Category Archives: History

The U.S. Womens National Team will play its final matches of 2021 when it takes on Australia in two matches Down Under to close out the calendar year. The USA kicks off the two-game set against theMatildasat Sydneys Stadium Australia on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 3 p.m. local (Friday, Nov. 26 at 11 p.m. Et on FS2). The teams will meet again at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 8:05 p.m. local (4:05 a.m. ET on ESPN).While this marks the USAs first trip Down Under in 21 years, Australia is a very familiar foe with the teams having met twice earlier this year at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.For more on the matchup and the 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup co-hosts, here are Five Things to Know about theMatildas.

INSIDE THE ROSTERAustralia head coach Tony Gustavsson who previously served as an assistant coach for the USA has called up 25 players for the two matches, 18 of whom were on the 22-player roster for the 2020 Olympics.

Clare Polkinghorne, who had stints with both the Portland Thorns and Houston Dash in the NWSL, is the most-capped player onthis rosterwith138appearances.MidfielderEmily vanEgmond(110 caps), defender Alana Kennedy (101), and forwardsKyahSimon (103) and Sam Kerr (102) also have 100+ caps while veteran midfielder TamekaYallopis just one appearance away from joining the 100-cap club.

Complementing this experienced core are 10 players with fewer than 10 caps, including a pair of uncapped players in 18-year-old forward Charlize Rule and 17-year-old defender Jessika Nash.

The leading goal scorer on this roster - and in the history of the Australian Womens National Team is Kerr, who has 49 international goals in 102 international appearances. Widely considered one of the worlds best strikers, Kerr currently plays for Chelsea in the FA Womens Super League, but still holds the distinction of being the all-time leading scorer in NWSL history with 77 goals and was a three-time Golden Boot winner during her seven seasons in the league. The 28-year-old Kerr needs just one goal to tie Tim Cahill as the all-time scoring leader mens or womens in Australia soccer history.

AUSTRALIA WOMENS SOCCER TEAM - ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Lydia Williams (Arsenal, ENG), 12-Teagan Micah (Rosengrd, NOR), 18-Mackenzie Arnold (West Ham United, ENG)DEFENDERS (9): 4-Clare Polkinghorne (VittsjoGIK, SWE), 14-Alanna Kennedy (Manchester City, ENG), 7-StephCatley(Arsenal, ENG), 21-Ellie Carpenter (Lyon, FRA), 3-Courtney Nevin (Melbourne Victory), 8-Charlotte Grant (Rosengrd, Sweden), 5-KarlyRoestbakken(LSKKvinner, NOR), 2-Angela Beard (FortunaHjrring, DEN), 24-Jessika Nash (Sydney FC)MIDFIELDERS (4):19-Kyra Cooney-Cross (Melbourne Victory), 10-Emily vanEgmond(Orlando Pride), 13-TamekaYallop(West Ham United, ENG), 6-Clare Wheeler (FortunaHjrring, DEN)FORWARDS (9): 20-Sam Kerr (Chelsea, ENG), 9-CaitlinFoord(Arsenal, ENG), 11-Mary Fowler (Montpellier, FRA), 15-EmilyGielnik(Aston Villa, ENG), 16-HayleyRaso(Everton, ENG),17-Kyah Simon(Tottenham Hotspur, NED), 22-Bryleeh Henry (Western Sydney Wanderers), 23-RemySiemsen(Sydney FC), 25-Charlize Rule (Sydney FC)

SERIES HISTORY: USA vs. AUSTRALIA

The USA has played Australia 32 times overall, including twice earlier this summer at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan. The sides played to a 0-0 draw on July 27 in the final match of the group stage. The result sent the USA through as the second-place finisher in Group G while Australia advanced to the knockout rounds from third in the Group G standings. The teams met again nine days later in Kashima, Japan, squaring off in the Bronze Medal Match. The Americans won 4-3 as Megan Rapinoe and the now-retired Carli Lloyd each scored twice, helping the USA claim its sixth all-time Olympic medal. Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord and EmilyGielnikscored for theMatildasin the defeat.

The USA leads the all-time series between the teams, 27-1-4and while the two countriesfirst met in 1987, Australia only beat the USA for the first time on June 27, 2018, a 1-0 victory in Seattle, Washington. The teams tied 1-1 on June 29, 2018,in East Hartford, Connecticut, but the USA picked up a rousing win in the most recent meetingbefore the Olympics, a 5-3 triumph on April 4, 2019,in Commerce City, Colorado. Alex Morgan scored her 100thinternational goal, Mallory Pugh tallied a brace in front of her hometown crowd, and Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath added goals of their own in a thrilling matchup that also saw the USA erase a 2-1 deficit.Lindsey Horan is the only player on this current U.S. roster who has scored against Australia at the senior international level.

Over its lastfivegames with Australia, the USA has a record of2-1-2and all three matches have been decided by two goals or fewer.

BACK IN ACTIONON HOME SOIL

Australias most recent on-field action came in October, when theMatildashosted Brazil in Sydney for a pair of friendlies. However, though matches had extrameaningas they marked Australias first games at home in nearly 600 days, last playing at home in March of 2020 due to travel restrictionsresulting from theCOVID-19 pandemic. Australia won the opening match against Brazil onOctober 23,3-1 on goals by Clare Polkinghorne, Mary Fowler and Emily vanEgmond. The teamsdrew 2-2 onOctober 26 with goals fromPolkinghorne and Kerr.

The USA has never faced Australia in Sydney. The last time the USA played Australia in Australia was June 11, 2000, a 1-0 win in Newcastle. The lone goal of the match was scored by Shannon MacMillan.

WELCOMING THE WORLD DOWN UNDER

Australia has already secured a spot in the 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup as co-host nation along with New Zealand.It will be the first time a Womens World Cup will be hosted across multiple countries and will also see the overall field expanded from 24 to 32 teams.While this is Australias first time hosting a World Cup, Australia has hosted the Summer Olympics twice previously, most recently the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney. In fact, Stadium Australia, where the USA and Australia will play their first match in this two-game set, was originally built for the 2000Olympicsand hosted numerous events, including the opening ceremonies, track and field, and the mens soccer final. The 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup final will be played at Stadium Australia on August 20, 2023.

Almost all of Australias top players have at one time or another played in the NWSL, though the onlyplayer on this roster who currently does is Emily vanEgmond, who recently resigned with the Orlando Pride. Eleven members of thisMatildasroster have been rostered with NWSL clubs, many competing with or against players on this USA roster during their time in the league.Outside back Ellie Carpenter was the youngest player at the time to play in the NWSL when she debuted for Portland Thorns FC. She made her debut on May 9, 2018, on the road against Houston at 18 years, 12 days. The now 21-year-old Carpenter now plays for Olympique Lyonnais in France where she is teammates with USWNT attacker Catarina Macario.Six players on this U.S. roster have also previously played for clubs in Australia Kristie Mewis, Abby Dahlkemper, Sofia Huerta, Emily Sonnett, AshleyHatchand Lynn Williams.The familiarity between the teams also extends to the sidelines. Head coach Tony Gustavsson, who was the assistant coach for the USA under Pia Sundhage in 2012 and under Jill Ellis from 2014-2019, helping the USA win the Olympic gold medal in London and Womens World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, was announced as Australias head coach in September of 2020. However due to COVID-19 restrictions, he had to wait until April of 2021 to coach his first matches with the team.

