Who is Fawkes?
It's one of the most-asked questions I get after pitching the services of Compeau-Fawkes Technology Marketing to a new client. I'm not sure if they expect the answer they get-- it seems that many anticipate I will point to the eponym as a quiet reclusive investor, or expect a reference to a relative residing on a palm-swept beach gracious enough to bestow his name and wisdom upon my frail beginnings in the consulting arena three years ago.
Neither is too close to the truth.
But it's time for the trembling minds to be quieted.
Who is this shady figure hiding within the Compeau-Fawkes company name?
We must travel back in time to learn the truth.
On November 5, 1605, a would be British rebel named Guy Fawkes was foiled in his attempt to blow up the British Parliament in the Gunpowder Plot. It was a rather plucky thing to attempt--but it was all in the name of religion, so with a few angular taps to his head and an inferred blessing to set his course, Guy set about that morning to change history. It didn't turn out so well--poor Guy. (Course, they did eventually make a movie about him, sort of, so he got his 130 minutes of fame.)
To this day, the residents of Britain celebrate Guy Fawkes Day to celebrate the victory of the sitting government of the day against the would-be terrorist plotter and his comrades. Guy Fawkes intended to blow-up/burn Parliament to the ground, and rebuild the government of Britain on a new foundation of belief. (The question of his role as a freedom fighter or terrorist will be left to others to debate.)
Perhaps it is due to the 'ashes' imagery that Guy Fawkes bonfires conjured up for J.K. Rowling that the phoenix in the popular Harry Potter series was also named Fawkes, as the mythical bird possesses the strange and unique ability to give rebirth to itself from it's own ashes in the mid-point of its never-ending life cycle.
And now we come to it...
So it was that as I pondered a name for my new consulting company on the doorstep of my fortieth birthday on November 5th of 2003 that I decided I could do no better than to pay my own homage to the brave and noble bird which quite naturally bursts into flame and chooses to once again face the uncertainties of rebirth from amidst the ashes of past experience.
And now you know.
~G.
Neither is too close to the truth.
But it's time for the trembling minds to be quieted.
Who is this shady figure hiding within the Compeau-Fawkes company name?
We must travel back in time to learn the truth.
On November 5, 1605, a would be British rebel named Guy Fawkes was foiled in his attempt to blow up the British Parliament in the Gunpowder Plot. It was a rather plucky thing to attempt--but it was all in the name of religion, so with a few angular taps to his head and an inferred blessing to set his course, Guy set about that morning to change history. It didn't turn out so well--poor Guy. (Course, they did eventually make a movie about him, sort of, so he got his 130 minutes of fame.)
To this day, the residents of Britain celebrate Guy Fawkes Day to celebrate the victory of the sitting government of the day against the would-be terrorist plotter and his comrades. Guy Fawkes intended to blow-up/burn Parliament to the ground, and rebuild the government of Britain on a new foundation of belief. (The question of his role as a freedom fighter or terrorist will be left to others to debate.)
Perhaps it is due to the 'ashes' imagery that Guy Fawkes bonfires conjured up for J.K. Rowling that the phoenix in the popular Harry Potter series was also named Fawkes, as the mythical bird possesses the strange and unique ability to give rebirth to itself from it's own ashes in the mid-point of its never-ending life cycle.
And now we come to it...
So it was that as I pondered a name for my new consulting company on the doorstep of my fortieth birthday on November 5th of 2003 that I decided I could do no better than to pay my own homage to the brave and noble bird which quite naturally bursts into flame and chooses to once again face the uncertainties of rebirth from amidst the ashes of past experience.
And now you know.
~G.
Labels: fawkes, guy fawkes, history, misc
posted by G. Fawkes | 2:13 PM
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