POTD: Confederation Landing

From 2016 09 07 Charlottetown

In case you read the headline and assumed this has something to do with the old South, no, the Confederation being remembered here has nothing to do with white supremacy. Today's photo-of-the-day is from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. According to Fodor's, "This waterfront recreation area at the bottom of Great George Street occupies the site where the Fathers of Confederation famously landed in 1864." Charlottetown is where the first conference was held that eventually resulted in the confederation of Canada in 1867. And did you catch that word "famously"? Not to Americans, sadly (and by "Americans" I include myself). Americans tend to be ignorant of anything that doesn't happen under our very noses. We're too busy rewriting our own history to bother learning some history of our neighbors to the north. Thankfully, Canadians are too polite to be resentful.

POTD: Christmas Cajun Style

From 2016 12 15 Louisiana

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Natchitoches, Louisiana, the self-styled City of Lights. A crawfish in a sleigh pulled by an alligator in a Santa hat along the riverfront — that's Christmas Cajun Style.

POTD: Christmas in Natchitoches

From 2016 12 15 Louisiana

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Natchitoches, Louisiana, the self-styled City of Lights. For our visit, the full moon conveniently rose above the Three Wise Men, adding its light to the already impressive display all along the riverfront, of which this scene is just a tiny fraction.

Named after a Native American tribe, Natchitoches (pronounced Nack-a-tish ), is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase Territory. Since 1927, we are also home to one of the oldest community-based holiday celebrations in the country. Our festival has evolved from a one day event into a six-week long Christmas Season. Over 300,000 lights and 100 plus set pieces are on display every night at dusk. Come enjoy Kid's Fest, a carriage tour through the historic district, food vendors along the downtown riverbank, as well as various shops and restaurants. Events take place in the Landmark Historic District and the Cane River National Historical Park area. Fireworks are held every Saturday throughout the Season as well as events to be enjoyed by every age. The Natchitoches Christmas Season has been listed as a "Top 100 Events in North America" by the American Bus Association for numerous years and has also been honored as one of the "Top 20 Events" for December on six occasions by the Southeast Tourism Society. In 2013, we were ranked 3rd "Best Holiday Light Show" behind the Rockefeller Center and Disney World in the nation by Yahoo.com.

Source: Natchitoches Christmas.

So there you have it — Christmas in Natchitoches.

POTD: Christmas on Bourbon Street

From 2016 12 15 Louisiana

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the French Quarter in New Orleans the week before Christmas. Write your own caption. In case you are wondering, that's not me in the photo.

Review: American Lion

Amazon

From American Lion, by John Meacham:

The America of Andrew Jackson was a country that professed a love of democracy but was willing to live with inequality, that aimed for social justice but was prone to racism and intolerance, that believed itself one nation but was narrowly divided and fought close elections, and that occasionally acted arrogantly toward other countries while craving respect from them at the same time."

With the election of Donald Trump as president, I thought it was time to review another era in American history, one when the first great populist was elected president. Consider it reading history to shed a light on our own inconceivable situation; looking to history to offer hope that our black cloud might have a silver lining.

After the jump, my review.