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International Friendly: Australia vs. USA - Match History & Preview | Five Things to Know - U.S. Soccer

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Its a history lesson being taught through food. An Oklahoma woman, utilizing her skills in the kitchen, has gone global with honoring Native American food.

Although she isnt classically trained, Loretta Barrett Oden definitely is a chef. Her start in the industry comes from a time when she was figuring out how to provide for herself.

Oden had traveled west after her boys grew up, in search of a new adventure. She told News 4 that after a while, though, reality set in.

Loretta, youre going to have to do something to make a living. Whats it going to be and what do you know how to do? So cooking pops up in my mind, said Oden.

Oden and one of her sons joined up to start a restaurant in Santa Fe.

We were going to continue our research into Native foods and serve this food in this restaurant, said Oden. It was called the Corn Dance Cafe.

Neither of them had any experience in the business, but they had plenty of experience in the kitchen.

We opened this place and it just went like gangbusters, said Oden.

The Corn Dance Cafe was such a hit that they opened a second location.

Oden said she had been bitten by the Native foods bug, always looking for new ways to share Native heritage.

Were not all just Indians, you know? Were very, very different people, different languages, different traditions and certainly a different food culture, said Oden. Thats when the touring got serious and I traveled across the country.

Oden was invited to universities and tribes to share what she knew about Native foods.

And as we trek across the country with the menu, we find an amazing diversity of people and food, said Oden. So its kind of my way of teaching a history lesson. I feed it to people.

Eventually, she made her way back to Oklahoma, ready to start her next adventure with a project shed been excited about for years: First Americans Museum.

I said, you know, when and if this happens, I want to do the food, said Oden.

So, she did. Today, Oden acts as the chef consultant at FAM, offering advice and knowledge on Native recipes for the museums restaurants.

Who could ever have imagined that I, growing up in Oklahoma, and just an ordinary person, housewife, mom, would be doing what Im doing now, and it still kind of blows me away, said Oden.

Oden is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Shes traveled across the country, as well as Europe and Asia to share her knowledge and cuisine.

Oden told News 4 that its been an amazing journey and she hopes to have many more years to continue doing what she loves.

You can get a taste of her food at First Americans Museum, which recently opened in Oklahoma City.

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So its kind of my way of teaching a history lesson, How one Oklahoma woman uses Native American cuisine to educate others on the diversity of tribes -...

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President Biden declared "America is back" in a phone call Thursday to "Today" show co-host Al Roker during the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Roker, broadcasting live from the parade, asked the president, "Whats your message to the American folks on this day?"

BIDEN SPENDING THANKSGIVING AT BILLIONAIRE'S NANTUCKET HOME SHOWS HE'S OUT OF TOUCH, REPUBLICANS SAY

Biden and first lady Jill Biden call Al Roker while watching NBC Today's 95th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (White House)

Biden responded, "My message is after two years, youre back, Americas back, there's nothing were unable to overcome, Al. And youre one of the reasons for that. Youre always up and moving."

The iconic parade returned to its pre-pandemic form on Thursday after being modified last year and nixing the audience.

"Thank you so much," Roker told the president. "Santa is coming."

"I'm waiting for Santa," Biden replied.

The Bidens step off Air Force One upon arrival at Nantucket Memorial Airport in Nantucket, Massachusetts on Nov. 23, 2021. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Bidens are spending their Thanksgiving holiday at a private equity billionaires compound in Nantucket, Massachusetts, prompting Republicans to slam him as out of touch this week as inflation soars to a three-decade high.

This year's classic Thanksgiving feast has jumped more than 14% from last year's average, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual Thanksgiving dinner cost survey. That's in large part because the cost of a turkey is up nearly 24% from last year. The cost of chicken breasts, meanwhile, has jumped 26% over the past year, according to Labor Department data.

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The industry has largely blamed the price spike on supply chain disruptions and high demand for food, particularly meat.

That, in addition to the highest gas prices the U.S. has seen in seven years, is making this year the most expensive Thanksgiving in the country's history.

Fox News Megan Henney contributed to this report.

Originally posted here:

Biden repeats 'America is back' message on most expensive Thanksgiving in history - Fox News

An engraving of the ruins of the Seleucid palace in Antioch by Louis Francois Cassas. From the book Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoenicie, de la Palaestine et de la Basse Aegypte: ouvrage divis en trois volumes contenant environ trois cent trente planches 1799/1800/Public Domain

Antioch on the Orontes, an ancient Greek city on the eastern side of the Orontes River, was one of the most glorious of all the Greek cities in the world.

Home to hundreds of thousands of people in its golden age, it was known as The Second Rome and subsequently the Cradle of Christianity before it experienced so many cataclysmic earthquakes and military conquests that it was reduced to a backwater.

Now called Antakya by the Turks, with modern-era buildings completely obscuring those from Hellenistic and Roman times, little is left of the glory that once was Antioch.

Founded near the end of the fourth century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, the citys location benefitted it militarily and economically as well for centuries. Situated along the Silk Road and the Royal Road, it was a hub of the spice trade and grew in importance to eventually rival Alexandria as the chief city of the Near East.

The city was the capital of the Seleucid Empire until 63 BC, when the Romans took control, making it the seat of the governor of the province of Syria. From the early fourth century, the city was the seat of the Count of the Orient, head of the regional administration of sixteen provinces.

Antioch was one of the most important cities in the eastern Mediterranean half of the Roman Empire. Antioch, dubbed the cradle of Christianity as a result of the pivotal role that it played in the emergence of the new religion, was where the New Testament asserts that the name Christian first was used.

The city may have had up to 500,000 people at its height, but it declined to relative insignificance during the Middle Ages because of warfare, repeated earthquakes, and a change in trade routes, which no longer passed through Antioch from the Far East following the devastation of the Mongol invasions and conquests.

An ancient settlement called Meroe pre-dated Antioch. Historians believe that a shrine dedicated to the Semitic goddess Anat, called by Herodotus the Persian Artemis, was once located here.

After Alexanders death in 323 BC, his generals, the Diadochi, divided up the territory he had conquered. Seleucus I Nicator, won the territory of Syria, and he proceeded to found four sister cities in northwestern Syria, one of which was Antioch, a city named in honor of his father Antiochus.

Its fortified citadel was on Mount Silpius; the city was built mainly on the low ground to the north, all along the river. Two great colonnaded streets once intersected in the center.

In the Orontes, to the north of the city, lay a large island, and it was here that Seleucus II Callinicus began a third walled city, which was finished by Antiochus III the Great.

