Today we celebrate Nikolaus here in Germany - we don’t have Father Christmas on the 24th (we rather say the Christchild is coming on that day). Here is an excellent website about the different Santa Claus traditions all over the world …

I better let Wikipedia tell you what the Krampus and Knecht Ruprecht are all about:

The Companions of Saint Nicholas (or Father Christmas) are a group of closely related figures who accompany St. Nicholas in many European traditions. The tradition is particularly strong amongst the Germanic peoples, with some regional expression in the U.S. (largely from European ethnic groups).

The most recognized companion, especially outside of Europe, is Knecht Ruprecht, which translates as Farmhand Ruprecht or Servant Ruprecht. Other companions include Krampus (Austria, Bavaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary [spelled Krampusz]), Klaubauf (Bavaria), Bartel (Styria), Pelzebock, Pelznickel, Belzeniggl, Belsnickel (Pennsylvania), Schmutzli (Switzerland), Rumpelklas, Bellzebub, Hans Muff, Drapp or Buzebergt (Augsburg), Hanstrapp (Alsace, East of France) and Le Père Fouettard (Northern France). In the Czech Republic, St. Nicholas or Svatý Mikuláš is accompanied by the Čert (Devil) and Anděl (Angel). These servants are often associated with, but are distinct from Saint Nicholas’ helpers in the Netherlands and Flanders (called Zwarte Piet, meaning Black Pete(r) in English).

Make sure to read the whole entry for loads of details.

As you can see from the last image this tradition is very much alive here in Europe and I can assure you that tonight many kids and some adults gonna crap into their pants when St. Niklaus and a wild Krampus hits their home …

Furniture is relative new invention of human culture (and bloody interior designer, Martha Steward and Feng Shui consultants as well).

Before bookshelfs, comfy chairs and pull out sofas our ancestors were pretty happy with simple tables and chairs, slept on the ground and used simple boxes or a sack to put their stuff into …

Make sure to watch this amazing video first!

This guy is one amazing dare devil! He jumped from a balloon from a height of 102,800 feet (31,300 meters)! Like a cannonball he rushed down to earth - with a speed of 614 mph (982 km/h). Now beat that Ikarus!

Just to imagine such a crazy feat gives me goose bumps.

More? Wikipedia entry on Mr Kittinger

I guess only the complicated western mind could develop such a crazy system of eating utensils? While other cultures are happy with a a knife, spoon, some bread and maybe chopsticks to pick up their food - Europe indulged into a complicated system of silverware.

From Wikipedia:

Cutlery refers to any hand utensil used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the original meaning of the word. Since silverware suggests the presence of silver, the term tableware has come into use.

The major items of cutlery in the western world are the knife, fork and spoon. Traditionally, good quality cutlery was made from silver (hence the U.S. name), though steel was always used for more utilitarian knives, and pewter was used for some cheaper items, especially spoons. From the nineteenth century, Electroplated Nickel Silver (EPNS) was used as a cheaper substitute; nowadays, most cutlery, including quality designs, is made from stainless steel. Plastic cutlery is made for disposable use, and is frequently used in fast food or take-away outlets and provided with airline meals.

Two forms of utensil combining the functionality of various pairs of cutlery are the spork (spoon / fork) and knork (knife / fork). Cutlery gets its name from the term for a person skilled in making knives, a cutler. The Worshipful Company of Cutlers was one of the London livery companies, reflecting the importance of this trade in the Middle Ages.

Cutlery gained prominence during the Middle Ages.

There are not many guns and rifles a normal person will know by name (unless you are a gun nut anyway). The Magnum .44 is something everybody knows - and the famous Winchester Rifle, which appear in any old western movie.

But capitalism is able to bring down even well armed icons. The company Winchester that produces the gun has moved abroad and no longer wants to manufacture this gun (BBC article here). It’s simply not profitable.

I wish that would happen to all guns and riffles!

