Idiosyncratic Interconnections: Little Richard and *Gay on your resume* (Episode 2)

Idiosyncratic Interconnections Little Richard on an effeminate manner canceling out racism and workplace dynamics for gay black men today In this ^^ Sally Jesse Raphael interview with Little Richard, Sally Jesse refers to the “sociological” quirk that activist, web journalist, and hip-hopper Yitz Jordan (Y-LOVE) mentioned—and backed up with studies & statistics—on WNYC’s The Brian … Continue reading “Idiosyncratic Interconnections: Little Richard and *Gay on your resume* (Episode 2)”

Mississippi Delta Bluesmen, as Relevant Now as Ever

Bringing together strands of recent thoughts … the blues… Recently I updated the “Got the blues so bad” mix/Nick’s True Blues Playlist – skewing heavily to the first bluesmen recorded vs later interpreters, the Southern backwoods “sundown comin’ & klan caught up to me at the crossroads” blues and that type of bluesman. Muddy Waters, … Continue reading “Mississippi Delta Bluesmen, as Relevant Now as Ever”

Thoughts in October 2014: Flu Vaccines, Political Example-Stories, Confederate Ghosts in the Fog, and Mobile, Alabama memories

“Down in Mobile they’re all crazy, because the Gulf Coast is the kingdom of monkeys, the land of clowns, ghosts and musicians, and Mobile is sweet lunacy’s county seat.”—Eugene Walter So I was in Mobile, AL, a port city as complex as it is old, the Confederacy’s “undefeated” city, and my hometown, and I move … Continue reading “Thoughts in October 2014: Flu Vaccines, Political Example-Stories, Confederate Ghosts in the Fog, and Mobile, Alabama memories”

The Hawkmen’s Sky City Runs on Radium

and now for something completely different… Depictions of Radioactivity Fears in 1936 Flash Gordon Serial Defining my terms: Up until at least the mid-1950s, newsreels, cartoon shorts like Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry, and this week’s chapter of your favorite movie serials were shown before or between the feature(s)—the full-length movies—and the afternoon at … Continue reading “The Hawkmen’s Sky City Runs on Radium”

Bitesized History: the Code Noir and Mercantilism in Jewish Mobile, Alabama

Tidbits of Colonial Mobile’s Economic and Legal History Through a 19th century Jewish Lens The rare book “A History of the Jews of Mobile,” a brief monograph published by Springhill Avenue Temple rabbi Alfred Geiger Moses in 1876 on the Jewish history of my hometown Mobile, AL, and now available online, records some fascinating facts.  I’ll … Continue reading “Bitesized History: the Code Noir and Mercantilism in Jewish Mobile, Alabama”

George Washington’s Ideas about Technology and Transportation Infrastructure Offer Lessons for Today’s U.S.

An Independence Day post (belated) – bloggery for the Founders We would do well to mark the 4th not with the flag-waving militarism and “fighting for freedom” boo-yahs that typify so many public Independence Day events, and focus on the thing that Independence Day was really commemorating: the Declaration of Independence (adopted prior to large-scale … Continue reading “George Washington’s Ideas about Technology and Transportation Infrastructure Offer Lessons for Today’s U.S.”

Birdosaurs: Investigating the Evolution of (some) Dinosaurs into Birds

Part 4 of 4 of my D-cember: Dino-cember! series My Disclaimer: This post covers dinosaur evolution, and I apologize in advance for my (rather incomplete) knowledge of evolution and the evolutionary sciences, but I do know that, evolution, as phrased in Stephen Jay Gould’s essay “Scalia’s Misunderstanding” (p. 448 of the previously mentioned Bully for Brontosaurus) … Continue reading “Birdosaurs: Investigating the Evolution of (some) Dinosaurs into Birds”

Brontosaurus, you shan’t be forgotten

Part 3 of 4 of my D-cember: Dino-cember! series I heard on NPR’s TED Radio Hour in an offhand comment in the first segment of a November episode called Misconceptions, that the brontosaurus name is no more, and that kids today learn that it’s an apatosaurus (older name, same dinosaur). Taken aback, I searched for … Continue reading “Brontosaurus, you shan’t be forgotten”

Tananim Gedolim: “great reptiles,” the dinosaurs in the Torah

Originally written December the 5th, 2006, I’ve revised and re-named it to be part 2 of 4 of my D-cember: Dino-cember! series Tananim Gedolim, in English, “Great Reptiles” The Spiritual Can Illuminate The Scientific. The Scientific Can Illuminate The Spiritual. There has been (and will continue to be) debate about evolution and the age of … Continue reading “Tananim Gedolim: “great reptiles,” the dinosaurs in the Torah”

The Griffin Was Based On A Real Creature!

