Adventurology

Herein is a discussion of the nature of Adventure; frequently entertaining, occasionally esoteric, and often drunken.

The Seriously Final Frontier

Posted on by Professor Gregory Allan Bass, DoGA, PhD (Hon) · 5 Comments

Women and jet packs had better be included in the first trip...

If the opening monologue of every Star Trek series (except Enterprise of course; what was up with that theme song?) is to be believed, space is the final frontier. The first step into that frontier – 1969’s Apollo moon landing – is considered one of Mankind’s greatest achievements. Unfortunately, we haven’t been back since 1972 and the moon colonies that science fiction always told us we’d have remain science fiction. Worse, many space-minded experts now say that there isn’t much point. They argue that the future lies not in going back to the moon, but in going forward to Mars.

Of course, this proposal presents a number of technical hurdles to overcome in and of itself. After all, reaching Mars with the goal of studying it and eventually colonizing it means we have to master not only getting there safely, but also getting back. Or does it?

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St Brendan’s Boat and the LGA Curios Cabinet

Posted on by Professor Gregory Allan Bass, DoGA, PhD (Hon) · 1 Comment

We mentioned the official LGA Curios Cabinet in our last podcast when Gentleman Jesse presented us with the plaque of St Brendan’s Boat, so I thought I’d present some pictures of both for our listeners. The plaque represents the possible discovery of America by St Brendan in his leather canoe some 1000 years before Columbus.

Rowing to America in a leather boat? Yeah, that's a plan fueled by whiskey

 

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Killing: It’s Not for Adventurers Any More

Posted on by Col. Andrew Scott Trimlett, GA · Leave a comment

In the days of yore, it seems like you couldn’t be defined as a true gentleman adventurer without killing somebody – and preferably several somebodies.  In 1899 (which firmly qualifies as yore), The New York Times published an article entitled, “The Gentleman Adventurer in Letters,” which discussed fictional characters inspired by the LGA.  The article explained:

In all ages the gentleman adventurer has played a most important part, and even such sacred wars as the Crusades would not have come to much without his aid.  The Spanish Armada was largely manned by the representatives of this type of humanity, and the flag of Sir Francis Drake could not have flown as a gonfalon of terror in the West Indies without him.

Fortunately for us, the original rules and bylaws of the LGA which defined a gentleman adventurer were lost long, long ago, meaning that we can pretty much make up whatever definition we want.

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