tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post4905090547856750520..comments2024-03-29T06:29:15.928-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: DespairOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-55694678572679730892021-04-24T09:40:18.190-07:002021-04-24T09:40:18.190-07:00A tragic figure indeed.A tragic figure indeed.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-14808704304518326912021-04-24T09:15:46.060-07:002021-04-24T09:15:46.060-07:00To me the most tragic figure in this episode is SS...To me the most tragic figure in this episode is SS-Scharführer Ernst Schneider. He retained, or maybe rediscovered, his humanity as we see in his telling his comrades to get out, but he himself is trapped by his own sense of duty and honor. <br /><br />He sees that it is hopeless, and likely would admit that the crimes and atrocities of his outfit, and possibly of his own, ARE crimes and atrocities, but he swore an oath and he will fulfill it, drinking it to the dregs. Joe Lovellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16892419601290744855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-63343561439135609062021-04-24T09:13:59.681-07:002021-04-24T09:13:59.681-07:00👍👍OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-12534631780898661112021-04-24T09:02:08.883-07:002021-04-24T09:02:08.883-07:00Dang, Beans! That is one of the best expositions...Dang, Beans! That is one of the best expositions on humanity that I have ever read. Thank you. Joe Lovellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16892419601290744855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-53984898618752695342021-04-24T08:17:14.703-07:002021-04-24T08:17:14.703-07:00Yup, left out a word, but the meaning got across.Yup, left out a word, but the meaning got across.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-9609180248186072712021-04-24T08:16:34.979-07:002021-04-24T08:16:34.979-07:00👍👍OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-91718236891396084642021-04-24T08:16:17.786-07:002021-04-24T08:16:17.786-07:00Concur with your last.Concur with your last.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-26881853196283281242021-04-24T08:15:26.070-07:002021-04-24T08:15:26.070-07:00I too read The Silmarillion and agree with your ch...I too read <i>The Silmarillion</i> and agree with your characterization of it.<br /><br />Cautionary tales, to some humans they're not a warning, they're a "how to" manual. Depressing indeed that over the millennium our species has evolved no further...OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-39025320967272615402021-04-24T01:17:22.664-07:002021-04-24T01:17:22.664-07:00Thanks, Sarge. I appreciate that.Thanks, Sarge. I appreciate that.Tank Killerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01955019760069183088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-31597018202957754522021-04-24T00:16:46.862-07:002021-04-24T00:16:46.862-07:00Yes Beans, our associations hold us back, they gro...Yes Beans, our associations hold us back, they ground us. Social affiliations temper our behavior, and help us to maintain moderation. That is why, when great conflagrations begin, they escalate so quickly. Loss of so many of those that have such great meaning to us tends to remove that moderation. Privilege is a similar set of circumstances. We do not want to be seen as disrupters because it may cost us loss of our privileges. When we are already losing them, we get angry, and become more inclined to smack the dragon. It seems to be coming toward that time....yes, Ragnarok!<br /><br />As to The Orders Militant, they were certainly guilty of no small measure of injustices, irregardless of the (presumably) sincere intentions with which they were formed. No, I think religious groups are better off without their own armies...jihadis, and what have you. Tank Killerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01955019760069183088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-78703897168711773612021-04-23T23:56:32.376-07:002021-04-23T23:56:32.376-07:00TB - I read The Simarillion. It was depressing r...TB - I read The Simarillion. It was depressing reading to the very end. While in the other books there are many notes of the imperfection of the High Elves, it is taken to a higher order in the horrible jealousy and strife surrounding the creation and possession of the Simarils. Armies of elves were sacrificed in battle over what amounted to no more than toys over which the spoiled children fought. Perhaps it was a realistic reflection of the nature of many sentient beings, but I found it disturbing. Maybe it was because I had read the other stories first, and had developed a fondness for the elves and the lightness and cheerfulness of their existence. I didn't like them being portrayed as essentially spoiled brats, though I suppose it is not uncommon for the "Aristocracy" to behave so. <br /><br />As to Lewis, I don't think he is so much undervalued as he is an acquired taste. Dark forebodings lurk in his writings, and the sort of education they are intended to convey is troubling to many an otherwise merry soul.<br /><br />Didn't care for "1984", either. Extraordinarily troubling to me at that early time in my life. Not pleasant sometimes, the reading of the cautionary tales. Tank Killerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01955019760069183088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-37788705407668905472021-04-23T23:22:51.543-07:002021-04-23T23:22:51.543-07:00Semantics, I suppose, but I believe the historical...Semantics, I suppose, but I believe the historical quote was, "Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it." Means the same thing I guess. If you don't learn it, you certainly can't learn from it.Tank Killerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01955019760069183088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-51603493358526338012021-04-23T20:24:10.790-07:002021-04-23T20:24:10.790-07:00Those who do not learn history...Those who do not learn history...OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-8834476083810421842021-04-23T20:23:25.933-07:002021-04-23T20:23:25.933-07:00TB - Amen.TB - Amen.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-92086279411067072882021-04-23T20:23:07.562-07:002021-04-23T20:23:07.562-07:00Beans - There are times when Valhalla calls.Beans - There are times when Valhalla calls.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-6846398463906713412021-04-23T20:22:35.628-07:002021-04-23T20:22:35.628-07:00TB - I wasn't aware of that side of Lewis'...TB - I wasn't aware of that side of Lewis' work, I'll look into those.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-88238296895799451892021-04-23T20:20:59.042-07:002021-04-23T20:20:59.042-07:00Beans - Tolkien was brilliant.Beans - Tolkien was brilliant.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-20972414218112760422021-04-23T20:19:50.146-07:002021-04-23T20:19:50.146-07:00Teeny tiny keyboards, the bane of my existence...Teeny tiny keyboards, the bane of my existence...OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-83412592812338589542021-04-23T19:38:37.821-07:002021-04-23T19:38:37.821-07:00Beans, you are not the only one.
