Friday, July 17, 2009
Hot, humid, a chance of rain - let's go to a reenactment!
Yes, you read the title of the post correctly; I am going to a reenactment this weekend even though the weather seems less than ideal. It's our annual trek to Fort Macon to take part in a weekend-long living history program sponsored by the 1st NC Volunteers/11th NC Troops. We'll have about 7 guys this weekend, interpreting the US and CS navies, as well as the US Marines in the waters in and around Beaufort Harbor and Fort Macon. This is always a nice event, but this weekend looks to be very hot and humid, with chances for thunderstorms both days. Could be interesting. As one of my friends once said, "It's against my religion to go reenactin' in the summer." Funny thing is, he'll be there this weekend too. So, if you happen to be on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina this weekend, come on down to Fort Macon. The program runs 10-4 both Saturday and Sunday, and there will be plenty to see.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Brief Book Review
I just finished reading Stephen Chapin Kinnaman's The Most Perfect Cruiser. I was asked to review this book for the Nautical Research Journal. This will be the third review I've written for that journal in the past 18 months (previously having reviewed biographies of John Paul Jones and Gustavas Vasa Fox).
I have to admit that I was very skeptical about this book from the outset. I had never heard of Dog Ear Publishing, so I did a little research. I assumed they were a vanity press, but found out that the company actually is just a self-publishing organization. They will publish any manuscript for anyone, and have varying packages depending on how much the author wishes to pay. This fed my skepticism even more. However, aside from some flaws that I attribute to the publishing process, this book isn't really all that bad. In fact, I was impressed with the author's focus, clarity, and research. Rather than simply relating the exploits of the CSS Alabama (I mean, do we really need another one of those books?), the author focuses on the construction of the vessel, and secondarily, other Confederate vessels in England. The book deals mainly with politics, logistics, and personalities. It really is a quite pleasant and engaging book to read.
The aforementioned flaws include a number of typos, an often too conversational style to the narrative, and other simple stuff like that, as well as a non-professional endnote style (but at least it has endnotes!). This book could have been published by any number of presses with a little reformatting and better editing. While not an academic jewel, it's still worth a read.
I have to admit that I was very skeptical about this book from the outset. I had never heard of Dog Ear Publishing, so I did a little research. I assumed they were a vanity press, but found out that the company actually is just a self-publishing organization. They will publish any manuscript for anyone, and have varying packages depending on how much the author wishes to pay. This fed my skepticism even more. However, aside from some flaws that I attribute to the publishing process, this book isn't really all that bad. In fact, I was impressed with the author's focus, clarity, and research. Rather than simply relating the exploits of the CSS Alabama (I mean, do we really need another one of those books?), the author focuses on the construction of the vessel, and secondarily, other Confederate vessels in England. The book deals mainly with politics, logistics, and personalities. It really is a quite pleasant and engaging book to read.
The aforementioned flaws include a number of typos, an often too conversational style to the narrative, and other simple stuff like that, as well as a non-professional endnote style (but at least it has endnotes!). This book could have been published by any number of presses with a little reformatting and better editing. While not an academic jewel, it's still worth a read.
Monday, July 6, 2009
This Just In......
I just received in the mail a copy of the new book The Sea King: The Life of James Iredell Waddell by Gary McKay. Dr. McKay wrote to me last year after seeing my blog, and told me of the project he was working on. Last week I received an email from him informing me that the book had been published and that I would be receiving a copy. Hearty thanks to Dr. McKay for my autographed copy of the first full-length biography of one of the Confederacy's most successful raiders! The book is so new in fact, that I could not find it on the publsher's web page (even though it's already on Amazon). I look forward to diving into this book as soon as I finish my review on James Bulloch and the construction of the CSS Alabama.
Follow This Blog on Facebook
Just wanted to let everyone know that you can now follow my blog on Facebook. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see the link for Networked Blogs. You can click there and follow me if you are on Facebook.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Blog Maintenance
Just wanted to let you all know that I've deleted a few blogs from the Sports Blogs roll near the bottom of the page. A few of those folks hadn't posted in quite a while so I decided to drop them and just leave the better ones up there. Of course, some of the blogs devoted solely to the Steelers have been somewhat slow lately, but they'll pick up near the end of the month when training camp opens.
