Denise

@mknote112 As an American, I’m self conscious about being unintentionally offensive to Japanese people. I don’t want to commit a social faux pas. Just know that about 99.99% of our offenses are unintentional and we mean well!

なんか、日本人とアメリカ人、褒め方が全然違うよね。褒め慣れてるし、褒められ慣れてるよね。 そのうち「なんか日本のツイッタラー反応薄くない？」みたいに失望されたら悲しいけど、彼らみたいに大袈裟に褒め合うのに慣れていないだけ。心の中はめちゃくちゃ嬉しい！

@SonohennoKuma @WallStreetMav Fukushima weathered an unimaginable natural disaster, and your citizens went to superhuman lengths to protect your population. I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. Most Americans like and respect the Japanese.

マスメディアや知識人は、「いかに日本人が嫌われているか」「どれだけ日本が悪いか」ばかり語ってきた。 だが、このポストには米国の人達から日本に対する好意的な声が読み切れないほど溢れていて、とても驚いている。しかも福島なのに。 親愛なる米国の友人達、本当にありがとう。 @WallStreetMav

@johnricard Alex did a seven part podcast series on the Gallic Wars, and then this is #2 for the Civil Wars. He provided extensive context in other episodes.

Pharsalus is not the cause of Caesar’s greatness—it’s the result of it. To argue Caesar is Rome’s greatest general because he defeated Pompey is to focus on the final act, not the years of formation that made that victory possible. Why is this so? Caesar himself tells us. 🧵

This week I wrote about how the printing press triggered a panic over Latin loanwords in the 16th century. But the printing press did something else to English: it caused much of the chaos that haunts English spelling to this day. All because it arrived just a little too early. When printing arrived in England in 1476, it started to standardize spelling. The timing could not have been worse: English pronunciation was in the middle of a massive upheaval called the Great Vowel Shift, in which many vowels in the language changed how they were said. The spelling froze, but the pronunciation kept moving. If you've ever studied Spanish, you know that their vowel letters are pronounced consistently: A is ‘ah,’ E is ‘eh,’ I is ‘ee,’ O is ‘oh,’ and U is ‘oo.’ Most European languages are like this. English vowels used to work the same way too: “Bite” sounded like “beet.” “Beet” sounded like “bate,” and “bate” sounded like a longer version of “bat.” The printing press froze the spelling as it was before this game of musical chairs began. If it had arrived just a generation later, English spelling would look completely different.

Feeding time for baby goats

This week, I wrote about how Russian speakers process blue differently because their language splits it into two colours. But English has its own strange colour history too. Old English colour words don't map onto ours at all, and “blue” was barely a thing.

A literal fortress of ice in Grand Haven, Michigan. 🧊🌊 The drone view of the South Pierhead Outer Light completely encased in frozen spray while Lake Michigan continues to roar. Nature’s architecture at its finest. @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @NWSGrandRapids @PureMichigan #PureMichigan #Winter #GrandHaven #LakeMichigan

If you want to see outrage toward Lansing, wait until Michigan voters learn that all of the lottery profits have been siphoned off from K-12 schools. My column in today’s @detroitnews: detroitnews.com/story/opinion/…

Can you understand ACTUALLY SPOKEN Old English?? Here are a few snippets from my conversation with @colingorrie , the first recorded conversation between two advanced OE speakers in over 800 years! Check out the whole episode here: youtube.com/watch?v=Ww6hoK…

@LorentLouise My twins went full term (38 wks) and weighed over 13lbs together. I’m 5’4”. My belly was so huge I couldn’t even find maternity wear to cover it.

The OB today: "So um were your other babies pretty big then?" Me: "uh yeah the last one was 9 lbs 5 oz..." OB: "But the delivery went ok?" Me: "yes." OB: "Well that's good. Because, uh..." Me: "I know. I look huge." OB: "Well. It's a good thing you're tall."

@wil_da_beast630 He was pretty conservative, largely because his book was one of the first to establish the field. Privately, he acknowledged believing that the numbers were much higher, but kept the low estimates for publication.

Davis is a "low counter," re total numbers.

@jollypotato @visegrad24 One of the best scholarly works is Robert Davis, "Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters." It's a bit older now, but it really started the field of study.

@visegrad24 Does anyone have any good (and enjoyable) book recommendations about this

Between 1453 and 1774, there were a total of 2,511 slave raids in Central Europe. Some 5 million people were abducted and taken as captives to the Black Sea ports for sale across the Ottoman Empire.

@wil_da_beast630 Not to mention that Marx was objectively a shitty writer. Engels cleaned it up as best as he could, but Marx's writing was almost as bad as his theories--and command of history.

