Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Aug 25

Another installment in my irregular attempt to write a Substack newsletter. (The main article is free; there are some fun links behind the paywall, which you can access with a free trial.)

Reading Macbeth Out of Order

The virtue of fragmentation

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Aug 20

I guess there *is* a hell.

James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Jul 23

I’m back at it on the Substack: open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...

Blast from the Past

When 10MB could be had for a mere $3400

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Jun 7

Who’s watching the livestream of “Good Night and Good Luck”?

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · May 20

Have a favorite NYC film? I’d love to know what it is. Bonus points if it was made more than 20 years ago and/or features good footage shot south of 14th Street.

"That's the Thing About New York City"

Incitements to Reverie #3 - an occasional series of photos of NYC

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Apr 15

Remembering our 16th president on the 160th anniversary of his death. This post is for paid subscribers, but you can get a free trial if you’d like to read the whole thing!

Abraham Lincoln in New York

Remembering the 16th president on the 160th anniversary of his death

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Mar 26

Wrenley? Really?

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Mar 25

Today is the anniversary of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Read more about it my newsletter and, if you are interested in all things NYC, consider a subscription.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

March 25, 1911

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Mar 10

I’ve been reading about outmoded railroads today. There are probably more pressing matters in the world, but I’ve been studying A.T. Stewart’s Garden City, instead.

*this is a post for paid subscribers, but free trials are available to everyone.

A.T. Stewart's Short-lived Railway

Connecting the City to the Garden to the Sea

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Mar 7

What does Bing Crosby have to do with the price of grape jelly in Kenosha, WI? Read on…..

Vintage Vinyl, Stroh's, and Grape Jelly

The relative value of goods is hard to measure

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Mar 4

I’m voting for #2

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Mar 3

Some brief musings on a new-to-me magazine from the early 20th century

The Pictorial Review

Celebrating the golden age of print

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Feb 26

This post is one of the longer essays I share with paid subscribers of “History Will Teach us Something.” If you’d like to read it—and support my ongoing work—consider a free trial or become a paid subscriber today.

ChatGPT is Not Your Friend

Some thoughts on hallucinations

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Feb 13

Our deceased wonder cat was named Zora—after Zora Neale Hurston—and every time I see anything of Hurston’s pop up in some random place, I take it as a sign.

James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Feb 13

Until today, I’d never watched the full version of Méliès’s Voyage to the Moon. It’s a delight.

The Voyage to the Moon

Just something to add a bright spot to your day

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Feb 11

I'm knee-deep in more films that I can process, but here goes nothing: do you have a favorite film

a) set in NYC
b) depicts a historical period that is not the era in which it was made. (So, for example "The Great Gatsby" works; Lights of New York (from 1928 and set contemporaneously, does not.)

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Feb 11

I am working in tandem with you on corn chips. Thankfully, there are no photos.

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Feb 4

Did you sign up for 12 albums for a penny? If so, do you remember what you got?

12 Albums for a Penny!

A look back at mail-order music

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Feb 3

The Mall, Central Park, 1858
open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...

The Mall, Central Park, 1858

Before there was the Mall...or even a park.

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Jan 15

Flow and Ebb and Flow and...

I bought a bunch of classical records sight unseen. Join me as we listen to them….

Flow and Ebb and Flow and...

The beginning of a musical odyssey

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Jan 6

Talking about Edward Hopper later this week.

Edward Hopper's Mythical New York

I’m giving a talk later this week about the painter Edward Hopper (1882-1967), looking at his cityscapes and how he created in his art a New York City that is both real and unreal at the same time.

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Dec 30

Why do we drop a ball on New Year’s Eve? Read on….

The Ball Drops in Times Square

The origin of our December 31 ritual

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Dec 25

Four Thoughts at Christmas -- join me over at Substack, as well.

Four Thoughts at Christmas

Looking back at NYC as the center of Holiday Shopping

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James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Dec 2

miss piggy from the muppet show is making a funny face with her eyes closed .

ALT: miss piggy from the muppet show is making a funny face with her eyes closed .

media.tenor.com

James Nevius @jamesnevius.bsky.social · Nov 18

What a good song inspired by Shakespeare (play or poem)?

For the sake of the project I’m working on, let’s leave off operatic adaptations, but everything else is fair game.

Thanks!