More? Winchester Rifle @ Wikipedia and the movie Winchester 73

Looking at the remnants of Greek and Roman culture one would think that the Ancients lived in a Black & White movie. Marble after a few centuries will be scrubbed clean by wind, sand and rain.

But the Ancients loved colors! Researchers have discovered and shown us that walls were painted, full of colorful mosaics and statutes were beaming with bright decorations.

I find it highly ironic that these tests were actually invented by the (US) military around 1914:

1. Do you want to die by machine gun fire?
2. Do you want to die by poison gas?
3. Do you want to die by artillery fire?
4. Do you want to go to Europe and experience all of the above?

I personally think these tests are really stupid, since they are like rail tracks, you can go only go in certain directions. You can’t reply in your own way and demonstrate that you understand the subject in a free form reply.

The tomato is a pretty universal plant and was found all over the globe, right?

Wrong. It originated in South America and the Spaniards distributed the plant first in the Caribbean and then later to Europe and Asia.

So Spaghetti with tomato sauce are not an old Italian dish, but a pretty recent invention. The French started pretty late with tomatoes in the 18th century - than it was considered a delicacy.

More? Tomato @ Wikipedia

He is an adulterer! He killed his wives? He had blowjobs in the Royal Palace! He is a sinner! He even changed the law to cover his tracks!

Wife #1 - Catherine of Aragon (1509 - 1531): Marriage was annulled - even against Papal orders. Was forced to leave the court.

Wife #2 - Anne Boleyn (1533 - 1536): Beheaded. “I heardsay the executioner was very good, and I have a little neck.”

Wife #3 - Jane Seymour (1536 - 1537): Henry married her 11 days after Anne’s execution. Died from childbirth.

Wife #4 - Anne Cleves (January to July 1540): The marriage was simply annulled.

Wife #5 - Catherine Howard (1540 -1542): Beheaded.

Wife #6 - Catherine Parr (1543 -1547): She actually survived Henry.

And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.
And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.

Genesis 38: 7-10 (KJV)

After the Wright Brothers made their historical first flight they toured the world with their marvelous machine.

The gothic mind created the idea of courtly love - which is a strange concept: a gentlemen courts in the highest of spirits a lady, but expect nothing but rejection and ignorance. Gothic love was a masochistic concept, because neither marriage nor sex was expected. It was all about courtship as an art. Women become unapproachable, gentlemen were supposed to suffer from romantic pain without reward.

Remember medieval marriages were all about material possessions, not love at all.

Some people think that this weird kind of admiration was one of the effects of war and crusades of the time. While the husband was far away waging war on some political enemies or pagans, the Lady of the House was left behind in charge.

Of course she was courted and honored like every leader - and of course sex and marriage was out of the question, since she was already married to a far away warlord.

The - sort of - romantic phrase ‘burning down the castle’ to conquer a woman’s resistance is also to be thought to come from that time. Since many suitors were not as romantic as we imagine knights, but rather practical materialists. If the Lord of the House is gone, so are his troops and the castle and it’s Ladies is rather weakly defended. So why not knock down the resistance and get yourself a new wife and a new piece of land as well?

Another aspect of gothic romance was the Cult of Mary, which was also very popular at that time. So many poems were dedicated to the Lady of the House and/or the Virgin Mary.

Today we still suffer from these ignorant ideas: women want to be conquered and consider themselves praiseworthy - something … someone to fight for. You still can read in personal ads about knights in shinning Armour. Gentlemen is still supposed to open doors to be a nice guy - courtesy as one of the remains of gothic courtship.

*repost from 2003*

After the Nazis took power they not only burned books, but also introduced the concept of ‘entartete Kunst’ (degenerate Art - great website covering this topic). This kind of art was of course ungerman, unpatriotic, sick and almost an act of treason.

So I always shake my head in disbelief, when I hear American pundits screaming about unpatriotic and unamerican art. But the same applies to other cultures as well. Anyone remember the fatwa against Salman Rushdie?

