Thinking on Reading
Tonight I picked up Lords of Finance: the Bankers who Broke the World for some weekend reading. The first page has only this written on it:
Read no history — nothing but biography, for that is life without theory – Benjamin Disraeli
Tis a pretty interesting thought.
It seems that biography forces writers to deal with topics they would prefer to ignore. John Adams was full of death and sickness in ways that I would have skirted if I was simply trying to write a compelling tale.
Biographies also always link broader historical themes to concrete events in individual lives. Much better from my perspective.
I think I’ll start reading more of the genre.
At Versailles
Some photos from the day yesterday. It was our second time out. The inside was interesting but the outside was better. Summer improves the gardens but they are wonderful even in the winter.
Hover over the pictures with your cursor to see the comments.
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Better than Harrods
What’s better than Harrods? The National Geographic store across the street. Sheer awesomeness for the owner of one National Geographic Global Pursuit Trivia game.
Kew: Wonder of the World
Charity and I spent this very rainy afternoon wandering through the giant conservatories of Kew Gardens.
I never expected there to be so many flowers blooming in the dead of winter but they were there: deep purples, bright pinks and reds, radiant whites.
And so many amazing textures and shapes . . . rough and smooth, spiky and round, patterns of stripes and squares, giant radiating fronds and more. Trees 60 feet tall (indoors!) or 270 years old.
Pretty much three straight hours of wow.
It’s hard to think of a more impressive display of God’s creation. Plus it was all surrounded by the amazing Victorian greenhouses.
I could easily spend two days there every season for a year. What a place.
Wow.
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On the Platform
Today we did the London Foodie walk, ate some fantastic Chinese (bonus shot), learned about the history of London, and lastly reflected on this year with a beautiful service at St. Paul. Happy New Years.
In London
We’re tired and we’re here. Good first day flying about the town on buses. Now if we can just sleep some tonight. 
Flying First Class
Just got my wife a first class ticket to London! A bump and forgoing $200 in vouchers gets us a once in a lifetime experience. The seats are valued at $4,000 each. Wow!
They say half the adventure is getting there right?
Of course the irony is that we’ve been pre-jetlagging so we can sleep on our 7:30pm flight. Now we’ll have to be awake for a 11pm flight to enjoy the benefits. I’m willing to try!
DPP Day 12: The Lettuce
Our lettuce is one of my favorite things. They are varied, robust, and survive the frost. I love how bright green they are in the midst of a bleak winter lawn.
A Personal Connection
One of my former students caught his first NFL touchdown pass over the weekend.
He’s mostly a special teams player, where the hardest hits are often delivered. I recall him getting knocked out in a UNC game.
Lest you think that my discussion of the concussion crisis is simply me looking for an ax to grind with the general culture I do have some personal connections.
It’s pretty serious and pretty scary, especially as I look out at the two players in my course this semester and wonder how they will live at age 40 or 50.
DPP Day 8: Last Days of Class
I’ve almost survived my first semester as a professor. Whew.