The new city was populated by a mix of local settlers that Athenians brought from the nearby city of Antigonia, along with Macedonians and Jews. The total free population of Antioch at its founding has been estimated at between 17,000 and 25,000, not including slaves and native settlers.

Antiochs population reached its peak during the late Hellenistic period and Early Roman period; it would eventually become the third largest city in the Empire after Rome and Alexandria.

About 6 kilometers (4 miles) west and beyond the suburb of Heraclea lay the paradise of Daphne, a park of woods and waters, in the midst of which rose a great temple to the Pythian Apollo. This was also the origin of the famous mosaic depicting a Greek warrior grasping the helmet of an Amazonian warrior woman.

Among its great Greek buildings was the theatre, of which substructures still remain on the flank of Mt. Silpius, and the royal palace, which was most likely situated on the island. At its zenith, Antioch enjoyed a reputation for being a populous city, full of most erudite men and rich in the most liberal studies according to Cicero, who wrote about it in his work Pro Archia.

However, in a portent of its later fate, the first great earthquake in recorded history in the West took place in Antioch; the event was related by the native chronicler John Malalas. Occurring in 148 BC, it did immense damage, and it was only the first of many such quakes in the area which contributed to its decline.

The Roman emperor Julius Caesar visited the great city in 47 BC, and confirmed its free status within the Empire.

One of the most famous additions to Antioch, which most likely occurred during the reign of Augustus when the city still had more than half a million inhabitants was the hippodrome called the Circus of Antioch. Used for chariot racing, it was modeled on the Circus Maximus in Rome. With a length of more than 490 meters (1,610 feet), the Circus could seat up to an incredible 80,000 spectators.

In 115 AD, during Trajans time there during his war against Parthia, the whole area was convulsed by another enormous earthquake, resulting in an alteration of the entire landscape of the city; the population was then reduced to less than 400,000, and many sections of the city were abandoned altogether.

Antioch was a chief center of early Christianity for many centuries.

Evangelized, among others, by the Apostle Peter himself, according to the tradition upon which the Patriarch of Antioch still rests its claim for primacy, and certainly later by Barnabas and Paul during Pauls first missionary journey, it was where the message of Christ was first heard by many.

Many scholars believe that Luke was a Greek physician who lived in the Greek city of Antioch. One of the Four Evangelists, Luke was one of the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels.

The early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, which would mean Luke contributed over a quarter of the text of the New Testament, more than any other author.

Saint Barnabas, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem, also resided in the city; Ignatius of Antioch, whodied c. 140 AD), also known as Ignatius Theophorus, or the God-bearing, was an early Christian writer and Patriarch of Antioch. He was martyred while on his way to Rome.

St. John Chrysostom, who lived from 347 September 14, 407, was also from Antioch. He was so skilled in rhetoric that he was known as golden-mouthed. He later served as Archbishop of Constantinople.

A number of Greek, Syrian, Armenian, and Latin monasteries surrounded the city in its Christian heyday.

The Christian population was estimated by St. John Chrysostom at about 100,000 people at the time of Emperor Theodosius I. Between 252 and 300 AD, ten great assemblies of the church were held at Antioch and it became the seat of one of the five original patriarchates, along with Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Rome, part of the Pentarchy of cities which governed the development of Christianity.

Simeon Stylites, who lived from c. 390 to September 2, 459, was a local man who lived a life of extreme asceticism atop a pillar for 40 years some 65 kilometers (40 miles) east of Antioch. His body was brought to the city and buried in a building erected under the emperor Leo; his example of complete surrender to God was followed by many throughout Christianity thereafter.

In 256 AD, the city was raided by the Persians under Shapur I, and many of the people were tragically massacred in its great theater. It was recaptured by the Roman emperor Valerian the following year, however.

By the time the emperor Julian visited in 362 AD on a detour to Persia, Antioch had a mixed population of pagans and Christians.

Julians successor, Valens, who endowed Antioch with a new forum, including a statue of Valentinian on a central column, reopened the great church of Constantine, which stood until the Persian sack of the city in 538.

Antioch and its port, Seleucia Pieria, were severely damaged by another cataclysmic earthquake, which occurred in 526, in which an estimated 300,000 people may have died. Antiochs glory days were now in the past.

During the ByzantineSassanid War of 602628 the Emperor Heraclius confronted the invading Persian army of Khosrow II outside the city in 613; the Byzantines were defeated in the Battle of Antioch, after which the city fell to the Sassanians.

In 637, during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, Antioch was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate during the Battle of the Iron Bridge. Antioch found itself so often on the frontlines of conflicts between two hostile empires during the next 350 years that the city went into a precipitous decline from which it never recovered.

From 1233 onward, as a result of incessant warfare between the Crusader knights who ruled the city and various regional powers, Antiochs standing as a city declined to the point that it barely appeared in records for 30 years; in 1254, the Armenian kings ruled Antioch while the prince of Antioch resided in Tripoli. The Armenians drew up a treaty with the Mongols, who were now ravaging Muslim lands from the East; under their protection they extended their territory into Aleppo to the south.

In January of 1265 Baibars, the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt,launched an offensive against the Frankish crusaders who then ruled the city; in 1268 he besieged Antioch, capturing it on May 18. While he had promised to spare the lives of the inhabitants, he broke his promise and razed the city, killing or enslaving nearly the entire population upon their surrender.

Antiochs former Frankish ruler, Prince Bohemond VI, was then left with no territories except the County of Tripoli. With the fall of the city, the remainder of northern Syria eventually capitulated, ending the Frankish knights presence in Syria.

By the year1432 there were only about 300 inhabited houses within the walls of Antioch, mostly occupied by Turks, according to historian Steven Runciman.

Few traces of the once-great Roman city are visible today aside from the massive fortification walls that snake up the side of the mountains to the east of the modern city, as well as several aqueducts, and the Church of St Peter (St Peters Cave Church, Cave-Church of St. Peter).

This latter church was said to have been a meeting place of the early Christian community of Antioch; it is still extant and is open for visitors, unlike almost all the other monuments in Antioch. Most of the Roman-era buildings now are either buried beneath sediment from the Orontes River or have been obscured by recent construction.

Between 1932 and 1939, systemic archaeological excavations of Antioch were undertaken under the direction of the Louvre Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Worcester Art Museum, Princeton University, Wellesley College, and later the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University and its affiliate Dumbarton Oaks.

The excavation team failed to find the major buildings they hoped to unearth, including Constantines Great Octagonal Church or the imperial palace. However, a great accomplishment of the expedition was the discovery of high-quality Roman mosaics from villas and baths in Antioch, Daphne and Seleucia Pieria, including that pictured above, which is now in the Louvre.

The principal excavations of mosaics at Antioch led by Princeton University in March 1932 recovered nearly 300 such pieces. Many of these were originally used as floor mosaics in private homes during the 2nd through 6th centuries AD, while others were displayed in baths and other public buildings.

