Arrived in the mail today. Time for rereading.

Washington Black on Disney+ is an outstanding watch; I hope it encourages people to read Esi Edugyan's novel, as well. #WashingtonBlack #EsiEdugyan

My 12th Newport Jazz Festival this past weekend. Loved: Tyshawn Sorey Trio’s masterclass in composed improv; the surprising beauty of Fleck, Sanchez, and Castañeda's banjo/drums/harp combo; and Parlor Greens’ ferocious grooves. Long live the trio. #NewportJazzFestival

Cultivating young fans, from @TheAwayFans on Instagram.

[There is a Bluesky [email protected] it has no posts, yet].

American students define “fan" for a fellow student from Japan, 1923: “...A fan is a person utterly devoted to some pursuit." "Fans keep posted on all the latest news." "They never tire of interesting everybody else." "In other words, a fan is an enthusiast….” (The Epworth Era, Oct. 1923: 57).

I had a wonderful conversation last night with Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, as part of a RISD-sponsored screening of the remastered *Stop Making Sense.* The event was sold-out, and their stories--about the film and the band’s evolution--were funny and inspiring.

Prepping the next iteration of my first-year seminar, in which students practice cultural history by researching, identifying, and making a case for the first rock record. Objections, difficulties, and complexities invariably emerge--which is the point.

Francis Jeffrey, writing about London's cultural life in 1810, identified an "Encyclopedical trifling," marked by excessive access to books, tables, engravings, museums, "coups d'oeil of information" and "provoking talk." He thereby predicted both social media and my job.

The story of the Cuming shell collection, especially Mrs. J. E. Gray, the sudden gale, and the enduring vexation of the conchologists, reads like the script of a quirky period comedy. I'll watch when it hits Netflix. #BritishMuseum #NaturalHistory

The abstract reminds me of Greil Marcus’s Dead Elvis.

Thinking a lot about the trend of fannish descriptors in English after 1800. Add in the hundreds of other words that pop up in slang, and it gets *really* interesting. #HistoricalFandom

Readings in historical fandom do not necessarily have "fandom" in the title. #FanStudies #HistoricalFandom #Shakespeare #RichardSchoch #CatherinetheGreat #RuthDawson

I am obsessed with audience iconography. For several years, I have been collecting digitized images of historical audiences, posting them on Instagram (@ardentaudience), and studying their patterns and meanings. Another book project to complete someday.

I might as well start with introducing my fascination with pre-"fan" naming, including a paper last month at the U. of Cologne: "Devotees, Fanciers, Hunters, and Maniacs: The Onomastics of 19th-Century Enthusiasm." Swimming in slang!