Happy Thanksgiving to All !

My favorite holiday is finally here! It hasn't turned out exactly the way we wanted it to, but we will enjoy it nonetheless. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite, and I hope everyone has a good one.

Final Day at CW

Our stay in Colonial Williamsburg has come to an end. Tomorrow morning we will hit the road southbound. Today offered a few more memorable moments however, but none so good as tonight's banquet. The food was excellent, we received a visit from Thomas Jefferson, and I won a very special door prize. They were drawing numbers for a handful of items made by the CW tradesmen in their demonstrations this week. The gunsmith also makes stamps and dies for embossing. In his demonstration of this trade he made a stamp that had an anchor design. This was one of the items up for the drawing. No sooner had I said to Jim how I'd love to have that stamp than my number was called. It was the first number called, no less. What a great way to wrap up a tremendous trip! Now more photos: Jim talking to the wheelwright's apprentice about a cannon wheel
Bruton Parish Church Interior of Bruton Parish Church

Kudos to the Indian Navy

It looks like someone in the world is finally taking a stand against piracy - The Indian Navy! Extra grog for those men!

More Fun at Colonial Williamsburg

Jim McKee and I continue to have a most excellent time at Colonial Williamsburg. The highlights of today's program were the session on cannon founding, watching them pour molten metal in the foundry, and snow flurries. Yes, it snowed here today, but it was nothing more than brief flurries. So, without further adieu, more photos! Pouring molten brass in the foundry
Making a mold for a mortar
Me in the arms magazine; "Mecca" as McKee refered to it.

Three Days in Colonial Williamsburg

I am currently in Colonial Williamsburg, sadly enough for the first time ever. I am attending the conference Metalworking for Revolution. Jim McKee, historic interpreter at Brunswick Town-Fort Anderson is here with me. Last night we attended an opening lecture by CW's master blacksmith and a reception. Today we had sessions on bayonets and tomahawks, and die forging gun lock parts, then got to visit the historic shops to actually watch them working on projects. I've reconnected with the blacksmith I met at Mountain Craft Days in Pennsylvania back in September, who is also attending the conference. We also got to meet former Tryon Palace blacksmith Shelton Browder. Here's a few photos: Jim McKee, Shelton Browder, and yours truly Shelton talking to Jim McKee and other conference participants.

We visited some of the shops on Duke of Gloucester Street, I bought my tricorn hat that I wanted, and we attended a reception at Shields' Tavern. Afterwards, it was off to dinner at Chowning's Tavern, which included musical entertainment and a magic show (all colonial period of course). On the walk back to the hotel we stopped in at the Barnes & Noble, which is no ordinary Barnes & Noble. This store also serves as the campus bookstore for the College of William and Mary. It has the largest history section of any Barnes & Noble I've ever seen, and also one of the largest cafe areas. It is certainly one of the nicer bookstores I've visited in recent memory. More updates throughout the week.

Another Book to Look Forward To

Commanding Lincoln's Navy: Union Naval Leadership During the Civil War by Stephen Taafe (Naval Inst. Press, May 2009).

Sounds like a very interesting book indeed. Referenced by Mr. Wagenhoffer on Civil War Books and Authors. Thanks for the heads-up Drew!

Happy 233rd Birthday US Marine Corps!

Yes, today marks the 233rd birthday of the United States Marine Corps, in which my father served from 1955-1975. My brother also served in the USMC Reserve for six years, and coincidentally is celebrating his birthday today too. So without further adieu, some photos from the National Museum of the Marine Corps to celebrate.

The American Political Landscape

Very rarely will I bring politics onto this blog, but I was prompted into thinking about the new political landscape in this country after reading this article on the state of the Republican Party following John McCain's defeat. After giving this some thought I'd like to offer you, the readers, my take on the current situation.