One such stunning mosaic includes a border that depicts a walk from Antioch to Daphne, showing many ancient buildings along the way which were once extant. A collection of mosaics on both secular and sacred subjects which were once in churches, private homes, and other public spaces in Antioch are now in the collections of the Princeton University Art Museum and other museums.

A statue in the Vatican and a number of figurines and statuettes portray its great patron goddess and civic symbol, the Tyche (Fortune) of Antioch a majestic seated figure, crowned with the ramparts of Antiochs walls and holding wheat stalks in her right hand, with the river Orontes as a youth swimming under her feet.

The northern sector of Antakya, the Turkish name of the city, has been growing rapidly over recent years; this construction has begun to expose large portions of the ancient city, which are frequently bulldozed and rarely protected by the local officials.

In April of 2016, archaeologists discovered a Greek mosaic (above) showing a skeleton lying down with a wine pitcher and loaf of bread alongside a text that reads: Be cheerful, enjoy your life.

This unforgettable artwork is reportedly from the 3rd century BC.

Described as the reckless skeleton or the skeleton mosaic, it is thought to have decorated the dining room of an upper-class home in Antioch, advising all those who look on it to eat, drink and be merry for no one knows what the future holds.

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The Glorious History of the Hellenistic City of Antioch - Greek Reporter

A crop of the cover of Cosplay: A History. See the full reveal below!Image: Saga Press

Cosplayers who look forward to comics conventions have had it rough during the pandemic, but the communitys spirit is still thriving. A new book, written by io9 alumni Andrew Liptak, spotlights the creative, awesomely nerdy folks who make dressing up an art form. Cosplay: A History: The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life isnt out until June, but weve got the cover to share, as well as an email interview with the author.

First up, heres the full cover, being revealed here on io9 for the first time! The interview follows.

Cheryl Eddy, io9: What inspired you to want to take a deep dive into the history of cosplay?

Andrew Liptak: History is something that Ive always been interested in: when I was a kid, my parents took me and my siblings to various battlefields, and I ended up studying it in college and graduate school. When I began writing, I wrote for a bunch of history magazines, and when I began writing about nerd stuff for sites like io9 and Kirkus Reviews, I was always interested in finding out more about the stories behind the stories and creators that we all appreciate.

Along the way, I got to know an editor at Simon & Schusters Saga Press, Joe Monti: Id reviewed some of the books that hed edited, and wed chatted off and on about random things over a couple of years. At some point, he got in touch after San Diego Comic-Con, noting that hed heard a story about a member of the 501st Legion (of which Im a member) that had marked 501 miles from Star Wars museum Rancho Obi-Wan in Petaluma, California to the convention. It was a moving story, and he wanted to know if Id be interested in putting something together about it.

I put together a pitch, and they were interested, but there were some finicky roadblocks that ended up derailing that particular idea. But it stuck with me, because as Id studied up on the group, I realized that in order to properly tell it, youd need to talk about more than just the 501st: Id want to talk about the rise of conventions and the cosplay that went with it, the role that Star Wars played in the public imagination, and how sites like the Replica Props Forum helped incubate the talent and people who ended up forming the communities and practices that led to the 501st. Around that time, I ended up signing with a new literary agent, Seth Fishman of the Gernert Agency, and he encouraged me to redo the pitch to look at that broader history, which Saga ended up picking up, with Amara Hoshijo as editor.

I think what ended up motivating me the most was the idea that cosplay is this really big, vibrant community, one that didnt emerge out of vacuum: things like science fiction conventions and fandom play a role in its creation, but I wanted to dig further into other things: how did Halloween play a role? How did we come to dress up in costumes in the first place? What things along the way helped push things along? Those are all questions that I ended up answering (along with plenty more!) along the way.

A Harley Quinn cosplayer.Photo: Courtesy Andrew Liptak

io9: What are the earliest examples of cosplay?

Liptak: Its hard to put a definitive pin on something like this. Theres one common narrative that some cosplay books point to: the first-ever World Science Fiction convention in 1939 in New York City, when a pair of fans, Forrest J. Ackerman and Myrtle R. Douglas showed up in costume. Thats probably the most recognizable instance: people dressing up in costume at a convention, right? But if you go a bit earlier, there were some fans of a cartoon strip called Mr. Skygack of Mars and they dressed up in public as the titular character in a couple of notable instances in the early 1900sdecades before Ackerman and Douglas. Thats another early instance.

Go even further back, and you find things like an event thrown at the Royal Albert Hall that was themed around a popular sci-fi novel at the time, in which people dressed up, or a party that Jules Verne threw at his house that include people showing up as his characters. Honestly, I think its something that folks have always done: dressing up in costume to help convey a story, and Im sure that there are plenty of instances throughout history that have gone unrecorded in which people have done this sort of thing for fun.

io9: Since weve only gotten a peek at the cover so far, can you describe the book a little bit, and how its formatted, structured, and illustrated?

Liptak: My original draft of the book split into three parts: When We Cosplayed, How We Cosplayed, and Why We Cosplayed, but my editor sensibly had me restructure it a bit: its split into five parts, which look at fandom, conventions, traditions, production, and technology. Each one digs into a major component of the story of cosplay, in roughly chronological order.

Itll also have a ton of pictureswhile writing the book, I ended up going to a bunch of big conventions, ranging from Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, to Dragon Con, and Boston Comic Con, to smaller ones like the Vermont Sci-Fi and Fantasy Expo and Granite State Comic Con in Manchester, NH. A number of other pictures came from some long-time science fiction fans, as well as some other cosplayers who I interviewed, and friends.

Into the Porker-Verse!Photo: Courtesy Andrew Liptak

io9: Whats your own connection to the world of cosplay? What is the 501st Legion?

Liptak: I have fond memories of dressing up for Halloween, but my first real cosplay-type costume was a Stormtrooper from Star Wars: A New Hope. It was a costume that Id wanted for years, ever since Id first seen the Special Editions in 1997, and was able to get a suit and join the 501st Legion shortly after I left high school. Ive been with the group ever since, and Ive build a fair share of troopers over the yearsan additional Stormtrooper, an Attack of the Clones Clonetrooper, a Shoretrooper from Rogue One, and a First Order trooper from The Force Awakens. Ive got a 212th Airborne Clone from Revenge of the Sith that I need to finish up, as well as another Shoretrooper and First Order trooper that Ive been tinkering with the last couple of years.

The 501st gets a lot of focus in the book because of how the project started. Its the worlds largest Star Wars fan costuming club (according to Guinness World Records), and it started around 1997 by a fan named Albin Johnson. Hed been in a car accident and lost his leg, and to cheer him up, a co-worker suggested that with the Special Editions coming up, they should find and acquire Stormtrooper costumes and go to the movies in them. They found them, and through some conventions and a website, Albin began to collect other people who had stormtrooper costumesand other imperial characters as well. They began attending conventions together, comic book store events, movie premieres, and more, and it just kept growing and growing.

