THE GRANDEST OF GRAND GESTURES
NOT A TOTAL BUMMER
I know my upcoming talk on firearms and the presidency seems heavy, but I promise you this: You’ve never seen or read anything like this discussion on the history of firearms and the president, and it’ll greatly enrich your discussions around the issue. I open with a movie clip and show rarely-seen, surprising primary sources.
RSVP to watch it virtually and if you’re in Washington, D.C., please come in person! I’ll be there along with happy hour fare about 45 minutes ahead of time, and I want to hear how a president should be from you.
OG AMERICAN MOMS
It’s Mother’s Day tomorrow. Here’s some of my work on the original American mothers:
iPOD DIPLOMACY
In 2009, President Barack Obama presented Queen Elizabeth II with a personalized iPod loaded with videos and photographs of her previous visits to the United States.
At the time, I was a research curator at the NYPL and spent my days immersed in primary sources ranging from Mary Cassat etchings to the New Yorker archives, so I took a rather dim view of the modern gift. I understood that it was meant to represent the intersection of technology and culture while also showcasing the personal connection between the Queen and a cast of heads of state, but I wondered if she would use it.
Years later, I think less about longevity, a good approach to most modern technology, and more about the joy she must have felt from revisiting those photos. Who doesn’t like to see themselves in the pink of youth? As you may recall, she refused my research inquiry but the sentiment—that she liked being reminded of the memory—struck me as genuine.
And truth be told, the Queen didn’t do much better. She gave the Obamas a photo of Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh in a silver frame.