Art and self expression still have great power - that is why clerics and politicians still fear them and suppress artists (and ideas), which can endanger their ‘pure’ path of domination.

Diversity of opinions, races and ideas is still facing an uphill battle - but it’s unstoppable and that is why the control freaks are so desperate.

Most of our western culture is based on Greek and Roman ideas, symbols and philosophies. Like the nine Muses, which gave us the word for museum:

The word comes from the Latin museum, which is in turn derived from the Greek mouseion, which refers to a place or temple dedicated to the Muses, the patron divinities in Greek mythology of the arts.

Above is a bust of Calliope:

In Greek mythology, Calliope (”beautiful-voiced”) was the muse for epic poetry. She had two sons, Orpheus and Linus with Apollo. She was the oldest and wisest of the Muses. She was the judge in the argument over Adonis between Aphrodite and Persephone. She was represented by a stylus and wax tablets. - all quotes from Wikipedia

If find it especially interesting and tragic that she was the mother of Orpheus. His and Eurydice’s sad tale always moves me deeply …

After the second world war many western nations became more socialist then many people would have admitted at the time. The social welfare of their citizens was very important to European countries - especially in fear of another working class uprising like in the Soviet Union, but also to keep another Hitler from happening.

But in search of social consensus many countries overdid it. Instead of building social societies they build nanny states that would infiltrate people’s life instead allowing them to make a living. In the attempt to bring social peace and equality they took out the vitality of the society itself and strangled any innovation and development within.

Hardly forty years later the welfare states ran out of money - countries like Britain, Sweden and Germany started to cut down on social budgets. Suddenly social welfare became a war against social parasites. Profit was more interesting then social consensus and support.

Welcome to the new old world of total capitalism - with it’s new saints Ronald Reagan and Maggie Thatcher.

Working together - to survive.

In the search of efficiency and ever tighter budgets the main victims of this new spirit were the kids and the educational system. It is a harsh joke that child poverty is on the rise in many western countries. The educational systems in many countries are failing or under siege as well.

Plus the real income of white and blue collar workers in industrialized countries actually has declined in many countries for the last 30 years. The middle class is thinning out in many countries. A new lower class has developed in highly sophisticated countries.

Education is a human right and should be free. The same should be true for health care. A smart, healthy and educated citizen is the most valuable investment for any countriy. It’s not a question of money, but dedication, moral and priority within a society.

Although this is a very health conscious generation - we are even more addicted to coffee then any generation before us: soda drinks with caffeine, water with caffeine, energizer drinks with caffeine, the normal cokes and Pepsis, latte’s and cappuccinos.

Plus we pour huge amounts of sugar, sweetener and also milk into these drinks (maybe not into a cold coke) - not very healthy either. It’s a mad generation Starbucks and Diet Coke rolled into one big global addiction. You find no country without coffee shops and cooled coke dispensers. There is even a Mecca Cola.

You have to turn to Mecca before you take a sip.

Here are the basics about coffee from Wikipedia:

Coffee is a beverage, usually hot, prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. These seeds are usually called coffee beans, although they are not technically beans. Coffee is the second most commonly traded commodity in the world, trailing only petroleum. A total of 6.7 million tonnes of coffee were produced annually in 1998-2000, forecast to rise to 7 million tonnes annually by 2010 FAO figures. Coffee is one of humanity’s chief sources of caffeine, a stimulant. Its potential benefits and hazards have been, and continue to be, widely studied and discussed.

The word entered English in 1598 via Italian caffè, via Turkish kahve, from Arabic qahwa. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, there being several legendary accounts of the origin of the drink. One possible origin is the Kaffa region in Ethiopia, where the plant originated (its native name there being bunna). Coffee beans were first exported from Ethiopia to Yemen. One legendary account (though certainly a myth) is that of the Yemenite Sufi mystic named Shaikh ash-Shadhili. When traveling in Ethiopia he observed goats of unusual vitality and, upon trying the berries that the goats had been eating, experienced the same effect. A similar myth ascribes the discovery to an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi. Qahwa originally referred to a type of wine, and need not be the name of the Kaffa region.