I agree with the article that the Republican Party is now in disarray, with little to no clear focus or leadership. I have felt this way throughout the entire campaign season. I am a registered Republican, but lean very much toward the Libertarian (which means I basically disagree with the Republican Party on most social issues). Without citing specific races, I will say that I voted for a good number of Libertarians in this election, and more Libertarians and Democrats combined than Republicans (though I did vote Republican in a few key cases). However, I feel that the Republican Party is way out of touch with the vast majority of Americans, though you wouldn't know it if you live around here. I think they need to find focus, energy, and leadership which they've been lacking since the Reagan/Bush days of the 1980s and early 1990s in my opinion. They keep going back to the same old party leadership over and over again. A look at W's first cabinet appointments proves that. In hindsight, their nomination of Bob Dole in 1996 was just plain ludicrous. And I think the nomination of McCain followed the same pattern (gee, let's find the oldest bastard in the party and run him!). Had it not been for the Clinton scandals, I doubt W would ever have been elected in 2000. What the Republicans need to do now is cultivate the base of relatively young, up and coming governors to motivate, energize, and focus this party. They need to quit spending inordinate amounts of time on bullsh** social issues and focus on their other traditional strengths, small government and fiscal conservatism.

On the Democratic side, Obama has been cautioned to really make changes and not become a second Clinton administration. I believe he will do this. Sure, he will have some former Clinton staffers in his administration (Rahm Emanuel being the first), but that's pretty unavoidable if you think about it. Still, I'm not sure that's a bad thing. We're talking about people who served Clinton when they were in their 30s, and now they are in their 40s and have presumably become wiser with their years and experience. We'll see how that really plays out. Also, Obama says he will work harder towards bipartisanship and reaching out across the aisle. That would be a good thing, but the Republicans have to be receptive to it. That will only happen if there is a drastic overhaul in the Republican leadership. This is another harbinger of the end for the current, old line Republicans.

A few personal notes I'd like to share....the Libertarian gubernatorial candidate in North Carolina, Mike Munger, won a large enough share of the vote that the Libertarian Party is now guaranteed ballot access in the state for eternity. No longer will they have to collect 75,000 signatures just to run candidates. That's one of North Carolina's silly, antiquated rules that needs to go away. Ballot access should be open to all. I would have loved to seen candidates on the ticket from the Constitution and Green Parties, as well as the Libertarian, but until this state changes it's election laws it won't happen. Also, I am continually disappointed in the voters of my home county. They continue to make poor choices (in my opinion) when it comes to voting for local offices such as County Commissioner, Register of Deeds, City Council, etc. I do my research on all the local candidates and try to vote for the ones I feel are most qualified, yet the ones who ultimately get elected are, in my humble opinion, the LEAST qualified. I have lived in this county for two-thirds of my life and cannot figure out why the people here continue to elect such horrible public servants. They complain about the bickering and silly, child-like infighting that takes place, but do nothing to change it because they vote into office the same old idiots. And that's my two cents.

Election Day 2008

I voted this morning. I was in line at 6:30 a.m. when the polls opened and I was still 33rd in my precinct to cast their ballot. Unlike my wife, I didn't get off my behind and do the early voting thing. Call me a traditionalist, but I like to vote on Election Day. I also hadn't really made up my mind who I was voting for in our county commissioner race, so I had to do a little more research. I had an interesting, yet frustrating conversation with my stepdaughter about the whole process. She hates politics, and would rather talk about anything but the election. She says she will never vote, and that she generally trusts everyone else's judgement when it comes to such things (this from the child who is skeptical, even paranoid about most everything). I have to remind myself that she is an almost-15 year old, freshman in high school and maybe she'll grow out of her apathy. Then again, she has sort of a general "I don't give a sh**" attitude about pretty much everything so I don't know. With a mother and stepfather who are both historians, you'd think that she would at the very least appreciate the historic moment that this election will be (no matter what the outcome). Then again she hates history. Go figure.

Anyway, I hope everyone exercised their right to vote, no matter who you cast your ballot for. I try to make sure I am well informed about state and local races as well as the national scene so that I can make informed, educated decisions. I wish everyone was so conscientious, but that's what makes this country great; none of us has to do anything we don't want to.