The future: what will it bring? That's a concern that's been obsessing scientists, sociologists and the specialists, futurologists, for a very long time. Bloggers are no exception to that concern: they can be writing about the future of almost anything imaginable, from technology to geographical locations, from endangered animals to …

The Britblog roundup is a weekly summary of the best of the British blogosphere, selected from nominations submitted by bloggers. Post included may be either by British bloggers, or from people living in Britain. There are around 10 rotating hosts, listed on the weekly carnival's home page. The Britblog roundup …

A puppy is a newborn or very young canine (dog).  Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts cartoons, wrote that "Happiness is a warm puppy." That's certainly a view shared by many bloggers, who usually write about puppies, belonging to themselves and others, in the warmest of terms. They …

The two most famous Queen Elizabeths in history have both sat on the same throne – that of England. The first, the Tudor daughter of Henry VIII, ruled England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland (and she claimed France). Elizabeth II took the same throne, which by this time also made her head …

Rome was the quintessential ancient empire. For the 19th-century British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli, it was among the ancient empires the traditional symbol of conquest. Today it is a tourist destination, but also home to the capitals of two nations, Italy, and the Vatican. Bloggers writing about Rome are often …

Carthage was once one of the great trading cities of the ancient world, but it's now most famous for its end at the hands of Rome in what came to be known as the Punic Wars. The censor Marcius Porcius Cato said: "Carthago delenda est." (Carthage must be destroyed.) And …

Beaune, an historic city in the French region of Burgundy, is a popular tourist destination. Pictorially, it is most famous for the richly patterned coloured tiles on the roof of the ancient hospital (now museum), the Hotel-Dieu, which bloggers find almost irrestible. Bloggers may otherwise be reporting on the region's …

An old French proverb ran: Burgundy for kings, champagne for duchesses, claret for gentlemen. But whatever the type, the general claim of France to produce some of the world’s famous wines is unchallenged (with all due respect to California). Bloggers about French wine may be contemplating their history, discussing its …

Two gripping, "literary" treatments of war come to the same conclusion about its place in the human condition.

La France profonde, as it never was in the traditional histories: Breton sex torture and year-old bread.