I’m calling a palaver around this here campfire. I want to know what this Brigade, this Corps of Rangers, this community of Frontier Partisans thinks about AI-generated art. I bring this up because I recently watched a frontier history-related YouTube video that featured some borderland art I found extremely compelling. I mean it really grabbed … [Read more...] about On The AI Frontier

Now this is cool... A two-day historical adventure in the Old Washington. The 47th Annual Simon Kenton Festival includes presentations from our founding heroes such as Simon Kenton and Daniel Boone, pioneer games, music, museum tours, artisans, and much more. This weekend will be sure to provide you with historical knowledge, a treasured … [Read more...] about Simon Kenton Festival

This is so cool — a sublime moment of Continuity & Persistence. An East Indiaman (replica) offers a tow. From Gotheborg of Sweden: Imagine losing your rudder out at sea and sending out a distress call. And then the largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship in the world comes to your rescue. Or in the words of the sailors on the sailing … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Timeslip & Weird Science

FP reader Josie Wilson told us some time back that she was working on a novel that features Pancho Villa’s enforcer Rodolfo Fierro. Well, she got ’er done, which is a wonderful thing. Congrats to Josie — A Dangerous Woman is out in the world. Here’s the caper: Chihuahua City, Mexico, 1913: Katherine O'Brien reluctantly enters into a marriage … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Dangerous Women, Big Blades & A Cascadia Raid

Commenting on the post Going To Trees, long-time FP reader Wayne noted: The old growth trees at the Battle of King’s Mountain were enormous; big enough to conceal a half a dozen or more men and easily stop a round ball. I was once inside a hollow at the base of a tulip poplar tree in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest (NC) with 9 other adults. Joyce … [Read more...] about An Otherworldly Forest

It’s hay-making season at the newspaper. That means multiple special projects, which means a lot of interviews and a lot of writing, and running a 21-day streak without a full day off. I’m not bitching about it; I don’t mind the work — it’s what I do, after all. However, all that engagement with people does have a draining effect on an introvert. … [Read more...] about Shepherds Of Wildlife

Had the great pleasure of interviewing Corb Lund for The Nugget Newspaper in advance of his appearance here in Sisters, Oregon, at the Big Ponderoo Festival. As I wrote here 10 years ago (!): The Alberta-based songwriter, singer and bandleader serves up the best shit-kickin’ music going nowadays. His thing is right in my wheelhouse — we’ve got the … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Big Ponderoo, Outlander & Tom Horn Days

Lane Batot scouted up this fascinating article about the way some ranchers are adapting to the growing presence of wolves. It trips the trigger of Continuity & Persistence, because the herding practices described go back millennia: [Glenn Elzinga] and his crew, which includes his plant ecologist wife, seven daughters and handful of interns, … [Read more...] about Cowboys & Wolves

Badlands, you gotta live it everydayLet the broken hearts standAs the price you’ve gotta payKeep pushin’ ’til it’s understoodAnd these badlands start treating us good — Bruce Springsteen, Badlands Two weeks ago, Clan Cornelius was in a temperate rainforest getting soaked and buffeted by coastal winds. Yesterday we were rambling classic Central … [Read more...] about These Badlands Start Treating Us Good