"And how ca...Beans, you are not the only one.<br /><br />"And how can man die better<br />then fighting fearful odds,<br />For the ashes of his fathers <br />and the temples of his gods?"<br /><br />- Thomas Macauley, Horatius at the Bridge (Lays of Ancient Rome)Toirdhealbheach Beucailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872794169534403463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-83476268873160246692021-04-23T19:34:56.815-07:002021-04-23T19:34:56.815-07:00Beans, while I was thrilled when The Lord of The R...Beans, while I was thrilled when The Lord of The Rings was made into passably good movies (finally, I was hip about something!), I think it did create the situation where Tolkien the individual lost luster. Which is the detriment of all of us. People like The Hobbit and The Lord of Rings not only because they are well written but because good triumphs (more or less) over evil. Few read The Silmarillion, which was his writings about the Wars of the First Age. It was much more grim and much less hopeful and good did sort of win in the end, but only at the cost of almost everything.<br /><br />Someone else who also in WWI and an associate of Tolkien but I think much less valued (again, sadly) is C.S. Lewis. Most know him for the Chronicles of Narnia or his Christian writings (which are all brilliant, of course). One of his under-rated writings but one of my favorites are his science fiction (Out of The Silent Planet/Perelandra/That Hideous Strength). They are all written pre-space travel of course, and so would qualify as much as fantasy at this point, but they are rather insightful books into the nature of humans and their seeming continual desire to ruin everything. The last book, That Hideous Strength, is really a sort of retelling of The Apocalypse (in a very small sense); Lewis' writing of a society that has become controlled by "modernization" and "good ideas" and "progress" probably shocked his readers as fantasy then; they are quite ordinary today. Worth your time if you are looking for some well written fiction.Toirdhealbheach Beucailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872794169534403463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-56469331150539986262021-04-23T18:30:31.390-07:002021-04-23T18:30:31.390-07:00I, too, have known people with those arm tattoos. ...I, too, have known people with those arm tattoos. <br /><br />Sadly, too many people, especially the leaders in New York and New York City, seem to want to repeat it all again.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-82757619360138236442021-04-23T18:28:52.302-07:002021-04-23T18:28:52.302-07:00Oh, I hear the siren song of Ragnarok singing thro...Oh, I hear the siren song of Ragnarok singing through my body way too often. It is only the knowledge of how my actions would affect my family and friends that seemingly keeps me from going down fighting Dark Elves and Giants.<br /><br />Part of me wishes Mother Church still had Orders Militant...Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-73333769062716376312021-04-23T18:26:30.542-07:002021-04-23T18:26:30.542-07:00Good old JRRT saw, as more saltier people here, so...Good old JRRT saw, as more saltier people here, some serious sh...tuff happening in his formative years. He survived WWI. He saw the rise of National Socialism both in his own country and in Spain, Germany, Italy and other European nations. And, well, being a Norse/Scandinavian/Icelandic/Dane (the 'Viking' people) hustorian, he saw patterns from ancient times that pertained to today.<br /><br />Tolkein is very relevant. Down to those who saw the elephant, so to speak, not being able to rejoin society well if at all.<br /><br />People just don't see the warnings he showed in his works. Sadly. Too many think it's just a series of adventure tales, kind of boring really, that were made into some ponderous movies...<br /><br />Glad to be able to add my two cent's worth.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-10071068450895064792021-04-23T18:16:51.775-07:002021-04-23T18:16:51.775-07:00I was reduced to reading a Kindle book. Sooooo la...I was reduced to reading a Kindle book. Sooooo last century, dontcha know... Or it felt like it.<br /><br />Now I have to get used to the new teeny tiny keyboard. And different layout of all the various action keys. Though I do have a number pad back again.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-71243359687220796632021-04-23T17:59:45.752-07:002021-04-23T17:59:45.752-07:00Never again.Never again.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.com