The group acquired a heavy focus on giving back to the community and charitable workI like to say that it makes an indulgent hobby less indulgent. A squad of stormtroopers escorting Darth Vader tends to turn heads, and through our appearances at cons and other places, weve found that we can help raise money for places like Make A Wish, or be in a good position to help a Wish Kid get to meet Darth Vader or Chewbacca or get escorted to the airport to head off to Disney or something. (Its a good thing that we wear helmetsthese events are incredibly moving, and were very privileged to be able to help.)

And along the way, the group maintains good ties with Lucasfilm: if they need, say, 50 stormtroopers for an event, they can call on the Legion, because we have a pretty uniform look with some high membership standards. (Those troopers that show up in the finale of The Mandalorian in season one? A lot of them were 501st members in their own costumes).

Cosplayers always know just the right pose.Photo: Courtesy of Andrew Liptak

io9: Cosplay 101 question here, but for anyone who might not quite know exactly what cosplay iswhat differentiates it from just dressing up in costume for Halloween?

Liptak: Its one of those things thats a little hard to define, but what I ended up on was its anytime someone dresses up because theyre a fan of something, and are trying to take part in the story in some small or big way. Thats a really broad definition, and in the book, I ended up talking about things like the history of Halloween and how it came to become such a big pop-culture holiday. I think Halloween costumes can certainly be considered a segment of cosplay, although its not quite the same as someone spending a lot of time building a costume from scratch. In the book, I talk not only about the types of costumes that you see on display at cons or movie premieres, but also things like Civil War reenacting or builders who make incredible replicas of spacesuits.

I think definitions about costumes being accurate to what you see on the screen are a bit too restrictive: fans express themselves in a lot of different ways, and things like costume mashups or people reenacting memes or brief, memorable moments from a film, to people who throw something together out of cardboard or scraps is just as valid as the super-accurate builds. Theyre all cosplay and theyre all wonderful.

io9: Who were some of the most interesting people you talked to while researching and writing the book? What were some of your favorite cosplay discoveries?

Liptak: I spoke with so many interesting people. I spoke with folks like Albin Johnson, who founded the 501st Legion, and Adam Savage, whos best known for his work on Mythbusters and for showing up in costume at conventions. But there were tons of others: Sgt. Swift Stitch and Paige Robins (aka Cosplay Medic), who show up to cons armed with elaborate workshops on their backs to serve as resources for cosplayers who need an on-the-spot fix when something breaks. There was Astrid Bear who was part of the convention scene in the 1960s, David Rhea (who sadly passed away from cancer last year) who made his own incredible Star Wars costumes in the 1970s and 1980s, and Dorasae Rosario (aka Akakioga Cosplay) who has made her own incredible costumes of everything from Suri from Black Panther to an interpretation of Sirfetchd from Pokemon: Sword and Shield. And tons of others. But not only that, I took hundreds of pictures over the course of my trips to cons, and there were amazing cosplayers at every stop. I wish I could have included each and every one of them in the book.

A Loki variant.Photo: Courtesy Andrew Liptak

io9: Which franchises have you found to be the most popular among cosplayers and why?

Liptak: I think anything that holds some nostalgia for a huge number of fans is a good place to start, but also ones where the costumes are somewhat easy to replicate. Franchises like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Ghostbusters are certainly big ones, because theyre enormous in entertainment history, but their costumes are also thrown together from all sorts of things, and theyre fairly easy for fans to recreate or reverse-engineer. You can find all of the components that you need for a Proton pack or a Sandtrooper backpack because fans have identified various components that the films prop makers made. Anything that involves sewing can be recreated by a dedicated fan after a trip to Joann Fabrics and some time on a sewing machine.

Ease of production is a key thing to extreme popularity on a convention floor, I think. Look at things like Squid Games, Loki, or Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which costumes that are fairly easy to replicate. You just need a blue-green jumpsuit with some white lettering, some horns and green clothing, or a jacket, sweatpants, mismatched sneakers and a Spider-man top. I threw a janky Spider-man together with stuff I had in my closet. Fans of The Expanse have a bunch of options, ranging from generic Beltersor which you only need a jumpsuit and a bunch of patchesall the way up to more elaborate costumes. The variety there helps.

Where you have complicated costumesand modern costumes are more complicated these daysyou have more challenges. A full suit of Spartan (from Halo), GOLIATH or Iron Man armor is a bit of a challenge, for example, but even there, those challenges are getting easier to overcome: you just need EVA foam (like the stuff you find in floor or yoga mats), or a 3D printer and some practice.

The general popularity of a story is also important. Take any major character from any major franchise, and youll likely see them pretty often: stormtroopers, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Joker, etc. Another example might be comparing the recent Dune adaptation to Apples Foundation adaptation. Dune did really well: people have enjoyed it and it has plenty of cool costumes. On the other hand, Foundation seems like itll be destined for a deep-cut convention costume, if we see them at all: the costumes are pretty cool and elaborate, but they dont really stand out in any real distinctive way: ask someone whos seen the show, and theyd likely be hard-pressed to describe anything except Cleons blue outfit. Hugos costume, for example, is pretty generic: he could be any random background character in any number of shows. And on top of that, the show hasnt been well received, so youll have fewer people super excited to dress up in it.

Popularity can be a fleeting thing: there are cycles to this, as popularity for a show or movie waxes and wanes. You dont see a ton of Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad these days, but you might see more people dressing up as the version of her from The Suicide Squad. But then you have the Joker, Deadpool, Batman, and others that are perennially popular.

Star Wars cosplay is always popular.Photo: Courtesy of Andrew Liptak

io9: How did cosplayers cope with conventions being cancelled due to the pandemic? Will there be a different approach to conventions and other gatherings going forward?

Liptak: We coped in some really interesting ways. Conventions shut down pretty quickly in 2020, and I saw a ton of cosplayers who were frustrated and upset about thatnot because they were being selfish, but because these were the only times when they got to see friends and fellow cosplayers, and cosplay as that sort of social release.

They found other ways to cope: they turned to Tiktok or Instagram to take part in these really cool collaborative memes. One good example is a bunch of videos where theyd pass a makeup brush from one side of the screen to the other, transforming from a regular civilian person into their character, before passing it along to the next person down the chain. There were others as well, where someone might jump onto a video trend in costume or something like that.

Cons are coming back now, and Ive been to a couple, where I saw some interesting things. I think well see some things linger: I thinkI hopepeople will pay more attention to their health when it comes to these gatherings. When I went to Fan Expo Boston this year, I saw a lot of cosplayers integrating masks into their costumes, either by matching the fabric to their costumes, or choosing costumes with a mask. It wasnt an uncommon experience in the Before Times to come down with whats colloquially known as the ConFluwhatever mashup of viruses you accumulate by sharing the same space with tens of thousands of peopleand I think if people stay home or wear masks, theyll avoid getting sick like that.