I also realized that it's been a month and a half since I posted anything in the "My Career" series. I got through eleven posts, which basically had me through grad school. I do plan to eventually do a couple more posts to bring the series up to the present, but have no definite plans when that will happen.
Thanks to all of my readers who keep up with the blog. I hope you will continue to check in and see what's going on. Posts have been slower lately because there's less happening for me this time of year, but I promise not to become a "slogger" (a term I invented, meaning a slack blogger).
I also realized that it's been a month and a half since I posted anything in the "My Career" series. I got through eleven posts, which basically had me through grad school. I do plan to eventually do a couple more posts to bring the series up to the present, but have no definite plans when that will happen.
Thanks to all of my readers who keep up with the blog. I hope you will continue to check in and see what's going on. Posts have been slower lately because there's less happening for me this time of year, but I promise not to become a "slogger" (a term I invented, meaning a slack blogger).
Long Weekend
I hope everyone out there had a fabulous July 4th weekend! It turned out to be rather busy around here. On Friday, my brother and I continued working on a seemingly never ending project, cleaning out my dad's old shed so that we can demolish the addition he added onto it a few years ago and rebuild the old part of the shed, which is still in good shape. We've filled up a 30 cubic yard construction dumpster and then some with all of the crap that he hoarded over the years. I am making conscious efforts to NEVER collect as much stuff as he did. I realize I have a sizable library and music library, but those are much easier to deal with than a shed full of tools, construction supplies, old Marine Corps stuff, and various odds and ends.
On Saturday our crew descended on Fort Macon to provide cannon demonstrations for the public. We had more guys at this shoot than we've had all year, which is odd for a holiday. The visitors were out in force as well; the numbers of spectators at our demonstrations were the best we've had all season, and both parking lots at the park filled up by 10:15 a.m. Of course, this led to a lot of traffic issues and stupid/inconsiderate/angry people, but all in all it seemed to be a real good day. Due to scheduling conflicts, this was probably my last Fort Macon shoot for the year.
Today I took some time to catch up on a few things around the house, and get ready to head back to work tomorrow. I hope that you all had a great weekend, and that you will continue to have a safe and enjoyable summer. It will be over before we know it!
On Saturday our crew descended on Fort Macon to provide cannon demonstrations for the public. We had more guys at this shoot than we've had all year, which is odd for a holiday. The visitors were out in force as well; the numbers of spectators at our demonstrations were the best we've had all season, and both parking lots at the park filled up by 10:15 a.m. Of course, this led to a lot of traffic issues and stupid/inconsiderate/angry people, but all in all it seemed to be a real good day. Due to scheduling conflicts, this was probably my last Fort Macon shoot for the year.
Today I took some time to catch up on a few things around the house, and get ready to head back to work tomorrow. I hope that you all had a great weekend, and that you will continue to have a safe and enjoyable summer. It will be over before we know it!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
NC Maritime Museum
Ten days since my last post, but there really hasn't been anything too interesting going on in that time. I've been working on a book review, trying to keep up with my summer classes (which is always hectic), and lots of the routine stuff at work. However, things are about to get busy again over the next few weeks and it all began yesterday.
My wife, Lori, tried on my flat hat, but it was a bit too big for her.
Me and some of my mates from the Carolina Living History Guild headed down to Beaufort to the NC Maritime Museum, which is where my wife works. We had been asked to do a Saturday living history program and it just so happened that the date we selected was also during the Beaufort Historical Association's annual historic homes tour. This worked out really well for us because lots of folks were already in town for the tour. We set up displays on uniforms, small arms, and steam engines, and portrayed both Union and Confederate navies, both of which had ties to the town at different points during the war. We had steady visitation all day and saw over 600 folks come through. One of the day's highlights was a visit from fellow historian, author, and US Army officer, Wade Sokolosky. Wade is a native of Beaufort and has just recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan; I was very glad that had the opportunity to come by the museum for a brief visit. All in all, it was a good day, and we even got a little silly towards the end, as you'll see in the photos.
Al Mitchell talking to visitors about steam engines
Don Smith and Ken Sewell man the ever-popular small arms display
And then the silliness ensued!
