The phenomenon of people taking on identities that don’t belong to them fascinates and repels me. My skin crawls at the level of anxiety that must be produced by living so inauthentically. But maybe people who do this are so tweaked in head and heart that they come to believe their own bullshit. From NY Post: The co-owner of a queer … [Read more...] about Pretendian
Working The Trapline — A Bandit & A Hunter
As we roll into the new year, some of our Frontier Partisan compadres are throwing up smoke signals about future work. I’ll add to that just by noting that Part II of the Frontier Partisans Podcast on King Philip’s War will be out this week, as the conflict gets underway in earnest and we meet one of the OG Frontier Partisans, the larger-than-life … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — A Bandit & A Hunter
Hogmanay!
A firstfoot was to bring gifts to the house: an egg, a faggot of wood, a bit of salt — and a bit of whisky, thus insuring that the household would not lack for the necessities during the coming year. (From The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 35, “Hogmanay”) * Good sir, I bring you salt to salt your meat, and I bring you coal to keep your … [Read more...] about Hogmanay!
The Circle is Through
May you stay where the river runs through The range and the sky, buckskin and blue May you ride to the end on the wings of the wind Til you’re home and your circle is through. It’s not unexpected, but I nonetheless feel a deep pang of loss at the news that Ian Tyson has gone up the trail. From CBC: Canadian folk music icon Ian Tyson died … [Read more...] about The Circle is Through
King Philip’s War Podcast Underway
The first episode of a multi-part series on King Philip’s War (1675-76) is up. You can find it here or on most podcasting platforms, including Spotify. This first episode sets the stage for the terrible, destructive conflict, as the alliance between the Puritan settlers of Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag people — an alliance that was forged … [Read more...] about King Philip’s War Podcast Underway
Working The Trapline — Vikings On Skis & A Hussite Laager
Ceili and Jarod hit the slopes at Hoodoo yesterday for the first alpine skiing expedition of the season. They’re engaged in a tradition older than they know... Glacier archaeologists have, in recent years, found some remarkable evidence of really Old School skiing. From Secrets of the Ice. We have found the best-preserved pair of skis from … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Vikings On Skis & A Hussite Laager
Working The Trapline — A Mystic Mountain Man, A Patron Saint & A Splendid Little War
Took in Blood, Bone & Stone with my morning coffee: It’s worthy of your time. When a spirit visited the bedroom of eight-year-old boy Jack McKey and carried him to a mountaintop at the end of the world, the young man’s life veered toward primitivism. He later discovered hidden skills inside himself for making birch bark canoes and sheep horn … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — A Mystic Mountain Man, A Patron Saint & A Splendid Little War
Wheellocks & Stone Projectile Points
Native hunters used stone projectile points 16,000 years ago on what is now Nez Perce land in Idaho. The points resemble points found in Japan. How cool is this? CORVALLIS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon State University archaeologists have uncovered projectile points in Idaho that are thousands of years older than any previously found in the Americas, … [Read more...] about Wheellocks & Stone Projectile Points
Merry Christmas!
May your camp be festive, no matter how deep the snows. … [Read more...] about Merry Christmas!
Ye Jacobites By Name
The news of John Sayles’ novel Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade’s Journey sent me down a wee Jacobite sidetrail. Dinna fash! I haven’t neglected my work — I got the first King Philip’s War episode recorded and ready to drop on schedule. Look for it on December 28. But ye ken that I canna resist a foray into Jacobite history. Jamie MacGillivray, … [Read more...] about Ye Jacobites By Name
