Tag Archives: Arlo

Trying to piece together the young life of my great grandmother, Minnie Florian Wise

By Mark | January 7, 2020

The woman to the right is my great grandmother. Her name was Minnie Florence Wise, and she was born on December 9, 1892, in Montgomery County, Kentucky, which is about 30 miles east of Lexington, where, if I’m not mistaken, her grandfather, John Anderson Wise (1823-1893), fought on the side of the Union during the […]

Posted in History, Mark's Life, Uncategorized | Also tagged 14th Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, 1889, 1892, 1900, 1912, 1950, barefoot, census, Charles Maynard, Civil War, coal, Confederate States, Curt Florian, Curtis Florian, depression glass, Florian, flour sack dresses, Franklin, Franklin County, genealogy, Georgetown, Goin' Up Cripple Creek, Grover Cleveland Wise, Jefferson Davis, Jefferson Davis Wise, John Anderson Wise, John Calhoun Wise, Joseph Phillip Florian, Kentucky, Louvina J. Tipton, Ma Florian, Mark's ancestors, Mark's aunt Betsy, marriage license, Matilda Gill, Matilda Gill Wise, Mayfair Open Rose, Minnie Florence Wise, Minorsville, Mollie Onan, Monterey, Mt. Sterling, National Archives, Rebecca Clark, root cellar, Scott County, secession, Seth Reese Wise, Stamping Ground, Switzer, union, West Virginia, White Sulpher, Wise, Woodlake | 11 Comments

House Republicans argue that Donald Trump withheld Ukrainian security aid because he’s a tireless fighter of foreign corruption. This is not even remotely true. Here are the facts.

By Mark | December 2, 2019

House Republicans just released a 123-page report which they claim refutes the case for Donald Trump’s impeachment. In the report, Republicans argue that Donald Trump did not withhold military aid from Ukraine for his own self-interest, but because of “a deep-seated, genuine, and reasonable skepticism of Ukraine due to its history of pervasive corruption.” The […]

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged 2020, bribery, corruption, Crowdstrike, Donald Trump, extortion, foreign aid, Gordon Sondland, House Intelligence Committee, Hunter Biden, impeachment, Joe Biden, John Rood, Kurt Volker, military aid, mochi, Republican lies, Russia, the collapse of the Republican party, Ukraine, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky | 58 Comments

As of today, Linette and I have been married 20 years

By Mark | October 2, 2019

On Saturday, October 2, 1999, Linette and I were married. Here, to mark the occasion, is a little something I wrote a while back, slightly updated to reflect that yet another year has passed. Twenty years ago today, after seven years of living with one another in sin, I married my friend and collaborator Linette […]

Posted in Mark's Life, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged American Studies, anniversary, Chevy Blazer, Clementine, Cross Street Station, Dan Richardson, Doug Coombe, Leisa Thompson, Linette Lao, luck, Mama June, marriage, Matt Krizowsky, milestones, Northville, Plymouth, thankful, things I'm thankful for, weddings | 11 Comments

Totally Quotable Arlo: Donkey Kong Edition

By Mark | September 5, 2019

I was going to write a substantive post about Iran tonight, but I decided to read an old Vonnegut book instead. Here, because I feel as though I owe you something — even though I know that I don’t — is a photo that I recently posted to Instagram. It’s something that Arlo said to […]

Posted in History, Mark's Life, Uncategorized | Also tagged Donkey Kong, Totally Quotable Arlo, Video Games | 7 Comments

My great-grandfather’s story of theft aboard The Robert E. Lee

By Mark | July 23, 2019

The family and I have spent the last four days in the Maine woods, where my aunt and her husband had rented a cabin so that our extended family could celebrate my father’s 75th birthday together. Aside from falling in Maine’s largest lake while completely clothed, having to scrub vomit from the upholstery of a […]