Every once in a while the right combination of talent, charisma, looks, and showmanship elevate a performer above all the equally hard working and committed artists to become a star for the ages. In 1958, a young classical pianist from Texas boldly took the musical prize that Russians considered their birthright, the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, and took the Continue Reading
The beginning of the year 2010 saw a period of growth of GDP and increasing market confidence that suggested the world wide recession might be driven out of its doldrums, as in previous times, by the American economic engine. The United States government in particular sought to fuel the recovery with public stimulus dollars and continues to encourage the Continue Reading
In keeping with our patriotic theme today…ladies and gentleman, the great Ray Charles:
On the morning of July 4th, 1863, stillness ruled in two small American towns where chaos had existed just a few hours before. Not a peaceful stillness, but an exhausted one. In the tiny Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg, just a few miles above the Maryland border, a titanic battle to determine if the northern states could show the guile Continue Reading
Happy 4th of July. Welcome to Ramparts of Civilization. It is altogether fitting that on the 234th anniversary of the articulation of the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” that a blog defending and celebrating those immortal words finds birth and, hopefully, a long and fruitful existence. For some time I have felt a progressive Continue Reading
Ramparts of civilization is for….