Theres also a systematic thing here: convention organizers should pay attention to the health of their guests by paying attention to the local conditions. They might need to put policies into place to encourage masks, show proof of vaccination, or otherwise encourage people to stay home if they feel sick, depending on what the situation is at that specific time. They can also implement health screenings or handwashing stations, which will likely contribute to the events safety. Theres no one fix, but a bunch of small fixes will go a long way.

Ultimately though? Weve been dressing up to pretend to be a character or in a story for probably as long as weve been telling stories. I think covid-19 will be a bump in the road in the long-run: well still be dressing up as characters from whatever Marvel or DC movies (and everything else!) that come out in 2022, 2031, 2051, and beyond. Im looking forward to seeing what cosplayers come up with in the years and decades to come.

Andrew Liptaks Cosplay: A History: The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life is coming from Saga Press on June 28, 2022. You can pre-order a copy here.

Wondering where our RSS feed went? You can pick the new up one here.

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A New Book Digs Into Cosplay's Historyand the Fan Spirit That Keeps It Thriving - Gizmodo

Amesbury vs. Newburyport

(For the J. Walter Chase Trophy)

(Newburyport leads series, 52-39-6)

2020: No game (COVID-19 pandemic)

2019: Newburyport 34, Amesbury 20

2018: Amesbury 8, Newburyport 0

2017: Newburyport 27, Amesbury 0

2016: Amesbury 22, Newburyport 17

2015: Newburyport 36, Amesbury 34 (OT)

2014: Newburyport 27, Amesbury 20

2013: Newburyport 21, Amesbury 7

2012: Amesbury 13, Newburyport 10

2011: Newburyport 24, Amesbury 6

2010: Newburyport 26, Amesbury 0

2009: Newburyport 33, Amesbury 0

2008: Amesbury 22, Newburyport 7

2007: Amesbury 17, Newburyport 12

2006: Amesbury 20, Newburyport 0

2005: Newburyport 20, Amesbury 0

2004: Newburyport 24, Amesbury 14

2003: Amesbury 27, Newburyport 7

2002: Newburyport 28, Amesbury 6

2001: Newburyport 46, Amesbury 16

2000: Newburyport 26, Amesbury 24

1999: Newburyport 34, Amesbury 0

1998: Newburyport 35, Amesbury 19

1997: Newburyport 42, Amesbury 6

1996: Amesbury 38, Newburyport 8

1995: Newburyport 34, Amesbury 0

1994: Newburyport 19, Amesbury 7

1993: Amesbury 14, Newburyport 0

1992: Amesbury 23, Newburyport 6

1991: Amesbury 26, Newburyport 14

1990: Newburyport 42, Amesbury 14

1989: Amesbury 35, Newburyport 6

1988: Amesbury 39, Newburyport 20

1987: Newburyport 6, Amesbury 3

1986: Amesbury 14, Newburyport 0

1985: Newburyport 20, Amesbury 14 (OT)

1984: Newburyport 25, Amesbury 14

1983: Newburyport 48, Amesbury 8

1982: Amesbury 31, Newburyport 7

1981: Newburyport 18, Amesbury 7

1980: Newburyport 26, Amesbury 6

1979: Amesbury 12, Newburyport 7

1978: Newburyport 14, Amesbury 12

1977: Newburyport 41, Amesbury 8

1976: Newburyport 35, Amesbury 0

1975: Newburyport 31, Amesbury 8

1974: Newburyport 21, Amesbury 13

1973: Newburyport 32, Amesbury 8

1972: Newburyport 30, Amesbury 6

1971: Amesbury 16, Newburyport 0

1970: Amesbury 28, Newburyport 20

1969: Newburyport 42, Amesbury 14

1968: Newburyport 42, Amesbury 26

1967: Newburyport 34, Amesbury 0

1966: Newburyport 49, Amesbury 0

1965: Newburyport 27, Amesbury 8

1964: Amesbury 14, Newburyport 0

1963: Amesbury 8, Newburyport 6

1962: Amesbury 6, Newburyport 0

1961: Newburyport 22, Amesbury 8

1960: Amesbury 32, Newburyport 16

1959: Newburyport 28, Amesbury 0

1958: Newburyport 20, Amesbury 16

1957: Amesbury 6, Newburyport 0

1956: Newburyport 13, Amesbury 0

1955: Newburyport 13, Amesbury 6

1954: Newburyport 7, Amesbury 6

1953: Newburyport 34, Amesbury 13

1952: Amesbury 15, Newburyport 12

1951: Amesbury 99, Newburyport 6

1950: Amesbury 47, Newburyport 20

1949: Amesbury 51, Newburyport 18

1948: Amesbury 25, Newburyport 13

1947: Amesbury 33, Newburyport 20

1946: Amesbury 33, Newburyport 18

1945: Amesbury 25, Newburyport 6

1944: Amesbury 40, Newburyport 6

1943: Amesbury 33, Newburyport 6

1942: Newburyport 6, Amesbury 0

1941: Newburyport 9, Amesbury 7

1940: Newburyport 3, Amesbury 0

1939: Tie, 7-7

1938: Amesbury 19, Newburyport 0

1937: Amesbury 25, Newburyport 0

1936: Newburyport 18, Amesbury 0

1935: Tie, 0-0

1934: Newburyport 26, Amesbury 0

1933: Amesbury 6, Newburyport 0

1932: Tie, 0-0

1931: Newburyport 20, Amesbury 6

1927-30: No Games

1926: Amesbury 27, Newburyport 0

1925: Tie, 0-0

1922-24: No Games

1921: Amesbury 14, Newburyport 7

1920: Tie, 0-0

1919: Newburyport 6, Amesbury 0

Read the rest here:

History of Thanksgiving Rivalries | Local Sports | newburyportnews.com - The Daily News of Newburyport

When I was 8, I owned a Barbie cookbook. Inside the plastic fuchsia pink pages were careful instructions on how to make anything from brownies to huevos rancheros. I don't remember reading or making any of the recipes, but I remember how I pored over the details and looked at the cartoon renditions imagining what they would taste like. When I would read the recipes, I sat on the counter of our small apartment's kitchen in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. My mother, a med student at the time and not a fan of the kitchen, would buzz from the fridge to the counter, searching for ingredients and trying to decide what we would have for dinner that night. I would read to her from Barbie's cooking directions and she would smile and settle on a classic: arroz con salchichas.

The dish, a Puerto Rican and Cuban staple, is composed of simple ingredients: canned sausages (we are devotees of salchichas Carmela), rice, sazn Goya packets for color and flavor, salt to taste and olive oil. I would peer over my book and watch my mother as she placed everything into a rice cooker and set it to "Cook." In 20 minutes, my brother and I would have a dish that became comfort food for years to come. It was in those moments that I would ask my mother if I could help. I would stir in the sazn and the salt and taste it to make sure it was just right. On some nights, these dishes were followed by late-night sweets, when my mom's sweet tooth would overpower her and she would make flan at 10 p.m.

