An idea

[fabrisse]

I am semi-seriously considering "live" blogging World War I. It would mean a great deal of research for me, and, yes, I would probably concentrate on the Belgian and French fronts of the war since I know them best, but I really feel that it's forgotten in the US. Also, Michael Gove's remarks back in January really got under my skin.

[Poll #1969614]

Comments

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

If this would be a happy thing for you and not overburden you with additional stress, then yay! It sounds very cool.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

I'm debating about the stress level, but I'm thinking about it a lot.

[tx-cronopio.livejournal.com]

We went to the WWI exhibit at the Ransom Center at UT today, it was absolutely incredible. UT owns all kinds of stuff it has no business owning, but that's what you get when you have oil wells on university land: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/2014/war/

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

That could be an excellent resource, thank you.

[tx-cronopio.livejournal.com]

Oh, for crying out loud. I didn't know who Michael Gove was or what he said about WWI, but I just googled, and it got under my skin too! What an idiot. I cannot believe that 100 years on, anyone in a position of responsibility is pushing that line of crap.

GRRRRR.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

World War I was fought for patriotic reasons. He's not wrong.

It was also a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

On the plus side, it effectively destroyed colonialism -- even if the death throes are still continuing, took the class system out at the knees allowing British and many European societies far more mobility than they previously had, and ultimately votes for women.

The cons include weakening the world's immune system so that the great flu could happen, incompetency among commanders of epic proportions based partially on a refusal to learn from -- or even read -- recent military history, and the Russian Revolution.

[siderea]

Doooo eeeet!!

Use a free WP blog + twitter account, so you can be famous (and possibly earn ad/affiliate revenue).

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

I may need some configuration help with that, but I'm definitely leaning toward a yes.

[tediousandbrief.livejournal.com]

Please message me and let me know where you are live blogging this if you do it.

Will you start in June with the assassination or July with the official start of the war?

It really is a forgotten war in the US. :( What was Michael Gove's remarks about?

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

I will announce it here. And I plan to start with the assassination on June 28.

Michael Gove, Education Minister, disapproved of using supplemental materials which depicted the command and politicians in Britain as incompetent. He thought it unpatriotic. I think one can acknowledge that a war was waged for patriotic reasons -- including honoring a poorly thought out protection treaty -- without it meaning that the people in charge knew their asses from their elbows.