World War II in Real Time, 72 Years Later

If I used Twitter, this is one of the Twitter accounts I would most likely be following:
https://twitter.com/RealTimeWWII

It's a "real time" update feed on the events of the Second World War, transposed exactly 72 years into the present day. It includes such gems as:

Athens rumour: Greek soldier Konstantinos Koukidis refused to raise swastika over Acropolis; instead leaped to death wrapped in Greek flag.
— WW2 Tweets from 1941 (@RealTimeWWII) April 27, 2013

and

Noel Coward, UK actor & spy, reports from London: "At the Savoy. Pretty bad blitz, but orchestra kept on playing." twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1941 (@RealTimeWWII) April 20, 2013

and

Royal Canadian Mounted Police are hunting 28 escaped Luftwaffe airmen, prisoners from UK who've tunneled out of a PoW camp in remote Ontario
— WW2 Tweets from 1941 (@RealTimeWWII) April 19, 2013

This is such an amazing project, not least because (I imagine) it takes a lot of research to put together. It appears to be a labor of love, or at least of deep fascination. I especially appreciate that it features events not typically covered in textbooks, true and relevant quotations, and lesser-known arenas of the war.

The Economist: Is the EU the Holy Roman Empire 2.0?

A thought-provoking historical perspective on the current economic and political situation in the EU:
http://www.economist.com/news/christmas/21568659-old-empire-offers-surprising-lessons-european-union-today-european-disunion-done

Several such entities have been attempted in Europe through its long history, from the classical Roman Empire to today's European Union. Though the continent derives some unity from its vaunted Greco-Roman roots, it contains a great deal of diversity in terms of language, ethnicity, culture -- all the necessary components of national identity. There are, in fact, a number of key differences (some articulated in the above article, some not) between the current EU and comparable historical entities (interestingly, they all begin with 'c'). Here's my (history buff's) perspective (it's longer than usual, so I've put it under the cut):

NYTimes: Dragon Fruit has a Knack for Getting Noticed

The New York Times has discovered the dragon fruit: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/dining/dragon-fruit-has-a-knack-for-getting-noticed.html

I'm passably familiar with this odd-looking fruit; it's rather common in Chinese supermarkets when it's in season, and especially in China. It's interesting how America/Western Europe picks up products and practices from elsewhere in the world, and then all of a sudden, with a bit of marketing, they become the next big thing. Then again, that's been happening for hundreds of years (tea, anyone?).

I think it dates back to the Classical Roman idea of the exotic (it applies to most empires in human history -- Rome just happened to be one of the better-documented ones). The Romans often conquered because they were interested in the goods produced by far-flung lands -- silk from Asia, cotton from Egypt, horses from the Arabian Peninsula, &c. Trade quickly resulted in a demand for more specialized luxury products, such as spices and exotic pets, which were valuable for their scarcity, difficulty of transport, unfamiliarity, and distant origins -- sometimes more so for these incidental factors than for their inherent trade value.

Nowadays, there are all these health-, beauty-, and palate-related fads that claim to provide some benefit intrinsic to their provenances. Stripped down, they're much the same thing.

NYTimes: Europe's Plagues Came from China

A very interesting article (from a while back) on the Black Plague in medieval Europe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/health/01plague.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

There have been, for quite a while, theories that the plague originated the East, but I don't think there have been any definitive or substantial studies conducted until this one. Given the relative urbanization along the coast of China in those days, at least compared with Dark Ages Europe, it makes a lot of sense. Cities, then and now, are breeding grounds for disease. And other, good things, too, of course, but plague was perhaps the most transformative.