Yeah, That Happened: Topics in History

[boxofrocks]

Another Drunk History fan here! Derek Waters' original ones are on YouTube and Funny or Die. I think it's amusing how the Comedy Central show has higher production values yet still chooses to keep the atrocious wigs. My favorites are last season's Woodward and Bernstein (complete with "Deep Throat" miming the narrator's vomiting) and the John Wilkes Booth skits. The Hawaii mosh pit is also a fun one.

[Smilla]

Aug 25, 2014 15:56:02 GMT -4 Smilla said:

Lately, even though I've always resisted the era for some reason, I'm getting into the late 18th century and the American Revolutionary War.

Just a quick addendum to my previous post--the AMC series, Turn, based on America's first set of actual spies, is excellent. Much better than any of their post Mad Men offering in terms of acting quality. The costumes are beautiful, too. So if you like the period, I recommend checking it out.

[divasahm]

Just an FYI here--Ken Burns' latest documentary series, on the Roosevelt family, starts airing tonight. Check your local PBS listing for time and channel. Personally, I can't wait!

[Metairie]

I can't wait wait either diva. My DVR has been set to record for weeks.

[Auroranorth]

Aug 16, 2014 9:44:25 GMT -4 chonies said:

How did your husband get into the reenacting, Carolinian? I admire your total and principled commitment to authenticity.

Here's a question: I read Quiverful by Kathryn Joyce, and at one time she discusses talking to a patriarchy-movement man who considers himself a historian. One of the topics they discuss is that the hearth-and-home model of prairieland American culture was heavily influenced by the Germans. Link. But since it's not a history book, they don't really go into some of the other possibilities. Is this too esoteric for this thread? I know it's more ethnohistory, but I was wondering if anyone had read anything else about this and could expand.

I was just rereading Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter and in the first chapter she mentions that Ma didn't want Laura to help Pa get the hay in.

Only foreigners did that (worked in the fields.) Ma and her girls were Americans, above doing men's work.

[chonies]

Oh, thanks! I suppose I'd better brush up for the MOOC.

I happened to stumble across several articles about the "ravenmothers": women who are perceived as not homey and nurturing to their offspring, and how it's created some problems in German society. There are a few in the NY Times, too.

[Auroranorth]

One luminary of German business, Josef Ackermann, chief executive of Deutsche Bank, accepted that there are not many women at the top level, and none on the board of his company.

"But I hope it will be prettier and more colourful one day," he said - a statement that was not greeted with joy by those seeking to increase female involvement at the top.

*headdesk*

[ikmccall]

Finding Your Roots started season two this week on PBS. The family history of Courtney B. Vance almost made me cry. I kind of wish they had revealed what became of Stephen King's father. Still, I think this was one of the best episodes. All three stories were so interesting.

[wilbert]

I just want to say I love this thread. You guys know all sorts of interesting stuff. Thanks for entertaining and educating me.

[chonies]

Sept 25, 2014 20:51:39 GMT -4 ikmccall said:

Finding Your Roots started season two this week on PBS. The family history of Courtney B. Vance almost made me cry. I kind of wish they had revealed what became of Stephen King's father. Still, I think this was one of the best episodes. All three stories were so interesting.

I haven't seen this episode, but this show (and to a pretty large extent, Who Do You Think You Are?) are really amazing. They show research, its dead ends, and all sorts of tiny, banal details. The DNA part of the episode with Michelle Rodriguez, Linda Chavez, and Adrian Grenier was really interesting, too, although I do wish that they had touched a teeny bit on Grenier's romanticizing of his imagined ancestry. I suppose that's for a different show, though.

And wilbert, you're welcome--I love this thread, too! What is your favorite historical era or theme?