Consumption of coffee was outlawed in Mecca in 1511 and in Cairo in 1532, but in the face of its immense popularity, the decree was later rescinded. In 1554, the first coffeehouse in Istanbul opened.

Largely through the efforts of the British and Dutch East India companies, coffee became available in Europe no later than the 16th century, according to Leonhard Rauwolf’s 1583 account. The first coffeehouse in England was set up in Oxford by one Jacob or Jacobs, a Turkish Jew, in 1650. The first coffeehouse in London was opened two years later in St. Michael’s Alley in Cornhill. The proprietor was Pasqua Rosée, the Ragusan servant of a trader in Turkish goods named Daniel Edwards, who imported the coffee and assisted Rosée in setting up the establishment. The coffeehouse spread rapidly in Europe and America after that, with first coffeehouses opening in Boston in 1670, and in Paris in 1671. By 1675, there were more than 3,000 coffeehouses in England.

The British actually love coffee as much as tea.

Women were not allowed in coffeehouses, and in London, the anonymous 1674 “Women’s Petition Against Coffee” complained:

“…the Excessive Use of that Newfangled, Abominable, Heathenish Liquor called COFFEE […] has […] Eunucht our Husbands, and Crippled our more kind Gallants, that they are become as Impotent, as Age. “

Legend has it that the first coffeehouse opened in Vienna in 1683 after the Battle of Vienna, taking its supplies from the spoils left behind by the defeated Turks. The officer who received the coffee beans, Polish military officer Franciszek Jerzy Kulczycki, opened the first coffee house in Vienna and helped popularize the custom of adding sugar and milk to the coffee. Another more credible story is that the first coffeehouses were opened in Krakow in the 16th or 17th century because of closer trade ties with the East, most notably the Turks.

Turks at the Gates of Vienna: We are only here to deliver the coffee!

The first coffee plantation in the New World was established in Brazil in 1727, and this country, like most others cultivating coffee as a commercial commodity, relied heavily on slave labor from Africa for its viability until abolition in 1888. The success of coffee in 17th-century Europe was paralleled with the spread of the habit of tobacco smoking all over the continent during the course of the Thirty Years War (1618– 48).

One brand to rule them all - and with dark brew to bind them …

For many decades in the 19th and early 20th centuries Brazil was the biggest producer and virtual monopolist in the trade, until a policy of maintaining high prices opened opportunities to other growers, like Colombia, Guatemala and Indonesia. The mother plant for much of the arabica coffee in the world is kept in the Amsterdam Hortus Botanicus.

After so many dry facts I need a coffee myself!

I never understood why the industrial revolution discovered woman so late? Machines allowed them to work as hard and as productive as men. It took a big world war for managers and society to grasp that truth. Since then woman can be equally exploited and abused in factories as their male counterparts. Too bad payment still isn’t the same. Maybe we need another world war to settle this difference?

I find it highly strange and fascinating that some of the darkest visions about the future come from Britain: 1984, V for Vendetta and Brave New World. We consider British society as one of the most liberal and ‘free’ societies on earth - still nightmares of total state control and suppression seem to haunt the British mind. It is also true that Britain has more camera watching it’s citizen then any other country on this planet.

I suspect it’s all connected with the good old class system, the terrible human conditions of the industrial revolution and elitist games. As much we may think of Britain as in Jane Austin terms, witty games of the upper class, there was always a dark and big underbelly in British society. Achievements like the Magna Carta and many modern democratic rights were only granted to the upper class (very much like in the rest of Europe).

We can’t lower our standards.

But since British society was also the first to experience the industrial revolution - it was also the first to encounter the horrors of this new era in human history. Terrible slums with unbelievable conditions, smog everywhere and extreme poverty. Certainly this has happened in big cities before - like in good old Rome. But never to such an extend.

