Lebowski Fest this weekend. I've been informed a handful of Metafiltristes are showing up here in Louisville for the real original Lebowskifest this weekend; the Metatalk thread with contact info is here, just in case some Monkeys didn't read it. Maybe y'all can do a joint Mofi/Mefi meetup around it, at which I might show up.

Hail the Emperor! "Perpetuation of the Byzantine Idea incarnated in a Dynasty . . . living evidence spanning some 350 years." But some disagree.

Finance and trade under Edward III: The London lay subsidy of 1332 "The reign of Edward the Third is one of the longest in history, and long reigns tend to possess an interest which is even more than proportionate to their length. It is, however, an interest that springs not so much from unity as from contrast and change, the beginning and the end of such a reign lie in different worlds. The three visitations of pestilence in 1349, 1361 and 1366 make this especially true of the reign of Edward III..."

Is there really an "al-Qaeda"? An article in the latest New York Review of Books, "The Truth About Terrorism" By Jonathan Raban.

God's been busy in Kentucky, allegedly. They say The LORD works in mysterious ways. In Louisville that must be true. In my first link YHWH gained an advocate when a "disgruntled" fellow student opened fire on her public high school's prayer circle. Another instance involves a house fire two kids had to be rescued from. more inside