Hello! I am in your inbox again! I like what you’ve done with the place.1
I’ve spent the last few weeks on leave, mostly at the beach. Thankfully, the weather was better than it was for these two gentlemen, who were also at the beach:
That’s Caspar David Friedrich’s 1817 painting Two Men by the Sea, and it shows the kinds of skies typical of Europe in the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815.
From what I can tell, Tambora’s ash seems to have been yellower than the orange wildfire smoke that covered (and continues to cover) much of North America this summer, but the general effect was similar:
The point is, this summer has given me a visceral understanding of what the year without a summer must have been like.
Next Steps
It can be uncomfortable when an author gives you a copy of his or her book. What do you say, after “looks great” and “thank you”? It’s not like you’re going to sit down and read it in front of the author, so most people kindly flip through a few pages and then set it aside. A natural follow-up question is, “What’s next?”
Sheesh! Who are you, my agent? (I don’t have an agent.)
Actually, that is a legitimate question, and one I’m happy to talk about… but not yet. In the meantime, I plan to use this space to post about once a month on what I’m up to. Helpfully, my employer has divided my working life into three parts, and those will be the three broad subject areas that I intend to blog about:
Education
The U.S. Naval War College has a very short summer. We graduated students on June 16, and now, just over a month later, new international students have already arrived. Convocation is August 8, and my class, “War at Sea in the Age of Sail,” starts on August 21. That means my mental space is steadily filling with teaching rather than research. I’m going to transfer some of those thoughts from my head to this blog.
Research
My “Active Research Projects” folder has seven sub-folders. Two of those folders are possible answers to the “what’s your next book” question—more to come on that, eventually. Two others are projects that I’m hoping will have firm publication dates soon, and I’ll be sure to devote one or more posts to telling you about why you might want to read them.2
Outreach
Part of my job is to spread the good word about naval history, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Naval War College, and my research. I’m giving a public lecture on Oliver Hazard Perry in September, for example, and I expect that will form the basis for a post.
I will spare you any posts about the service component of my job—nobody wants to hear about committee meetings.
To recap, expect an email about various teaching/research/outreach subjects about once per month. Help me spread the word by recommending my musings to your friends and family.
Honestly I’m just being polite.
For all the completists out there: the other three are either overcooked or undercooked.