Kendrick Oliver
@koushist.bsky.social
Professor of American History, University of Southampton Interested in many things, but mostly writing these days about technology, physics and cosmology
I learnt the other day that Pope Leo was first ordained at the church my wife used to attend in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Pretty sure that means he would pick up the phone if I called. Maybe Bob too, now.
Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 6d agoPope Leo receives Bob Dylan at the Vatican
It costs quite a chunk of change for my son and I to see Liverpool's men team play so we don't do it very often. Nice then to pop along to Kingsmeadow, a couple of miles from home, and watch the U21s against Chelsea - for the price of a decent coffee. Good game too. Here's our equaliser.
Some of you may heard rumours that there will be mid-term elections in the US on Nov 3. Tis indeed so. Three days later, I'll be chairing a public event in Southampton to consider the results and discuss their likely implications. Book your tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/us-midterm...
US Midterm Elections: What Happened and What's Next? | Panel Discussion
Discussion and Q&A on election results, party responses, and what, in the light of American history, might happen next.
eventbrite.co.uk
Greatly looking forward to Laurie Maffly-Kipp's Harmsworth Lecture in a few weeks' time. There is a tradition of inviting somebody to give a formal response to the lecture the following day, and this year that somebody is me.
James McMurtry (with Betty Soo) at Union Chapel tonight. Fabulous to finally see him live. Enjoyment only marginally diminished by my failure to bring a cushion. Church pews = unacknowledged driver of secularisation.
Not the point of the post, but this is how I finally discovered what a petard is and what it meant to be hoisted by one. I think I had always imagined a massive catapult, with a long looped rope attached, into which an operator's foot might stray prior to the moment of release. The reality: meh..
Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · last mo.'Another Chinese scientist to express concerns is Yu-Gang Ma, president of East China Normal University. He told Times Higher Education that the UK’s withdrawal from the LHCb upgrade was “really bad news”.' Setting up a new security institute without SHAPE experts is being hoist on your own petard.
I was at Woking station many years ago when someone was trying to raise funds by shouting 'Help blind children!' I thought about responding: 'You hold them down, I'll poke them in the eye.' But obviously I didn't.
Dave Mathieson@tinydbass.bsky.social · last mo.Mine is when a charity person in the street says something like "help cancer" and I want to point out that this is a terrible idea.
Yes, I was actually aware of Ella Langley's ‘Choosin’ Texas,’ thanks for asking. (Not my thing, but admire the craft, etc.) What I had not heard of before this week was Frank Sinatra’s 1970 concept album ‘Watertown’. I thought I was pretty across popular music of that era. And it is by FRANK....
Returning from a restorative couple of days in Rotterdam and Delft. The first city: a fascinating laboratory of urbanism, energy and movement, modern architectural statements everywhere you look, but with a commitment to family friendly public space too. Delft: picture-postcard pretty, canals....
One more chapter of THE BOOK completed today. Apologies if you have been waiting for me to attend to something else. [Opens email inbox, screams...]
Area man informed by daughter, on day of her graduation, that she cannot travel to ceremony without elaborate bouquet. 'I have 30 years' experience in UK academia,' he comments. 'When did this become a thing?'
Well, that's another HOTCUS annual conference over. Things are pretty shitty in UK HE at the moment, but the quality of the work presented at the conference was really very high. And everyone looked fabulous too.
Off to the 2026 HOTCUS conference at the University of Manchester. Looking forward to seeing old friends, learning about new work and riding one of those famous buses. Will it feel like the future?
A rare public airing for the Oliver knees today. Apart from that, Lords is looking glorious.
Also (sorry, but honestly) if I had to make a list of places cis men couldn't go to because a cis man had made a women "uncomfortable" there, it would be very long and there would be literally nowhere for men to go.
We may be a little later than some, but it was lovely to be at my cricket club this evening to see our first ever all-girls side take the field in their debut competitive fixture. The girls played amazingly well, only a few practices in. Many thanks to all those who helped us get to this moment,
This must be the place - Talking Heads When the Lord - Suzanne Sundfor Farewell, farewell - Fairport Convention Same situation - Joni Mitchell Do right man, Do right woman - Aretha Franklin Shipbuilding - Robert Wyatt Boulder to Birmingham - Emmylou Harris
J Riley L Hopkins@badfuckinpodcasts.com · 7mo agoDont think too hard. Top ten songs of all time for you
I had a lovely time speaking to the staff and students at the University of Oklahoma's Department of History of Science, Technology and Medicine yesterday. Many thanks to the department for inviting and hosting me.
Once travelled to Fort Worth to work at the NARA office 9 miles out of city centre. Thought I would take bus from downtown to end of line and walk the rest of the way. Nearly died of heat stroke. Also tried to walk to the stockyard district and was stopped by the police for suspected vagrancy.
CJ Lemire@cjlemire.com · 7mo agoMy American wife informed me yesterday that her sisters are planning a girls trip to Texas, in June, and her eldest sister doesn't want to rent a car because "we can just walk". After I picked myself up off the floor I explained the many reasons why this is a terrible plan.
Ah, the romance of travel. Rough descent into Chicago this afternoon. Quite a few people puking. Buckets on the concourse at O’Hare to catch water from its leaky roof. At gate for onward flight, someone was wearing a ‘Guns, titties, beer & freedom’ t-shirt.
In a conversation, really struggling to follow what the person I was talking to was saying about the history of modern art. Turned out they were confusing Pablo Picasso with Rosa Parks. (!) It was a huge relief when we finally realized what had happened. But I'll never get those twenty minutes back.
Spent the evening at a tribute show for Nanci Griffith, performed by Clive Gregson, who was a member of Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the Hayes Sisters.
Human thinks: 'Right, going out to a gig this evening. Just enough time to walk the dog round the park, collect and eat pizzas from the local van, and get to the venue for the start of the set.' Dog thinks: 'Excellent moment to discover a dead rat in the park and roll around its carcass.'
The nice folks in the Department of History of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of Oklahoma have invited me over to give their annual Michael Ruby Distinguished Lecture in a few weeks’ time.
The screening of Project Hail Mary I attended suffered from a visible grid of white dots throughout. We were handed refund vouchers as we left. But still, a good warm-hearted buddy movie set in space, blending The Martian and ET. If cinemas are going to survive, this is the kind of film they need.
Seems like a good moment to mention that I once wrote a book about American spaceflight and religion. www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
To Touch the Face of God
The Sacred, the Profane, and the American Space Program, 1957–1975
press.jhu.edu
Attended what was billed as a bat walk in the local park this evening. The stupid bats didn't get the concept at all. Just flew around over our heads.
Nothing beats as fast as the heart of a small dog who has realized that her humans are about to give her a bath
