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— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 22, 2022
The top four options in naming DC's National Hockey League team were the Comets; the Pandas; the Eagles; and the Metros. So why did they name it the Washington Capitals instead? #DCHistory https://t.co/oUu5xaHFQi The top four options in naming DC's National Hockey League tea…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 22, 2022
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— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 22, 2022
Buried underneath George Washington Memorial Highway are the remains of Arlington's own "Little Italy." What happened to this once thriving Italian village? #VAHistory #ArlingtonVA https://t.co/DktFl6i7Ns Buried underneath George Washington Memorial Highway are the remains o…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 22, 2022
Upon its completion, Horatio Greenough's George Washington statue was met with mixed reception from the general public. Some even joked that it looked like Washington had just come out of a bath. #DCHistory https://t.co/S0EsPHB3Tk Upon its completion, Horatio Greenough's Geo…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 22, 2022
In January 1987, a blizzard shut down the District of Columbia. The poor response from then-Mayor Marion Barry presaged the beginning of the end of his time in office. #DCHistory https://t.co/jwaF2YXkzr In January 1987, a blizzard shut down the District of Columbia. The poor…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 22, 2022
https://t.co/8sqIZp3Y5x
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 22, 2022
This 16 c. world map was made in Dieppe, France and is thought to be the only extant map by French hydrographer Jean Cossin. He was the second mapmaker to use this complex sinusoidal projection. Look at the detail: https://t.co/e0rfWOk3rW https://t.co/b1vxFA3zO1 This 16 c. wo…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 21, 2022
Our apologies, here is the link! https://t.co/dAnW9QfuSb Our apologies, here is the link! https://t.co/dAnW9QfuSb — LOCMaps (@LOCMaps) Jan 21, 2022
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 21, 2022
After being mistakenly shot by his own troops, Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's left arm was amputated. Weak from the operation, he later died of pneumonia. But what happened to the arm? #VAHistory https://t.co/1pPDBYtvaJ After being mistakenly sho…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 21, 2022
Washington, D.C. was intended to be the "model dry city" after Prohibition came into law. But even congressmen who voted for the amendment ensured that a secret supply of liquor flowed into the halls of Congress. #DCHistory https://t.co/dBAW4HTw32 Washington, D.C. was intend…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 21, 2022
Here are five stories that moved us this week, and the reasons why.
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Maurice Chammah | The Marshall Project | January 18th, 2022 | 6,600 Words
“They put us together…and tell us that we can do whatever we want, as long as we solve cases.” That’s what James Holland, a Texas Ranger and media-dubbed “serial killer whisperer,” once said about the Rangers’ work on unsolved murders. The person he said it to was James Driskill, a suspect in a cold case, and Holland wasn’t kidding: To pin the murder on Driskill, the Rangers used hypnosis, deception, a “hypothetical” confession, and other investigative methods criticized by criminal justice experts and advocates as dramatically increasing the risk of convicting an innocent person. Which is exactly what Driskill, now serving a prison sentence, and his legal team say happened to him. Maurice Chammah’s story about Holland’s questionable techniques, which aren’t isolated to Driskill’s case, is as jaw-dropping as it is expertly crafted. —SD
Jeff Weiss | Los Angeles Magazine | January 13th, 2022 | 6,842 words
The heyday of hip-hop magazines like XXL and Rap Pages might be behind us, but there’s still a cadre of thoughtful, incisive journalists chronicling the culture in a way that transcends the usual artist profiles and album reviews. One of my favorites of the past few years has been Weiss, who has become an ardent keeper of the L.A. flame, creating compelling portraits of hometown heroes like 03 Greedo — and here his gifts are on full display, though they’re the sour fruit of a tragedy. In December, when Los Angeles rapper Drakeo the Ruler was ambushed backstage at a music festival and fatally stabbed, Weiss was feet away. The two had kindled a relationship over the years, one that had begun under the auspices of journalism but evolved into friendship; now, over the course of nearly 7,000 words, Weiss braids together Drakeo’s all-too-short life with his own journey of grief. Proximal but never predatory, it peels back the myth to reveal a young man who sought to put his sprawling city on his back, even though it meant a collision course with a grisly fate. This isn’t music journalism; it’s human journalism. —PR
Rasha Elass | New Lines | January 14, 2022 | 6,368 words
