Documenting the upmty-ump trillionth blog–created by Ms. Myrna Hummel (observing on stale pancake mix), noting the blog-prominence of cats, and worrying about an approaching critical-mass-of-blogs crisis, cartoonist Richard Thompson has nailed it.
As a garrulous drone I can personally validate the accuracy of both his analysis and the technically stunning blog map, seen here.
The illustration and accompanying text are in today’s Washington Post in Richard’s Poor Almanack (pg. C3), and will be online soon, I would think, at the WaPo.com comics page.
Unless you’re a certain kind of geek, you may not have heard much about Open Access (OA), but it’s coming on strong. The core idea is to make the products of research more widely available by reducing the barriers of cost and limited access.
I think the case for OA is strongest for ‘peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly research’, particularly that which is publicly funded, but there’s far wider application, of course.
I bring this up because Ross Scaife points today to an OA manifesto of sorts from AA Adams. It includes this stunningly simple and powerful nugget:
… academics should be confronting the responsibilities that go with their cherished and fought-for freedoms. That responsibility is to disseminate one's work as widely as possible, to hold it up for criticism and to allow others to build on it. To do so demands that we hold Open Access to our articles as a categorical imperative and not allow the tail of academic publishing to wag the dog of academic communication.
I suspect the likeliest proponents of OA are folks who aren’t expecting to make any real money publishing their work for-profit and/or those who believe in that whole ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ thing.
As someone with a non-commercial interest in History, I’m very fond of the idea. I license my own work (on AotW and this blog) accordingly, feeble though it may be.
Most academic presses, professional journal publishers, and copyright/control freaks are not going for this at all, however. Even as evangelist Peter Suber (blog: OA News) reminds that
OA is a kind of access, not a kind of business model, license, or content.
Teacher Mike started a new blog Throwing Down the Gauntlet in July. I just picked up on him when Google Blog Search pointed me to his new post about the Antietam anniversary. Laurie already covers him, so I don’t know why I’m so late to the party …
Recent blog illustration (by Mike)
He notes specialization in Evander Law and the 4th Alabama Infantry, with a book in his future. He’s covered a lot of ground in the last couple of months. I’ve got some catching up to do.
The Martinsburg (WV) Journal today reported US Senator Byrd’s support of a request that the Park Service study the creation of a new National Park at the site of the Shepherdstown fight of 19 – 20 September 1862. The Senator remarked
West Virginia is home to many great landmarks that are a significant part of our nation's history… I am pleased to be working with the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association to help initiate this National Park Service study.
Federal Artillery at the ford near Shepherdstown (Leslie’s Illustrated, October 1862)
The Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA) and the Save Historic Antietam Foundation (SHAF) have been working for some years to protect key sites associated with the battle. According to the article:
Since 2004, SBPA has raised $644,000 and has secured 84 acres of the core battlefield property through conservation easements … and the Save Historic Antietam Foundation is attempting to purchase 13 acres of what was the Boteler Cement Mill.
The Cement Mill property lies parallel to the Potomac near where Union troops crossed the river at Boteler's Ford, which is also known as Pack Horse Ford. The mill started operations in 1829 to provide natural cement for the construction of the C&O Canal.
Union troops deployed on the mill property to advance on the Confederate Army as it retreated from Antietam. Confederate forces eventually pushed the Union troops back, causing some of the Union soldiers to leap from high bluffs near the mill property and the river. Roughly 9,000 troops fought in the battle and about 640 were killed, wounded or missing.
I encourage you to visit SHAF and SBPA to see what you can do to help protect this historic site.
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Added 9/20: Dimitri adds comment and questions on the subject.
Next Monday is the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam in 1862. This weekend will be a whirlwind of activity at the Battlefield and in neighboring town of Sharpsburg. Do get there if you possibly can – the events are fabulous for a student of the battle.
Florida reenactors at Sharpsburg, 2002
The official list for Park events comes from the Park Service. Also check out the Sharpsburg Heritage Day scene from the SHAF site or Sharpsburg Arsenal.
Events run Friday (today) through Monday. I’ll be in town for Heritage Day til about noon Saturday, then over to the Battlefield Park for the 1:30 Bridge/Final Attack tour, 4pm artillery firing, and 7pm Rafuse lecture. Do say hello if you catch me, won’t you?