UPDATE: Apparently the Top Search term leading people to my blog is still “griffin.”  If you’re one of the griffin-seekers, Welcome! feel free to browse, there are lots of posts here, lots of history essays, on everything from Chinese history to the weird story of top-hat gangsters taking over 1850s Baltimore. Without further ado, here … Continue reading “The Griffin Was Based On A Real Creature!”

Masculinity, Southern Gentlemen, and the Strange Story of Alabama’s First U.S. Senator, William Rufus DeVane King

OR John Kerry Should’ve Grown A Beard: The North-South Manliness Inversion A Post That Cites Its Sources…with Footnotes! As I mentioned in the preceding post, the Nick’s Crusade blog is a history blog too. I think delving into history can be very valuable, not just because the strange doglegs and twists in the American story—history … Continue reading “Masculinity, Southern Gentlemen, and the Strange Story of Alabama’s First U.S. Senator, William Rufus DeVane King”

Famous 8th century Umayyad mosque destroyed in Syrian crossfire

Over the years, this blog has covered many things, and one of those, historical blogging, has accounted for a lot of my best stuff, like my essay on Zheng He and the Chinese Age of Discovery, my six-part series “Are We Rome?” (examining the Roman invasions of what’s-now-called Iraq) and most recently, my in-depth exploration … Continue reading “Famous 8th century Umayyad mosque destroyed in Syrian crossfire”

A Note on Robert Bork and the End of Busing as a Desegregation tool

It’s been a while since I blogged about racism, but this blog has a broader mission to shine a light on the concerns of unheard, marginalized groups everywhere, which is why, in the past, I’ve written about things as far-flung and diverse as an effort to fund safehouses for LGBT youth being hunted down by … Continue reading “A Note on Robert Bork and the End of Busing as a Desegregation tool”

Plug Uglies: top hat-toughs

Here’s a fascinating topic you won’t find elsewhere: the Plug Uglies. The Plug Uglies were a gang of nativist thugs that ran Baltimore for nearly seven years uninterrupted in the 1850s. The American Party sprung from the grassroots in reaction to the flood of immigration in the mid-1800s, which meant you had a substantial population … Continue reading “Plug Uglies: top hat-toughs”

Heroes Without Glory: Some Good Men of the Old West—Nick explores a dusty, old-fashioned book of social history

This is the first in a series of book and article reviews I’ll write, taking you through the stacks and exploring old and not so old books about humanity’s story (history). In this case, I’m exploring a fairly rare social history from 1965, probably not something you’d find on the shelves of your local public … Continue reading “Heroes Without Glory: Some Good Men of the Old West—Nick explores a dusty, old-fashioned book of social history”

Did You Know? Imperialist Aggression and Exploitation: The History of U.S. – Latin American Relations

With love and thanks to everyone who has made my current, first semester back to college (online) possible… The History of U.S. – Latin American Relations: An Overview Nicholas F. Dupree The history of U.S.-Latin American relations is a long and bloody one checkered by imperialist aggression and exploitation. The United States had a head … Continue reading “Did You Know? Imperialist Aggression and Exploitation: The History of U.S. – Latin American Relations”

Best Of Nick’s Crusade Blog, So Far

I’m happy that some of my blog posts have become particularly well-trafficked resources on the interweb. I’ve often written about historical topics that interest me, and, oddly enough, those posts get more hits than posts about disability, politics and injustice, the main subjects of my Nick’s Crusade Blog. This is a survey of the most … Continue reading “Best Of Nick’s Crusade Blog, So Far”

Boardwalk Empire, Corruption, And Incentives For Public Servants

Like described by Abby Jean on the Feminists with Disabilities blog recently, I’m obsessed with public policy. It’s true. I am a policy wonk. I am endlessly interested in it. I read about it, think about it, talk about it and … write about it. (As in, what I’m doing right now.) And I do … Continue reading “Boardwalk Empire, Corruption, And Incentives For Public Servants”

Donald Duck As A Nazi. Really.