In this unexpected essay about living in wartime Syria, Rasha Elass writes about her adventures over the past decade with her two cats, Pumpkin and Gremlin, whom she adopted as kittens in Abu Dhabi. In 2010, before the Arab Spring, Elass goes to Damascus, where she was born, in the hope of connecting more deeply to the place of her birth. Conflict and civil war, however, make this impossible; Elass describes day-to-day life in the capital as both a resident and a journalist: the mortar attacks and the bombs, the hostile checkpoints and the dangers of reporting in rebel-controlled areas. But through it all, Pumpkin and Gremlin are there — watchful witnesses, beloved companions — as cats are. “When the war starts the cats will continue to soften the rough edges of the humans around them, even those who become agitated and brandish Kalashnikovs.” You don’t need to love cats to enjoy this essay, but if you do, you’ll certainly understand the bond Elass has with hers. —CLR
Danielle Tcholakian | Jezebel | January 19th, 2022 | 2,371
Here at home, we would have a couple beers and probably a glass of wine every evening during that first year of the pandemic. We drank to have something to look forward to. (Well, at least there is a cold amber ale or two — or three — awaiting me at the end of yet another long day.) We drank to avoid the reality of the case and death counts here and elsewhere. We joked about it, a dark humor that helped justify and enable our choice of coping mechanism. But as Danielle Tcholakian recounts in her brave and poignant essay at Jezebel, alcohol became a weighted blanket that suppressed not fear, not self-loathing, nor the world at large, but a necessary perspective shift — one that life with less alcohol, or in Tcholakian’s case abstinence — could bring. Tcholakian’s piece recounts deep, dangerous depression. That’s where our experiences diverge, though the evolution in mindset she describes so well is something I recognize. “Maladaptive behaviors create what I imagine to be rutted little canals in our wiring, like scratched up dive bar tables…But over and over, pushing forward through these feelings that I previously would’ve poured alcohol over got me to a place I couldn’t have understood.” This piece is clear and deeply compelling: While we all experience and respond to the world and its stressors in different ways, we all feel scared and helpless at times. In being so vulnerable, Tcholakian reminds us of the most important thing, so often forgotten while we snuggle with the black dog: we are not alone. —KS
Lila Shapiro | Vulture | January 17th, 2022 | 8,989 words
The ’90s were a different era — a time before Netflix binging — when a whole agonizing week passed between each episode of your favorite show. Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired on Fridays at 7 p.m., and I was either ready on the sofa or scrambling to record it on VHS tape. I loved it! To me, Buffy was a symbol of “girl power” (a beloved ’90s phrase), a young blonde woman finally playing the hero rather than the victim. Lila Shapiro, however, writes that the show can be interpreted differently: “the titillating tale of a woman in leather pants who is brutalized by monsters.” Disconcerting for me to consider, but in line with the recent revelations about Joss Whedon, Buffy‘s creator.
Shapiro has carried out extraordinary research for this article, interviewing Whedon’s former colleagues and lovers, as well as Whedon himself. Once a god to his fans, public revelations from his ex-wife and former cast detailing affairs with young actresses and casual cruelty have led to his fall. People are conflicted about whether he was merely difficult or crossed the line into abuse, and Shapiro finds no clear answers. Whedon is keen to deflect blame, claiming that, with regard to affairs with cast members, “He felt he ‘had’ to sleep with them, that he was ‘powerless’ to resist.” An uncomfortable and frustrating read — which may tarnish some childhood memories — but a brilliant exploration into the ruin of Whedon’s reputation. —CW
This incredibly detailed 1852 map of Japan features major settlements and shipping routes throughout the country. Take a closer look here: https://t.co/bQi2ypUf7V This incredibly detailed 1852 map of Japan features major settlements and shipping routes throughout the country. …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 21, 2022
Theodore Roosevelt was a notoriously difficult subject to paint. But one painter portrayed him so well he never sat for another painting again. #DCHistory https://t.co/IiG8hGiYy6 Theodore Roosevelt was a notoriously difficult subject to paint. But one painter portrayed him s…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 21, 2022
Hubble Sights a Sail of Stars via NASA https://t.co/EIbjm43Dc9 https://t.co/GMVGi2L5nc
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 21, 2022
Snapshot from the Mall, 1952, along Jefferson Drive NW, possibly at 7th St NW. The Mall was covered with temporary buildings left over from both World Wars. https://t.co/YYdu3mFPgD Snapshot from the Mall, 1952, along Jefferson Drive NW, possibly at 7th St NW. The Mall was cove…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 21, 2022
Quote of the Day: "We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours." - Dag Hammarskjold
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 21, 2022