On the days my mom was too busy with school or work, it was our neighbor, Isabel, who took us in at dinnertime. I watched her after a full day playing with my friends as she peeled the platanos and sliced the salami. On special evenings, queso frito would accompany the mang and salami, another Caribbean classic, this one from the Dominican Republic. It was while living in the Dominican Republic that my palate expanded, especially when I finally understood that spaghetti and yucca are a perfect combination. Foods from my communities, like beans, multiple types of rice dishes, viandas, fricasseed chicken or beef stews, represent our innovation and sustenance under oppressive and patriarchal systems. In these recipes, I find out more about where I'm from than any book could try to teach me.

Later, when we moved to New Jersey to be with my mom's family, I finally learned my own abuela's tricks. My mother's mother didn't show her how to cook. Instead we all picked up her recipes by watching her in the kitchen. Her dishes included frijoles negroes and un caldo de pollo. My abuela never hugged or told us she loved us. Yet with her cooking, she cared for us, taught us about community and supported my brother and I whenever my mother needed the help.

These three women, in different ways, taught me how love could be measured in dashes of salt that Caribbean women find power in cooking, especially under machista systems. They helped me understand how cooking and creating in the kitchen is a way to honor God.

My relationship to cooking

I started cooking for my family in high school. I cooked because this is what kept me grounded, because it was a necessity and because it's how I showed care to the people around me. My abuela lived with us still, but she was getting older and her tastebuds didn't as well anymore. My mom was working late-night shifts at the hospital and me and my brother needed to eat when we arrived home from school.

This responsibility fell on me as a teenager, yet being in the kitchen felt like my own intimate, solitary laboratory. In this space, I perfected classical dishes but also experimented. I started mixing sauces and adding different spices not usually included in Caribbean/Latinx recipes. I tried traditional Cuban flavors mixed in with my American upbringing. I even started baking sweets.

While my love for cooking grew, I was also aware of the ways cooking was expected of me, and of all the women in my family.

One of the first times I cooked when my aunt was over, she told me, "ya te puedes casar" "You can get married now, a compliment heard by countless women who cook all over Latin America. My relationship and love for the kitchen, however, had nothing to do with my any future marriage or relationship. As food writer Alicia Kennedy wrote for Refinery29, "To me, cooking wasn't about being domestic or homey; it was about the pursuit of something loftier, more aspirational I want to learn how to do things differently at home, to create a home through food."

A shift happened then: I realized that the thing I loved to do was marked by centuries of patriarchy and machismo, and something I once cherished quickly became a source of desolation. I would get up later on weekends and not want to take the chicken out of the freezer. This pattern would repeat when I was home for the holidays during college and the brief intermissions between grad school when I lived at home. My mom would argue with me. She would talk to me about responsibility and duty how it was my role to make sure my brother ate. In those years I grew resentful.

Away at school in New York City and later Cambridge, though, my relationship to cooking started to heal. It once again became a haven when I could find time between my studies. I sought out the flavors that reminded me of home. Frijoles negros. Guayaba. Mang. Tostones. I made empanadillas de pizza for my roommates because I needed them to know how I'd sit at a stand on the side of the road in Puerto Rico eating way too many. I invited my crush over for lunch because I wanted her to try authentic Cuban black beans. Cooking during those days tied me to the roots I was scared of forgetting.

For the first time, I was away from the flavors of my community, in primarily white spaces, and it was only when I had enough time to seek those foods that I realized I missed my home, my community.

Cooking and community

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself back in Miami, including during the Thanksgiving holiday.

We were still in the pandemic, months into both individual and collective cycles of never-ending grief and anxiety. After months of isolation for many of us, I wanted everyone in my family to feel close and safe together. I decided I would make all the Thanksgiving side dishes. My stepdad would be in charge of the turkey.

Whenever I cook, the recipe must be followed to the letter. The tastes exact, the colors precise. This perfectionism also means that I am often stressed while cooking, and many times, the process involves crying. (My mom has now jokingly nicknamed me Nitza Villapol, a famous home cook and TV personality, called the Cuban Julia Child, who was known for her preciseness and re-creation of recipes, especially during Cuba's Special Period).

I grew resentful and I channeled it into more cooking experiments. I realized that I wanted to impress the people I was feeding. That instead of seeking out pleasure and joy for myself, I was doing it for others. I was scrambling for a way to prove myself, who I was, and where I came from. I recognized that while I loved cooking and creating for my family, I also struggled to reconcile the love I felt for creating with how stressful the process was becoming.

This year, I ground myself in the power of cooking, working through all sensory experiences of the kitchen to honor my God and all the saints.

When my family cooks, it is an extension of the matriarchal power that, despite countless generational obstacles and tragedies across various countries, continues to be passed down, from my grandmother to my mother to me. Cooking in my mother's house is ritual. It is devotion. Not only when my parents hold ceremonies for their Orishas, or when we celebrate holidays and birthdays but every day. We honor our family this way. I say prayers over my arroz con pollo, asking God to nourish my family not just when they sit down to eat, but always.

In the methodical moments that you measure, stir, pour and chop, I think about how this is so much of what faith hinges on for me: The trust and conviction one can feel when choosing to trust in the power of ones hands, mind and heart in mixing and creating with different ingredients and styles in the diaspora. As historian of Afro-diasporic religions, Elizabeth Perez, writes: "In Caribbean and Latin American religions of African origin, the gods feel. They crave the sight of symbols and gestures; the sounds of oracles and instruments; the scent of breath and cigar smoke. They also want food."

This Thanksgiving, I find myself once more away from home, where the flavors I love are a bit harder to access. I will be celebrating with some new friends, hoping that my cooking will create a burgeoning yet tentative community bond so far away from home. I hope to share the power of cooking, how it can heal and allow us as diasporic peoples to work through the layers of intergenerational trauma.

This year, I remind myself that I don't need to rely on the extravagance or experimentation of previous years maybe all I need is some Carmela sausages, rice, sazn (not Goya), and a little bit of salt to nourish my soul.

Go here to read the rest:

Women pass down cooking traditions, teaching love, history and faith with dashes of salt - National Catholic Reporter

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 22: Quarterback Mark Sanchez #6 of the New York Jets reacts after getting sacked by the New England Patriots during a game at MetLife Stadium on November 22, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)

The last time the New England Patriots played on Thanksgiving, they made history. Well, the Jets and Mark Sanchez did.

Its been nine years since the Pats played on the biggest football holiday of the year, but the memories of the butt fumble game endure. Everyone knew in the moment that theyd witnessed NFL history when Sanchez fumbled after running into the ass of guard Brandon Moore. Nearly a decade later, its virtually cemented as the NFLs most iconic blunder.

The only downside of the butt fumble was that it overshadowed the Patriots win, like a big round ass under a streetlamp. They dominated that game, a 49-19 laugher. Overall, the Patriots are 4-1 in five Thanksgiving games in their history.