And it was set in contrast to the Age of Enlightenment - new ideas about human rights and social equality. No surprise that Karl Marx (who lived for some time in London) and many other socialist thinkers were deeply influenced by the conditions of the new working class in Britain.

The British Empire of course had an ugly history of colonialism and brutal suppression. Almost any uprising was bitterly crushed. Only a few countries like America escaped the Empire by use of revolutionary force.

George Orwell started his writing career as an investigative reporter. He lived among the poorest of the poor and exposed the social dark side of this new industrial world in his great book Down and Out in Paris and London. But also his book ‘The Road to Wigan Pier‘ digs deeper into the dirt. Both books shocked Britain.

Victorian society slowly woke up to these truths and started to change. But only after social unrest and several waves of infectious diseases threatened their lifestyle too. But also revolutions first in France and later Russia ‘helped’ the upper class to see the need for change.

Oh look Charles, this is really shocking! Those poor people …

Without such minds like Karl Marx and George Orwell Britain might have never developed to such free society (yes, socialism was a big influence in the UK - although Maggie Thatcher cleared most of it out). So every country needs smart system critics as well as pressure from the street and money willing to make changes. Social development doesn’t come for free and doesn’t ‘just’ happen.

The evil image of an totalitarian society as the twin of a great society might be a good way to keep people and politicians on their toes.

In the War 1812 - the Brits vs. the young American Nation. The Americans actually declared war on the British for capturing and pressing their seaman into service against Napoleon. In the course of this war the British burned down Washington and then later the Royal Navy bombarded the costal defense Fort McHenry near Baltimore in 1814.

A certain Francis Scott Key (age 35 at that time) watched the brutal shelling of the Fort from nearby Baltimore for almost 24 hours. When the smoke cleared the next morning and the British retreated he was so happy to see the American flag still waving over the fort that he immediately wrote the famous poem ‘star spangled banner‘. The poem contains many elements and images of the battle like rockets and bombs. The poem was swiftly printed in Baltimore and spread with the news of the brave battle all over America.

Now here comes the really funny part. The poem was later set to a popular British drinking song called ‘To Anacreon in Heaven‘ written by John Stafford Smith from London.

It was not until 1931 that this honorable song became the national anthem of the United States of America - which means that they simply didn’t have one for almost 200 years.

So next time you see misty eyed Americans singing their anthem - then also imagine a bunch of drunken snobs in London roaring the original tune and the Royal Navy blasting Fort McHenry. After all - the British inspired the whole venture in the first place …

If you like to know more about the dreadful failure of the so called Tiananmen Square revolution and today’s China please watch this great documentation: The Tank Man.

It tells in great detail the story of a failed revolution and how China’s communists brutally knocked down the people’s will. Sure - we are all amazed by today’s economic boom in China - but still it’s more like a brutal economic progress for the few rich and the party - not for most of the people.

In rural areas the poverty and devastation is unbelievable. Schooling and medical support has broken down in most of the country. Factory workers are denied basic rights - rights the communists used to fight and campaign for. No strikes are allowed, so sick leave is paid and accidents are not covered. It basic and brutal capitalism at work here.

This distorted ’success’ is on one side rebuilding China’s failed infrastructure on the backs of Chinese laborers, while putting the western economies in turmoil. In a strange way both sides are ‘paying’ up to bring China out of the misery of 60 year of stupid communist government.

I still can’t believe that China got the Olympics of 2008.

Aztec historians report about a religious mass murder: within four days over 40.000 people were brutally sliced open to satisfy their debt to the sun god. The priests wore special masks and ripped every poor victim open to get their hearts and loads of blood. The slaughter must have been unbelievable while the citizens watched.

What a huge operation! First you have to catch 40.000 people to enslave, you need thousands of soldiers to keep them at bay and control them while they are guided to the slaughter.

Surprisingly this very practical bed was done during Europe’s Dark Ages and it’s so very Ikea! Maybe a Viking bed?