President Clinton made history when he chose a historically Black church, the Metropolitan AME Church, for his morning inaugural prayer service #OTD 1993. He returned for his second inaugural in 1997. #DCHistory https://t.co/QVSSvAqCyN President Clinton made history when he …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
With co-producer @GastroSoul, we gather local restaurateurs from @DasEthiopian;@ElTamarindoDC; and @busboysandpoets to discuss food as a form of cultural diplomacy, activism, and economic stability in DC. (3/3) With co-producer @GastroSoul, we gather local restaurateurs fro…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
What restaurants loom large in the minds of Washingtonians? From Mamma Desta, which first introduced Washingtonians to Ethiopian food, to El Tamarindo introducing the pupusa and serving as a community anchor, through waves of neighborhood development. (2/3) What restaurants…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
Celebrating Restaurant Week #RWDMV? Learn more about how immigrant communities shape DC’s foodways at our virtual event on January 27. Sign up here: https://t.co/jiAR390bNU (1/3) Celebrating Restaurant Week #RWDMV? Learn more about how immigrant communities shape DC’s foodways…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
Lead Belly's "Bourgeois Blues" was three minutes of rippling 12-string blues... It was also an incisive, damning indictment of the rampant Jim Crow segregation in 1930s #DC. #DChistory https://t.co/XyOSZB9rqd Lead Belly's "Bourgeois Blues" was three minutes of rippling 12-st…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
Peering Through a Window to the World via NASA https://t.co/MtvRKL7mna https://t.co/zHzCuqTwpf
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
Did Led Zeppelin really make its DC-area debut in front of 50 confused teens at the Wheaton Youth Center on January 20, 1969? #OTD https://t.co/O3iTL5w41W Did Led Zeppelin really make its DC-area debut in front of 50 confused teens at the Wheaton Youth Center on January 20, …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
Preserving the site of the historic battle, Gettysburg National Military Park is depicted here in this 1919 panoramic map. Take a closer look here: https://t.co/OtStFUlPnH https://t.co/zZwJn1eSh8 Preserving the site of the historic battle, Gettysburg National Military Park is…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
Late 19th century lantern slide of the 26-inch "Great Equatorial" refractor telescope at the Old Naval Observatory in Foggy Bottom. When acquired by the Navy in 1873, it was the largest refracting telescope in the world. https://t.co/EzOhxcptcd Late 19th century lantern slide …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
Today in History - January 20 https://t.co/PJAcgUHs2U On January 20, 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. president sworn into office in January. Continue reading. On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy distinguished his inaugural ceremony with a poetry reading …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 20, 2022
Remembering Trailblazing Pilot Charles McGee via NASA https://t.co/jwzX8IIiij https://t.co/PbCUjMh5Tx
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 19, 2022
Short fiction? Yes! We’re trying an experiment.
Toronto in winter is the backdrop for Sharon Bala‘s riveting short story “Butter Tea at Starbucks,” published at The New Quarterly. This piece, layered with deep tensions between immediate family and between countries, is told by Pema, a young Tibetan woman caught in the middle. Pema’s sister Karma is struggling to meet a newborn’s demands while trying to assert her independence over their parents, traditional Tibetans who are in conflict with the father of their new granddaughter. In the epicenter of the domestic strife and conflict unfolding in Toronto — sharply juxtaposed with a horrific self-immolation in protest against China’s treatment of Tibet — is newborn Sophia.
The flames flap with a noise like laundry on a line. The fire is an orange column. A plastic bag pirouettes in mid-air. The camera, unsteady, lingers and lingers. And in the middle, the figure stands upright, stoic or suicidal. Pema thinks: she’s already dead.
It is Pema’s duty to marry a Tibetan, to have sweet- faced almond-skinned children. She wants to do her part. But when she plays scrabble with Jamal and Karma she wants what they have too.
Find a Tibetan? Karma raises one eyebrow high on her forehead; the eyebrow says I’m above all this nonsense. Here? That’s like going into Starbucks and ordering butter tea.
Pema’s parents and her sister are like warring nations, old foes skirmishing over a boundary line that shifts imperceptibly, never gaining any ground. What they need is a mediator, someone to broker a peace agreement.
Pema unscrews the nipple off the bottle and tries to think of a neutral topic. For a decade, it was just the three of them. By the time Pema arrived, the unexpected child, there was no place for a fourth party in the fray.
Amala asks about the baby. She calls her Tenzin Dolma.
Her name is Sophia, Karma says.
Pema is surprised. When had this been decided? Tenzin Dolma. Pala speaks with authority. This name will bring her good fortune.
Were you in labour for sixteen hours? Karma’s voice jumps up. Her name is Sophia Naomi Wilson.
