The Garden of Memory

@sean.gardenofmemory.net.ap.brid.gy

The blog and newsletter of historian Sean Munger, looking at the past as a living garden of human experiences. 🌉 bridged from https://www.gardenofmemory.net/ on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/

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Longform Stories

My year of AI resistance. There’s hope!

AI is a fundamentally fascist technology expressly intended for the destruction, demoralization, and denigration of humans.

1d ago·11 min read·2156 words

Interiors: Garden Court, Palace Hotel, San Francisco.

This is one of the central features of the grand Edwardian-era hotel, completed in 1909.

4d ago·4 min read·709 words

Cover Reveal: “Faraway Star,” my upcoming science fiction novel.

Here's the cover for my new book, out June 11!

May 15·4 min read·662 words

Interiors: Entry hall of Haas-Lilienthal House, San Francisco.

This beautiful mansion, built in 1886, managed to survive the great earthquake and fire of 20 years later.

May 13·1 min read·26 words

Hitler’s American deejay: The strange story of Mildred “Axis Sally” Gillars.

How a frustrated American actress became a notorious traitor--and paid the price.

May 7·1 min read·23 words

Four minutes of enlightening darkness: The great solar eclipse of May 1715.

Correctly predicted by Edmond Halley, the eclipse was visible proof of the power of scientific thought.

May 3·1 min read·28 words

More concept art for “Faraway Star” is out!

Here is another image relating to my upcoming science fiction book, out this summer.

Apr 30·1 min read·22 words

Historic Photo: Panorama of San Francisco, 1878.

Groundbreaking photographer Eadweard Muybridge stitched together this panorama of the Victorian-era city seen from its highest point.

Apr 28·1 min read·24 words

Moses’s great boondoggle: The 1964-65 New York World’s Fair [Part II].

The continuing story of the great World's Fair, which despite the delight it brought to millions was a financial disaster.

Apr 22·1 min read·31 words

Moses’s great boondoggle: The 1964-65 New York World’s Fair [Part I].

In 1964, Robert Moses got his last hurrah as the big builder of the Big Apple. What hath Bob wrought?

Apr 21·1 min read·31 words

A bird out of hand: My reminiscences on the rise and fall of Twitter.

Twitter should be destroyed. It should not exist anywhere, at any time, in any incarnation. It is evil.

Apr 19·1 min read·32 words

The death of Hu Yaobang: The first chapter of a story that changed the world.

How the prosaic demise of a Chinese Communist bureaucrat triggered one of the most important movements in recent history.

Apr 17·1 min read·34 words

The forgotten victim of the Lincoln assassination plot: The attack on William Seward.

While Booth was shooting Lincoln at Ford's Theater, another terrible crime was happening just blocks away.

Apr 14·1 min read·29 words

Toward a theory on the death of the Democratic Party.

The modern Democratic Party is the least successful political organization in American history. Here are my thoughts on why.

Apr 11·1 min read·29 words

Forgotten flight: The lonely voyage of Apollo 6, and the terrible day it happened.

On April 4, 1968, an unmanned rocket blasted off from Florida. Turned out it was a good day to leave Earth.

Apr 4·1 min read·35 words

Behind the Scenes: Millard Fillmore, The Conspiracy Theorist President.

My latest video profiles the strange life and odd beliefs of the 13th U.S. President.

Mar 30·1 min read·24 words

Interiors: Olden Church, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.

Places like this are the essence of folk life in Norway in the 18th century.

Mar 26·1 min read·22 words

Toward a theory on the death of the Republican Party.

Both of the major U.S. political parties are dead, or soon will be. Here are my thoughts on how the GOP destroyed itself.

Mar 21·1 min read·33 words

The first concept art for “Faraway Star” is out!

Here is a scene from my upcoming science fiction novel, out (probably) this summer.

Mar 17·1 min read·23 words

Historic Painting: “The Choice of the Bride” by Konstantin Makovsky, 1886.

This beautiful picture depicts a bride show in the 17th century, whereby a Tsar chose his consort.

Mar 12·1 min read·28 words

Behind the Scenes: Canberra, Liner Too Late.

A new, much shorter video on my channel profiles the famous P&O liner that sailed to Australia for over 30 years.

Mar 9·1 min read·28 words

Strange synchronicity: Finishing an antiwar novel in a time of war.

I wish my upcoming book was just a fun story. Recent events have made it sadly topical.

Mar 6·1 min read·28 words

War is a toy for stupid and feeble-minded leaders.

So we've gone and attacked Iran again. Is anyone else as sick of this nonsense as I am?

Mar 1·1 min read·27 words

Judgment from on high? The strange stories of Richard Nixon’s aerial assailants.

One guy buzzed the White House in a stolen helicopter. Days later another tried to crash a plane into it. Who were these odd people?

Feb 27·1 min read·37 words

Past imperfect: In defense of “Back to the Future, Part II.”

The second installment of the "Back to the Future" trilogy is, in many ways, the most thoughtful and interesting of the three.

Feb 22·1 min read·33 words

Historic Photo: Patrick Street, Cork, Ireland, about 1900.

Modernity is slowly replacing the old ways in this view of turn-of-the-century Ireland.

Feb 18·1 min read·21 words

My history with a tragedy: How TWA Flight 800 taught me about critical thinking.

My own history with the terrible 1996 tragedy is a complicated and difficult one.

Feb 15·1 min read·28 words

Behind the Scenes: TWA, The Rise & Fall.

My latest video delves into the history of one of America's most iconic airlines, now long vanished.

Feb 13·1 min read·25 words

Photo: A beautiful dawn on an ordinary winter day.

A reminder to savor the ordinary beauty in the world.

Feb 12·1 min read·19 words

Adventures in aggrieved entitlement: The nightmare world of tax protesters.

What happens to your life when grumbling at your tax bill becomes a moral crusade? Nothing good, as history shows.

Feb 6·1 min read·30 words