Shackleton’s Magnificent Failure

Posted on December 6, 2014December 7, 2014 by bfaure Leave a comment

One hundred years ago this week, the explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew aboard the schooner Endurance left the port of the Grytviken whaling station on South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic to the continent of Antartica. The goal was a never before achieved transcontinental traverse across one of the remotest places on earth. It […]... Read More

Oh, To Be King…

Posted on November 23, 2014 by bfaure Leave a comment

Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictators and absolute monarchs. The expression is also sometimes used as a pejorative and polemical hyperbole when describing actions of democratic governments that are perceived to unduly bypass parliamentarian or […]... Read More

Verdict: Turns Out, It was a Wave…

Posted on November 9, 2014 by bfaure 3 Comments

So much for the concern that the 2014 midterm national election would defy a direction or interpretation. Turns out, it was a wave election. The extent of the wave effect continues to be poured over by the various constituencies that thought they understood what was going to happen, and woke up to find that something […]... Read More

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A Wave versus a Ripple

Posted on October 26, 2014 by bfaure 3 Comments

The United States nationally participates every two years in perpetual rebirth as defined by the founding fathers. The securing of a representative legislature for governance occupies the first article of the Constitution, laid out in means by which renewal and stability can co-exist. The house of representatives allied most closely to local expressions is positioned […]... Read More

Canyonland

Posted on October 11, 2014 by bfaure Leave a comment

It is always a remarkable event when something you assume you know and understand reveals itself once again to be beyond understanding. I have been to the grandest of canyons several times, but the thrill it elicits with the first sighting from the edge of the Colorado Plateau through which it has carved itself over […]... Read More

Attn Gen. Holder And Education Secretary Duncan Announce Action To Protect Military From Unfair Lending Practices

The Rule of Law

Posted on September 28, 2014 by bfaure Leave a comment

“No man is above the law, and no man is below it ; nor do we ask any man’s permission when we require him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor.” […]... Read More

Scotland Contemplates Cracking the Union Jack

Posted on September 7, 2014 by bfaure Leave a comment

In 1707, with the passage of the Acts of Union, the parliaments of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland determined to secure a Parliament of Great Britain forming a political union so successful that, at its height, presided over an empire that encompassed nearly 20% of the people and a quarter of the land mass of […]... Read More

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Men With Masks

Posted on August 29, 2014August 30, 2014 by bfaure 1 Comment

In 1989, there was an interesting moment for those who were in the map business. Almost overnight, it seemed almost as if the entire Eurasian continent would require a reorganization and renaming. For those at Rand McNally , the midnight lamps were burning as new countries popped up daily as free standing entities – Estonia […]... Read More

Alfred Brendel and Beethoven’s Ghost

Posted on August 24, 2014August 24, 2014 by bfaure Leave a comment

About twenty five years ago during my study years, I had the opportunity to see Alfred Brendel in recital performing Beethoven. I had a vague understanding through recordings what I might hear, but I was not prepared for the possibility that I was going to be involved in a seance. Among other pieces, Brendel performed […]... Read More

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The Big Ditch Turns 100

Posted on August 16, 2014 by bfaure Leave a comment

In today’s culture of dependency, it is hard to remember a time not so long ago when a visionary idea no matter how difficult, time consuming, or potentially immensely risky, was seen as a genetic characteristic of our civilization. For thousands of years until the nineteenth century, the progressively discoverable world was available at […]... Read More

Ramparts of Civilization

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