do you really think no one has been hurt or killed in these riots?
The stories I’m about to share largely don’t appear to have been covered by MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, or CNN. Isn’t that interesting? I suggest you read these stories and try to understand why they, and stories like them, are largely being ignored.
Mohammad Abdi is from Somalia. He is a small -business owner in Minneapolis. And his business was threatened by rioters and looters. Before you say “It’s just property,” consider how he would support his family without his livelihood. Now, how exactly does threatening the livelihood of a black man support the message that Black Lives Matter?
A black security guard, Pat Underwood, was killed in Oakland by protestors. Pat Underwood was at the Oakland courthouse, doing his job, not hurting anyone, when he was gunned down. He had absolutely nothing to do with the murder of George Floyd. What happened to “Black Lives Matter”? Didn’t his life matter? How does killing Pat Underwood bring justice for George Floyd?
A man was shot and killed in his car in Detroit, Michigan, at a protest. Maybe the shooter had a score to settle, and used the protest as cover, but all the same, no one seems to care. Guess his life didn’t matter.
Two people were shot and killed in Davenport, Iowa. They were also at a protest. The news article is heartbreakingly brief, and offers no clues as to the shooter or motive. Guess their lives didn’t matter, either.
A multi-family home was set on fire in Richmond, CA by protestors. A child was still inside. Protestors wouldn’t let firefighters through. Police tried to make a way for them. Thankfully, firefighters were ultimately able to get to the child, and get him or her to safety. If that child had died, it would be the protestors’ fault. Could you face that child’s parents and tell them their child’s death was an acceptable loss to get justice for a murder that had nothing to do with them? The protestors had no other options, after all.
Threatening and killing innocent people isn’t justice. Threatening and killing innocent people doesn’t say that Black Lives Matter. In fact, it says that no one’s lives matter.
Anyone who excuses this violence as justified is saying exactly that.
Sunsets Over the Mountains
I love mountains, and I love sunsets. Here are both of them together, in some pictures I took last month.
The power line kind of ruins it, but I still love the hint of a rosy glow on the mountainside.
Even surrounded by power lines and cars, the sky and the mountains bring me peace.
Look at how dramatic that sky is!
The sun is almost gone…
selfeducatedconservative 