sunday drive: wasserschloss roßrieth and walldorfer-kirchenburg

For what was the first time in a long time, H and I took advantage of the fine and sunny weather and visited a few sights from outdoors on either side of Mellrichtstadt and Meiningen first with the moated castle located within a small farming village of the same name. Existing as the seat of a lordship since the twelfth century before being destroyed for harbouring highwaymen in 1401, the rebuilt sixteenth century compound was in the ownership of the rulers of Ost- and Nordheim until the mediatisation of imperial immediacy at the beginning of the nineteenth century (die Reichsdeputationhauptschluss von 1803) when transferred to the Free State of Bavaria. 

The castle is in private hands and cannot be visited by the surround grounds and agricultural outbuildings were nice to explore. Next we came to the fortified church (see links above) of the town of Walldorf, now a suburb of Meiningen. Originally a medieval defensive Höhenberg (a hill castle) along the old trade route from Frankfurt to Erfurt—a good vantage point to monitor for smugglers and other potential disruptions, the complex on the promontory has been an episcopal fort since 1008 when the archbishopric of Würzburg took over the area. 

The high keep with residential structures and a garden was used as a protected farmyard through the ages as it is today, restored after reunification and a fire in 2012 that caused extensive damage. Beyond its historical value as a monument, designs for restoration undertaken and achieved have made it moreover a “biotope church” with a replacement roof optimised for nesting kestrels, a colony of jackdaws (Dohlen), bats, bees that visit the old cottage gardens plus a nesting stork with a young brood.

ws3

Via Waxy, taking some numbingly tedious (low-stakes) annual training and always failing to recall the difference between nuanced jargon—plus not paying close attention to the presentation before the post-test, I’ve encountered such flash cards and drills that promise the right answers if one types in the question verbatim but I never expected peers to help out one another (eyes on your own test) with the same crib notes for the safety and security of nuclear armaments. Responsibly redacted in the exposé, the practises and protocols of US weapons stockpiles overseas were breached through these tutorials, and while the existence of this forward operating bases and their host nations was somewhat of an open secret, spillage of alert procedures, security norms and panic words strikes as pretty grave and just as embarrassing as being outed by one’s pedometer.

the original new timbral orchestra

The Expanding Head Band at the helm of TONTO, the ENIAC and ENIGMA mainframe of modular synthesisers, fronted by pioneering electronic duo Malcolm Cecil (†2021, pictured) and Robert Margouleff, as Things Magazine informs, produced few recordings themselves but widely and extensively collaborated with artists of all backgrounds and genres to help their signature psychedelic (see also) sounds gain a purchase in mainstream music. They worked with Stevie Wonder, the Isley Brothers, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Randy Newman, Quincy Jones, Ravi Shankar and the Doobie Brothers—just to name a few. More at the link above and enjoy their 1971 album Zero Time below.

music for grocery stores

We really enjoyed this ambient soundtrack, via r/ Obscure Media, to accompany one’s shopping list in this 1975 muzak selection Sounds for the Supermarket. The track titles that I suppose match the arc of the hunter-gatherer quest and could be suited to some independent gaming adventure are a bit strange and evocative: Mister Satisfied, Mister Lucky, To a Dark Lady, A Touch of Class, Harvey Wallbanger, Delicate Treasures, Departure, etc.

rebound

Though it never occurred to us that such equipment needed inventing and a champion—despite the fact that every exercise and intervention does, we enjoyed learning of the contributions of avid gymnast and promoter George Peter Nissen (*1914 - †2010) who developed the trampoline and made the sport and pass-time an enduring world-wide sensation through this rather arresting feat of man and kangaroo. Inspired by the safety nets of trapeze artists and having toured fairs and carnivals of North America after university studies as a performer and learning the word trampolín—springboard, Nissen registered a trademark for his bouncing apparatus. Having petitioned for the sport to be included in the Olympics for decades, Nissen finally succeeded with trampolining added to the Sydney Games in 2000. The stunt however was captured in 1960.

santa bona

Early eleventh century Augustinian nun venerated on this day, Bona of Pisa, helped conduct pilgrims on their journeys and is considered the patroness of tour guides, couriers, flight attendants as well as her well-touristed home town. Her father a Crusader in the Holy Land, Bona made no fewer than four sojourns there to visit him and see to his well-being and after being taken hostage by pirates and necessitating a ransom and rescue by her compatriots, redirected her focus to the route of Santiago de Compostela, undertaking the arduous trip ten times and leading others along the way.

can’t stop, shan’t stop

Previously we’ve been presented for our consideration with one early twentieth century Russian poet as the primogenitor of the genre which seemed like a valid nomination but we were especially taken with this new to us performance by English playwright, cabaretist and near contemporary Noël Coward of one his signature numbers “Mad Dogs and Englishmen,” which certainly bares some correspondence with modern rap recitations. Acknowledged precursors include spoken-word poetry sessions and the expressionist vocal technique loosely classed as Sprechgesang—a touch operatic and dialogue delivered somewhere in between sung and parlando—realised as popular music in the Bronx in the early 1970s, articulated from the role of the master of ceremonies (MC) to entertain between disc-jockey (DJ) sets.

homo signorum

Public Domain Review indulges our curiosity and resurgent obsession with astrology (see also) in these early Renaissance anatomical depictions of the Zodiac Man, with star signs appended to the organs and humours that they were thought to influence. The inclusion of such diagrams (see previously) in medical texts was to ensure auspicious (or at least not oppositional and ill-timed) scheduling of treatments and surgeries—avoiding, for instance, bloodletting when the Moon was in Aries as a cure for headaches. The full correspondence, at least according to the observations and experience if one seventeenth century physician, is listed below: 

ARIES: Head, Sinus, Eyes, Blood Pressure TAURUS: Ears, Neck, Throat, Shoulders
GEMINI: Nervous System, Respiratory Stems, Arms, Hands
CANCER: Chest, Lymphatic System, Plasma
LEO: Heart, Spleen, Spinal Column
VIRGO: Trunk, Intestines, Gallbladder, Pancreas, Liver
LIBRA: Back, Hips, Endocrine Gland, Kidneys
SCORPIO: Reproductive Organs, Urinary Bladder, Rectum, Pelvis
SAGITTARIUS: Legs, Thighs
CAPRICORN: Skin, Knees and Bones
AQUARIUS: Ankles, Blood
PISCES: Feet, Serum 

More details and collections from Public Domain Review at the link above.