The media was once controlled by the government. During WWII, the Walt Disney Co. was under U.S. government contract for 32 short propaganda films at $4,500 each, which would save the studio after they spent four times their budget on Fantasia, which had pushed them close to bankruptcy. The films did their best to boost … Continue reading “Donald Duck As A Nazi. Really.”

In-Depth Nick Analysis: Who Are The Basij? The Group That Stopped A New Iranian Revolution

If you’re like me, you’ve been closely following reports of the attempts at “soft overthrow” by “Green Revolution” protesters clogging the streets in Iran (properly pronounced E-ron, though I admit even I mangle it frequently). Twitter, bloggers (Nico Pitney blogging at HuffPo, Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic) and various print news web sites (TIME, Reuters) … Continue reading “In-Depth Nick Analysis: Who Are The Basij? The Group That Stopped A New Iranian Revolution”

Senate, In Capitol Built By Slaves, Passes Resolution Apologizing For Slavery

Last Thursday, on the eve of Juneteenth, the celebration of the end of slavery, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution apologizing for slavery and the “Jim Crow” laws that oppressed ex-slaves and their descendants for roughly a century. The resolution (full text), which also has a cowardly disclaimer at the bottom stating the apology can’t … Continue reading “Senate, In Capitol Built By Slaves, Passes Resolution Apologizing For Slavery”

Native Americans Denied Health Care By Grossly Underfunded IHS

Instead of PAYING THE RENT to the rightful landowners, the White American government stole all the Indians’ land, and now that we control everything, we deny adequate health care on reservations and let them suffer and die.  According to this AP story, the U.S.  spends more on health care for FELONS in federal prison alone … Continue reading “Native Americans Denied Health Care By Grossly Underfunded IHS”

How Will Gender Imbalance Affect China’s Future?

This topic occurred to me after reading Larry Kramer’s long rant in the Huffington Post claiming that because men outnumbered women 6 to 1 in the original Jamestown colony in 17th century America, that lots of gay sex had to be going on, and that historians are erasing gays from history out of homophobic bigotry.   … Continue reading “How Will Gender Imbalance Affect China’s Future?”

Obama’s Blunder: Hiring Too Many Cooks

I like Barack Obama; I voted for him because I wanted a fresh start beyond the stale 1960s debates, Olbermann vs. O’Reilly daily “hot button issue” and endless socialism vs. capitalism rock ‘em-sock ‘em robots that lead us nowhere and accomplish nothing.  We can’t afford that crap in times like these.  And I wanted a serious … Continue reading “Obama’s Blunder: Hiring Too Many Cooks”

Understanding Pashtuns Critical To Avoiding Afghanistan Quagmire

How is Obama’s Afghanistan plan supposed to work, when similar plans were EPIC FAIL for the Soviets, British, Alexander the Great and others? Former CIA Mideast operative Robert Baer (played by George Clooney in Syriana) writes in TIME Magazine: The Pashtun are a big, sprawling, insulated tribal people. There are some 40 million of them, … Continue reading “Understanding Pashtuns Critical To Avoiding Afghanistan Quagmire”

The Essenes: A Historical Hoax?

Israeli scholar Rachel Elior has rocked the blogosphere with her allegation that The Essenes didn’t exist at all, and Josephus likely made them up to make Jews look tough to the Romans: Elior contends that Josephus, a former Jewish priest who wrote his history while being held captive in Rome, “wanted to explain to the … Continue reading “The Essenes: A Historical Hoax?”

Weird SHC History: 45th Anniversary of Lee Harvey Oswald Speech

Hey fellow history buffs: Here is some very, very weird history for you all. On this day 45 years ago, July 27, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald spoke at Spring Hill College. He gave a speech to Jesuit seminarians discussing what daily life was like in the USSR, which he defected to. He worked there from … Continue reading “Weird SHC History: 45th Anniversary of Lee Harvey Oswald Speech”

Learning History Online

I love learning. I had to stop college for a variety of reasons (and I’m still bitter about this) but I still love learning new things. Stuff like the wonderful new technology, podcasts, help me continue learning (I can’t move my arms to turn the pages of books). I cope with my situation by trying … Continue reading “Learning History Online”

An Inconvenient Blob

Will The Blob Devour Us All? From this charming piece in Slate, Dispatch from Blob Fest: Though Phillips might not have intended The Blob to have a political message, she did accidentally insert an environmental warning, which was reflected in the Blob Fest’s 2007 theme: “An Inconvenient Blob.” I thought it was just an attempt … Continue reading “An Inconvenient Blob”