For my wife’s birthday last November, we traveled to California to visit family and tour some of the national parks in Southern California. After visiting Joshua Tree National Park, we headed north to Death Valley. Not exactly between Death Valley and Pinnacles National Parks, but not too far out of the way, is the siteContinueContinue reading “Pilgrimage to Manzanar Internment Camp”
Category Archives: Life
Discovering Japanese-American World War II Internment Camps
I don’t know when I first became aware of the forced removal and internment of Japanese-Americans from the West Coast of the United States during World War II. But I remember learning alot more about it for a paper I wrote back in 1989 when I was an undergrad at UC-Berkeley. The Bancroft Library atContinueContinue reading “Discovering Japanese-American World War II Internment Camps”
President Donald J. Trump – 10 Initial Gut Reactions and Reflections
I do not follow politics closely anymore, so I am not well-placed to comment on the recent election as anything other than a regular, half-awake citizen. So instead of thoughtful, informed commentary on the political future ahead, I am offering my initial gut reactions and reflections on the election of Donald J. Trump as PresidentContinueContinue reading “President Donald J. Trump – 10 Initial Gut Reactions and Reflections”
My Love of Whisk(e)y and the Alcohol Epidemic in the United States
I love whisk(e)y. My love knows almost no boundaries. American, Canadian, Indian, Irish, Japanese, Scotch, Texas. Barley, corn, rye, wheat. Neat, rocks, mixed. To fuel my love I have been reading Reid Mitenbuler’s recent book, Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey. Early on, Mitenbuler introduces the first alcohol distiller among the BritishContinueContinue reading “My Love of Whisk(e)y and the Alcohol Epidemic in the United States”
Post-Paris Reflection: We are PROBABLY Safe, but Not CERTAINLY Safe
Following the picture below is some text that was originally posted on my Gun Culture 2.0 blog last Saturday. I thought to re-post it here today because I am leaving for Washington, DC in a couple of hours and have been thinking about the advisability of the trip in light of the Paris attacks. OnContinueContinue reading “Post-Paris Reflection: We are PROBABLY Safe, but Not CERTAINLY Safe”
I Am a Professor
There, I said it. I am a professor. The description does not exactly roll off my tongue. I am a professor. It somehow sounds pompous to me. So I generally avoid saying it. When I am traveling and a cab driver asks me what I do for a living, or at holiday parties when IContinueContinue reading “I Am a Professor”
Oral Arguments in the Supreme Court
On my Gun Culture 2.0 blog recently I wrote about attending a talk by an attorney who had argued recently before the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). One of the most interesting things I have done in my time in Washington, DC is to go see oral arguments in the SCOTUS. Back inContinueContinue reading “Oral Arguments in the Supreme Court”