My wife, Lori, tried on my flat hat, but it was a bit too big for her.Me and some of my mates from the Carolina Living History Guild headed down to Beaufort to the NC Maritime Museum, which is where my wife works. We had been asked to do a Saturday living history program and it just so happened that the date we selected was also during the Beaufort Historical Association's annual historic homes tour. This worked out really well for us because lots of folks were already in town for the tour. We set up displays on uniforms, small arms, and steam engines, and portrayed both Union and Confederate navies, both of which had ties to the town at different points during the war. We had steady visitation all day and saw over 600 folks come through. One of the day's highlights was a visit from fellow historian, author, and US Army officer, Wade Sokolosky. Wade is a native of Beaufort and has just recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan; I was very glad that had the opportunity to come by the museum for a brief visit. All in all, it was a good day, and we even got a little silly towards the end, as you'll see in the photos.
Al Mitchell talking to visitors about steam engines
Don Smith and Ken Sewell man the ever-popular small arms display
And then the silliness ensued!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Back to the Grind
So what have I been doing with myself since I got back from ALHFAM? Well, I definitely had an ALHFAM hangover, as one friend put it. There is always a sort of "high" that you have when you return from a conference, but with ALHFAM it lasted a bit longer than with most other conferences. It was extended even further when my Pittsburgh Penguins defeated Detroit in Game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup since 1992. 
The day after that we had a cannon shoot at Fort Macon, which is always fun.
So Monday, when I returned to the office, reality hit me like a ton of bricks. I've spent most of this week trying to get back in the routine and back to projects that were left unfinished before the conference. I think I'm finally back to normal now that the weekend is almost upon us.
Photo by Tim Faulkner, Kinston, NC
The day after that we had a cannon shoot at Fort Macon, which is always fun.
So Monday, when I returned to the office, reality hit me like a ton of bricks. I've spent most of this week trying to get back in the routine and back to projects that were left unfinished before the conference. I think I'm finally back to normal now that the weekend is almost upon us.
Photo by Tim Faulkner, Kinston, NC
New Civil War Blog
I've just discovered a new blog, Thoughts, Essays, and Musings on the Civil War, thanks to Elektratig (he's also on my blogroll). It appears to be a quite interesting blog, though the author is only 20 posts into it. Check it out when you get a chance.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
ALHFAM Update 4
Today is the final day of the conference, and this will likely be my last "update." I doubt I'll do a conference overview since you can get that by reading the series of updates. I think everyone in my new group of friends is ready to get the hell out of here and go home. We've all had a great time, but are all fatigued and most of us are not feeling well. Most everyone is blaming the food; I don't think its the quality necessarily, but we've been eating an awful lot this week and I think its just starting to catch up to us. And that's to say nothing of the amount of alcohol we've consumed.
Today's sessions have been good. First, I attended a session on interpretation of southern "plain folk" of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The focus was on foodways, clothing, and housing. It was an excellent session led by two knowledgeable presenters. The second session I went to this morning was about organizing day camps for kids at museums and historic sites. I got some good information out of that session as well, that I can pass on to our sites.
The luncheon and annual business meeting was about what one would expect of such an event. This afternoon there was only one session, a plenary session that dealt with the challenges facing living history sites and what kind of future we face. While it was a great discussion, I think having it as the last session of the last day was a bad idea, as many folks were not in attendance. I sat through it and enjoyed all the speakers, but left when the Q&A started. We've got the closing dinner this evening and we're done. Its been a great conference, much different than any others I've ever been to, and I hope to make ALHFAM a tradition. I also hope to get more of our sites involved, as I believe they will greatly benefit from what this organization has to offer.
Today's sessions have been good. First, I attended a session on interpretation of southern "plain folk" of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The focus was on foodways, clothing, and housing. It was an excellent session led by two knowledgeable presenters. The second session I went to this morning was about organizing day camps for kids at museums and historic sites. I got some good information out of that session as well, that I can pass on to our sites.
The luncheon and annual business meeting was about what one would expect of such an event. This afternoon there was only one session, a plenary session that dealt with the challenges facing living history sites and what kind of future we face. While it was a great discussion, I think having it as the last session of the last day was a bad idea, as many folks were not in attendance. I sat through it and enjoyed all the speakers, but left when the Q&A started. We've got the closing dinner this evening and we're done. Its been a great conference, much different than any others I've ever been to, and I hope to make ALHFAM a tradition. I also hope to get more of our sites involved, as I believe they will greatly benefit from what this organization has to offer.
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