Matt Hall

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

@IVMiles Heresy

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

@asymmetricinfo I did my dissertation on the post- Civil War American South. Pellagra and poverty. Unceasing labor. People have no idea how good we have it.

[Bob Elder @southernphd]

I never met Gordon Wood, but I have a story about him.

In one of my grad school seminars, we read Wood’s Creation of the American Republic. The sheer erudition and evidentiary depth of the book bowled me over.

Back then, before kids and before life accelerated to warp speed, I used to call my mother every Sunday to catch up. Lots of times, we ended up talking about what I was reading that week in my grad seminars or for leisure. Mom had an omnivorous mind, and she was always looking for something else to read. She was a true intellectual—curious about almost everything, always eager to integrate new arguments or ideas into her existing schemas of how the world worked or to have those schemas challenged and changed.

When we talked that particular Sunday, I think I tried to describe to her part of Wood’s argument about the relationship between the state constitutions during the Articles of Confederation era and the federal Constitution. Maybe I was tired, maybe I didn’t completely understand her questions, but the end result of the conversation was that Mom had questions about Wood’s argument that I didn’t answer satisfactorily. I told her that she should probably just read the book, and we said goodbye.

She did eventually read the book, but the next Sunday, Mom started our conversation by saying, “Well, I had a lovely conversation with Gordon Wood this week.” For a split second, I thought she was joking, but then I remembered who I was dealing with. I started to sweat. “How?” I asked. A whole variety of unlikely scenarios in which the foremost historian of the American Revolution and my mother, who lived in Wichita, Kansas, might have met ran through my mind. “Oh, I just looked up his office phone number on Brown’s website and called, and he picked up!” Mom said. I decided I would have to find another profession.

As it ended up, Gordon Wood spent about an hour on the phone with my mother answering her questions about the Constitution. Ever since, I’ve had a soft spot for the man when I imagine him picking up the phone in Providence and finding Becky Elder from Wichita on the other end of the line. His generosity in that moment spoke very well of him.

Rest in peace, professor.

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

@madmenpics

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

@JonahDispatch I studied the post Civil War American South. Talk about hard living and poverty. People have no idea, no conception, of how good we have it.

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

@EsotericCD Love love love me some Grim Fandango

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

@IVMiles Say what you want about the tenets of Marxism, Dude, at least it’s an ethos.

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

This is so great.

[Sean T at RCP @SeanTrende]

I almost hesitate to promote this, because it wasn't really intended to be a piece. I just sort of sat down and it came out. Maybe someone else out there has the same type of day today, and it'll speak to them.
https://t.co/xSMUDOrHcC

[CBS Mornings @CBSMornings]

The Artemis II crew surprised Jack, a 5-year-old aspiring astronaut from Atlanta who went viral during the launch, with a signed orange flight suit just like the one worn aboard Orion. The astronauts told him they wanted him “on their team,” and said they were grateful for his enthusiasm and how inspired he’s been by the mission.

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

@IVMiles Wait for the second act. That’s when it really pops.

[Atlas Press @realAtlasPress]

"All great events, hang by a single thread. The clever man takes advantage of everything, neglects nothing that may give him some added opportunity; the less clever man, by neglecting one thing, sometimes misses everything."

—Napoleon Bonaparte

[CBS News @CBSNews]

BREAKING: President Trump was evacuated from the White House Correspondents' Dinner after a security incident occurred. https://t.co/GmMJfIvkS9

[Pardon My Take @PardonMyTake]

Giants Pass rush next season

[Barstool Sports @barstoolsports]

The Greatest Adventure in the History of Humankind Just Resumed After 50 Years https://t.co/ytHVX18Xcx

[NASA @NASA]

Liftoff.

The Artemis II mission launched from @NASAKennedy at 6:35pm ET (2235 UTC), propelling four astronauts on a journey around the Moon.

Artemis II will pave the way for future Moon landings, as well as the next giant leap — astronauts on Mars.

[CBS News @CBSNews]

NASA’s Artemis II crew is headed to launch pad 39B, where they’ll board the Orion capsule atop the Space Launch System rocket. The launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. ET on Wednesday. If everything goes as planned, the astronauts will embark on a historic journey, traveling up to 252,000 miles from Earth, farther than any humans have ever gone.

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

@IVMiles If I could speak/write in Italian, this was going to be my dissertation’s focus.

[Matt Hall @pipes_hall]

With sails unfurled.