Does Anyone Read The Bills Anymore?

Posted on August 31, 2010August 30, 2010 by bfaure Leave a comment

We are living in an era of government dedicated to the proposition that, the larger a bill of enacting laws that is put forth, the greater the chance that the bill will deal with the complicated contingencies of modern life. These megaliths are often given clear and impactful titles – The Patriot Act, The […]... Read More

A Chilean Drama Elevates Us All

Posted on August 30, 2010August 29, 2010 by bfaure Leave a comment

On August 5th, 2010, a temblor caused the collapse of deep exit tunnels in the San Jose copper and gold mine in some two hundred miles north of Santiago, Chile. This has been a year of intolerable national disasters for Chile, including both an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and a devastating tsunami. The news from […]... Read More

50 Straight Days as a Ramparts Blogodier

Posted on August 25, 2010 by bfaure Leave a comment

After a very energetic effort of 45 postings in 50 days I am recharging my batteries away from all computers for a few days. I appreciate all the readers who have come on board and hope to provide soon new insights to digest and contemplate very soon , when I turn the darn machine […]... Read More

Now You Are Talking Some Real Money…

Posted on August 24, 2010August 24, 2010 by bfaure 1 Comment

We are certainly hopeful that with our first jobs we can hope to pull down 1oo dollars a week spending money. As we graduate to professions we begin to consider a thousand dollars a week as a very successful marker for security and stability. The very few of us who have achieved specialized sought for […]... Read More

One Eyed Fat Man

Posted on August 22, 2010August 22, 2010 by bfaure 1 Comment

The word is out that the the Coen brothers, filmmakers of such wonderfully idiosyncratic movies such as Raising Arizona, Fargo, and No Country For Old Men, are in the process of remaking the classic western True Grit. It follows that I would like to be the first in line to remark, what in the […]... Read More

Are Big Ideas A Thing of the Past?

Posted on August 22, 2010August 21, 2010 by bfaure 1 Comment

Michael Barone has a thoughtful essay on our ability to conceive and create significant construction projects in today’s world. He bemoans a smaller bridge project in Washington DC that has been going on for 42 months with no end in sight. He compares it to the building of the Pentagon in the forties that […]... Read More

Toggenburg as seen from the castle Iberg in Wattwil

SANTIS PANOROMA LOOKING SOUTH -CHURFIRSTEN

SANTIS PANOROMA LOOKING SOUTH - CHUFIRSTEN

A Fine Man, a Wattwil Native Son

Posted on August 20, 2010 by bfaure Leave a comment

An especially favorite uncle passed today; he was a tremendous brother to my mother, a great friend to my father, a wonderful husband and father to his family. I want to especially honor him today by reflecting on how he brought his heimat – the love and attachment to a homeland – to me, a nephew […]... Read More

A Gunslinger Greater Than Favre

Posted on August 19, 2010 by bfaure Leave a comment

As I warned you last month, the saga of Brett Favre has indeed evolved into another final curtain performance with the Minnesota Vikings this year. Now 40 years old, and soon in October 41, Favre is among a small group of warriors that extended their NFL careers into their fifth decade and an even smaller […]... Read More

WINSLOW HOMER - A RAINY DAY IN CAMP (THE ATHENEAUM)

WINSLOW HOMER - THE BRIDAL PATH -CLARK ART INSTITUTE

WINSLOW HOMER - ROWING HOME (PHILLIPS COLLECTION WASHINGTON DC)

WINSLOW HOMER - ARTISTS SKETCHING IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS (PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART)

WINSLOW HOMER - BREEZING UP -A FAIR WIND (NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART)

The Centennial of Winslow Homer

Posted on August 18, 2010 by bfaure Leave a comment

The Portland Maine Museum of Art is hosting a large retrospective on the artwork of American artist Winslow Homer on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death. The exposition, “Winslow Homer and the Poetics of Place”, is highlighted in the New York Sun and focuses on Homer’s unique American gifts for translating the […]... Read More

Los Lobos Han Sobrevivido, y Florecido

Posted on August 15, 2010August 15, 2010 by bfaure 3 Comments

Over thirty years have passed since a group of rather unassuming but extremely talented musicians rose out of East Los Angeles to teach the the United States about the synthesis of culture, rhythm, tradition, and musicality. First and foremost the the band Los Lobos are musicians of the first order. David Hildago, the lead guitarist, […]... Read More

Ramparts of Civilization

Come Defend The Ramparts!

Month: August 2010