Heres a quick look at how the Patriots fared in those games over the years

View post:

A brief history of the Patriots in Thanksgiving games - 98.5 The Sports Hub

Thats what Google engineers in Zurich hoped would happen when they pioneered this project in 2019, the year that flygskam took off as a phrase in English-speaking countries. They designed the algorithm to factor in the fuel efficiency of each aircrafts engine as well as the number of passengers that can fit on board that kind of plane. (Flying economy and flying nonstop tend to decrease your emissions.)

Picking the most fuel-efficient tickets can sharply reduce your carbon footprint without much sacrifice. One working paper by the International Council on Clean Transportation, subtitled The Case for Emissions Disclosure, found that choosing the least-polluting itinerary on a route could emit 63 percent less CO than the most-polluting option, and 22 percent less than the average flight.

For a while, users had to dig around to find Googles carbon emissions information. But last month, just before the climate summit in Glasgow, Google put CO emissions directly into the search results for all to see. The company intends to share its model with other travel platforms, hoping to make carbon emissions estimates more standard and thus more credible in the eyes of the public, James Byers, a senior product manager for Google, told me.

Currently, carbon footprint estimates for flights are all over the map. For instance, Kayak, another travel site that allows customers to search for low-emitting flights, frequently comes up with estimates that are vastly different from Googles. (Kayaks estimates come a German nonprofit called Atmosfair, which uses a different methodology.)

Google engineers hope that climate guilt will drive consumer preferences and incentivize companies to invest in aircraft that are more fuel efficient. That could speed the development of electric planes and greener jet fuels. Thats a wonderful vision. I hope it works.

But carbon calculators have a dark side, too. The concept of a personal carbon footprint has been promoted by BP, the fossil fuel giant largely responsible for the notorious Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A special climate-conscious part of BPs website is a one-stop shop for climate guilt. It has a carbon footprint calculator that estimates that a generic flight from Boston to Minneapolis would put 0.62 metric tons of carbon emissions in the air, more than twice Googles estimate for the JetBlue flight. Then it graciously offers to take my money to offset those emissions by buying solar panels in India, fuel-efficient cookstoves in Mexico and wind turbines in China. My climate sin of visiting my sister would be absolved for the low price of $2.80.

More here:

Opinion | What Your Flight History Reveals About Your Carbon Footprint - The New York Times

Three new books scrutinize the reputations of some legendary warrior groups the Spartans, the Vikings and the Spanish conquistadors.

In THE BRONZE LIE: Shattering the Myth of Spartan Warrior Supremacy (Osprey, $30), Myke Cole pretty much does what the subtitle says. Laconophiles, beware. Cole, a prolific writer of science fiction as well as a previous work on ancient military history, painstakingly examines the evidence from five centuries of Spartan warfare, from 739 B.C. to 207 B.C., and concludes that they were not superwarriors, but reasonably competent war fighters dogged by norms in their military culture that held them back. Overall, he calculates that they posted a battle record of 50 wins, 71 losses and five ties. Not terrible, but hardly dominant, more Chicago Cubs than New York Yankees.

Cole detects several persistent shortcomings in the Spartan approach to combat. They failed to scout their foes and were notably poor at besieging fortifications. They also were slow to adapt tactically, because, he says, their rigidly conservative social culture made them resistant to change. They compensated for these flaws by being well disciplined and well organized.

Those who think people no longer care about history should consider this: Cole reports that his sharp skepticism about Spartan military prowess has provoked death threats against him.

Explore the New York Times Book Review

Want to keep up with the latest and greatest in books? This is a good place to start.

By contrast, the Vikings were quite as fierce as their reputation, if the account in MEN OF TERROR: A Comprehensive Analysis of Viking Combat (Westholme, $50) is anywhere near accurate. William R. Short and Reynir A. Oskarson, two experts in Viking culture and martial arts, report that Norsemen, if they did not have a weapon in hand, trained to end a fight three ways: strangulation, biting through the neck or trachea and breaking or dislocating the neck. But, they add, Vikings rarely were caught without their weapons, especially their swords, which they revered.

The Vikings were innovative fighters, displaying what the authors term an improvisational nature. They also were fairly high-tech for their time that is, the centuries around A.D. 1000 wielding swords that used advanced metallurgy. Their seagoing ships were able to sail closer to the wind than others and were also of such shallow draft that they could move high up rivers and coves, enabling them to launch surprise attacks in unexpected places.

Fittingly, this book held two surprises for me: First, I had assumed that a battle ax was heavy. In fact it was lighter and sharper than a wood ax, because flesh is easier to cleave than wood, and also because a weighty war ax would fatigue its bearer. A battle ax swung with two hands delivered three times as much destructive energy as a sword, the authors helpfully note. Second, they say that, contrary to the cartoon images, Viking helmets probably did not sport horns. That makes sense: In serious close combat, why give the foe a key point to grab and twist?

The well-named Fernando Cervantes sets out to upgrade the reputation of the 16th-century Spanish conquerors of Mexico and western South America in CONQUISTADORES: A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest (Viking, $35). It is a decidedly uphill task. Cervantes, a historian at Englands University of Bristol, concedes that the conquistadors are seen today as brutal, genocidal colonists. But, he argues, that sweeping caricature is partly the result of a powerful sustained propaganda campaign against the Spanish Hapsburgs. He asks us to look beyond the unintended excesses and horrendous brutality. He portrays Hernn Corts, the conqueror of Mexicos Aztecs, as a politically astute and tactically flexible leader. Corts and other conquistadors were able to succeed as well as they did, he notes, because local populations often saw them as liberators who would help overthrow the cruel and exploitative regimes of the Aztecs and, in South America, of the Incas.

I came away unpersuaded. In this work Cervantes engages in a kind of sleight of hand, I believe, by mentioning the enslavement of Indigenous peoples but never really focusing on it. Ultimately, the conquistadors dont really seem to me very different from the Vikings. They were out to raid, to enslave people and to steal whatever they could carry away, usually in the form of gold, silver and precious stones. And they wrangled with one another for those treasures as well as for land and power. Indeed, Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Incas, was killed by other Spaniards in one such dispute. The major difference between the Vikings and the Spaniards seems to be that the Spaniards had a more lasting effect, in part because the Old World diseases they carried with them devastated the people of the New World, who lacked immunities.

Putting these books down, I found myself wondering about how future historians will write in a few centuries about the American mission in Afghanistan over the last 20 years. We went there late in 2001 passionately full of righteous answers just as the conquistadors went to the New World. And, like them, brimming with unequaled military power, we tried to use force to change a culture we did not remotely understand. But then we left. Our recent chaotic exit from Kabul reminded me of a brutal line in Thucydides history of the Peloponnesian War. It was uttered not by a Spartan but by a leader of the Athenians, supposedly the more enlightened people. The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must, he informs the inhabitants of a small, besieged island. That also was, I think, the message that President Biden sent last summer to the people of Afghanistan.

Originally posted here:

Warriors of History and Legend - The New York Times