I've read all he wrote and he's a grade-A moron - in addition to a total failure, and exploited of women and kids, in his own life.

bit.ly/TWIHI458Johnny… Whenever possible, I like to record my podcast in person. This is usually accomplished in Santa Monica, California, on the fifth floor of the building where mikeroweWORKS is headquartered. I fly down once a month to record five or six episodes, which my producer, Chuck, arranges, assembles, and posts on various platforms. This summer, during a very warm week in August, I interviewed six guests from this location, all of whom were excellent, and all of whom received a heartfelt apology after our conversation. Why? Because this August, during the week in question, the air conditioner crapped out, driving the temperature in the studio to a moist and balmy 87 degrees. Eighty-seven degrees is delightful when you’re drifting down a lazy river on an inner tube nursing a cold beer. It’s not delightful when you’re mopping your brow while answering questions on a podcast. But along with the busted air conditioner, the elevator also succumbed to the second law of thermodynamics and stopped working for reasons best explained by a licensed elevator repairman. Alas, elevator repairmen are in short supply these days, so there was no way to get the machine repaired in time for my interviews. Thus, my August guests were treated to a five-story climb for a 90-minute chat in a muggy sauna, and hence, there was much to apologize for. But this week’s guest — @Johnny_Joey —deserves a separate acknowledgement. Because Joey, as many of you know, left his legs in Afghanistan fifteen years ago, when an IED sent him home early. And Chuck forgot to tell Joey that our elevator was broken before he got on a plane and flew in from New York, just to do this interview. Joey arrived at the office half an hour early, like a good Marine would. Chuck buzzed him in, and we ran down the stairs to meet him on the ground floor. “Hi, Joey. Thanks for making the trip,” I said. "There’s no air conditioning and no elevator.” Joey nodded at the “Out of Service” sign on the elevator. "I already put that together." “How many steps?” he asked. “At least 60,” I said. “We’re on the fifth floor.” Joey glanced at Chuck. For a moment, I thought he was gonna say, “What kind of producer invites a guy with no legs to an interview that requires him to climb 60 steps?” which was, interestingly, the precise question I had posed a few minutes before Joey arrived. But Joey was far too polite to talk to Chuck that way. And even though his expression—for just a moment—made me think he considered detaching one of his legs to beat Chuck over the head, Joey did no such thing. He just walked over to the first flight of stairs and stared at the mountain before him. I didn’t know if it was possible to walk up five flights with prosthetic legs, but I doubted it. I figured Joey would either a) allow me and Chuck to carry him up, b) allow the firemen around the corner to take him up on a stretcher, or c) detach his legs and drag himself up on his own. I was loathe to suggest any of the above, but happily, there was no need. Because Joey handed me his backpack, opened his arms, and grabbed both railings in either hand. Then he started climbing. The trick was to put each prosthetic foot as close to the wall as possible and then pull himself up one leg at a time. This required Joey to assume a (very) wide stance and muscle his way up every stair, rocking back and forth, left to right, as he advanced. It was awkward and probably painful, but Joey has insane upper body strength and made impressive progress. He is also incapable of complaining. Chuck stayed behind him, where he could break the Marine’s fall if he slipped and fell backwards, but there was no need. Joey hauled himself all the way up five flights with no assistance, pausing only briefly on the third-floor landing to catch his breath. Up top, he blew a few beads of sweat off his nose and entered my sweltering studio, where he was his usual charming and thoughtful self for the next ninety minutes. Our conversation is here - bit.ly/TWIHI458Johnny… Yes, we discuss my broken elevator and Chuck’s uncertain future as a podcast producer. But we spend a lot of time on some other issues I think are important. It’s worth your time, and so is his new book, Behind the Badge, wherein Joey talks about the extraordinary first responders who taught him the secrets to overcoming adversity while maintaining a sense of humor. A secret he has long since mastered.

@weathertrackus Grand Haven, MI 9:30 EST

Looks like a substorm is in progress! Mid-latitudes should check for auroras, and some low-latitude locations may see some soon, if not, later.

@Vincent_Ledvina Grand Haven, MI 9:30 EST

A substorm seems to be occuring!! Head outside and take a look north if you have clear skies to maybe catch a glimpse of the aurora. Phone cameras will see more than your eyes, so take a test shot while you're out.

@WMstormchaserDB I live in Ottawa County. It's unusual that we somehow manage to dodge a lake-effect bout entirely.

Well now I’ve seen it all…

Dude, this is adorable I’m totally doing this with the family for Christmas🎁

On this day in 1854, the Light Brigade carries out a disastrous cavalry charge at the Battle of Balaclava. Tennyson publishes a poetic account of the fiasco just six weeks later: "Boldly they rode and well into the jaws of Death; into the mouth of hell rode the six hundred."

@fredsirieix1 @ChefReactions

This dessert comes straight from my hometown, Limoges 🇫🇷 it’s called Clafoutis, made with sweet cherries 🍒. Funny enough, my name Sirieix actually comes from the local word Sirie, meaning cherry! So I guess this one’s truly in my blood. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do ❤️