Some wondered if the language was too modern or if a former slave, unlikely to be fully educated, could have written or dictated it. In response, a number of people including historians tried to use the web to dig up clues about the letter’s origin. ...

If you haven’t come across Jourdon Anderson’s 1865 letter “To [his] Old Master” yet, do read it; it’s marvelously pointed, far more rhetorically adept than its recipient deserved. Jason Kottke did a little digging—wait, is this some of that digital...

What the letter didn't show, though, was whether or not Anderson had taken up his former master's offer. And it turns out based on Census record found by the intrepid blogging of Jason Kottke, he hadn't! The 1880 and 1900 Censuses show Anderson living...

Jason Kottke and David Galbraith did some digging through census and newspaper records. Anderson may have stayed in Ohio and died in 1905 at the age of 79. Check out Kottke’s post, which he is regularly updating as he finds more information. Don't you...

I don’t think we suffer from information overload, I actually think we suffer from a more sinister problem. Curator overload. Not good curators like Robert Scoble or Jason Kottke. Those guys are worth their weight in gold, in fact we need more curators...

Still from “Moonrise Kingdom” The fawning has already begun. A Guardian headline asks, “Is Wes Anderson’s ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ trailer a dream come true?” Jason Kottke declared, “It’s Wes Andersonmas, y’all!” “We have taken one step closer to the...