Does that mean a battery of hens a-laying is the equivalent of an asteroid shower? Wednesday Quotes
Tag: Mark Twain
Wave Flags or not?
“Man is the only Patriot. He sets himself apart in his own country, under his own flag, and sneers at the other nations, and keeps multitudinous uniformed assassins on hand at heavy expense to grab slices of other people’s countries, and keep them from grabbing slices of his. And in the intervals between campaigns, he washes the blood off his hands and works for the universal brotherhood of man, with his mouth.”
Mark Twain, On the Damned Human Race
Mark Twain’s description was pretty much true for central Europe at the time he was writing (published in 1905). The Franco-Prussian war was just over 30 years ago, the first world war was about a decade away. The flag waving soldier overlooking the town square in Weinheim embodied that spirit.
The flag flying above the castle ruin (in the photo above) is the white and blue of the town. Ever since world war II Germans have had an ambivalent relationship with all things national, and that includes the flag. Not the enthusiastic display of the national colours one finds in the US, in France, in Italy … This has changed to some extent since unification. The football world championship in 2006 and the joyous atmosphere of that event changed a lot of these feelings. As a result, sometimes the white and blue on top of Castle Windeck is replaced by the black, red and gold. For the record: I prefer the white and blue.
And for good measure, my posting yesterday in response to the Ragtag Daily Prompt has a few more flags to show: Chauvinism.
–
–
A ruin must be rightly situated
to be effective. This one could not have been better placed. – That’s what Mark Twain said about the Heidelberg castle.
For Six Word Saturday. More six words and accompanying photo(s) to be found here.
Can I call you Sam?
I couldn’t find any evidence that Mark Twain was ever in Lüneburg, although he spent a considerable amount of time in Germany. But now he sits next to the river Ilmenau in the middle of town and is open to any kind of discussion you would like to have with him.
What an inspiration an exchange with the man can be!
Linked to One Word Sunday: Inspiration.
Innocents abroad
When we came across this fellow, sitting quietly next to the river Ilmenau in Lüneburg, an American who happened to be standing next to me, felt the need to inform me – quite patronizingly – that this was a famous American writer and he wasn’t quite sure whether I might have heard of him. I informed him – equally condescendingly – that I had read most everything that Mr Samuel Longhorne Clemens had written (which is not a lie, his collected works in English and German are amongst my most cherished books). I added “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” He recognised the quote and we proceeded to have an interesting conversation about Mark Twain.
For One Word Sunday: celebrity.
For more celebrity shots click here.
The best seat in the house?
Rather rickety, don’t you think?
Filigree- yes, comfortable – maybe, mad – definitely.
Pseudo antique, old-fashioned elegance.
A lonely, lovely bench in the woods.
Not lonely, not really lovely.
The best choice: A sit down with Mr Samuel Longhorn Clemens, next to the Ilmenau in Lüneburg, Germany.
For Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: any kind of seating.
If you want to take a seat with others – here they are.
pictures imperfect blog 