New G&M #StoryMap uses maps and photographs to explore how geology has shaped the cities of the eastern United States! Dive into this fascinating Story Map here: https://t.co/mdaWRA5Emj. https://t.co/MRV1eAQHqk New G&M #StoryMap uses maps and photographs to explore how geology…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 19, 2022
Maryland lawmakers put forth bill to remove racist senator’s name from Chevy Chase Circle https://t.co/Whzd2A6kAj Maryland lawmakers put forth bill to remove racist senator’s name from Chevy Chase Circle https://t.co/Whzd2A6kAj — Streets of Washington (@StreetsOfDC) Jan 19, …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 19, 2022
Constitution Avenue NW in front of the National Archives, circa 1952. Streetcars pass alongside the National Gallery of Art on 7th Street NW in the background. https://t.co/GdTm7NwwrI Constitution Avenue NW in front of the National Archives, circa 1952. Streetcars pass alongsi…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 19, 2022
Today in History - January 19 https://t.co/qzVWNv9sqe No writer has the ability to evoke a sense of horror and dread more effectively than Edgar Allan Poe, born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. Continue reading. Click here to search Today in History for other…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 19, 2022
Quote of the Day: "A man should always consider how much he has more than he wants." - Joseph Addison
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 19, 2022
32 years ago tonight, FBI agents arrested #DC Mayor Marion Barry at the Vista International Hotel. It didn't take long for the incident to be front page news... or for @Capsteps to write a song about it. #DCHistory #OTD https://t.co/5NhPSKTT0M 32 years ago tonight, FBI agent…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 19, 2022
102 years ago this week, Prohibition became the law of the land but thirsty members of Congress had a hooch hookup inside the Capitol. Meet "The Man in the Green Hat." #DChistory https://t.co/dBAW4HTw32 102 years ago this week, Prohibition became the law of the land but thir…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 18, 2022
Job alert! The DC History Center seeks a new Editor for Washington History magazine. The publication appeals to non-specialists and scholars with fully sourced scholarship presented in a richly illustrated, inviting format. Visit https://t.co/sMLIaHKutH to learn more. …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 18, 2022
Drilling Holes on the Red Planet via NASA https://t.co/angwOy11Yy https://t.co/uq5ZpZrP9I
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 18, 2022
If you get chilly this week, be glad you weren't in #DC 110 years ago when the mercury dipped to NEGATIVE 13. On the bright side, the Tidal Basin froze over and the Federal Government hosted an Ice Carnival. So, there was that. #DChistory https://t.co/4Q1H96GKgm If you get c…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 18, 2022
Jack Harris (1853-1918) was an English immigrant who had a long career in the hospitality business. He built and opened the Hotel Harris at 15 Massachusetts Avenue NW in 1908. The small hotel was the first to open in the vicinity of the new Union Station—many more would foll…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 18, 2022
This 1920 pictorial panoramic map is a helpful guide to the islands of Boston Harbor! Take a closer look here: https://t.co/i4wShglE1b https://t.co/XobX8WfRuB This 1920 pictorial panoramic map is a helpful guide to the islands of Boston Harbor! Take a closer look here: …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 18, 2022
Today in History - January 18 https://t.co/DCotgaC8gU On January 18, 1919, a few months after the end of World War I, leaders from the Allied nations began a series of discussions that became known as the Paris Peace Conference. Continue reading. Click here to search Today…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 18, 2022
Quote of the Day: "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." - E. M. Forster
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 18, 2022
Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Happy #MLKDay DC! 📷: Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at a press conference at the US Capitol, Photo by Marian Trikosko, Courtesy of the Library of Congress. https://t.co/oYnrseaUbh Today we celebrate th…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 17, 2022
The U.S.S. Rockville was a patrol rescue escort ship built in 1943. The ship saw action caring for casualties in the South Pacific during WWII. In 1951, she was transferred to the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, serving to 1965. The ship is seen docked in the Potomac. …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 17, 2022
Today in History - January 17 https://t.co/7WKiswIE5W Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts. Continue reading. On January 17, 1871, San Franciscan, Andrew Smith Hallidie patented an improved "Endless Wire Ropeway", a key component in the …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 17, 2022
Quote of the Day: "The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 17, 2022
collection 10 early polly pocket bluebird play houses 1989-1995 See All Photos | eBay https://t.co/eocJr226gg
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 16, 2022
https://t.co/nTjqUudcaB
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 16, 2022
1926 photo of the First Congregational Church, built in 1868 at the northeast corner of 10th and G St NW. It stood here until around 1961, when it was replaced by a mid-century building, which in turn was replaced by a modern structure with an office building on top in 2012. …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 16, 2022
Today in History - January 16 https://t.co/rQGxJgkzoJ On January 16, 1896, Henry F. Kallenberg, an instructor of physical education at the University of Iowa, welcomed Amos Alonzo Stagg, athletic director at the recently founded University of Chicago, to Iowa City for an exp…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 16, 2022
Quote of the Day: "The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed." - Nicolas Chamfort
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Jan 16, 2022